It’s been just over a year since Vancouver & Whistler hosted the Winter Olympics. What a blast that was, and I’m so glad for some of these reminders that are around the area. This set of rings sits at the Celebration Plaza in Whistler Village. Vancouver and Whistler gained some wonderful facilities that, unlike in some other cities, were being used even before the Olympics, and will leave a fabulous legacy for years. They say that they balanced the budget when it was all over, and if it’s true, it’s an amazing feat considering the debt the Olympics usually leave in their wake. It wasn’t painless, there are still issues surrounding the Athletes Villages, but they pale in comparison to what has been seen in past host cities.

All in all, I think we did a pretty good job of showcasing this wonderful place and putting on a pretty amazing Games!

We gave the world the best party ever!

345/365 (December 11, 2010) – The biggest material hit of the 2010 Olympics was the red Canada Mitten. At $10 a pair, it seemed like everyone had them. On every news cast,there was a sea of red mittens waving at the cameras. The mittens were introduced as a mechanism to raise funds for the Olympic athletes and there were a smashing success. At the price, they were also an instant hit as a souvenir or a gift for those back home in other countries. The stores had a difficult time keeping them in stock and when we went to the Bay we saw people from other countries buying them, literally, by the armload.

So with such a roaring success on their hands, a new Olympic mitten was designed for this winter, and here they are. They are rather neat, when you hold the left and right hands together, the maple leaf is complete.

55/365 (February 24, 2010) – Canada lost to the US in Men’s hockey….for the moment. Our big hurdle was Russia. Russia vs Canada holds more Canadian interest than Canada USA…surprisingly.

Many people were hoping for a Canada Russia gold medal final game. That didn’t happen because of our loss to the US in the qualifiers. But it was still a chance for Canada to avenge the defeats dealt by Russia in the last two world championship finals and in eight straight Olympic contests stretching back to 1960. And Canada did it in spades! 7-3. A thrilling game!

Although I’ve never exactly been a diehard hockey fan, when it is part of the Olympics, a World Cup, or if the Canucks make it to the Stanley Cup (a rare event)…I turn on the Canadian pride and excitement in our national sport. It’s hard not to, it’s infectious when people get so excited about something.

So…to the men’s hockey team, I put forward the slogan from 1939 England… “Keep Calm and Carry On!” that appears on our First Aid Kit.

We know you can do it! Keep Calm and Carry on….and Go for the GOLD!

53/365 (February 22, 2010) – Vancouver wanted to be the greenest Olympics ever, but this wasn’t quite what VANOC meant.

But if anyone out there thinks the Olympics shouldn’t have been here because of our mild climate….allow me to point out that Sochi, the site of the upcoming 2014 Winter Olympics…has a frigid forecast of plus 15C tomorrow… their climate is classified as subtropical… at least we are a “temperate” rainforest…although no one would believe that “rain” forest bit right now.

Just wait a couple of days though…… because here it comes… it’s about to get grey and wet…which will ultimately make it greener yet…

50/365 (February 19, 2010) - I’ve been mulling this over for the past few days. For some reason, media in different parts of the world have been slagging the Olympics, Vancouver, and Canada. Interestingly, it’s generally media people who are not or have not been here to experience any part of what is happening. And I’ve also been mulling over how we differ from other places…As I was about to toss out the trash I spotted a newspaper from a couple of days ago and the front page sort of highlighted part of our collective personality.

Just look at the front page of the Canadian national paper…it highlights and celebrates the success of the Americans! And we won a gold that day…that story is highlighted (or lowlighted) in a little box in the header with the title “She’s Got it”. On one hand, there’s something wrong with that…on the other hand…I suppose that’s just us…

Our news doesn’t tend to focus on the negatives, it doesn’t tend to slag other countries all that much, it tends to celebrate rather than denigrate….. we cheer for everyone, we love the underdog (I am SO happy for the Slovak men’s hockey team right now!).

We aren’t usually an “in your face” people, we don’t usually beat our own drum very loudly, and we dont’ usually run around telling the world how great we are. So for a change, when we sat up and showed a little bit of pride…we get dumped on. And in typical Canadian fashion, we feel apologetic for it. Oh Well, we are who we are, and I for one am proud of this great big, highly multicultural country.

The Globe columnist Christie Blachford wrote an interesting column today (She’s Got the Whole World in Her Hands), it really speaks to two things. Firstly, I think it speaks to the psyche of many Canadians and, secondly, it speaks to the psyche of many successful women….sadly on both counts.

45/365 (February 14, 2010) – At the corner of Georgia and Howe streets in downtown Vancouver, this massive building wrap contains the rebuilding and rebranding of the former Hotel Georgia.

Today, Canadiana is rampant in Vancouver, all Canadians are draped in their love of the flag because a young man finally won gold on home soil. Alexandre Bilodeau won gold for the men’s freestyle moguls in a beautiful display of rubber legs and soaring jumps. Simply amazing! and it couldn’t have been a more wonderful young man to have won the first gold. No massive ego, just pure and simple happiness. And one of the first things he says is how his brother, suffering cerebral palsy, has been his inspiration. I almost cried when his tears welled up as he spoke of his family.

We spent the entire day (12 hours) walking the city, taking in the Leonardo exhibit at the Vancouver Art Gallery, listening to the myriad languages around us, wandering Yaletown visiting Granville Island, listening to free music at Live City Yaletown, cheering our athletes….it was awesome! Particularly wonderful since the clouds parted and the sun came out to show the world just how absolutely beautiful this city really is.

The protest Saturday was an embarrassment but hopefully doesn’t reflect the city. A bunch of thugs took advantage of a peaceful protest and used it as an opportunity to create chaos and mayhem. I hope it is the only major issue faced, but I’m sure it’s not…. but I can hope…

44/365 (February 13, 2010) – The Olympic flame in Coal Harbour, Vancouver. No one knew who would light the cauldron. In the end, there were five former athletes who lit the indoor flame together. But the outdoor, public flame was lit by Canada’s darling, Wayne Gretzky.

When Gretzky left BC Place in the back of a truck with the torch and headed for the outdoor cauldron across town…the city went nuts. The restaurants, bars, pubs….everything emptied into the streets and people cheered and ran alongside, oblivious to the driving rain.

It was thrilling to be living in Vancouver at that moment.

43/365 (February 12, 2010) – The Olympic Torch has made its way into downtown Vancouver and is winding its way toward its final destination. The Games officially open this evening at 6pm.

I had intended to go to Stanley Park and see Arnold Schwarzenegger carry the torch in the park. I set the alarm for 4:45 am and woke up and thought about it for a bit…eventually I decided to not go as I thought it might be a zoo. So I watched it on TV instead…and was very glad I opted out. It was a bit of a mob scene. But cool nonetheless….

After Arnold there were other interesting people to run with it. Walter Gretzky, Dal Richards, Rolly Fox….

So now the torch is heading for Chinatown and East Vancouver and into the path of a protest group. I do hope that it doesn’t get disrupted. The time for protest is past with respect to the Olympics. They are here, and they are bringing benefits to the city. Yes, they cost a lot, too much probably, but they have also brought infrastructure to the city, and the focus of the world, and in the end, that can only be a good thing for everyone here.

41/365 (February 10, 2010) – The Flame passed through our neighbourhood early this morning and is currently making the rounds of the North Shore. It came down Capilano Road, made a tour of the Squamish Reserve before popping out a block East, where there was another handoff, and then another on Marne Drive…. all within about a block of our home.

For the past few weeks, Vancouver has felt like it was holding its breath. Now, with the flame so close to downtown and its final destination, people are waking up and getting excited. Canadians are usually such a restrained lot, but more and more excitement is building and it’s pretty neat to see the pride starting to swell.

After the flame passed our neighbourhood I grabbed my scooter and did a bit of a relay chase and caught some neat vibes everywhere I went. I also accidentally found myself a block ahead of the torch a couple of times. At the bottom of 3rd I saw it coming down the hill and pulled over to watch. I didn’t realize who it was at the time, but I caught a great photo of Karen Magnussen with the torch. She was our 1972 silver medalist for women’s figure skating.

Friday morning the flame crosses the Lion’s Gate Bridge and circles Stanley Park before heading around the downtown area and ending up at the final cauldron at 6pm. I may try and get down to Stanley Park in the morning to see Arnie take up the flame…there is a lot of debate as to the appropriateness of his carrying the flame. Is it political? Probably. Is it inappropriate? Maybe, maybe not. He loves Vancouver and has a place here. He held the Mr Universe title for years and took the Mr. Olympia title as a pro. He is a supported of the Special Olympics. Yes, he is not Canadian, but Lance Armstrong isn’t American and he carried the torch in the Salt Lake City Games. I say whatever and enjoy the quirk that the Terminator will carry the flame.

The excitement is building….

The Olympics are almost here and the city of Vancouver is holding its breath, or it seems that way anyway. Security and city engineers have thrown the fear of gridlock into everyone and it seems to be working. Vancouver has no major highways running through its core and that is both a blessing and a curse. It’s a blessing because it keeps the city somewhat compact and discourages people from taking their cars downtown to a certain degree. It’s a curse for the same reason. Saturday we decided to see what was going on downtown, a week before the Games are in full force and the crowds descend. So, in the name of sanity (and because the sun was shining) we took the scooter.

It was strange, we went downtown around noon and it was like a ghost town. Robson street on a sunny Saturday is usually crowded with shoppers and not a parking spot to be found…. parking was abundant and the sidewalks, while not vacant, contained very light foot traffic.

The Starbuck’s at Robson and Thurlow is usually busy, but at 1pm we walked through the doors and right up to the order counter…and then took a seat at the window. Unheard of! But definitely pleasant. I think an awful lot of Vancouverites are taking things in stride and practicing avoidance, but there is still an excitement in the air.

The photo above is of one of the Lions at the South end of the Lion’s Gate Bridge, gateway to the North Shore. Someone (not a city worker) decorates them a few times each year. At Remembrance Day they are dressed in a wreath of poppies, and at Christmas they always sport a big red bow. For the Olympics this same individual, who prefers to remain anonymous, dressed them in a necklace of international flags and a giant pair of red mittens. It’s hard not to smile when we pass them.