March forth....

Lunch day - 6 of us for lunch today and broke away from soup for a change. I made tomato and herb crusted cod with creamy parmesan mash - lovely, well I thought so and it vanished pretty quickly.

This regular lunch date is a favourite day for so many reasons - good company, good deserts from Betsy and good knitting afterwards - but also a good reminder of the fact that I now cook for groups of people regularly. Cooking for two was a stretch of my talents back in England! So silly the mental barriers we put up - I could have been a contestant on 'Can't Cook, Won't Cook' back then, and just six months later I love cooking and even break away from the recipe books every now and again....

Although saying that we did have oven chips and fried eggs for dinner last night.....baby steps!

day three

Has spring arrived? I think its safe to say that it probably hasn't, but things have brightened and although its still -2ish first thing in the morning, we're hitting the heights of +4 or more by lunchtime. This new found warmth has led to a big rise in the wildlife spotting, although as things have been very sparse recently a big rise isn't all that dramatic.

I do now have regular bird visitors on the back porch, albeit cock-e-ney sparrows just like the ones back home. They've been joined by a dark-eyed junco today, and I also spotted male northern cardinals singing seductive tunes to their prospective lady friends. Apparently car-alarm impressions are very attractive in the world of bright red birdies.

Last night saw the second visit to our compost from Mr.Raccon, who seems very adept at toppling the wheelie bin over before climbing inside to forrage for tasty treats. Worryingly I sometimes struggle to open the child-proof fastenings to deposit our peelings and this opposable-thumbless creature seems to manage with very little bother. Based on the detritus left around the bin this morning it is safe to report that this furry friend is not a fan of cauliflower.

And as for us, the warmth has put a spring in our step, and we enjoyed homemade soup and a sandwich by the river at lunchtime. Best to make the most of the blue skies before the snow returns....

the second

A monumental day in my canadian story as today I earnt my first dollars - all 4 of them. I handed in photos to the canteen picturama, they collate 4x6 prints and then sell them at a gallery evening at $2 a pop. We went for sushi then headed to the overcrowded venue, to find I had sold one - and then another to my friend who purchased a prize picture of the taj mahal snow globe I bought back from India for Paul.....who knows maybe I clocked up a few more spondoolies after we headed to the pub.

Also today I added another string to my bow with my first spinning class. I have realised this week just how few of my friends actually know me, as without fail one after the other responded to this news with "spinnings one of the hardest exercise classes you can do you know" or words to that effect - even the knitters! No, I have not been working up a sweat on an exercise bike, but I have attempted spinning roving into yarn under the expert tuition of Caroline at Knit-knackers. She was very (very) patient, and I managed not to swear out loud when my thread snapped for the umpteenth time - success all round!

A hunky-dory day indeed.

merry march....

a challenge set to myself to blog every day in march - a simple target you may think, but this depends very much whether I decide just to ramble away inanely, or whether I decide to try and do something worth blogging about each day! time will tell....

Today I returned to the dentist of doom, and it wasn't quite so bad. More advice on how to turn my grotty Austin Powers English teeth into sparkling North American pearly whites, but less humiliation so a small success.

Sandwiching either side of my dentist trip was a double helping of DIY and organisation - at a friends apartment. Why I feel motivated to put together flat packed furniture in other people's homes I have no idea, but todays big achievement was single-handedly putting together an IKEA wardrobe - hooray!

Back home to get Paul's dinner on the table (Amy's special fusion cookery - tomato and feta soup followed by fake-beef, aubergine and pepper spring rolls) and greet him with a milkshake. Job done. x

In the merry month of February.....(in no particular order!)

* I became an Aunty, to two beautiful babies Lewis Austin and Megan Ann
* Paul discovered the wonders of Galvestone
* We visited Winterlude, slid down ice-slides, drank hot chocolate and viewed impressive ice and snow sculptures
* I had the dentist appointment of doom
* I went back to England and a Lawes became a Lissenden
* I witnessed an Eagle Owl pooping on a TV in a school hall
* I took part in the knitting olympics and won medals in sock hockey, aerial unwind, wip dancing and the junior olympics.
* I shared meals and cuppas with good friends
* I had a major hissy fit reminiscent of the legendary pass-the-parcel tantrum whilst ice-skating on the canal
* I cooked curries and stir-fries; halloumi and aubergine stacks with lemon and cumin oil; red onion tarte tatin; smoked mackerel pate; a victoria sponge and chocolate brownies.....yum
* We danced in a circle dance with first nation dancers at winterlude
* we spent many an evening falling asleep on the sofa by the fire, playing tiddly scrabble and watching the sopranos, kids in the hall and attenborough. x

some piccies.....

Winter Sports....

I think its safe to say that if you asked any of our friends or family in the UK to describe us, 'Sporty' would be a long way down the list. (Feel free not to contribute to an actual list, we are very happy not knowing!). Anyhow, strange then that after so long with so little exercise beyond long walks we seem to have embraced winter sports so readily here.

First came the skating.
Now I have been reliably informed that the skills I have demonstrated thus far on the rink don't actually qualify as skating - just walking on the ice. However for those of you that have witnessed me falling down stairs or into a box of tambourines (who hasn't?!), I think you will appreciate that just standing on ice was a big achievement - so any kind of movement is frankly amazing. To date I haven't fallen. To date.

Paul then took this a stage further (men!), not only advancing his skills to skating backwards so he could video me:

but then branching out to wait for it - TEAM SPORTS.
Yes the man who in the years I have known him has maybe ventured out for a jog twice, is now taking part in weekly ice hockey. Who is he? What do they put in the water here?! This shot was taken seconds before Paul scored the first goal of the game. Yes you read that correctly.

This shot was taken seconds later, and was the pose repeated for much of the rest of the game!

On return home, Paul nursed his aching joints in the bath - and displayed beautiful lumps and bruises on his poor knees - but he loved it, and is going back next week! (We are going to buy knee pads today however!).

Not to be outdone, it was my turn again - and I chose skis as my next venture. Not downhill you'll be pleased/relieved to know, but cross country. And I LOVED it! The fact that I am still saying that two days later whilst my joints still ache/throb/scream is tribute to just how much I loved it.
I did fall over - twice, but somehow the ground is closer and softer so I wasn't fussed. Obviously I squealed so much at every little bump that my friends may have thought I wasn't enjoying myself - but I LOVED it.....

And so here we are, enjoying the snow, enjoying our sport - hope are nearest and dearest still recognise us when we return!

Christmas Christmas!

Well, as I sit waiting for the soup to simmer to perfection, watching the first snow storm of the year out the window, I thought I'd better update this as waiting for Paul to blog is like waiting for me to mop the floor!

We are full into Christmas mode now, spending as many evenings as possible sat by the fire in our dressing gowns, sipping whisky and writing Christmas cards which have little to no chance of arriving on time (sorry!). We've been making an effort to attend festive event, so a brief round up so far:

The Ballet


I went to my first ballet at the start of the month, The Nutcracker at The NAC. My friend Sarah managed to get student rate tickets, and although we forgot to wear our pearls, or posh frocks, we got pretty good seats and enjoyed the show. I can't say that ballet will now be top of my list of theatre treats, I'll always be a mystery/thriller/musical girl at heart, but it was definitely a festive way to start the month.


Tree cutting Party

Last weekend we were invited to a tree-cutting party at a friend of our friend Tara. We headed off the farm where we were welcomed with lots of home-cooked food, mulled wine and hot cider. The plan was to cut down a tree for Tara, but Paul soon wanted one of his own too!

Not sure why he's giving it such a shifty look!
We spent the afternoon stuffing our faces, mainly on perogies which are a new-found favourite I may have to dabble with over Christmas.

Snow

Not really an 'event' to attend, but the snow is well and truly here, with storm warnings today and schools closed. Shovelling the steps is now on the daily to do list - in fact today it'll be two or three times. Sadly the shovel slipped over at some point this morning and is now buried so the first task is to find it!
Jasper seems to be enjoying the white stuff, he gets his new booties at the weekend and has a jacket en route from England (thankyou!) so will be quite the dapper gentleman. For now he seems to be wagging his tail to keep warm:


Still to come we have Christmas dinner at friends this weekend, including a boys v girls wii fit tournament apparently - cameras will not be allowed! Then a barber shop Christmas concert the following weekend.

In the meantime I have Paul's Christmas-dalek blanket to finish, and we are slowly decorating the tree, which although it smells lovely is a little sparse at the moment.


right, best take jasper out before its too deep to see him!
Happy Christmas everyone. x