April in Canada

The month of April has been interesting to say the least. We grow up hearing about April showers bringing May flowers?? Well, so far we have had two days of snow, zero degree temperatures and wind chills of below 0. Does that sound like spring to you?

At least this week, the temp is up to 12 and we are actually enjoying some sunshine.

In the news this week: An eight year old girl went missing from school and a nearby video camera caught her on tape, being led away by an un-identified lady. Scary..when you are a parent to hear news like this. So far...no advance on the investigation and the little girl is still missing.

A 21 year old girl, was driving to work and slammed on her brakes at a traffic light. If she only knew what was in store for her at that split moment. Her laptop, that was lying on the backseat......came flying over and hit her hard on the back of the head. The poor girl never knew what happened and died. So now there are messages from the Police, and various other agencies....to strap down things in your backseat or put it in the trunk. Who would have ever thought that something like this could happen, right?

Some things I have noticed:

Last weekend I went to some stores to check out what was on sale as Easter just got over and they had to replace all those racks of Eggs, bunny toys, chocolates and baskets with something.

They replaced them alright.......with anything and everything to do with gardening and playing outside. I saw seeds for growing any kind of flower or vegetable, watering cans, garden equipment, hoses, lawn chairs, barbaques, sun tan lotions, sprinklers, footballs, frisbees, skipping ropes and even chalk for the kids to draw on the driveway or sidewalk.

My kids loved it! They make everything look so enticing.....and you see many families literally grabbing things and filling their shopping carts, quickly emptying the racks.

Another thing is that all Winter clothing is on sale, and Spring and Summer clothes have hit the racks. From shorts, t-shirts and spaghetti strap tops to sandals and flipflops (chappals) to racks and racks of swimwear.......the stores are ready for the next two seasons.

This is the ideal time to plan weekend outdoor trips and activities. We realized now, that because of the LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOG winter, people here utilize the spring and summer days to do anything and everything outdoors. From cycling to fishing trips, to picnics in the park to long drives out somewhere. You don't waste a single weekend because before you know it, it is September and too cold to be outside again. I now understand why Canadians, Americans etc all plan elaborate holidays in destinations with beaches and the hot sun........it is because they are trying to get as much of it as possible before the next Winter!

Just found a very interesting website....www.garamchai.com

Check it out for very interesting news and information about the desi abroad.

Movie halls have been filling up with kids this week.......with Dragonball Z, Hannah Montana and the Monster vs Alien movies all playing at the same time. On an average, you will spend close to thirty dollars for a family of four for a movie and a little more for popcorn and drinks. The theatres are free seating...so far I have not had an instance where we got seat numbers alotted. So, go a little early if it is a new movie or else you will all be split up!

Would anyone be interested in recipes on this site.........I'm thinking of adding simple recipes using ingredients from here for making Indian dishes and also simple Canadian meals too. What do you think?