WHERE I LIVE

I am sorry about this one Mark. Mark asked people who read his blog to post a little about where we live. Since I have been so self centered lately, it has taken me a while to get to this. Please forgive the lateness. Here it is anyway. WINNIPEG I live in the city of Winnipeg. It is the capital city of the province of Manitoba. Manitoba is in the center of the province. We are known as theKeystone Province. Unlike Toronto, we do not think we are the center of the universe, even though we are in the center of the country. (Sorry, it just seems to be a favorite past time of Peggers to slam Toronto whenever given the chance.) Winnipeg now has the approximate population of 600,000. There are many bedroom communities outside of the city limits too. Winnipeg has a lot to offer. Once you get past the cold weather. We have many beautiful parks and open spaces. One of the largest is Assiniboine Park. Today, for instance is the Teddy Bear's Picnic in the park. It is to raise money for the Children's Hospital. The zoo is also in the park. I live about 2 minutes from the park. One of our biggest attractions in the city is called The Forks. It is basically a meeting place. There are shops and restaurants there. The ball park is just across from it. It is called The Forks because it is where the Assiniboine River and The Red River meet. The ball park is home to the Winnipeg Goldeyes baseball team. The Goldeyes are a member of the Northern League. We are quite proud of our Goldeyes. Plus tickets are not that expensive either. I think the top price for a ticket is $18.00. What else can you do with your family for that amount? Winnipeg also has a professional football team. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers. We have an AHL hockey team here too. The Manitoba Moose. We used to have an NHL team the Winnipeg Jets. They are long gone from here but always in our hearts. It is still a touchy subject here. Winnipeg is known for it's generosity. We give a lot in volunteer hours and money. We have hosted the Pan Am games, the Grey Cup (even when no other city wanted to, we stepped up to the plate). If there is a charity event where volunteers are needed you can bet Peggers will be there to support it. We have Folklorama every summer. It is basically two weeks of celebrating different cultures. We have pavilions you can visit. Each pavilion represents a different country. You can taste the food, see the culture, and the entertainment for each country. My daughters danced at the Isle Of The Shamrock pavilion for three years. They started dancing in it when they were three. We also have this annoying sport called curling. Since I hate this sport, we will not discuss it further. The downside to our city is we are home to the Child Poverty capital of Canada. We are also the Arson capital. We used to be the murder capital too, but I am not sure if we still are. In my neighborhood, it is not uncommon to find two and sometimes three generations of families that live here. The school my daughters go to is almost 100 years old. People who live here tend to come back.

In Winnipeg and Manitoba, we have a unique tradition. When you are getting married, you have what we call, a social. Basically, it is a big party. You buy a ticket to get in. Once in there is music, dancing, and cheap alcohol. There are also prizes you can win. It is an adult only event, but it is used to help raise money for the wedding couple to pay for their wedding (or at least help).

If you want to know more about my city you can visit here; http://www.winnipeg.ca/interhom/ I hope this helps you learn a little about where I live. We do make fun of our city, but deep down, I think we are all proud of it. Maybe you can come for a visit.