Cheers!

"With glowing hearts we see thee rise,
The True North strong and free!"

Have a lovely holiday. Even if it is spent on a plane!

I always enjoy your Canada Day posts.
Thanks again and have a great trip.

Deb

thanks for the quotes! have a *great* canada day! what did you decide to bring with you?

Happy Canada Day from a Canadian Wanna-Be.

Happy Birthday, Canada. We're proud to share your border here in Minn!

Happy Canada Day! Bill Clinton knows his stuff...

And my Mum can't figure out why I keep talking about figuring out how to live in Vancouver, BC when I talk about moving back to North America instead of Seattle. ^_^

Happy Canada Day!

Happy Canada Day!

Have fun in Vancouver. My mister and I spent our honeymoon there. And loved it. I really, really want to get back there someday.

And I have many fond memories of camping in Ontario as a kid. We lived in Michigan and with the exchange rates, it was a great way to stretch those vacation dollars. (although in the interest of full disclosure, at the time, I was a bit envious of the kids who spent their vacations at Disney.)

Happy Canada Day!! from a very close neighbor who looks longingly across the border very often

I want to live there, too! You have painted such a lovely picture of daily life.

Happy Canada Day to you and yours!

Happy Canada Day!
(thank you, my husband forgot to wish it to me, an ex-pat in the US)

I hope your day is filled with easy flights and quick transport!

Happy Canada Day! I'll be living there in a month!

Happy Canada Day! Happy wedding! Happy second honeymoon! Happy knitting-whatever that might entail! Cheers!

Thanks again for giving us a little bit of insight into Canada. I've been meaning to take another vacation there!

Enjoy!

Living here in Caribou, ME, only about 15 miles from New Brunswick, we are often tempted to move to your amazing country. Of course now we have to have a passport to even visit. United States: "Land of the free..."

Bonne Fete du Canada! And Bon Voyage, too!

For Canada Day, your government should send out a whole lot of airline tickets to people all around the world... you know, people who are likely to spend lots of tourist dollars in your yarn stores and such Ü

Happy Canada Day!

Happy Canada Day! I have fond memories of Canada Day these days -- it was on Canada Day 1995 that my now-husband and I first spent time together, at a Canada Day party thrown by some mutual friends in San Diego. So in addition to all its other achievements, your great country is the cause of at least one happy marriage of US citizens!

Happy Canada Day Steph!

Check out the Oxford English Dictionary word of the day - I chose it for you guys!

We're so close to Canada, here in Michigan's upper peninsula, that we're often mistaken for Canadians. A fact which has never really bothered us, as you folks are such good neighbors and do so many things admirably.

Happy Birthday, neighbor, many more.

Happy Canada Day! Have a great and safe trip, and enjoy the non-blanket knitting!

I loved the quotes esp. Trudeau's and the one about making love in a canoe. Cheers to Meg and Pato and I'm glad her hand is better. As for the blanket dilemma, you're the Harlot - -knitting fidelity is for the bourgeosie.

Die besten Wünsche zum Kanada-Tag! I love this post and your previous Canada Day posts--thank you!

Happy Canada Day. I guess I'll have to Google the significance of July 1 to find out why this day is special to our northerly neighbors eh? Hey, I just spoke Canadian! Have a great celebration.

Sigh... It's probably a good thing Canada has such strict immigration policies, or I'd have to imagine there would be an enormous influx of American knitters. Wait, how would that be a bad thing?

Some of us down here need someone to explain the NRA to us as well.

One of my favorite memories is of two of my girlfriends and I (before marriages, children, mortgages, divorces, etc.) taking the train to Toronto for a week of exploring the city and being in a different country. The people were incredibly friendly, the city was clean and felt safe, and we had a wonderful time. I would love to go back with my husband and son some day and do a yarn crawl - while they do something else. I love them bunches, but you know...... We still laugh like crazy about how we got lost for over an hour in one of the shopping areas underground at a subway stop. We didn't know if we would ever find the light of day again. Carefree fun.

Happy Canada Day! And no, I don't understand the NRA either.

Happy Canada Day!!!! Last year, I actually got to celebrate the holiday in Canada. Wish I was as lucky this year! Enjoy your trip! :)

You quoted Emily Carr! Ahh! I just finished reading Susan Vreeland's novel about her. I spent two glorious weeks in the Maritimes about 15 years ago, and it is the dream of my life to get back to where the people are kind, the weather is intense, and the health care system makes sense. Happy Canada Day from southeastern Michigan (from where we take a bridge south to reach your fair nation).

Happy Canada Day! Some days I miss it more than others and today is one of those days. Hope you're celebrating in style... BC sounds like a wonderful place to do it.

Happy Canada Day! Your Canada Day posts always make me homesick. This year more than ever now that I know you're traveling to my Canadian stomping grounds. Enjoy the West Kootenays!

YEAH for Canada..having grown up across the Windsor border, and spending a goodly amount of time in Canada for that reason (since passing across the borders was like visiting your Aunt across the street), I LOVE Canada!!!

And my son just announced to me that he wants to change his citizenship to Canadian. I told him he might want to think about it when he said he wanted to live in Montreal. He doesn't speak French.

Happy Canada Day and love to all of you...can we have some of that here?

I think Canada could teach us Americans something. I love your Canada Day posts. But it's still 'zee'.

Right there with ya! My citizenship in this great country is something I treasure, and feel lucky to have.

Great. Now I want to be Canadian EVEN MORE than I did before.

Thanks for carrying on your annual tradition :-)

Happy Canada Day! We just got back from our second visit to beautiful Toronto. We visited the McMichael Museum; as an art history major (undergrad) and having recently completed a master's degree, during which I TA'd for an art history teacher, I can not believe what we are missing by not studying these wonderful artists - the Group of Seven. I am so impressed with their work and can't understand how I have never heard of them before (learned about them on our first trip to Toronto at New Years) How can we learn about the 'art of the world' but Canadian artists, who developed a unique style to express their feelings about their unique homeland, are left out??? What a gap in our education! I have lived in central NY all of my life....visited museums all over the world......now I will have my eyes open for these artists. We also love butter tarts. Have a safe trip and a wonderful holiday!

The mighty voice of Canada will ever call to me.
- Arthur Conan Doyle

Happy Canada Day. By the way even though I live in Texas I love curling.

Go Canada!
From a Brazilian Canadian-wanna be, if that makes any sense.

The Emily Carr quote brought tears to this proud Canadian's eyes. Happy Canada Day!!!

US born and bred here, but proud to say I celebrated Canada Day in Montreal with a good friend back in 1999. Tres bien!

I must thank you, Yarn Harlot, for finally and truly expanding my narrow North American mind to realize and embrace that Canada is a whole other country RIGHT UP over our heads!!

I love Canada more and more each time I read your blog or calendar!
Have a great day!

Heck. I live in the US and I can't explain the appeal of the National Rifle Association. I understand keeping our liberties, but I think it can be done without the NRA.

I like curling, though admittedly not as much as hockey!

Happy Canada Day, O'Best of Canucks!

I've been to Canada; I stepped foot in five eastern provinces during a trip several years ago. We ended our trip in Toronto. I love the city, and I fell in love with the country and it's people most especially. Canada touched my heart, and I miss it.

Ooh, I love it. I've never been to Canada, but I plan to visit an awful lot when we move up to the Pacific Northwest.

I figure you already know this, but I just have to say that a great many of us here find no appeal in the NRA. Go Curling!! ;) Sorry about the acid rain. I'm trying not to contribute to it too much.

Happy Canada Day!!!!

Happy Canada Day to all your family -- and everyone here who's Canadian or wishes they were!

And I should never ever have gone and read the past columns. 'Cause I clicked on Philosopher's link and now I have to go buy three kits and a bunch of yarn. They have kilim patterns!

Recently uncovered in the course of reading a Canadian literary theorist regarding why she was investigating the topic of irony:

"There is a long history of argument that the key to the Canadian identity is irony, that a people used to dealing with national, regional, ethnic and linguistic multiplicities, tensions and divisions have no alternative."

--Linda Hutcheon in "Irony's Edge: The Theory and Politics of Irony"

As a Faux-nadian, I think this might be true.

Have a very happy Canada Day. I love the idea of you covering the whole country via air on such a good day.

I'll be in Halifax on Friday so will have a "better late than never" Canada Day celebration.

Happy Cananda Day! If it weren't so cold....well, with global warming that may be changing!

Happy Canada Day.

I love the way our cultural diversity is always so visible in Canada celebrations. I know the most colour float in our parade today will be the Philippinos (it always is) and I know that after my bellydance troupe dances will be the Scottish dancers, the Ukrainian dancers and probably at least two kind of drum dancing. I intend to watch as much as I can :)

thanks for the annual reminder of what we have to cherish. "terre de nos aiëux!"

Someone here at work (for the US fed gov't) asked me if Canada "counts" as foreign travel. I had to point out that y'all don't have representation in the US gov't, so even if the plane flight is cheap and the predominant language is easy (for us) to learn, it's still another country.
Happy Canada day!

your entry got me searching the net for more. here are a few good ones:

Canadians have been so busy explaining to the Americans that we aren't British, and to the British that we aren't Americans that we haven't had time to become Canadians.
Helen Gordon McPherson

In any world menu, Canada must be considered the vichyssoise of nations, it's cold, half-French, and difficult to stir.
Stuart Keate

Our hopes are high. Our faith in the people is great. Our courage is strong. And our dreams for this beautiful country will never die.
Pierre Elliott Trudeau

As an expat living in London I have to confess I'd forgotten it was Canada Day.

Thanks for the great reminders the reasons I love the country I grew up in so much!! I'm off to find something Canadian to make for dinner.

Cheers eh.
Soo.

Happy Canada Day! Bonne fete, Canada! Happy travelling out here to the Rockies! Hope you not only enjoyed Non-blanket Knitting for the entire flight, and get to sleep in a tad tomorrow...it's a 2nd honeymoon, after all. :-)

Happy Canada Day! :-) I am burning up with curiousity about what knitting made the travel cut. Have a lovely weekend!

Happy birthday Canada, and darn you all who get to live there and I don't!!

In honor of Canada Day, I just found out I'm a Canadian citizen! (Hooray, Canadian-born mum!) Off to do the paperwork.

And as a fellow artist, Emily Carr is one of my favorites. So glad you quoted her!

Did you know that Slocan, B.C. is the smallest city in the British Commonwealth? It is located at the end of the Slocan valley, in the beautiful Kootenays. Bra-wearing is banned by law there, so you will be just fine without one. Okay, I just made up that part, but the rest is true. Enjoy the wedding and have a great vacation. And maybe leave the blanket in the suitcase. Let it rest until you get home. Knit something colourful and lacy, as recommended by other posters.

Happy Canada Day! Canada is my chosen country, but Emily Carr's words stir me as though I had been born here.

To Jess at 10:43am: I think Linda Hutcheon is absolutely right--and Steph's writing is a delightful introduction to Canada's signature gentle irony.

Step--have a wonderful trip. I'm sure travelling with Joe will be wondrously different from the airport marathons you've been struggling through.

As a Canadian, I am always surprised at how incredibly un-patriotic (is that even a word?) we are as a nation. So nice to see someone display their pride so publicly. Thanks.

I'm a teacher who is studying to get a Master's degree in ESL (English as a second language). We spend a lot (a lot) of time examining examples of societies with successful bilingual/multilingual education. Canada always comes up as one the best examples of successful bilingual education in the world. :-D Besides, everyone, without exception, I've had the pleasure to interact with from Canada has been easy going, smart, accepting and has added to my life. Thanks, Canadians! Happy Canada Day!

I was so excited to hear that you were flying through Kelowna International today. I wish I could have been there to Kinnear you. If I had this day off I would have been, but I'm taking Friday off instead. :(
Hope your trip is fantastic!!!

Happy Canada Day! I've been to Canada several times now, but not enough -- I realize -- to get a sense of it as a nation. Your Canada Day posts really help.

I can't explain the NRA. Not sorry that I can't.

I'm going to Canada again in a few weeks. I *had* hoped to get a list of wonderful yarn-oriented places to visit in Toronto (the "Yarn Harlot" tour, if you will) but clearly the Sock Summit knocked my tiny request to the very bottom of the queue. I'll just have to visit every yarn store and figure I got most of the fun.

Happy Canada Day! Hope you have a wonderful time in B.C. I'll wave (I'm in Bellingham WA, just a bit south of Vancouver, and we love our Canadian neighbors!)

Nothing against Canada, but to all you people who are swearing you'd like to "be Canadians" or are "Canadian wannabes", and that you "don't understand" the NRA....well, those of us who value our American citizenship wish you would be our guests---and LEAVE already!!! Simply turn in your NRA weapons at the border and don't let the door hit you on the way out! We've had enough of people criticizing America and we wish you'd shut up and just GO. Go live somewhere else for a year or so---and you'll be certain to come crawling back on your hands and knees, begging to be allowed back in after having come to your senses. But I hope you won't be allowed back in.

I always knew ol' Slick Willy was a smart one...

Happy Canada Day! From all that I've seen of it, it is a wonderful place (just a little too cold for my tropical blood).

Happy Canada Day!

"I believe the world needs more Canada." ~ Bono

Happy Canada Day!

As an American with at least 8 ancestors who fought in the American Revolution, I feel an almost proprietary interest in the USA. Consequently, I have the "joy" of feeling sick, betrayed, abused, etc., by the previous administration and others of its ilk. D**n their eyes! I look north and see Canada, and I frequently daydream about moving north and living there, even becoming a citizen. Then all those ancestors start nagging me, and I have to stop the daydreams. I'm nailed to the ground in this country, for better or worse. Alas, that it has often been "worse" in my lifetime.

But I do love the story of one of those Revolutionary War ancestors. One was a privateer (I think that's almost a glorified pirate.) and fought in both the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. During the Revolution, his father, at 50 an old man, stayed on the family farm. Until, that is, the British stole his last horse. He was so ... umm, hmmm ... irritated (they were all Puritans and I don't know how he would have expressed it) that he went, joined up, and fought. Gotta love a tough, stubborn, old cuss of an ancestor like that, eh?

"The true North, strong and free"

Happy Birthday, Canada! Party on!!

Well, there. Here I thought another Canada-Day-post tradition might have died out, the jingoistic, chauvanistic Americans who believe patriotism and criticism are incompatible, that praise of your country detracts from ours, and that not country possesses any virtue we lack. (Universal health care, anyone?)

Oh well.

But hey! So far it's restricted to criticizing Comments, not the post itself -- that's progress! Happy Canada Day, lamb. Longest undefended border in the world, last time I looked. Go you.

Hey, rams! It's an honor to have my post followed by yours. Yahoo!!

Travel safely and have a lovely weekend and, of course, Canada Day. I will celebrate by texting family and friends in Canada and drinking beer. And I have a sudden urge to make buttertart squares this weekend...

Thank gods (see: BSG) for that Bill Clinton quote...it's quite mortifying to read what the rest of our leaders said.

One of my co-workers, Jessica, is Canadian, and all of her children have Canadian citizenship. When they drive north to see family, they often get harassed by the U.S. border guards. Once one of the border guards asked Jessica why she hadn't become a U.S. citizen. She said, "Well, you know how Americans think the U.S. is the best country in the world?" And he said, "Yeah." And she replied, "Well, that's how Canadians feel about Canada."

look, i love Canada so much that i really really really wish Toronto was my home instead of metro Detroit (if only i did major in american social studies as a teacher..) but you and england have got to realize that zed makes no sense! what other constant has another constant in it's sound?! H maybe (etch? atch? hech?) but no one likes H! lolz

you don't catch zeds you catch zees! just kidding btw, long live canada!!

A pleasure to follow you, dee near Berkeley, since you said several of the things I didn't get around to. However appealing Canada may be (and on cold days I remind myself that it's nearly all NORTH of here) somebody's gotta stay home and make life miserable for the foxes in the Constitutional chicken coop. Doesn't mean we can't admire -- and emulate Canadian virtues, like civility. (I once saw the Harlot pitch a fit, Canadian style -- it consisted of saying to the slacker desk-girl "Would you look again, please?")

Happy canada day! The only reason I want a passport is to visit Canada.

Well said, Rams - from the American side of the border...

Happy Canada Day!!

My favorite things about Canada (I'm from Washington State, we reside next to Canada):
-great potato chips in great flavors. You just can't get those crazy flavors here.
-the ferry ride from Annacortas, WA to Victoria, B.C.
-Resource to the delicious Cadburry Drinking Chocolate.
-Over the counter meds that are precription here.

Congratulations! You are as in love with Canada as I am with the US, and it's wonderful to see someone express that without platitudes.

I love this! I hope you're having a lovely time away.

Nice quotes. Man I want to move there. I wonder if there are many UCC churches in Toronto. I really want to move there. Need a housesitter this summer.
It has already been 98F with a Heat Index of 115F in June in St. Louis. I'm gonna fry, literally, since I don't tan very well. Anyone hear the sound of Coppertone stock on the rise.

happy july first from florida usa
nuff said just enough said
try to have a good day

Is there a more beautiful Canadian sight than Nathan Fillion? Captain Tightpants, indeed. Happy Canada Day!!

Happy Canada Day to all! It also happens to be my birthday :) I only wish I still lived in Canada where my birthday was always a holiday ;) Even though I live in the US now and am married to an American citizen, I feel the same as you - I would not trade my Canadian citizenship for the WORLD!

I just had the opportunity to introduce an American friend to the beauty of BC (Vancouver to be precise). She had never been anywhere in Canada and I counted it a great honour and privilege to show her my beloved home. I don't think I had ever seen so much of my own home town in my life - what a fantastic trip it was :D Hope you enjoy your time in Beautiful British Columbia!!

I think the real challenge would be doing it in a kayak. Happy Canada Day!

Love this, laughed at the Staines quote. And Dee near Berkeley and Rams? Thank you.

Canadian ex-pats reflect on what they miss most in a charming op-edit today in The New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/01/opinion/01canadaday.html ) The first entry, by Rick Moranis, involves knitting! (Okay, it doesn't actually mention knitting, but it does mention "wooly toques" and "wornout scarves," which is close enough.) Happy Canada Day!

Happy Canada Day!

If it wasn't so bitterly cold for my puerto rican husband we would have moved there years ago.

I long to live in a country where it likes it's people who live and pay taxes there.

why, why, why can't Stephanie ever make a post about Canada day without some American embarrassing the rest of us and pissing on her country and her pride and our positive feelings and wishes about her country?

It makes me very sad. Honestly, I wish there would be moderated quotes on this day, because I love the blog, I love these posts, and I have better manners than to behave as the above.

Happy Canada Day!!!!!!!!!!!!! Don't let this kind of thing ruin it for you.

Love the quotes.

Happy Canada Day to you, Stephanie, and to any other Canadians reading this! My husband and I are Americans who make a point of visiting Canada at least once a year. Our next such trip: Quebec City, next weekend. Can't wait!

Incidentally, dissent is patriotic.

Canadians generally understand that, as do a heck of a lot of the rest of us.

Happy Canada Day everyone. And happy second honeymoon you guys! I'm going to enjoy the weather and the fact I don't need to wear mittens today.

However I am surprised at the negative comments posted here. Very rude people! We in Canada have every right to our own language and spellings and opinions; for us it's pronounced "Zed" and we spell things with a "u" like the word "colour". I think the fact that we don't have raging national insecurities that blind other countries is a good thing. We are a great country and we have a lot of ways to improve ourselves still. Maybe instead of slagging us, others should try to emulate us. We don't have problems with people taking pride their heritage and don't lose it when people fly their Mother Country's flag.

Happy Canada day from Scotland!
I look forward to your Canada day post. H*ll, I even look forward to the now traditional chauvanistic-American-followed-by-the-traditional-Rams' put-down.

And it so is zed :)

Happy Canada Day.

I have a great suggestion for you to have an excuse to take a break from grey garter stitch for a bit. Your fans at Ravelry are waiting (and some are patient) for the Pretty Little Cowl pattern. You can see them whine and sob for the pattern here: http://www.ravelry.com/discuss/yarn-harlot-fans/476900/1-25 A pittiful bunch, don't you think? All they want in life is a cowl pattern to knit for next winter. Common Steph, you know that garter stitch makes you want to stab someone with a spork. You need a break.

Happy Canada Day!!! It must be glorious to live in a Country that worries more about it's citizens health care than starting wars!

Happy Canada Day! It's also my birthday (my 40th..ugh!)...and although I'm not Canadian (how sad!)..I'll pretend that I am and we can celebrate together!!!!!!

Happy Canada Day! (And safe travels, too!)

I love Canada and Canadians. I have many happy memories of visiting your fabulous country. Happy Canada Day and have a safe and wonderful trip.

The New York Times marked Canada Day here. 11 Canadians now living in the US share what they miss.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/01/opinion/01canadaday.html?pagewanted=1&em

What I want to know is how could they not have included Nathan Fillion?

Happy Canada Day, Steph. And good on you, rams!

The hymn below, sung to the tune of Finlandia (a song of one of my OTHER favorite countries) says it better than I can.

"This is my song, O God of all the nations,
a song of peace for lands afar and mine.
This is my home, the country where my heart is;
here are my hopes, my dreams, my holy shrine;
but other hearts in other lands are beating
with hopes and dreams as true and high as mine.

"My country’s skies are bluer than the ocean,
And sun-light beams on clover leaf and pine;
But other lands have sunlight too, and clover,
and skies are everywhere as blue as mine.
O hear my song, thou God of all the nations,
a song of peace for their land and for mine."

Happy Canada Day, Steph.

As an American born, but Canadian by choice, I love this day. It's not that I have anything against the US, but I adore being Canadian and everything that goes with it. And living in the West Kootenays, I enjoy the best of the best.

Happy Birthday, Canada

Having just visited West Coast Canada for a week on our honeymoon... DANG you guys got it good. Seriously.

Have a fantastic trip! The Rockies are my favorite part of Canada. They are so majestic. We took our kids there a couple of years ago and they were awestruck...a site that every Canadian should make a point to see.

Happy Canada day! If it wasn't so d**n cold I would totally live somewhere up there (PEI being my favorite pretend new home thanks to Ann of Green Gables and Jane of Lantern Hill)

I went to Canada for the first time this year and loved it! I can see why you are so proud of your country!

Hi, just looking back on your Canada Day posts from previous years... can I just say thanks for my insulin? It's lovely! Without Banting and Best I wouldn't be able to 'compensate' when I cave in and eat a mountain of brownies. Oh, that and I'd be dead by now!
Yay Canada!
:o)

Game, set, and match to Rams.

Happy Canada Day!
I hope to come back sooner or later.

Some of you YH-sheep are so dull. If you would read between the lines of many of YH's pro-Canada posts, you would see the condescending attitude and hidden disdain of America---she should not have included quotes that ridiculed America in her post. It is offensive to patriotic Americans who are not YH sheep. She is a card-carrying secret anti-Americanist. The only reason she professes to love you is because 80% of her book sales and other knitting income are generated in AMERICA. Hello? The word "harlot" is uncomfortably close to another word which definies a person who makes money with seductive wiles...

Johm Raulston Saul makes the argument (In his Massie Lectures) that we get our cooperative nature from our First Nations. I like that new idea.

Bonne Fête Canada :)

As a proud canadian, My favorite memories of Canada are places I have visited over the years:

Vancouver Island - very pretty
Edmonton Mall -- one of the worlds largest
Tryell Musem of Paleontology
Toronto Zoo -- it amazes me that there is a quiet nature sourrounded zoo within the city
Provincial parks - there are so many showcasing our fair land
Ottawa and Capital hill -- really nice celebrations
Quebec City - a living peice of history
Halifax -- what a pub town
PEI - a world of it's own

I wish everyone a great canada Day and to our Neighbours to the south -- Happy Independance Day (a bit early)

Someone once asked me if I was Canadian (I'm from Wisconsin). I accidentally said, "No, I'm not from Canadia".

Oops. Happy Canadia Day!

Great quotes. I visited Canada in May last year and loved the little bits of both Montréal and Toronto I visited (including the yarn shops!); and as an Englishwoman, felt pretty ashamed about the role my country played in Canada's history. Happy Canada Day, and may liberalism and diversity thrive!

Happy Canada Day from the State with the longest border with you (Montana). LOVE the curling/NRA quote. Love. It.

There's something about Canada Day that always makes me want to move to Canada, I mean any country with Tim Horton's has to be great right?

Wow, Steph, it took the better part of the day before the haters started coming in. Getting better every year. =) Happy Canada Day from an YH-sheep American who ridicules both countries on a regular basis, out of love. Love for dilly chips most especially! (Can you export those, pls?)

It's ok, usagirlforever, if that's how you feel, then that's how you feel. Sounds like you need a hug!! GROUP HUG !!!!

I'm intrigued about the canoe thing...

Happy Canada Day, from a Canadian in the USA - I'd rather be in Canada!

There, there, usagirlforever.
Take your meds and have a nice cup of tea and a little lie-down and you'll feel much better.

Reading this made me wish I were Canadian.

Every year on Canada Day you make me want to pack up and move there! You're very lucky to be canadian. Enjoy the day!

Happy Canada Day! I too find it surprising that people come in here and start dissing the posts. Why is it alright to be patriotic if you're American but not Canadian? Besides, most people from most countries are proud about what sets them apart from others, sometimes that includes political decisions.

Besides the quote about how it would be easy to overrun Canada was just meant to be funny - to truly poke at Americans all we need to do is point out that a group of Newfies ran down and burned down the White House (which was yellow at the time).

I love these quotes... especially the ones from the dumb Americans (self included). My favorite is the one about the canoe.

; O

Happy Canada Day!

i wonder if the indigenous people are as happy about Canada Day as the rest of you.

Perhaps you should consider Canada's flaws as well as her strengths

Happy Canada day! This American admires and wishes she lived in Canada because the government has been compassionate enough to provide UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE.

Lets hope sister America learns from brother sister Canada and joins in!!!!

I tried to find a good Margaret Atwood quote for Canada Day, but nothing struck me, so here's a little interview excerpt:

CL: If we gave you a magic wand and you could make one change to Canadian society, what would it be?
MA: One change in Canadian society. Big or little?

CL: It could be either. It could be political, it could be social...
MA: OK. I think the most important question facing all of us right now is whether we are going to continue along the road that we're on and choke to death, or whether we are going to make changes in the way we produce and consume energy. So I think if I could make one big change, we would all get solar panel roofing and get off the grid, or even give back to the grid, because in Ontario, anyway, we can now feed back energy. And that would make a huge difference. And while we're at it, let's ban gas-powered leaf blowers. And throw in gas-powered lawn mowers. There's no need for these. You can get electric models if you have to blow leaves off your sidewalk. I'd also say get a rake, but there would be a rebellion if I said that.

I love the Margaret Atwood excerpt. I also can't figure out why we don't use flocks of sheep to keep the grass in check in our parks? It makes way more sense. What also bugs the heck out of me is Alberta's (there could be other places too) resistance to going more eco-friendly. There is a ban on wind turbines in the crow's nest pass a place renowned for it's wind.

Happy for you and all Canadians that you have such a love for your country. I do have one comment and it is in no way meant to rain on your Canada Day parade. I've noticed that a lot of the comments associated with Canadian pride always compare it to or include swipes at that imperfect nation to your south. On the 4th, I don't usually hear Americans taking swipes at Canada. Just saying.

Happy Canada Day! If only I could have duel citizenship, aw heck...full citizenship there!

>>but you and england have got to realize that zed makes no sense!

Guess this depends on your point of view. to my ears, 'Zee' is missing something. 'Zed' sounds like it has a period at the end. End of alphabet. Full stop. And it's 'zed' in French, too.

Bonne fête du Canada à tous et à toutes!

Have a wonderful trip and, Yeah, Canada! I almost moved to Canada in the early 70's when the Vietnam War draft nearly swept my then-husband into the army. Fortunately, he escaped the draft due to an error on the part of his draft board. Unfortunately, we never followed through on our plans to move to Canada--the land of rational people (except when talking about hockey.)

Happy Canada Day!

Jenn
http://midnightskyfibers.com

Happy Canada Day! And if you want to know more about how Canada stacks up against the world, see this weeks Maclean's magazine - Canadians are richer than americans, have more TVs than the Japanese, more lovers than the Italians, eat better than the French and live longer than the Swedes.

Happy Canada Day! Take today to care for, celebrate, and continue to improve the place you love, no matter where you live.

Nor would I! I'm so glad to call this Country home :) And by the way, I received that log blanket as a gift for my daughter two years ago. The friend who knitted it said it gave her carpal tunnel - lol.

Happy Canada Day! There was a wonderful article in the New York Times today. Various Canadians who now live in the States wrote about what they miss about Canada.

Enjoy your time away.

Happy Canada Day! My oldest son turned 17 today, so maybe I'll be able to remeber it for the future...;-) Hope you all had a great day. Greetings from Marit in Norway

The hell with civility! Civility ends HERE. I've been reading that New York Times article: how is it that none of you Canucks have seen fit to tell us about Coffee Crisps OR the After Coffee Mints at Second Cup? Huh? HUH?

Happy Canada Day! For Canada Day, our local baseball team, the St. George Roadrunners, is having a Canada Day promotion. If you show your Canadian ID or passport, you get into the game free. The Roadrunners are also playing the Calgary Vipers. So, this is more information about this baseball team than any knitting blogger probably wants to know. I still love hockey better!

For those of you who are confused as to the purpose of the NRA, please read: "As America's oldest civil rights organization, the NRA’s mission is to preserve and defend the U.S. Constitution, especially the inalienable right to keep and bear arms guaranteed by the Second Amendment." So what's not to understand? They're not a bunch of zealots, they just believe in our right to own guns to protect ourselves and our families as declared in our Constitution. As I watch crime creep ever closer to my own self (including incidents involving my house recently and over the past few years), I am delighted that I was able to take courses and purchase two handguns recently so that I, as a woman living alone, may feel safer at night knowing that I can protect myself in my own home if the need should arise (God forbid that it should). One for upstairs, one for downstairs since the layout of my home would render me unable to access the downstairs firearm if I my house should be broken into while I'm upstairs. Not sure what the gun laws are in Canada, and perhaps there is little to no crime there, but I would not move to a state in the U.S. if privately-owned firearms were banned. My dream for decades was to move to England, but I just found out recently that homeowners have virtually NO rights at all against intruders (not even with a baseball bat, or a knitting needle for that matter), so that little idea has been put to bed forever. This was long, but I wanted to share with those who don't undestand the NRA why the organization exists. Over time, there have been those in Wash., D.C. who would LOVE to ban privately-owned firearms in this country, and we need the NRA to help prevent that from happening. It's one of our freedoms that we enjoy, and those who wish to not own a firearm are welcome to do so, but those of us who wish to should retain the right.

With you, Amy Singer, so many other knitters, Montreal, and Quebec City, Canada is one of my favorite countries. Happy birthday to you nation, which is an inspiration as well as a lovely neighbor. (Have fun in BC and post pics, please!)

Happy Canada Day!
I managed to get to the Queen's Park citizenship ceremony this morning, for a two person KIP with my mom. 30 new Canadians from 22 countries provided with their new right to vote, a nice certificate and a reception in the legislature.
Very moving as always, and the rain held off all day.
I have to get my 7 year old niece to teach me the second verse of the anthem en francais.
I am so glad my parents decided to move to Canada when I was a child. Safety and overall quality of life (plus that key universal health care issue) mean a lot. Canada really works for me!

"and I wouldn't trade my citizenship for anything. "

Not even a private island filled with cashmere, good wine and chocolate?

For all of you who think it's cold up here in Canada - we DO get summer. :) It was +28 (about 80F) here today with a possibility of thundershowers and a nice breeze. Perfect for a Pony Club horse show!

Winter means snow and ice (as it does in much of the northern US) and days when it's bitterly cold. Not all of our winter days are like that, though, some are gloriously filled with snowflakes or sunshine, and when dressed properly in good wool, perfect for spending hours outside. My horses live outside all year round - and like it that way.

I lived in a tropical country for a while and prefer to live in a country with seasons. Happy Canada Day!

Safe trip, Steph and Joe! Enjoy your break!

Happy Canada Day! I am proud to be Canadian. I identify and support our goals and values. I like you, Stephanie, have some concerns about the future of our country in the hands of the current government, but I am thankful for the democratic process. We are a great country, we have great people, great beer and great spellings! :)

Happy Canada Day! I am proud to be Canadian. I identify with and support our goals and values. I like you, Stephanie, have some concerns about the future of our country in the hands of the current government, but I am thankful for the democratic process. We are a great country, we have great people, great beer and great spellings! :)

*whew*-- thanks for the Bill Clinton quote--it was good to see at least one American give you're wonderful country its due.

Every time Yarn Harlot gets mad at me, she brags on her Twitter page about drinking Canadian beer.

Every time I'm mad at Yarn Harlot, I make Blaine drink a Canadian beer.

Happy Canada Day to you and all canadian readers!

Happy Canada Day!

Rams,

If you want the treats, you have to come and get them. It's all part of our master plan.

"Canada must be ours." Guess that didn't work out so well, huh? (Or should I say "eh?") Enjoy your vacation with your Canadian sweetie.

Happy Canada Day! My husband's family is Canadian, so I am close.

Happy Canada Day to you and all your fellow Candians! Loved the Quotes! Enjoy BC. I've never been there, but it's one of the places on my list to visit. I hope you post pics :o)

As always love your post...and I wouldn't trade my citizen for another either...I wouldn't want to live anywhere else!

you know, i love my country, and i love being american, but i also LOVE seeing other people show pride and happiness with their own nations. i remember reading, with tears in my eyes, the story at the last Olympics, where the Germans were singing the national anthem. this is something completely out of the ordinary for the majority of German youth, because their national anthem has been pretty much BANNED for the last 60 years. because of horrendous acts committed by their nation's past leaders, they were shamed out of their national pride, and seeing the photo of a young German girl, singing her national anthem with tears streaming down her cheeks, was touching, and heartbreaking for me as i realized how awful it must be to never be allowed to be proud of your country because of the acts committed by some of it's leaders.

i will admit that some of MY country's leaders have done things that i would not be proud of, but i am STILL proud of my nation, it's people, it's history and my own roots.

i'm so glad for you that you are proud and happy with yours!!

happy Canada day, Stephanie!

Your Prime Minister from 1936(?)-1940, John Buchan is a particulaar favorite of mine. He was an explorer, clear-minded and high-minded thinker, and he wrote wicked good novels - _The Dancing Floor_ is the most imaginative, romantic novel ever to come from a mortal brain. When did he ever make the time? What a marvel to have in your country's backstory!!

Canada: Not just a great place to visit...it's full of terrific people, too! We couldn't possibly ask for nicer neighbors to the north.

I'm ok with Canada sending down cold fronts and geese that poop all over our golf courses, but would you please, please, PLEASE take back Celine Dion? Happy Canada Day!

A salute to our Northern Neighbors!
Spiffy Canada Day blog, yet again.

Now - in all silliness...
Another blog I visit also had an ode to Canada - on CakeWrecks!
http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/2009/07/happy-canada-day.html

Caution - the viewing of the above-noted blog can inspire a profound desire for cake (although more often from the Sunday Sweets entries) and a secondary desire for more dictionaries in the world...

I, the "wife" and 2 kids (9 & 11) drove north from Eugene, OR yesterday and arrived in Victoria today not realizing till then that it's Canada Day. Thanks for providing some fun info for me to share with my kids. They have lots of questions about Canada & Canada Day, including my son's today "Do they celebrate the 4th of July?' We're honored to share the celebration with you and glad to have such friendly neighbors to the north.

From what I hear Canada must be beautiful, and from the Canadian people I know (of) great people living there.
My only trouble is that too far north and winters are way to long and way too cold (I'm sorry, I just hate winter)...
Happy Canada day!

Happy Canada Day! What a great way to spend it, flying across the whole country! I have to confess that having grown up 30 miles away from the Canada/US border, I've spent a great deal of time both visiting Canada and talking to Canadians. You have a beautiful, wonderful country. Going to Canada for the day, or even a couple of hours was so normal and uneventful that it wasn't uncommon to just go to Canada on the spur of the moment for an afternoon. We even had similar accents, except we didn't say "Eh", but we knew how to use it properly when necessary. It's sad that now we're not so neighborly anymore. Have a great trip and a great day. I hope you have a great get-a-way with your husband!

Happy Canada Day YH and all of the happy and not so happy commenters. There's a part of me that doesn't want to mention that bits of Canada are actually warm. I celebrated a wondrous Canada Day here in Steveston - the greatest little corner of the Vancouver area. (We have TWO yarn shops in the village). We're on an island in the mouth of the Fraser River just on the corner where the river meets the Pacific. We definitely don't get winters like back east. We even have palm trees in my neighbourhood - little ones but they are palms. If we WANT to have a bit of winter we just drive north about an hour and are up skiing on the local mountains. Sounds like YH went through Kelowna today which is part of the Okanagan Valley of BC -a major wine-growing region which has some desert areas and has cactus, tumbleweeds and rattlesnakes. Yup Canada has a desert. With great wine. Don't tell anyone. Our little secret.

Brava! Happy Canada Day!

Happy Canada Day! I would love to visit. But I dont think I could just move up there, like many of my fellow American commenters are talking about, because I live in Texas were it snows once a year (maybe?) and currently is 101 degrees F (38 degrees C) and is only getting warmer. Anyways thanks for all the Canada Day quotes and past posts!

Dammit! Every year when I read your Canada Day posting, it makes me want to immigrate.

I am proud to be Canadian and I love my country very much and always have. Most people do feel this way about their nation, no matter where that is, but I think in the case of Canadians , we have so much to be proud of even if we don't strut it all the frikkin' time like some others. We aren't perfect...there are social issues. Canada is not Utopia. I cannot think of a country that comes this close though. I really can't.
Now if only we could have a tropical territory....anyone warm wanna join us?

I had a great Canada Day and hope you did too! Yay, Canada! I'm sure all U.S. Knitters are also looking forward to their celebrations on the 4th and hope they have a great time as well. Having read some of the previous comments, I think I may have a solution for world peace! My mom always said, "If you can't say anything nice, then don't say anything at all!"....

LOVE the comment by Andy Barrie!!
(And I'm not Canadian)

re: Stiofan comment (July 1, 2009 4:44 PM)

As an Indigenous person/Aboriginal/Native Canadian/Indian please know that I reply only from my perspective:
I am proud of this country.

Way to go Rams - if I were only half as eloquent.

We just returned from BC and a reunion with old friends from South Africa. We had a wonderful time. My 15 year old is trying to figure out how he can become a Canadian.....

Happy Canada Day a little late. I would love to move there, especially the Okanagon. It seems so much more civilized than America.

I like the big neutral blanket, but as someone doing a smaller, but big enough, blanket in garter stitch, I know what you're going through.

Go Andy Barrie - I like and understand curling. Can't explain the NRA. Am supremely glad to be a Canadian. But, as this is July 4 - Happy Independence day to our American neighbours. =)

A belated Happy Canada Day! I am American but got married in Canada and wouldn't trade that for anything either!

A majority of the comments suddenly make clear to me why 85% of people who immigrate to Canada become citizens within 5 years. What an ego boost, thanks for the love, southern neighbours!

Great post again, Steph, and Happy Belated Canada Day! I've only ever been to Montreal, but loved it. Great food (cheese curds!) and great people.

Great posts Heather and Rams.

(please don't let our paranoid conspiracy-theorists frighten you; they've all been listening to Rush a little too long. Hey, nothing says happiness like your very own, monogrammed AK-57!!)

In a CANOE? SERIOUSLY?!

Please please please pass on the info about HOW to make love in a canoe! This DH would like to be in the know! Thank you Ms. Harlot! Our canoe in our little pond...I can imagine.......

I like, understand, and am rather good at, curling. I cannot for the life of me explain the NRA. Yet I am an American. How best to rectify the two? I have yet to figure THAT out.
Happy Canada Day to you, and Happy US Independence Day as well!

Amen!
That actually made me a bit teary...

I enjoyed all those quotes, but my favourite has to be the comparison between the US and Canada. That's a sure way to put some bite in my bark.

Happy Canada Day! Actually, I didn't know there WAS a Canada Day, but have a happy one. I'm reading Knit's End as I try to learn to knit. Yes. Makes sense. Thank you, you.