tree damage

Boxing Day

Boxing Day, December 26, is the day after Christmas.

It is a statutory holiday in Canada. It is a holiday in the U.S., but not a statutory holiday.

In both countries, it is when most stores have big "Boxing Day" sales.

No one know why it's called "Boxing Day". It might be because everyone has a lot of empty boxes from Christmas presents.

Ice storm

When it rains and then the temperature drops to below zero, and the rain freezes, you have an ice storm.
Pretty to look at, but bad to drive in.
Also, the ice on the trees causes branches to fall and pull down electrical wires.

caroling

to carol - is a verb meaning: to sing Christmas carols (songs)

This was a common custom a long time ago, but it is very rare today

get all your ducks in a row ...

... is an expression which means: get organized

or: be prepared

baklava

Baklava is a dessert from the Mediteranean countries, for example, Lebanon.
It has a lot of syrupy sugar on it.

garbage truck

"No two snowflakes are alike."

"Let sleeping dogs lie."

... is an expression that means:

Don't complain or try to change things, because the result might be bad.

This is a cat, not a dog, but you get the idea :)

3 views of cat

bilingual gas pump

'bilingual' means: speaking 2 languages

but

in Canada, 'bilingual' means: speaking English and French

Most signs in Canada are bilingual, by law.

Shingu 2005

freeze

'freeze' - slang for when your computer stops working ...

more slang words for that: crash, bomb

chill

chill - slang - verb - means:

to relax and do nothing

'chill' as an imperative means: calm down

Orange Cones ...

... is the expression for these plastic/rubber things that they put up at construction sites.

sewer

A sewer is a hole at the side of the road where the rain water runs away.
If the sewer is too small, the road will be flooded.
This happened in July here.

'sewer mouth' is an expression for someone who swears a lot.
This is because sewers take away the water from toilets.

"Curiosity killed the cat."

... is an expression that means: you should not be nosey and pry into other people's business.

This expression comes from the way cats are curious about anything new, and sometimes get into dangerous situations.

KPI

"KPI" is an expression in business, meaning "Key Performance Indicator".
KPI's are ways of measuring an employee's performance.
For example, if you are a salesman, the amount of your sales is the most important KPI.

green screen

'green screen' is computer slang for the old type of computer that we used before Windows PCs.

'green screen' computers did not have pictures, only letters, and usually only one colour.

flood

...

We had the biggest storm since Hurricane Hazel (1954) last month. It ripped the concrete blocks out when the creek became a torrent.

rain

Yesterday was the heaviest rain in the history of the city.
There was a foot of water on the road.
The power went out and all the traffic lights were dark.
It took me 2.5 hours to get home.
The power is still out in some areas.

Saskatoon berries

... sorry, I've been away for a while.

These are called Saskatoon berries, after a city in Western Canada.
They are edible.

It's very humid lately. The forecast is rain for the next 5 days.

STAINED GLASS ...

... is a piece of art made by fitting together pieces of coloured glass.
It is often used in church windows.
A hundred years ago, it was often used to decorate houses.
You can still see stained glass in old houses in Toronto.

BBQ

"BBQ" is an abbreviation for 'barbecue', which is a foreign word borrowed in English, meaning: cooking outdoors over a fire:

streetcar (or) street-car

... is like a bus, but it runs on rails and is powered by electricity (usually from overhead wires)

I believe that Toronto and San Francisco are the only two cities in North America who have street-cars.

a walk in the park

... is an expression meaning: an easy task.

For example:
    Life is not a walk in the park.
    The test was not a walk in the park.

out of the frying pan and into the fire

... is an expression that means: you solve one problem, but you get a new (bigger) problem.

icicles

icicles - are long pieces of ice that form when water drips from a roof or other object and then freezes
pronounced: eye - si - kulz

Easter Monday

Easter Monday is not a statutory holiday, but government workers in Canada get the day off.

Happy Easter :)

Good Friday

... It's Good Friday today. Good Friday is the Friday before Easter and it is a statutory holiday in North America. The Monday after Easter is called Easter Monday, and it is not a statutory holiday, but government workers get the day off.

 Black cats are considered bad luck according to superstition. At Halloween there are often pictures of black cats.

fawn

... 'fawn' (noun) means a baby deer.

 

'to fawn' (verb) means: to be insincerely friendly, for example, a fawning speech means that someone is praising someone, but they really don't like the person.

snow drifts

'snow drifts' are when the winds blows snow into piles, which can be bigger than they look.

'drifting snow' is when the wind blows snow around; this can make it hard to drive.

touch base

'touch base' is a slang expression often used in business.
It means to talk to someone for a short period of time, usually to find out what they're feeling.
for example: "Touch base with Sandy, she has a problem with her computer."
This expression comes from baseball, when a batter runs to first base, and then stands there for a short time talking to the first baseman, before running to second base.
I lost my camera somewhere, so here's some old photos from a year ago.