Liquid Landscape

2 years...

2010-05-13T20:21:00.002-04:00

Yup - as Jer reminded me, it's been two years since a post. I'm not sure what to say, but the two flying burrito brothers pictured above have alot to do with it.

How long till a Blog dies from inactivity?

2008-03-21T10:51:00.010-04:00

Here's a post simply for the purpose of making sure my account doesn't get yanked due to inactivity. It would be nice to store the blog as a sort of journal - just haven't really looked into how to do that yet.

Another photo show, with some armchair commentary.

This fall photo from Windsor Park was supposed to be our 2007 Christmas card photo, but we never pulled it together to actually get it printed out. So here it is in all it's non-paper goodness.

Amped up in the leaves.

We got to check out our first Remembrance Day ceremony last November, and it was surprisingly nice out. I seem to recall that it always poured rain when watching this on CBC as a child, which seemed fitting given the somber nature of the ceremony. Our view was terrible, but it was great to see the massive crowd that had gathered. Ethan even managed to sleep through the fly-past and the 21 gun salute.

Getting some help with supper.

Random stuff

2007-12-12T19:27:00.001-05:00

I spent a couple of days in Pennsylvania in early October, and just had to take a photo of this "car commercial" style winding road I found myself on. Not two minutes later, I had to hit the brakes, and wait for 5 wild turkeys to cross the road.

Thanksgiving supper at M&L's.

On an impulse, Soph's friend Jane flew into Ottawa for a 4 day visit. Here they are getting blown away at Champlain lookout.

Bub REALLY loves games of peek-a-boo right now with his old man (hiding behind the headrest).

Ever try to do a family photo, using a 10-second timer, and a tripod? I'm so glad for digital, because 90% of the photo's never worked out. How are you supposed to get a baby to look straight-ahead at the camera, when Dad just pressed the shutter and is running back towards you? ( by snapping fingers of course).

There - that one worked.

Lake Placid

2007-10-28T19:38:00.000-04:00

Near the end of September, we had this great idea to head 3hrs south to the Adirondaks in New York, and take in the changing leaves.

The view from our hotel on Mirror lake, situated in the town of Lake Placid. It's an historic little resort town, made famous through hosting the 1932, and 1980 Winter Olympics.

Heavy cloud cover obscured most of the highest mountain tops during our 3 days, so we opted not to do the drive up Whiteface. It looked like an epic snowboarding location though, and I've made a mental note to come back.

Rest stop at the side of the road.

Burning off some energy before bedtime.

Driving back from Heart Lake.

The Mush Chronicles

2007-10-11T22:07:00.000-04:00

Ethan has been demonstrating all the signs of being ready to eat solids for a while already, and we figured the extra calories may help to push him through the night. Our first attempt was with rice cereal while we were in Winnipeg, however, the entire trip seemed to throw his groove off, and so we abandoned it until returning to Ottawa. Since then, he's tried all sorts of foods, going through phases where he liked to sit in his chair, liked to sit on our laps, preferred a spoon, and sometimes preferred for us to hand feed him.

Ethan is still occasionally a bit cautious about the whole process, and may be asking " What is this strange-textured stuff? There's no way I'm eating any more of this crap until I see papa take a spoonful as well". At one stage, he abandoned the solid foods entirely, and went on a brief two week hunger strike. On reflection, we figure it was likely just due to a cold. After that cleared up, he seemed ok again with the prunes, sweet pototoes, wax beans, pears, blueberries and the full-fat yoghurt. It's shocking though how many clothes he is plowing through now, even with the bibs. The cloth ones turned out to be useless, and we opted for the wipeable plastic ones instead.

A Dissappearing Summer

2007-10-11T19:48:00.000-04:00

Even though the daylight hours start diminishing in June, I usually only start to get shocked, and dismayed by the lack of sunlight come August. I'm definitely not ready for winter yet, and am already dreading those upcoming months where I'll leave for work in the dark, and come home in the dark. The fact that hockey is starting again offers little consolation, especially given the fact that Ottawa came up as the bridesmaid last season.

All of these feelings led to an urgency to get in some last minute outdoor activities: Here they are:

Left - We scrambled up the 400m Eardley escarpment in Luskville, Quebec on a steaming +30C afternoon. The backwards facing baby carrier was the ticket - Ethan giggled the whole way up watching Sophie follow my tracks.

Looking down on the Ottawa valley from a lookout point close to the top. This is one of those vertical hikes, where you think the reward will come on the way back down, yet the trek down was actually way harder, and I blew out my knees for a good 48 hours afterwards.

Sophie trying out the baby carrier on the front during an evening walk along a path below Rockcliffe park.

Chillin and illin (literally) on the floor - I had to clean it up.

Sophie standing at the entrance to the lobby of the world's largest log cabin - the Chateau Montebello. This hotel made of red cedar logs, has also gained familiarity through recently hosting the US, Mexican, and Canadian Tri-lateral meetings. As we approached the grounds through a beautiful nature trail in the woods, it was hard to believe the place had only recently taken on another life as an impenetrable fortress.

Contemplating the sweet things in life whilst waiting for Poutine, and beer made from Spruce trees at a diner in the Laurentians. (actually - I decided to pass on the Spruce beer, and picked up a king can of cheapass Molson Export for the campsite later that night)

Watching the sun set from the quay in Oka.

I would have been thoroughly dissapointed had we let summer pass, and not attempted camping at least once with Ethan. We figured we'd test the waters first, doing some simple car camping in Oka national park, only 2 hours from home.

Sophie and Ethan showing the tell-tale signs of getting wicked "eye-ers" from the smoke all morning long. I think bub is exhibiting a bit of tent-face as well. We had a blast though, and I have to say our first try at camping worked out very well, even if it was car-camping. I'm always surprised at how quickly I forget about the fact that there are no mosquitoes - it's one of those things we've started to take for granted already.

Wakey, Wakey, eggs and bakey. Actually, no bakey for us. I think we had yoghurt and granola bars. (note the dead king can on the table though! I had to stoke the fire with a few all-nighter logs to finish that one off. I'm so lame.

Smith's Falls and the Chocolate Factory

2007-09-05T21:42:00.000-04:00

We took a day trip down to Smith's Falls in late August. It's a historic little town of around 10000 people, made famous by its numerous locks on the Rideau Canal, and for the Hershey Chocolate Factory. We felt an urgency to visit the town, as Hershey has announced that they are closing the chocolate factory in 2008, and moving operations down to Mexico.

Left - we began the day with what we thought would be a quick lunch at a local Pizza restaraunt. It started out well enough, with orders being taken right away, and a generally busy diner atmosphere to keep us entertained. Bub was happy, and the country music playing over the sound system seemed fitting for the hard-done-by town. However, when you hear the one waitress, arguing with the one cook, about why the kitchen lost the order, and why so-and-so ain't showing up again, you have to brace yourself. Nothing will test your patience, like waiting an hour and a half for a rubber omellete, all the while dealing with a baby who doesn't think hanging out at the table is the coolest thing anymore. Needless to say, when the next song coming through the speakers was "tequila makes her clothes fall off" - I was ready to leave.

When I heard about the chocolate shop, and the free self-guided tour around the chocolate factory, I had imagined the whole thing may be a bit overblown...a tourist trap perhaps. But when we pulled around the bend, and were within a block of the company, the overwhelming smell of chocolate filled the air. We parked and entered the chocolate shop, which could only be described as a chocaholics madhouse. The place was packed, and people were lined up 5 deep trying to get at the bulk bins. I've never seen the like.

The shop sells almost the entire line of Hershey products at close to "at cost" value, and so the binging was monumental. After we left, it was easy to see how the local town is fighting so hard to keep at least the shop open for business.

Amongst the throws of people wandering around frantically, we partially succumbed to the insanity, and left with WAY more than we needed to.

The Exersaucer of Madness

2007-09-05T21:36:00.001-04:00

Ethan REALLY LOVES the exersaucer that his cousin Keelin has leant him. Unfortunately, his mom has to take the blue sucky thing right off of his console lest it drive him (and her!) completely nutso!

Otherwise, it's a great play station for him. He spins all around and manages his world from there. For a little while, anyways. (Hey, I don't even have that long of an attention-span!) Greg calls it Ethan's "control centre", as he spins around frantically pushing buttons and generally throwing stuff.

Winnipeg summer '07

2007-09-05T20:49:00.000-04:00

Soph's post - Grandma P had lots of fun giving Ethan rides on her chair. He was pretty keen and especially enjoyed being outside on the back porch - then he could at least hear the cars going by on Corydon!

Other advantages to being on the popular strip, is going for pints with friends. Dylan thought he'd show Ethan how good a pint of Keith's can taste. Hmm hmm good!

Ethan enjoyed watching the traffic go by on Corydon while sitting on the back of the couch at Grandma Ps house. He also got to spend a good amount of time in the van, which he had a love-hate relationship with (it all depends on how bumpy the ride was).

We spent an afternoon and evening in St.Lupicin with the family during the last weekend in July, when they were putting on a music festival to raise money for the church. Cousin Eric drove the shuttle truck from the parking lot to the festival site (you can tell he really hated that job!)

We got to swim in the pool at St.Lu, but Ethan thought it was a bit cold that day. He did have a fantastic swim at Marj and Jim's pool a few days earlier, where the water was as warm as a bath. The weather hovered around 36 deg C for most of the time we were in Manitoba, so we either hunkered down indoors in the a/c, or hung out in other people's pools. Thanks for that!

Ethan and Jane at Safeway in Osborne Village....It was fun to finally be able to 'introduce' Ethan to friends and family who had yet to meet him. Everyone who has known Greg for the longest say Ethan looks like him, and everyone who's known me the longest say he looks like me. Hmm. I guess there's a good mix in there, eh?

There was a show on at Imax about sharks, and we got to see the display for it at the Forks. Ethan thought it was pretty exciting... We enjoyed walking around the Forks and sort of being tourists in our hometown.

Ethan and I survived the flight to Winnipeg and back to Ottawa, although it would have been nice to fly with papa. Good thing it's such a short trip....

Heather drops in

2007-08-07T23:16:00.000-04:00

(Soph's post) Heather came through Ottawa in the beginning of July, and we had to take her to some of our favorite spots, one being a hike around Pink Lake in Gatineau Park. It reminded her and I of the good ol' days and canoe trips in the Canadian shield.

Halfway through our hike, we stopped at a lookout point where a couple was also enjoying the view, and they wanted to get a look at the bub hiding in the snuggly. When Ethan woke up and saw the strange couple staring at him, he started to laugh uncontrollably. It's a strange laugh, completely pure and innocent, and even he doesn't seem to know why he's doing it, but it goes on and on, keeping him entertained. The funny thing is that it's contagious, and everyone keeps laughing at him because it sounds so unique. He pulled off this stunt about a week earlier for the first time, when Sophie was walking in the park, and ran into another couple.
Seems like new people get him going.

The night prior to Heather leaving for her Algonquin canoe trip, she took us out for supper at the Courtyard restaurant in the Byward market. It was one of those characteristic summer evenings, where the weather was ideal, and the food was superb. The kind of evening you long for when winter is still threatening your sanity in March. The outdoor patio got Greg's added approval for being the only place left in the city that still had a remaining stock of Hoeggarden.

Heather liked this picture of Ethan doing the airplane, looking a bit stunned, while she kept the conversation rolling. Hey! She's a natural. It's like how I've learned to do so many things with just one hand (teeth brushing, meal prep, eating, etc)! It was great to have a visitor to Ottawa again, since the busy times of May are long gone already.

Oh, and we put in another order for a hat for the bub with Heather; he needs to have the hippest touque come winter, eh?!

Random stuff

2007-08-07T21:41:00.000-04:00

Here's a post to clean up the last couple of months. Sophie's currently got the camera in Wpg., so no posts about the MB trip till late August (who am I kidding...it will be 2008 before a post comes out).

Back to June - Arn and Janet had us over at their farm near Ashton on Father's day for the June birthday's get-together. Most of the clan from Charles and Marie's family made it out as well for a relaxing day in the country. The hobby farm they have setup seems to be the ideal way to separate the nearby urban life from the more simplistic means of the country. So peaceful to just sit on the veranda, and overlook the wind blowing across the wheat fields in the valley below.

One of the perks of having spent most of 2007 working out of Ottawa, is that we get to have consistent weekend breakfasts together again. Nothing beats waking up on a Saturday, realizing you don't have to go in to work, and then whipping up some pancakes with Quebecois maple syrup. Our kitchen table is miniscule, but when the sun shines in, and Bub is well rested, it all seems to be just right.

The weather has been great from June into July, and so we spent as much time as possible exploring the region. Left is a photo of me testing the limits of the stroller through a bush walk on Petrie Island in Orleans. Some other highlights from that week: a late evening walk through the mystical Mer Bleue, a moss-filled bog reminiscent of a far Northern ecosystem. Sophie actually managed to spot one of the weird frogs making the "duhnk" sound, like water dripping in a deep well. My eyes are never patient enough to locate such details.

Left - We discovered a historic little town on a Northern section of the Gatineau river, nestled in amongst the surrounding hills. Wakefield is a resort-like town, with the main drag filled with local coffee shops, small pubs, ice cream parlours, and tonnes of local artisans. The entire town follows the shore on a wide expanse in the river. Upstream from the town, a long red wooden covered bridge is still maintained for pedestrian traffic. The town was especially festive the day we were there with Canada day celebrations going on.

Sophie and I finally succumbed to the Shawarma King, and picked up some Lebanese for a picnic by Lac Leamy in Gatineau. The tabouleh was OK, but baklava is now hands-down, the best dessert I've ever had. I've noticed how most cities in Canada have a prominent cultural food, the type that is sold in every other restaurant on the block. Vancouver has it's sushi, Halifax has it's donair, Montreal the smoked meat, but in Ottawa - it's all about the Shawarma apparently.

Left - Bub and I must go to the same barber.

Westfest

2007-07-01T09:27:00.000-04:00

Some random photo's over the month of July:

Left - We hooked up with Marc, Lori, and Keelin for a stroll down Wellington Street for Ottawa's Westfest. It was good to see them again after they had their post-wedding 4 week recovery.

Left - Keelin's new found joy for pine cones. We can hardly wait till Ethan is old enough so that he can start tearing around with his older cousin.

Ethan has taken a huge loving to the Richard Scarry Busy day books, and gets really vocal with all the photo's. The books are a bit short, but he doesn't realize yet that we just flip back to the first page and start over. We have to watch out when we replicate the "DRRINNNG!" sound of the phone ringing, as he flails all his limbs wildly every time. I've taken a few fists across the face already.

Inspecting the Shenken

2007-06-25T19:33:00.000-04:00

On June 5th, we had a quick visit from Marj and Dianne, who were on a whirlwind tour of the capital. Marj got off about 2000 pictures of Ethan (I think my Mom requested that as a minimum), by using the automatic shutter feature on her fancy camera. I'll have to see them when we get back to Winnipeg at the end of July.

At one point, Marj proclaimed that she couldn't leave yet until she inspected the shenken (spelling???). My low German isn't great, but I'm thinking it's leg fat. Any ideas? She seemed impressed by it either way, so I guess bub is doing well.

Mum and Bub

2007-06-10T14:51:00.000-04:00

(Soph's post) - Ethan mostly likes to take 40 minute to 1 hour naps during the day (vs the 1.5 hours we read would be the norm -don't believe everything you read!). Occasionally I can catch him before he really goes into a meltdown (ie. Why have I been left alone in this room?!! Come get me NOW!), and he'll fall back to sleep in my arms for another half hour or so. Then I sit at the computer and play silly games (or write one-handed emails.)

It's hard to complain though, as he's basically been sleeping through the night since he was 6 weeks. We decided to make his last feed of the night a formula feed, and this carries him through till around 6 am. So we try to put him down at 8, and then do his "dream feed" at 11 pm. I'm making it sound easier than it is though, cause it took a couple of weeks of convincing him that when he woke up at 3am, that all he needed to do was go back to sleep.

Still not much sign of any real hair growth. It appears that he'll be a chrome dome for ahwile yet.

Cutest picture!

2007-06-10T14:45:00.000-04:00

Summertime

2007-06-10T11:22:00.001-04:00

(Soph's post) We've been very happy about the fine weather, and have gotten out and about to take advantage of it. We got out to the Gatineau Hills, just north of us in Quebec, to a short hike we did last year. The views are spectacular, and we could just imagine how these hills used to be bigger than the Himalayas. They also remind us of the hills that are always in site in Perth, where we often went walking. It was pretty hot and sunny, so Bub was protected from the UV by a big opaque blanket (courtesy of Grandma S!).

We found this little orchard of cherry trees the first spring we were in Ottawa. It's hidden behind the art gallery and is so beautiful while the trees are flowering. We made a point to see it again. Ethan enjoys the walks; the bumps in the sidewalk lull him to sleep. If it isn't raining, we'll be out walking somewhere in the evenings!

An afternoon in the park near the canal was quite ideallic; Bub only broke the pristine silence with a few five-alarm screams. He enjoys 'flying' above us, a trick we learned in yoga - gives mom a good workout at 14lbs!

Tummy Time

2007-06-10T11:08:00.000-04:00

Ethan has a lot to say about spending time on his tummy. We figure that it's a good thing that the advice these days is 'back to sleep', otherwise he'd have protested loudly.

Here he is just a week before his 2 month birthday. His big head hasn't caused him to roll over quite yet, but I'm sure it will happen soon enough. Babies are funny this way, with their heads being about 1/4 the size of their body, and adults being around 1/8 the size of their body. Imagine how cartoon-like adults would look if their head was a 1/4 the size of their body!

Ah, a quiet moment. He has since grown out of this onesie; the stitches were pulling to their limit at the crotch!

Soph's post II

2007-06-05T15:42:00.000-04:00

At the beginning of May, we had alot of friends and family come to Ottawa for Marc and Lori's wedding on the 5th. My mom, and her friend Karen came from Winnipeg, and they were joined by my Aunt Nancy and my Popham grandparents from Lake Cowichan. My Grandmere also flew out with my cousins Eric and Jon from Winnipeg. Marc and Lori's daughter Keelin had her first birthday on the 7th, so there was a little party for her at the Delta hotel where everyone was staying. My mom had the deluxe suite, with a living room and kitchenette, and a fantastic 14th floor view of the parliament and the Gatineau hills, so we spent alot of time meeting up at the hotel. Nancy also had lots of cold "Baha Fogs" waiting for us, which are perfect for summer. Anyhow, it was pretty neat that Ethan and Keelin got to meet their great-grandparents!

Keelin thinks hand-sucking might be ok for Ethan, but she's over it! Grandmere and Grandma make sure she's 'Gentle' with Ethan. Keelin got some cool stuff from her great-grandparents and grandma and her great auntie for her birthday.

The highlight was the Strawberry Shortcake running shoes, I think!

The great grandmothers did such a great job of holding Ethan while we visited; Mom and Papa were very happy for it! And Ethan enjoyed all the attention.

The city was also ready for visitors, and the weather was fantastic, the tulip festival was getting into full bloom so we took advantage of it. We walked all along Dow's lake where the tulips are, and all got lot's of vitamin D in the sunshine. We stopped for a bite to eat at a nice Mexican restaurant in the pavillion and enjoyed the view over the water.

It was a busy week, and we enjoyed it very much. It's always hard to finally see everyone leave Ottawa at the end, and there is always this sense that there was so much more to do yet. I guess it's motivation for our friends to come back.

Gram's and Gramp's

2007-05-02T21:10:00.000-04:00

My parents arrived in Ottawa on April 25th for a 5 day trip. I used up some Aeroplan points to get them over here as a Christmas gift. The only catch was that they had to find a place to stay, as our place is just way to small. We hooked them up at a beautiful bed and breakfast just a 5 minute walk from our place up by the canal - unfortunately the canal was drained due to annual spring cleaning prior to opening the locks. In fact, the whole city seemed to be one week away from being 'ready'. The leaves were just starting, the road side cleanup had just begun, and the sunny weather started the minute we dropped them off at the airport. Oh well, we knew why they really came to Ottawa, and he spends most of his time indoors.

Thursday turned out to be the nicest day weather-wise, and so dad and I went for 18 at the Edelweiss Golf Club up in Wakefield, Quebec. The course was in relatively decent shape considering it had only opened a week earlier, and for $25 green fees, you can't really lose. You can still see snow on the slopes of the ski resort in the background.

We grabbed some umbrella's on Saturday, and toured around the Parliament buildings, checked out the war memorial, and ended up at Moulin de Provence in the Byward Market for coffee and fancy desserts. Those coffee cups are the same size as bubs' head.

Ethan seems to sport his biggest grins, and is also the most talkative in the mornings. Luckily for my parents, he had just started to engage us with smiling and cooing a few days before they arrived. What a huge difference this development made to us - it's the turning point for when the needy baby starts to give something back. Thanks to Uncle Jerry and Auntie Helen in Calgary for the neat outfit.

Here he's letting us know that the milk was top notch. He didn't even burst the keg this time.

Eau de Fromage

2007-05-02T20:18:00.000-04:00

Again...it's been a long time since the last post. Alot has been going on here. We're doing well, and Ethan is growing super fast, but we're definitely finding ourselves short of spare time here lately.

When Ethan was only 3 weeks of age, I had to make a 4 day trip to Hanover. We were a bit nervous about how this would go, given that we were such newbies with raising the bub. Sophie did superbly well though, and I have to admit, that I was the only one calling...she never called me (she says it was because she couldn't get to the phone when she thought about calling).

Somewhere around 14-15 days old, it was as if Ethan "woke up", and seemed to find his voice. No more cute little "wah...wah...wahs", more like long gasps of air (accompanied by the face turning a crimson red), and then windows shattering. Thankfully, this doesn't happen much, but wow, what a difference. It's hard not to get the nerves tangled up when this happens, especially at 3 am.

The milk dud is still gaining an impressive amount of weight. For ahwile, it was around 14 oz. a week. He's now comfortably over 12 lbs, and we've had to pack up most of the 0-3 month clothes already. An interesting side effect to all this milk action, is the eventual accumulation of milk in the folds around his neck. Some days he really smells like cheese, and when it turns from a mild cheddar to a more pungent Roquefort, we know it's bath time for bub.

We went for brunch at a Cabane a Sucre - Stanley's Olde Maple farm - with our friend Ryan and his daughter Caitlyn. The syrup was frozen in the buckets, but it was flowing on the table for the pancakes and waffles. Soph was in her glory! Both Ethan and Caitlyn enjoyed the animal barn; Ethan more for the overwhelming smells, Caitlyn for the horses.

Later in the day we were invited out for Easter supper at Sophie's great uncle and aunt's - Joe and Vals. They have a beautiful home which sits on the shore of a very wide expanse of the Ottawa River in Aylmer, Quebec. They were so excited to see us, and put on a huge spread for the evening.

Cathy mailed us this awesome little snuggly, which works like a charm for getting us out of the house, and getting Ethan to fall asleep. There are times we'd like to get outdoors for walking, but Ethan detests being put in the stroller (it's essentially his car seat - but we don't buckle him in tightly), so this snuggly does the job. It was a bit tricky to put on at first, and because we didn't have jackets big enough to enclose him, we had to wrap a blanket around him, which used up our hands. The warmer weather, and the fact that his neck is more stable now has helped alot though.

Ethan was born with the expected blonde hair and blue eyes that everyone was predicting, although you wouldn't be able to see it easily anymore. After one of his baths at around 2 weeks, a little towelling off managed to completely shave the top of his head, so now bubs has a "male pattern baldness" look going in - nothing on the top, and a bit of hair going from one ear, around the back, and to the other ear. If this keeps up, we'll have to consider a comb-over (actually, it's coming back nicely).

Some more cool gifts from friends. Ethan sporting a fantastic knit wool touque from Heather in Vancouver. I love the two little pom-pom antennae at the top. We find ourselves spending alot of time just laughing at him when he's got this hat on. He's also got on a cool little onesie with rocket ships and stars all over it, given to us by fellow Space systems colleague Ryan, and his daughter Caitlyn.

There are a whole bunch of other outfits that have been arriving lately from friends and family, and luckily for us, much of it is for 18 months plus. We'll have to get bub to put on a fashion show on the blog when he starts growing into them.

Upcoming Launch - Easter Monday

2007-04-06T16:22:00.000-04:00

On Monday, Apr. 9th at around 6 pm EDT ( 5 pm Wpg.), a live webcast will be available covering the launch of one of my company's satellites from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

I found this article last week covering the de-orbit of a satellite, which should be rather shocking to anyone spending a lot of time in airplanes. For some reason, the whole story is just so much more disturbing given that this plane was midway over the Pacific, not that it really matters much at 30000 ft.

Tanking up Fatty

2007-03-28T20:13:00.000-04:00

Almost two weeks has gone by now since bubs was born, and he's definitely taken a liking to the breast milk. When we left the hospital, he weighed in at 7 lb 5 oz, and when we weighed him again today, he lumbered in at 8 lb 12 oz. What a chubster!

Sophie signed up for a 10 week "Mum and Baby Yoga" class taking place just up the street at the Old Ottawa South fire hall. It looks like a tonne of fun, and the now much bulkier bub can act as a good counterweight during the yoga moves. She's also hoping to join a Strollersize group, where mothers and baby's go for long walks along the canal paths at least once week, and then inundate Starbucks or the Second Cup when they're done.

We got a great little onesie in the mail from Keith and Shelley this last week. It says "future quarterback", but I'm not sure about that prospect. I only played tag football as a kid, and Ottawa doesn't even seem to be that ambitious to get it's pro team back in the city. Maybe he'll get some exposure through the odd bomber game back in the 'peg.

So far, Ethan has been kind to us, and is only forcing us to really get up once during the night for a feeding (12 -> 4 -> 7) . We've read in the "The baby whisperer" that it may be possible to extend the sleeping time during the night using a method called "tanking", so we gave it a go. Basically, it involves feeding him twice as much during the latter part of the evening - filling up the tank. It worked well, and he slept almost 5 hours straight, but the catch is that when he wakes up, he stays up for a long time.

Left - Ethan and I during "activity time". Doesn't the bub look very stylish in his pink onesie? His cousin Keelin has been very generous in her donations of previously loved clothes and other equipment.

The Bub has left the hub!

2007-03-19T17:06:00.000-04:00

At 5:04 am on Friday, March 16th, 2007, we welcomed our healthy little baby boy into the world. After some deliberation, he was named Ethan Peter (he made it onto some temporary forms as 'baby b' for the first day, and we still refer to him as Bubs).

Left - all pooched out. You'll have to take my word for it - there's some white blond hair under that cap, and he has the signature cow-lick on the top.

We've become pros at the fine art of swaddling, which helps to chill him right out...he seems to freak himself out with his own limbs.

This little guy weighed in at 7 lb 11 oz, and offered his mum and papa a big challenge for about 36hrs before finally making his way into the world. Do we look discouraged? No way! Just a little tired, is all.

Mini-me (before bath time - a little crusty still)

Bubs giving us a lecture on how much he loves bath time. I can see that this will be a bit challenging.

Some wrinkly old-man feet. Ethan actually scratched us a few times with his fingernails, so he's been fashioned up with some nice mits for the time being.

The hospital stay gave us some opportunity to rest, but we were happy to get going home to our own space...Taking "scrunchy-face" home. The night before we left, a huge spring storm blew through Ottawa, dumping 15 cm of snow everywhere. Sounds like a good excuse to rent movies and hang out inside for the next while.

Skating at 36 weeks

2007-02-11T16:24:00.000-05:00

On Friday night we walked over to the Civic Centre to watch the 67's beat the division leading Barrie Colts. I love attending games in this old-school arena, as it reminds me alot of the atmosphere back in the Winnipeg Arena. Some of the seats are so obscured, that they hang dust-laden TV's from the rafters just so that you can see the scoreboard. There's a massive cage that runs around the entire upper deck to keep the fans from climbing around in the piping that runs underneath the football stadium. And for $14, the place sells close to 10 000 seats, and OHL fans can get really rowdy ensuring lots of noise. It's all a good deal, and honestly, I can't bring myself to support the overpaid NHL players at the Sens games - nevermind the concessions, the parking, and the 1 hour drive to Kanata.
Sophie and I decided to take advantage of the -5 degree weather, and go for a skate on the canal this morning. The cold weather over the last 2 weeks has made for perfect ice, and it was glass smooth for the entire skateway (except for under the bridges). With no wind, it was downright awesome, and so we did the length of the canal twice - 15.6 km's! At first, we were a little cautious, and wondered if the belly would throw off Sophie's balance, but after a few strides we actually found ourselves passing by most of the other skaters. (except the Gaetan Boucher wannabee's and their 2 foot long speed-skates)

The pregnancy has been going very well, and we are relaxed and enjoying the stability of being in Ottawa for longer than a month at a time. We feel very lucky to have secured a spot with the Midwifery Group of Ottawa, and have connected very well with our team. When we first contacted them from Perth, we were told that they had an 8-month wait list, which is a good testament to their growing support in the community. Our only concerns at present are that it appears that bubs is now posterior (sunnyside up), and so we are hoping the little one will spin around, and bake on the other side for a bit (we hear that back labour sucks!). In the meantime, we'll continue to take advantage of the "expectant mother" parking spots wherever we find them.

Winterlude Dinner

2007-02-03T18:21:00.000-05:00

My company has decided that the best way to hold it's yearly banquet, is to have it coincide with the start of Ottawa's biggest winter carnival - Winterlude. It makes sense, because having the company party a full month after Christmas generally means that most people can attend, and that everyone is in a little more of a chilled out headspace.

After having the gala event at the Chateau Laurier hotel for the last few years, it was changed up a bit this time, and we moved over to Quebec to have it in the Grand Hall at the Museum of Civilization. The venue was surreal, with one entire wall full of 50 foot high windows looking down onto the Ottawa River, and across to the Parliament Hill. On the interior, our meal was watched over closely by the towering totem poles of the West Coast Aboriginal peoples display.

I wasn't sure that I was going to make this event, and only flew into Ottawa 2 hours before it started. I had been stuck in Pearson airport after a lengthy day of flight delays, and interactions with full grown businessmen throwing tantrums. Worst job ever - Customer service clerk for Air Canada in Toronto anytime is snows more than a few centimetres.

Maybe its the large French component of the company, or the fact that the bar was open for a solid hour before the night began, but the dance floor always fills up immediately. It's a nice change from my history with Manitoba socials, and that the only way to fill the dance floor was to throw on "so, take those old records off the shelf....", followed by the flourescent lights coming on immediately for 50/50 draw.

Balsamic Vinegar, Oil and Sourdough

2007-01-31T22:43:00.000-05:00

Cheers to Kathryn and Meghan for sending out the divine Fig & Tangerine balsamic vinegar from Meinhardts on Granville. Nothing can beat a nice surprise in the mailbox. Kathryn - if you ever need a Croque Monsieur sent priority post from the Byward market, just let us know. Then again, it may be a bit nasty by the time it reaches you.

Work goes up in flames

2007-01-31T22:27:00.000-05:00

I had the opportunity to be part of something last night that thankfully doesn't happen too often. You may have already seen the video on Youtube, but if not, the very short clip shows what the launch company PR people like to refer to as "an anomoly" for damage control. Needless to say, I got to go home early on this mission. What impressed me most, was how quickly the webcast director knew things were going very badly, and yanked the feed - you can actually see the rocket fall onto the platform just before the big explosion.

Winnipeg Christmas 06

2007-01-31T19:45:00.000-05:00

Wow...if you're still checking this blog, you are aware that sheer laziness is carrying the day over here. Well, we are just about to go into February, Sophie is 34 weeks pregnant, we are slowly relearning Ottawa, and we find ourselves making mini-lists, and ticking them off every day as we get ready for the bubs. Our house hunt reached a peak, and then fizzled out again. It probably had the most momentum it has ever had, with pre-approved mortgages and a realtor on hand had we taken that step. I guess we just weren't ready to make that kind of commitment to the city yet.

Here's a wrap-up of our Winnipeg trip from December.

Sophie and I spent a little over 3 weeks in Winnipeg for Christmas 2006, being fortunate to have ridiculously warm weather for the majority of the trip. However, two nights before new year's we were hammered with 36 cm of snow, followed by rather frigid nights. Photo above shows that most classic of all Winnipeg stills - Transit Tom and the Orange pumpkin braving the newly plowed streets. Left - Sophie and I heading down Corydon, she's going to hook up with Tara at the Second Cup, and I'm about to see if Niko's still serves a great spanakopita. All over the city, pedestrians were forced onto the streets if they had to get anywhere.

The skyview lounge proved to be a favorite destination, and we hooked up with Lynds, Dave, and Joe one night, and on another night we met with Steve, Julia, Brent, and Kidd. I think that this place suffers too much from an imposed image. People assume that the lounge is all tux's and fine gowns, reserved for special occasions. Reality is that the place is filled with denim and baseball caps, VLT's, and cheap drinks and food. You also get one of the best views of the city from up there - the forks was all lit up for Christmas, the Assiniboine River had it's skating rink going, and the fancy new Provencher bridge actually looks quite impressive. It also helps that you're high enough to not focus on all the broken flower planters, the grit on the streets, and the cracks in the sidewalk. I find it astonishing that many Canadian cities can maintain a budget given our winters. Most cities in the world never have to cope with upheaved pavement, cracked curbs, multi-million dollar snowclearing budgets, broken water mains, massive heating bills, or any of the other incidental costs from the -30 degree winters. I thought about this while I was in Perth - they must lay down the concrete there, and it's looks as good as new 25 years later.

Mum has this tradition in our house for taking a photo of the couple sometime during the 3rd trimester in a very narrow doorway in their home. It's the tough guy - fat girl pose. We just fit.

Later on we went back into the city to meet with Lynds and Dave at the Salisbury House on the bridge. It looks like ol' Burton Cummings may have made a good investment on this one as the place had line-ups out the door.

Hooked up with Jane for breakfast down at The Nook in our old neighbourhood. (Can you spot the crazy black squirrel hand puppet from Jane? - an Ottawa specialty)

So many familar faces walk through the Nook's doors on any given day. Funny how Wolseley will always feel like home to us. For a few years, we must have had good friends in at least 12 houses all within a 10 minute walk of our place. Good parties every weekend for sure. Urban planners would kill to create more communities like this.

My petit auto died while I was in a bad part of town late one night, and it scared me enough to decide to put it to rest in the country. The problem is that the car was stuck deep within city limits, and so a tow truck was legally required to at least bring the car to the city's perimeter highway. At $100 - I don't think so. I still had another 60 km to go once I was out of the city. So I planned the most inobstrusive backstreet route out of the city using google earth one day, and phoned up my trusted mate Boot. He was anxious to try out his new 2005 Jeep, and so under darkness of night, we roped up the dead car, and made our escape. What a trip - first of all, I picked a tow rope which was way to short at 15 feet. So, when Jude, oh, I mean Boot, decided that 70 km/h was a good tow speed down Wellington avenue, I was basically white-knuckling it with one foot perched over the brakes, one hand on the e-brake, and my eyes glued to his tail lights. Here's the other thing - without the engine running, the windows had to be rolled down to keep the windshield clear of fog, and it was -25 deg that night, making the windchill in the car around absolute zero. We only came undone twice in the middle of an intersection, and with the hazards on, people didn't seem to know if they should get out and push, or simply give us a wide berth and move on. Once we hit the gravel roads we knew we were home free, and the rocks getting kicked up by the jeep made sure I stayed awake for the remainder. Good thing I still had battery power, as I could at least have my headlights on for watching the rope, and my new AFI album kept me content.

Due to my car adventure, I had to miss out on a Kings head night with some rowdies from Cowtown. After a few pints, the guy with the moustache even claimed that he was an authentic Winnipeg Northender - a tall claim.

Had a short, but good time firing the puck around with Bob and Valor down at the R.A. Steen community centre one night until the lights got turned off. We ended up watching Danny Way's insane segment on the DC video at Bobs new pad in WestGate, before hooking with James at LevelOne on Corydon.

Andy and Mel put on a huge spread for us and some close friends at their place on McMillan Avenue. Awesome homemade spaghetti, perogies, and bread, all washed down with ample red wine.

Cathy initiated her new home on Strathcona with a New Years extravaganza. She even built a little fire pit out in the back yard and outfitted the scene with some patio lanterns. It was ultra-Winnipeg, especially when the neighbours came over and started jamming around the fire. Every place we went to that night had the stipulation that you either snaked someone else's nicely shovelled parking spot on the street, or you did the noble thing, and spent 20 minutes clearing your own. Sorry for the crappy photo - but you get the idea.

Snowboarding at Frostfire

2006-12-22T15:43:00.000-05:00

I did a day-trip with Joey and Dave down to Frostfire in North Dakota. The black fields and zero degree weather on the drive down didn't leave us too optimistic for decent snow, and yet everything was open except for the half pipe. This doesn't say much for snow quality though; the hard pack surface was closer to crushed ice than snow.

Left - regrouping and discussing whether it's better to take long slow runs, or to bomb down the steeper and shorter runs. In Frostfire, the long runs are all of about 4 minutes. It was strange to see all of the rails and jumps that the staff have built in the terrain park. I still remember when the ski patrol would take lift tickets away for building a 2 foot kicker on an unused run. Actually, I can even recall some of the very first times I showed up with a snowboard, and we were turned away because they didn't have insurance to cover us on their slopes. Hard to imagine, given that we saw about 15 boarders to every skier this time around.

Left - The hardest part of snowboarding - getting off the chair lift. I couldn't believe how badly the chairs had been maintained, and only 1 of 3 lifts was running. The seats had been replaced by loose pieces of plywood, with a hard edge that cut into the underside of your legs on the ride up, and splinters that ripped away at expensive snowboarding pants. Classic Frostfire.

Above - Joe getting some fast air on the "chicory run".

Real Estate Rant

2006-12-09T07:29:00.000-05:00

So, we've been back in Ottawa now for about a week and a half, and are slowly transitioning back into the cold, and the fact that it is dark by 4:30. Life has been relatively busy, as we are trying to deal with as many issues as possible before we leave for Winnipeg for 3 weeks over Christmas. With the baby due in just over 3 months time, we are realizing that our very small apartment/shoebox will not suffice, and so we've reached that ugly crossroads between signing another rental lease, or making the HUGE leap into real estate.

I have often lamented with my friends to no end about how "real estate" is the topic that seems to hang over my generation. Never fail, the inevitable discussion about how people have become instantly rich, or alternatively, how first-time homebuyers are feeling locked out of purchasing, will eventually rear it's head. It's all very tiresome, because for the most part, people's opinions are highly speculative. This combined with the fact that RE is by it's very nature, seen as just another investment tool, and in fact, could be viewed as rolling the dice on the biggest gamble of your life in some markets. Another sense of shock is generally felt regarding the outrageous year-over-year gains in market value, and the underlying question has to become where this "new money" is coming in from. Essentially - who are these people that continue to fuel this market? Can anyone out there say that they've realized an average salary increase of 20% a year (50% in Calgary). Maybe it's offshore investors, but these investors still require bodies to fill their condo developments. What I find most intriguing, is that studies are now showing the median affordability in homeownership is actually worse in today's market, that it was in the 18% interest rates of the early 80's. This is absolutely frightening considering the massive effect that interest rates have over the life span of the mortgage.

Like many people, I find myself wondering if this is just a market correction, or a general trend towards home ownership in the future. Will Canadian cities transition into a more European model, where detached homes are a distant reality for the working stiff, and we learn to live with less square footage? Or will it reach the point where the long term model is based on some of the most expensive cities in the world, namely, in Asia where mortgages are signed for 50+ years, and you "will" them to your kids. Gee...thanks Mom and Dad.

I also wonder if the idea of raising a family on a single income is becoming an obsolete model. It would seem so when sitting down with financial advisors, and there sense of wonder over our priorities.

Anyhow, for the time being, we will continue to tour the neighbourhoods, note down some possible options, and then return home only to get pissed off when checking mls.ca.

Palm trees to Pine trees

2006-11-26T19:34:00.000-05:00

Here's a serene photo from the 18th floor of the Marriott Waikiki. Always feels good to get off of the plane, and to stretch out on the deck. Getting take-out pizza was definitely on the agenda.

We're always a bit overwhelmed by the cultural differences that become apparent when landing in Honolulu. Australia imparts this easy-going, laid-back lifestyle, which we readily accustomize to during the time we spend there. This is particularly true in Perth, where Sunday trading is still practically non-existent, national holidays are widely observed, and the best time you can have is still hanging out with your mates around the barbie, cooking up prawns, and having a few crownies. Killing an entire week by watching a 5-day test match in cricket is the norm. By comparison, spending time in Waikiki is like throwing yourself into 10 lanes of traffic. Car culture abounds in this relatively small city, consumerism is rampant, the pedestrians are pushy and obnoxious, the prostitutes actively confront the citizens, and the television stations seem to have a higher flicker rate. That is, an image appears to stay on the screen for about half the time that it does in Australian media. I've heard a past professor of mine discuss at length about how this is related the ever-decreasing ability of North American's to pay attention. Oh yah, have you ever noticed how the volume also seems to increase by a few dB when the commercials come on? Guess who pays the bills. You'd think this would be regulated.

We've started to see Waikiki as a Disneyland for adults. It's not exactly relaxing, unless you decide to stay in your hotel room. Seems to me that most Americans view Hawaii as a must-see vacation destination, and many will save for years for that one exalted trip here. The problem is that the expectations get raised to an extreme level, and as a result, if the weather turns sour, the hotel room is not as planned, or that dreaded winter flu kicks in, it's like a world catastrophe. Throw into the mix that many of the sun-seeking American families likely haven't spent this much concentrated time together in the last 20 years, so suddenly sharing a compact hotel room, or something as simple as deciding on a place to eat, turns into a veritable meltdown. On every stopover we've had here, we've seen at least 4-5 major conflicts erupt on the sidewalks. These are not toddlers having a routine tantrum, but rather the parents having a full-on domestic in front of the kids and anyone else unfortunate enough to pass by. And there always seems to be at least 5-6 cell phones involved - why are these brought on vacations? Anyhow, that's my rant. When I think of vacations, my mind tends to drift toward the wilderness, and secluded cabins nestled next to calming lakes, but definitely does not involve these "trips from hell" with hundreds of thousands of people raising their blood pressure to volcanic levels. (BTW - Sophie felt the earthquake when we were there; she said it helped to be sitting on the toilet! I however, had no idea one even occured)

The first thing we noticed when arriving in Vancouver, other than the cold, was the strong smell of pine trees that greeted us. I just love that smell, it clears the head and drains the sinuses. Our return flight to Ottawa on Monday is a bit suspect at this stage, due to the amazing amount of white stuff on the left, which has been falling since we've arrived.

We've been hanging out with our gracious hosts Kathryn and Meghan for the last 2 nights, and have been spoiled by being walking distance to all the great shops on Granville street, Granville Island, and W4th Avenue. We also had to get in on the cheap, cheap, local sushi Saturday night. I think if I lived here though, I'd spend a shocking amount of money on restaurants. And, it appears that the locals do exactly that, which is surprising given the monumental cost of living in this city. There may be some relief on the horizon though for those first-time homebuyers like us, that is, if what is currently occuring in the US has any spillover into the North.

Last Wahoo Cone for a bit...

2006-11-20T21:22:00.000-05:00

Well, it's time to wish everyone here in Perth farewell. No more wahoo cones (Greg had to have one last go of the chips, at least!), no more workouts at the gym or coffee afterward, no more long commutes to work watching galahs eating bugs on the verge... Not for a while, anyways! It's back to the winterwonderland of Canada for us - although we hear the weather's been mild, so might not be so bad, eh?!

We're doing the milk run on the way back; overnight in Sydney, 2 nights in Waikiki, and then a few nights in Vancouver over the weekend. Here's hoping the belly agrees with 27 hours on planes in the next week!

Penguins, seals & gulls, oh my!

2006-11-20T20:22:00.000-05:00

This past weekend we took a short trip south to Rockingham to visit Penguin Island, where the little penguins live. It's a short ferry ride over to the island, which has an interpretive center and boardwalks that keep visitors from walking on the various birds nests, king skinks, etc. There's also the option of walking along the shore to explore, which we took advantage of...

We happened upon this sleeping seal while walking on the south shore of the island; he seemed very comfy in the shade with his head resting on the rock! Greg caught him moving around a bit on the video camera.

The rock formations on the coast can be pretty wild, and of course we have to be cautious of rockfalls, but we went sticking our heads into crevasses anyways!
There are about a million gulls living on the island, nesting in the underbrush, and they can be very aggressive with us visitors; not as deadly as the maggies, but still, they sure can scream! Greg got an earful when he went off the main trail. It was strange to see the seagulls in their natural habitat like this, as we've become so accustomed to seeing them in the parking lots.

We didn't actually see any of the little penguins in their natural habitat; they spend the day fishing in the ocean and come back at dusk. We did get to see the ones that have been rescued and live in the interpretive center though. They're well cared for, with public feedings every couple of hours.

Spelunking on the Seashore

2006-11-15T21:24:00.000-05:00

Early on the last day of our road tour we headed South to Lake Cave for some spelunking.

A gentle slope leads to a spectacular cave entrance which contains it's own small forest of Karri you can see in the outside pic. Some of the trees are over 400 years old. Leading under the Eastern edge of the Doline floor, a series of steeply sloping fissures lead down into the dark cave.

The cavern floor is covered in water to a depth of about 1m, and the flow of water from East to West has been calculated at 23,040 litres per hour. Unfortunately the drought in this region is causing the 'lake' to dry up, and this is starting to severely disturb the fragile environment of the cave.

We 'broke the rules' (unknowingly) by bringing our mini tripod into the cave; you can see the great difference between having the flash blaring vs putting on the timer for a kinder exposure. The group was having one of these quiet - listening in the dark experiences - when I snapped this shot of Greg; he's sitting in front of some 'shawl' formations. Not impressed...

Starting to drive North towards Perth, we followed the coast into Dunsborough and Busselton. We'd been to Busselton last year already, on a hurried trip to catch the sunset from the town's historic jetty. This year we had a little more time to stroll the white sand beaches, and contemplate how in the world we ended up in Perth. We didn't think to hard though.

The heritage jetty extends almost two kilometres out over Geographe Bay, and is the longest timber jetty (pier) in the Southern Hemisphere. It's 140 years old, and has been ravaged by both fire and cyclones, yet still remains a popular spot to fish, swim, scuba dive and snorkel. We've never checked it out, but apparently there is a great underwater observatory at the end of the jetty, where you can take in all the colourful fish as well.

Denmark and the Ancient Empire

2006-11-13T08:19:00.000-05:00

The first night of our road trip was spent in Denmark, a quaint little town about a half hour west of Albany. A colleague of Greg's in Perth owns The Gum Grove Chalets just outside of the town, so we opted to stay there for night. These chalets are in a prime location, and I can see this area really booming in the near future.
In the morning we went down to Ocean Beach (only on video camera), and then slowly meandered westwards along a scenic inland drive which took us past many wineries, and hobby farms in the valley.

We drove down South again and ended up at Greens Pool, which is essentially this huge placid bay known for it's emerald green waters and ideal swimming. Unfortunately it was a bit cloudy, so the green was a bit subdued. We still got to see some interesting shells attached to the rocks, and a lizard living in the windswept cracks.

Along the highway we stopped at several artisan shops, one being Bartholomews Meadery, where we sampled honey and watched the bees. Despite it only being 10am, we had to sample the honey infused ice cream. YUM!

We picked up some fig shiraz and carmalized onion spread from these geese, who were happy to oblige...

Our main destination for the morning was the majestic Valley of the Giants and Tree Top Walk in the Walpole-Nornalup National Park, where suspension bridges have been built up among the ancient forest canopy and you can walk through the trunks of huge 400 year-old trees. Check out the size of the tingle tree to the left of Greg! This is the only place where the red tingle tree (Eucalyptus Jacksonii) is found. They have the largest base of all the eucalypts with a girth of up to 26 metres. Growing up to 75 metres tall this buttressed, rough barked tree can live to over 400 years old. Better not be afraid of heights; the walk goes up to 60meters and sort of sways and bounces when people are walking on it!
Me and the bubs at 4.5 months, in the tingle tree base...

We continued along our journey toward Margaret River, driving through Tuart, Karri and Jarrah forests. The highway was one lane for the most part, and sections of the national forest had these massive trees growing right out of the shoulder of the road. It was magical, but we had to constantly keep our eyes peeled for kangaroos jumping out at us. Thankfully they stayed in the bush...

Maybe I shouldn't keep eating so many monster veggie burgers; my belly just keeps getting bigger! haha

We stayed the night in Margaret River at the Margaret River Holiday Suites, a motel-style accomodation right downtown. The town in filled with novelty shops, and has a resort like feeling to it If you are able to find a Western Australian wine in North America, chances are it came from this massive wine producing region. I've had to forego the wine tasting on this trip (for obvious reasons), but there are all sorts of other artisans to visit. We left that for our last day on tour...

Road Tour to Albany

2006-11-13T07:22:00.000-05:00

At the end of October we took a long-weekend road trip down to the south coast of WA. We left early Saturday morning and drove 4 hours south down the Albany Hwy, passing by the Telstra car rally on the way.
The seascape on the south coast was rockier and more mountainous than in Perth; it reminded us of the east coast in Canada. The wind was unrelenting! Greg has been filming our excursions, so I've got the camera. The first pic is of Greg at the top of Mount Clarence, where an ANZAC memorial overlooks King George Sound, marking the spot where the first ships left Australia, sending troops and horses for the First World War.

We then drove over to Torndirrup National Park, where the Southern Ocean has sculpted a Natural Bridge in the coastal granites and formed The Gap, where the waves rush in and out with tremendous ferocity. The cool thing about this area is that geologists have been able to match up these rock formations with those in Antarctica, and can see how Gondwana would have looked!

At least someone has gotten on to using the wild wind that seems to be constantly blowing off the ocean; we walked around this little wind farm just outside of Albany. There were about 12 wind generators. Greg says I need to come with him to the wind farm just north of the town of Shelburne in the Huron Peninsula in Ontario, where there are more than 50! (That will be for another trip, another time...)

Cricket at the WACA

2006-11-13T06:28:00.000-05:00

This is the view from our apartment on the Indian Ocean. The sunsets are always prettiest when it's a bit cloudy. Looks like the clouds are made of gold.

Perth skyline at dusk, taken from the south shore of the Swan river. This is the same vantage point we'll have next weekend when we check out the Red Bull Air Race series over the Swan River.

Greg felt compelled to take in a cricket game at the WACA, to get a true aussie experience. This was a domestic one-day match featuring Tasmania against Perth. From the first bowl, to the last wicket, it lasts pretty much the full day ( 9hrs, with a pause for tea at 4:45pm). There are also 5-day test matches, and that is in fact how long the same game will go for... like a really really really long baseball game (I have heard it called 'Pommie Baseball'). It's very chilled out; we saw a grandma knitting for most of the game, and most of the crowd stumbles over after work gets out (4 hours into the game)!

The Ashes (International Cricket competition between England and Australia) are about to get underway... It's a pretty major deal here; England won the last one, so Aus has to win it back, of course! As if winning it the last 20 years in a row wasn't enough to give it up for ahwile. The Aussie's are sports fanatics.

Thankfully we brought our snacks and didn't have to resort to pies and chips until we got really desperate (we don't have an esky - cooller i.e. eskimo - to bring along with us to these events). We made a point of moving around alot to keep it interesting (and the seats were a bit lacking in comfort for me; should have brought a pillow!).

Strawberries, Wine & Roses

2006-11-04T22:05:00.000-05:00

We took in the Spring in the Valley festival the first weekend in October, a wine festival in the Swan Valley wine producing area. The strawberries are also in abundance at this time of year, so we couldn't pass that up! Roadside sellers are always the best bet.

We stopped at Sittella vineyard to sample their wares; us and a million other folks! There were plenty of buses to ensure the safety of winetasters in the valley, and boards asking 'who's the skipper?' ie who's the designated driver. I was! Although I did taste...
The setting was really beautiful, there was a live band playing up the hill a bit, and watching young people who've perhaps had way too much wine is always entertaining!

The roses are in bloom right now too, so I've been spending as much time as I can smelling them! They're wonderful, and they're everywhere, which is so great!

Park Life

2006-11-04T20:48:00.000-05:00

Drinking in the park isn't necessarily legal, but neither is it enforced, so a cold Victoria Bitter enjoyed in public space isn't such a bad thing. These photos are from the beginning of October, and the weather has been fining up nicely ever since.
There's my profile shot for 4 months, just to give an idea of the belly... it's coming along! Notice the sensible footwear...

We also felt compelled to visit the Fremantle cemetary while we were in the neighborhood, because this is where rock icon Bon Scott (of AC/DC fame) is buried. The grave was listed as a heritage site this past February, and there is a 'walk of fame' of sorts that will lead to the stone. Our picture of it was washed out, so check out the link if you want to see what it looks like.

We celebrated our anniversary on Oct. 8th, and decided it was our 6th, seeing as how that's how long we've been living together. Greg brought home these birds of paradise, and I made up some cinnamon buns. It's a simple life...

Tall Ships

2006-11-01T02:27:00.000-05:00

I got back from work one evening in late September, and was awestruck by this mystical scene on the ocean in front of our apartment. I'm not entirely sure, but I believe this is the Leeuwin II, a huge 3-masted ship which runs programs for youth-oriented adventure. You can actually book this ship, and spend a night out at sea rocking beneath the creaking deck. To add to the effect, a large bush fire East of the city was blowing smoke over the setting sun, giving this blood-red effect on the water. At night, you could see a few lights come on, and actually hear the people partying on the deck. The ship has a saloon, a library, a full kitchen galley, and actively engages the youths in most aspects of sailing the ship. Imagine how great that would be!

In the foreground, you can see all of the kite surfing that goes on. During this windy season, they are outnumbering the surfers. Every so often, we get to witness one of the guys go huge, like 30-40 feet, and then freak out halfway through and bail.

Perth Royal Show

2006-10-22T00:00:00.000-04:00

At the beginning of Oct. was the Perth Royal Show, a big deal in these parts; the pics give an idea of why! The show coincides with when the kids start their 2-week spring school holidays, so it's high on the list of things to do to keep the family entertained. It reminded me a bit of the Brandon Fair, and what the Red River Ex used to be like. Greg took a good look at all the new fangled rides, and still concluded matter-of-factly, that the "zipper" at the Morris Stampede continues to be the ride of all time (what with it's bolts shearing off, badass carny operating the thing, and overall fear factor)

Some history, taken from one of the Show's websites:

'The Royal Agricultural Society of Western Australia, established 1831, has held the annual show at the Claremont grounds since 1894. The Show has been named an icon of Western Australia. The primary purpose of the Show was to showcase Western Australia industry, primarily agriculture. It has been the venue for the display of new animal breeds and sports. The first show included equestrian events, sheep dog trials, wood chopping, and prizes for cattle and sheep.' We watched these guys shear the sheep with actual scissors, old school style.

There was also some Canadian influence here: the augers in this pic were made by WheatHeart in Saskatoon, a division of the company that also owns Westfield, and the shafts were actually manufactured in little ol' Rosenort. Pretty small world, eh?!

I have to mention the showbags, because I've never seen such outrageous commercialism so easily eaten up! 'The 'showbag', which became part of Australian shows as an advertising gimmick and souvenir, are now sold at $2 to $65 each and contain a variety of cheap novelty toys, candy, and even complete skateboards. Showbags are sponsored by a specific candy company, television show, brand name (e.g. Coca-Cola)', or even FHM or lingerie for adults. They are a focal point of the Show for EVERYONE! We bought a $6 Cadbury bag, and had enough choc to last 3 weeks. It's like Hallowe'en, except you have to pay for it! I was shocked to see parents hauling around up to 10 bags in each hand, ensuring that the kids will be wired (and diabetic) in short time.

The only ride I dared to go on was the ferris wheel. Greg is getting increasingly frustrated with our Canan A510 camera, which is only a year old, and is now starting to "wash" out all of our photos. Seems to be a similar pattern given what happened to Jer's camera.

Left - Me and the mini-belly in front of the rides.

Our highlight of the show was the sheep-dog exhibit. Fascinating to watch the dogs round up all those sheep so efficiently. In one exhibit, the judge replaced the sheep with ducks, to see how the dog would react. Turned out to be hilarious, cause the dog would make an attempt to move the ducks, but would constantly stop, look back at the sheep, and then desparately at his owner, wondering what in the world was going on, but longing to please.

Araluen Botanic Park

2006-10-19T01:08:00.000-04:00

The first time we tried to get to Araluen, we were caught in the longest line of traffic, and decided to turn around. Turned out it was Father's Day, (which is at the end of August here; yes, it's a bit strange) and also the height of their Tulip Festival. Well, seeing as how we got to witness all the tulips in Ottawa last May, we figured we'd wait until a quieter weekend, in September, and go early. Which proved to be a good idea. This place gets nuts! It's bar-b-que madness with plenty of screaming kids! Yahoo!

Araluen Botanical Park is a nature park which was built up in 1929 by the Young Australia League (maybe like the YMCA?). Imagine a remote valley in the hills where the Tuart trees grow especially tall, and the waterfalls and natural pools are surrounded by a winding set of nature paths. Most striking though is the stonework throughout the park, giving the feeling of being amongst Roman ruins. Not surprisingly, the cascading waterfall was almost entirely dried up (another indication of the crazy dry weather here). The park was abandoned for many years, before it got bought up by the current care-takers in the 80's, and is now protected as a historical site. It's a huge attraction for locals and tourists alike. It seems especially to attract young families as well as seniors, and can be a bit of a challenge to those with walking difficulties if they don't stay on the main paths. It is in and up the sides of the valley, so there are lots of little paths that lead to isolated benches and flowers. We took advantage of these and mostly stayed clear of the crowds. Some other walkers pointed out a bilby to us, foraging in the underbrush; we shared our apple with him. (the one we saw had smaller ears, but I couldn't find his picture on the net).

The flowers were really beautiful, and I especially liked all the pansies. There were many colours to enjoy. They always make me think of the movie Fantasia, when the flowers come alive and dance around; you can see their little faces beside me in the picture!

Rotto

2006-10-18T21:44:00.000-04:00

Rottnest Island (called Rotto by the locals) is a little slice of paradise just off the mainland. It's about a 30 minute high-speed ferry ride from Fremantle, and we caught the early ferry so we could spend a good chunk of our day there. When we went last year, we caught a later ferry and felt rushed the entire day, so this time we were much more relaxed and carefree. Rotto is the simple life, not much for expectations other than leisurely riding bikes all over the whole island and hanging out on some of the mediterranean-style beaches.

The island is an A-class reserve allowing only motorized service vehicles, and so mostly everyone gets around on rental bikes. Fantastic to have all these winding roads along unspoiled beaches, and never have to look over your shoulders for cars.

We put our bikes down at Little Parakeet Bay for some fun in the sun, and Greg went exploring in the rocks. He found some creatures that looked like trilobites stuck to the rocks, as well as some small crabs hanging out in the crevaces. Of course they were hiding when I tried to look at them. For at least an hour, we had this hidden piece of paradise all to ourselves. And even then, a small group of girls only came down to take a quick swim and cool off, then continued on their bikes again.

Greg found some cuttle bone on the beach and we had to take a picture to show Lynds and Dave. Cuttle bone is a big favorite of the family cockatiel, Buddy, and we figured he needed to know where it comes from. At certain times of the year there are hundreds of these 'bones' washed up on the beach, and we were thinking of bringing a suitcase-full home just for Bud to sharpen his beak on; or not...

Rottnest is only 14 km's long at it's widest point, but has very diverse surroundings. There are many large hills, loads of isolated beaches, some scrubland, salty inland lakes, and the most western reaches of the island turn to rocks and cliffs. The really neat thing about heading to the western edge, is that after that, there's no more land until Madagascar. The Indian Ocean stretches as far as our eyes and imaginations can see. No dolphins playing in the surf this time though. Because it's just that much farther out in the ocean, the surf is bigger and Rotto attracts some of the more dare-devil surfers. It's not uncommon to hear the dudes at Scarborough beach saying 'imagine what it's like at Rotto', with an edge of awe in their voice. Unfortunately, it's not cheap to take a day trip to the island, so most leave it to special occasions. Or maybe that's fortunately for the creatures that make this island their home; this is one of the only places in the world that you can find the marsupial quokka, which are considered vulnerable.

Liftoff Delayed

2006-10-12T19:43:00.000-04:00

According the arianespace.com, the liftoff has delayed by a day. New time should be Friday afternoon in Canada, when the launch window appears to open at 3:56 pm Winnipeg time. I'm still not sure if there is going to be a live webcast starting just prior to liftoff though.

Radar Love

2006-10-10T03:23:00.000-04:00

One of my old thesis partners from the University of Manitoba did a great job of putting together a compact little website that details our final research efforts from the insane final year of Engineering. This little self-enclosed radar box was designed, constructed, and tested all for less than around $2000. Using mostly free samples, and a lot of theory, we came up with a device that was able to detect human beings through a 1" thick wall. Before you think it's strange, consider the benefits to search and rescue under fallen buildings, smoke engulfed rooms, or even police entry. We went on to present our work at an IEEE design competition in Rochester, New York, and were voted the "Best Presentation" by representatives from many of the top Universities in the US. I don't think that all of the links work on the site, but there are some cool photo's of the PCBs I designed. The full .pdf report used to be available, but I think you've got to send an email now. Anyhow, great to see this site up, I still can't believe all the work.

On another note, there is another liftoff coming up sometime Thursday afternoon/evening in Canada, which should be viewable on the net. Keep posted for the exact time, or just check out the website. Launch site is in Kourou, French Guiana, and the Ariane rocket payload actually has 3 separate spacecraft stacked on top of each other in the nose cone. Should be a heavy lift.

Doing Stuff....

2006-10-10T00:04:00.000-04:00

Greg and I enjoy some educational-type outings now and then. We've seen lots of commercials on TV about the importance of water conservation, so we went to visit a dam and weir to assess for ourselves how dire the situation really is. These areas are natural reserves as well, so it's more likely we'll see the black cockatoos, which are threatened in this state. It's a good opportunity for the cockatoo conservation groups to get in touch with the general public as well. We did see/hear a flock fly nearby while at the Victoria Dam.

The water levels do appear to be low, as you can see by the banks of the dam behind me, and this is supposed to be the end of the "rainy" season. The walls of the Victoria dam are to the right of me, not pictured. They've set up some really nice walking trails to encourage people to come down and explore the area. Likely popular with school groups, I would imagine. (Notice my bottle of water; apparently the amount of bottled water consumed in this country is astronomical). They're currently building a monster desalination plan in Perth to keep up with water demands...

There is also a serious relationship between bush fires and the water reserves; when the fires burn out of control, the risk of contamination to the water sources by run-off is quite high. They have started controlled burns now to try and prevent the summer rampage of the bush fires. (Our friends in BC can relate).
I'm standing in front of Mundaring Weir here, a very large dam that was completed in 1903, and is the start of the water pipeline that pumps water to agricultural areas and the Kalgoorlie goldfields, some 700km in all. Of course it has since been updated and made high-tech, but there are plaques all along the path to describe the camp where the workers lived over a hundred years ago, mainly immigrants trying to make a go. There is also a museum at the base that gives a good idea of the history. The thing that strikes me most, is that this reservoir would be considered tiny in comparison to the 1000's of fresh water lakes we've often driven by in the Whiteshell.

Town and Country

2006-10-03T02:55:00.000-04:00

Last summer we had a chance to go to an outdoor movie in a wooded grove of the University of Western Australia (that was in March; their summer). This time of year is cooler, so no movies,
but we did still walk around the campus and came upon this amazing reflection pool. The architecture makes it look like we're in ancient times! Many of the buildings are listed in the Australian National Register, and the campus is home to over 55 species of birds. Greg likes to imagine what it would have been like to go to uni here rather than at UofM... for sure the sound of laughing kookaburras around the grounds would have created a different atmosphere!

Another visit to King's Park, where there are always some sort of flowers blooming. These are Bird's of Paradise, which are also grown in Canada. The gardens at the Park try to showcase flowers that are native to WA, but also feature those that will provide visual appeal all year round, with lots of succulents, including cacti. I'm not sure where these ones are originally from.

Greg and I went on a little road tour up north a couple of hours, stopping and seeing different sites along the way. The mandarin orange groves were still producing fruit, which was really pretty to see, but the other fruit trees were still sleeping. We also got to see an unbelievably huge 'road train', essentially one truck pulling 2-3 trailers behind. We later came across a truck pulling what looked like machine destined for the mines in the Kimberleys - the truck was wider then the entire road. One of the tires on the thing being transported was bigger than our car! We were relieved to get past it...

We were headed for the town of New Norcia, a community that had been established by Spanish monks back in the 1800's. They still operate the town in a similar fashion, with sheep, olive oil production, a mill, a famous bakery, and their own port wine.

We spent the afternoon walking around the town. We walked through a field full of bleating sheep; they can make quite a noise! At one point we got off track and strayed into unchartered territory, and this was where we discovered the viscious dive-bombing abilities of the magpies. We didn't even know they were attacking until they were practically on top of us, swooping at our heads! Apparently this is common, and if needed, a bucket worn on the head with eyes painted on the back may be good enough protection! RIGHT! The locals have mentioned that it is not uncommon for people to go to the hospital with beaks stuck in their heads. So there we were, retreating through this farmers field waving sticks in the air, me looking forward, and Greg watching our backs. The whole reason we lost our way was because the creek had washed over the footbridge, and so we ended up having to take off our shoes and wade across. It was a bit cold, but nothing to it! At least the crocs are further north.

Schanzenfeld Sausage

2006-09-28T01:10:00.000-04:00

The weather in Perth for July was still very fine, and we took advantage of it. We really love going to King's Park in downtown Perth, an oasis in the urban landscape, and it sits high on an escarpment which allows for panoramas of the whole region. Greg is pictured with a magpie behind him; these birds are not actual magpies that we are familiar with in NA and Europe, but when the settlers saw them with their black and white colours, they decided they must be the same. The ones at King's Park are practically tame, but we would later find out these birds can be dangerous dive-bombers when it comes to protecting their nests...

This trip has been a bit different for us for a few reasons; Greg has been on his own in preparing the earth station for the missions he came out for, which means more work and stress. As well, we found out we're pregnant only days after arriving! (We decided not to post a picture of us with the pee stick; some folks might think that's too much information...) Initially this news had just meant that driving for longer periods (or even short ones) augmented my feelings of nausea (yeah pregnancy sickness!), so we didn't go very far. This thankfully only lasted until about weeks 9-10, and we still got out to see what we could.

Perth has an ancient line of hills that sprouts out of the countryside to the east of the city, called the Darling range. They're similar to the Gatineau Hills (the foothills of the Laurentian Mountains) just north of Ottawa in Quebec in that they used to be a huge mountain range a few million years ago. Hard to imagine; safer to climb these days though! There are a good number of nature reserves to visit and walk in, so we try to make a habit of packing a lunch and heading for the hills on the weekends. The vistas are wonderful. Greg is standing next to a grass tree in this pic. They were also referred to as 'black boys' in the day, a somewhat derogatory term (which is still common, not suprisingly). These trees were used by the aboriginees for all sorts of things; the stem of the flower spike (the black thing sticking out the top) was used for spear shafts, the plant's resin was used as a powerful glue, and the nectar from the flower is a high-energy food. That's good bushtukah! (ie bush tucker/food).

I've been hitting the gym here 3 days a week, back in with the gang there; I met them last year when I joined, and have kept in touch via email, and was going again when we were here in March. Some of them frown at my continued physical activity (you know, being pregnant and all) but it's really the only social contact I have, (we go for coffee at this fancy coffee shop called "The Dome" which sits on the Indian Ocean, and occasionally we'll check out a movie) and that makes it really important! My body doesn't seem to mind either... Oh, and I've already gotten advice to not do exercises with my arms above my head...(where do these old wives tales come from?)

Vancouver, Hong Kong, Singapore...Oz!

2006-09-26T01:14:00.000-04:00

On July 4th, we started out once again for Australia. We decided to go the route Greg had done last year in November, when he went solo; instead of Hawaii - Sydney, we did the 14 hrs straight to Hong Kong! Thankfully we had a chance to visit with Kathryn and Meghan in Vancouver, and see their new digs on West 16th Ave., and eat some fantastic burritos - a Meghan specialty! They were still awaiting Kathryn's furniture from Montreal, but we had all the essentials; what else is needed but a stocked kitchen and a table to eat around and a bed to sleep in?! On the 5th, we were ready for the big flight. Thankfully we lucked out and got to use upgrade certificates and sat in the luxury of executive class the whole way (which meant I watched more movies than can really be good for anyone...)

There wasn't much to photograph of Hong Kong but the airport, and the hotel which was attached to the airport. We mostly just slept in the hotel, sat in the airport, and were bombarded by all the adverts in the world... At this stage, we were in the same time zone as Perth, so all our catching up started here.

The flight to Singapore was a shorter 3hr flight (thank goodness!), where we caught a taxi to our hotel that we'd booked on "the internets" from Ottawa. Singapore is known as the Lion City, and there are a million hotels to choose from; after some debate, we decided NOT to stay at the famous Raffles Hotel, but I think we did pretty well otherwise! Our hotel was right on Orchard road, essentially the shopping strip of the city, pretty close to most things, but what isn't in this tiny city-state. We were still pooched from the day before, and the weather was so humid we thought maybe we needed goggles and swim trunks, but we made the most of it. One thing I wanted to for sure see was the Singapore zoo, mainly because I'd heard so much about it from the folks in Perth, and also I'd seen a show on toilets of the world, in which those at the zoo were featured. (Yeah, a bit crazy, but...just look at the pic! It goes straight outside! The next best thing to poo'ing in the woods!)

Zoo's are interesting places; it's so fascinating to see these creatures that we'd never otherwise get so close to, yet they are so far from their natural environment that it's really sad. And many zoo's argue that they are the only safe haven for these animals anymore, as the environment is eaten up by humans, and that is even more sad. I think Steve Irwin had it right when he decided that the best thing to do is to buy up the land for reserve, and leave it for the creatures, as habitat loss is the biggest problem. Hopefully his family and organizations will keep that up. If I had a million dollars...

At least a zoo also gives the opportunity to see some of the flora in its natural state. Greg walking next to this enormous stand of bamboo was so cool. Despite having aircon shacks to cool off in, we were roasted, and took the bus back downtown for some respite in our hotel room...
The shops are all blasting with AC as well, even little kiosks on the street, which seems rather wasteful, but perhaps it helps to attract customers.

There were many parts of the city that we didn't get a chance to see, but we were only there for 2 nights, so we did what we could. Would be neat to go again for a bit longer and maybe get out of the city a bit more...another time.

Eating a big bowl of noodle soup.

Walking the quieter morning sidewalk of Orchard Rd. So tropical! So clean! (Chewing gum is no longer illegal here, but don't spit it out onto the street, whatever you do!)

On the 9th of July, we finally arrived in Perth, and drove the usual route to our apartment in Scarborough. Greg is already an expert at driving on the wrong side of the road, so we have no worries with that! (I have driven a bit, but mostly I walk everywhere; but that's just what I do, no matter where I am). July and August are the winter months here on the other side of the world, so once again we arrived to shorter days, and cooler weather with lots of rain and wind off the ocean. But I'll take that any day over a Manitoba or Ontario winter, for sure! It's good to be back in Perth. Greg's been here 4 times now in the last 12 months, and I've been here 3, so it's starting to feel a bit like home already.

Soph's Post for June

2006-09-06T05:36:00.000-04:00

Greg left for work in Calgary just 3 short days after his return from Halifax, and so happened to be there for his 30th birthday. Aunt Helen & Uncle Jerry got right onto it and organized a party for him with the whole gang. It's been so great to be able to spend time with them, and Greg was especially happy to spend such a significant birthday with his amazing family! That was really special.

While Greg was in Calgary, my friend Cathy came to Ottawa from Winnipeg. We had spent the last month planning a canoe trip on the Coulonge River in Quebec, which we figured would take a little over a week. We rented a canoe in Ottawa, I got the food together, and Cathy brought a bunch of her camping gear with her, and we arranged for Marc (and Lori and Keelin) to drive us up to our drop-off point. Unfortunately that was the only part we hadn't planned too well; we didn't realize it would be about a 4hr drive - one way! (and it was raining, and the traffic was heavy...) We were safely dropped off, and got on our way, and spent the next 8 days meandering through lakes and portages, until we got onto the Coulonge, where we shot lots of rapids and communed with the black flies! There were moose and ducks and geese among the wildlife... it was really amazing to step out of the city world for those days and experience the natural world again! It's so awesome to have a friend like Cathy who nudges me out of my comfort zone.

Greg picked us up in Fort Coulonge, relieved we were in one piece! (He didn't like not hearing from us for those 8 days...) He had a chance to tour Chutes Coulonge, the falls where our trip ended rather abruptly; we knew it was coming, but it was hard to tell where exactly the river was going to drop off! (as you can see in the pic). There is a great chasm on the other side (pic), which we couldn't portage down, and we got some great help from a local who drove us and our canoe into town! Great hospitality... This area was set up as the end of the log drive which was part of this communities culture until just recently. The Chutes have been turned into a provincial park with a museum and the history of the log drive. Cathy and I were a bit stinky (although we couldn't tell, but Greg had to drive us the 2 hrs back to Ottawa!), but happy for our adventure, and glad that Greg could see a bit of what we'd experienced.

Cathy had slotted a good long trip out east, so we had lots of fun exploring Ottawa together, on bikes and walking. There was enough room in our little apartment, but she also had planned a bike trip from Ottawa to Montreal, and was off on that adventure for a few days before I went to join her in Montreal for St. Jean Baptiste day. This is a huge celebration in Quebec, the weekend before Canada day (their Canada day pales in comparison apparently). It's their chance to revel in their unique culture... and they're glad to share the festivities with whoever comes down! We camped near the city (and IN the city one night, in a dog park), so we could get the full experience, and on the Sunday morning headed to the Mont Royal for the Tam Tam (drumming circle). If you're ever in Montreal on a Sunday, don't miss it; it's a wild gathering of every which sort, with drums and dancing and so much more... We just set up a blanket and watched the show. (all those pics are on Cathy's camera...) It was awesome to have Cathy come to Ottawa to visit, and we definitely made the most of it.

Cathy left on the train for Toronto the next week, while Greg made it home late that same night from a 100+ hour work week in Allan Park. Greg and I finally had a chance to celebrate Canada Day in Ottawa, which was pretty wild. There were a million people (give or take), as well as a whole caravan of protesting farmers on their tractors, street performers (including a skate demo), a diving show, and several concerts around downtown, among other things. The day was muggy and warm, and it rained a bit in the evening, but we had our umbrella and were prepared, and enjoyed the show none-the-less (as did most). Then we got to see the great fireworks display exploding behind the parliament and Peace tower, which was especially cool! We had some pretty good seats on the parliament green. Greg's highlight came during a concert by "stars" in which the lead singer, Torq, took off his shirt to reveal "Harper's Bizarre" painted on his chest. A Canada Day in our nations capital is quite an experience...

Month of May

2006-08-28T02:17:00.000-04:00

I did a simple calculation in July, and seem to have found the reason behind why my life feels like it is flying along without perspective right now, resulting in zero time to maintain this blog. I counted the number of days I've spent on the road due to work, over the number of days I could have been in the office. I came up with 78% travel for 2006, and that was prior to leaving for Perth. Sustainable? Hardly. It's an odd position to be in...to say that I genuinely enjoy my work, but that it is unrealistic to expect anyone to work these hours.

Sophie left Calgary for Ottawa 2 days before me, while I finished up on a work project. During those 2 days, I received a phone call from MB saying that my Grandmother's health had taken a bad turn, and that I should consider heading to MB as soon as possible. My schedule had me flying back to Ottawa, dropping by the office for a few hours, and leaving on the next plane for Winnipeg. My Grandmother passed away on May 4th, making it a very difficult time for family with everyone exhausted both physically and emotionally. In a turn of events that I still cannot quite comprehend, my Grandfather then passed away on May 7th, and we found ourselves planning a double funeral. I had one cousin who had said she thought it seemed rather romantic actually, to have spent over 56 years together, and to leave this life within 3 days of each other.

In good-ol' small town fashion, our kitchen and fridge were overwhelmed by soups, buns, pickles, lasagna, burritos, and mountains of cookies in the days following the funeral. I don't think we had to worry about preparing a meal for at least a week.

Mid-week, I took the afternoon off from funeral planning and met Boot and Johnny Longbody (short-legs) in LaBarriere park.

I can't recall the last time I had such a laid back afternoon. I definitely need more days like this in my life. Nothing can ground you like having a good chat with an old friend who has heaps of historical reference on your life.

While I was in Winnipeg, Sophie stayed back in Ottawa to help Marc and Lori out during the birth of their baby. Welcome to the world - little Keelin.

I managed to stay in Ottawa for all of 48 hours before flying out with Soph to foggy Halifax. Sophie took this mystic photo in Point Pleasant park looking out over the Northwest Arm.

On Saturday morning, we checked out the weekend markets that are held within the labrynth of stone tunnels surrounding the Alexander Keiths Brewery. I am always impressed at how well these local markets do, and hope that it's a growing sign of societies desire to keep their money within their local communities, and to demand quality, hand-made goods. Always feels good to bypass the GST as well.

Mahone Bay - Rambled through the shops in this sleepy village, a ended up at a small flea market down by the water. Mostly junk, but there was one dude there selling wooden boat planks painted in the traditional Scottish tartans (plaid colors) of your surname (if your Scottish). At another stand, resembling typical spring cleaning fare, I picked up the Cranberries "Everybody else is doing it..." CD, which set the mood for cruising the shoreline down into Lunenburg.

The photogenic Lunenburg, with the Bluenose II undergoing some upkeep in the docks. Walking the streets of this very old town, it is not hard to see why it was dedicated as a UNESCO world heritage site.

If you look closely, you may be able to see the ghost of Soph tackling the big wave down on the Halifax harbourfront. The next day, Sophie spent a measly $2 to take the ferry over to Dartmouth, although no whales were spotted this time around.

Alright, so that takes us up to the end of May.

I'm Ancient

2006-07-03T18:22:00.000-04:00

Guess who turned 30 on June 8th? I was hoping for another one of these fine machines, just like on my 8th birthday, but I think they cost like a million dollars nowadays.

Plett's white glove tour

2006-07-01T12:07:00.000-04:00

We were lucky enough to actually be around this time when a fellow Manitoban came through Ottawa. Plett was doing a whirlwind business trip into Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal, last April and managed to spare an evening to get some drinks with us at the Heart & Crown in the Irish village. Later, we toured from the Byward market over to the Rideau locks on the canal, and then took this photo from Major's Hill park across from the American Embassy. (Next time he'll have to come up with a more sane schedule and bring his wife)

Sophie and I left for Calgary during the last week of April, and spent the weekend at Paul & Jill's house in the ultra-hip Sunnyside neighbourhood. Our first night had us taking in a Flames win at one of the local pubs. Maybe it's the high percentage of young proffesionals moving to Calgary, but this place partied hard. I still can't believe though that the province lets patrons smoke in the taverns.

We also had a chance to meet some of the poets and writers that Paul and Jill hang ten with, at a pub downtown. It's an old converted house set amongst the glass and steel of downtown, and they make very tasty pizza. I (Soph), got a chance to attend one of the spoken word events taking place in Calgary while we were there, and hear some amazing poetry by Angela Rawlings, among others. How inspiring! I'm glad our trip coincided with the poetry reading events, even though I didn't get to all of them. Paul was heading off to Banff to be a writer in residence at the Banff Centre for several weeks just before we left.

Above - taking Paul's Electra for a cruise.
Right - White wine action with "Sweet Home Siberia" on the front porch. Those pants are mint.

I (Sophie) also had a chance to visit with Nadine and her girls, and see them in their space which I think is always interesting. We enjoyed an unseasonally balmy day in the park, and I think I got a sunburn while sitting on the hot black rubber tire material that is the new 'sand' in playgrounds these days. Those girls are so much fun!

I took the day off on Saturday, and Sophie and I made a day trip over to Banff. There's a nice lookout point on the side of Mount Norquay, allowing for panoramic views of the valley and the town centre. The open meadow is also packed full of gophers who provide lots of entertainment.

We met up later in the day with some of my work colleagues, and one of them had expressed interest in taking the gondala up Sulpher Mountain. Here's a photo of us at likely one of the most photographed spots in Canada.

This is what I saw during my week of work in Calgary. The site is high above the deerfoot trail, and the mountains were yet to be obscured by the smog of summer.

Ballet in the Okanagan

2006-07-01T10:23:00.000-04:00

Having a post-lunch Okanagan Springs Nut Brown ale with Jer at a new restaurant down by the lake in Summerland. I can see this place doing well, as the kids can break free after eating and run along the beach below, while the parents kick back and enjoy the view.

Jer and I did this ride which took us along a section of the Trans-Canada trail, and then looped over to the southern edge of (Rattlesnake?) mountain. This photo is surprisingly reminiscent of some of the scenery along the Rhine river in Germany, all that would be needed would be a few more dairy cows, and a church bell ringing in the distance. The relatively few and mild climbs on this ride absolutely kicked the shit out of my legs and lungs. Have you ever seen "The Triplets of Belleville"?. Yeah...I was one of the guys heaped over his bike on the side of the road. Shocking what 2 years off of a bicycle can do to you.

It's hard to believe that places like "The Elite" restaurant in Penticton still exist. Lately, I've been reading all about the early Chinese immigrant influence on the Canadian diner in Fred Wah's prose book "The Diamond Grill" (which was graciously given to us by Paul) There's definitely a trend to try and recreate that faux elegance of the 60's small town diner, with the big booths separated by the orange stained glass dividers, and long chrome edged counter tops, but this place is legit. (When a 70 year old guy in a faded pink Sun Ice jacket sits next to you, and the breakfast specials are still under $5, you know it's for real). As I waited for my monster spanish omellete, I dialed up some etch-a-sketch skateboard ramp masterpieces.

Sophie and Ella hanging out in the morning, discussing the highlights of the in-house ballet we were treated to the night before.

Sophie's old friend Colleen recently moved from Victoria with her partner Cory, and onto a 6 acre plot of undeveloped land in Cawston, BC. Their place was only about 30 minutes south of Penticton, and yet it felt completely different. The town is just far enough removed from the Okanagan to retain it's character, giving it an isolated feel that certainly adds to the unique microcosm of the town's inhabitants. Cory was telling us of the Keremeos cowboy, who rides his horse everywhere he goes. He has been spotted countless times at night, slumpeded at 45 degrees on his horse on the shoulder of the road, with a dog in tow, both waiting patiently for their master to sober up and continue onward.

For night, we bunked down in this classic 70's van with the convertible bed. The crisp air smelled of pine, and the stars were magnificent as they became visible over the black mass of the mountain ridge.

Colleen, Cory and Sophie before we head out for breakfast in Keremeos. The night before, they took us out for supper in nearby Osoyoos, to an Italian place called Campo Marina. After supper, we took the car up the winding #3 highway to a roadside lookout, where you can see both the Canadian and American portions of the town. At night, the lights of the town surround Osoyoos Lake in a way that makes it appear as a dragon. If I ever snap at my urban lifestyle, the Keremeos valley is the kind of place I can see myself retreating to, working the land, baking bread, and helping the neighbour build his "end of the world" bunker on Saturday afternoons.

Our BC trip ended by taking the Hope-Princeton Highway back towards Vancouver, where we went through sunshine, rain, and a substantial amount of sleet at one point. Initial plans were to head up to a meadow high above Manning Park, but the season still had the road closed. One of my favorite drives in Canada has got to be the stretch between Manning Park and Hope on the #3. I find myself always having a difficult time finding a balance between crooning my neck at the scenery, and keeping the car on the narrow hairpin corners. When we reached Vancouver, Sophie's friend Meghan got us into the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver for $80. I spent most of the evening exploring the Canada Place pier, and wandering the streets of downtown. If you are ever in the neighbourhood, be sure to check out the HSBC headquarters on Georgia street. The 5-story atrium has a monumental piece of art called "The Pendulum", designed by Alan Storey. This 90 foot hollow aluminum mass swings perpetually overhead, matching up exactly with two pillars on either side of the atrium.

During the 2 weeks that Sophie and I were back in Ottawa, we were invited out by some friends at work to visit Stanley's Maple Farm, for the full "Cabane a Sucre" experience. I think that most of the maple sap was finished running at that point, but we still got to witness the process in the shack where the sticky liquid gets reduced to syrup. If you were watching Rick Mercer's report a week earlier, this was the same place were he took the new Environment Minister, Rona Ambrose.

Springtime in Ottawa. Sophie's planting some flowers, lettuce, and radishes on our 3rd floor deck in an offering to the flee ridden black squirrels.

Knowing me...knowing Euge

2006-05-06T20:54:00.000-04:00

This blog thing has not been working out for me lately. Not that there hasn't been alot going on, rather that the only time I get a chance to post is during my 2 day stopover's in Ottawa, or sitting in an airline lounge at some airport.

I basically haven't been home for longer than 3 weeks in total since January. We left early February for Australia, spent 6 weeks there, flew back to Canada and spent a whirlwind week in BC, then back to Ottawa for 2 weeks. Off to Calgary for a week and a half, than back to the office in Ottawa, and leaving for Winnipeg 12 hours later. I was glad to be in Winnipeg with family during what turned out to be a very difficult time with the sudden passing of my grandparents within 3 days of each other. I made my way back to Ottawa after a week and a half in Winnipeg, spent 2 nights here, and left for a 10 day trip to Halifax. Halifax worked out alright as I was able to get Sophie down there on some cheap airline tickets, but the work hours were still in excess of 12-13 hours each day, making our time together limited. Returned to Ottawa, and left for Hanover, Ontario which is about 2 hours North of Toronto in the beautiful Grey/Bruce County. Again, spending at least 14 hours on site each day and then returning to Ottawa this last Friday has really left me feeling less than motivated to post photo's/news etc. on the blog. I'm leaving for Calgary early Monday morning for a big week in the hopes that I can fly out on the 12th. Than it's off to Hanover again for an indefinite period, and a major stint overseas coming up in July. Needless to say, I'm not thrilled about the prospect of spending my 30th birthday alone in a hotel in Calgary, even if I've never put much weight on birthday's in the past.

So here's a brief photo essay on the last 2 months:

Hanging out with Euge and Dana on the front lawn of their huge house in Chilliwack. They've got a sweet deal here, with lots of space to breath, and the mountain range literally lifting out of their backyard. It was good to see them doing well, and of course we always leave wondering what could be if we lived closer together.

Euge recommended this short hike on the South end of Cultus Lake that turned out to be exactly what I was needing in order to plant me back in Canada. Sophie described the forest trail as "furry", which is about right with all the abundant moss and ferns everywhere.

The joy was definitely in the "journey" to the lookout. We took our sweet time along the path, taking in all of the miniscule details, such as the paw prints on the trail, or this little stream that feeds from the mountain top.

When you take photo's in nature, it can be difficult to transfer the magnitude of the subjects in the viewfinder, especially when there is nothing to scale to. Sophie standing at the bottom of the creek gives a good perspective of the enveloping nature of the moss and the pine trees. So very different from the desert like conditions of Perth. Hard to believe we were on the same planet at times.

After the hike, we bombed back into Burnaby to hook up with Kehler. He's been working 2-3 days a week in Vancouver, and then making his way back over to Victoria for the remainder of the work week. Euge and Carmen managed to get a kid-free night, and joined us at the hotel for some hot tub laziness.

The wandering couple does a stopover in Merritt enroute to the sunny Okanagan. The Coquihalla climbed high enough in elevation that the shoulders still had 8-10 foot snow drifts on both sides.

We drove along the Okanagan connector from Merritt, and I have to say I was glad to start heading south as opposed to crossing over into Kelowna. From what I hear, Kelowna is booming big time, and is acquiring all of the traffic problems that goes with that sudden growth. Summerland on the other hand was completely chilled out. All the benefits of the orchards, the moderate climate, the vistas over the lake, and it still has that small "backwoods" community feel that used to define the Okanagan. You know...the guys selling used hubcaps on the side of the highway, and the pickups with the trucker mud flaps, with the silhoutte of the naked girl on the back. Love it.

Jer and Tannis have a massive playground in their backyard called "Giants Head" mountain. In the evening, we did a short but steep hike up to a small picnic table overlooking Naramata and the lake to the East. One thing I noticed about the southern portion of Lake Okanagan, was that the Eastern shore has a sharp cliff wall on long sections of it, and if the lake is still, it provides for an awesome reflection.

AC/BC Blog

2006-04-20T20:34:00.000-04:00

Sophie and I decided that friends awaiting us in BC was good enough reason to forego the extended Waikiki stopover this time. Truth is, after seeing Waikiki 5 times in the last 9 months, the novelty has worn off and the place ends up feeling more like a Disney theme park than a place to relax. In the future we've vowed to get off of Oahu, or at least away from Waikiki and the fat American tourists yapping on their cell phones.

We were anxious to crash out at the hotel following the marathon Sydney flight into Honolulu. Our cabbie must have sensed this, and subsequently got nailed by the state police as he sped us along the highway into Waikiki. Interestingly, his near fluent English suddenly dissapeared as the officer asked him for his license and registration. He continued to play dumb for most of the next 5 minutes, until the officer finally asked us how we were doing. "Ahhh..alright, I guess. Been a long day." The officer looks back at the cab driver and tears up the ticket, saying "I'm going to let you off with a warning...but only because you stopped your meter for your customers while I had you pulled over." Sounds good to me.

There was some added excitement upon leaving the island. Oahu had been experiencing very heavy rains for the 4 weeks prior to our visit ( 3 people died during a flash flood caused by a dam break on Kauai two days earlier). While we waited for our cab to the airport, a major lightning storm encroached in on the beach. Minutes later the skies opened up and must have dropped inches of rain within minutes. The overwhelmed sewer system started choking water high up onto the street, and parked cars became flooded up against the curbs. We were feeling lucky to hail a cab, and to make our escape onto the freeway back to the airport. Moments later, a huge bolt of lightning took out a power grid, leaving our freeway and half a mountain suburb in complete darkness.

Arrived in Vancouver early am, with no sleep and feeling seriously jet lagged. After what felt like hours waiting for the shuttle to the off-site car rental, we finally picked up our car, I learned to drive on the right side again, and we hauled off to Crescent Beach. Sophie's good friend Meghan put us up for 3 nights in her ultra cool detached apartment (used to be a garage). The quiet little beach side community allowed us to easily catch up on some much needed sleep.

In the evening we checked out Marine drive in White Rock, going for supper at a hip seafood restaurant called the Boathouse. Afterwards, we just had to stroll up Elm street to see if Sophie could find the old house she used to live in back in the late 70's.

The photo above is shortly after Sophie saved a crab from a rather futile situation. We saw this poor thing on it's back, trying to fight off a seagull with it's claws, meanwhile getting fully snacked on. The gull backed off as we approached, letting us flip the damaged crab onto his front and watching it hobble back to the ocean. Soph figures the legs will grow back.

Saturday morning we gave Meghan a lift to her job downtown, and then drove over to Main Street to hook up with Heather. Had some fantastic bagels and beet borscht at a trendy little Jewish bakery up the street. It felt so good to have the sun out as we ate at a table in front of the bakery, that we decided we couldn't forfeit the afternoon by being indoors. Headed over to Kitsilano beach for a long walk along the shoreline towards Spanish point. Kits beach provides a good vantage point of North Vancouver, and you can also get a good feel for just how rampant the condo construction has become on the downtown island.

When in Vancouver, you've got to take advantage of the cheap sushi, so we made our way up to Robson Street and had Meghan meet us after work. Downtown can be an excellent experience if you can ditch the car without too much hassle. I'm still used to the Winnipeg mentality, where you can drive around and eventually find a meter to park at. Not here...the best bet is to simply accept the cost of parking at the parkade into any venture downtown, and don't even bother navigating the one-ways.

Sunday had us exploring downtown again, although on a very wet day. We stayed mostly dry though by checking out the shops of Yaletown, and slowly making our way up Davie street, and into English bay. It was only a matter of time before soaked socks won over, and we found ourselves escaping the rain by checking out "V for Vendetta" at the megaplex.

The sun made it's way out again for Monday morning as we said goodbye to Meghan on Granville Island, and headed over to Joe and Esther's place on East 1st. Meghan's forgotten cell phone in the car gave us an excuse to head back over to Granville island and actually check the place out in the afternoon. Unique little urban community underneath the bridge, with a bustling market, a full-on micro brewery, the Emily Carr Institute, and some out-of-place industrial shop. Excluding the service vehicles, I could see Granville island going car-less in the near future and not missing a beat.

In the evening, Joe and Esther took us over to bustling Commercial drive, and we found ourselves in Yogi's Vegetarian Indian cuisine. The food had a flavor that told you it was super fresh, and that alot of work was put into the preparation. We full-on gourged ourselves, and ended up needing at least an hour of strolling the neighbourhood streets to kick start digestion. The problem with Indian food is that it's often based on a rice dish, which makes it deceiving for how ridiculously full you can get. This is because you can wolf it down so fast, that you almost forget to breathe. The photo above is taken up the street from Commercial drive, looking down at the downtown core. I like the depth that the cars on the sloping street give against the distant city lights. We broke into the 12 pack "Mingler" that I picked up from the Granville brewery that afternoon, which likely didn't help my explanation to Esther of why I do exactly what I do in my job.

Monster Post

2006-04-13T18:02:00.000-04:00

Some highlights from the last month or so. It's been forever since I sat down to post anything, and according to the blog, we haven't left Perth yet, nevermind the big stopover in BC.

Photo on the left is taken at Point Walter park along the Swan River. This sand bar extends for almost a km into a wide bend in the river, where the surrounding water averages only around 4 metres in depth. The luke warm water fosters rich marine life, with dolphins and jellyfish frequenting the area. I must have been in a very peaceful state when we visited this place, cause I seem to remember this day the most out of our 5 weeks in Perth. It was bloody hot that day, but walking through the shallow water cooled us off, and as you neared the limit of the white sand, the sounds of the city drifted away.

I took Sophie up to the John Forrest National Park in the Perth hills to show her a hike I did when I was here in November. The trail follows a red sand path which is basically an old ripped up rail bed, and climbs well above a canyon filled with Eucalyptus and grass trees. In the photo you can see two big schteeve's growing out of some grass trees on the left. The hot breeze coming through the trees gave the area an intriguing exotic plant smell I only seem to notice in Canada after a huge midsummer deluge.

The long dry summer in Perth allows for a whole bunch of outdoor cinema's to open up in the parks. We checked out a film festival that was playing on the lush grounds of the University of Western Australia. Prior to the show, the public is invited to pack a picnic, and sip wine beneath the towering pines. The setting is rather surreal, and I was telling Sophie it reminded me of that village that the Ewoks hang out in. Maybe it was the fresh air, but I found the movie far more enjoyable than most of the experiences I've had in those big-box megaplex's. The film kicked ass too though - "Shadows of Time", an Indian film by writer/director Florian Gallenberger.

Some students from the U of WA Fine Arts program were having an exhibit down on Cottlesloe Beach one weekend. Many of the displays involved complicated metalwork on a grand scale.

This is the view of Cottlesloe beach from the pier at sunset. We never actually got a chance to visit the Indiana Tea House in the background of this photo, but it's highly recommended by the locals. The pier provides a much needed breakwater for the kids so that the dumping surf doesn't wail on them.

I heard a story in January from a fellow Canadian who had last been in Perth/Fremantle at least 40 years ago. He described how Fremantle was solely a port city in those days, and how stepping off the ship and onto the main drag felt like you had entered the set of an old western movie. The streets were gravel, the heat was ever-present, and the pubs had those old style swing doors on the front. You had to hop on an open air tram to connect to Perth through desolate bushland. Fortunately, when the America's cup came to Fremantle in the 90's, the influx of new money saved many of the character buildings.

Good times at the local micro brewery called "Little Creatures". This building looked like an open style barn from the outside, with massive gates at the entrance, and vaulted ceilings inside. The fully operational brewery ran along the booths of the restaurant, so you could watch the masters at work. Pipes carried the final product overhead, and directly down into the bar draft spouts. The kitchen was an open concept as well, making the place feel more like a bustling market.

About an hour north of the city is Yanchep National Park. I was on call-out at this time, and the park was just within cell phone limits, so it seemed like a good place to explore. First thing you notice when you arrive, is the chaotic greeting the Carnaby's black cockatoo's give. They are an endagered species, and are rarely seen in the city. At one point in the afternoon, there must have been at least a thousand of these highly social animals screaming from the tree tops above us. Eventually we saw that way up in the sky, almost invisible to us, was a large bird of prey (osprey, hawk?) that the cockies weren't to keen on. Picture on the right is of us on a walking trail surrounding a small lake in the park.

The park has a number of limestone caves that are open to the public for guided exploration. We ventured down into "Crystal" Cave and immediately felt the temperature drop at least 25 degrees. Although interesting, the cave is actually a sad representation of what it was, with most of the natural water being lost to the demand of the Perth aquifer. Early explorers also saw the cave as something to conquer, putting in foot paths, having wide-scale tourism, and basically disrupting all parts of the natural ecosystem. The park staff have done a good job to minimize the human impact, but hands have stained much of the rock, and just a week prior to our visit, some drunken fool broke into the cave and went on a rampage by breaking million year old stalactites. Park staff have actually resorted to calling one cave "Cabaret cave", where you can have a wedding reception with up to 200 guests in the main chamber.

Getting in some mini-golf action at the Wanneroo Botanical Gardens. This is the first place I've ever seen billiard golf. An awkward adaption of mini-golf where you have to always bank the ball off the rail before it can go in. Imagine 18 holes of people clanking balls off the metal rails, especially little kids who hit the ball again before it stops rolling....yeah, not good. The other course was definitely legit though, and Soph and I had a good head to head game. (She fell apart though on the one where you have to loop it through an old tire)

Absolute bliss - sitting down to some olives, sundried tomatoes, blue and brie cheese's, and pita's with hummus. King's park is hard to beat at sunset. One of our resolutions from this last trip was to spend more time eating meals in the park with friends. It seems that most North American's have forgotten this old weekend activity.

View of Scarborough beach early in the morning as I left for work.

On the right is a large gum tree in the town of Guildford. When Perth was originally founded, it was comprised of 3 main towns. Fremantle was the port where all ships and new entrants would arrive, Perth was just up the Swan River and was to be the main city, whereas Guildford was about 15 km's further east in the fertile Swan Valley and was to be the agricultural base for Perth. Guildford is now just a sleepy suburb, and acts as the main hub for any adventure into the local surrounding wineries.

The Rose and Crown in Guildford is as good a place as any to while away the lazy afternoon with a pint of Victoria Bitter.

I was the skipper for our wine-tasting down at Lancaster wines, and left Sophie to sample the full stock. Regardless, I did my best with the whole swirling the glass, and then stuffing my nose in a glass of Verdelho ( a local grape). What I couldn't believe though, was the entire tourbus of 20-35 year old women, who guzzeled wine the entire time we were there, were waited on hand and foot, and then left without purchasing a single bottle.
Not much to say here. Life was definitely surreal when my schedule got back to normal. Due to the jet lag, I was usually starting my day at 5:30 am, which allowed me to catch the beach by 3:00 in the afternoon on most days.

Hopped on the red-eye flight to Sydney so that we could spend a full day there. We got off the subway at the central station and headed over to the main alley in Hyde Park. The huge fig tree's arch over the pedestrain path and your eye's are drawn to the massive Archibald memorial fountain. and then made our way to the Royal Botanic Gardens.

we went to the garden. it was neat. there were creatures there. we did stuff. then we walked some more. we saw things. there was some stuff by the thing. - sophie

This lizard and his two smaller buddies surprised us when we were looking at one of the lily ponds. Deeper into the park, we were fortunate enough to find some sulphur-crested cockatoo's in the Oriental garden - they've eluded us on the west coast the whole time. Sophie came across some bats in a nearby tree letting out the most awful screeching sound. Another section of the park reproduced a Northern tropical rainforest, filled with some mammoth spiders and webs. This park is a true gem, full of an amazing diversity of plants and animals, and all within a block or two of downtown. What a place to chill out on your lunch break - and it's free.

Sophie taking a break on the steps to the Sydney Opera House. Photo on the right is the view from the Opera house steps looking back towards Sydney Cove and the Circular Quay.

Whenever we hit Sydney, it's always a long day on the feet and we generally end up putting on at least 10 kms just walking the downtown core. For a late supper, we found some good outdoor patios in Cockle Bay and Darling Harbour. It's a little more relaxed than the more well-known Sydney Harbour, but has a skyline that is second to none.

The Perpetual Tornado

2006-03-15T04:10:00.000-05:00

Sophie and I went out in search of a new park to sample our latest bottle of Margaret River red wine and to stare the sun down. I'm fascinated by the idea of open alcohol here, and must say that it appears to be a huge motivating factor for getting people away from the TV, and into the parks for picnics with friends and family. It's not that people are drinking heavily, but rather that they appreciate the social element of getting together and reaping the rewards of having some of the world's best vineyards in your backyard. For some reason, pop and juice just don't seem to have this ability to bond people. A magazine I was reading here mentioned that one of the recommended top 100 things to do in life, was to crush grapes with your feet. I currently have Jer looking into options for this in the Okanagan.

So here's a photo taken of the back of my head while we were hanging out in the park. The girl that was cutting my hair shortly after this photo was taken, was laughing at her inability to get my hair to straighten out in the back. I told her it was a "cow-lick", and she said, "Whatever...it just keeps wanting to go in circles". I've shaved my head as close to the scalp as it will go, and this thing keeps coming back.

The Noise Floor

2006-03-15T03:38:00.000-05:00

The Dino show was alright, not epic...just alright. There was all this hype surrounding the return of the original members, and the fact that they were only playing tunes from the first 3 albums, but it ended up feeling forced. On their own, each member was tearing the stage up, but as a unit there was obvious friction which resulted in absolutely no stage presence. The volume was ear shattering loud, and the combination of heavy feedback on many of the original songs left many in the crowd fully clasping both ears about an hour into the set. Given that the club had all this residual heat from the 38 degree day, and still allowed smoking, we decided to hide out in the back for most of the show. Don't get me wrong...I still think this show rocked out. Anytime you can see a live band perform, where you know every single song, it's going to be good.

I was still working shifts during this time, so leaving the club at 12:30, and then driving to work at 3:00 am after a week of 15 hour days left me feeling rotten. It had to be done though, I'm not 30 yet.

You're Living All Over Me

2006-03-03T23:23:00.000-05:00

Perth rockers are generally sour when it comes to pulling in the big rock bands, with most tours electing to skip the isolated city on the west coast. I'm surprised then at how lucky I've been to catch a couple of my favorite groups when in town.

Last July, the emo-punk band Anberlin ripped up the Lookout club, which is just crawling distance from our hotel. Tickets were outrageously overpriced at $40 a head, but the place was packed out, and the opening bands may have actually stolen the show. It turned out to be a memorable night, with good tunes, and an awesome venue situated along the beach and overlooking the palm trees.

This Sunday, my favorite band of all time is hitting Perth on a reunion tour. I've been listening to these guys since at least '88, when their skate rock was getting dubbed into some of the legendary skateboard video's of the era. Unfortunately, the band is coming together for admitted "monetary" reasons after a long and bitter period of separation, and I'm hoping they can rock-out just a solidly as they have in the past. And bonus - they are focusing the tour on the first 3 albums. Needless to say, I've been monitoring my messed-up work schedule like a hawk, trying to minimize the risk between the show selling out, or buying tickets and getting called in to work.

I'm still kicking myself for missin' the Crue last November.

The Booze Bus

2006-03-03T21:09:00.000-05:00

On my last few trips here to WA, I've noticed that the state is absolutely militant about speeding. It's not uncommon to see 3-4 police radar traps on my 30 min. drive to work every day. Not that I think it's such a bad thing, it just seemed odd when I arrived to notice that everyone follows the limit precisely, and that the passing lane (the right side) is virtually unused. I can't imagine the rage that would ensue if Ottawa even tried to limit Queensway drivers to 120 km/h.

The other thing that the police do well, is the random "drink driving" road checks. I got funneled into one at 10 am last week, and before I had my window down, was blowing into one of their alcohol breath testers. After passing, I was then re-directed into a parking lot containing approximately 50-60 police officers, and told to park the car. Approximately 10 other cars had their hoods up, and were getting the full-on road safety check. After they spent some time passing my driver's licence around like it was a foreign object, they released me and my rental car. The whole procedure was quick and professional, but left me wondering, just how many people are they catching "drink driving" at 10 am? The road safety checks were likely more productive, nailing all the 20 year old "surfies" and their beat up "ute's" for being non-road worthy. I found it odd too that the passengers in the car can drink while driving, and that this wouldn't be deemed to have a negative influence on the driver. One area that does make sense is their mobile phone laws with respect to driving, and how you have to pull over onto the shoulder. Just this week, a 20 year old who killed two girls in a collision, was about to get a heavy sentence for checking his text messages while he collided into the victims car.

Universal the world over, is also every city's claim to have the "worst drivers in the world", as if this is some all-knowing truth that surely your fellow citizens are the most incompetent people alive. Winnipeg claims it, as does Ottawa, Montreal, Calgary etc., even Perth gets in on it. An article I read here in a music magazine this week, had a Massachusetts driver (Lou Barlow from Dinosaur Jr.) claiming the record. He said that Massachusetts drivers even had a well-known label, normally going by the name mass-holes.

Launch Anomaly

2006-03-01T16:00:00.000-05:00

It's been a rather long past 24 hours here in Perth. I can't say much until offical statements are released, but you can check the ILS site for up to date info.

Update - Space.com has released a fairly detailed account of the Proton failure with the upper stage burn.

Big time stress

2006-02-27T20:31:00.000-05:00

For all those that are interested in the Arabsat 4A launch campaign, the big event is set for 20:10 GMT on Tuesday, February 28th. This would correspond to 2:10 pm Winnipeg time (noon B.C.) on Tuesday afternoon. The webcast will likely start 1/2 hour prior to the actual liftoff. Here's the link.

A Proton rocket based out of the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan will be the launch vehicle for the satellite. When in service, A4A will provide services over North Africa, the Middle East, and Western Europe.

The Usual Suspects

2006-02-25T07:25:00.000-05:00

Sleeping past 6 am has not been much of an option this last week, at least if we intend on having the patio doors open during the night. These "Hair-Do's" have been causing a real racket in the parking lot next to the hotel.

Competing with the Cockatoo's for noise supremacy is the pink Galah's below. Being from Canada, we tend to find most of the animals here generally comical, and novel in the fact that we are used to only seeing these creatures in a pet store. It was strange then to hear a completely serious conversation on the news radio here on how to do "Roast Galah" on the barbie.

UV hits 11+

2006-02-25T06:13:00.000-05:00

Tuesday was an absolute smoker here in Perth, with some thermometers registering 41 degrees. Sophie said the beach was perfect, and the wind off of the ocean made it feel rather refreshing. I, however, was working at the site which is well in-land, and basically resembles the middle of the outback. The wind had probably the most notable effect, making it difficult to breathe, and yet, if you went into the shade it almost became cool outside. Truth is, I'm loving the extreme heat, and can't seem to get enough of it as evident by my sunburn...Sophie prefers moderation and the benefits of using sun screen.

The day was marked with these ever-present thunderstorms that actually produced very little rain. I found myself constantly looking towards the sky for that signature "twirling" of the clouds and the imminent Tornado, but when the humidity is limited to 20%, not much really happens. (I've been told that Typhoons are the big threat here)

Sophie and I headed up into King's park in the evening to check out all of the crazy parrots, rainbow lorikeets, and cockatoos that play in the Palm trees. The residual heat from the day sucked out the smells of the Eucalyptus trees and the red needles from the conifers. There are also some fat Boab trees in the park, genetic remnants from the time of Gondwana, when Africa and Australia were one land mass.

I took some photos of the gum trees that line the entrance to the park, and got this great effect from the colored lights which are aimed up at the barkless trees.

This last picture looks through the trees, and down onto the Central Business District. On this evening, there were a large number of people setting up chairs along the high ridge of the park, sipping local wine, and getting the occasional sound clip carried through the wind of the concert below.

Long Days Journey into Night

2006-02-21T21:03:00.000-05:00

I must say I had little apprehension last week when leaving the blizzardy conditions of Ottawa behind for the blistering summer heat of Perth. Although the 28 hours spent in the air is always a huge detterant, it was made much more tolerable this time around due to some free business class upgrades Sophie and I got through to Honolulu.

We did the Ottawa --> Toronto --> Vancouver --> Honolulu --> Sydney --> Perth connection again as it was familar to us, but the hassles in dealing with US Customs, and the terrible arrival/departure times in Honolulu are making me reconsider flying back via Hong Kong. The problem is that you arrive in Waikiki at 11pm, and have to check out of the hotel by noon the next day. Given the jet-lag, we wake up at 6am, check out at noon, and have to kill 11 hours on the streets of Waikiki before departing on the midnight flight for Sydney. So if you're an unlucky shlepp like me, and can't sleep on the plane, the +30 hours without sleep is pure torture. I have to keep reminding myself that travel involves two components, the flights which are to be endured, and the destination which is the reward. I guess I just think it absurd that none of the hotels in Waikiki can have flexible enough hours to cater to stopover guests as opposed to tourists.

I found it interesting that when we did this Ottawa-->Honolulu flight the last time, it was on June 21st, the longest day of the year. And as we were flying westerly with the sun, it surely must have been the longest day we will ever experience (30hrs).

It was good to go exploring with Sophie again, and we did this long walk around the base of Diamond Head crater. We eventually stopped at a small out-of-the-way beach, where a little memorial was erected in the trees for a lost surfer. I didn't recognize the name, but there were a scattering of sacrificed surf magazines layed over the grave stone - possibly a legend lost to the sea. On the way back down the hill, we took this funky fish-eye photo in a driveway mirror.

Sydney was phenomenal. The temperature hovered around 30 degrees as we took the bus downtown, and then meandered along the busy streets, relishing in the ability to stretch our legs. We visited the expansive botanical garden to the west of the Opera house, and felt dwarved by the size of the ficus trees. The odd visual display of plants and animals is one those marked events where you realize that "you've arrived". The harbour was packed, with restaurants and cafe's overflowing onto the sidewalks, and street performers every few metres. We checked out a small Italian restaurant in "The Rocks", a market-like neighbourhood filled with cobblestone streets, pubs, and buildings dating back to the original British settlements of the 1780's. After supper, we strolled along the boardwalk and took in the panorama of the huge "coat-hanger" bridge, the skyscrapers to the south, and a magnificent summer lightning show blowing in from the west.

Winterlude weekend

2006-02-12T09:19:00.000-05:00

Every year for Winterlude, there is an international ice-carving contest held in Confederation park. The big event was actually scheduled for last weekend's +6 degree weather, but a few sculptors came out to take advantage of the much colder weather this weekend. This mermaid had an exceptional amount of detail, and looked ultra-cool with the changing LED lights.

The photo on the right is a zoomed photo through a series of 6 windows carved of ice. I wish I could have experimented more with the camera, but the cold eventually taps all dexterity you have left in your fingers.

The 4-5 days of sub-zero temps have also allowed the ice on the canal to finally smooth over. This is the scene that Sophie and I see entering the canal from our Neighbourhood in Old Ottawa South. The view is looking North towards the Queensway, with downtown and the parliament buildings in the background.

The view from Landsdowne Park (where the Renegades play) towards the steps coming down from Echo Drive. I once checked into some of the housing prices for these modest homes which, have the benefit of overlooking the canal and are located on a dead-end street with no thru traffic. Conclusion - 750k probably won't get you a basic 2 bedroom home.

Perched atop the Bank St. bridge, this photo looks westerly towards the setting sun and Dow's lake. I think that this is the best section of the canal, as the skateway gets much narrower as it winds its way through the high enbankments. A big hit with the romantics as well, as the Euro-style globe lamps lining the canal give it warm lighting at night.

The canal is filled with these beavertail and hot chocolate shacks all along the way. Nothin' like deep-fried dough sprinkled with sugar to warm the belly. What I find idyllic, is that Carleton University is at the end of this section of the canal, allowing students to commute to University by skates.

This photo is taken looking east towards Bank Street, with the football stadium on the left.

Winter doldrums

2006-02-04T10:07:00.000-05:00

Haven't been in much of a mood to post lately. I always find this time of the year the most difficult, as the days don't seem to be getting any longer, and the novelty of winter has long worn off. The tendency to fall into a work, eat, sleep routine becomes very hard to break, and with the weather being nothing but rain, we're actually longing for the colder, clear sunny days that tend to lift your spirits.

So, instead of sitting in front of the TV, we've been trying to use the downtime to head to the gym at my work in the evenings. I've never stuck to a gym schedule for longer than 2 months, but this time is showing hope, as we have the place all to ourselves, get 24 hour access, and the facility is all around top-notch. I also joined a spinning class during my lunch hours in an attempt to get my legs ready for a hopefully productive summer on the bike, and Sophie's been working harder than ever on getting her second stripe on her orange belt. Exercise is working for us...it's not making the days any longer, but our optimism that the sun will reappear is getting stronger. I get the sense that it's been a strange winter right across the country weather wise.

(uhh..yeah..we didn't take that photo, but it's wicked nonetheless)

Sophie and I checked out a small exhibit at the Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography. They were featuring some of the "Tree Planting Project" work of Sarah Anne Johnson . She uses a fascinating technique of combining her detailed miniature ceramic figures into real photographs which, when used with well-placed diffused lighting, give an other-worldy effect to the images. She did her BFA at the University of Manitoba, and much of the work is based on her personal experience tree planting up in Northern MB.

Last Saturday we got all fancied up and attended my annual company "Winterlude" Christmas party at the Chateau Laurier. It's a high-end affair, with loads of dancing, lots of wine, and the opportunity to finally get to know those people I pass by in the hallways at work. I attended this event solo last year, as Sophie was stuck with wrapping up our loose ends in MB. I recalled how foreign it felt to be sitting in that big ball room last year with a bunch of strangers, and how the vibe is so much different a year later.

It looks like we're off to Perth again mid-February, and have been planning on possibly tacking a week long vacation on at the end. Many Perth locals recommend the 4 hour flight north into Bali, although this destination is still viewed cautiously since the effects of the 2002 Bali bombings. We have a second option though, through a friend that owns some beachside chalets in a sleepy little town in Southern Australia called Denmark. Maybe he'll get us a sweet deal.

Canadian War Museum

2006-01-19T22:22:00.000-05:00

Being a local in Ottawa can allow you to get into all the national museums for cheap if you're selective about when you go. Each major museum has a unique day of the week where the admission fees are super cheap, so it's a good excuse to get outside in the evenings.

On Sunday we went to check out the brand-spanking new Canadian War Museum. It's an architecturally magnificent building, and from what I could see of the future plans, is intended to take on a super-size bunker look, with a park on the roof. The crowds for the museum were pretty intense at the beginning, so we decided to do the museum in reverse, and essentially go backwards in time. This meant that we started in the gallery of recent conflicts, the cold war and peacekeeping.

One of the displays showed a control headquarters, possibly like NORAD, which is running a continuous visual simulation on the sequences of WWIII. I couldn't make out who was against who, but it was dark nonetheless. Another section of the gallery was dedicated to the history, and the current dynamics, of nuclear warfare. I found myself mentally drained after that exhibit, not finding much hope for humanity. On a lighter note, the LeBreton Gallery was essentially a huge hanger full of all the military tanks, motorcycles, jeeps, and artillery used in historical battles. Many of the tanks were crude, simple, and rugged in their design, yet housed some rather complicated mechanics inside. Can you imagine what it would have been like for one of these things to break down in the field, and essentially have a bunch of 18 year olds trying to figure it out? Talk about stress.

There was also a temporary show running called "Propaganda". It highlighted the mediums of communication between the government and the citizens throughout WWI and WWII. The methods of swaying public opinion came mostly through clever artwork on posters, but there were also board games, bone china sets decorated with military regalia, and ash trays where you could butt your cigarette out in "Hitler's Hearth" (it contained a piece of marble from his actual fireplace) Definitely kitsh, but the enemy was well known, and I guess it served to unite the homefront.

The one problem I'm finding with these museums (and it's not a bad thing), is that there is no fathomable way to cover them in one visit. We didn't even get halfway through the war museum in close to 4 hours. Good thing we can easily go back for round two.

Cauterize show

2006-01-10T19:58:00.000-05:00

We didn't have a single thing planned last week, and mostly just enjoyed the ability to lounge around in the evenings and deconstruct the holidays. The end of 2005 seemed particularly crazy with my everchanging schedule in Perth, then almost missing Christmas and having to make hurried last-minute connections into Winnipeg, a plethora of gatherings, followed by the busy week with Lynds and Dave here in Ottawa. It all worked out in the end, however, my energy stores completely wore out and I spent last week fighting a head cold. I was talking to a lifelong business traveller on this last trip, and he also emphasized the uncanny ability of his body to always take time for itself once all the stress subsided. It's as if the immune system says "heh crazy man...time for me now". I recall that post-exams used to have the same effect in University.

The canal opened up Saturday morning at 9am, so Sophie and I dug out the rusted Bauer Internationals and hit the ice. The ice was absolutely deadly - soft spots hidden by off-white patches that would suck your foot in, or these long cracks that would stop your skates on a dime. We never got pitched, but witnessed some nasty falls. Methinks the Ottawa Tourism board put a little too much pressure on the canal too open under these conditions. It was a good workout though, doing the loop at Dow's lake, and then crossing back to Downtown, where we put our shoes back on and went for coffee in the market.

In the evening, we went to check out a band called Cauterize playing at Barrymore's Music Hall. (if you're one of those rare people who follow links, make sure you check their video for "choke" under the media link - fully rocking out)

This band is the definitive EMO band, with 90% of the songs dealing with breaking up with your girlfriend...aahh...teen angst. Strange thing is that, far as I can tell these guys are all in there mid to late 20's. You'd think these issues wouldn't be such tragedies anymore. The band is tight though, and they sound like a Yellowcard meets Def Leppard. yup...loads of gang vocals.

After 4 hours of opening bands...the real deal. Still not as torturous as the last marathon Weakerthans show though. (i.e. Don't you just love it when the main act hits the stage at 1 am, and your ears are blown out from 80 opening acts...I love that) One band = great, two bands = maybe, three = this blows, four bands (Weakerthans show) = My ears are feeling violated.

Barrymore's is one of these turn of the century music halls, full of character and history. It's got multiple levels, all sitting on these terraces which overlook the stage.

Invisible man buys Soph a drink.

Fear Itself

2006-01-08T10:35:00.000-05:00

One of my stockings this Christmas yielded a fiery little bottle of Iguana Gold hot sauce that Sophie picked out for me at a great store here in Ottawa called Chilly Chile's. I've been adding the liquid fire to soups and casseroles already, and it has a fantastic taste. According to the website, the heat factor is only a 4 /10, but the flavour definitely makes up for the mild kick, and at least Soph can partake as well.

I got to wondering if there was a standard for rating these sauces, as it seems completely relative. I mean...the name just doesn't cut it anymore - they've used everything..."Ass in Space", "Colon Cleaner Sauce", "Fear Itself", and my favorite "No Shit - This is Hot". Turns out there is this thing called the Scoville rating, which basically measure how much of a sugar solution is needed to add to a dish to remove the heat. It was developed in 1912, and is apparently much more scientific now, but the basic unit of measure still holds.

So then I get to wondering who holds the record for hottest sauce in the world. I noticed in the Ottawa store that some of the products had legal waivers to sign, and that you had to be at least 21 years of age. Then I found this site...some guy named Blair has been racking up the Scoville units into the 16 million range (Tabasco comes in at a measly 2000 units!). His latest invention isn't really a sauce, but a vial filled with pure capsaicun crystal. Wild.

The big shmoke

2006-01-07T18:03:00.000-05:00

On the 31st of January, we drove with Lynds and Dave to Toronto. I (Soph) drove for the first 3 hours, and then Greg took over for the rest. Of course it started snowing and got really slippery once Greg started driving! We made it safely to the Westin Harbour Castle in downtown TO, hungry and needing a little rest, so pizza was in order. We didn't have to eat for several hours after that salty snack! It gave us the fuel we needed to walk all over downtown, and discover what makes people stay here and/or keeps them coming back.

We walked up Yonge, and then over to City Hall where the big concert / New Year's celebration was going to be held. The skating rink was packed, and it was a big family venue. The stage was all set up and they were doing mic checks, and the hostesses were practicing their lines. Greg was very excited about seeing Sean Desmond live (ha), but we were there so early that we would have had to wait in the minus 200 great outdoors for another 6 hours, so we decided to head down Queen Street instead. Maybe we could get in the background of Electric Circus!

We did end up at a nice restaurant where Lyndsay, David and I enjoyed some fine New Year's Eve dessert, and Greg sipped some 100000 year-old, oak-aged scotch (ha ha). Our evening then led us to the CN tower, where we decided that when in Rome... even though it was quite foggy!

We opted out of the Sky Pod option due to low visibility, but got our kicks on the glass floor. My wee brain was a might confused by that, I must say! It took a bit to get me onto the glass floor, and even then, I didn't want to move around too much. The other three might as well have been doing cartwheels on the glass... although there were some other tourist-types who were also hesitant (mostly women, interestingly; has any research been done in this area?!!).

We ended up back at the hotel by 11pm, and I was fast asleep shortly thereafter (no surprise there!). Lynds, Dave and Greg watched the City Hall events on the TV, and then saw the reflection of the fireworks in the windows of the buildings across the way! Wowee! Apparently it was all good fun (zzz...).

Sunday morning gave us a quiet day in TO, easy driving, and we ate at the most popular breakie place in the city; Over Easy. Tasty!

We drove Lyndsay and David to the church to meet up with their gang, and after our adieu's, Greg and I drove off to Marc's place at Deep River. Having Lynds and Dave as house guests was super, and proved to us that we can in fact fit more than two people into our place!

Super Contact

2006-01-05T20:40:00.000-05:00

Wednesday was a much deserved day of rest. We slept in late, had a huge breakfast, and then walked it off by checking out all the cool shops in the Glebe. The weather's been frigid here all week, and it actually dawned on me that I haven't seen the sun since I arrived in Canada on the 18th. True...it's only been around freezing, but the dampness here gets inside your bones, and singes your face. I remember days on the praries where it would go below -30, yet if there was no wind, it was completely tolerable. (...what a menno thing to talk about the weather)

Marc and Lori had us four over for supper later that night. Lori's an outstanding cook, and got us warmed up with a fiery bowl of mexican bean soup. For the main course, there was a sweet/savoury lentil dish prepared using balsamic vinaigrette and cream, pan-fried sweet potatoes in maple syrup, and a killer rocket salad. Dave and I were more than happy to feel like beached whales for the remainder of the evening.

Our plans for Thursday were to do Montreal in a day. The best way to experience Montreal is to dump the car in the suburbs, and then use the underground to get to the sites. We first hooked up with our good friends Kathryn and Meghan at Kathryn's apartment, with her graciously offering to show us the sights.

First stop was the Biodome, a bizarre grouping of 4 climate-controlled ecosystems under one roof. Apparently, the building is an adaptation of the unused velodrome constructed for the '76 olympics. Then back over towards downtown and old Montreal, where all of the Christmas lights gave the cobble-stoned European streets an added ambience. Being 20 min. late for the last tour of the Notre-Dame Basilica, we decide to walk up toward Sainte Catherine street for supper. Of course, it wouldn't be Montreal without strolling past Club Super-Contact, Le Chateau-du-Sexe, and Club Super-Sexe. My favorite part was standing across the street, watching the guys who get paid to stand out front and haggle people to come in (like you got nothing else going on that evening). All the while, Celine is pouring her heart out from the speaker of Simon's Dept. store behind me. The eccentricity of Montreallers definetely make this a city unlike any other in Canada...and good on them. It's post-Christmas, middle of the week and cold outside, yet the sidewalks downtown are so packed you ain't walkin' no where fast.

Exhausted, we head back to Kathryn's place to say our goodbyes, pick up the car, and make one last stop on top of Mont-Royal. It was snowing really heavilly by the time we got to the lookout, but the effect on the city lights was spectacular. Hard to believe it was almost a year ago that Sophie and I got engaged up here.

Hog's Back

2005-12-30T23:02:00.000-05:00

I always find that I have great difficulty getting to know a city if I can't get my directions figured out first. In order to understand Ottawa, you have to get around the fact that it has two rivers running parallel north-south, and with almost identical names. One is the actual Rideau River, and the other is the Rideau Canal. Sophie and I took Dave and Lynds up to Hog's back falls, which is where the canal begins, only a few minutes from our house. As the canal has been mostly drained out for skating season, the amount of water diverted into the Rideau river, and over the falls, creates an impressive sight and sound. The constant mist formed some really detailed ice shelves on the sides of the rock face.

After checking out the falls, we followed the canal back towards downtown. The freakishly warm weather over December has eliminated all chances at getting a skate in on the canal, so we could only ponder at what could have been. We spent a few hours touring the bustling Byward market, with Lyndsay being completely overwhelmed by all the bead stores. A blue plate special at Zak's Diner gave us the energy to walk up towards the heavilly fortified steel and glass American Embassy, through Major Hill's park, past the Chateau Laurier, and towards the newly refinished Parliament library. To our surprise, the Parliament was holding an unguided "Open House", and after 30 minutes in line, we got to explore the Senate, the House of Commons, and the Peace Tower. I took the above photo just before the entrance to the "Hall of Honour", which shows the details of the masonry in the walls and ceilings.

I never actually knew you could go up into the Peace tower. I always thought it was kind of like that castle at Disneyworld, where they tease you with that winding gated staircase that goes to the top, yet never seemed to be open to the public. The elevator had windows on one side, which gave quick glimpses of the massive bells in the tower on the way up. The lookout windows are just below the four clock faces and offered superb views on all sides. The photo shows the view to the east, with the Canal just below the Chateau Laurier, and the war memorial in the middle right.

Sens vs. Rangers

2005-12-28T10:39:00.000-05:00

We flew out of Winnipeg early on Boxing Day accompanied by Lyndsay and Dave. They'll be our first guests from the west to check out our digs in Ottawa. We've got their schedules packed full of things to see, fully taking advantage of the excuse to be tourists in our own town.

Dave's been NHL deprived ever since the Jets left in '97, and wanted to get in a Sens game at any cost. So, 5 hours prior to puck drop Monday night, I phone for tickets and the only pair seating left is at $115/seat. We decide to splurge on the one-time event, and Dave is a big fan of Jagr, so it made more sense than waiting to see the Islanders or the Hurricanes later in the week. Our seats were incredible - about 16 rows up with a good view of the whole rink. I knew the tickets were prime when I spotted Joe Clark just a few rows up. Result....Sens dominated again...6 to 2 in front of a sold-out crowd at 19900.

Winnipeg Wrap-up

2005-12-27T23:43:00.000-05:00

Flying from Honolulu to Vancouver was supposed to be my opportunity to get my body adjusted to the 12 hour time shift, although, it turned out to be one of the most turbulent flights I have ever been on. Have you ever been going along at cruising altitude, when without warning, the plane loses it's lift for a few seconds? We must have dropped a couple hundred feet in an instant. Highly disturbing when you're mid-flight, asleep, and you get pressed up into your seatbelt hard. One of my colleagues told me about a flight into Halifax he was on previously where a cup hit the ceiling of the plane during such an event. Apparently, this isn't all that uncommon.

I arrived in Winnipeg Sunday afternoon. After a 36 hour day, I didn't manage much that night other than some Hot & Sour soup at the ol' Spicy Noodle House in Osborne Village. I was shocked at how the Die Machine had decayed into such an unsightly dump, and the effect it's had on the surrounding businesses. Of course, the big chains are closing in from the north of River Avenue, and we may lose another historic Winnipeg neighbourhood. It's so sad to see this homogenization taking over our communities and our cities.

On Tuesday, I hooked up with Brent and Plett for another Burke's session. I had to keep myself from howling when I listened to the waitress do the sales pitch for the signature "Burkie Burger". It seems to work though, as at least 2 were consumed. Later, we headed over to the new Morris Recreation Centre to check on the new Hockey rink. I'm partial to the old hockey barns, and don't really care much for the atmosphere of the new "machine shed" rinks sprouting up everywhere. After watching midget hockey for a while, I soon noticed that almost everyone around me was sporting an FXR jacket. It's good to see a local guy done well with his company, and what a welcome reprieve from the days where everyone at a St.Jean Royals game was donning a dirty fluorescent green Polaris jacket, with black & white checkered print trim, and finished off with a ripped pair of zuba's.

Hooked up with some of the crew from Engineering on Wednesday night. It was great to see these guys again. I spent the majority of the last 5 years with a core group of people in University, and always wondered how fractured the group would get after grad. Good to hear that most of them are still stirring it up on the weekends together, and that some of them even went down to Costa Rica in December for another buddy's wedding. Bob just got back from his huge European tour, Kris is about to leave for school in Germany, and Valor is doing the nuclear thing with AECL.

Heading East

2005-12-27T22:46:00.000-05:00

I'm guessing one of the hotels had some spare fireworks kicking around. However, knowing the Americans and their penchant for fireworks, this could have been some teens having a "big night"...maybe some of Dad's bud light got implicated as well.

I stopped in Sydney for one night, and then did the marathon flight to Honolulu. Two days in Waikiki was just about right...any longer and the madness of the tourism would have added more stress than relieve it. I was fooling around with the settings on the camera again, trying to catch the "actual" effect that dusk was having on the beachfront. With the aperture the size of a pinhole to maximize the depth-of-field, and then setting the shutter to at least 10 seconds, I managed to get the photo above (the hard part is standing still for 10 seconds). So, despite the "cheese" factor of the pose, the display of lights worked out well.

I took this photo of the entrance to King's Park 2 nights before I left for Canada. In a way, it reminds me of the interlocking Elm trees that line the streets of the older neighbourhoods in Winnipeg, providing a huge canopy in summer. The entrance to King's Park was done using lemon-scented gum tree's, which are also a big hit with the crazy rainbow lorikeets.

KVR Down Under

2005-12-24T19:55:00.000-05:00

About two weeks ago, I got the good news that I would indeed make it back to Canada for Christmas. So with work winding up, I decided to take the weekend off and head out toward the wineries and the large hills that act as the eastern border of the city.

There was one trail I found which ran high above the city, meandering back and forth along a dried-up riverbed. The hike was actually set along an old railway, so that there were sections where the walls were blown out by dynamite, and even a closed section with a long dark tunnel. It reminded me alot of the KVR in Kelowna, with mountain bikers frequenting the solitude of the uninterupted track. Hey Jer...what's the status on the KVR anyhow? Are they rebuilding the tressles?

Swan River cruise

2005-12-09T00:40:00.000-05:00

Last Friday I was invited to join some of my Aussie colleagues on an annual River cruise they do as part of a Christmas celebration. I was advised to leave the car at home, so I jumped on the train at 9:00 am and made my way to the downtown jetty. It's great to have a harbour like this right downtown, with all of the unique restaurants and parks nearby. Last July, Cirque du Soleil blew into town, and set up their tent just down the street, performing Quidam for two sold-out months.

We managed to fit about 60 people on the yacht, with the tunes pumping, and tubs full of drinks. The food was fantastic as well, with huge platters of olives, sun-dried tomatoes, fancy cheeses and crackers. The main attraction though were the hundreds of prawns that were served up, which is the local specialty.

The cruise took us down the Swan River, past the old Swan brewery, and the lookout in Kings Park. Windsurfers use the river frequently as well, and can get some pretty good speed up. About a mile upstream, the river narrows, with rock cliffs rising on either side. Some kids were basking in the sunshine and cliff jumping around a hidden bay. This is prime real-estate, and their are huge mansions bordering the river all the way to Fremantle. The style here is very meditteranean, with the red tile roofs, palm trees, and generally slower pace of life. After about 2 hours we reached the mouth of the river, and had to go out onto the Indian ocean in order to enter into the wharf in Fremantle. I was amazed at how the open sea could really toss the boat around, and was glad I had only had 2 beers at that point. After stopping in Fremantle for an hour to get ice cream and walk around, we headed back toward Perth. On the way, the driver pulled along side a smaller boat. I wasn't sure why, but all I could here was a whole lotta hootin' and hollerin'. As the men on the smaller boat dispersed, it became evident....a private show (apparantly not uncommon on the river). As we pulled away, we howled at the whole scene. Thinking about it now, it's actually mildly disturbing to think of 20 middle-aged men standing around in speedo's, with beers in hand, paying for a 20 year old girl strip on a boat.

The wind died down on the return trip, and I got another good dose of radiation on my brain while hanging out on the sun deck. As we pulled up to the dock, we were greeted by a (school, pod, pack, legion?) of dolphins jumping out of the water. Definitely good living with good folks.

Grounded

2005-12-06T09:20:00.000-05:00

If any of you bothered to follow the countdown, you may have noticed that the launch got yanked with only a few hours to go. Apparently there was an anomaly with the upper stage of the rocket, and they chose to investigate further.

As a result, my return plans are currently on hold, which could end up shafting my time in Winnipeg for Christmas. On the flip side, I had my first afternoon off in over two weeks.

Fremantle

2005-12-06T08:21:00.000-05:00

There's a great little port city just south of Perth called Fremantle, which has heaps of trendy bars, restaraunts, shops and also opens up a thriving market on the weekends. It's a city which can be easily covered by foot, and this gives the best opportunity to check out all the historical sites like the Freo Prison, the Sail and Anchor pub, and the harbour sheds. Freo was basically a dump until the America's cup was held here in the 90's, and the influx of development has now made it a huge tourist destination. I see examples like this, and wonder if Winnipeg's Exchange district will ever reach it's potential like so many other historical districts have in cities all over the world.

Much like the rest of Fremantle, the prison was built by the convicts. Sophie and I did a tour of the maximum security prison back in July, and couldn't believe this place was still operating as late as 1991. The prison was shockingly outdated, with none of the cells having running water or toilets, and most of the cells only getting lights in the later half of the 20th century. The prisoners eventually rioted in the late 80's, trashing the place and burning most of the roof after getting fed up with the living conditions and the sweltering heat. We did a tour that gave a good intro to the daily life of a prisoner, from the cells, to headcount, then to the kitchen, and out to the courtyard. Our guide of course had to point out the cell that Bon Scott from AC/DC did time in. The tour ended with an optional viewing of the solitary confinement rooms and the hanging chambers. A second tour descends beneath the prison and into a network of tunnels carved out by the inmates. Most of the passages are half-filled with water, so you end up doing the tour in a canoe with headlamps on. What shocked us most, was how everything was simply left as is when the prison closed...there was coffee on the wardens desk, and documentation left in the Identification room. The archives building offers a service where they trace your family name back to a specific convict arrival in Aussieland.

The Sunday after my trip to Fremantle was spent relaxing around the apartment. It was a perfect day at 32 degrees, so I spent the morning snoozing on the beach while a surf competition was going on just up the shore. After a sufficient dose of UV radiation, I retired to my deck to watch the remainder of the Australia vs. West Indies cricket match. Anytime you can spend an entire day barefoot and in your swim shorts is pretty sweet.

Blogger issues

2005-12-05T07:38:00.000-05:00

I'm not sure if any of you have had the misfortune of using dial-up to upload photo's onto blogger, waited 10min. for a single photo, and then not have it post. Anyway, after the 3rd attempt I lost patience. I'll try the high-speed connection at work maybe tomorrow.

Life has gotten alot crazier for me on this trip, and my return date has slid to the right by at least a week. If you're interested in why, this bird is going up at 02 24 Zulu tomorrow (9 24pm Ottawa, 8 24pm Wpg). You can watch the live webcast at www.ilslaunch.com about 45min. prior to liftoff.

Light show

2005-11-26T09:35:00.000-05:00

I was treated to a relatively rare thunderstorm on Saturday night. Perth averages only around 60mm of rain from the beginning of November thru till the end of February, yet when it does rain, it can be very impressive. My apartment on Scarborough Beach gave the perfect vantage point to capture the storm coming in over the Indian Ocean. I'm dissapointed with the quality of the shots I got though, and will have to spend more time reading the manual for the camera. Rushing around in the rain doesn't help much either. The first few shots were blurry from pressing the shutter, so I had to put a delay on it. The other issue was that the camera would only "open" it's shutter for max. 15sec...of course meaning I would always just miss the good ones. I did get one huge double strike on the water though, but it was so bright that everything else got bleached out.

More Creatures

2005-11-26T09:13:00.000-05:00

On Friday, I was finally able to get a photo of one of many Kangaroos that are living around the site. It seems like I have to either get to the site before 7 am, or leave after 7 pm in order to see them out of the bush.

Just before I saw this guy, I came across a Bobtail skink on the road. They move much slower and are easier to get close to, although they are much harder to find. The Bobtail name is due to the stumpy tail, and apparently it has a blue tongue as well (which I didn't bother to check for).

Wahoo Cones

2005-11-26T08:42:00.000-05:00

I've been feeling rather lazy lately regarding making meals, and when it's not worth buying things like cooking oil, butter, and sugar for a 3 week trip, eating out usually wins over at the end of the day. I walked down the sidewalk to a close-by shopping district which is mostly filled with small surf shops, a little grocery, pizza joints, and my favourite - Star Fish restaraunt. On Wednesdays they have $5 Wahoo cones, which are these conical packages made of newspaper, and packed full of the best fish and chips I've ever tasted. They go a bit heavy on the salt, but I was able to moderate it with a beverage I dearly missed back in Canada - The local Redback.

Laugh...Kookaburra laugh

2005-11-23T03:48:00.000-05:00

When Sophie and I were here in Perth from June - August, it was the middle of the Australian winter, and we missed out on spotting lots of different animals. Now that it is getting up to 30 degrees here during the day, lots of unusual creatures are starting to appear.

I was doing some work in an outbuilding today, when I heard this real racket starting outside. Next thing I knew, the sound turned into full-blown hysteria, and I got to hear the unmistakable laugh of two Kookaburra's really getting worked up. It helped that they were perched in the antenna mast, and so their calls were very amplified. I went to grab my camera so that I could get an audio clip of these two clowns, but they just gave me the eyeball and then flew off.

I also came across 6 kangaroos last night when I left. They'll only come out in the morning and evening now as it gets to hot during the day for them. Seems they prefer to just lounge around in the shade. With all the rain from July/August, I've been told that there may also be some Joey's on the site as well. Kangaroos tend to be much tamer than deer, and you can often get as close as 20 feet before those hoppers bounce away with their mouths full of grass.

In less interesting news, I pulled a good size kangaroo tick off my leg two days ago. Here's hoping the ticks here are no different here than back in Canada. My friend Bruce also gave me a quick course on dealing with snake bites, and how to wash the venom off. He says it's best if you can get a description of the culprit as well, so that the hospital can give you a specific anti-venom, and you won't get as sick. You have to watch out when you open doors, cause they like to hang out on the concrete and soak up the sun.

Of course, pictures would be better - I'll see what I can do.

Hong Kong smog

2005-11-22T03:02:00.000-05:00

I ordered a Zima...not emphysema

2005-11-22T01:52:00.000-05:00

The flight to Hong Kong was brutal. I don't think I will ever opt for a flight longer than 10 hours again. It's not that the actual flight was bad - no turbulence, the food was surprisingly good, only one screaming kid, and I actually managed to snooze for about an hour, but, the psychological aspect of flying for 14 hours starts to get to you...especially over water. It's like Angelo was telling me - a plane just doesn't seem to be in it's natural state in the air. If a boat loses power, it still floats. If a car runs out of gas, it just sits there on the road. Planes are a different story. I also find that you just can't distract your mind enough from trying to solve life's problems while stirring in your seat, no matter what arsenal of distractions you bring on board with you.

When I awoke in Hong Kong, I was amazed at the fact that the entire airport was on a man-made island. Everything seemed to be done to a grand scale, the airport terminal, the thousands of skyscrapers, the indulgent use of technology in everything imaginable. Not surprisingly though, it comes at a cost, and the smog was the worst I have ever seen in my life. It is estimated that Hong Kong exceeds the European Union limits for airborne pollutants by 300% ... most of it due to the uncontrolled economy in neighbouring Guangdong, China. I believe that if more people saw the real effects of our "lowest price is the law" mentality, they would make wiser decisions regarding suppliers, and examine what the true difference is between a need and a want. In actual fact, if every person on this earth lived a comparable lifestyle to an average North American, we would require over 2.5 planets to survive. It's not surprising that our world has gotten to the point where we are actually advised not to go outdoors in order to protect our health? Anyhow, nuff said - we own too much disposable cheap plastic crap, and it's destroying our future.

The remaining part of the trip had an uneventful 3 hour stopover in Singapore. I couldn't help but think of all the Aussie's who have been caught with drugs in this airport recently, and are now facing the death penalty. It's constantly in the headines here.

Arriving in Perth at 1:30 am, I was glad to see so many recognizable sights when coming in for landing. So after 28 hours in the air, and a 12 hour time change, it was time to learn how to drive on the left side of the road again. Thankfully, there is no one on the roads at this hour as most people are sleeping, and the rest are in the bars till 5:00 am...yup...5:00 am.

Seashells and Sandcastles

2005-11-17T10:10:00.000-05:00

It looks like I'm heading out on the road again after a long-overdue break from all the travelling earlier in the year. I'm going to be back in Perth for a 3 week trip, but unfortunately Sophie won't be making the trek with me this time. She's resourceful though, and will be hanging out with her friend Kathrine in Montreal, and spending heaps of time attending Karate here in Ottawa. I'm sure she'll be checking on the Mayfair theatre a few times as well.

I'm staying at the Seashells Resort in Perth - the same place Sophie and I were at in July - August. It's one of those deals where the place is much larger than needed, and you kick yourself for not being able to magically transport all your friends down to stay with you.

Tonight though, I'll be stopping over in Vancouver, to check out Joe & Esther's new place. Should be good times. I'm not as keen about the 14 hour flight to Hong Kong the next morning though!

Don Deli

2005-11-15T23:07:00.000-05:00

This photo was taken the morning after our wedding day in Winnipeg. We had decided that the best way to cure a sore head from a late night at the Kings Head pub, would be to stroll over to the Don Deli for a classic diner breakfast. It turned out to be an awesome fall day as well - one of those one's where wearing a black shirt catches just enough sun to warm your bones.

Sens game

2005-11-13T10:35:00.000-05:00

This last week at work I was offered tickets to the Senators vs. Sabres game at the Corel Centre. The guys from work and I enjoyed a kick-ass suite, where we gorged on all the usual artery clogging fare, while watching the Senators continue to dominate. I was shocked at the towering size of defensemen Zdeno Chara (6'9"), who actually had the NHL rethink their rules on stick length, such that it is now limited to a percentage of your total height. This morning, Sophie and I compared what it would be like for her to stand next to this tree.

Unfortunately though, the talk of the night revolved around the 1.5 hour commute to the game due to a deadly crash on the Queensway. The game was actually delayed due to the lack of fans at puck-drop. I've never seen a city so dependant on one main artery running through it...doesn't seem sustainable for much longer.

Okay...we've arrived

2005-11-07T18:17:00.000-05:00

Alright, so after much procrastinating we have finally decided to get a blog up. It will likely end up being a picture show for the first while, until we both get comfortable posting to the site. Yeah...that's right, we are going to try our hands at maintaining a joint blog.

I've heard different reasons for maintaining a blog...a way to keep a journal of day to day activities, a method of allowing us and geographically distant friends to catch up more easily on short trips home, and some I guess just want a way to vent into the public domain. I suspect that most of this applies to us, but if we are comfortable posting, and get some general interest in the site, it will certainly evolve in it's own way.

That's enough rambling for now....let's see how things comes out on the other side. Oh, wait, I'll try doing a link as well to The best page in the universe.