Happy Blogiversary to Me!
November 28, 2008
As of yesterday it has been one year since I started this watery knitting blog, and I’m having my first ever contest to celebrate. I’m leaving the contest open for one week to give anyone interested a chance to enter, as I know some of you lazy people aren’t at work and are home enjoying turkey, pies, knitting time, and shopping. (I am at work and am having a very, very, good time writing my lovely technical manual that was due months ago, and would definitely not choose to be at home knitting and eating, ever!!) In the last year I’ve had a lot of fun with the blog, and its given me the priceless opportunity to share everyday life with my friends and family. My parents especially, as they live far away, I think enjoy the opportunity to see what kind of trouble I’m currently getting into. Life is an adventure, even when you are doing something mundane if you treat it as one. And adventures are always fun aren’t they? At least you end up with a good story to tell…
The contest is very simple; leave a comment by next Friday describing what you feel is the Canadian identity. Canadians have historically had an identity crisis, and regularly try and figure it who and what we are via expensive conferences and bills in parliament. As a Canadian who has left my country for a number of years, and come back, this is an interesting question to me, as some facets of our identity are very clear and distinct to me. I”m very curious to hear what people have to say!
The prize is a good one; a Canadian Care Package. I’ve already got some goodies lined up and it will be packed full of Made in Canada Yum. The judges are my Mum and Dad, they get to pick the winner. They are going to be the most impartial judges I can find, and also have an interesting perspective given that they have been living outside of Canada for over 8 years, and are also moving back home. The prize will ship anywhere!
Good luck!
Knitting Under Water 
Happy blogiversary!
Don’t you think that those of us south of the border will mangle this one?
Canadian identity: stalwart, unencumbered, perceptive naivete, honest.
And many happy returns, Anne!
Canadian Identity: funny, diverse, cold-resistant and possessing of a slight nation-wide inferiority complex. Oh and we love to talk about the weather.
Oh, yay!
The Canadian Identity is hard to pin down because the country is so stinkin’ big our country is made up of many, many,many small pockets of culture (and therefore, identity)
However, may I attempt to sum it up as follows:
Canadians are usually nice, sometimes French, generally (although not always!) love hockey and Canadians are never ever American.
*bow* thank you. Enjoy the veal.
PS HAPPY BLOGOVERSARY! (..And many mooore!)
Canadians are… cold. 🙂
(Of course I mean that temperature wise, not temperament wise!)
Wow, first time I checked out your blog, and I get to enter a contest, too! 🙂 Ok, I’ll take a shot at this…
The Canadian identity: Rugged but well-mannered folks who have a solid yet under-stated pride in their country, get nostalgic about grain elevators and historic tales about deadly winter storms, and love to complain about the price of gas… eh?
Oh, and I forgot to say Happy Blogiversary!
You’ve been gone a year!? I’m so glad you started a blog so we could stay in touch.
Canadians: Liberal, intelligent, take care of their own, know how to stay warm, and have a great sense of humor. Canada is a place I wish I had moved to 35 years ago.
Happy Bloggiversary!!
We have the GREATEST sense of humour!!! And we love to be very self deprecating!.
I’ve been saying this for years:
Good beer, good hockey, good air.
And that’s all I have to say about that.
Canadians are caring, forgiving, we laugh at ourselves, love hockey and curling, skiing, snowboarding.
We are great sportsman and teachers.
We are opposite of the Americans (who feel if you are not #1 you are wasting our time) where it’s the love of the game or the hunt.
Barbara
Happy Blogiversary! Thanks for sharing your adventures with us!
Like Americans, Canadians are a multi-cultural and varied group – hard to pin down any one trait. Things that come to mind are skiers, curlers, hockey players, beautiful mountains and rivers, and, of course, knitters!
The thing I admire most about Canadians, though, is your ability to retain your own national identity: to be Canadian; not getting absorbed into the identity of your neighbors to the south.
I think of relaxed humor, common sense, and letting people live their lives with minimal interference. And plaid flannel! 🙂
[…] will go wonderfully with my camel coloured work coat. One of the other two skeins is going in the Canadian Care Package, I wonder which one it will be? Posted by knittingunderwater Filed in Calgary, knitting […]
I have been thinking about this for a few days and I guess my best answer is that we are a diverse bunch of mostly unfailingly polite liberals with a strong sense of national pride that does not need to be demonstrated with flag waving. Our flag waving is being able to point out to non-Canadians which famous people, inventions, beer, etc. are Canadian! I do still think they put something in the water to make us like hockey as much as we do though. You don’t have the inside track on that, do you? 🙂
Happy Blogiversary!
Happy Blogiversary!!
I’m an American but I know tons of Canadians and count many as good friends. From a friend in the upper reaches of BC to one of my dearest friends in Newfoundland. I’d say the thing that most identifies them all is intelligence, friendliness and open-mindedness (if that is actually a word). Rarely do I meet a Canadian (through work or leisure) who is unkind, rude, or discriminating. Usually they always seem to be having a good day even when they have a bad day. State of mind I guess that is.
Oh and hockey of course. I’ve never met a Canadian who disliked hockey.
Happy blogiversary!
Canadians: we like our space. (Whether that means having space to ourselves or having space outdoors to go do things with our friends depends on what kind of day we’re having.)
Hmmm, as a canadian who almost immediately found herself over the border after birth this is a hard one! But from my perspective from the edge of the border we are near (and all meant good):
Strong beer, rugged hockey, chatting at tim hortons, malt vinegar must go on fish & chips , a quiet patriotism and love of the flag, down to earth but will fight if necessary…
Happy blogiversary! i am sure that your pants are fitting better than mine right now by not having sat home eating!
I have been thinking about this for a couple days too. As a country we were basically built around building a railway and had to enlist people to write poetry about our confederation as opposed to inspiring people to write poetry about our confederation (at least in the 1800s). These things are what I think about when I think about the Canadian identity because it has turned us into the people we are, essentially a: hard working, humorously self-deprecating, quiet, peace keeping people with bizarre accents from one coast to the other (at least according to some).
My favourite quote is “As Canadian as possible … under the circumstances.”
It’s self-deprecating, adaptive and aspirational. It recognizes that there are limits to being Canadian — culture, language, and geography, amongst others — and yet still leaves room for people to strive to be ineffably Canadian on their own terms.
It’s also the winner of a contest run by Peter Gzowski (later host of the Morningside show), to define Canadian. (http://www.oratory.com/hscott.html) And besides, how much more Canadian can you get than the CBC?
(Also, I was once an internet correspondent for Peter, for a year or so — it was fun!)
Happy Bloganniversary 🙂
The Canadian Identity? Good point. I have to think back to 2005 when my Canadian friend visited us.
– She had a little pin on her coat, expecting people when they saw the flag, they would be friendly and helpful to her.
– The accent…and the word aye she used after every sentence.
– The way she spent her money here… I truely believe she did not realize the value of our Euro… she spent over 1000 Euros in the first week, for gifts that she sent home. I was amazed.
– Loyalty – she and I are friends since 2000, and even when she had to go through rough times, we were able to discuss it.
I believe that the flag, the accent, the spending and loyalty are all part of the Canadian identity.
Every time I think of Canada, I instantly picture a maple leaf, snow, and reindeer.
I suspect that this is not an entirely accurate picture of the country, but I am entrenched the ways I have been conditioned to by the American media. The National Geographic channel does not help either.
I am also under the impression that all Canadians speak French, wear massive amounts of cologne or perfume, dress impeccably, and have wild personalities.
Don’t ask me how I know this.
Thanks for a fun contest!
Aster
Happy Blogoversary!
When I think of Canada first I picture the maple leaf flag, then I think of the woods. I think of camping and cold air and snow. Wildlife. Fleece jackets. Earmuffs. CAMPING! (I don’t even know if camping is all that popular in Canada. I just know I want to camp there at some point.)
The Canadian identity? As stalwart as the Canadian Rockies – eh?
Happy Blogiversary!
Here’s my view of Canada: A nice picture of mountains, lots of trees, with a moose with a huge rack in the foreground, wearing a maple leaf to cover his private parts 🙂
Happy Blogiversary!!
Canadian identity – Warm heart, cold nose. (and I’m NOT talking about Canadian Eskimo dogs 🙂 )
Fun contest!
Happy blogiversary! I am from Minnesota so I’m ALMOST Canadian, eh?
I’d say Canadians are Kraft-dinner, snow tires, hot-maple-syrup-in-their-veins, thoughtful and steadfast, and privledged to live in one of the most diversely beautiful places on earth with mountains and coastlines and prairies.
My boyfriend was Canadian,
He lived somewhere up there.
He always wore a sweater,
Also long underwear.
He was a very rugged dude,
He loved to skate and ski.
He also played that curling game,
Which made no sense to me.
He was real smart, and read a lot.
He said it was too cold.
To go outside for days on end,
And so his mind he’d mold.
He said “eh” all the time,
Many Canadians do that,
And always wore upon his head,
A nice warm wooly hat.
I never see him any more,
It wasn’t meant to be,.
But I still often think of him.
As the Canadian identity.
Hey (not eh) the competition is getting tough.
I love the photo of you and your Mum at Banff. My first airplane trip (as a 5 month old) was to Banff, and so it will always be my special place, and my mother tells the story of my visit to the pediatrician at 9 months where she said to me, tell the doctor where you ride when we go hiking. To which I said “backpack” and the doctor said “show off”. And just for the record, my Mom is an engineer and great knitter and sent me here to enter.
The Canadian identity: Strong as a mountain, wise as a snowy owl, independent as an arctic fox, stolid as a polar bear, and sweet as maple syrup.