I've always wondered how maple leaves and syrup became such iconic symbols of Canada, since that tree won't grow in most of the country, certainly not here on the prairies. Oh well, we do have lots of beavers, even in the city, although I've never eaten one.... As a country of immigrants (or the descendants of immigrants), I'd say we tend to eat what is familiar, or failing that, what is available. My parents grew up here in Calgary in the '20s and '30s, when the only veggies eaten in the winter were potatoes, carrots, onions, and cabbage. Being mostly of UK descent, there was NEVER garlic in the house. No olive oil either. The fats of choice were butter, lard, and bacon grease. Mashed potatoes with every meal. I had never heard of, let alone eaten a bagel until I visited Montreal as a college student. But times change. Nowadays, pasta and rice are staples, not ethnic food. Hey, curries are pretty mainstream, as are perogies. I'm surprised how many folks I encounter don't know how to make mashed potatoes, although I think it was the New Brunswick bros McCain who invented oven fries, and everyone knows those. Tim Horton's has been much more successful than any political party in uniting the country as a national institution. I still remember when he was a hockey player...

Thank you everyone for your thoughtful insights, I really appreciate it. The more I think about it, the more I'm sure there is no way to avoid "gifts" even though I would prefer to just share our hospitality. Gellchom, when I posted I just put my thoughts in random order and realized how awful #1 sounded after I re-read it. I didn't mean that as harsh as it sounded, I was being overly blunt, and certainly would appreciate the thoughtfulness any guest of ours put into a gift for us. Kitties will be ok too, they have their own bedroom and they'll go in there, best for our guests, and best for them since one of them is scared of his own shadow lol. DH has a very large extended family that we are very close to. In addition to living on the same street with 2 families, we also spend time at the lake every weekend with the rest of them as we all have cottages at the family island. Needless to say, they have all been following our long saga with great interest and now that we are home are relentless about when we are having our "housewarming" lol (and we've only been home a week!). I like the idea of a "cocktail party", that may at least minimize any feeling that they should bring a gift. I do have another question that I should have asked. Because DH's family is large (at our wedding 4 years ago, we had 108 people....and 10 were from my side lol), there is no way logistically that we can have that many people at our house at one time. We are planning the party for end of November and outdoors will not be an option due to temperature as well as the fact our landscaping is not done (think mud & rocks, but by then snow and cold). I'm thinking of doing it over 2 nights from 7pm-10pm (ie: Fri & Sat evenings) and let the guests RSVP for which night they prefer - this way I could avoid stepping on any feelings if people were not on the "A-List" (ie: first night). Do you think this would be ok? Adding up all the furniture seats I have, we have 28 seating spots. Thanks again for your really great advice.

My DH was watching and I finally got sucked in for the last few episodes -- so I didn't watch all the lead-ups. One thing that occurred to me . . . until recently, and for the last 32 years, I lived in a small resort town. We had one grocery store, except for a glorious 2-year period with a real supermarket, with specialty foods -- it closed. So if my one store didn't carry an ingredient, or was out, I faced a 40 minute trip to find it, or change my menu -- which in reality, is what I did. For out-of-the-ordinary ingredients, I just had to plan ahead -- for my out of town shopping trips. Harissa -- not a chance! I wonder how many other fans live in areas where Jeffrey's exotic ingredients would be difficult to obtain. Incidentally, I'm now in a town with 4 (count 'em!!) supermarkets, the smallest of which is larger than my former one!! Oh, my!!!

I think we'll just have to roam Pitigliano to find places to eat - the difficulty there is that not much seems to open early, but I think it will be an interesting experience whatever happens. Here's the web site for Narcisi & Bussi - doesn't look breakfast to me, and I was trying to find a bakery. Since they open at 8:30 AM, we'll probably go there anyway. There is Forno Del Ghetto Di Francesca in the Jewish neighborhood, but I do not know what hours it is open. It may be the only bakery in town, since it is a small town. That yacht is grossly huge - fortunately, I do not generally have to deal with that client - I only get called in when the production department cannot handle the designs sufficiently. I am lucky that I am insulated from clients - my only client is my boss. The furniture that is going into that yacht is huge and overscaled, but I suppose it will look okay once it is in place. In the warehouse, it just looks out of proportion. I'm mainly working on new designs for our New York and London showrooms, and we are putting in a lot of new furniture there, fortunately in stages so that I do not get swamped. Most of my work is somewhat on hold for now, while we finish the furniture for that yacht!