Canajan, eh?

We had bunny hugs in Alberta. Did it originate in Saskatchewan?

L M Ashton said:

We had bunny hugs in Alberta. Did it originate in Saskatchewan?

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That's my understanding. (I mean the term, not the actual garment!)

Nobody in Ontario knows that term - I just learned about it from a Saskatchewanian friend.

L M Ashton said:

We had bunny hugs in Alberta. Did it originate in Saskatchewan?

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Kangaroo jacket was an Albertan term for them. Don't hear that term anymore.

Yeah, we call them bunny hugs here in Sask. (some people get worked up if you call them hoodies!), but I never actually owned one, despite living here all my life.

I've called them both a kangaroo jacket and a bunny hug. It's interesting how regional these terms are.

Oooooh, more Canajans!



I say "eh" (seriously), apologize frequently to inanimate objects, but do NOT say "aboot". I don't get it.

Bonjour de Montréal

*waves*

Hello from Toronto! Any other Canadian smut-writers around here?

wordsmithy said:

*waves*

Hello from Toronto! Any other Canadian smut-writers around here?

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I'm moving away from the smut, and was never all THAT smutty to start with. But I'm just a couple hours north of you, writing romance in the snow...

Be it romance or smut, we all need something to warm us up in these cold early months, amirite?

That being said, stay safe with all these weather warnings flying around! Seems like good staying-indoors-writing kind of weather to me, brrr.

wordsmithy said:

Be it romance or smut, we all need something to warm us up in these cold early months, amirite?

That being said, stay safe with all these weather warnings flying around! Seems like good staying-indoors-writing kind of weather to me, brrr.

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That's exactly what I'm doing! I even have a fire in the fireplace!

Oooh. *is jealous* X)

Serious Tax Stuff

Down to brass tacks now...

Does anyone here know how to claim the reduced US withholding rate on royalties? I called the CRA and one of their agents said that because of the tax treaty, I shouldn't have to pay anything to the IRS. BUT, because of unclear wording on the Kindle site, he was uncertain what 'local non- U.S. income tax identification number' meant, which is what I need to claim a 0% withholding rate.

This is the page I'm talking about:

https://kdp.amazon.com/help?topicId=A1CTSIBPDAAJ0M

How have other authors here deal with that? Do I haaaave to go and get an ITIN from the IRS?

Yeah, in my experience, you need the ITIN. Not for the non-US income tax identification number - that's your SIN they're referring to, and I never provide it.

But one way or another you're going to need an ITIN, unless someone else has discovered a secret way around this...?

Hello fellow Canadians!

I'm in Toronto, and write romance. Hockey romance, if we are being specific. ;-)
I'm actually in a weird situation with the taxes. I am both a U.S. and Canadian citizen, so I don't have the witholding, but I have to report it on my Canadian taxes and show that on my American taxes when I report worldwide income. At least that is how I think it is done.. Cross border stuff can be overwhelming!

All right, archaic Canadianism help requested here:

What's the old word for the throwover that is put on the back of the chesterfield? I heard my parents explain the word but it is a word I mostly associate with my grandparents using. Trying to recall what it is.

A big one, like an afghan?

Or the little lace doily ones, like an antimacassar?

I don't know if either of those terms is straight-up Canadian, though...

ETA: I don't think I know what you mean by "throwover". What would it be made of?

I'm not sure which. You are close to the idea. Of similar size and coarseness to the afghan but acting more like an antimacassar. Antimacassars became dated by the time of the late Edwardian era while these things were common up to the early Elizabethan households and seems to have died with the modernisation of the 50s and 60s. Perhaps it was much more common on the prairies.

I grew up on the prairies in the 70s and 80s and I know exactly what you're talking about. It's like a giant oval doily crocheted from yarn rather than tatted with thread. I recall them from friend's places and one friend's grandparents (in the Medicine Hat area) in particular. My mom hated them and refused to have one. Maybe that's why I don't actually know the name for it? Giant couch doily just probably doesn't have the impact you're looking for?

I'm new here, so I hope you'll forgive me if this post is misplaced.

I write Christian children's and teen novels in which my main characters live in Lloydminster, Saskatchewan. Since I'm from Mississippi, I'm not personally familiar with the expressions and slang that would be used in everyday speech. I've done some research trying to learn about it, but I'd feel a lot better if someone who is from Saskatchewan or is familiar with the expressions used there could look over it. I know that the city is split between Saskatchewan and Alberta, but the characters in my books definitely identify themselves with Saskatchewan.

If anyone is able/willing to help, or could point me in the right direction, I would greatly appreciate that.

I used to live about a 45 minute drive away from Lloydminster, but that was three decades ago, so I have no idea what current-day speech patterns and behaviors there might be like.

I hope you find someone who can help you. If you're on Nanowrimo.org, have you thought of posting to the appropriate Saskatchewan regional board there as well? I doubt you need someone specifically from Lloydminster - I suspect anywhere in Saskatchewan will do the trick.

They call hoodies "bunny hugs". I know that. Otherwise, I'm not much use.

LOL! Yes, they do. I grew up calling them bunny hugs as well, even though I was in Alberta. Knitted hats you wear in winter are toques and yes, everyone calls them that. Everyone. And some of us Canucks really do sprinkle "eh"s in our speech and written word. I do, everyone in my family does, but not everyone everywhere does. And milk really does come in bags. And we are, generally speaking, polite. Winter does last a long long time in Lloyd, which is what everyone in the region calls it - no one says the whole word Lloydminster - that's for non-locals. Other non-locals also call it Lloydminister because they can't read, I suppose.

Yeah, I've got bunny hug, supper instead of dinner, "back forty," calling the city Lloyd. As I understand it, that's done with a lot of Saskatchewan cities like "Moose." I've read some other things too, but you know how it is finding stuff on the Internet. Lol

As for "eh," I read in a couple of places that it's less common in the west than the east. Is that generally correct?

I'm not familiar with Nanowrimo, but I'll check it out. I'm the kind of person that if I'm going to do something, I want to do it right. If I'm going to set a book in a certain place, I want to do right by the people who live there to give an accurate portrayal. I know how irritating it can be to see stereotypical portrayals of Mississippi.

I'm not sure the term "back forty" is all that common in Alberta or Saskatchewan - I've only ever heard that term in connection with US farms, not Canadian. But I will defer to someone from Saskatchewan who says otherwise.

I'm not sure if eh is more common east vs. west. Like I said, I know a number of people who say it, including my family, and I'm from western Canada. I haven't been to the east, so I can't really say. But if you have a/some characters who sprinkle in the occasional "eh", that wouldn't be out of place for me.

Although I should probably add that I left Canada in 2003 and haven't been back since, so my info on word usage there could be out of date - hence me hoping you find someone more current.

Side note that may be irrelevant: Calgary is also called Cowtown and Edmonton is frequently called Edmonchuck. Also, Vegreville has the world's largest pysanky, which is a Ukranian Easter egg. I learned how to do pysanky in school in rural Alberta - lots of Ukranians in those parts. There's good camping in northern Saskatchewan, like Loon Lake, which we went to on a lot of summer vacations. Lots of good camping in Northern Alberta, too.

And I certainly appreciate you trying to do it right. Very much.

I'm not sure about "back forty" b/c Saskatchewan farms are so huge - it'd be more like the "back four hundred".

The Ukrainian thing could be good for the Sask... I have a Saskatchewanian friend whose family still sets and extra plate for "the wandering stranger" at any significant family dinner, and she ascribes it to some Ukrainian custom.