oh Alberta

Two beautiful weeks spent in sunny Alberta is making me hate the slushy, dreary winter of Ottawa right now. Though, I must say, Ottawa kicks Lethbridge's ass when it comes to cross country skiing. They both have their strengths and weaknesses. (I'm such a polite Canadian)

Chris and I were really pleased to be going home for Christmas as we hadn't been home for a year and a half and haven't been home for Christmas for three years!

We had such a fantastic time visiting with friends, family and sharing our news of our forthcoming bundle of joy.

We spent the first week down in Lethbridge. An impromptu gathering happened at Marc's parent's house (see his blog for pictures, I forgot my camera)
Lots of nice visits followed with family. Some pictures to document said visits.\







We headed to Cochrane on boxing day to have some time with my family. We were the family of fun activities this holiday season. We went bowling at the local 5 pin. Joel was really mad that he wasn't as good as everyone else at bowling. My dad had a really mean left slice.


Then the next day we went to the Calgary Zoo. It's awesome! We saw all sorts of wonderful animals. My favourites were the hippos and the baby giraffe. IT was great to spend such a large amount of time with my whole family. Its been years. I think my Mom liked it too:)


We went back to Lethbridge really quickly to spend some time with Laura and Greg for New Year's. It was nice and quiet. The boys totally beat us at Trivial Pursuit. Perhaps the best part was the steaks that Laura made us for breakfast. It was epic, and so Alberta.


We drove back in our Dodge Avenger courtesy of Enterprise, just in time to spend some quality time watching Dr. No with my Mom and Dad.
A great visit indeed.

epic adventure part deux

The biking was easier and harder than I thought it would be. I thought I'd have a hard time biking 70+ km a day but that wasn't too bad. I was used to biking in the city where you have to start and stop at all the stupid lights. We took lots of breaks and broke it up so that it didn't really seem that bad. There weren't even any sore spots. My legs felt great at the beginning of each day. However... there was one hill, or shall I say mountain that really kicked my butt. It was North mountain. There was a 5 km ascent with no flat spots, 13% grade in fact. If you don't remember how that's calculated, its rise over run. That means the average was a rise of 13 m, for every 100m of distance. That is really, really steep.  All the other climbs were slow and steady, with some places where it would flatten out, or pull offs on the side of the road. This one had none of that. I admit that this hill got the better of me mentally. I think that's really what it came down to. Because I was clipped into my pedals, and I was going so slow, I was scared of falling over into traffic. This would lead me to try to go faster, too fast, and then I'd end up getting kind of panicky and stop.  Chris was great though, he was encouraging from behind and at one point even loaded up my stuff into his panniers. What a guy. (too bad he didn't think of that at the bottom of the hill, we were almost to the top when he did)

This isn't even the big hill, this is a smaller one. I believe this is climbing up French mountain. You can see Jen and Brendan at the top. They were the fast train, I was the slow train, and Chris stayed with me at the back.

Chris' bags loaded up with my gear. See where the top is? He didn't carry them very far... but I was still really grateful.

The next day was more relaxing. We had some really sweet downhill with this fresh tarmac. I think this is when I clocked my top speed of 70.3 km/h. So fun.

 We went for a swim in Black Brook, where fresh water met salt water.

You can see there's a lot of iron in the water that gives it that brown colour.

Next stop, lobster lunch. So delicious.

That night we stayed at J. Kerr's B and B. It was glorious. She had such a wonderful home and it was such a treat to stay in a house rather than a motel. She had this lovely walk you could take out to the cliffs that are on the East side of Cape Breton. Gorgeous view.

Outside J. Kerr's, heading to Baddeck, the end of our journey. 

The last day was a short one. We got a ferry ride (it was short, its on a chain) and cruised into Baddeck for a pizza lunch.

The next day we headed to Newfoundland. The ferry was very uneventful, which is good because the week previous there was a fire on one of the boats. 

We had a few days in between hiking and biking that we spent at Blow me Down Provincial Park. It was great. We went to Newfoundland to hike the Long Range Traverse, a four day hike through the back country along the Long Range Mountain range. There is no trail, so you have to navigate with map and compass.

We went to Gros Morne and met with the park warden to prove to him that we knew how to use a map and compass. They gave us our back country camping permit, which you need so that when you take the boat tour, they'll let you off. They also gave us a transponder. We had to sign something saying that they wouldn't come look for us until we were two days past when they expected us and that the transponder "may" help in locating us. How comforting.

Here's the view from the tour boat and then it leaving us behind. 

Chris taking a bearing. He and Brendan took the lead on the navigating. We only went off course on the first day, when there was really no navigating to be done. Our directions were, stay to the right of the waterfall. We took these a little too literally as we ended up on the side of the cliff. We could see where we needed to go, but had no way of getting there.

When we finally got to the top we had taken quite the detour. The view was everything I imagined. We didn't get to spend as much time as I wanted taking it in as it was still another hour hike to our first campsite. 

The morning dip at campsite 1.

We had a great time the rest of the trip. The pace was quite slow as we didn't want to get any injuries. We had already seen one guy get taken off the mountain in a helicopter and we didn't want the same fate to happen to us.  The landscapes were spectacular. I couldn't recommend this hike highly enough. It was the first time I had taken a long hike. I don't know how another one could beat it. 

Much fun was had traversing the traverse. We saw many moose, scaled mountains, swam in cool water, got beat by Brendan at Wizard, and defied the odds. 

We summited Gros Morne on the end of day four and hiked out on day five. This is the descent down to Ferry Gulch, the last campsite.

The end.

epic adventure vacation part 1

I have a feeling that I won't be able to pack all of this goodness into one blog post so I'll separate according to location and adventure.
Chris and I left after work on a Friday night with Jen and Brendan. You know how you anticipate a vacation for months and then when it finally comes it tends to disappoint? Well, that DID NOT happen with this one. The anticipation was warranted and I've never had such a fantastic vacation.

First stop was Quebec City.
We spent the day on Saturday there and wandered around the old city. There was lots of great things to see like horses, tall buildings, Cirque de Soleil practice sessions and pretty parks. Here are some examples.


Jen and Chris in the artists' alley.


Socks outside a store.

Me visiting with a horse.

We came across this Cirque de Soleil practice session. These guys were set up underneath an overpass. There were four of them on that swing in the foreground and they would gain momentum until one of them jumped off, did a somersault in the air and then landed on that giant silver sheet hanging in the air. It was crazy.




pretty park

After leaving Quebec city we headed out onto the road again to make our way to the Cabot Trail. We were scheduled to leave from Baddeck, home of Canadian Aviation, to cycle the Cabot Trail for four days.

Here we are in our campground about to set out on day one. I had some major butterflies in my stomach at this point.


The landscapes were amazing, breathtaking and oh-so-satisfying to see from the bicycle. In fact, I'd say it was much more exhilarating to crest a hill and see a view from the bicycle, knowing that your legs got you there, than doing it from the front seat of the car.
Here's a little teaser for the rest of it. Blogger is telling me I have bad requests when attempting to upload more pictures.
Part 2 will include the rest of the bike and the hike (hopefully)

school's out!

After  a VERY long session of summer school, I am finally on summer vacation. Yay.

I am getting ready to go on a super duper vacation to Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and I can't wait. 

Last weekend we had a great time canoeing with Kevan and Jodi in Frontenac provincial park. It is our favourite Ontario park so far as all of the campsites are backcountry. You have to hike in or canoe in to all of them. We didn't plan ahead very well and so only had one choice for a camping spot. We ended up having three portages each day and it was hard work. It was worth it in the end though. I wish I had a picture with Kevan and Chris with canoes on their head, you'll just have to imagine what its like to hike 900 m with a big boat on your shoulders. Chris has some pretty great bruises as a memento.

Here are some photos to prove that we went.

I am going to try to avoid mentioning the obvious. That's all I'm going to say about it.

I feel overwhelmed with all the technology we have out there to stay connected. So much so that I avoid all of it to the point of being less connected than when we started. The other website that I left my blog for has left me unsatisfied. As a blogger who dropped the ball I'm considering picking it back up again.

One thing that has kept me from doing it up until now is lame... but I'll put it out there. All the blogs I continue to read (which aren't very many) are of people who are traveling the world and seeing amazing sights and taking all these crazy pictures at the top of exotic mountains. I'm just living a normal life. Not that much exotic goes on. Sometimes when I look back at my previous posts they seem a bit narcissistic. Does anyone really care that much about the fact that I made gingerbread cookies? I'm not so sure. So perhaps I'll try to make it a little less self centered. If that's possible.

one year? I mean...6 months?

I just looked at the date of my last blog post. June 23,2007?! Why its almost 2008 and I haven't written. I think that's more than just a temporary hiatus, and I don't think that I can use the excuse that I've been really busy for the last few months. I haven't been THAT busy that I couldn't have made a post. Perhaps I was just uninspired about blogging. Just like last time, I was inspired by Marc and Kylie's blog. I figured I'd pick it up again.

Last weekend was a perfect wintertime weekend. We got a Christmas tree on Saturday, went x-country skiing to the Gatineau Park and had a cheese fondue at a chalet, and had a snowstorm on Sunday where we decorated our tree and made gingerbread cookies. How perfect.

I can't even describe how delighted I am with the snow this year. Last year in Ottawa we got as much snow as we've had this year already. The huge snow piles everywhere and bundling up in parkas is giving me joy deep down. I didn't know that secretly I've been missing snow all these years living in Lethbridge. Those chinooks wreck it and I didn't realize how much I longed for the days of snowdrifts.

In celebration of the snow, here is a picture of me with my 'artistic' gingerbread cookie. Its negative space. I learned about that in art class when I was in school.

random facts (7 in total)

Here are the rules… Each person tagged gives 7 random facts about themselves. Those tagged need to write in their blogs the 7 facts, as well as the rules of the game. You need to tag seven others and list their names on your blog.

1. The left side of my body is stiff due to dragon boat racing, but only the left side because that was the side of the boat I was on.

2. I have two fake teeth. Not the middle front, the two just beside. I have dental implants made of titanium because I have a genetic disorder and they didn't ever form. Don't worry, they don't set off the metal detectors at the airport.

3. I really like dissecting things. My favourite part of biology is the dissections. I am always so amazed at how living organisms are put together. (also, I really like it that scientists can't figure out why we need sleep)

4. I don't like it when my face is wet. The other day I was walking in the rain and wasn't bothered by it at all. Someone pointed out it was because I was wearing a hat and my face was staying dry. They were right. I can stand out in the pouring rain and get drenched so long as my face stays dry. Even in the shower I try to keep my face dry and am constantly wiping water off my face.

5. I don't like it when my hands get pruny. I also don't like touching floating bits of food in dishwater. This is why I rinse all my dishes before washing them, and why I wear gloves while washing dishes. Also, if I'm in a hot tub, I keep my hands out of the water so I can stay in longer because once my hands get pruny I want to get out.

6. I can't remember when I met Chris. Neither of us can. We don't have a "when I met you" story.

7. I have a lot of nose bleeds. When I was a kid my Mom had to come and get me from school once because it was bleeding for so long. I still get them quite frequently and I don't know why. (maybe I should ask my doctor)

I tag...Marc (kylie already did it), Grace, Michelle, Heather, crap...I don't have enough blog friends to tag 7 people...they've all done it already. Okay, so if you read this and you want to make 7 random facts you go right ahead.

spring is here!

Do I have to mention that I haven't posted in two months? I think it goes without saying. I have been lurking in the background only reading and not contributing to the blogosphere.


Good news. I have a new Sunday night activity. Its beach volleyball. We were playing court volleyball in the winter and decided to move it outside for the summer. Its a good idea, except last Sunday when everyone was playing in sweaters and shoes. It just doesn't have the same pizazz when its so cold outside. I think that will be the last cold weather we'll have though, because as my blog title explicitely states "spring is here" I believe my declaration will make it so.

We have a plot in the community garden (adding to the spring theme) and we just finished planting it on Monday. I went to visit it today, but alas, nothing has sprouted. No instant gratification there. I'll just have to wait. I have a feeling that we may have planted the rows a little close together. We have a smallish plot so we crammed everything in together so it would fit. I'm sure it'll be fine. How much room do plants need? When we first got our plot it was a tad overgrown with mint and dandelions. Here are some pictures of Chris and I using the u-bar digger to show that mint just who's boss.





I tell you what, if you come to visit us, I'll let you have some fresh garden vegetables.

georgia on my mind

I helped lead a trip with the youth of our church to Georgia to visit Koinonia Farms, the birthplace of Habitat for Humanity. It was an amazing trip and we had a lot of fun to say the least.

We flew into Atlanta and drove the 3 hours to arrive in Americus. Koinonia is a few miles just outside of town and were fortunate not to have been hit by the tornado that Americus received on March 1. The damage was quite extensive to the town and it took us awhile, being late at night, to realize why all the trees were on the ground coming into town.

We had a chance to help with the cleanup one day in town. We just helped out with some light yard cleanup. It was very interesting to be in a place that was declared a federal state of emergency.

We got a chance to help out around the farm, a pecan plantation in its down season right now. We painted some buildings and helped with general yard maintenance.

My favourite part of the trip was learning about the history of the farm. It was started in 1942 and was very progressive in the deep south of Georgia. They hired blacks and paid them equally to their white counterparts. They experienced strong disapproval of these practices and were boycotted for almost 20 years in the 50's and 60's. They experienced drive-by shootings, death threats and were completely ostracized by the local community.

The boycott was how the farm got into pecans by offering them by mail order. Their slogan was "Help us get the nuts out of Georgia" I love that they had such a sense of humour amidst such hardships surrounding them.

And now for some photo descriptors of what Georgia is like mid-March. (we experienced temperatures of 30 degrees Celsius most days)

There were quite a few blossoms on the trees. This was a random twig tree that was covered in blossoms.

The colour of the earth there was incredible. A deep rusty red that stained shoes, but was beautiful nevertheless.

We went for a walk in the woods and I loved all the vines so I had my picture taken in front of them. I definitely would like to return to Georgia when all the leaves are on the trees. The forests looked a little bare (except in this viney spot)

This is a picture on the street where we were helping clean up yards. Most people lost a few trees in their backyards and many people lost sections of their roof. Everyone brought the rubble to the front lawn so heavy machinery could come and remove it.

This is a picture of our group in the pecan orchard, again, I think it'd be a bit improved with leaves on the trees but you can still get an idea of how extensive the orchard is.

We had a chance to visit Andersonville, which is known for its very large and poorly maintained POW camp during the Civil War. This area was originally designed for 6,000 soldiers, but instead held 45,000. It has a very tiny creek coming in through the middle of the field which was supposed to supply the entire camp with drinking water. All along the expanse you can see markers where they found wells that were dug by the soldiers with spoons in an effort to find fresh water. 13,000 men died here due to the conditions here. In Americus, 10 miles down the road, they complained of the smell that drifted from here.


Habitat for Humanity's headquarters are in Americus and they have a centre called the Global Village that displays some examples of the types of houses they build all over the world. To begin the display they have an example of a shanty town. It provides a good comparison for the houses that follow, which don't seem all that fancy to North American standards but they are simple houses that provide adequate shelter. My favourite part were all the windows. Why don't we have more creative windows?






See? So much better than our boring white windows.