Farewell April

So that was April...and now it's Hello May! Hard to believe we've been here nearly 5 months. I suppose there has been so much going on there isn't much chance to sit and reflect.
Anyway, what happened this week? Well it was a busy week at work with deadlines to be met. I'm busy re-writing the ILS procedure. A complete nightmare it has to be said as there is so much information, it's difficult knowing what to put in and what to leave out. As the Boss said he wants a clear concise document, I've tended to miss most of it out! Oh well, I'll find out tomorrow as he's back from 3 days away.
I also had to submit a copy of a database to Thales Canada. I took over responsibility for this after one of the team retired. This was also the first time we'd submitted it in this format, so it will be interesting to see what they say. As I was putting it together, I noticed a few mistakes that I will have to correct for the end of May delivery. That's the worst thing about taking over from someone half way through a contract!!
Outside of work, we had another full week. It was a combined Beaver/Cub/Scout meeting on Monday night. It was supposed to be a campfire, but the weather wasn't great, so they had it at the hall instead. It was the time when the Beavers 'swim up' to Cubs and the Cubs 'Go up' to Scouts. This is all very well, but sadly we also lost two leaders from the cub pack. As a consequence, it meant they are now really short of leaders. The situation here is the same as the UK. Parents are quite willing to drop their kids off for a couple of hours cheap childcare, but won't commit any more than that. Bottom line was, that if there were no volunteers, the pack would have to fold and that would be a tragedy. It is such an active group, and the kids have such a great time. So guess what? I'm going to be a Cub Leader soon. They'll probably register me for next season (they shut down in the summer) all ready for some great winter camps....
On Friday evening we went along to the Saltscapes Expo. This is an exhibition held in Halifax, extolling the virtues of Atlantic Canada. I have to say it was excellent. Loads of crafts, foods, demo's and shops. Tasted loads of lovely goodies, Emma made a Candle, and we bought a Bat Barn. I can just hear you all saying, 'What the hell is a Bat Barn'? Well it's like a bird box, but it's for Bats. Bats are excellent things to have around as they eat mosquitoes and the like. Anything that gets rid of mosquitoes sounds good to me! When I get it fixed to the house, I'll post a picture and also give you some more insight on the delights of a Bat Barn.
On the subject of pictures, I must apologize for the lack of picture this week. I was going to take some of the Garden and the bits we've done, but by the time we finished, it was too dark. I will remedy that soon. As you may have gathered we spent the day sorting the garden and the garage. Put up loads of racks for all the garden tools/ladders etc. I've finished putting the edging down for the extension to the drive. Just need to put a membrane down and get some gravel delivered.
Yesterday was the big school fundraiser. The Spring Fling. It was actually held in a local church hall as it was going to cost too much to open the school for the day (!!). Anyway, it was very well attended and apparently they raised nearly $10000. We bought a most excellent Carrot Cake (and ate most of it too!).
And that just about summarizes the week. I am now off to have a bath as I am aching all over from transplanting a 15ft Birch tree! (If it survives it will be a miracle!).
If I get a chance I'll post again during the week and hopefully include some pictures.

Sun Glorious Sun

Well what a fantastic day....It was so warm I had to go and put my shorts on! How scary is that? Had a lie-in this morning (don't get much opportunity for that), had a lovely breakfast of Bacon & Eggs then we left Matthew & Emma playing with Spencer from next door while we popped down to the Garden center. (The picture shows them sat around the fire pit.) Garden Centers all close for the winter. They are now opening up for the summer and getting stocks of plants in. Even the supermarkets build temporary Garden Centers in their car parks - our local one opens on April 29th. One of them had an offer of 3 Rhododendrons for $45 so we decided to take them up on the offer and went to get some. We desperately need some plants that have some interest in the winter (when they aren't covered in snow that is). We are doing some major changes in the garden and made a start on that today. We need to try and get a lot done before the blackfly start! We're extending the gravel area at the end of the drive. No point having grass there, as it just gets covered in gravel when the drive gets snowploughed in the winter. We started doing the edging for it today. Hopefully get it finished next weekend. However, I'll bet the weather won't be as nice! I'll post a picture when I've finished the edging.
Next door had an open house today. They are trying to sell their house as they are building a new one about a mile up the road. We looked after Spencer most of the day as well as Rufus the dog. No problems and the children spent a fair amount of the day on the trampoline. I have no idea where they get the energy from, but it was great to see them all playing so well together. Anyway, they only had two people turn up which isn't great, but they also had two viewings yesterday so maybe something will come of those. Problem is they are such great neighbours, we don't want them to leave!!
The picture of the girls was taken yesterday at Martinique beach. Emma is on the left of the group - all Cubs and in Emma's year at school. The one of Matthew was taken at Cub Camp in February. He looks so happy! A busy week ahead - Cub Campfire Monday evening, Dog Training Wednesday evening, Toastmasters Thursday and then we're off to the Saltscapes expo on Friday evening but I'll tell you more of that next time. Right I'm off to slap on the aftersun....

Earth Day

Today is Earth Day - did you know that? To mark the occasion, Matthew & Emma's Cub Pack went to Martinique Beach. This is a stunning beach about 45 minutes drive from us and there was another reason to visit. It happens to be one of the nesting grounds for the very rare Piping Plover. There are about 35 nesting pairs in Canada (if not the world) and they tend to nest on a number of beaches in the province. They haven't actually started to nest yet this year, so it was a good opportunity to take the cub pack along and educate them on the bird and steps to take to protect their nesting ground. Now stupidly they lay eggs in the sand, usually in amongst rocks and so are very susceptible to predators, clumsy humans and people driving ATV's. We met up with a couple of people who work for Wildlife Canada and one of the Pack's mums has been working on the preservation team and was able to give us an excellent insight into the bird. When we reached the nesting area, we were lucky enough to spot a nesting pair, checking out the area to decide where to nest. There is usually one nesting pair on the beach, but all in all we spotted 5 birds, so it looks like an increase in numbers - albeit small. Everyone was also issued with rubbish bags and as a small contribution to Earth Day we picked up rubbish from the beach, filling about 6 bags all in all. One of the cubs also found a carcass of some animal (possibly a porpoise) and bagged this up to take home to his mum....delightful - I'll bet she was thrilled.
It was a beautiful day, though very windy - we're suffering a bit from windburn! The photo shows you the beach and the clear blue skies! The kids all seemed to have a nice time. We also took the dog with us and Deborah walked her along the beach away from the nesting ground while we went to see the birds. While on the walk she also found 4 sand dollars. I had no idea how they formed or what creates them or even why they are called sand dollars, so I looked it up on the internet. "Children have been known to say that sand dollars are pressed sand that has been dried or even the money of mermaids washed-up from the deep. In reality, the fragile disk is the skeleton or "test" of a marine animal. By the time the test washes up on the beach it is missing its velvety covering of minute spines and appears somewhat bleached from the sun. It is hard to believe it was once alive. Sand dollars are from the class of marine animals known as Echinoids, spiny skinned creatures. Their relations include the sea lily, the sea cucumber, the star fish and the sea urchin. When alive, the local species, Echinarachnius parma is outfitted in a maroon-colored suit of moveable spines that encompass the entire shell. Like its close relative the sea urchin, the sand dollar has five sets of pores arranged in a petal pattern. The pores are used to move sea water into its internal water-vascular system which allows for movement".** So there you go - today's lesson! They are fascinating and you can see the petal pattern on the enclosed photo!
A day in the garden is planned tomorrow (trying to get it done before the blackfly appear!!). If I get a chance I'll post tomorrow's activities...

** Sand Dollar information originally obtained from:

• Gosner, Kenneth L., Guide to Identification of Marine and Estuarine Invertebrates; 1971 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
• Robbins, Sarah Fraser and Clarice Yentsch, The Sea Is All About Us ; 1973 Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc.

Easter Weekend

Well the weather is actually holding up quite well. It was a lovely day yesterday - no sun, but pleasantly warm. We headed into Downtown Halifax to meet up with a load of expats in the Fishermans Market (Part of the Historic Properties). Deborah had been exchanging advice etc with a lot of them online, and as some were in town for the weekend, they decided it was a good idea to try and get together. It was enjoyable, but not something we'd make a habit of doing. I was chatting to a couple from Newfoundland. He was English and she was a local Newfoundlander. They'd met in England where she was on a teaching contract. Nice couple. They were in town visiting her sister who lives in Halifax. Told her all about Pete's Fruitique - a supermarket that sells a lot of imported foodstuffs. She was particularly missing Branston and McVities Chocolate Digestives - both of which are available at Pete's.
After the get together we then went over to the Natural History Museum where they had a Bug special on. Loads of creepy crawlies....fabulous. Anyway Matthew and Emma got to hold a snake which I declined (obviously...). We bought a Family Museum Pass for $75 which allows us a years entry into any of the 27 Nova Scotia Museums. This is a bargain as I think it would have cost us over $20 to get into the Natural History Museum yesterday.
This morning we went to Church and then laid out an Easter treasure Hunt for the children. (Ours and next doors). They then decorated cookies and are now downstairs watching a movie. We've been invited next door for Turkey Dinner. We're doing dessert and are taking along a traditional British Bread & Butter Pudding. It'll be interesting to see how it goes down and also how it turns out, as the bread here is a looser texture and will probably fall apart!!
Included here is an up to date photo of Bella who is doing fine. She chewed Emma's shoe this morning which was annoying. She always seems to be chewing something - luckily no furniture as yet. There is also another photo of the trampoline, this time with it in use. They do seem to be enjoying it but it does seem to be a magnet for all the kids in the neighbourhood....Anyway, best go and get the stuff ready for taking next door. Probably post again in the next day or so..

Good Friday

Well the weather wasn't great but we didn't let that small thing hamper us! It was raining this morning, but we still got stuff done outside. It gave me the ideal conditions to check the new guttering that was fitted to the back of the house this week. No leaks so far!! Apparently when the roof was reshingled last year, they put the overhang on the wrong side of the back of the gutter, which meant a lot of the water was not being directed away. However, all sorted now and it's looking very smart.
Also repaired a french drain that takes water from one side of the house and directs it down the garden. That now seems to be working a treat (until a snowplough wrecks it next winter....)
We had a washing line connected to an old bicycle wheel attached to one of the trees. The idea was good, a pulley on the deck, and a wheel on the tree, allowing you to stand on the deck, hang out your washing and wheel it out to the middle of the garden. Unfortunately, the wheel didn't line up with the pulley properly, so every time you tried to wheel it out, it came off the wheel. The wheel was fixed to the tree using an old piece of bike frame and a couple of steel cables. These were also cutting into the tree, so we decided to take it down. Hopefully the tree will now recover. The dodgy ladder that was left by the previous owner and that I used to get to the wheel has now been put out for the binmen tomorrow - downright lethal!! It had already lost 4 rungs....
After lunch we took a short drive to Laurie Park to give Bella a walk. She didn't throw up, but then it is only 5 minutes away. Lovely walk though, the rain had stopped and we walked round the circular access road. Most enjoyable. When we got home we decided to light a bonfire on one of the old tree stumps. We are going to use this as a firepit. Anyway, we got it going and had a pleasant afternoon toasting marshmallows and getting rid of some old wooden palletts. We came in for some homemade carrot and lentil soup, the kids then had a bath and we went down to the media room to watch 'Robots'. I've just been out with Bella and the fire is still warm. And that was our Good Friday! It's nice to have the long weekend off work. A whole 4 days! Anyway talking of work, one of our team leaves on Tuesday - retiring. We have interviewed a couple of people and have in fact hired someone from the UK who is just awaiting his visa. Should be starting by the end of May.
We've got a meeting downtown tomorrow with some people who have recently moved to Halifax and also some who are here on Vacation/fact finding (I think). All been arranged via the BritishExpats forum online. We'll see if it comes off, but we're going to the Natural History Museum while we are down there anyway so it won't be a wasted trip! I spent one evening this week putting up Matthew & Emma's new Trampoline. This is their birthday present (early) from us, Grandpa and Auntie. It's one of those springless ones - very clever, but a bugger to put together!! However, no pad to disintegrate, no springs to get injured on and an enclosure to stop them falling off. Beauty of it is that you can bounce right to the edge.
Also included a photo of the back of the house - note the crocuses at the base of the tree (told you Spring was here!!) and you can just see the dodgy ladder lying under the deck.

Spring has Sprung.

Well another week bites the dust and the weather is taking a decided turn for the milder. We even managed to do a bit in the garden this weekend. Mainly repairing damage done by the snowploughs over winter! I replaced a section of French drain from the end of the drive and scraped a load of gravel off the lawn (if you can call it a lawn- mostly moss). Most of our efforts this year will directed to making the drive more snowplough friendly I think. We must make a point of marking the boundaries next year. We also have a lot of damaged trees that need seeing to. Might have to pay someone to come and sort them.
Matthew was off school all week with the sickness thing. Emma had recovered by Tuesday and was fit enough to get to Cubs on Wednesday. It was the pack race night for Kub Kars which was nice as Emma missed the main races on Saturday. I even managed to get hold of a photo of the main event - not brilliant but you get the idea. The building in which it was located is called the Armouries. A huge brick, almost castle like, building which is home to a couple of Canadian Army units. As you can see there were a few military vehicles in there. Anyway, Matthew missed the Pack race night because he was not well, but Emma had a great time. They all got a certificate and some chocolate cars for taking part.
We have friends coming over to visit in June and have just booked a hotel to go Whale Watching while they are here. I can't take time off as I don't have any leave accrued, but we're going over a weekend. Really looking forward to that. More friends arrive towards the end of August. They have applied to emigrate and are hoping to move out later this year or early next. Anyway, they are spending a week or so in Ontario and Ottawa and then come to us for the last week. We might have other friends in August, but they haven't confirmed dates as yet.
Next door came round last night and we all sat in the media room and watched The Magic Roundabout. Strangely, it has been recently released over here, but re-named Dougal and re-dubbed by American actors such as Whoopi Goldberg. Anyway we watched the UK version with Robbie Williams, Kylie Minogue and Joanna Lumley. We managed to buy a sofa for the media Room from Sears Outlet. Bargain it was, but we had a hell of a problem getting it in through the doors. I was beginning to think it maybe wasn't such a bargain, but we took the doors off and the sofa feet and managed to jam it through without too much damage. However, it's really comfy....
Needless to say I didn't get my new desk at work, despite assurances. We suspect it has in fact been delivered by the supplier, but nothing for the last few days...Problem is, there is a lot of Office re-arrangement going on and so the maintenance men will be tied up with that. I'll start chasing on Monday though...Oh, I haven't got internet yet either...fabulous. One of the people we work with has handed hs notice in and leaves on the 18th April. He was going to retire (had to) at the end of May anyway, but decided to leave on his terms. Sounds like cutting off your nose....Anyway, I'll be picking up a lot of his work so that should keep me busy.
Apart from that a fairly quiet week. Deborah was at the Fall River Garden Club this afternoon where she's been saddled with publicity. She joined to get some tips on gardening in this area. Should be a challenge! The bulbs are all well through. We have hundreds of Tulips. If we getting anything approaching a decent show, I'll post a picture! (assuming Bella doesn't eat them all of course).

Water, water everywhere....

Well not really, but I needed a title...Actually we did have a water softener fitted during the week as the city water (as opposed to Well) is heavily chlorinated. Now this wouldn't be a problem normally, but did you know the body absorbs chlorine 75% faster through the skin than if you drank it? Not good for bath and shower time. It also made the bathroom smell like a public swimming pool every time we ran a bath. Not anymore. And it's great. Soap lasts longer (you need less of it), and dry skin seems to be a thing of the past. I don't know why we didn't do it in the UK! (well in Swindon anyway).
The Nova Scotia Ideal Home show was on at the weekend. Aimed primarily at all those planning spring renovations/home improvements. Loads of window companies and if you wanted a hot tub for the deck, there was also plenty of choice. We went to see what was available in the garden line and to see the various Lawnmowers on offer. I think we've gone away from the ride-on. However, the push one has to be self propelled because of the size of the yard - oops sorry - Garden. (Gardens here are flower beds in the UK). Best ones seem to be Toro or Lawnboy (the last one sounds like someone you get in to do it....). We'll probably go for the Lawnboy because I like the idea of getting the Lawnboy to cut the grass.....
Anyway, just before we set off for the Home Show, Emma was sick. We didn't think it was too bad and she said she felt fine and as next door was babysitting (she's a nurse) we did actually go. However, as the evening wore on she got worse and we were called back. There seems to be something going around at school - some sort of stomach flu apparently. She was fine by midnight, a bit subdued saturday morning and slept for most of it, was woken at 1pm as a friend came round and she threw up again. Friend was sent away and she had a quiet afternoon. Come Sunday she appeared fine but had a relapse this morning and had the day off school. Just when we thought it was all over, Matthew threw up this afternoon and will no doubt follow the same pattern over the next few days. Oh joy....
On a brighter note, Matthew and I went to Kub Kars on Saturday morning. It's an annual event in the Canada Cub Scout calendar. All the Cubs are given a kit with which to make a wooden car. They design the shape which is cut out by an adult, they then paint it, affix the wheels and race it downtown. Matthew & Emma's Cub Leaders were very keen that all work was done by the cubs themselves (except that involving power tools). At least then they could take a lot of pride in the work and the sense of acheivement. However, some of the other packs didn't have this rule, and some of the cars were so obviously a result of parent input. One in particular looked like it had just been taken out of a toy shop. There is just no way it was done by an 8 year old. A bit sad really. (it didn't make the final....) All cars had to be a maximum of 142g in weight. Matthew's was spot on 142! Unfortunately he had a slightly dodgy wheel, but he did win one race which made his day.
My desk was supposed to arrive today - needless to say it didn't. Surprise surprise. Maybe tomorrow...
I'll try and post the next blog next weekend and I hope to have some pictures of the Kub Kar event. We're also getting the Invisible Fence fitted this week, so I'll have a report on that. It's all go isn't it?