Halloween - A Day When Kids Get Free Candies

Halloween is a happy autumn event for children ( and adults alike) in North America.

It happens on October 31 every year, rain or shine.

Kids  love dressing up on Halloween Day for school!

This is an exciting day for young and school age children who have been looking forward to it for a whole year.

Parading around in school on Halloween

On this day, many school children can go to school dressed in their favorite costumes, parade around, show off and take part in special activities such as pumpkins craving, Halloween dances, costume contests or class parties.

Many school personnel such as teachers and even school principals would don special costumes and join in the fun.

It is a real fun day for both teachers and  kids at school!






The fun does not end at school. It continues into the evening!

Many Canadians/ Americans would purchase pumpkins from farms or grocery stores ahead of time, take them home and carve scary or funny faces out of them. 

On the night of Halloween, these pumpkins are lit up with candles inside of them and placed on verandas, in front of houses to welcome visitors. 














Why do kids love Halloween?  Imagine once a year, kids can get and eat all the free candies they want?

Getting ready to go door to door for free candies!

I love my costume!!!

Halloween is that day!!! Teens, children, some as young as a year old dressed in cute animal costumes carried in their parents' arms can get as much free candies as they want by going from door to door in their neighbourhood.

This door to door activity usually occurs after dinner time starting at around 5:30p.m.

Counting the free candies!

Kids get so much free candies that they can eat candies everyday for a month after Halloween!

Halloween decorations in our neighbourhood

It is not just children who look forward to Halloween with great anticipation; some adults take it quite seriously as well.













 Walking in our neighbourhood, we saw houses decorated in Halloween themes.















Halloween theme items such as pumpkins, witches, goblins and spider webs are strung on posts and hung on the front lawns.

This neighbor spent over a month building this special place for Halloween 

One of our neighbours was hard at work for the past few weeks erecting and constructing a pretty good size scary fort for kids.

Kids will love this place when they go for candies tonight!

 There are a few stations inside this enclosed wooden fort with games and displays for young visitors.


Kids will sure have fun here!









However, during recent years, a few unfortunate incidents happened on Halloween night such as some crazy people putting sharp objects in the treats giving out to children.  There has also been an increase in people donning and displaying too much gory and bloody costumes causing some schools to ban certain costumes worn to school.

 For religious reasons, some Canadians do not celebrate Halloween as they believe it is a night when ghosts, goblins and gory stuffs are being celebrated. Some organizations would arrange alternate activities for children instead of encouraging them going door to door for candies

Canada is a free country and Canadians are from all corners of the world and are of diverse cultures and beliefs. Again, on Halloween, we demonstrate tolerance and respect for our fellow Canadians and it's up to each one of us whether we wish to participate in the Halloween activities or not.

R.T.
Toronto  

A Huge Move - the Moving of Elephants from Toronto to California

One of the three elephants moved from Toronto Zoo

When the television news anchor reported that the three female elephants: Toka, Thika and Iringa would make the long journey from the Toronto Zoo to their new home in California, it caught my attention. I was mesmerized by this  huge move of these elephants being retired by the Toronto Metro Zoo.

They were to travel for close to 60 hours in  massive eighteen wheelers from Toronto, all the way to St Andres, California , a distance of 4100kms.

For the past week, the three elephants’ move was reported daily on the Canadian news. Many Canadians including me followed their journey, gluing to the television screen for the evening news.

Tonight, I ran home and planted myself in front of the TV set and watched the hour long special report about the elephants' journey produced  by the CBC’s Fifth Estate program.

It reported that in 2011, the Toronto zoo started planning this move. They set out certain criteria and looked for the best place to retire the animals, one of which was they did not want the animal sanctuary to keep animals in captivity.

The P.A.W.S .- Performing Animals Welfare Society Sanctuary, a 88 acres spacious animal sanctuary seemed to be the right place.

Transporting the elephants in 18 wheelers

A lot of things could go wrong with such a huge move:  Distance could be too long; equipment could malfunction, chains could loosen or animal could be sick.

The first elephant ever transported was called Maggie, 6 years ago from Alaska to the same sanctuary in California via the largest US military plane.

Special crate made to transport the elephants

To transport the elephants safely, three special crates were made and  the elephants were trained to get in and out of them for long time before the actual moving day. 

The zoo people didn’t want the elephants to lie down because it might be difficult for them to get up once they lie down.Therefore, so the elephants were purposely not given a lot of space during the transport so they could not lie down.

Lowering the elephants to the barn

To meet the needs of the animals, lots of food  such as fresh hays, snack food and water were sent with the caravan; a team of people from the Toronto zoo also traveled with the elephants to look after them.

Along the way, workers cleaned up about 120 kg of dung a day to keep the crate clean for the elephants!

The three elephants finally got to their destination and they were lowered from the crates.  When these new elephants were going into the barn, the noise there was very loud  as the elephants in the barn were very excited to see new elephants coming in to join them.  

Bob  Barker

It cost almost one million dollars for the convoy and it was Bob Barker, the TV host of“ The Price is Right”, who offered to pay for the transport expenses.

Toka, Thika and Iringa  seem to be adapting to their new spacious home and have started meeting and mingling with other elephants.

The newcomer, far right, backs her way into the group the first time she met other elephants

The first time they met their counterparts at the sanctuary, the new elephants went into the group with their backs first.

We are glad to see that these elephants will live out their retirement life basking in the warm California sun.

It has been reported that non captive female elephants can give birth in the wild up to sixty years old. Toka, Thika and Iringa  are thirty years old only which means they still have a long time to give births!

R.T.
Toronto
Source - Pictures from CBC's Fifith Estate Broadcast & Google

Take Me Outside Day

CBC – Canadian Broadcasting Corporation is my most favorite radio station in Canada. I listen to it everyday for news, current events and I find that every time I tune to the station, I always learn something. It is my classroom since I left university and started working.

Today as I was driving there was a report about the  Toronto District School Board’s  “Take Me Outside Day “

– Students at the schools went outside for an hour today. 

CBC interviewed the principal of a school in Toronto who informed listeners that her  kindergarten students go outside everyday for two hours a day.

When asked what could the students do and learn outside, the principal replied,

“ Students learn a lot  going outside such as Language, and Math, for example building things with twigs, logs and observing the patterns in nature i.e. small, big, as well as graphing what they have observed and problem
solving skills.

When they come inside the school, students draw pictures, talk and discuss what they have done outside. After they spend so much time outdoors, children are tired and have good appetite. When they go home, they eat and sleep better.”

The principals also explained that it’s the school's philosophy that students spend time outdoors each day rain or shine and parents are asked to dress their children for the weather. “

What an excellent  idea! I applaud the Toronto Board of Education of  this initiative and hats off to the principals who encourage students to take their learning outdoors!

In our modern day  society when technology seems to be taking over our lives most of time,  children and adults alike are becoming more sedentary with eyes and hands glue to their media and computer devices.

 Since so much our days are spent on electronic gadgets, there is little time left to smell the roses, admire the beauty of nature or simply take walks and enjoy good conversations with friends and families on a one to one face to face basis. 

As an educator all my life, I heartily agree and applaud the TDSB’s initiative of “Take Me Outside Day”, We need to encourage not just students but all citizens to do the same – be outside for an hour a day – walking, strolling, running, stopping by neighbourhood stores and chat , dropping in on friends and have a cup of coffee. We need to reconnect and interact with our fellow human beings on a personal level rather than fixing our eyes on machines, texting curt one line message to each other.

 I sincerely hope that the “ Take me Outside Day” will go beyond TDSB schools, spread and become a movement like the Earth Day!

R.T.

Toronto

October 24, 2013

Celebrating Thanksgiving with Friends and Families



Thanksgiving Decoration at a Waterloo Church

After the Sunday morning message at LB.,  we were invited to the congregation’s Thanksgiving Luncheon at one of the members’ house.

Another Thanksgiving Decoration

 It was really nice seeing some of the young people such as Anne, Jack, Yufei and other people again. It was a potluck  luncheon but it was a feast fit for a king!

A Delicious Pot Luck Thanksgiving Feast

 I always love holiday celebrations! What better way to celebrate and thank God for His blessings than having great food among friends.

Good time at the Waterloo Thanksgiving Luncheon

It turned out that we had three Thanksgiving dinners over this holiday weekend and this was just the first one!  We did not have much time at the luncheon as  I needed to be at LWR at 2p.m.

I shared a message and some hymns from Psalms 51 and 103 at L.W.R.. Like David who acknowledged his sins before God, I confessed the neglect of my parental duties of not teaching our sons the words of God when they were young. 

Thanksgiving Centre Piece at 105 Gibson Centre

I was moved and felt that emotion of remorse deep inside, got choked up and shed some tears. I wish more Christian parents would share and teach the words of God to their children while they are teachable during their young impressionable age. 

Instead many young  parents are so busy  with their everyday chores in lives that many unintentionally let our children influenced and taught by the popular culture on TV.

I regret deeply of what I did not do as a Christian mother. I beg God for His forgiveness, love and mercy on our two grown sons! I hope my message would encourage  Christian parents about sharing God’s words with their children on a regular basis.

105 Gibson's first Thanksgiving  Dinner  

After the service, J. waited for me patiently and informed me that he felt better  after some medical tests and that the tumor which the doctor found earlier in his body was benign. That was really good news!

We had to rush from Waterloo to go back to Toronto as we had another Thanksgiving dinner at 105 Gibson Centre on Sunday evening– the first dinner held at the centre since its opening with more than six hundred people enjoying a  sit down turkey dinner at the same time . Very well organized by the English congregation and impressive indeed!

Fall Flowers from Our Garden Remind us of God's Blessings Year Round

So glad that Jonathan was able to join us for the thanksgiving dinner at 105 Gibson! He ran into his high school friend and got to know a young couple and hang around with them for a little while.

 I do pray that this would be the beginning of our son coming back to the church and joining us in His service in the future!

 It was a very busy Thanksgiving weekend for us, one that was a lot of fun and we met a lot of friends, both old and new. Thank God for His abundant blessings in our lives!

R.T.
Toronto

Thanksgiving Weekend

The Maple Cup Competition in Cambridge, Ontario

Fall is a beautiful time of the year in Canada,  also a time when lots of fun activities happening before the cold weather sets in for the winter.

  Maple Cup Art Competition in Cambridge

Last weekend was a really busy  weekend for us.
On Saturday,  we attended an art competition in Cambridge as I was involved in the award presentation.

Artwork Submitted for the Competition

This was the second year of the Maple Cup Art Competition. I was honoured to be one of the judges for last year's competition and I was invited back for this year's event.

There were lots of artwork submitted for the competitions including drawings from Hong Kong, Singapore and other parts of Asia

Performance at the Award Ceremony

We  were treated to some  interesting cultural performances at the award ceremony.

There were Chinese traditional dances and songs by local residents.

Music performed by Waterloo musician.

















There was also a Chinese choreography demonstration right in front of the audience with a poem written to celebrate this special event.








Many people were involved in the Maple Cup Award Ceremony.  Both young and old participants doing their best to showcase their talents and entertaining the guests.

Belinda - Organizer of the Maple Cup

Belinda - Founder of the Neighbourhood Young Artist Studio of Cambridge and her team worked really hard organizing this event.

 

Some of the presenters: Diane K. & Professor Wang

 

This was not just an art competition event but one that also brought together community

groups and provided them opportunities  to network with one another.

The Minister welcome the participants

For example, the community were introduced to the the Minister of the church who welcome the guests and participants.

Mayor of Cambridge lending his support to arts

The mayor of Cambridge, with his busy schedule also took time out to support this art event. I was surprised to see him on a Thanksgiving long weekend to lend his support and gave words of encouragement. 



Each presenter also was given a few minutes to say a brief introduction about his/her organization. 

B. K. - M.C.\ of the Competition

What the audience really appreciated was each presenter stuck to the time allotted to his/her speech making the presentation speeches short and sweet!

The event has gotten bigger and better this year and I am sure judging from the attendance and participation of people involved, it would even be better next year!

R.T.
Cambridge, Ontario

A Wooden Play Area for Kids

Seats made from our 130 year old ash tree

 The Friday before the Thanksgiving  long weekend was absolutely beautiful, sunny and mild! What a great time to work outside!

Recently, an old dead ash tree was cut down from our backyard and we had the tree cutter cut out a few seats for those little one visiting us from time to time. I knew we would be having some young guests over so we got busy and tried to have all those wooden seats ready for our party.

With the power sander in hands, my friend, my brother and my husband smoothed out the rough edges and put a couple of coats of cedar  finish on the rough outdoor chairs.

The sanded and finished play table and seats

The "Flinston" style furniture made from the stumps and wood from the old ash tree looked rich afterwards!

On Monday afternoon, Thanksgiving Day, we played host to four families, Tony, Andrew and Mui’s each with young children plus Monica, Thomas and Wayne. 

Kids love playing in the play area

There were eighteen people altogether for the turkey dinner!  We had lots of food left over and I did not do a lot of cooking  as I usually do. 

When everyone brought something , then we had a lot to eat! 

That was the same day when the kids played for the first time in the newly created play area we designed with them in mind.

They loved playing in the area  and we were delighted!

R.T.

Toronto

A Wellness Class - Exercise Sitting on a Chair

Start with a sitting position

For most people living in the city and working at a white collar job,  the lack of exercise is a common problem.

People who are below forty and those mature folks who maintain an active life style, they would not feel the physiological change slowly taking place in their bodies.

Neither did I; until one day it just hit me like a ton of bricks.

Stretch your body as tall as possible

I was on a two week volunteer work trip overseas a couple of years ago with a team from my church.

Stretch your body to right

We were there to do some volunteer work for the local church. Since our activities were limited to a couple of places, we did not do a lot of walking at all.

Stretch your body to the left as much as you can

Barely a week after we were there without much daily walking or exercises, I started experiencing some pain on my right leg.

Stretch with you hand lifted up & with your tongue sticking out

The pain gradually increased in intensity, by the time I got back to Canada, I was having problem getting in and out of a vehicle and performing simple tasks.

Stretch and rotate each hand as if you're holding a ball

I went to my family doctor who referred me to a physiotherapy program and it worked!  After that episode, I know that exercise is not an option for me anymore. 


When I was younger. I was very active in my day job looking after the entire school. I got plenty of exercises each day just by climbing stairs, visiting the classrooms and taking care of students.

Stretch you leg and opposite arm at the same time

After a ten hour work day, I went home and looked after my family, shopping, cooking, planting and weeding our garden and running around doing all sort of things. I did not feel any pain at all.

Change leg, lean forward and stretch back

However, things changed after my early retirement. Our North American car culture combined with a greatly reduced physical activity life style post retirement contribute to my daily lack of exercises.





As a result, I started gaining weight and experiencing pain in my body.











When I was at the 105 Gibson Centre Opening Ceremony last Saturday, I had the opportunity to see what kinds of programs they would offer, one of which called Community Classroom.


 Along with many others, I attended a workshop on Preventing Falls at Home and later took part in a Wellness Class that taught people how to do stretching exercises while sitting on a chair.

 That is my kind of exercises!!!

Don't forget to stretch your neck

With our North American sedentary life style, this office chair exercises requiring no special equipment  will come in handy.

Hopefully these pictures will help to remind me and others to know what to do when they need a few minutes of stretching while working hard at the office or at home.  Enjoy!

R.T.
Opening day
105 Gibson Centre, Markham
Ontario