No one thinks that anything catastrophic is going to happen in their neighbourhood. At worst most Canadians worry about what will happen if there is another ice-storm like the one in 1998 that left some Canadians without power for weeks. Or another big blackout like the one the one that hit the northeast quadrant of North America in summer of 2003. Certainly no one things that a propane facility in their neighbourhood is going to explode but that's what happened to residents of Toronto's Downsview neighbourhood in the early morning of August 10.

I have a sad, sad confession to make - I cannot name a single Canadian who is competing at the summer Olympics in Beijing. I know, it's horrible! I just don't have the Olympic spirit this year - it's been dampened by protests, pollution, and censorship debates. It doesn't help that it's the summer Olympics and I'm definitely a winter Olympics kind of fan (hey I live in a country called "The Great White North" what do you expect?). I have no doubt that I'll be plenty excited for Vancouver's 2010 Olympics but I should be more enthusiastic for this batch of athletes.

In Canada we like to believe that violent crime does not happen but of course it does. Sensationally violent crimes, however, are so infrequent that they are not part of our collective consciousness. When I got up this morning and heard the news that a man had stabbed and decapitated another passenger on a Greyhound bus in Manitoba I was stunned and horrified. This should not happen in Canada. This should not happen anywhere.

After our trip to the northern territories we're going to head back in a south-westerly direction and hit Alberta. Home of the current Prime Minister. The oil sands. The West Edmonton Mall. Dinosaurs. The Calgary Stampede. Oh yeah, and as they like to remind other Canadians - no provincial sales tax. But most importantly it's the home to some great Alberta bloggers.

I'm currently sitting at my dining room table with my feet propped up while I read the blogs of so many of you who are at BlogHer 08. I'm keep an especially sharp eye out for my fellow Canadian BlogHers who have headed south to take in the action. Here are some of Canadian blogs to keep an eye on this weekend.

On July 1, Canada Day, Governor-General Michaëlle Jean's list of inductees to the Order of Canada was announced. It's usually a pretty ho-hum affair which "recognizes a lifetime of outstanding achievement, dedication to the community and service to the nation" and really not that exciting unless you actually know someone who is receiving it. This announcement was anything but boring. On the list was one name that caused Canadians to lose their collective minds - Henry Morgentaler. Words that come to mind when people say that name range from life-saver, to murderer, to abortionist.

I spent Canada Day in my hometown. I stopped by the local museum, walked along my favourite beach, had dinner with my best friend and her family (and took a dip in their pool) and ended the night watching fireworks with my boyfriend and my mother. A quiet but perfect day. I was completely unplugged when I was in my hometown so I'm just now getting caught up on what my fellow Canadian BlogHer's were doing for Canada Day. Zesty did some daytripping in small town Ontario. There really is nothing like a small town celebration.

I gave birth six weeks ago. Since then, I've lost a lot of the baby weight. Partly because the baby that I was carrying was so huge that his expulsion from the womb represented a massive weight loss, and partly because I've hardly been able to eat anything since he was born, what with his unremitting need to be held ALL THE TIME HOLY HELL. Hardly anything but cookies, that is, and maybe the odd bagel or two. Which, you know, is not the best post-partum diet.

Happy Canada Day! Ok, Canada Day isn't until July 1 but we're close enough right? And what better way to celebrate than with a Canadian themed reading challenge? None! So step right up and explore the world of Can-Lit.

I'm about to hop in our car and hit the road heading east to the Canadian Maritimes so I thought that it was a good time to continue heading east on our Cross-Canada blog tour. We'll be continuing east on this tour but instead of heading to the Maritimes we're cruising up in the north to Nunavut.

When I first started breastfeeding my first child, I was totally anxious about nursing in public. Was anyone looking? Was anyone freaked out by my boob? I sought out nursing rooms wherever I could, until it became clear that if I was to move about in the world with my child and not spend all of my time in stuffy nursing rooms or - horror - washroom stalls, I would have to chill out and just bare the booby. And so I did. And it was, mostly, fine.

One thing about Canada that you need to understand is that Canadian's are very into hockey. It's our game. Even people who aren't into hockey find themselves suddenly into hockey for a big game - be it the 1972 Canada-Russia game or a gold metal match at the Olympics against the US team. We are a hockey nation and as we have a second national anthem - the Hockey Night in Canada theme. Or...at least we did.