So we got the kitchen (which is big with lots of storage) basically cleaned up. Things are going into their places and we are beginning to experience the glory of a less crowded kitchen. To get a pot or pan you just open a door and--volia!--take it out. Back in Toronto, you'd sometimes have to get down on your hands and knees and, grunting and groaning, reach way back into some dark corner for what you needed.

Here are some more differences between the two cities:

(1) In the library branch here, they seem to have a different philosophy as to what gets included. When searching for a movie in the Toronto system, they majored on what was popular. Lots of pretty junky stuff. But here, they major on what one might say
is more worthy and timeless. Lots and lots of special BBC productions of detective and classic novels and so on. I like that but obviously not everyone would.

(2) No municipal recycling program! Instead we shove it all into big garbage bags and put the bags in special places on our back alleys where they are picked up. However, I noticed by next year that will change and Calgary will have a full blue bin program in place.

(3) The wildlife, particularly in the form of a big mountain blue jay we keep seeing (just like the ones we saw while visiting the Colorado Rockies several years ago) is different. This bird is huge, dark blue and white, with a tail feather about eight inches long.

Now we're off to the store again to buy boot trays and food items. I'd put so much on my credit card in such a short period of time recently that Visa cut me off and I had to call them twice this week, being quizzed and giving long explanations, before they set me loose again. Such is the price of progress!