TurnofPhraseBlog

Author: carmengfarrell

  • How many Trinity’s Can One Province Have?

    On our way to Bonavista, I read about historic Trinity village which sounds super charming. Admittedly, I might have paid more attention to the veracity of my source material, but after my connection to the world, aka my smart phone, DIED in St. John’s I had been sourcing tourist info where I could. In this…

  • How to Enter a Newfoundlander’s Home

    Here’s part of a fun quiz I read in our Newfoundland travel guide (if you’re from Newfoundland or related to a Newfoundlander, no yelling out the answer): Let’s say you’re visiting a friend, perhaps for the first time, at their house. At the front door, do you: Knock or ring the bell; Wave to Gran…

  • New Found Land

    Newfoundland. Not Newfoundland, I tell my husband.  Newfoundland. Maybe as a local told us, Newfoundland. Or as a vintage travel poster from the halls of the fabulous “The Rooms” museum in St. John’s proclaimed Newfunland. In any event, stressing the middle syllable is not done. But I will not throw my husband under the “pronunciation…

  • In Indian Head, We are All Treaty People

    The land acknowledgement was thought-provoking.  I’ve lived in or been coming back to these Saskatchewan places for decades, but not for public events. I’m not used to hearing these sorts of words in these settings.  It is the opening ceremony for a new exhibit at the Indian Head Museum (https://www.facebook.com/IndianHeadMuseum/ ) to commemorate this town’s…

  • 604 Area Code

    For those of you way out of the 604 telephone area code, this post may not be of interest.  For those of you in the 403 and 306 area codes, this post may be of some interest. It’s all about food.  And the quality of food.  Those of you who know me personally, know that…

  • What to Remember When this is All Over

    Is the world ever going to be the same again?  It can’t be.  COVID 19 is the canary in the coal mine. It’s changing the power balance between traditional “superpowers”.  The USS Theodore Roosevelt, a 5,000 person aircraft carrier patrolling the South China Sea, was forced to emergency dock for testing in Guam as more…

  • Top Ten Signs You Live in a COVID19 “Red Zone”

    You surprise yourself with how shocked you are that servers in a restaurant outside your community are NOT wearing plastic gloves.  Eating at home was never so appealing! In an effort to wash your hands long enough, you find yourself silently singing “happy birthday” twice because you’ve sung it out loud so much to prompt…

  • A Blog about Traveling that’s about Not Traveling

    Granted, these are spectacularly strange times.  Orwellian, really.  Today was Day One…Ground Zero if you like that term, of a shift in perception.  I should have been waking up in Orange County.  Am I disappointed?  Honestly, no.  But I am in danger of getting bored, or going crazy.   Now is a time to put the…

  • A Surprising “Welcome Aboard”

    The BC Ferries tag line, “Welcome Aboard” has never been so fitting.  I never thought these words would cross my lips about a government-run monopoly.  “I’m impressed”.  It really rubs against my fiscally responsible/socially progressive grain. Even stranger, for those of you acquainted with BC Ferries, this is the monopoly I am referring to.  Admittedly,…

  • India Won’t Leave my Mind

    Even though India is in my rear-view mirror as I am now immersed back into my west-coast Canadian routines, I find it is on my mind every day. Have you noticed how you get asked, or you ask yourself, “what were the highlights?” of recent trips?  I have done that myself in the last couple…