HST, Taxes, World Cup.

We are about to have a new tax in Canada called the Harmony Sales Tax. This combines Purchase Tax and Value Added Tax and is causing much aggravation to everyone. I personally cannot see why, but then I am not very 'up' in these things, but at the moment those two taxes amount to 13% and the HST will also be 13%. I believe there are more things which will carry this new tax however, but I don't know what. That being said, to compensate us all for the burden of this new tax, the government are being kind enough to give us all a benefit to tide us over this new tax!! We got our first installment today and are due for another in December and a third next June. Well and good, thank you, but what about our income taxes - I assume we have to declare it as income - and then pensions, it will be considered income so in our case at least, will mean a reduction in the supplements we receive. In fact, I think it is all a bit of a waste of time. Its rather like the system several years ago when everyone was laid off for one day each week and the government paid you for the extra day. This was supposed to help the economy. I am not sure how much it helped, but I know I gave every bit of that money back when I did my taxes at the end of the year. (I have now been told that in fact we do not have to declare this money. I think I had better check it out officially though). This makes me think of all the budget mess they have in New York State, so what are they doing? Reducing money given to schools and seniors, closing parks, several other things, but does anyone actually working in the State government suffer for the mess up they are making? No of course not. This is of no personal concern to me of course, being in Canada, but we get the news about it all the time and I find it pretty disgusting; but don't get me started on what I think about politicians or we will be here all night. I assume there must be some honest, straight arrow guys in politics, but if so they are well hidden in the background of any government I know about. We are having some friends in for dinner tomorrow night so I have been working on preparations and so has Matt. Lot more to do yet of course, and no, the menu is not being listed because at least one guest reads my blog. I don't know why I like to keep it secret, but I do. It will, of course, consist of foods we enjoy so we hope our guests will too. Something I heard on the radio made me smile, apparently the referees for the World Cup soccer games have had to learn the four letter words which could be used towards them along with the gestures. I don't know whether its true, but I understand that it is only in the English language that we have swear words, other languages have ways of expressing the same thing, but not in one word. This may not be so any more, but 40 years ago I was told that was so. But I guess if a player swears at you in his own language, as a ref you have to know what he is saying so you can send him off.

Last night I finally got round to watching Avatar on my laptop - I thoroughly enjoyed it. I can imagine what it would have looked like in 3D, sorry I missed it now. I can highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys such stories. You can click on this link to buy it from Amazon if you are interested in getting it. I am certainly planning on buying it. Which reminds me I received my copy of Stardust yesterday too. I only ordered it on Monday, I think that is great service.

Here is another strawberry recipe from Eagle Brand which sounds good to me. I wish I hadn't planned my dessert for tonight because either yesterday's recipe or this one would have been great. Strawberry Summer Delight

Eagle Brand A strawberry lover’s version of tiramisu, with orange juice instead of coffee (so perfect for the whole family, including kids). Serve with additional fresh succulent strawberries. Prep Time: 20 minutes Serving: 12-14 servings Freezing: not recommended Ingredients: 1 lb (500g) container mascarpone cheese, room temperature 1 can (300mL) Eagle Brand® Regular or Low Fat Sweetened Condensed Milk 1 cup (250mL) whipping cream 1 tbsp (15mL) orange zest (optional) 1 tsp (5mL) vanilla 2 cups (500mL) strawberries, sliced 2 cups (500mL) orange juice 36-40 Italian ladyfinger cookies

Preparation: 1. Beat mascarpone and sweetened condensed milk until well combined. Reserve. 2. Whip cream in a large bowl until it holds stiff peaks. Add orange zest and vanilla. Gently fold into reserved mascarpone mixture until combined. Fold in sliced strawberries. 3. Dip both sides of each ladyfinger cookie into orange juice. Line bottom of 9” x 13” (3L) baking dish with 18 ladyfinger cookies in 3 rows, trimming edges if necessary. Spread half the filling (3 cups (750mL) on top. Dip remaining ladyfinger cookies in orange juice and arrange over filling in pan. Spread with remaining filling. 4. Chill, covered with plastic wrap, at least 4 hours or overnight. Tips: Serve with additional sliced strawberries. Have a great day