Family Matters,  Niece-com-poops,  the sticks

ooot and aboot on a regular schwedgeual

Just a quick post to say: yes, I’m still alive. I’ve been busy with family and shopping for baby clothes (spending way too much $$$ on itty bitty things), getting ready for Rapunzel’s eighth birthday (She’s going to be eight on the 21st!!! Can you believe it!), laundry out the wahzoo and of course holding the baby all the live long day… But I’m back home now and things should get back to normal–whatever that is.

*I’m sure the headline of this post is only funny to me and my American friends who make fun of Canadian accents. And it’s probably only funny to me because it really has nothing to do with anything other than remind me of some fun times I had when I visited Calgary way back when…

15 Comments

  • mike

    What we say is a lot closer to “oat and aboat” than “oot and aboot” just as you say something that sounds to us very much like “owt and abowt.” “Shedjewel” is just wrong, no matter who says it.

  • BeachMama

    And it is sad for me to admit it but, I do say “Oot and aboot” with the accent. But, when I do visit the other Canadian provinces, they think I have an American Accent. And I do say “eh” all. the. time. I am so Canadian, eh.

  • lauren

    oh, my goodness!

    babybug looks like a little person! her little facial expressions are too cute!

    i think i need to make a baby.

  • jenny1i11y@yahoo.ca

    Don’t forget the whole “zee” vs. “zed” controversy! And we don’t really say “schwedgeual” do we? Yikes. Come and visit us again, eh?

  • Krista

    Heh heh, I agree with Mike I was just on my way “oat” the door when I caught your last post – very funny. Even to this Canadian :) I do have to chuckle every time I chat with a friend here from Wisconsin (sp?) such a funny accent, we joke all the time about it.

  • Saple

    they don’t have once upon a child there….. it is a resale baby boutique they buy lightly used usually name brand clothing from mothers and then resell to you with very little markup they usually have the cutest stuff. My friend just bought her 9 month old complete summer wardrobe there for $50 23 outfits…

    if they don;t have it someone needs to start it

  • lynne

    Don’t be mean to Canadians! My cousins are Canadian.

    “Ooot and aboot” sounds Scottish and surely only Elmer Fudd would pronounce schedule “schwedgeual”.

  • Daisy Mae

    When I was in Calgary my Canadian friends (and their friends) kept asking me how many guns I own. So it is only fair to make fun of ooot and aboot. Oh, and you forgot “Ay”, as they do say that at the end of almost every sentence, ay?!

  • mike

    We say “eh” and “right” at the end of phrases when checking for agreement and/or comprehension (especially necessary when attempting to communicate with furriners like Amurricans, in their ‘uge veehickles, y’all) and tend to forswear “huh” entirely, which some Americans use in the same way we use “eh.” “Eh” isn’t Canadian. At all. It’s common to many countries and languages, just not America.

    Other trivia: We don’t tend to omit “to be” from our sentences (as in “The living room needs painted”) nor add the word “at” unneccessarily (as in “You need (to be) picked up? We are you *at* right now?”).

    The American Revolution created two countries, not just one. The border between us is one that divides between patience/reasonableness/”let’s talk about it at great length” and the alternative “give me liberty or give me death, right this very minute, but don’t give my slaves the same thing.” It is this, rather than one that divides between races, traditions or geography.

    It’s commonly said that Americans are Canadians in a hurry, just as Canadians are Americans with manners. Well, actually, we’re not overly mannerly (certainly not as mannerly as most Europeans) but we try to be just a tiny bit more mannerly than we think Americans are so we can feel smug about ourselves. We are usually slightly more proper and not quite as warm.