a peek inside the fishbowl

09 Feb, 2014

We are winter

By andrea tomkins in Ottawa

I like the “We are Winter” ad campaign for the winter Olympics, do you? (Here’s an example if you haven’t seen it.) The tagline – We are Winter – sums us up in a way that taps into Canadian culture. It reminds us that we are people who choose to live in a climate that shapes our actions, our character, and our conversations on a daily basis.

We’re secretly, quietly, pleased to belong to a country with deep snowfalls and bone-chilling cold, and to be part of a culture that embraces it in the form of ice hotels, winter festivals, and polar bear dips. We are Winter taps into our national pride whether or not we actually participate in winter sports. Funny eh?

I saw a tweet yesterday that made me laugh: only in Canada do you see people lined up politely to look at blocks of ice. It’s funny because it’s true. There was an accompanying photo of an ice carving display at Winterlude, and the line up that went along with it. It seems to me, that Winterlude is the very definition of “We are Winter.”  As we walked around last night I couldn’t help but feel very happy and proud of the place I live. It certainly kept me warm inside.

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Doing the #Ottawa thing tonight!

It was just as cold standing around the fire.  #skateway #ottawa  #winterlude

You got your tight pants on? Happy Friday Fishies!

p.s. this song is going to be stuck in my head FOREVERRRRRR! Here’s a direct link in case the embedded video above doesn’t work for you.

Someone has been using our roof as a hotel:

Home for transient squirrels?

A squirrel has chewed through one of the vents. Sigh.

Archives


  • Jeanie Maennling: I spent many wonderful days visiting my cousins and Uncle Herb and aunt Eleanor at the Farm in the 1950's. Mycousin Skippy (Sharon) and I got into l
  • alex: For a classic Canadian treat for valentine day , try a BeaverTail (a fried dough pastry) there its yummy
  • Juliet Luiz: I was at this park today and saw the foundation and historical sign which got me curious and let me to your blog post! Great information:) too bad t
  • Rowyn Tape: Hello, I was sitting at Easter dinner with my grandmother and she was telling me this story. She is Herbert Lytles daughter who eventually bought the
  • Bernie: I freeze ball sizes of bread dough for beavertails each winter season.Easy to thaw, roll out and fry. Best winter treat!
  • Jen_nifer: I feel very much the same about my SUP. Floating with snacks is fantastic! When I go on water with some current, I make sure that I paddle into the cu
  • sam: Great article. This is very insightful. Thanks for sharing

The Obligatory Blurb

My name is Andrea and I live in Ottawa with my husband Mark and our dog Sunny who is kind of a big deal on Instagram. During the day I work as a freelance writer. I am a longtime Ottawa blogger and I've occupied this little corner of the WWW since 1999. The Fishbowl is my whiteboard, water cooler, and journal, all rolled into one. I'm passionate about healthy living, arts and culture, travel, great gear, good food, and sharing the best of Ottawa. I also love vegetables, photography, gadgets, and great design.

If you're so inclined, you can read more about me here.

I've deactivated the commenting function as well as my contact form so if you want to get in touch, please drop me a line at quietfish@gmail.com. Thank you!

 


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