Then I went to Canadian Tire to get a vacuum cleaner and discovered a) what they have are Dirt Devil type things that b) don't have the kind of heads I'm used to and that c) are too heavy to get home on a bicycle anyway. But what CanTire had as well are solar powered Christmas lights, that I'd looked for in vain for several years. My house has no outdoor outlet. I can't wreathe my overwrought iron porch rails in fairy lights like next door. But I can wreathe them in a strand (these things are *expensive*) of solar powered lights that turn themselves on at dusk, so my house at last looks cheery at Christmas.
Also standing in line at the supermarket I saw a snack labelled, in our bilingual fashion, 'Maïs à la marmite.' Marmite-flavoured popcorn? Could not believe it. As well. That's 'kettle-popped corn' to you. This is partly why I'm taking French next year.
