he likes it!

It's a little red Christmas tree! Merry Christmas from Halifax!

a surprise

I have something to show you guys, but I need to wait until Steve sees it first. So you'll have to wait until tomorrow! It's a festive surprise for him, but to be honest, I think his reaction will be one of polite disgust. Yeah - it's that good! (or bad... or ugly...) I like it though, and so does my mom (she got a sneak peak).

Steve has to work on Christmas Day (unless the head resident gives him a real nice Christmas present), so we're doing Christmas the Petrar way from Steve's childhood this year. Presents will be opened on Christmas Eve, with a dinner of spaghetti and meat sauce. The Maritime influence will be scallops with bacon for appetizers. The Stonehocker influence will be lots of coffee and booze.

And on Christmas Day, we're having a couple of Steve's friends over for dinner. The main course: not a turkey, but salmon! (Maybe if tuna is chicken of the sea, then salmon is turkey of the sea?) The menu is Steve's special teriyaki salmon with caramelized onions, mashed potatoes with goat cheese, and brussels sprouts with lemon and hazelnuts. Dessert will be cookies (of course) and truffles (you know the kind in the gold bag from Costco? I got an entire box from my boss for Christmas, and we definitely need to share those; it's much too dangerous to have 2.2 pounds of truffles between only 2 of us!).

And that is all for now!

Happy Christmas Eve Eve!

our condo has windows!

winter wonderland!

It's snowing like crazy here! I guess the storm they were forecasting to hit Ontario and then us really is moving along. I was at Clark and Stephanie's this afternoon for about three hours, and at least 2 inches fell during that time, and it's only getting worse! It's very pretty (and blustery), but I hope it gets it out of its system tonight, so they can clean up the roads tomorrow, so Steve can drive home safely on Tuesday. (I think that was a run-on sentence, but whatever, this is the internet - you're lucky I even use punctuation.)

What else is new? We got an email from the condo developer, pushing our move-in date back again. We're now scheduled for the first half of May. It's kind of nice, because that leaves us with less overlap between the apartment lease and paying occupancy on the condo. But... We really want to be in the condo before our lease is up here at the end of July! I'm sure it'll work out.

And we're going to cook a yummy dinner one of these days during Christmas for Parvinder and her husband. Parvinder is one of Steve's first-year anesthesia co-workers, and they're staying here for Christmas without family too, so that'll be fun. (Plus Parvinder is also in Saint John right now - also on internal medicine with Steve - and she's fed him more than once!)

Everyone in my department at the city gets a half-day off for shopping or errands before Christmas, and I'm taking mine on Tuesday. My errand: I'm going to drop some of those cookies off at the law office where I worked this summer.

any opinions on these?

I was at a meeting at the West End office this afternoon, and got out an hour early! This was dangerous, because that office is basically in the mall, but it did give me a chance to check out the shoe stores for some winter-ish boots. I may have made a low-blood-sugar decision, so tell me:

What do you guys think of these? (Sorry the pictures are so blurry; they're the result of not having a full length mirror, and not being happy with the flash on the camera.)

The facts for your consideration: Price was $120 on sale (the other boots I liked were $140-200 which is definitely too much; also, there was nothing good at Payless). To complicate things further, I don't wear heels, so that cuts down the selection as well. Oh, and they're fleece-lined, so that does add some winter warmth...

Should they stay or should they go?

news flash: sewage can be treated

I phoned Steve last night to tell him about all the cookies I made, and said "oh kenz....." in a tone of voice that wasn't sure if I was going off the deep end so he should be careful, or if I should be in trouble for making that many cookies. He perked up a little knowing there were peanut butter cookies though.

Today was our annual 1/2 day inservice at work, where everyone from the whole Community Development business unit gets together for a catered lunch and some presentations about what's going on with all of the departments. It's a strange business unit because it covers Development (which is me, plus the engineering technicians and building inspectors), Planning (from community and social planning, to regional planning, and this big HRM by Design urban design project), plus other departments like Cultural Affairs, and Immigration, and everything to do with sports and community facilities.

But I did learn this: Halifax is on its way to primary sewage treatment. We're not quite there yet, but we're getting there. As of 2004, over 50% of the sewage in HRM went into the harbour with zero treatment. As it was put in the presentation today, that's worse than many third world cities. Since amalgamation in 1996, Halifax Regional Municipality has filled the entire harbour with raw sewage - and the harbour is very, very big. What's happening now - and is already turned on in Halifax, about 6 months away for Dartmouth, and about a year away for the western part - is primary treatment of the sewage, so clean water will be discharged into the harbour, and the sludge will be 'dewatered', then trucked to some place near the airport where it'll be mixed with kiln ash and lime (I think) to make a 'biosolid' which they figure can be sold as dirt or fertilizer. (They hope they can sell this stuff, but I would just be hoping that it was safe enough and you had enough space to put it all. They also made the point that Nova Scotia is a big rock, with very little soil, so....)

But seriously, this is big news? This is the 21st century - sewage treatment shouldn't be big news; it should be old news.

On a feel-good note, I got my watch fixed today by a great guy in a watch repair shop for $10 in about 5 minutes. What a deal! What's silly about that is that the watch has been dead since the spring, and instead of getting it fixed, I've just been wearing my ugly digital travel watch around, which makes me mad whenever I see it because it offends my fashion sense. So I should have got it fixed much earlier! But better late than never, and I am so happy to have my good watch on again! ;-)

anyone for cookies?

In a strange sense, I was quite productive today, yet have got nothing of importance done yet. I talked to Steve on the phone, I walked to the store and got some baking ingredients, I talked to my mom on the phone, I baked (and baked and baked and baked), I took pictures of the baking for you people, and I had some gnocchi and a glass of wine for dinner. And it's only 7 pm, so there's still time to get my resume ready for submission tomorrow, which was the goal for the weekend. Here's what came out of the oven:

.

About five dozen peanut butter cookies. (I love peanut butter.)

About four dozen sugar cookies. (This is a new recipe for me, and I don't think these are that awesome. If there's a potluck at work, they'll be the ones being volunteered for service...)

About four dozen oatmeal raisin chocolate chip cookies.

About four dozen hazelnut chocolate chip cookies.

Two loaves of pumpkin spice bread (made with wholewheat flour, so these are for lunches, not just for treats!).

One loaf of oatmeal raisin bread, also good for lunch.

And, last but not least, a big batch of Nova Scotia carrot sticks for lunches. I got these at the farmer's market, and they're really very, very good (especially with chili lime hummus, mmm!).

very good news!

Wow. I got a great surprise at work today. And, for that matter, I got a good surprise at work yesterday too.

Yesterday's surprise was that my job was posted, so I've gotta spruce up the resume and cover letter, apply, and should get an interview. They've let me know what the interview process is and given some tips, so hopefully that's a good sign that they plan to interview me. Since I currently DO the job they're posting for, I'm sure I'll get an interview. There's both a knowledge component (i.e. test of your knowledge of the bylaws and legislation) and a behavioural component (where you have to give examples of how you meet certain 'competencies', such as customer-service orientation or flexibility). The interview will probably be fairly formal (and therefore nervewracking), but it's got to be done.

The other good news, which bodes well for at least getting an interview, is that I got an extension on my contract until January 7th! I thought this was impossible (and so did my boss) because the union has a clear policy that people can only be hired without the proper process for 90 days maximum. But apparently my boss' boss talked to them and got a special exception for the next month for me. I guess it's okay with the union because the position is posted, so there'll be someone doing the job on a permanent basis soon enough (so they wouldn't have to keep making exceptions to the rule).

In any case, I get to work through Christmas, which is fine with me (I can definitely use the paychecks) with the added bonus of avoiding cleaning up my files until January at the earliest.

Of course, being a somewhat organized person (ha ha), my desk is already the laughingstock of the office because it's so clean, but clean doesn't mean all the projects are ready for someone else to take over. It just means they're well hidden. ;-)

forget diamonds

Gum boots are a girl's best friend!

Like everywhere else in Canada, we had some bad weather yesterday and this morning. Really windy, quite snowy, but warm-ish, so the snow was really wet. I got soaked on my way home from work last night, so this morning I put on my gumboots and just trudged through an inch or so of slush with no worries. It was awesome. Plus I felt just like a little kid - all bundled up, scarf around my ears, gumboots kicking slush around - so it was a fun walk to the ferry!

history lesson: the halifax explosion

It's coming up to the 90th anniversary of the Halifax Explosion, and I found this little article on the halifax.ca website. For your reading enjoyment and historical education:

Thursday, December 6, 1917, dawned bright and clear in Halifax. World War I raged in Europe, and the port city was busy with the movement of war ships carrying troops, relief supplies and munitions.

Around eight that morning, the Belgian relief ship Imo left its mooring in Bedford Basin and headed for open sea. At about the same time, the French ship Mont Blanc was heading up the harbour to moor, awaiting a convoy to accompany her across the Atlantic. A convoy was essential; this small, barely seaworthy vessel was carrying a full cargo of explosives. Stored in the holds, or simply stacked on deck, were 35 tons of benzol, 300 rounds of ammunition, 10 tons of gun cotton, 2,300 tons of picric acid (used in explosives), and 400,000 pounds of TNT.

The Imo, a much larger and faster ship than the Mont Blanc, passed into the Narrows. She was travelling fast, and too close to Dartmouth when the Mont Blanc first spotted her. The Mont Blanc, not flying the regulation red flag to indicate she was carrying explosives, signalled that she was in her correct channel; the Imo, however, signalled that she was intending to bear even further to port, closer to Dartmouth and further into the Mont Blanc's channel. The Mont Blanc signalled again that she was still intending to pass to starboard; she was by this time very close to the Dartmouth shore and travelling "dead slow."

The Imo, however, did not swing towards Halifax, as the Mont Blanc expected; she signalled instead that she was maintaining her course. The Mont Blanc, perhaps wrongly, saw only one course open -- to swing to port, towards Halifax, across the bows of the Imo, and thus pass starboard to starboard.

Perhaps the ships might have passed without incident, but the Imo signalled "full speed astern." So did the Mont Blanc, but it was too late. Reversing her engines caused the Imo's bow to swing right, and it struck the Mont Blanc -- missing the TNT, but striking the picric acid stored directly beneath the drums of benzol on deck. The impact cut a wedge in the Mont Blanc's side, and struck deadly sparks.

The crew of the Mont Blanc, aware of their cargo, immediately took to the lifeboats, screaming warnings that no one heeded. They rowed for Dartmouth, leaving the now furiously burning ship to drift towards Halifax, propelled in that direction by the Imo's impact.

The Mont Blanc drifted by a Halifax pier, brushing it and setting it ablaze. Members of the Halifax Fire Department responded quickly, and were positioning their engine up to the nearest hydrant when the Mont Blanc disintegrated in a blinding white flash, creating the biggest man-made explosion before the nuclear age. It was 9:05am.

Over 1,900 people were killed immediately; within a year the figure had climbed well over 2,000. Around 9,000 more were injured, many permanently; 325 acres, almost all of north-end Halifax, were destroyed.

Much of what was not immediately levelled burned to the ground, aided by winter stockpiles of coal in cellars. As for the Mont Blanc, all 3,000 tons of her were shattered into little pieces that were blasted far and wide. The barrel of one of her cannons landed three and a half miles away; part of her anchor shank, weighing over half a ton, flew two miles in the opposite direction. Windows shattered 50 miles away, and the shock wave was even felt in Sydney, Cape Breton, 270 miles to the north-east.

There were about 20 minutes between the collision and the explosion at 9:05. It was enough time for spectators, including many children, to run to the waterfront to watch the ship burning, thus coming into close range. It was enough time for others to gather at windows, and thus an exceptionally large number of people were injured by flying glass -- 1,000 unfortunate survivors sustained eye damage.

Not surprisingly, hospitals were unable to cope with so many wounded. There was also a desperate need for housing, and the misery was compounded by the blizzard that struck the city the following day, dumping 16 inches of snow over the ruins and their sooty, oily covering.

With astounding speed, relief efforts were set in motion. Money poured in from as far away as China and New Zealand. The Canadian government gave $18 million, the British government almost $5 million, but most Haligonians remember the generosity of the state of Massachusetts, which donated $750,000 in money and goods and gave unstintingly in volunteer assistance through the Massachusetts-Halifax Relief Committee. To this day, Halifax sends an annual Christmas tree to the city of Boston in gratitude.

Gradually, Halifax was put back together, though nothing could compensate for lost lives. Within two months over 1,500 victims had been buried, some unidentified; the remaining victims were discovered only in the spring as excavation was made easier. A relief committee was set up to provide clothing, money and furniture, and this committee existed for almost 59 years. There are still a few survivors of the blast receiving pensions from the Relief Committee's fund.

Three thousand houses were repaired in the first seven weeks; in January, temporary apartments were being constructed at the rate of one every hour. Rebuilding continued apace, and a few months later, construction started on 328 houses in the area bordered by Young, Agricola, Duffus and Gottingen Streets. The houses were built from cement blocks known as hydrostones, and (with a design unusually forward-thinking for the time) had gardens with trees in front, and modern plumbing and electricity. This area, still known as the Hydrostone, is considered one of the more attractive and desirable parts of Halifax in which to live.

On Dec. 6, 1992, the Halifax Fire Department erected a monument in front of Station 6 (corner of Lady Hammond Road and Robie Street), in honour of the nine members who died attempting to fight the fire on the Mont Blanc.

Over eighty years later, there are few survivors left to tell their stories. But Halifax has not forgotten, and every Dec. 6 at 9am there is a service by the Memorial Bells at Fort Needham, close to where the Mont Blanc exploded.

(Didja notice that little urban planning plug about the Hydrostones? I think they were one of the first public housing projects in Canada.)

the holiday season is here!

I saw some of these on the internet (albeit made with fancy glittery paper), and thought this was a craft with my style. Things I like in a project: quick to finish; easy to repeat; looks good in multiples. I'll likely never knit a sweater (or something complicated like that), but I can make 50 ornaments in an afternoon.

They even make our lovely, vintage 70s front closet doors look festive. Nothing like construction paper to class a joint up, that's what I've been saying for years.

And here is a pile of Christmas presents, waiting to be mailed back to the homeland. Funny, they also show my signature style: snowflake stencil + white paint + brown paper, over and over again. Some good news on the work front - it's not great news, so don't get too excited - I sit at P's desk, who was away at a one-year term in traffic management, and due to be back in February. However, P got the Planner I job I told you about a while ago, so that means she is definitely not coming back to her Development Tech job. That means they're going to post her job, which I can apply for. Not sure of the timeline, but hopefully it'll be posted before Christmas. Also not sure if I'll get it, but at least there's a position to aim for!

countdown's on

Well, the countdown is back until I am (probably, yet hopefully temporarily) unemployed again. You might remember that my Development Tech position at the city of Halifax was a 90-day temporary position.... And, yep, those 90 days are going to be up mid-December. Boo. However, there is an upside. There was a Planner I position posted a while ago, and they've done their interviews for it. (I applied but wasn't interviewed; word on the street has it they want 2 years of development tech experience before they bump you up to planner. Argh.) Anyways, two of the interviewees were people with permanent development technician jobs. So if one of them gets it, then their position opens up, and I can apply, along with the two other temporary development techs. So that's relatively good news, but I have no idea how long it'll take to filter all of this through the union and HR. (Best guess: too slow!) And on the other hand, there's always consulting...

Countdown #2 - Three and a bit weeks until Steve's done in Saint John! He wasn't on call this weekend, so came back to Hali, and we had a great weekend. Pretty lazy and VERY relaxing, but we did manage to do most of the Christmas shopping. And he took the car back to Saint John, so I am now without wheels. (Not that it really affects my day-to-day life: when I got home from Vancouver, I drove home from the airport and the next time I drove, I was heading to Saint John two weeks later. Just means no trips to the power centre, which is probably good for me!)

Countdown #3 - This is on a longer time scale, but we drove by the condo today, and there's actually been a bit of progress! They've got all of the windows and sliding doors done on the first four floors. Nothing on the top floor yet. And according to our email update from the developer, some kind of progress is happening inside as well. (Not enough progress for a tour though - that's been postponed until the new year...)

ahh etsy

Hello again! One more day of work, and then another week is done! We are now half-way through Steve's stint in Saint John.

Phewf - I need him back home so there's incentive to cook good food. When he's away, I survive on toast, cereal, yogurt, soup and cheese and crackers. And carrot sticks. And a frozen pizza once in a while. It's disgusting. However, tonight I am going all out as soon as I finish this post - I am going to make.... drum roll please.... pasta with basil pesto (out of a jar). This will also mean tomorrow's lunch will be much more awesome than the usual granola bar plus apple plus carrots. Am I five years old? I should be feeding myself better than this.... I've actually broken down and bought a bottle of multi-vitamins, which is odd for me. (Generally, Steve and I don't really worry about vitamins, cause we're sure we eat a healthy balanced diet. Obviously, that's gone out the window!)

On a more positive note, here are three good things.

Number one: We got the new Beautiful Girls cd in the mail (Ziggurats) and it's awesome. For those not in the know, we discovered this band when we were in Australia, and they're amazing, with a really unique sound on all of their albums. Love them.

Number two: You guys should check out this website: www.etsy.com. It's an online shop for artists and crafty people all over the world, where you can buy handmade stuff directly from the maker. For example, I ordered some lip balm from a lady who lives in PEI... But there are people all over the States, South Africa, Europe, Singapore, and they're all selling these amazing creations for (what I think are) reasonable prices. (Liz - if you haven't seen it already, I apologize for the time you're going to spend surfing! It's so good for ideas...)

Number three: Steve is coming home for the weekend! We don't have much planned, except for hopefully a surf, depending on the swell. (Our wetsuits should be good for another month or so, depending on how the ocean gets stirred up. I don't relish the thought of getting OUT of the water and changed though!) We also have to do our Christmas shopping, but I'm not too worried about that. I've got a couple ideas and things bought already, and we only exchange small presents with a few people, so it's not a major event. Estimated shopping time (before Steve and I both run out of gas): 2 hours.

And remember - tomorrow is both Buy Nothing Day and Black Friday. So, depending which side of the bed your credit card wakes up on, either keep it locked up (to stick it to the American economy) or else go hard (to keep aforementioned tanking economy afloat). I think I'm ready to buy nothing (except ferry rides) - I got some groceries today (that's why I can make this exotic pasta with pesto) and a bottle of wine for dinner tomorrow. Steve and I are set.

animal tracks

Hey all. Just wanted you all to know that I haven't forgotten about you - I just have nothing to report....!! Steve will be back this coming weekend for the anesthesia Christmas party and hopefully one last surf, then he's back to Saint John for two ugly weekends of Friday-Sunday call. I'm not up to much, just work and putzing away on making lists and crossing things off!

saint john

Here are a couple of shots from my trip to Saint John - I don't want you to get too excited, because we had the laziest weekend ever! I drove down on Saturday (just ahead of the first snowstorm - yuck, who invited winter?!), while Steve and Brady were both on call. I met Steve at the hospital to get his keys, and spent the evening watching cable tv. We don't have cable, so I do enjoy watching it when I get the chance, but it only takes one evening to catch up on everything worth watching. Then you're stuck with sports. Steve and Brady (another anesthesia resident, also in Saint John for 8 weeks) live in an apartment supplied by the hospital, which is in one of the (nicer) projects around town.

We tried to go out for breakfast on Sunday, but everything was closed because of Remembrance Day, so it was coffee from McDonalds and cereal at home. Why McDonalds? Steve is fighting with Tim Horton's because they have a monopoly in the hospitals out here and he hates their coffee and food. ('Where's a Good Earth when you need an americano and something sort-of healthy for breakfast?' is probably what he's saying right now.) And, one more note: this closed sign is at the Java Moose, the only coffee shop (other than Tim's) in a town of over 100,000 people, and it was closed both days.

And that was about it. We did find some bacon and eggs on Monday, and I drove home on Monday evening. Not much to report, but it was great to see Steve, plus he was happy to have his guitar delivered.

lest we forget

here's the photo

happy friday!

Hello! Here it is, lunch time already on the Friday before a long weekend. (Some of you may still be in bed. Ahem. Sister. FYI to the rest of you - Devon and I have opposite schedules. We often chat on the phone when I'm walking home from work and she's just on her way to work! It actually works well.) But I have been productive at work so far and will leave the office with a nearly clean desk, which is my goal for Fridays. (It makes Mondays so much better.)

Since I last blogged, this is what happened. Last Sunday, I woke up and the weather was clear and almost sunny - the storm had passed! The power was still on, but it did go out for a few hours that morning, just long enough for me to get a little antsy. The damage in Halifax proper wasn't too bad, but there are some crazy pictures out there of areas near the water. I'll try to find one of Queensland Beach, where it looks like the road melted over top of the rocks. Some of my co-workers didn't get their power turned back on until Tuesday...

This week would have looked uneventful from the outside, but I got a lot of little things finished off my (always very long and thorough) list. Emotional meltdown about living 5000 km away from (almost) everyone we know on Monday evening, but Steve talked me down and my attitude is back to perky. (Phew. Who likes an un-perky Mackenzie? Well, besides James and Greg....)

Tomorrow I am heading to New Brunswick to visit Steve in Saint John. Looks like the drive will be about 4 hours, and there's a toll highway with the toll booth at the highest elevation (with apparently the worst weather), so you can all pretend it's the Coquihalla. Except: the toll is only $4, and the highest elevation is probably 200 m instead of 1400 m!

noel update

Yesterday was a beautiful day, sunny and calm, but kind of chilly (which is acceptable for November). It was definitely not the kind of day which made you think, "Hmm, I wonder if there'll be a hurricane tomorrow?" And this is why I am thankful for meteorologists! As an aside, it's been a treat here in Halifax to read the forecast in the morning paper, dress accordingly, and actually have that weather happen during the day. How often does that happen in Calgary?!? ;-) (Although, in Calgary, there's really only three kinds of weather: 1) sunny and warm, 2) sunny and cold, and 3) rarely occurring other weather.)

Today started out looking like a regular cloudy, blustery, possibly-rainy day, but it has been getting worse and worse. The photo was taken at 1:30, when the rain started. It's raining relatively hard and quite windy, but I would say this is a fairly average stormy day so far (i.e. no worse than Friday the 12th, when I got soaked coming home from work!). We'll see how ugly it gets later on - I think the worst is supposed to hit tonight...

batten down the hatches!

Hurricane Noel is expected to hit Nova Scotia tomorrow. According to the Globe and Mail, "Canadian meteorologists think the hurricane will lose enough strength by the time it reaches Canada to be downgraded to a severe post-tropical storm, but they warn that it will still pack a punch with intense rains and strong winds."

Isn't that weird? (For a west coast kid, anyways...) It was briefly mentioned in the paper this morning, and I did take notice that tomorrow's weather is going to be terrible. My preparation: I will get some groceries after work (since I'm out of food anyways), and at lunch I picked up some magazines and DVDs from the library. My clue that this is out of my league: All of the engineers at work are talking about bringing in lawn furniture, tieing down BBQs, etc.

I think tomorrow is going to be a bit of a write-off, but I'll keep you posted. (Maybe I'll finally get some photos from Cape Breton on the blog!)

And it's too bad that Steve's in Saint John right now*, cause there's probably big waves today. I think the swell typically arrives before the storm and bad weather, so today is probably a good surfing day. (Tomorrow... Not so much!)

*I probably haven't mentioned this: Steve went to Saint John, NB after our trip for an eight-week internal medicine rotation. It's less than ideal, but two of his anesthesia classmates are there with him, so that's good. I'm going to head out next weekend to visit him and check the city out.

happy halloween!

Happy Halloween! I am not really in the Halloween spirit, but I am taking advantage of the chocolate, that's for sure... As promised, here are some photos of from last weekend on Vancouver Island. (As usual, slower delivery than promised, but this time I have a good excuse... I'll tell you about it at the bottom!)

Chesterman's Beach was across the street from our cabin.

Steve and Bo in their sweet sealsuits. The water was surprisingly warm, about the same as in Halifax, but because the weather was so sunny and calm, it took forever to get a chill.

Our fresh sticks. Mine is the humongous one. But I like it that way! My accomplishments were catching a small green wave (i.e. not the usual foam) and learning to go along the waves (i.e. not straight).

Rocks and boys at the south end of Chesterman's Beach.

Sunset at Chesterman's Beach, looking west to Frank Island (which is only a high tide island!).

Some biology on Frank Island (at low tide).

A lot more biology! (This makes me wish I'd taken that field class to Bamfield in my undergrad...)

Some ex-biology. Maybe now it's architecture?

The beautiful old trees between Port Alberni and Nanaimo.

~

It was SUCH a great trip! But, anyways, the reason for my lateness is that a Planner I job was posted at the city of Halifax when I returned from holidays (isn't that a treat?!). It closes this week, and in the interest of not procrastinating, I made sure to update the resume asap. Application was faxed AND dropped off today, so I am done. Fingers crossed, and hopefully I'll get an interview, and if it doesn't work out, maybe a permanent development tech will get it, and I can get shifted from 'temporary' to 'permanent' in the pool of municipal government! Bye!

home again!

Hello! I'm home again, back in Halifax. (I have to say, it didn't feel like 'home' after being in BC, until I got into the apartment. Luckily, all my stuff is still here, so I guess it is my home...)

Super quick update (because I am very tired, even though it is only 5 pm BC time!): Steve's new shoes are very cool, 100% approval rating from the polls (i.e. me). The jury's still out on my new shoes (which are leopard-print gumboots!) but I like them, they were cheap, and I'm sure they'll get a lot of use this fall / winter! Vancouver Island was awesome - Steve and Bo and I spent three days in Tofino, surfing and relaxing. We had amazing weather, sunny the whole time. I took lots of photos, which I will post after work tomorrow.

And finally, I had a layover in Calgary this morning, and James, Greg, Rob and Jenn were kind enough to come out for breakfast at the airport!!!! It was great to see them, and I feel so lucky to have such awesome friends. Thanks you guys!

here's looking at you, Bruce and Ian

Some props going out to my biggest fans, who have been feeling VERY neglected: Bruce and Ian, I am thinking of you RIGHT this minute. Thanks for checking the blog, even though there's nothing new to actually read! (Of course, the moms are probably the biggest fans, but they're a much more obvious choice than Bruce and Ian.)

Vancouver has been awesome so far - stayed up real late drinking wine with Planner Kathryn and Planner Paul on Friday night, then we hit West 4th for shopping on Saturday. It was a very tough mission, but somehow, through an extreme shopping crusade, fuelled by coffee and granola, guided by purity in my heart, I did manage to find some yoga pants in Vancouver. Or something like that!

Most of the rest of the weekend was spent eating Asian food. Great dim sum style lunch on Saturday with Kathryn, Paul, and Carla. Sushi for dinner on Saturday with Steve 'n' Tyler, Teresa, and Brad-man (Happy Birthday Brad!). Family-style Chinese for dinner on Sunday with Evan and Katrina and Bruce and Hannah. Mmm mm good!

Also hung out at Carla's on Sunday (in the rain rain rain), and this is what we played with Easton (who's in Grade 1): Slamwich, Candyland, Knights, Lego, Hide and Go Seek, Football, and we baked banana chocolate chip muffins.

Anyways, should sign off now... Hopefully, next time I update, I will be able to tell you about Steve's new shoes. (Time to retire the flip flops for winter!)

i feel so neglectful!

I'm sorry I've been so absent lately.... Things were a blur when my parents were here, then I spent a week recovering from all of the fun (and working late to bank some time), and now it's a week past then! How can time go so quickly sometimes?

Anyways, the Thanksgiving weekend was great. My parents had perfect weather, and spent some time sightseeing around Halifax during the week. We took off for Cape Breton on Saturday, saw some beautiful scenery, visited the whiskey distillery, checked out the Sydney tar ponds (not as gruesome as my dad expected, but still pretty bad for property values - a full house in Sydney will set you back $30,000 to $100,000!), went to the fortress at Louisbourg, drove along the lovely Mira River, ate lobsters, drank beer, and the all that jazz. It was a great trip, and next time I head to Cape Breton I can be a better tour guide. (Hint: Baddeck is central and very cute - it would be an ideal base...) We were back in Halifax by Monday at lunchtime, and spent their last day relaxing on the peninsula with some beautiful sunny weather. (I've got to say, the weather did its best for their visit - there probably hasn't been such a nice week since we got here!)

Devon's surfboard also arrived in Halifax with mom and dad, and I tested it out at Martinique this past weekend. Great success! It's so much easier to ride than Steve's board, which means I caught a lot more waves.

Other than that, we are in prep mode for the trip to BC, gathering sporting equipment and trying to fit everyone in!

And, on that note - I think I've done a somewhat decent job of updating this, and am going to eat some dinner. Bye!

(I can't upload any photos at the moment, but they're "aware of the problem", so I'll check back later...)

the best place on earth

Well, it's the Best Place on Earth according to the signs on the Trans Canada Highway, anyways. Yep, that's BC. And yep, we're coming out! Steve and I will be enjoying the wonders of the homeland for a week in October, arriving late on Friday the 19th and leaving early on Sunday the 28th.

Not sure what the itinerary will be yet. He's definitely heading out to Tofino, I may be invited to that, I may also head to Kamloops for a day (mainly just to see my sister's apartment and hear all of the songs she's learned to play on guitar). We'll keep those of you in Vancity in the loop.

Who could pass up some fun family times like these? (I couldn't find any photos OF BC quickly, but at least these were taken IN BC...)

And in other exciting news: my parents are coming in a day and a half!!!!

whee!

oh, the irony

It's not really surprising that after bragging about the weather yesterday, today has just been getting colder and colder. 17 degrees and dropping, then it's supposed to rain tonight and tomorrow. Oh well.

Actually, though, this is a good thing. Halifax needs to get some nasty weather out of the way from now until Tuesday.... because.... on Wednesday.... my parents arrive!!! (Six more sleeps! Yippee!) They arrive very bright and early Wednesday morning, and leave the next Tuesday morning, so that gives us 6 full days to do fun stuff. So far, plans include: seafood, fall colours, hopefully Cape Breton over the weekend, and taste tests of the products of Halifax's breweries. Below, see the Garrison Brewery, home of Steve's favourite Nut Brown Ale.

i like this

I saw this house in the south end a couple of weeks ago, and loved their deck. Beautiful afternoon sun, spacious deck, lots of privacy. If it was 31 degrees outside (hypothetically speaking), I'd like to have a beer up there.

(Come on. I've got to rub it in when it's hot here, cause it's going to be foggy and snowing and cold pretty soon...)

hot hot hot

Fall has definitely hit its stride out here... Today's high: 31 degrees. Oh yeah!

Hot, perfectly sunny, calm, and salty smelling. I can't really believe it, in a way. We got fog through July for this now? Too weird!

Steve had the morning off (he started peds emerg this afternoon) so headed off at 7 am for a surf which probably turned out awesome. (I don't know yet though, cause he's on evening shifts, 4 pm to midnight. Will catch up with him on Friday night!)

And, here's a link to a webcam on the harbour boardwalk. I walk by the little snack shack on the right at about 7:55 am and 4:55 pm weekdays. Keep your eyes peeled! ha ha ;-) (That's actually a little creepy now that I think about it: commuter stalking via webcam. Yuck. But you guys can still have the link.)

http://www.halifaxwebcam.ca/live/index.php?CURRENT_CAM=cam5&SET_CAM=cam5

weekend update

It's been a good weekend after a good week. My second two days of work went well, and I think I'm getting the hang of what I need to do. Next week: learn the computer system, and start learning all of the exceptions to the rules (that's where a lot of post-its will come in handy!).

On Friday night, Steve and I met up with my family friend Sandy from Victoria, who was passing through Halifax on a bus tour. We went out for dinner, which was nice, cause I haven't seen Sandy in years. It was also our second 'family' event of the week - on Monday we met up with some other family friends, Dave and Leeann - also from Victoria, also in Nova Scotia at the moment. Same story (i.e. I haven't seen them in years), so also very good to see them. Plus, those were our first experiences 'hosting' in Halifax! We took Dave and Leeann to the Henry House pub, which is a very old Halifax institution, and then we took Sandy to the Economy Shoe Shop, which is a huge, cavernous, mazelike restaurant, despite the name. Not bad choices, I think.

This weekend was pretty lazy and relaxing - no waves, so no beach, but apparently the swell is coming sometime this week. We focused mainly on food: farmers market on Saturday morning, a long run-walk and baking on Saturday afternoon, good dinners both days, and Pete's Frootique this afternoon. Most tasty purchase (so far): fresh apples from the farmers market. Weird purchase of the week: sage-infused Derby cheddar from Pete's. (We haven't tried it yet, but I imagine it'll taste like the Kamloops hills!)

Steve would like to put a disclaimer in about the cheese because otherwise "people will think we're yuppies". The real story is that we get all distracted in the cheese section, cause Pete's has a million kinds, and they all seem so strange and wonderful - how could you not try them? So you see, we're not yuppies, we're just curious, clueless bumpkins.

good news!

And the good news is: I got a job! I am a development technician with the city of Halifax, with a temporary position up to 90 days (which is December 14th, if you're interested).

Cathy, the lawyer I was working for, had recommended me to someone she knew at the city, and a month or so later, this person remembered me while they were looking to quickly fill a temporary position in their department ('temporary' meant there didn't need to be an open competition). It definitely goes to show that it really is who you know (unfortunately), but it certainly worked out for me this time! I interviewed last Thursday, got the word on Monday, and started today.

I think it's going to be quite fun (in a nerdy planning way), and I'll definitely learn a lot about the municipal planning and development process out here (which will help me when I get the boot from the temporary position).

And, to make you guys VERY jealous, I'll put up some pictures of my very first commute today. I walk down to the harbour, then take a 10-minute ferry to Dartmouth, and the office is in the ferry terminal. Isn't that cute? (And so Grey's Anatomy - when McDreamy takes the ferry in Seattle... Anyone? Anyone?)

Looking back towards Halifax

Looking ahead to Dartmouth

On the way home this afternoon - yep, that's a real live pirate ship.

rain and shine

Another good weekend - Saturday was the perfect storm, but we relaxed and got some errands crossed off the list. Look at all of that water! (And it was that dark around 4 pm...)


Today we did the usual - headed out to Martinique. There are lobster boats and traps along the road out there, which is so pretty.

Then, there's Steve surfing, and the cute shorebirds (plovers, I think). It got nice and sunny after I finished my book (Bel Canto, again, by Ann Patchett), so I went for a run along the beach. The rocks behind Steve are just a little point, and the beach continues on the other side for ages - it took 25 minutes to get to the other end.

I also saved a fox's life today. I was wandering around (post-book, pre-run) to see if camping was allowed, and suddenly a fox burned out of the bushes right at me, instantly followed by this (very cute) golden lab (which had been continuously running away from its owners into the woods). I was totally dumbstruck, then turned around to watch them - just as the dog caught the fox by the tail and gave it one quick toss. Luckily, the fox got away, but the dog followed it. The same thing happened again in the next picnic clearing (I was running after them by this point), and it looked to me that the fox was getting more tired than the dog. Since the dog had been running away from its owner, I knew its name was Kaya, so I just yelled "KAYA!" as loud as I could, and it stopped chasing the fox. I yelled "NO", and then the owner whistled and the dog ran back towards the beach. It was an odd experience. The fox was beautiful, about 3 feet long, half body and head, and half big red tail. It surprised me how fast the dog was (or how relatively slow / tired the fox was). I hope the fox is okay.

Afterwards, we needed to fill our tanks, so stopped at Harbour Fish and Fries. Dangerous. But we're getting better at scaling back our orders to a reasonable amount. Then, we headed out to Kannon Beach, the surf shop at Lawrencetown.... And I did it, I finally did it - I got my wetsuit, and booties, and new gloves (for Steve, who's handing his down to me). Below: Hilarious photo of me in my seal suit.

my parents' deck

Here's a couple of shots of my parents' deck in Kamloops. I haven't seen it in person yet, but I love it! It just looks like the epitome of Kamloops summer bbqs to me... Their yard backs onto Kenna Cartwright Park, so it's just them and the hill (and the pine beetles, I guess).

And, you may have noticed from the previous post that my parents are into rock walls - maybe they can get some Nova Scotia tips for their backyard...

I think this is the coolest! The little garden shed (see it on the left?) has a glass mosaic window that my mom made. When you turn the light on in the shed at night, the window glows!