Many posts added you may have to click on older posts

Due to the number of posts added you may have to click on the older posts link down the bottom of the page if you want the full story, sorry about that illness and stuff condensed the postings.

Dec 29th eviction of Parents from Canadia, slight improvement in BF's condition :)

I'm joking okay :) It was great to have the parents over and we saw them off from Edmonton airport at around 5pm on Saturday, today's Monday. In the morning we just wandered down to BestBuy, think a cross between HMV and Bennetts those of you in Norfolk. We had to go back in to recover dad, he had far too much fun in there and would have stayed if allowed!

It was really good to have our first guests over and I`m sure they had a great time too. Jacqui has certainly enjoyed her couple of weeks off, back to the real world soon, Jacqui at work and me looking for a job.

Wr have agreed an incentive package already, I can spend my first paycheck on electronics, translated means a BIG tv, ohh yes.

Well tonight we visit a family of german and their friends for the new year, party starts at 8 food comes out at midnight this may be a long one :) I`ll post about it when my head clears.

Happy new year guys

Richard & Jacqui
xxx

December 28th, BF gets older, Bison on Elf Island, shome misshtake shurely

So my birthday ambled round again and even though I felt a bit rubbish I sacrificed my selfishness to take the parents to Elk Island, a national park near Edmonton. We had mediocre hopes of animal spottings, top on the hitlist were buffalo/bison followed by anything else, fussy we were not.

We went went around the main lake, no bison, visted Lake Icy Road of Death, no Bison. Went to leave the park, lone buffalo munching on stuff woohoo, mission successful. On the freeway, where you can't stop, buffalo almost selling souvenirs at the roadside hmmmmmm.

Christmas Time

Happy Christmas everyone, thanks for all your cards and well-wishings both recently and over the year.

We had a good christmas although I've had this annoying cold since Banff, It will continue until at least the new year, it's amazing how I can predict these things.

December 22nd, Music and Ice

Jacqui played in her first concert for her new orchestra, and it was at the legislative building in downtown Edmonton. She expected a few people, the place was packed.


The orchestra in full flow.


Ice sculptures and the legg.




The view accross high-level bridge.

And in the winter around the legg and the park it sits in they create these wonderful ice sculptures.

Trip back from Banff, snow blowing

Beacause it gets soo cold here and does not peek above zero snow kind of sits there and when the wind gets up, blows around. Just a little but it looked fairly cool.

Last Day in Banff

Our last morning we spent wandering around Banff for a couple of hours grabbing some presents and pics, it was a lovely morning.

On the way back from Johnston

We saw some elk but they were a bit too far away to photograph and the guide was not willing to stop the bus for long. So Jacqui and the foks went back out to grab some better pics on our return.

We also managed to get one of probably a coyote but maybe a wooluf.

Johnston Canyon Ice Walking

Our second day in Banf we went on a walking trip to Johnston canyon and it was beautiful. I'll let the pictures do most of the talking here, look out for ice falls and frozen everything.

Our precarious walkway. A pretty ice falls.

Mr dramatic icefalls 2007. Pretty canyon.

Snow trees.

And last but not least a couple of shots from the top of the canyon, it really did feel like a visit to Narnia.

So where were we?..ah yes Banff and skiing!

You left our intrepid adventurers in deepest Banff enjoying snow and scenery and about to embark on their greatest challenge yet.....balancing an ever-increasing fool on two planks of wood and trusting to gravity....dun dun dunnnnnnnnn!



Unfortunately we don't have any pics of the actual 'skiing' but it happened and for three hours we progressed from falling down to snow ploughs to erratic turning to slightly smoother turning, all the way back to falling over. Mum and I got the hang of it a bit quicker, but my pride forces me to mention she has skied before. Jacqui eventually conquered her nemesis the magic carpet, especially exiting the same. Dad did not hurt his knee and my ankles are still whole, a resounding success! And we all enjoyed it, a lot, especially after removing anything but socks from our ski boots, I can still remember the blessed relief ahh joy. But our friend Lorna's gleeful warning did come back to us, ski boots hurt and taking them off is the best bit about them.



So Jacqui and and I will try it again, probably in January, and mum and dad have said they'll travel to the dry slope in Naarch.

In Banff You're Not

Just letting you know we're in Banff enjoying the mountains and the snow and you're not. But we do have the parents with us so that evens things up a bit :) More updates and pics when we return.

Rock and Roll

Well Jacqui and I have been to our second concert together, Bon Jovi at Rexall Place Edmonton and it was bloody marvellous.

Not our own pics but they'll have to do :)



Jacqui got me the tickets for my upcoming birthday, what a girl.

And whatever you say about Mr Bon Jovi (Ian), he is a great entertainer.

Oh Dear....cough splutter

We may be coming down with summat. Just in time to give it to the parents on their arrival Friday, aren't they lucky. Just a basic lurgy, must be the rise in temperatures to -3 that shocked our systems.

Off to build their bedroom furniture now - they really are being spoilt you know.

List of forgotten items

Today we handed over the magical list of requirements to my parents prior to their visit next Friday. Such delicacies as Hula Hoops and Lyles Golden Syrup, and luxuries like blu-tac and spray de-odourant, amazing the subtle differences and things you miss.

One great thing is that we discovered English Tea over here early on, we'd have probably gone mad many months ago without it.

Jacqui's Second Footie Match

Tonight's the night. Jacqui will be taking to the field of glory to display her amazing ball-control and dribbling. Maybe I could have put that better but I liked it :)

After the first try which involved carpet burns and a groin strain we are hoping for a more successful game. Next game's in mid January so plenty of time to recover.

New Engineering Social......so much fun it hurt.

Last night we went to the Christmas social for the new engineers dragged over from the UK to Canadia. And surprise, surprise, there were lots of engineers and engineering waffle to enjoy. There was also a video interview thing which they are planning to edit and use for their next foray into engineer hunting in deepest London, this was suitably embarassing. But it was good for Jacqui to meet some other engineers in her position.

And after that was our last exercise class, an hour of step, this was very similar to the very first session we had. And luckily it was easier than 12 weeks ago, a good sign. I think we both have lost a chunk of the embarrasment and Olde Englishe reserve that we began with.

And now next Thursday we're having the people from the course round for drinks and wii, and a good time will be had by all.

All the best to those stuck in Naarch

Today was d-day for those at NU uncertain of their future, many of which are friends of mine and Jacqui. We wish you all the best and we hope you get what you want, whether that's redundancy or continued employment.

Slight issue with the exercise thing

We/I have hit a minor stumbling block with the early morning visits to the gym, and it's not all down to the early morning bit :) As we're still a one car household it means that I need to catch the bus home afterwards, and it's been a bit chilly for hanging round a bustop.

This week I'm going to try something slightly different, getting later buses, taking more time and clothes to wrap up against the cold, it would be a real shame to miss out on a good thing for the next 4 months.

Things, things and more things.

Well from now until Christmas we have many many things going on.

3 concerts, one for Bon Jovi 1 classical and one Christmassy
Parents coming over
Trip to Banff including skiing, and possibly sleigh rides and stuff
3 Christams meal/drinks things
Jacqui's playing in the orchestra at the Legislature building in Edmonton
Last couple of exercise sessions on our course
All cards and packages to be sent home before the last posting days
Visit to Fort Edmonton

Might even grab some photos for the blog.

Clearing Snow hmmmm

It would appear that out here the snow falls with alarming regularity. This is all well and good until some fool shaped individual has to go out and clear it off of our paths and stuff. It gets damn cold out there.

See if you can spot the glint of anger in my countenance. It gets a bit dispiriting when more of the damn fluffy white stuff falls out of the sky when you're just finishing shovelling it's fellows off the path!

Roadayo Edmonton Style

Well we done did it. Through Alberta something or another Jacqui got an invite to the Canadian Rodeo finals held at Rexxal Place in Edmonton. Now this is definately not something that we would sign up for normally but we missed the last couple of socials so we decided to give it a go.

And I must say that as a thing to watch that did not cost me anything and where I was given free food and drink it was okay :) The animals did not look too unhappy, nothing died, and appart from some really far too cutesy moments we had a good time. The private box may have helped too.....

Bloke on a horse


Bird on a horse


Bullocks

Apologies for the lack of posts

I will try and rectify this in the very near future.

In the mean time pity me for having a frozen belly. I was out clearing snow earlier and when I came back in most of me was okay apart from the stomach. Really odd that but there you go even I need more wrappings in -20.

I never thought this would happen

Last Tuesday night Jacqui and I joined an honest to goodness gymnasium. I know it sounds crazy but it happened, witnesses are being sought.

And if that were not enough I've even frequented the establishment three times now at seven of the clock in the morning. Jacqui's been dropping me off at seven and I've been catching the bus back home and it's all working pretty well. Now I just need to keep it up for several months.

Yippee, I'm nearly a proper engineer

I passed my APEGGA exam - obviously guessed those 40 questions right. I now just have to do another 7 months work experience and I can become a PEng (that's P for Professional, not P for Proper) and sign drawings and things. Hurrah.

Big news this weekend

1. We've had our first snow



2. Nature has finally discovered our bird table which we installed last weekend

Ahhhh.

I also hurt

ISL started up its five-a-side football kick-around yesterday evening. Richard was keen to go so I thought I might as well play as I would have to wait for him anyway and it would be a bit of exercise. We played on astroturf, 15 minutes either way and I was shattered by 5 minutes into the game. If the running around wasn't bad enough, the ball hit my hand and jarred my wrist, I managed to trip over and graze my arm (embarassingly, I couldn't even blame it on someone tacking me - there was no-one else around) and later on the ball smacked me in the face. What a great evening. I can now hardly move, but have a greater respect for Beckham et al. Not sure if I want to try that again, but I'll probably have recovered sufficiently in a fortnight's time and have forgotten the pain.

On the plus side, we went to 'Brits Fish and Chips' afterwards and had our first proper fish and chips for 6 months. Yum.

Halloween, Canadian Style

Halloween is a big thing out here - most of the houses are decorated with pumpkins, ghosts, cobwebs and witches. Rather than our usual practice of switching all the lights off and pretending we weren't in, we decided to embrace the whole thing, pumpkin and all.

We bough a load of sweets and spent the evening distributing them to the 30 or so well-costumed children who came round trick-or-treating. It was really good fun.

Woohoo accounts have left the country

Not a very interesting post but a big moment for us. We (well Jacqueline) have just finished the 2006-2007 accounts and I've posted them back to the UK for our lovely accountant to sort out.

This is a happy time and a removal of much of the stress in our homely home. Just in time for us to enjoy/hate halloween Canadian style.

Snow or Frost you decide (it's snow)

Well I think we've had our first snow over here, Jacqui claims it was a hard frost. I know her to be somewhat mistaken in this regard, she is, after all, a silly.

Basket Case

Well our housewarming went really well and one thing that surprised us was the number of gifts people gave us. We got baskets of goodies, wine, beer, books and lots more. We'll have to do it again some time.

Food, Glorious Food

We held our housewarming party on Friday evening. After a mammouth session of shopping (us), baking (Richard) and chopping (me) we produced this spread for the fine folks of Edmonton.

About twenty people turned up - Ian and Lorn, 4 neighbours, and the rest were from ISL. A good time was had by all, especially when the wii tennis tournament got underway in the basement. The evening ended in sudden death table football at 1am between Ian and Lorn, John and Sonya (our neighbours across the road) and us.

Ian and Lorn stayed over and in the morning we went to Socrates, a nearby diner recommended by Ian, for brunch. As requested by Elaine, here is a picture of four hearty Canadian breakfasts. Note the melon on the plates, artfully added to suggest that the meal is of some nutritional benefit.

Yesterday morning I sat my APEGGA (Association of Professional Engineers, Geologists and Geophysisists of Alberta for those who are interested) exam. 60 multiple choice and 40 multiple guess questions on APEGGA, law, ethics, health and safety and other non-technical stuff. I should find out in 4-6 weeks if I've passed. I then just have to get another 8 month's north american civil engineering experience and I will be a fully qualified engineer out here. Whoo-hoo.

Exam Time

Jacqui's wandered off to Edmonton today for her APEGGA exams, multi-guess and common sense is what we're hoping, although she has been doing a lot of revising. So fingers crossed for the old bird eh.

Job Ahoy...unless I can do some pretty fast talking

Just a quick post. I went for a chat/interview with a consultancy/agency guy on Thursday, I'm now on their books and it's up to me to find relevant jobs on their website. They seemed okay and the rates seem okay too. This would mean that I'd have to set up a company over here but it should not be too hard.

Thanksgiving British Style

Well thanksgiving is upon us and apparently that's a big thing over here, meh. So in the spirit of the thing I have obtained a Turkey that's taking up half our freezer, lots of wine and beer, and some friends to come over and help us tackle all the above.


One last thing. Yesterday at our class we were chatting to Lisa afterwards about recipes and exercise. She then invited us to Thanksgiving with her family, she was concerned that we would be alone at home for thanksgiving, makes us think we've made the right move.

Exercise Update

Well my arms are aching today, and I'm sure Jacqui's in a similar amount of pain. Our little exercise teacher, Lisa, is trying to educate us in the ways of the fit, good luck to her! She's also wangling some things with the leisure centre so that we can get a bit of free exercise time each week, really good stuff.

Our first sessions were cardio based, last night was resistance based, hence the aching. But we're keeping each other motivated so we should keep it up until next year at least.

Red 5 Standing By

No link to the title at all, just kind of liked it.

Next Thursday I have my second interview, this time with an agency guy. Just need to wander in and have a chat and see if he can find anything for me. Let's hope it's all groovy.

Chilly Here

Woke up this morning, Jacqui's off to Calgary and there's genuine frost on the grass outside. Time to slap the heating on and wrap up warm. By the way I got offered a job in Edmonton, but unfortuanately it turned out to be unsuitable, I would have had to have been polite to other people.

They might as well ask me to cut my leg off!

I never got that with the County Council

Oh, the joys of the private sector - 40 hour weeks, 20 days holiday, but...

Three weeks ago my company celebrated its 20th Anniversary by holding a party at a golf club in Edmonton river valley. It was great - free food, a free bar and even a free taxi to and from the party.

Last weekend, the ISL ladies went for a pamper day at a local spa, with the company paying £100 each towards treatments. We then went to the dinner theatre in the evening and watched '29', a spoof on '24'. In case you're wondering about sexism, the men got to go golfing in Jasper in June, but personally I'd much rather have the massage, manicure and facial.

I'm currently working on a 'Long Range Strategic Highways Plan' for Alberta, and part of my work involves looking at other transportation policy reports from around North America - Ontario, Michigan, Kansas, Washington, Florida, Saskatchewan. I was looking at California State's Transportation Master Plan and the first page was signed by none other than Arnold Schwarzenegger. How surreal is that? No-one that interesting ever signed my reports at NCC.

Next week I've got to go to a meeting in Calgary so I'm flying down there. It's a three and a half hour drive but only takes 45 mins by plane. So I apologise for my huge carbon footprint but I don't think that I can cope with driving 7 hours in a day.

Where did September go?

Autumn is well and truly here with frosty mornings but warm afternoons. In another week or so the trees will be bare, so here are a few pics of the fall before all the leaves go:




St Albert river valley











Our road









Our house

I am hurting..

Well our fitness/wellness course is wellness Tuesdays and fitness Thursdays. Tuesdays are okay, we'll see how that goes, Thursday was tough, exercise with co-ordination not something I'm good at.

Jacqui being behind me had great fun watching me stomp around almost 100% out of synch with everyone else. I'll be hiding at the back next week :)

Things inside are aching today and I'm sure tomorrow will only encourage the pain.

Less Millers in Canadia!

Yesterday Jacqui and I started our fitness and wellness class at servus place leisure centre in St Albert. To say that we were nervous beforehand was a great understatement. I did my normal curl up in a ball and hide response to the whole thing, but in the end we both went and it's already made us rethink some of our lifestyle.

I may have bitten off too much though, in a fit of generosity I volunteered to get up and exercise with Jacqui in the mornings. This may turn out to be a very bad idea!

Anyway, wish us luck, we'll need all the support we can get:)

Belated Housewarming

We've sorted out a date for our housewarming as well, looking good, a chunk of Jacqui's work colleagues, some neighbours and our other friends. Wii tennis and table-footie all round. Now I just need to decide what to cook and waht to buy, I'm soo domesticated.

Mo` Culture

Well here we have a rum state of affairs we`re booked in to see two more classical concerts, one has the backdrop of some Charlie Chaplin movies and should be fun. The other`s like a Christmas concert, snowman etc etc, Both will be followed by beer and food, nice and groovy.

I am just fighting a valiant rearguard action to avoid a third concert including , Strauss and Respighi. I will probably lose that fight too :)

Very Happy thankyou

Well what a good week in sport. 2 footie wins, 1 cricket and 1 rugby, best English week ever probably. And now I've worked out radio over the net I can listen to it live as well, a very satisfactory state of affairs.

Saw the England Israel game in a 'Canadian' pub called the Elephant & Castle. Good game, very impressed, Heskey had a good one in my opinion. Watched while having breakfast obviously, a very bad impression of a fry up... It was good to hear old English abuse and swearing at the tv, ref, players and everything else, brought a tear the eye,

Watching the rugby now, not a great performance so far, but a win. Cricket was an exciting affair glad that Zimbadwe couldn`t keep the run rate up. Watching the England Russia game tomorrow, looking forward to that too.

FoolFace

Just recently I have discovered the wonder that is facebook, and you probably should too, yes you, even mexican John Harris beat me to it and he's a frikkin ecologist!

So sign up facebook.com and search for me or your real friends, either really, Jacqui's not on there yet, she's just about happy with blog, any more and she may explode.

Video Culture

Yesterday Jacqui, me and a couple of people we know over here went to see the last performance of the Symphony under the Stars in Edmonton. Not my first choice of outing but I was persuaded that it was in my best interests to attend. Jacqui really enjoyed it, the orchestra were really good, and they had big guns there as well, so I was moderately placated.

I filmed the last bit of the 1812 overture, the bit with the guns, it's attached below in glorious shaky cam. The one thing that the film can't show is the concussion that we felt when the guns went off, like a short sharp gust of wind and someone shaking your organs about......

Home Grown Nature

A recent squirrel, taken while the house slave was washing up. Poor, poor fool.