My friend Paco just voted...

Double Barreled Brothers!

His Sister Sandra...Lace Mantilla.

So far an interesting division of votes right down the gender line.

Hence the names. We could have called them Friends of Dirty Harry.

OMG! do you think the design's too violent for a kitchen? I mean it's like staring down the barrel of a loaded shotgun. Two of them to boot, I mean shoot. Maybe that's what a Druglord's backsplash would be... with emphasis on splash :)

Congratulations to the Canadian curling team. They did an awesome job and the fans were especially great when they cut off the idiot who was trying to distract the Norwegians. Very moving medal ceremony as well. You have more gold medals than anyone so you should be proud.

That house in Aspen looks cold and I'm not referring to the climate. It's too "done" and does not reflect the owner's personality. I would take the wine cellar though.

We enjoyed a performance at the beautiful Palacio des Bellas Artes years ago.

Not a Telenovela fan either.

Thanks Stef! you're such a good Canada Rooter. Sweet. Will have to send you a nice Canada toque ( before she peeps, yes the Roots Canada toques), judging by the weather in SA you could actually use it :)

Stef, I am so wowed. You saw a live performance at The Bellas Artes!

Congratulations. Maybe you're my needed inspiration. I actually missed that historic Juan Gabriel concert. Who did you see? Is it really impressive inside?

I agree that house is so I don't know how to spend my cash. Seems like the bigger the house, usually the uglier they get. Even in Canada.

Golden day in Canada!

Wow. Stef that men's pursuit final was a thriller. I think the country cannot believe the number of Gold Medals, with only one more to go...
tomorrow. It's gonna be huge.

Actually I think USA beating Canada in the preliminary was not a good idea. It seemed to fire the team up. I think a tie or loss would have been actually better. Then Canada would have taken USA more lightly in the final. Tomorrow will be a war of revenge.

Not a Telenovela fan either.

Interesting Stef. It's so huge in Latin America that it literally brings a country to a standstill. Plllog, you probably remember from your Mexico living days. The women stay in the house and watch the whole 2 hour episode. Meanwhile businesses-bars-restaurants etc. are deserted. Even dating is put on hold as I once painfully found out. Surely, the reach is also strong in LA and SA with your close proximities to Mexico, combined with your large Latina populations. The Mexican Telenovellas reach Cuba, Colombia, Argentina, Chile, Venezuela, most everywhere.

One thing I can guarantee, without stereotyping, no man listens to a telenovella In Latin America. Looks briefly maybe, since the stars do tend to be... hot :)

Aww Plllog,

And do remember it was I that tried to bring you a Little Saturday Night Romance and Mariachi. But I just discovered the link was bad. Whoops.

So here it goes again. Really, it's beautiful.

Here is a link that might be useful: A Little Saturday Night Romance and Mariachi

No Raspberry smiley on my White Macbook Senorita.

"Did you catch the "Latino" reaction to the Olympics on SNL? Very culturist, but boy did they express my feelings about being there (though I did enjoy having it on TV)."

No. Sorry. I don't even know what SNL is.

No. Sorry. I don't even know what SNL is.

Saturday Night Live. An American comedy institution brought to us each week for the most part by Canadian producers and actors. Missed it this week, the curling final really wiped me out so went to bed. Just kidding. We did stay up long enough to see a kid from San Antonio win a Gold medal. Not sure how many Winter Olympians there are from SA, but it can't be too many as the nearest place to train is at least 600 miles away.

We saw the Ballet Folklorico de Mexico at the Palacio des Bellas Artes years ago. A bit touristy, I know, but lively, colorful, and fun. The Tiffany glass curtain is beautiful.

Sorry, no cheering for Canada today.

YIKES! My apologies to all. I thought it was a free smiley. It looks like a smiley blowing a raspberry and making a face on my screen. I didn't know they could even do that! It's not a link on my screen. That's scarey! I've reported it to the PTB (powers that be) and hope they can just erase it.

So here's the SNL piece. It's definitely culturist, but I so agree with it all I can't be offended!

So glad you explained that plllog! I was wondering....

Loved the hilarious SNL skit. That really is the view of most locals to the idea of going someplace cold in the winter.

Nice offer, solman. Even Roots is featuring hats that look like aussie swimming caps. Must be the latest in Canadian fashion. We're already getting warm here, though.

Next up is Fiesta San Antonio in April. I was going to post smiley mariachis, but think I'll avoid trouble and skip that for now. They're very cute if you want to look them up in the lower right corner.

Here is a link that might be useful: Smiley link

Hey Stef- I'll get you a Ngano Roots Hat+the hot Red Canada jackets worn by our Gold Medal team if you root for us. OK?

Plllog, you know they're stylish. I like how tightly they're cut. I hope North America finally reaches European sizing. Thank goodness for Slim Fit shirts which are still a full size bigger than Europe :(

Thanks for trying Plllog. But I got this lovely message:

For now, Hulu is a U.S. service only. That said, our intention is to make Hulu's growing content lineup available worldwide. This requires clearing the rights for each show or film in each specific geography and will take time. We're encouraged by how many content providers have already been working along these lines so that their programs can be available over the Internet to a much larger, global audience. The Hulu team is committed to making great programming available across the globe.

Oh well :(

Stef- Have you seen Plllog?

I hope she's not glued into a Sunday Telenovella :)

Saturday Night Live. An American comedy institution brought to us each week for the most part by Canadian producers and actors.

LOL! Stef. I just never heard it coined with letters SNL.

We hope you're getting better and can watch the game today.

We need your rooting with your famous Pom Pom smiley.

Even Stef's joined our side today, right Stef ;)

The streets are DESERTED!

Literally, not a car on the road. The local bar's parking lot is packed.

Yes much bigger than the Super Bowl.

We now return to our regular programming.

  Â
USA!!!

Overtime :(

Well done and congratulations! At least we gave you a good scare.

Thanks Stef!

This country has just exploded from coast to coast. Not sure if they showed it on your telecast.

There are cars honking the main streets here in my city.

Downtown TO, Vancouver, Montreal, Calgary, Halifax streets have been closed for celebration. I haven't felt this euphoria since Canada beat Russia in the historic Canada Russia 7 game series.

This is a Hockey Nation.

Much better looking hat.

Good game.

Don't let them give in come Russia!

Canada's biggest rooter South of the 49th Parallel.

Thank you Stef :)

Stef-I just noticed your Cheerleaders smileys LOL!

Now, that opens up a whole new topic- Hockey Cheerleaders. In such a high octane testosterone sport, doesn't this make a whole lot of sense?

Girls skating on the ice with spandex figure skating outfits and stringy Pom Poms, white pearly teeth, and the token blonde dye. Do you think it would make the game better? If the formula works for football, why not hockey?

The pom pom girls are from plllog. I've sworn off smileys until I'm certain they aren't in disguise. Now that plllog has posted a clean one I might just try again.

Thanks for the scarf. That plaid is so up north, eh? The hat is cute, too.

And no, I did not root for Canada over USA. Only when we are out of it is that possible.

Solman is snowblind and can't tell us apart anymore. :)

What I want to see is the skating marching band!

Smileys doing the wave, what next?

Mariachi smileys in honor of Fiesta San Antonio

I thought they were a kick line. To go with the marching band. I could only find a single band smiley, and a marching band with one member is something only buskers have.

I don't understand. The closing ceremonies seem to be happening in the background, but they're not actually showing them. It's confusing and sad. They're showing reruns of sports past. :(

So you like us Canadians, eh ?

You just know I liked Micheal Bouble's stage Mountettes :)

That ending was really great. Every possible stereotype of Canada all on the same stage, at the same time. LOL!

And yes I have seen a Beaver within 50 feet of me and many a Moose.

LOL! on the Smilies Senoritas.

Cute.

Plllog-Stef,

If the Olympics are sadly over, what do we do now? Go back to tiles and paint and grout. :(

I hope Missy has been nursing her disease well.

And yes, of course I like Canadians. Who doesn't? When the national character is nice? But what's with the clothes??????? Did they want to get dirt kicked on them? I mean, nice is good. But you can be nice and cool both! What's with the moose sweaters and ear-flap hats? The ceremony is indoors!!! The hats aren't as bad as the Aussie bathing caps, but close. And the sweaters look like the kind moms give at Christmas that get shoved in drawers so the giftees don't have to be seen in them.

I'm very happy that you redeemed your podium, but really! The worst I saw from the U.S. were those star spangled snowsuits that looked like pyjamas. Kind of cool pyjamas.

Nope. Y'all might have won at hockey, but not in the fashion parade.

OMG! Did you see the Sochi Russian Presentation?

I loved it! Those are going to be stellar Olympics. I can just feel it now.

You know, I think this is the first time I'vereally enjoyed the Winter Olympics in ages.

Could be the hoo Rah Rah of I AM CANADIAN and wildly Nationalistic sentiment too. (even if my Kitchen is Mexican LOL!)

But it was just nice. Well notice I changed my tune in Week 2 when the Gold medals started rolling in :)

Nope. Y'all might have won at hockey, but not in the fashion parade.

My vote for the most stunning Olympic Wear for Vancouver ..... Russia!

Beautiful.

And your's?

While we're still in Vancouver 2010 Celebration Mode...

Here is a link that might be useful: I AM CANADIAN

No No.

Not the last one. Click this one. It's better!

Here is a link that might be useful: I AM CANADIAN

Oooh! I LOVED "Canada on Parade" or whatever the heck that was called. That's cool goofy (unlike the athletes' sweaters and the you-know-what hats, which are lame dork goofy). I especially liked the beavers and flying moose with Michael Buble in a dinner jacket standing on a gigantic Mountie hat singing Maple Leaf Forever.

Glad you enjoyed it, even if it took medals to get you in the mood.

The Sochi presentation was very nice. Very Russian. I liked the opening part of the film with everything made of ice best because it's much more now and future. I don't expect anyone else to notice, but I did appreciate that the ballerinas looked like dancers rather than the Ballenchinesque deformities that we get here. Russia is still the best for classical dance. But Ballet hasn't been an Olympic event for a really long time. If any dance gets in, it'll probably be Ballroom, which has standardized competitive criteria, and is done at a high level all over the world.

Nice commercial eh?

Really, maybe one of the best TV commercials I've ever seen.

I missed the closing ceremonies. Should have hit the DVR, well I'm sure I'll find some of it on the net.

My favorite so far is this crazy Canadian guy in a red velvet jacket going on about hockey. I think this is meant as serious stuff, but I was rofl.

Missy, we miss you and hope you are feeling better.

Yonge St. (Canada's longest street) in TO was closed to traffic until 8 A.M. today.

Many businesses have also given workers a half day to encourage parade participation. It is actually bigger than a Stanley Cup victory.

Sidney Crosby is the new Great One. At 22, he already has a Stanley Cup winning goal and an Olympic Gold medal winning goal. Not bad for a kid from the fishing village eh?

I think that kid has reclaimed the name "Sidney" from middle aged accountants and improbably named female TV drama characters.

How many little Gordies, Butchies, and Waynes are there in Canada anyway? And Marcels?

" The True North!"

"It's Canada's game. And 3-2 win over U.S. crowns our Golden Olympics with glory."

Hi all, It's nice to be missed. :o)
That was a doozy, I tell ya. I finally started to feel half way human on Saturday, and then we were into reno mode again for 2 days. Yesterday was catch up day for laundry, housework etc, so finally today I have some time to come and say hey. :o)
I did get to see some of the end of the olympics - how exciting was that hockey game!!! I watched some of the closing ceremonies, but not all unfortunately. I'll have to do some Youtubeing along with Steff.
I watched Tom Brokaw's special on Canada - pretty ambitious project for 6 minutes, but very interesting. It's amazing when you think that Canada's population is pretty much the same as California, eh? Forgive me if someone posted the link here already.
I managed to get the baby quilts done, but haven't delivered them yet. I will try to post some pics here later today.
ttyl :o)

Here is a link that might be useful: Tom Brokaw explains Canada

Hi Missy!!!!

Glad to hear the quilts are done despite the illness.

Hi Missy,

Glad you are doing better now.

Thanks for the link. I enjoyed that nice overview of our neighborly relationship. Canada is beautiful and definitely cold.

Those clips brought back memories of the Iranian Hostage Crisis and the special role Canada played in it. Although the story doesn't mention it, I am pretty sure the second group released two weeks later also went through Canada as we had no other way to get them home. One of those guys is a close friend of ours and can be seen in the short clip of blindfolded hostages being moved at gunpoint. It is a famous photo and every five years it jumps out at us in the grocery checkout line as the news magazines mark yet another anniversary. I also remember seeing a documentary on CBC about this when we were in Banff.

HiHi, Thanks Plllog and Steff. :)

That link was apparently what was played on some US stations right before the opening ceremonies of the games. That's neat that you know someone that was involved in the Iran situation in 79, Steff. I am your friend is still around to be your friend! I wasn't very old then, but I sure remember vividly seeing it on the news. I did not understand what all was involved, but it did make an impression on me. I kind of thought (then) that Ken Taylor looked like Mister Brady. oi

I took a couple of pics of the quilts - I don't really anywhere to lay them out properly so I had to improvise - sorry about the pic quality. (Boy I'll be glad when this reno is done!)

click thumbs for full-sized pics.

SNIFFLE ;;;;;