Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Once again, apologies for the tardy post... but when you see the pictures of my NEW HOUSE you will understand why I haven't had much energy to punch out a blog entry. So yes, before I tell you all about my new house, I'd like to summarise this past year...

It's been wonderful! My big plan was to post an entry on my one year anniversary of being away (December 17th) and go through everything that I have achieved.

Check:
Move to England with hubby

Find jobs before March (both successful and found jobs in January)

Find a job in Sensory Science... for a market leader, at that

Join the Camping and Caravanning Club

Visit Camping and Caravanning Club sites

Complete a half marathon

Find a house

Buy a house

Bonus items for this year were:

Dad coming to visit

Trip to the south of France (although we were rained in half way through)

Camping in Dorset and doing the coastal walks and fossil finding

Cider Festival in Ross-on-Wye with the girlies

Faye and Dean Healy's wedding (triple bonus points for superb black and white coordination and for their portable photo booth... p.s. I am currently typing with one hand as my other hand is conveniently tied behind my back by the new Mrs. Healy)

Matt and Nicky Mills' wedding (fancy dress= bonus bonus points)

Seeing my friends every week

Picking up some sort of strange accent... for those of you that have spoken to me on the phone, I do apologise... I pick up the swing of the accent of the people I'm around easily. Many fellow Canadians have pointed this out to me and if I engage in enough conversation (about an hour or more) then I snap back into my regular accent of over accentuating my A's. Unfortunately I don't sound posh; it seems to be some mix of Brum-accent and Canadian which often ends up sounding soft Irish to other UK nationals.

Goals for 2011:

Finish up our house (hopefully by the spring)

Keep on camping

Work nearer to home

Complete two half marathons

Get home to Canada

Host Christmas invited (let me know if you are coming so I can prepare accordingly)

Complete blog entries on time ;)

Now, for our house...

After much searching (somewhere around 40 viewings), we found a house that we liked. First impression was that it was bigger than any of the previous houses that we viewed. It's on a good street (in a cul-de-sac), a 10 minute walk from the train station, with a big garden (possibly for chickens), has a field behind it (with no scope for development in the future), two big bedrooms and one small, a big sitting room that has a patio door that opens to our garden, dining room facing the front with bits of red glass in the windows, big enough kitchen, and two loos. This latter point is important to me. Many of the houses in England only have one, and when you have grown up your entire life with the option of two toilets, it is not very nice when there is only one.

We both decided that it was somewhere that we could see ourselves living for more than a few years and decided to put an offer in with the estate agent. After a bit of battling, our offer was accepted and everything went ahead. Things work very differently here; from the date that our offer was accepted, it took three months before we actually had the keys. We had pre-arranged our mortgage, so that wasn't the issue... it was all of the legal mumbo-jumbo that goes on to check that there aren't any issues with the property in regards to how it was built, who the previous owners were, etc. It all turned out okay in the end and we received the keys on the 20th of December. Merry Christmas to us!

Since the 20th we have been busy ripping things down every single day. each room needs redecorating as the previous owners had lived in that house for at least 60 years from what we can tell from the land titles, and probably only decorated it twice in that time. Have a look for yourself:

Your/ guest bedroom

Sitting room with the previous owner's furniture.

Our garden/ back yard with a patio and back decking (wine garden)

Our fireplace after Craig took it out= future home of our log burner

Kitchen with wood panelling. This now looks like a DIY disaster. All of the wooden panelling and tiles have been ripped out.

Our bedroom, post decorating.

Bathroom upstairs. This will be the very last thing that we tackle.

In the past 11 days we have taken all of the wallpaper off the walls (except for in YOUR guest bedroom) and our office. We have ripped out the fireplace to install a log burner and Craig and his mates have started ripping off the wood panelling in the kitchen which has exposed some dodgy-DIY building work. We know that we need a new boiler and to upgrade our central heating system (boiler heats the hot water in the pipes which flow to the radiators throughout the house). We have some electrical sockets that need to be looked at and our fuse board is ancient (fuse wires). We have since decorated our bedroom and should have the dining room decorated by the end of the weekend. Apart from those major jobs, we will keep on getting on with the decorating because it is the cheapest and easiest thing to do. All that said, our abode won't be taking guest room bookings now until March, but seriously, we welcome any of our friends (and friends of friends) to come and stay with us if you fancy a trip to the Isles (http://www.canadianaffair.com/).

I hope that you, too have had a wonderful year. Merry belated Christmas and Happy New Year!

Personality Portrait: ISTJ the Duty Fulfiller

Firstly, apologies for not keeping to my word of posting pictures from my Halloween party. Truth is that I took 3 pictures of the entire night and none of them turned out.  The majority of the costumes were 'scary' and in the line of vampires or dead-characters, and I guess this is for two reasons: 1) Halloween is still new-ish to the Brits, so if you go back about 20 years ago in the history of North American Halloween parties, I'm sure the above costumes would be abundant, and 2) the Brits use any other excuse (weddings, birthdays, stagettes/ stag parties) for 'fancy dress' (basically any other costume such as a hippy, caveman, rock star, superheroes) thus don't feel the need to dress as their alter ego on Halloween.

Something at work HAS come up at a fortunate time as I didn't have a clue what to tell you about this month. We were asked to take a personality test called the MBTI- Myers-Briggs Type Indicator which measures our personality preferences and assigns us to one of 16 combinations based on 4 dichotomies. The combinations are Extroversion vs Introversion (E or I), Sensing vs Intuition (S or N), Thinking vs Feeling (T or F), and Judgement vs Perception (J vs P). I have no idea what to report to you this month, but I feel it my duty to keep on top of my commitments (very ISTJ of me), thus will present to you my the facts (haa haa... you will see) about my personality profile. Enjoy!

Paraphrased from www.personalitypage.com/html/ISTJ.html

My primary mode of living is focused internally, where I take things in via my five senses in a literal, concrete fashion. My secondary mode is external, where I deal with things rationally and logically.

ISTJs are quiet, reserved, interested in security and peaceful living.
We have a strongly-felt internal sense of duty, which lends them a serious air and the motivation to follow through on tasks.
Organised, methodical, generally succeed at any task which we undertake.
Loyal, faithful, dependable.
Good citizens and do the 'right thing' for their families and community.
Honesty and integrity are important.
Offbeat sense of humour and can be great fun- especially at family or work gatherings
Believe in laws, traditions and expect that of others.
Follow plans and procedures ... and if they are strongly sensing (me) are obsessed with structure and doing things by the book; perfectionists.
Because the ISTJ has such a strong sense of duty, they may have a difficult time saying no when they are given more work than they can reasonably handle... often leads to working long hours, and may be unwittingly taken advantage of.
Resists putting energy into tasks that don't make sense to them or have no practical application.
Are accountable for their actions.
Enjoy being in positions of authority.
We have little use for theory or abstract thinking unless the practical application is clear.
Tremendously respects the facts and holds a tremendous store of facts within themselves.
Once an ISTJ supports a cause or idea, they will stop at no lengths to ensure that they are doing their duty of giving support where support is needed.
Not naturally in tune with their own feelings and the feelings of others.
Has difficulty picking up on emotional needs.
Uncomfortable expressing affection and emotion but our strong sense of duty allows me to see what needs to be done in any situation and allows me to overcome my natural reservations.
Supportive, caring to those we love, although not comfortable with expressing their love. Instead, the ISTJ is likely to express their affection through actions, rather than words.
Faithful, loyal, generous provider.
Excellent ability to take any task and define it, organise it, plan it, and implement it through to completion.
Do not give themselves enough credit for their achievements, seeing their accomplishments simply as the natural fulfillment of their obligations.
Great sense of space and function, with artistic appreciation.
When stressed fall into catastrophe mode where only the possibilities of what could go wrong are apparent.
Berate themselves for things they should have done differently or failed to perform.
Tremendous amount of potential. Persevering.
Capable, logical, reasonable, practical, down to earth, stable.
Have very high standards for their own behaviour and behaviour of others.
Not naturally in tune with other people's feelings.
Frustrated with inconsistencies

Possible career paths: executives, managers, financial officers, detectives, judges, lawyers, analysts, military leaders.
Careers to avoid: artists, poets, healers, advertising, marketing

ISTJ relationships: honour their commitments faithfully because to do otherwise would be nothing less than a breach of honour and trustworthiness.
Have difficulty showing warmth.
Puts an abundance of effort in to relationships to keep it healthy.
Able to communicate what's on their minds with precision.
Good listeners.
Able to take constructive criticism well.
Able to tolerate conflict without emotional upheaval.
Able to dole out punishment or criticism when called for.
Doesn't give enough praise or affirmation to their loved ones.
Tendency to believe we're always right... well I am, aren't I? I've got the facts ;)
Tendency to get involved in win-lose conversations.
Tirelessly performs tasks that should be done.
Maintaining friend relationships takes effort.
Choose to be around people with similar interests and perspectives.
Not much patience for those different from myself.
Like being with extroverts who are optimistic, fun minded but this will eventually get on my nerves.

Famous ISTJs: Warren Buffett, Henry Ford, several US presidents including (Andrew Johnson, George Washington, Herbert Hoover, George H. W. Bush), Queen Elizabeth II, Gordon Ramsay, Anthony Hopkins, Gary Sinise, Julia Roberts, Kirk Douglas, Leela (Futurama), Bruce Wayne (Batman), Darth Vader, Eeyore, Principal Skinner, Obi Wan Kenobi.

Secrets

Oh Gosh... I'm really late with this one. I suspect that it is because I have fully returned to the regular grind. Here is a question for those of you who have not been involved in the school system for quite some time; does September still feel like the start of a new year to you? Why is it that September feels like the start of something... not nine months in and you should be feeling sick of it? You are fresh off of your summer holidays and you start new back at work again. Or, start back to school. Or, start your harvest for the rest of the winter/ year. Yes, January is the 'start of the year', or that Spring is the start of nature's life cycle, but to me, my life cycle seems to start in the Autumn.

Autumn is progressing lovely here. All the colours that we have at home are in full array, except with green grass! The foliage is a welcome break to the eye with the grey backdrop of the sky. It hasn't been particularly rainy, but it also hasn't been very sunny. The days are most certainly getting shorter and I am once again dressing in the dark in the mornings and typing in the dark on my way home on the train.

So why have I been so busy the past six weeks?  I had a tour of the chocolate factory in September, which was fabulous! Not as wondrous as Willy Wonka's chocolate factory, but I seemed to get giddy watching the pumping and squeezing of viscous chocolate from the gadgets and the bits and bobs move around the production line and into their packages. I saw the production of Creme Eggs, Dairy Milk, Fudge, strawberry filled Roses, and Wispa (sort of like Aero but WAY better). And dare I say for fear of a gigantic letter falling on my head, I now know THE SECRET! What secret, you ask. I know the secret of how they get the caramel in the Caramilk bar :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouSukfRtCOU

Feeling a bit nostalgic (not homesick, let me make this clear) this month, I decided to spice up life a bit... with some pumpkin pie. Not a bit thing over here and I knew the only way to have my fix was to make it myself... from scratch because canned pumpkin is just not something that is done over here. For any of you wishing to do this yourself, I now know that one 10 inch pumpkin makes about three pies, one loaf, one 8-inch cake, and ten UK sized tartlets and I still have one more pumpkin to use. Key learnings from this exercise were:
1)Have your mom send you tinned pumpkin
2)Have your mom send your her pumpkin pie recipe because yours will never match, and when it still doesn't match...
3) Just send your mom over at Thanksgiving the next year.

But seriously, preparing the pumpkin wasn't too difficult, except for that I didn't realise how difficult it was to cut a pumpkin because I think that is usually dad's job (next time I will import my dad ahead of time to cut my pumpkins for me). I halved my pumpkin, placed the halves in a baking dish face down in water, and baked for about an hour. The pumpkin meat (??) was perfect and the skin peeled off nicely. I then let it cool, chopped it up and blitzed it ready for baking. Of all of my goodies, my loaf/ cake turned out best and would have been perfect with a pumpkin spice latte. Again, not a popular thing here so I give you full permission to double your pumpkin spice latte intake to account for my quota and please throw some pumpkin scones in there for good measure. In the end my pies just didn't measure up to my expectations and I really blame the pre-made pie shells, but I have some more ideas for my next pumpkin and will give it a go next weekend!

Other than experimenting with pumpkin in the kitchen, I have filled most of my weekends socialising; birthdays, pre-wedding, and wedding parties and it appears that my social calendar is booked nearly until 2011. I'd like to say happy birthday to my friend Kirsten who had a fab birthday at a 70's themed night club with all of the girls and congrats to the new Mr Dean and Mrs Faye Healy! Again, the girls had a great month and a half run-up to the wedding with her two hen nights (cider festival and a night out in our LBDs) and their wedding was wonderful- ultra glam!

Halloween this weekend and Tracy is coming down to Reading to come to my staff Halloween party while the boy are going to a stag-do weekend in Dorset (zorbing and cliff diving-eek!). Equally as fun, and potentially as scary, Tracy and I are going to London on the Saturday to let loose... pictures to follow in next month's report and I'll fill you in on how the Brits do Halloween.

All the best and Happy Halloween!

Time Warp

What a great end to the summer! We went on a camping holiday, albeit I was very nervous about it not being very holiday-like because of the limited access to facilities, in Dorset which was packed with exploring and other activities in generally sunny weather! We spent each day in a little town along the coast and the entire six days went something like this:

Day 1 in Burton Bradstock: A sleepy little country village where we camped at a site exclusively for Caravan and Camping Club members and about a 5 minute walk to the beach. This area of the coast has small pebbles but a gorgeous sandstone cliff face. Day 1 was spent setting up camp and a spot of unsuccessful sea fishing, but many giggles as Tracy and I watched the kids try to jump across the sea eddy.

Day 2: Charmouth Beach; Fossil Hunting: Much of the Dorset coastline is a part of the Jurassic coast and at this spot they encourage you to hunt for fossils. Some were lucky and found 150 million year old fossils within minutes where it took some others, including myself, a little while to get lucky. After we got the hang of it, we realised it wasn't that lucky because the number of fossils was amazing once you knew what to look for. Most of the fossils were shells, ammonites (swirly things) and belemnites (squid bones that look like a tooth of some sort) and weren't very big at all; nonetheless, it made for an enjoyable morning.

Later that day we went to Weymouth for a spot of mackerel fishing off of the pier. Weymouth is more of a city (has a mall), but still has a colourful and preserved seaside harbour with pubs, restaurants, and small shops along the way. Fishing this time was very successful with a total of 15 mackerel and 1 Pollock caught. I didn't really bother with the fishing, but I did put my fish gutting/ filleting skills from my odour research last year to use by prepping the fish on the beach side in a race against the sun setting... the sun did win in the end and it was evident by the crassness of my fillets seen the next day.Day 3 was spent near to camp where we visited Bridport for a vintage street market (new 50's dress included), West Bay for a spot of fish and chips, and had a game of Pitch and Putt in the afternoon. Oh yeas, and I made fish cakes for the first time with our catch from the day previous (kitchen not included).

Day 4 we travelled to Wareham to see our friends Matt and Nicky at their new house! The town of Wareham (and practically in their front garden) is surrounded by an Anglo-Saxon dirt wall (essentially a hill with history). They took us to some of their favourite spots in the area: Dancing Ledge, a rocky cliff side with access to the beach and beautiful country and coastal views; and Corfe. Time-warp yourself back to a dreamy little medieval stone village with a castle on the top of the hill and you have Corfe- entirely picturesque. And what better to do in a medieval stone castle than watch a film in an open-air cinema... sitting under the stars on a perfectly clear night in the castle foreground watching Rocky Horror Picture Show. Mwah haa haa! Bet you didn't guess it was going to be that!

Day 5 was again filled with stunning country and coastal views in the areas of Lullworth and Durdle Door. We parked somewhere in between the two places, walked to Lullworth, had a look around the cove, and took the coastal path hike to Durdle Door. Blessed with great weather for the majority of the vacation, it was definitely time to go swimming in the sea.

Day 6 we packed up camp and took a drive into Lyme Regis on the way home. I must admit that for all the boasting that was done about Lyme Regis prior to my vacation, I was disappointed. I saw just as many picturesque places in the previous days and didn;t feel that it added any value (nor did it take away) to the end of my time in Dorset.

Onwards ho! Drove back home and had two days off of work basically to get myself ready of another few days of camping because it was time for the Broome Farm Cider Festival! Woooo!!! A perfect end to my summer vacation. This time it was just the girls as a total of five of us went for one of four of Faye's hen-weekends (donning neon tutus and legwarmers, as you do on a hen-weekend). We visited Broome Farm earlier this year as a part of a previous camping trip and Tracy and the gang had gone to the cider festival the year previous... so again, there was much enthusiasm building to the start of the event. From the moment we arrived, there was a buzz in the atmosphere and Tracy and Faye were recognised. Friday night there was a local Ceilidh band; this type of band plays folk-type music with traditional dances that they teach to the crowd (think Titanic). Saturday was spent recovering/sampling the local ciders from other growers/producers in the area with live music throughout the day and an extra special band (the Zang Tang) on the night. I highly, highly recommend the Zang Tang who are self described as Funk/Soul/Acid Jazz/House. Check them out! And apart from much dancing and giggling, the weekend was spent chatting amongst ourselves and with some really incredibly intriguing and genuine people. Absolutely cannot wait to go back again next year with the girls!

So with that comes the end of the summer; shorts and sandals packed up until next year, and back to the reality of mundane real-life.

Mid Year Review

Hello!

So, we have been back just over half of a year and what can I say? It's gone by extremely quickly! We both have jobs on permanent contracts and we actually enjoy what we are doing. Craig's hours seem to suit is man-of-leisure needs (fishing, tennis, gardening for his friends), whilst I am working in the area that I studied. One major reason for moving this way was so that I could do exactly that; what is the point of studying for a degree when there are not such opportunities in industry where you live? Sensory science is definitely a developing area of science, but Alberta must first develop its food industry to allow for such positions in research and development. I am still leading panels of people who taste either chocolate, gum, or candy day in and day out and tell us what aromas, flavour, textures, and mouthfeels they perceive in the products. I have seen a variety of different products from around the world because the office that I work in is the global research centre for Cadbury. And again, it's great that I am working for such a large, well known and respected company... something that I thought was only a dream a year ago.

We have decided to start to look for a house. Exciting! Also reason #3 as to why we are back in the UK (prices in Brum are better now than in E-town; Reason #1= family/friends; Reason #2= work). We are in no means in a rush to do so, as there is speculation that the housing market is going to crash again, which is eventually good for us. But, we also don't want to find ourselves stuck in a place that we won't be able to sell on in a few years time.

Location, garden, kitchen, 2 good sized bedrooms + one small, 2 loos, nothing rendered, nothing terraced (town housing), nothing council (council owned houses often come with a different sort of people, much like trailer trash), and price are our requests. hmmm... compromise... We have seen 18 houses already and I am seeing another 8 or so today. We started our search in a town called Redditch which is comparable to Spruce Grove- just outside of a major city, has it's own amenities, yet is close enough to go into the big city for work/ specialist needs. Down side- further than we are living now, thus makes my day 1 hour longer. This week we are searching within Birmingham. Our main goal right now is to decide which area we would like to live in... again no rush, and who knows what will happen in 6 months time with the state of the economy.

The next two weeks of house hunting will be postponed due to holidays... yay!! We are going to Dorset which is on the Jurassic coast- bring on the fossil hunting! So anyone who has any fossil hunting tips, please let me know ASAP! The weather the past two weeks has been quite rainy, so I am really praying for a week of sunshine as my compromise for this upcoming week is that I will be sleeping in a tent with no toilet facilities... back to basics where I will be bathing in the sea :S So sorry for no pictures this month, but I will promise many for next!

lots of love! K

Running, running, running

Apologies for the tardiness with this entry; with my workload at the moment the last thing that I want to do on the weekend is sit at the computer... so much so that I have already developed an injury from my inactivity of having a desk job. Proof that working at a desk for 8 hours a day is detrimental to your health (and waistline). You may now be wondering what I have been up to the past six or so weekends since I have been too busy to update my blog... well, here it is:

Just after we returned from our holiday in France, our friends the Nowells treated us to a Murder Mystery Evening on board the Severn Valley Railway. It was dinner and a bit of "theater" where there are actors on board the train that play out their scenarios over the course of your meal and journey; all of which is meant to be set in the 1940's. Well, not all of it... just the murder mystery itself; nonetheless, we still dressed up for the fun of it and looked damn good in doing so. The old steam train took us about an hour into the countryside to a little town with a preserved station and pub. We stopped off at the pub for 45 minutes to admire the scenery and scenes that took place on the platform, and then picked up non other than Inspector Poirot, re-boarded the train, and hazarded a guess as to who killed the lad in the head with the hammer (not Colonel Mustard in the lounge as neither were present on the train). It was a great evening out, with fabulous weather and the pleasant view of the countryside from the train.

The next three weekends consisted of races: Race for Life with Craig's mom Cheryl, her sister Sharon, and my sister-in-law Justine. I was meant to walk the 5km with them, but my competitive nature sprung in just before the start of the race and I couldn't resist running... eet's a race, after all. I ran the 5km in 23 minutes which wasn't bad for wearing my Le Tigres instead of practical trainers (running shoes).

The following week was the big race: first half marathon! And of course it did not go as planned! I was feeling reasonably well in the morning despite drinking a bottle of rose the night before by accident (as you do when you are helping out with your friend's wedding invitations) and I was on my way:

-I packed my race bag, took my MC vs the 20 quid I normally take because I didn't want the coinage I was going to get from the machine where I buy my train ticket.

-Got to the train station to buy my ticked to find out that my MC was blocked.

-Called card services; they told me to get to a Lloyds TSB ATM and unlock my PIN.

-Got off at a train stop that I didn't need a ticked for (oh yea, got on a train while I was on the phone without a ticked because I didn't want to be late) and literally RAN around the neighbourhood (in what I found out was the wrong direction this past week) looking for the correct ATM.

-Didn't fin it, so ran back to the train and got on (still without a ticket).

-Got off at New St. Station, willingly got a fine for travelling without a pass, and went to the ATM to find that my card was permanently blocked.

-Called my husband to pick me up because there was now no possible way of getting to the start without a car (let alone in time).

-Got a bit lost on the way (and endured a rant).

-Got dropped off near the start.

-Ran to the start, and arrived 15 minutes after the very last group of starters (staggered start because of the narrow footpath), but was VERY VERY grateful to see three others plus a marshal.

-Ran my heart out full of fury and angst and did reasonably well... I passed about 30 people on the way and finished with an official race time of 2hrs:11min:44sec!! It was hard and when people ask me if I will do it again, I would... although as soon as I finished I vowed not to. It's that competitive urge in me that want to do it again and do it better!

The following week I did another 10km race, really because the weather was nice and I had nothing better to do. I have been supporting a running club in a nearby town of Redditch called Arrow Valley Runners and have met some really great people through the club. I'm kind of an unofficial member because I can't make the actual training days, but I do the races with the group. That week the team won a club challenge for having so many participants and for the participants doing well in their categories! Good job ladies (and the few men).

I took last week off (deservedly, I feel) to rest up for my marathon dance session for my birthday with my girls! Note to anyone who wants to go to England... I think you must visit a Lloyds One Bar and be drinking vodka red bulls and/ or drink special cocktails all night long while you dance to re-mixed versions of chart toppers through the years. Guaranteed great night of fun and you are bound to see something that will keep you and your friends talking for the next few weeks. Or perhaps I was just feeling nostalgic about my first year on tour.

Well, that brings us up to this weekend where Craig and I will be getting up early to go to the CLA Game Fair at Ragley Hall on Saturday morning! It boasts the world's biggest country sports and outdoor pursuits event. Really Craig is going to top up his fishing gear while I pursue the cheese tasting and cookery demonstrations. I think the plan is to meet up at the dog show mid-afternoon. So, I will keep you updated on how that unfolds in the weeks to come.

I hope that the summer has been treating everyone well. The weather here has been exceptional and fingers crossed it remains that way!

Leisure Time

We had our first camping trip of the year at the end of May which ended up during the first great weather weekend, as well. Thirty degrees and not a cloud in the sky and a total of 33 kids and adult campers in our group made it our for Paul's birthday weekend. This big group seemed to be too much for our first destination and the lonely two campers that got caught up in our convoy; thank to their complaining provoked perhaps by our chatting did get us evicted the very next morning. FYI: Christchurch Camping and Caravan Ground in the Forest of Dean doesn't let you talk after 10pm because it is a family site... the kids in our group ages 9 months to 16 years didn't seem to have any problems falling asleep, but never mind. We found a better campsite just around the corner the next day complete with horses and free range chickens. Oh yes, I must explain that when I say campsite in England, I really mean a farmer's field... not a little clearing next to a brook in the forest like a Canadian campsite. "Campsites" may or may not have facilities of sorts on them; this one did have a shower and toilet block in a make-shift mobile home type thing and running water... great for the kiddy paddling pools! I highly recommend bringing an inflatable paddling pool along with an air mattress when camping in sunny weather as it serves as an instant refresher and doubles as a large vat to keep your cider cool.

Tracy and Nick as Simon serenades us all.

Free Range Zack Abbotts

Other than "catching the sun" (getting tanned) and your typical ball and Frisbee games, the convoy took a trip to Broome Farm which produces its own cider on site and supplies fruit to Magners. It is set in the gorgeous English countryside where you can order freshly made Cream Teas. A Cream Tea is a wonderful English treat consisting of tea (duh), scones (biscuits), jam, and clotted cream. You know you are having a good Cream Tea when the scones are freshly baked and you can stand your ickle spoon straight up in the cream.

From the English countryside to the French Riviera, Craig and I have had a month of leisure it would seem. We have just got back from a week long holiday in Sainte Maxime in the South of France. Our friend Vicky has privileges at a family villa and invited us along for a holiday with her hubby Richard and their two kids Zach (nearly 3) and Luke (9 months). The villa is a gorgeous typical little home on the hillside with a view of the Med from the estate terrace (on our doorstep). As always with the Abbotts', we ate (and drank) very well all week... including Moules and Frites where for 15 Euros I received an entire soup pot of mussels in a delicious white wine cream sauce, Steak Tartare (Richard dared and finished 300g + of raw seasoned ground beef topped with a raw egg- and yes, I did try it, and yes- Richard felt the ill effects of eating that much raw ground beef), and gourmet gelato (chocolate epice was le bon choix- dark chocolate and nutmeg/cinammon/ all spice). We visited Ste. Tropez and did see some big yachts, but didn't see any celebs. Steak Tartare

View from the villa to the Med

Unfortunately our holiday did take a turn for the worst (worse than England's performances at the World Cup thus far) halfway through when we were confined to the villa for the entirety of a day because of torrential rain. I have never ever seen so much rain sheeting down and it was reported that in one day the area received as much rain as England gets in five months. This rain did cause devastation as you may or may not have heard... we were, and 95% of local businesses were without power for approximately 48 hours as much of the area around us had flooded and damaged the main power line. Cars were swept off the highway in places; we saw an old campervan straddled over the highway barrier, and those toilet blocks that are like small mobile homes flipped on their sides at the beach. The beach itself was closed for swimming, not that you would want to go because the lovely Cote d'Azur was murky brown. Oh well... we did get a few nice days of weather before the storm and quite typically, everything was starting to sort itself out the day that we left.

Back to reality now while Craig and I buckle down for the summer. The next big thing coming up is my first half marathon in Birmingham on July 3rd, so wish me luck! Until then, let's hope that England can give us something to cheer about for the rest of the World Cup!

Pictures

I really cannot believe that it is actually mid May! Time is zooming! I should probably do some shout outs as the birthday season has begun... April: Leanna... all the best for a new chapter this summer and best of luck training your ass off. I have put my name down on the list for Olympic tickets, so you better be there! It was my friend Tracy's birthday two days before Craig's at the end of April and we did a joint celebration at a local comedy club. I can say that it wasn't really any different from going to the ones in Edmonton. The MC (Comp-Air they call it here) was FABULOUS and the acts were good and terrible. I bought Craig a new kite (you're how old?) for his birthday. I do admit that this isn't your ordinary paper kite with the bows on the tail, it is a power kite that lifts you off the ground if you aren't careful or are feeling particulary dangerous. Happy b-day to my dad, my aunt, and to Nadia in May. Good luck Nadia with getting your photography business up and running... check out http://www.nlnstudios.com/ to see what Nadia has been up to. As well, Happy Mother's Day to my mom and all the mom's in Canada. FYI: Mo-day is in March in the UK so I had to remember to buy my cards then because I realised I would't be able to buy any cards at the end of April. Now that's planning!

What else have I been planning lately? First camping trip of the season is coming up next week, so stay tuned to hear how that has gone. But for this one, like I promised a long time ago, picture diary! I was asked by Kym and Chelsey in Edmonton to take really ordinary pictures of "a day in the life..." back in December, so this is really overdue. I suppose better late than never, and looking back at some of the photos, it is nice to see how spring is coming along. Without furhter delay and in reverse/ no particular order...
A view on my way from Birmingham to Reading. This is the power station in a town called Didcot. Apart from the houses being made of brick, you would think this could be Springfield.

Jap-nap on the train. My colleagues have never heard of this term and I was explaining how Japanese tend to sleep on all forms of public transportation and never miss their stop. I also explained how I must have been Japanese in my past life because I (touch wood) have never slept through my stop.

The road that we live on.

Spring daffodils pop up everywhere! It amazed me the first time I saw them because the city does not take the effort to plant them, they just grow.

A row of terraced houses.

The English que for many things... like the bus.

Horrible pointy suade shoes.

Assembly point... where you gather outside if there is a fire in your building. The English signpost everything.

Bus with stairs... I am in a double decker.

Pedestrian walk-way in the parking lot.

Crocuses that also spring up naturally. They cover the entirety of a field.

Ye olde house on Reading University Campus.

Reading town hall.

Reading. (pronounced redding)

My train screen in the AM before I get on my traing. Yup... see the time.

Computer says no... How my dongle DOESN'T like to work for me.

My own Jap-nap.

Local train seats. Nobody there because it is 6:30am.

My local train station and destination.

That's all. Check my facebook page for more pictures coming soon.

Hope all is well and have a great May long weekend!

Boogie and a Knees Up

I'd like to start this one off by bragging that the weather has finally started to perk up with a sunny and high-teens week ahead... Sorry to hear about your latest snowfall, E-town folks. But you can't say that you didn't expect one more dump; it's more like you were desperately praying that it didn't come. Much like I desperately pray for the end of the week now... hmmm... I seem to have adjusted to the real-working world quite quickly.

I never really understood the phrase TGIF; in my past 8 working years, I more or less dreaded Fridays because they usually stood for a two show day into a six show weekend, or an inevitable full Saturday/ Sunday shift because of school in the week. To me, it was TGI-Mondays or Tuesdays. And even Monday's weren't that relaxed because it was either a jam-packed day of learning + an added short shift OR even worse, attempting a seamless travel day wth nearly 100 people. The latter is nearly worse because at least one person unapologetically always has too much to drink on a Sunday night and holds up the remaining 99-ish travellers while the Tour Coordinator drags the holder-upper's drunk ass out of bed either at 5:30am or noon... it makes no difference and it's the truth. So in retrospect, I guess I was always thankful for Tuesdays.

Regardless, I now understand the full value of a normal-working-person's Friday. It's great! Your week of filling in spreadsheets has come to an end. In fact, I have noticed that it is so exciting to me that I cannot even sleep on my train journey to work on a Friday morning. This leaves me annoyingly sleepy come 3pm... good job there is an endless supply of coffee and chocolate in my office.

So I have decided, along with much of the 9-5 population, that Fridays are a joyous occasion. Here many joyous occasions are celebrated with a "knees up"; aka: a boogie, or a generally good night out on a Saturday. This is another part of English culture that I love: people are not afraid to have fun and let loose. I was reminded of this a few weeks ago when I went out with some girlfriends after my first 10km race of the year.

We were in a town where my friend lives and wen to a "happening spot" in said town... Remember, it's a town. Town bars or pubs usually remind me of a run-down/ dress-down/ country music playing watering hole decorated with posters of baseball and hockey players. I usually prefer the posh wine bar/ ultra lounges in the metropolis where sophisticated people dress up, the music suggests you should dance, but instead you talk ideologies while you look coyly over your martini or vintage red. We decided to dress up, but also have a knees up. In this town, this was meant to be "the spot" for such an occasion.

We arrived at a pub-looking place (95% of watering holes in the UK look like pubs), and to my initial horror, the lights were on and the bar-staff were wearing cheap cotton t-shirts. Ack! One saving grace that allowed me to walk past the front bar was that there was not sports memorabilia littering the decor. We walked through to the dance floor area to see that a band was due to play. ACK ACK! What were we getting into? My friend was also feeling slightly uncertain at this time, but we decided to give it an hour and see how we felt.

Good thing we did because it was a great night out! The band was great; they played old jivey/ rock and roll music that had nearly everyone on the dance floor. And by everyone, it was really everyone.... average age: who knows... there were 19 t0 65+. Race: mosaic. Size: every. Dress code: jeans and a polo from your day in the garden to my $$$ designer dress. Best character there: Pat, an Asian-Indian Taxi Driver by day/ party animal by night. I had the pleasure of speaking with him at the end of the night and his philosophy was that life is far too short to be sitting at home watching tele (pronounced telly; aka: TV). He likes to have a boogie, so he does!

I was reminded of this general great spirit of letting loose a few weeks later when Craig and I had our somewhat delayed reception/ welcome home party. Really, it was an excuse to get all our English extended family and friends together for a great evening. Who says you must not have a good time dancing after 40? Silly North Americans, that's who. Just ask Cherryl (Craig's mum); her and her friends were on the dance floor far longer than me or any of my friends... And after the DJ packed up, they were the ones to carry on a sing-song at the table to serenade our drunken friends into their taxis.

So, what should you learn from this? That you should never stop dancing! And that you don't need an excuse to go and dance. Remember... life's too short to spend your weekend watching tele!

Happiness

Ah... faster than the last post, for two reasons, really:

1) I half wrote this entry with my last one, but decided to keep my posts to less than two pages in Word before I post them on my blog and

2) I am having an exceptionally good day today which is attributed to:

a) my dongle working on my entire journey into work (however, it is characteristically not working on the way home)

b) the enjoyable music of Florence and the Machine (love it!)

c) my public transportation connections are ahead of schedule... let's see if this lasts. I have decided that my mood is directly influenced by my travel day. See graph for further explanation.

Continuing with my most and least favourite things, here are 5(ish) things I don't really like about this place...

1) The weather. I am cold! It's damp, which gets in your clothes and your linens and you don't seem to ever warm up. And you use your heating sparingly because it is expensive.

2) There is a lack of rubbish "bins" in public places. This leads to quite a lot of litter on the side of the road or in wooded areas or on the train. I think someone once told me that the reason for this was because people used to put bombs in the bins. Don't quote me on that because I am sure how accurate that is.

In many parts of Europe this is also the case and I remember (seeing it first hand) and learning about it in a cultural nutrition class that in general, Europeans aren't the type to eat on the run/walk, thus leading to a slimmer population. However, seeing the number of "crisp" bags, choccie bar wrappers, and empty pop and lager cans near the side walk is direct evidence to why the UK is just as fat as North America. The only difference here between Brits and N. Americans is that we have a magical hole to hide our gluttonous evidence on every single street corner.

3) Along with the acceptability of drinking in the afternoon and in public in the UK, it also poses as something that I don't like about this place: young lads (generally) drinking in the park, on the street, etc who feel the need to get lager-ed up as soon as they get up. Groups of them who have nothing better to do because not many employers are hiring this category right now, get together and get drunk, and usually cause a ruckus. This leads to the next two peeves...

4) You are able to leave school at the age of 16 in many parts of England where the onus is on you to apply to a "college" and gain the necessary skills that will help you to gain a job or further your education. From what I can tell, the two main reasons why these youth don't further their education is because cash-strapped employers are not hiring this demographic, so why would you bother investing the money in training if you know you won't get a job? This is changing in many parts of the country where it is now mandatory for students to remain in school for 12 years. I am not entirely certain on the situation and it will be something I look into further.

5) The money and living accommodations doled out by the government seems to cover the price of booze, drugs, and junk food. Yes... LIVING ACCOMMODATIONS! Although, not the nicest digs, you apply to the government when you are 18 and it is their obligation to find you a home. In cases where you are a single mother with multiple children, your government benefits are better than a wage you would earn if you were working (in a low-skill job), which feeds into the "why bother" mentality... if you aren't educated, then you don't get a descent wage so why bother working? You don't build your job skill profile, thus are still not hireable. Why not take a course if you are unemployed? That costs money, although there are subsidised programmes available, they aren't exactly teaching expert skills. And again, unemployment for low skill jobs is high and is forecasted to remain high for the next few years and again, why bother working if you make more money sitting on your ass or having babies?

These are all big boos for England, but I have fully considered them and will continue to throughout my Adventure until they play into my final decision (whenever that day may come).

On a better note, I have been up to some great things this month:

I completed a 10km race in 54 minutes. For only running once a week, I'd say that is not bad. My friend Tracy also started running this year and finished in 57 minutes! Great for her and it is also exciting because her running group was featured in their local newspaper ( I was a teammate by association). We went out afterwards to celebrate, which ended up an experience in itself... all for the next blog entry.

www.redditchadvertiser.co.uk/sport/local/5055830.New.runners.do.well/

Apart from the news that our pickled onions turned out really really well (spicy zingers), I hope that the likes of spring are starting to touch you wherever you are just as it is here. Stay tuned for my next entry where I talk about parties and my picture diary.

Peace out!

Month 3: Job!

Hello!

Month 3: What have I been up to? #1: New Job! Yay! Pretty much exactly what I wished to be doing. What do I do? Have you ever noticed the subtleties in a chocolate bar? For example, not only that it smells of chocolate, but it also has a hint of coconut or raisin? Do you think it had a taste of vanilla, or maybe plastic? A papery, yet caramel aftertaste? I work in sensory science, a subject that I took a liking to as soon as I was introduced in my final year at university. In a nutshell (is that almond, or hazelnut? Sorry!), I work with two and a bit handfuls of normal people who are able to notice these tiny differences and try to gather all of the aromas, flavours, etc that they perceive from the product that they are tasting. We do some discussion, validation and results interpretation to see how products compare. I am on my way to becoming an official sensory scientist!

I'm still loving England as it is still quite novel to be here... which I have been warned will wear off.

England- some favourites:
1. Accents- I like to listen to others and others like to listen to me. Every conversation I have with a new person is a novelty. For example, while talking to my bank on the phone the other morning, the very Scottish customer service rep was in love with me..."always a pleasure to hear an accent"; to which I replied, "aren't you the one with the accent". Our conversation ended with me having an increased credit limit and with him begging me to call back anytime! Of course, Craig did experience this effect whilst in Canada just as I seemed to have a heightened interest in any customer at the currency exchange that was British-sounding.

2. Betting- 2 pound bet with a return of 132 pounds. Not at all bad for watching 2 hours of football. Choose your score, choose your scorer. Don't you thing it would be more fun watching hockey if you could do the same? Choosing spreads just doesn't compare.

3. The Sunday afternoon tipple- yup, just as it sounds. Strategically the Brits have a feast called "Sunday Lunch" where you have a roast with all the fixings as early as 12.30 on a Sunday. This gives you the excuse to start drinking in the day, even earlier if you are cooking ;) But it isn't just Sunday Lunch, it is widely acceptable to go to the pub with your mates on a weekend afternoon (particularly if it is a gorgeous day) and get your drink on.


It's not that you wouldn't go around to your friends' house on a Sunday afternoon to watch the NFL or NASCAR and of course you would crack some brews, it is that you aren't looked down upon for doing it in England. Ad while I'm on the topic of booze, it is cheap (in comparison)! I can squeeze an extra bottle of wine in during the week for the same money I was spending at home in Edmonton. Not that I am drinking an extra bottle of wine a week... I promise.

4. The landscape: It's gorgeous; however, I am biased being from the prairies of Alberta. The
rolling hiss, clusters of trees, green grass (even now!), native daffodils coming up, and the pride of grooming a traditional garden makes for a refreshing glance out the window at any time of year.


5. Fashion- Of course there are more and less desirable styles here, just as there are in Canada. But I think what attracts me is that people aren't afraid to go bold: patterns, sparkle, flowers, bling... subtle is worn by a minority of people. As well, more people dress with purpose as if you wanted to impress your in-laws for the first time by not looking like a bag of rags... but it isn't a chore to dress in this manner, it is natural.

On that note, and with an example of a less than desirable combination of patterns, etc. I will leave you. I am still enjoying my time here and am especially excited for the next months as I continue with my job and the advancement of spring. However, I am starting to think that I have actually brought a bit of the Canadian winter with me because it is now mid-February and it has snowed again! There hasn't been this much snow in Britain for 50 some years. Enjoy cheering for Canada at the Olympics! certainly am here!