Canada Day!

Today, July 1st, is Canada Day and marks the joining of the British colonies of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Ontario, and Quebec into a federation of four provinces under the name of Canada on July 1, 1867. For our American friends to the south, this is our "4th of July"!

The official symbol of Canada since Feb. 15, 1965


It is, of course, a national holiday in Canada and a day for celebrations and fireworks, but it's mostly for families and friends to enjoy picnics, the beach, barbeques and all of the other good things that come with any national holiday. Most of the major stores and outlets across the country are closed on July 1st, so it gives everyone a chance to get together for some fun.

A July 1, 2001 pic of my Dad with Great Granddaughter Jessica


For our family, this day was always a special celebration as my Father's birthday was July 2nd. To mark his birthday, we always had a big family barbeque at our house on the 1st, as it was a holiday and allowed most everyone to make it. My Dad passed away in 2003 and, unfortunately, this family celebration has since fallen by the wayside. Instead, our family barbeque takes place on a Sunday between June 9(my birthday) and the 17th(my son Kevin's birthday) and Father's Day fits in there too!

And, while on the subject of Canada, I have to say a few words about another Canadian - Al of the Bayfield Bunch. Al just created a great little logo for his blog using Microsoft's Paint program. I had actually forgotten that Paint even existed as it is buried deep within the Accessories program menu.

Al did a superb job designing this logo - what a great idea! Al and Kelly plan to pass them out to new friends they meet on their travels, those who want to stay in touch. It's a great idea as the business card size logo has both their Blog and Email addresses on it. How many times have I forgotten an email address someone passed on to me? A lot! Congratulations Al, if you don't mind, I might work on copying your idea, o.k Anybody else?