Things in the Mail

The monkey fell out of his bunk (THUMP)

And slid down the elephant's trunk (WHEE!)

The elephant sneezed and fell on his knees,

But what became of the monkey (monkey, monkey, monkey...)?

Hello everyone! Hopefully you're all finished exams and things and have officially started your summer (:

On Tuesday I got a very exciting package in the mail from Girlguiding UK! When I was at an international camp in Manitoba last summer, a group from SW England was there, and they had the most amazing GG shirts I have ever seen. So I *had* to order one ;D Our centenary shirt was kind of a disappointment compared to this:

The little circle emblem is the GGUK centenary logo:


And it says "Girlguiding UK Girls in the Lead" on the sleeve. I thought it was awesome.





Wonder if I'd confuse the British Guiders when they heard my accent while wearing that shirt at camp?

I also got THESE :D Not that they'll be coming to camp :(

The most amazing pair of flip flops in my collection.
If GGC ever decides to make flip flops, I will be the first to order a pair!





So that's what came via snail mail...via e-mail I recieved the 7th edition of GM Buzz, which was pretty exciting! Have you had the chance to read it yet? Town Square sounds incredible. I can't believe how much work and dedication is going into making this such a great camp. A big thank you to any volunteers reading this! GM2010 is going to be the best GM yet :D

Days to GM: 10

Blogger Contest Entry

I love to go a-wandering along the mountain track,

And as I go I love to sing, my knapsack on my back

Hello! Any ideas where this week went? Between seeing Lauren Fairweather play a show in London, trying to come up with a new cat name (turns out it's a boy :P), seeing the Tempest, my birthday yesturday, and studying for exams, I haven't gotten much of anything done D: Since I'm up to my eyeballs in history review tonight, I thought I'd post my original blogger contest entry. The word max was much too low to my liking, but this is what I came up with :) See you in a few weeks!

If you take a look at the old program books, you’ll see that Guiding is for fun and adventure, challenge, and opportunity. Add friends to that list, and you’ve got exactly what Guiding means to me.

FUN: We can all attest to the amount of fun we’ve had in Guiding - that’s one of the reasons we’ve stuck around for so long ;D Whether it’s playing games, meeting new people, or trying something new, Guiding and fun to go together like...outhouses and stink. Eloquent, I know.

ADVENTURE: Nearly all of the “adventurous” things I’ve done have been through Guiding. Although tenting it in mid-January and going on an overnight canoe trip might not seem like the pinnacle of adventure to some, there’ll be more to come in my Guiding career. Can you say Yukon, anyone?

CHALLENGE: The best part of Brownies and Guides for me was always earning badges. I was the browner Brownie who got all her badges in one year, and I didn’t do too shabby in Guides, either. But challenges extend outside the realm of the Canada Cord (slash Ribbon) – things like learning to ski and planning meetings count too!

OPPORTUNITY: Guiding is all about the opportunity to try new things. I have a 350 word limit, so I can’t go into detail, but some of the highlights have been an international camp in England, and another in Manitoba. The plan is to someday volunteer at Our Chalet, and hopefully receive one of the scholarships GGC offers :D

FRIENDS: I have met so many awesome people through Guiding. I’ve got friends all over the world, from New Zealand to the UK, from Alberta to Newfoundland, as well as 45 minutes north east, and 2 minutes down the street.

One fateful night, many years ago, I was selling GG Cookies to a neighbour. She and my mom were talking about the number of girls dropping out of Guiding before Pathfinders, either from becoming too busy, or just losing interest. I piped up with, “I love Guides! I’m never going to quit!”

Today, my attitude remains the same (:

Days to GM: 17

Blogging > Homework

Tall trees that reach the sky,
Mountains and lakes near by,
Draw near my friends, come sing my friends,
Our campfire time is nigh.

Hello again! How do you like the new layout? If you haven't noticed, I've been trying to keep with the whole blue/green/red theme of the GM logo, but now things are a bit brighter (:

(I was about to start this paragraph with "Speaking about GM," but then I realized, Rachel, this whole BLOG is speaking about GM. So let's try this again.)

Camp is less than a month away! Can you believe it? I can't. When I created a little countdown on my Facebook profile, there were over 400 days to go. And now - 24. Crazy!

This weekend I took a trip down to Burlington to visit Mountain Equipment Co-op. It's a pretty cool store for a Girl Guide. Never have I seen that many headlamps or packets of dehydrated food in one place. Plus, you can find clothing that was made in Canada :O It's unreal. Our unit now has at least one solar shower to use at camp!

Exams are fast approaching, so our unit hasn't had any time to get together yet. I hope you're all reading and commenting on Hazel's blog, who is coming to GM from the UK and doing much more interesting things to prepare for her trip ^.^ There's also Caitlin's blog, another blogger from Ontario (Click their names to visit their blogs!)

If you have a Facebook account, make sure you join the Guiding Mosaic group! There's all sorts of discussions happening on the boards right now, where you can ask any questions you have about GM. Threads for different neighbourhoods have been started too, so you can chat with some of the people you'll be camping with in only a few weeks :D

Time to get back to that homework :/

Days to GM: 24

Shrunken Swaps

The people beyond our borders, and far across the foam,
They all call it Canada, but I call it home!

It's been a crazy busy week this week! Thursday, after 2 years and 120 days, I finally got my braces off :D On Friday I went to Canada's Wonderland with our school band, and on Saturday I got my birthday present early (: 

She has yet to be named though!









On the GM front, I've been busy making some swaps and attaching my little name tags. Anybody else do something like this?

Well, minus the pink xD

My unit is planning a swap party to make swaps before camp - maybe some tie-dye hat crafts for the 70's Ranger Village if I can find turquoise dye ^.^ We'll also be making shrink art swaps! I have a surfboard-shaped shrinky dink on my hat from California that I thought was really creative. Here's a tester that I've done for GM:

 1 by 4cm ish.

The hiring has been finished for the photography team, and right now we're all starting to get to know one another via Facebook. It's going to be tons of fun looking after the photography at GM, and I can't wait to meet everybody!

Be sure to leave me a comment below (: Let me know how your unit is getting ready for Mosaic!

Days to GM: 32

Backpacking and a Quick Update

nd with our sisters by our side, we learn to lead, we learn to guide
We clear the path, we pave the way, to peace on earth, to a brighter day.

Hello there! Hope you all had a great weekend :D Saturday my Ranger unit headed out on part of the Bruce Trail to do some backpacking. I got to dust off my big backpack for another run before GM. I swear it keeps getting smaller - it seemed massive when I bought it two years ago. I'll be doing some clever packing, for sure.

First we hiked all the way up here, then around and down the escarpment.

 

All morning we had to hike up hills, then in the afternoon it was downhill until we hit the ground.

It was a lot of fun, and the first time I'd hiked that long with that much weight to carry.








After all the hiking we were glad to be cooking supper at our campsite xD

Our backpacking trip reminded me of a few things I still have to do before GM. Waterproofing my hikers again is a must...at the last camp I went to in Manitoba we went on a canoe trip. Let's just say the canoe wasn't the only thing tripping into water ;D So my shoes are probably due. I've also got to invest in some carabiners that won't break so easily - hanging water off my backpack is a lot easier than digging for it every time. Mel has a fish-shaped one...I'm keeping my eyes peeled for one shaped like a flamingo.

Rangers got to apply for different jobs and teams to do their volunteering for GM. I'm on the photography team, and our first task is to get creative and make a "Here's Looking at Me" page about ourselves. I've been busy working on that (in between working on my history summative, of course ;D).

So that's what's going on GM-wise over here. Let me know how you're getting ready in the comments!

Days to GM: 38

Hats, and Flashlights, and Bears - Oh My!

From Vancouver Island to the Alberta Highland,

Cross the Prairie, the Lakes, to Ontario's towers,

From the sound of Mount Royal's chimes, out to the Maritimes,
Something to sing about, this land of ours!

Do many of your leaders have a stash of Jubilee Songbooks kicking around? Mine always seemed to. Last November, before it closed, I headed up to the Mississauga Guide store to have a look around for things for GM, and finally picked one up. The bit of song up at the top is the chorus of Something to Sing About, and it's one of my favourites in the book. Wonder if I could get the Brownies in the unit I'm a junior leader with to learn all five verses next year? ^.^ I think they prefer Herman the Worm and the Moose Juice song...which I'm sure has a better title than that. What are some of your favourite campfire songs? Let me know in the comments :D

Since all this past week I've been thinking about the Scottish Wars of Independence for my history essay rather than GM, I thought I'd share some of the other things I found at the Guide store. Apparently I was doing more preparing for camp 6 months ago than I am now xD

Swaps was the main thing I was looking for. I like swapping for crests and badges best - leave me a comment telling me what you like to swap. Are you a fan of pins? Hat crafts? Post cards? Shirts?

They were selling bags of old Ontario challenge crests.

 I love these bags for swaps, with two sections. I've got a couple more to swap at GM :D





It's all full and ready to go xD











I'll have to find room in my backpack for a couple of these guys too.









Aside from swaps, I found some other camp necessities.

I've got a camp hat covered in crafts, but turns out that isn't so practical when you're canoeing. I picked up a pink camp hat (made in Canada!).

Of course, if it's anything like last time I'm going to get to GM and be given a new hat to match my subcamp, but that's ok xD

I've been a Girl Guide for nearly a decade and only now do I have a whistle.







And finally, although from L.L. Bean, and not the Guide store...

What do you guys think about headlamps? I'm pretty sure they are the most convenient form of flashlight out there (although not in the winter, you can't push the button in mittens!), but my friends have poked fun at me for having one xD Love em? Hate em? Think they just look stupid? Tell me in the comments!

So I think that's pretty much caught up to how prepared I am for GM. We just learned that another Ranger in our unit is registered for GM (we all registered at different times) so we'll end up with a proper sized Ranger unit at camp after all ^.^ I can't believe how quickly the time is flying by! With all the 30+ weather we've been getting, it's starting to feel a lot like July (: And I only have 11 days left with braces!

Days to GM: 46

Rally Day

Who are these? Swinging along the road, with a pack on the back, a song in the heart to ease the load?

It's a hundred years or more since they crowded through the door, and they're coming along as gay and as strong as ever they did before!

Where can you find a Town Friar, blue pompoms, Beaver Tails, matching hats, and 11 000 Girl Guides and leaders in one spot? At Rally Day in Ontario Place!

Girl Guides Canada has all sorts of activities going on to celebrate 100 years of Guiding in Canada, with Guiding Mosaic being just one. Yesturday, a couple of us from our Ranger unit made our way to Toronto for another one of these celebrations, Rally Day. If you missed the memo, or don't live in Canada, Rally Day was an event held across the country, where 45 000 girls and leaders met to sing songs, participate in different activities, and, with the use of blue pompoms, celebrate a century of GGC.

At the Ontario Place Rally Day event, the day kicked off in the Molson Ampitheatre, with some singing, speeches, and a visit from both the Lieutenant Governor and Town Friar.

(The Town Friar)

For the rest of the day, everyone rotated around to different stations. There were tons of activities to pick from - a camp skills race, belly dancing, a GGC movie in the Cinesphere, bracelets made out of plastic bags, improv, origami, noodle games, and friendship bracelets, just to name a few. We were nearly trampled by Sparks in the H2O Regeneration Station, a maze of tubes, slides, and platforms that we found out has a height maximum for a reason.

The day ended with the largest campfire I have ever been to.  We sang The Guide Marching Song, as quoted above, and some of my favourites: Barges, On My Honour, and Land of the Silver Birch. After Taps it was time to start heading home. I give major props to whoever co-ordinated busing. Over 500 school buses and coaches filled the parking lots, and mass chaos would have ensued if everyone tried to leave at once. So, group of 12 buses or so by group, Go Well and Safely by Go Well and Safely, the ampitheatre emptied. It was a tiring but very eventful and fun day. Let me know in the comments if you went to Rally Day in your province/territory! How was it?

Now, seeing as this is a GM Blog and not a What-Rachel-did-on-her-Saturday-instead-of-her-history-homework blog, I do have a few GM-related things to say about Rally Day!

First of all, Rally Day definitely put me in the spirit for GM! It was great to see all of the enthusiasm for Guiding, but it was an event where units stuck together. Getting to meet so many new people who love Guiding from around Canada and the world is one of the best things about international camps :D

Secondly, it was very cool to run into people at Rally Day that Mel and I met at Keystone Quest, an international camp we and six other Ontario girls went to in Manitoba last summer. We saw our two leaders, Linda and Sue, and Robin, one of the Rangers in our group. August was the last time we saw them, and we'll be camping with them and a few more from our group at GM!

Finally, I'm hard at work getting all of my swaps and crests sewn onto various camp things D: I decided last year that it would be a good idea to take all of my swaps off my blanket, and sew them onto a poncho. Taking them off wasn't hard, but now I've got a dresser covered in crests with nowhere to go :/ Who knows what I was thinking. Let me know in the comments whether you put your crests on a blanket or poncho. Or maybe you keep them pinned to you camp hat? Or perhaps a vest? I saw a few leaders walking around yesturday with crests on vests ;) and I thought it was a great idea. The only problem is that I'd probably run out of room! Also, let me know if you're someone who sews your badges onto your sash or blanket or whatever it is is you use right away, or if you leave them in a pile on your dresser waiting to be sewn.

Have a great week!

Days until GM: 52

btw, sorry for the lack of pictures! Blogger doesn't seem too keen on me adding any tonight, but there'll be more in the next blogs :D