Sending a Birthday Parcel Via Canada Post to South Korea

Our son has been teaching in South Korea since last year. He loves it there!  Though the foreign teachers program has been cut back in that country, we are very happy for J. as his contract has been renewed already long before it is expired.

I sent a birthday gift to our son via Canada Post

J. will be teaching in South Korea for at least another year. His birthday was coming up and this would be the first time he would spend his birthday away from us. As a tradition, we have always had a birthday dinner together with him on his birthday but this year we would not be able to do so.

We decided to surprise him by sending him a parcel via Canada Post!

Some of the treats included in the birthday parcel

I remember his favourite food;  J. loves sour gummy bears and dried fruits.  His favourite  is dried mangoes.

We thought sending him something Canadian would give him a feeling of home. Besides including a Canadian published magazine, a special card I bought from Angkor Wat, some chocolates, we also put in his favourite treats -  President's Choice candies, a famous Canadian  brand treats bought from Loblaws, our Canadian biggest grocery store!

However, sending a parcel via air mail was not cheap. For under 3 kg, it cost Can. $109.00 to send this package! The postage cost much more than the gift itself!  I was informed that even with the Express Mail, it would take at least seven to eight business days to reach our son in South Korea.

We just hope that J.'s birthday parcel would be delivered to him in time for his birthday!

R.T.
Toronto

IKEA Furniture - Not as Cheap and Easy to Assemble as You Think

I got really excited when I visited the IKEA store near  our house a few weeks ago! The annual bathroom sale event was on and we loved the new cabinets for our bathrooms.

We renovated our en suite and main bathroom a few years ago but both lacked storage space.  We decided on the IKEA bathroom cabinet design and bought them from the store nearest to us.  There was a delivery charge of $79.00, and when I asked for the assembly charge, it was a little less than $300.00 Can. taxes included, since our purchase exceeded $1000.00. So we decided to try the assembling ourselves.

The pictorial only IKEA manual is not always easy to understand

Since my husband just recovered from a serious illness, I asked another young man to come and help out in the assembly process.  We lay out all the hardware pieces  neatly on a table and labeled them according to the part numbers given.

We followed each step religiously in the IKEA manual, using the correct parts as required and looking at the pictures each step of the way.

 After struggling for a few hours, we were able to put some parts together, but we had a hard time finishing all the cabinets  as the instructions were done in pictorial form without any detail explanations at all. We were so dejected as the three of us failed in our attempt to assemble the bathroom vanity cabinets!

Assembling the IKEA bathroom cabinets

A few days later, my friend, a retired technical subject teacher and his brother who used to work at a Chrysler shop came to visit us. We told them about our failed attempts and both of them offered to assemble the cabinets for us. After working together for four hours, they succeeded in putting the three cabinets together!!!
( That was eight man hours from two very experienced handy guys!)

We understand the problem of having moisture in our home. Therefore, anything to do with plumbing, we prefer to ask the professional to come in and get the job done right.

We asked Gordon, a contractor who we know well to come, remove and take away the old vanity and cabinets and replace them with the new ones. He was in our washroom from 10a.m. in the morning until around 5:00p.m with an hour of lunch break.

Due to the design of the cabinet, he had to do some cutting and reconnecting of pipes before he could install the new bathroom fixtures.  He charged us $500.00 for the job which we considered reasonable as we know that if there is any problem in the future, we could count on him to come back and fix it for us.

 Our new ensuite bathroom cabinet provides a lot of storage space

The new bathroom sink and cabinet in the master bedroom was installed. It looks nice and modern. The best part about the new cabinet is the ample storage space it provides.

There is room for all my makeup bottles, skin care and hair care products which could be neatly tucked away leaving our sink counter free of any clutter!

We love our new wall mounted IKEA bathroom vanity and cabinet in our en suite bathroom! However,  it was definitely not an easy item to put together by yourself.

The vanity cost us $449.00, faucet( $89), delivery ($79), plus installation ($500), assembling could have cost about $200.00 if done by IKEA people.

So before you buy any IKEA cabinets, take into the consideration of  the material cost, the assembling and frustration that actually cost you for the DO IT YOURSELF project. 




I honestly think that an old clumsy lady like me would never be able to put together the bathroom cabinets from IKEA. I was glad that we had some good help from our friends and contractor!

R.T.
Toronto

How to Fix a Missing Front Tooth in An Emergency Situation?

I have been blessed with some good genes from my parents as I seldom have problems with my teeth or cavities.

However, when I went out for dinner last week, I bit on some hard food and it felt a little strange in my mouth. Before I realized it, my front tooth was broken and I caught the piece in my hand. There was a big gap in my front teeth!

I called my dentist right away. He was really nice, squeezed me in for an appointment the next day at 5:30pm and fixed it for me. Dr. Karim told me that to fix my tooth permanently, I would need dental surgery which would take a much longer appointment. Since he was going away the next day for the March Break, he fixed it temporarily, cementing my broken tooth back so that I would not have to face the world without my front tooth on the weekend.

I was happy for the temporary solution and fulfilled my speaking engagement out of town on the weekend.

However, after a few days, my temporary front tooth fell out! Since Dr. Karim was out of town for the March Break holiday for the whole week, I had to call the emergency dentist downtown. I made the trip and my broken tooth was cemented back by another dentist for Can.$ 45.00.  Same as Dr. Karim, he did warn me that this temporary fix was for look only, and that I could not eat with my front teeth at all.

My front tooth broke after I bit on something hard during eating

I followed all the instructions and was very careful. The following week, I went to my part time work as usual. Just before I got out of the house, my front tooth fell out for the third time!

 I was on my way out for an important meeting and I had no time to get my tooth cemented back. I hated the thought of facing my staff and meeting other people with a big hole in my front teeth.

Chewing gum filled the hole in my missing front tooth!

What should I do without my front tooth when I had to go to work?  A light bulb went on in my head and I had an idea for my problem!

Chewing gum!  I have seen people using chewing gums to stick something together in movies. I could fill the hole with chewing gum!  After unwrapping a couple pieces of white coloured chewing gum, I chewed them in my mouth over and over again.

Slowly and carefully, I let the chewing gum fill the hole between my teeth. After a little while, the pieces of gum took shape and they stuck between my teeth.

The chewing gum filled the big gap in my front teeth!

I looked into the mirror and smiled! There, the big black hole in my front teeth disappeared! It worked!

Now, I could smile! Feeling less self conscious, I could face the world again! That pieces of gum stuck between my teeth and lasted me for the whole day while I was in the office. I was able to meet with staff and conduct my professional meetings with important clients without a big hole in my front teeth!

 Although, I did have to go to the washroom to fix the pieces of gum a few times during the day to make sure that they stayed on properly. The chewing gum helped me out in an emergency situation when I had to face the public before I could get to a dentist.

Now, I know, when I travel, I would not leave home without my white chewing gum!

R.T.
Toronto
p.s. I do look forward to to my dental surgery at the end of March so that my front missing tooth can be fixed permanently!

Taking Time Off for a Highschool Reunion Party!

Once a  year, E. comes home in the middle of winter, usually during the superbowl weekend for his high school reunion party in the Simcoe cottage country area.


This year, there was no exception!  ( Tough it was not during the superbowl weekend but it did happen!) Due to the heavy snow and extreme cold temperature, I thought this annual reunion might not happen. But to my great surprise, when I called E. a few weeks ago, he said that he was coming home on Thursday in order to attend this weekend party.

E. graduated from high school more than a decade ago. But the guys with whom he went to school still find time and get together to do the guys things every year. They come not merely within the Toronto vicinity, but from all over; some even flew back from England to attend this guys' annual event! 

However, this was the first time, E. was able to make it for the entire weekend by coming back to Toronto before the weekend. When he was working in New York, his work schedule was so hectic that he could hardly take any time off from work, always leaving just at the very last minute for any event.

I could see the difference between the pace of work between the east and the west coast.
When I visited San Francisco a few years ago, I ran into a lawyer at a cafe and we were talking about the different work atmosphere between the two coasts in the U.S.   When I told her that my son was working seven days a week and for 14 hours a day at a big NY law firm, she shook her head and told me about the more relaxing attitude west coast people had towards work. I could not believe it when she told me that she left work at the office on Fridays; she had the weekend to herself and many other professional people do the same thing on the west coast.

Now that E. is working in San Fransisco; he seems to have a bit more time off, travels more and have more fun.

Not only was he able to take the entire weekend off from work, he was able to leave work on Thursday and made a long weekend out of it! That was unheard of when he was working in New York!

I am delight that his work schedule is less hectic now and thank God for answering my prayers!

R.T.
Grateful in  Toronto 

 

How to Prepare for a Colonoscopy at the Hospital

Colon cancer is one of the most treatable cancers when diagnosed early enough.
Canadians are lucky as we have universal health coverage and we can have our annual health check up at our family doctors just by making an appointment at the clinic.

My doctor made an appointment for me a few months ago and I had an appointment at the East Toronto General Hospital near the Coxwell Ave subway station for this medical procedure recently.

However, one cannot go for a Colonoscopy procedure without preparation. I was glad that I read the instructions my doctor gave me as I had to start the preparation for it two days beforehand.
 
The following were the preparations I needed to do for a Colonoscopy:

1. Two days before the Colonoscopy - I was not to eat any foods that were high in fibre, seeds, nuts or skins.

2. I need to purchase Dulcolax and Pico Salax from a pharmacy - no prescription needed.

Only clear liquids were allowed on the day and day before the Colonoscopy

When I went to our neighbourhood pharmacy, I was able to find Dulcolax easily on the shelf. However, I could not find Pico Salax anywhere. Later, I found out that Pico Salax was kept with the pharmacist and you had to ask for it.

3. On the day before the Colonoscopy - I could not have any solid food the whole day, but clear liquids only which included consomme/ broth, yellow or green jello, water, apple juice, white grape juice, black tea/ coffee, ginger ale, soda water, sports drinks such as Gatorade ( not read or purple). Sports drinks were strongly recommended.

4. Following the instructions, I took  Dulclax and Pico Salax the day before the procedure, and again on the morning taking Pico Salax early. I needed to drink about 2-3 litres of clear liquid after taking the medications which cleared the bowel. Preparing for the many impending trips to the washroom I did not go to work.

There was no drinking allowed three hours before arriving at the hospital for the procedure.

5. The nursing team was very gentle and kind. After I registered at the front desk, I went up to the proper floor, and I changed into a hospital gown. After waiting for a few minutes in the waiting room, I was put on a bed, and sedated during the examination. Half an hour later, I woke up in the recovery room. It was that easy!  No pain and nothing!

Prior to the procedure, I was advised that one should not operate any machinery or dive right after a Colonoscopy due to the effects of the sedation. I must have someone to pick me up from the hospital after the procedure. Therefore, my dear husband was there waiting for me.

It will be another five years before I would have another Colonoscopy again!

R.T.
ETGH
Toronto

Learning about the Unpredictable Behaviour of Children with Autism

We have been going to visit a family with a child born with autism for the past little while.
The more I get to know the family, the more admiration I have for the family, especially for the mother who seems to be working non stop for the child.

 People with autism have problems communicating with others. Some are much more severe than the other. The difficulty for autistic children is their inability to express themselves. They can be uncomfortable, or in pain, but they lack the ability to let their caregivers or others know how they are feeling resulting in a great deal of frustration for them.  That feeling of frustration may lead to some unpredictable violent behaviour such as screaming, hitting, or even biting.

We went to visit our friend this afternoon. The mother informed me that E. was in school today and there was a new teacher who didn't know E. well enough and kept her doing some work that was a little too difficult without giving her a break. E. then bit a child sitting beside her.

Lucy, E.' s mother, warned me that I should not be reading with her for too long since she was not in a good mood. I went to say hi to E. and gave her a big hug. But as soon as our hug was over, E. said to me," Good Bye!"

Lucy beckoned me from the kitchen to leave E. alone. I did.  Lucy and I had some tea in the sitting room and she explained to me that the Good Bye from Erin was the signal that she wanted a break from people and wished to be left alone.  If I had persisted in staying, she might break out in some aggressive behaviour such as a temper tantrum or biting other people.

I have so much to learn about autistic children! I am also developing more appreciation and respect for the parents each time I visit the family. How much the parents have to go through and the huge challenges they face looking after their children with special needs 24/7!

I wish there was something or some way my husband and I can do to help these parents!

R.T.
Thornhill, Ontario

LaFontaine - A French Speaking LittleTown in English Ontario

Downtown Elmvale, Ontario

Canada has around thirty three million people.
A third of the population of Canada call Ontario home.

While Toronto has around 2.7 million residents, the rest of Ontarians scatter through many different smaller cities and towns.

It is a pleasure to explore these little towns.
A few weekends ago, after having lunch with our friends in Elmvale, we drove around in this part of southern Ontario rural  area.

We came upon LaFontaine, a small town located in the Municipality of Tiny, a French speaking town right smack in the middle of English speaking Ontario less than two hours away from Toronto!

Eglise Saint Patrice, LaFontaine, Ontario

We walked around and saw a few of the houses and buildings in the town.


This small town has some beautiful churches with bilingual sings. These churches reminded us of the church buildings we saw in Quebec.

Eglise Sainte -Croix, LaFontaine, Ontario

Though it is a small town with a few thousand people, we were surprised to see two beautiful big churches dominating the town's landscape.

Canada is a bilingual country
with English and French as the two official languages.

However, Francophone congregate and live in Quebec, one of the largest provinces, while English speaking Canadians live in the rest of Canada.

Big houses have replaced many of the modest cottages along the waterfront

LaFontaine is a small town famous for its clear water beach. During the summer the cottagers and tourists can swell and easily double the town's population.

In fact, many of the small modest cottages have been bought. torn town and replaced with fancy big houses such as these ones.

The Supermarket in the town provides many services such as fax a community bulletin board where residents can post and advertise their information.

 It was a cold and heavily snow covered town on the day we visited LaFontaine. We look forward to visiting the town again in the summer when it is nice and warm so that we can stroll around and enjoy the beach as well!


R.T.
LaFontaine, Ontario

Cultural Cafe - A special Cafe Run by Viusally Impaired People

Customers waiting for their orders

We have been to the Cultural Cafe a few times, and each time I go, I like this place better.
The staff is really friendly.

I love to eat and try different places. But when I go for tea or desserts, I always feel guilty as I don't think I should be eating and putting on the extra pounds.

Great desserts served at the Cultural Cafe

However, I don't feel bad when I stop at the Cultural Cafe to enjoy a coffee and have something to eat as I know that my patronage at this establishment is for a good cause.

VIP - Visually Impaired People serving customers - Cultural Cafe

Cultural Cafe is not your regular cafe restaurant.

Located within the 105 Gibson Centre, ( 105 Gibson Drive, Markham), it was opened about a year ago,  run by VIPs - Visually Impaired People.

Menu of the Cultural Cafe

When it was first opened, the service at the cafe was a little slow at times.  ( understandably so as most of the staff is visually impaired)  and the menu selection was very limited.

 A year later, things have improved.

The Cultural Cafe at 105 Gibson Centre, Markham

This afternoon, my friends and I had a lunch meeting and we decided to have it at the Cultural Cafe. We were not disappointed!

V.I.P. - visually impaired people at work at Cultural Cafe

I got there at around 11:15a.m. and there were a few  people working at the Cafe, some of whom were  V.I.P. - Visually Impaired People.

I placed my order with M. who greeted me cheerfully by my name.

The Lunch Combo I ordered

 The Cafe has become one of my favorite places to have a bite and M. recognized my voice right away.
While I was waiting, I accessed the wi fi in the building and checked my emails.

I was given a mug and helped myself to a flavorful tea. Then my beef sandwich served with cheese, fresh lettuce and sliced tomatoes was ready.

Since I ordered a lunch combo, it also came with a bowl of freshly homemade split pea soup. 

A personal pizza - my favourite

The delicious home made style soup and sandwich lunch was $6.00! It was yuummy good!


My friends arrived.  They  too ordered a lunch combo like mine and a personal pizza which was burning hot as each pizza was baked fresh when ordered and it just came out of the oven!

Cultural Cafe - A great place for lunch and a meeting too!

 Enjoying our delicious lunch in a relaxing and unhurried environment, we were able to have our lunch meeting, retrieve information using  the internet and got our work done at the Cultural Cafe!

Rev. Danny works hard to promote Cultural Cafe

Cultural Cafe is a social enterprise, started by Rev. Danny who lost his sight not long after he immigrated to Canada.


Rather than allowing himself to become bitter and depressed by his physical disability, Rev. Danny initiated a great ministry helping other visually impaired people to find meaningful employment in the community.

Sweetie - Pastor Danny's faithful guide dog at the Cultural Cafe

Cultural Cafe is a blessing to many people and I would encourage you to go, visit and have a bite there too!

R.T.
Cultural Cafe
105 Gibson Centre
Markham, Ontario

Winter Activities in High Park, Toronto

Getting to High Park is very easy; just hop on the subway!

High Park is a lovely residential area in Toronto. It is a popular place for Torontonians to visit in all seasons.

The High Park Subway Station is at the door of this beautiful park!

Though it is not that close to our home, we visit High Park at least once at each season.

Lots of snow on the ground

The snow was pretty deep, up to knee height of
the park benches.

Beautiful and tranquil scenery awaited us in the park

It was a sunny Saturday and a little warmer; we just left our car at home, took the subway and headed  outdoors.


High Park is very accessible by subway and the main entrance is right at the High Park Station.

People jogging in the park

 Though it was still hovering around -15C, people were outside doing all kinds pf activities. There were people crossing country skiing while some were jogging on the side of the road.

















 Some were doing their daily activities such as walking their dogs.

Having fun around the frozen pond

There is a beautiful pond that brings a lot of pleasure to visitors of High Park during the summer months.

Though the pond was completely frozen this winter in High Park, it didn't stop kids from having fun on the frozen water.

Finding a perfect spot to toboggan

The day we were there, we saw people enjoying themselves gliding over the solidly frozen slippery surface.

Deciding the place to start tobogganing

Dressed for the cold weather and covered themselves up with snow pants, snow suits, mittens neck warmers and hats, parents brought their children out bringing with them their snow tubes and tobogganing sliders, ready for some fun in the snow!

Getting ready and go!

The fun seekers then picked a spot to place their equipment - not too steep, but high enough for them to slide them on their sliding mat, tube, dish,,whatever that would propel them down the slope.

Down they went to the hill!

Then they got ready, let go and let gravity take hold of them.

Down they went!

Down, down, down to the bottom of the hill!

The tobogganers zoomed by us and down they went to the bottom of the hill!

What a thrilling experience!

At the bottom of the hill, people picked up their equipment and walked up to the top of the hill and did the same thing again!

Going back to the top of the hill and doing that again!

I remember doing that when our kids were young.
It was a lot of fun!

Warming up and relaxing in the restaurant

After walking in the snow covered park, we took a break and relaxed in the restaurant with hot chocolate and spinach pies.

The restaurant was busy packed with people out for a walk or for other activities in the park.

What a glorious day to be outside in the middle of winter!

It was just lovely to be out for an afternoon breathing some fresh air
in the middle of winter.

We had one of the longest and coldest winter in Canada this year!

Even the little creature came out for the sunshine!

Even the little squirrels were out for a break from their hibernation!




R.T.
Enjoying the Winter activities
High Park, Toronto