Our 1st Year is up....

Well this is it. The end of the blog. Our first year in Canada is complete and so I thought I'd use this blog to reminisce, ramble, assess (call it what you will) our first year as landed immigrants.
It's very difficult when you first arrive not to view everything through rose-tinted spectacles. On the other hand it's also very difficult not to compare things to the UK. I suppose this is only natural, and I still find myself converting the price sometimes! Usually when I'm appalled at the price of something, I then convert and think, well actually that's not too bad, or bloody hell - how much!!??
But that's life - you always compare.
So are we still settled? I would say yes. Materially, there is very little we miss about the UK. On the forum's you get some people lamenting that they miss things like Marmite or HP Baked Beans and I think if your life is so shallow that you miss things like that, then maybe you shouldn't have moved!! As it happens they sell Marmite in Atlantic Superstore!
It's weird, but sometimes it feels like you have stepped back in time 20 years with things like credit expiring on Pay as you go phones for instance, strong employment unions, form filling and things like that. But on the other hand, there are aspects that are way ahead. For example we have 10meg broadband as standard! However, online shopping really hasn't taken off here as it has in the UK. However, that is probably due to the shipping charges which are high because of the huge distances involved.
I think the time we moved was a very good time to do it. Arriving at the beginning of Winter, just before Christmas, everyone made us very welcome. The timing of the furniture shipping and the house purchase couldn't have been better and again this helped our settling in. We were all unpacked by Christmas!
The house we feel was a great find, and we really lucked in! We still love it. Okay it's big (4500 sq ft) and it is costly to heat and run in general (we pay $300 a month for heating oil), but the feeling of space is excellent. You can have guests staying and not be falling over them! The basement is excellent for accommodating guests, the media room is great for watching movies and it's also a great place to send the children. The lot (just over an acre) has a lot of grass and takes a couple of hours to mow. This will decrease next year once the pool is fitted in May. The deck is also being increased to allow access to the pool and again will reduce the mowing time! Good job I didn't buy a ride-on!!! We will get the drive tarmac'd or paved at some point, but we coped okay with the gravel this year and we'll get more fun out of the pool!!
We were very lucky also that the house had been decorated from top to bottom (including the heated garage) just before we moved in and so we haven't had to paint anything. A couple of the rooms might get their colours changed this coming year, but not having to do it when we moved in was a big bonus. There are a lot of other issues to consider when buying houses here. The condition of the roof is a big one. They need replacing every 20 years or so (ours is new last year), Oil tanks need to be replaced every 10 years if they are outside, every 15 years if they are inside (ours was new two years ago and is inside). Rural properties not only have septic tanks, but most have wells so the water quality has to be inspected as well as the supply rate. Disadvantage of wells is that if you get a power cut, you lose your water! (unless you have a generator). Luckily, although we have a septic tank, we're also on mains water so this doesn't affect us. Having said that we had to have a water treatment system fitted as the water was so chlorinated. The picture was taken yesterday morning but most of the snow has now melted!
I was lucky enough to find employment a couple of months after arriving, and while it's been good experience, we'll see if it's a long term thing. I have an informal interview this coming week with another company, so we'll see what the pay and benefits are there.
It's the benefits that are the main thing. Yes there is a Health Service here which is 'free', but it doesn't include dental at all, so you either get a medical plan that includes dental or you pay full whack. Unless you have a medical plan you also pay full price for prescription drugs and eyewear/opticians. Most companies have a medical plan, but unfortunately, my employer's plan doesn't include dental. While this wouldn't bother people with toddlers, it does bother me as free kids dental only extends to age 11. Knowing the obsession here with 'braces' I just know we have some hefty dental bills looming unless I can get an employer with a decent group plan! I still need to have a check up and know it's going to result in work for myself!!
The general cost of living is something that gets debated time and time again. Is it cheaper here or not? People from the UK seem to focus on one thing - the price of gas (petrol). Yes it is half the price it is in the UK, but I would say on average we use twice as much. In the UK, we both drove diesels (these haven't really taken off here yet!) but here both are petrol. The Dodge Caravan is a 3.3litre V6 and averages around 24mpg. The Golf is a 2 litre and averages around 35mpg. In the UK, the Citroen Synergie used to do 35mpg and the Rover did 50mpg. Add this to the fact that we have a longer drive anywhere because we live semi-rural and fuel costs probably equate. On the other hand, servicing prices are lower. We used to pay £66 an hour labour at the Citroen Dealer....It's half that here.
Food probably equates price wise. A lot of things are more expensive mainly fruit and vegetables whose prices are very seasonal. There is a lot more choice in the summer once the local harvests start making it through to the shops, the prices drop accordingly too. Bread is more expensive as well. Things like fizzy pop are a lot cheaper (surprise surprise) but as we don't buy them we don't benefit! strangely Chickens are also really expensive!!
There are a lot of issues you have to deal with when you arrive. Your existing credit rating does not get moved with you. It remains in the UK and so you have to start from scratch. This is frustrating if you had a good score in the UK, but a major bonus if your UK score was rubbish - you get the chance to start again. Royal Bank of Canada have been excellent for us (as opposed to ScotiaBank!!) giving us a mortgage with no employment and a credit card once I was employed. The bank charges take a little getting used to, but $12 a month isn't too bad. You can get lower monthly fees, but then you pay for every debit transaction! Our 'Personal Banker' monitored our account usage and recommended the best account for us (and in fact she changed it after a month or so to one that was better for us). Deborah has opened an account with PC Financial which is a free bank. Similar to Sainsbury's Bank, it's a 'virtual' bank run as a joint operation with Loblaws and CIBC. You cannot open an account with them unless you are resident in Canada, and they are probably a lot more fussy who they will give a mortgage to.
Insurance - don't you love it! We're almost in the land of litigation. Not as bad as the States, but it does have an effect on your Car insurance. Again, you get stiffed being a new immigrant, but once you get that first year under your belt, it drops substantially. Our policy for the two cars has dropped by 60% this year. We're probably now paying very similar to what we were in the UK.
Everything is very seasonal here. Very seasonal. At the moment obviously everything is Christmas and as previously reported, Halloween was as big! All the garden centres are now closed. Christmas Trees are sold in the Supermarket Parking lots. Come spring, all the garden centres open up selling mulch and plants and topsoil. Best time to buy is the autumn as they get rid of all their stock! Spring also sees all the snowblowers getting replaced by lawnmowers and tractors! The stores really have a busy time changing all the stock around! If you need to buy something at the end of the season, you'll be lucky. One minute it's there, the next it's been replaced by the new seasons offerings! We get two bags of flyers dumped at the end of the drive every weekend. Very exciting to see what the latest offers are!!! My favourite is Canadian Tire. You get some good bargains there! I got my pressure washer half price!
As some of you may know I have been very busy since I arrived here. I am very involved with the Sears-Halifax Toastmasters Club and am now on the Executive as Vice President Education. I also redesigned the club's new website which can be linked from the right of this page. We have a big District Conference coming up and we are part of District 45 which is made up of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Maine and Vermont. The Spring Conference is in Halifax in May and I have been asked to help with the Conference Website. Should be a challenge!!
I am also now a Cub Leader - not sure how long that will last! I don't mind giving up the two plus hours a week, but some of the kids are a handful. We're off camping with them again first weekend in January - if this is another nightmare it will be the last.
One interesting aspect of our time here has been the weather. Virtually since we've arrived everyone has been saying 'this isn't normal'!! Apparently it was a mild winter, nice spring, poor summer, very mild and wet autumn and winter so far has been mild. Okay we agree it was a mild winter, with only three bad snowstorms (we got a white Christmas though!!). The mild wet spring did nothing for limiting the blackfly, and the summer we thought was quite good! Autumn was mild though wet and I have to say, the winter so far has been pretty mild! We'll see how it pans out. The worst issue for me was the blackfly. Thankfully Deborah does most of the gardening, but I do the lawn mowing, and it wasn't funny.....It's okay first thing in the morning and then a couple of hours around midday, but the evening is not good. Hopefully they won't be as bad next year!! We survived though and apparently you build up an immunity to the bites!!! Don't start thinking that this is a Nova Scotia peculiarity. Far from it. They are much worse in Ontario Cottage Country. They last all summer there!!
Deborah has also had a very busy time since she arrived. Although she took and passed her Canadian Occupational Therapy Exams, in order for her to practice in Nova Scotia she needed to do 600 hours supervised work with a mentor. To fit this in around Children was impractical so other income sources were looked at. She became a Purple Tree consultant - crafts kits, but the parent company decided to close the business down, so that was the end of that. She has done a business course and is restarting her VIP Cakes business. She is also the local Welcome Wagon representative and that seems to be going well. Obviously she misses her sister and friends from the UK, but she has joined Newcomers and has made some good friends through that and also become very good friends with a few of the neighbours.
Matthew and Emma joined the local Cub Pack where they were initially quite a novelty in their UK uniforms. They both did two weeks of swimming lessons in the summer at one of the local Provincial Parks, and they are currently taking Ice Skating lessons and have earned their first badge! Matthew did soccer in the summer and is doing basketball at the moment. Emma restarted her violin lessons (or fiddle as they call it here) and is currently taking sewing classes which she really likes. They had a ball last winter in the snow, spending hours outside sledding with their friends. Although they sometimes say they miss their friends from the UK, they very rarely email them!!
They were put into a grade at school according to their age rather than ability and I maintain this was a good move. Even though they are re-doing some of the things they have already completed, it is taught differently and done differently, so it needs to be re-learned. So it was an easy academic year last year which gave them time to adapt to the new teaching styles and methods, and make a circle of friends. We're certainly happy with the school and it has a good reputation.
We even gained a member of the family! Bella joined us at Easter. She's a collie cross (who knows what!) but has a great temperament and is generally very laid back. She has the full run of the garden/yard as we had an 'invisible fence' fitted just after she arrived. She has also just celebrated one year in Canada!! She was 1 last week (we're not sure the exact date, but count Dec 1st as her birthday).
Is there anything I miss? Only friends and family. If Dad is having problems with the computer, I can't just pop over and sort it out, and it is things like that which I miss. I hope though that everyone who knows us, understands why we moved and the benefits we have gained. Don't get me wrong, it's not a total blissful utopia but I think we have a better quality of life. Certainly more space and less cars!! It's really lovely having people to stay and we've had our share of visitors and hope they'll keep coming back!
And that just about sums it up, I'm sure I'll think of other things over the next day or so and may add them, so call back!! I know a lot of people read this on a regular basis, so as it's the last one of this particular blog, please leave a comment! I'm hoping to download the entire blog and publish it. Not for general circulation though!!!
I have started a new blog and it is this that will kick off next week with the comings and goings of the Van Leer family in Canada. See the link on the right hand side. I've really enjoyed doing this blog, and I hope you have enjoyed reading it. See you on the new one!

Our first Snowstorm

Just a short post here to announce our first snow storm of the season! It started around lunchtime and as of 7.30pm it's just about fizzled out. Our drive is being snowploughed as I type. The Weather Channel said they had 19cm at the airport, and driving home from work this evening I could well imagine it!! It was an entertaining drive without my winter tyres! Anyway, here's a photo of our deck to give you some idea of how much we had. I don't think it's going to last long - the forecast is for light rain on Thursday, so that will finish it off! Incidentally, the Dodge didn't go in today!! Deborah got 500 yards up the road and thought sod this!! Just as well, the 100 series highways were awash with stuck cars and queues, so we'll get up early tomorrow and take it in then.

Recovery week...(I wish!!)

I've spent this week recovering from the horrors of the Cub Camp.!
On Monday Deborah took the Dodge into the tire shop to get the winter tires put on. I dropped the loaner wheel round to Scott and left the punctured tire with him, only to be told that it had already been fixed! Even better - they didn't charge!. I also took the Dodge along to Maaco (Canada's Bodyshop apparently...) to get an estimate for the repair of the rear bumper. $460 including tax. I took the quote round to the house of the people who ran into us expecting to run into some resistance, but they were pleasantly surprised by the amount. So that was a bonus....What was even better was they called Maaco on Tuesday and paid the bill! All we have to do is take the car in and they'll sort it. It goes in Monday evening 5pm and we should get it back Wednesday at the same time.
Monday was a busy day - Deborah also managed to secure 2 tickets to see Il Divo who are coming to Halifax in April. Can't believe how popular it was. As she was taking the car in to get it's tires sorted at 9am, and the box office opened at 9am, it was left to me to order the tickets. The website went down at about 1 second past 9 and so I tried the phone - I couldn't get through, it was permanently engaged from 9am. In the end she went over to Atlantic Superstore who are ticket agents, and joined the queue. Thankfully two tickets were bought and we don't have to source them on ebay!!!
I got a call this week from L-3. Now I did apply to them for a job before I arrived in Canada. I had met them a couple of times to discuss openings, and they actually had a couple of Sim Tech jobs last year - but I think they were in the situation of having to advertise them, even though they were filled (don't you love Unions?). Anyway, they had my cv and knew I now worked in Logisitics for IMP. They are in the bidding process for a new ship for the Canadian Navy and are part of one of two consortiums bidding for the work. Anyway, bottom line is they now have my updated cv and we'll see what comes of it...
Cub meeting went well on Wednesday. I actually led the meeting AND remembered the words to Oh Canada!! We were filling stockings for homeless people. Basically it was a decent pair of socks filled with soap, disposable safety razors, deodorant (stick type), toothbrush, toothpaste, bag of candy and Lip Balm. No aftershave allowed (they drink it), no aerosols (they sniff them) and no razor blades (you can imagine...). The cubs then made festive stamps out of potatoes and stamped pictures onto Christmas Cards to accompany the socks. All very successful and we sang God Save the Queen to finish. Put it this way, it was a damn sight more fulfilling than the camp!!! Talking of which, the next one is planned for January 6/7th. However, this is with the Scouts so it should be easier. We'll make sure the kids are split up and kept occupied. However, when the letter went out, it was stated that unless there was a marked improvement in behavior, this would be the last one.
Thursday of course was Deborah's birthday! I bought her two tickets to see 'Lord of the Dance' in January and also a very attractive Pink ribbon mug in aid of cancer research, as well as a delicious box of Laura Secord chocolates. Matthew and Emma bought her a book. We decided to go out to dinner on Saturday for a couple of reasons. It's easier to get a babysitter, and I have Toastmasters on Thursday! (I did come straight home though instead of going to the pub afterwards!) We went downtown and ended up going to McKelvie's - a very nice seafood restaurant. I came away stuffed! Fish is so filling!
Saturday morning was spent trying to get my winter tires fitted (and failed), followed by shopping in Bedford and we bought our Christmas Tree on the way home. The afternoon was spent helping load Leo & Jeanette's hire van with all their stuff from our basement. They moved into their new house on a semi permanent basis. Although they are in and the furniture is in, they haven't got full power connected. They need to be inspected by NS Power. Once done, it can all be connected up and they are done. The house is very nice. I'll get Deborah to take a couple of pictures and I'll post them next week. We also finished putting up the Christmas Decorations, decorated the tree and as promised, have put a picture of our nodding polar bear on here for you to see. It looks better from a distance!! Also, put on a picture of the house with all it's lights. Sadly the picture doesn't do it justice - the gutter lights are a pale blue and match the house beautifully!! Only thing left to do is try to figure out how to attach lights to the tree at the end of the drive.....

Cub Camp Season starts....

Well I have just got back from the first Cub Camp of the winter season. It may very well be the last. I wish I could say everyone had a great time, but I'd be lying! Anyway, more of that later.
The week started with a 'linking' meeting between Beavers and Cubs. The idea was to have a Movie Night. The Beavers were organizing it , they had all the equipment, all we had to do was turn up. Excellent we thought. Unfortunately, the 'equipment' turned out to be a laptop, an LCD projector and a pair of computer speakers. Needless to say the volume was a bit lacking and to make matters worse, there was a meeting next door in the bar of the firehall (the firehalls here all double up as community halls) which involved presentations of some kind involving lots of cheering and applause! Add to that a bunch of Beavers (5-8 year olds) all fidgeting and scraping their chairs across the floor and it made for a bit of a nightmare! The only plus point was we managed to persuade them to watch 'The Wild' (82 minutes) as opposed to 'Cars' (getting on for 2 hours). We wanted to minimize the agony...The kids seemed to enjoy it anyway which was a bonus. I think Cub Movie night will be in our basement...
On Tuesday night I was supposed to accompany Cindy and Scott (the other two cub leaders) to the campsite to go over a few things with the warden for the weekend's camp. Unfortunately he had to go to a funeral and couldn't make it. It was rescheduled for Wednesday night and it happened. It is an excellent campsite. I use the word 'camp' in the loosest possible sense. Accommodation was a large cabin, complete with flushing toilets, bunk room, activity room, diesel generator and fully furnished kitchen. We were shown how to start the generator and what we needed to turn off and so on. This is going to be an easy camp (or so I thought...).
Thursday night was Toastmasters as usual, followed by the usual trip to Dutchies afterwards. Then on Friday night Emma was at a birthday sleepover at a friends, except she didn't sleepover because she had to go to camp the following day. Deborah, Matthew and I decided to eat out and also pop into Canadian Tire for a couple of items. We set off and there was a strange thumping noise from one of the back wheels. I stopped to check and discovered a bolt sticking out of one of the rear tires. So we went back home, swapped cars, went to Mike's restaurant in Bedford for supper, popped into Canadian Tire to pick up the items we wanted, and then it was back home to change the wheel on the Dodge.
Then the fun started. Managed to remove the brace and jack from the storage compartment, but when I tried to remove the spare (which is slung under the back of the car), the cable dropped, but the wheel didn't. For some reason it was stuck there. Anyway I called Scott (he's a mechanic) and he happened to have a spare wheel and tire for a Dodge Caravan. He brought it over and helped me fit it and the car goes into Mighty Auto tomorrow for it's Winter Tires to be fitted. Hopefully they can patch the punctured one, otherwise it's a new tire! We will also have to get them to try and get the spare off. Cars, don't you love 'em....
And so Camp day dawned. I knew it was off to a bad start when Cindy didn't have the cub details forms - these are the ones that have the MSI (Health Card) number on them. Once we sorted that out, we could set off. We got to the camp, opened up and started the activities. We did stove lighting, camp fire lighting and built their survival kits. But all through this, the kids behavior was fairly atrocious. We had one with ADHD who was on medication and quite frankly was away with the fairies and another, who if he hasn't got ADHD, it's because he hasn't been diagnosed yet! Both required constant supervision. We had one who keeps getting nose bleeds. Although not a problem to him, it is a little disturbing for us, the leaders, when he's on his third of the day. Add a couple who spent the entire day telling tales, another two who kept wanting to 'do their own thing' and you can imagine it was turning into a delight of a weekend. We cooked tin-foil dinners for lunch, then did a hike in the afternoon. We had subs for supper, had a campfire and put them to bed by 10pm. Unfortunately, our fun was only just starting. First one came to say he wanted to go home. He'd had a bad day, compounded by the fact he put his gloves on the wood stove and they melted. Then 10 minutes later Emma came in to say she was homesick and wanted to go home. She basically wanted Deborah to come and get her. She was told this wasn't going to happen as mummy was having a girls night in with Lynn, had probably had a couple of glasses of wine and couldn't drive. I couldn't take her, as we had to have three leaders on site at all times.
As it happens, the other lad's Mum came and got him, and I sent Emma home with them. She knows Deborah and so was more than willing to drop her off. We were now down to 9 kids.
We went to bed in a really warm cabin - the fire had been stoked up to account for the fact that it gets cold at night, but the cabin is very well insulated and it was way too warm. I'm thinking it is this that kept the kids awake. I was up three times between 2.10am and 3am. Cindy was up 10 times between 3.30am and 6am. I didn't sleep a wink, Scott slept through it all!
Needless to say the kids were a delight this morning and for the rest of the day! Scott made an excellent breakfast of pancakes, we had a small Scouts Own ceremony, we cleaned the cabin and got home to a shower and clean clothes! As I said, this may well be the last camp. It was way too stressful for all concerned. IF there are any more, certain kids will have to be accompanied by parents. Too many treat it as a 24 hour break for very little cost. I managed to take a few pictures and have added a selection. I thought the first one of Emma laughing was great - basically it tells you it wasn't all bad!! Oh, I forgot to mention the mice? There was mouse poo everywhere....and I caught one scurrying over the kitchen worksurface when the lights went on in the morning. We also discovered two drowned in the kitchen sink...lovely.
Once we got home, Matthew went to bed and slept for two hours, I had a shower and then put the outside Christmas lights up! Looking excellent they are too! Just need to get our nodding Polar Bear out there and we'll be all set.
We then had our old next door neighbors over for dinner and a movie (Ice Age 2) and now I'm writing this before getting to bed myself - I am soooo tired. And I have work tomorrow...joy!

Parade of Lights

It's been a funny old week. The weather has been the root cause. It's been really warm! We were up at 19c on Friday and some places in Cape Breton saw the temperature rise to 23c!!
Obviously I was off on Monday, so thankfully it was only a 4 day week - we all like those! My Boss has been away in Chile all week trying to secure a maintenance contract and so we've had a fairly hassle free week at work. However, there is a delivery we have to get out by the end of November, and quite frankly I don't see it happening! Such is life...
Matthew has changed his basketball team and evening and now does it on a Tuesday between 4 and 5pm. Much more convenient as it means I can collect him on the way home from work.
There were only two of us as leaders at Cubs on Wednesday and we made Yule logs. Delightful bits of Birch with candles and glued on pine cones. Add a ribbon, some bells and plastic red berries and there you have it - Festive spirit! Scott had kindly volunteered to saw up the birch branches we had lying in the garden. I still haven't started up my chain saw as I haven't got the protective gear yet. However, Scott has the same chainsaw and he basically cleared a lot with no gear....oh well - it's his leg he'll saw off!! The branches were cut into 9" lengths and then cut in half length ways. The kids all seemed pleased with them, so that's the main thing!!
Saturday was also a warmish day - though grey. I had an appointment with the reference library downtown to discuss starting a business. They give you an appointment where they guide you in the right direction to look for information pertaining to starting your own business such as Market research, registering your business, demographic information and so on. It was very useful and I got a lot of information. I then had to take my car into the VW dealer to get the heater bulb replaced. Then it was home for some lunch, then we all went back downtown to attend the Chronicle & Herald Parade of Lights. This is an annual event, and it is very well attended. Probably around 80,000 people there! Because of this we decided to head down mid-afternoon and take Matthew & Emma to the Discovery Center, which is a great place for kids to spend a couple of hours. We took some photos there (the ones of Matthew & Emma in the yellow room are really cool!) and then when it closed at 5pm we claimed our spot on the street and waited for the parade to start at 6pm. I have no idea how many floats there were, but it finished around 7.15. It was actually a lot better than I was expecting, but it just seemed bizarre all these people shouting Merry Christmas in the middle of November! The best floats were Pete's Frootique and Halifax International Airport (bottom photo). All very impressive and a lot of effort had been put in by a lot of people. And I suppose it is only 6 weeks to the dreaded day!!
Then today I finally managed a lie-in, hung the newly refurbished bird feeder out, tidied the study (a bit) and then we had to take Matthew & Emma to their Ice Skating lessons. They managed to gain their Stage 1 badges, so they were pleased with that! On the drive home however, we were just about to pull out at a junction, and a woman drove into the back of us. Luckily it was low speed, and it felt a lot worse than it actually was. She did crack the bumper though. So I have her details and we'll get an estimate and let her know the damage. It shouldn't be much and the last thing we want to do is get insurance involved. I'll have to ask Scott from Cubs the best place to get it repaired.
And so that was another week. And no I didn't get the lights put up! I can see the weather will get really bad and we'll be putting them up in an arctic storm! Won't be next week as we have the first Cub Camp of the season - can't wait.....

Remembrance Weekend

Well it's been an interesting week, primarily because I had my Personal Assessment at work...Whilst the assessment itself was very good and they are delighted with my work, I felt duty bound to comment on somethings that I felt needed mentioning. One of which was the promotion fiasco. Although I was disappointed not to get the post, I said, it was the way it was handled that caused me greater concern. Anyway, this caused a bit of a do. I ended up in a meeting with the Vice President so that he could explain the company's position. However, the end of it all is that they are re-writing the directive on promotion, so at least something good has come of it!! I am a bit concerned though that the company's biggest asset is it's employees, and they don't treat them very well. Oh well, at least it's a job!
I had to go to a couple of meetings at L-3 Electronic Systems. They have four ILS jobs advertised...and they have a dental plan! Might have to inquire!
It was the usual week, but we got some good news about Matthew's basketball. He's moved group and is now in a group that includes some people he knows including Spencer (ex-next door) and Spencer's older brother is a coaching assistant on his new team. Hopefully they will be able to focus him. The time is a lot better as well meaning I can collect him on the way home from work.
Monday night was a big night for me. I was invested as a Cub leader. The investiture was held outside at a campfire and I have to say the weather could have been better! The top photo shows myself and Scott investing one of our new cubs. As we'd been invested, we then helped with the cubs (well those that turned up anyway!). The second photo is of Bella sat patiently looking up into the tree being screeched at by our resident squirrel! She must have sat there for about 15 minutes! It was comical.
Canada recognizes Remembrance Day as a statutory holiday, and because the day itself fell on a Saturday, we get the Monday off instead.
We all went to the Service at the War Memorial outside the Waverley Legion. We were there in our capacity as Cubs / Leaders. In fact Emma even laid a couple of wreaths. The weather was absolutely glorious meaning we didn't need to wear jackets. The biggest surprise of all though was the behaviour of the children. 2nd Wellington were not only immaculately turned out, but their behavior was impeccable. I for one was very impressed and relieved!! Nothing worse than being shown up at such a solemn event! Anyway, the two photos are of the group before they marched off to the Legion and Emma & Taylor having just laid a wreath.
The weather again today was fantastic - 17 degrees and sunny. Matthew & Emma had their skating lesson and then we went to the DIY store (open on Sundays now!!) . We bought our Christmas Lights and will probably put them up tomorrow if the weather is okay. You can't leave it too late, or it's too cold to do it! That's why you see some houses with their Christmas stuff still up when it's approaching Easter. Anyway we bought white LED lights for the house and also two sets for the tree at the end of the drive. Also had to get a really long extension cable! I will get a permanent line put in at some point.
Sunday evening is here and Deborah is having a Mother & Daughter girls night doing crafty things and drinking wine. The basement has been taken over by them all. The girls have been doing stamping and are now in the media room watching Grease, the Mothers are doing a craft and gossiping....In the meantime, I am writing this blog and refurbishing our bird feeder and Matthew and his friend Alex are watching Cars in the family room.
So day off tomorrow and the weather will dictate what we do. If it's rainy we'll go to the cinema to see 'Flushed Away', if it's nice. we'll put up the Christmas lights! Might also update my cv....

Snow today maybe?

Well apparently there are flurries forecast for this afternoon. Slight chance of 2-4cm - we'll see. As you may have gathered it is now Monday morning and I'm writing my blog entry at work (at least that way I can say I acheived something today!!)
The forecast actually said flurries followed by rain, which if it holds true doesn't bode well for tonights Scout Investiture Campfire....They'll probably relocate to the Fire Hall again.
Anyway, back to events past and of course the big news of the week - Halloween! I still can't get over what a huge event it is. Apparently it's worth $2.4billion to the Canadian economy!!! Certainly Dollarstore do a roaring trade in plastic orange tat. And as for the candy companies...
A lot of houses really make the effort with gravestones and skeletons and orange lights.
It really started on Monday evening with the Cub Halloween party. The scouts helped set up the various activities within the hall, and then the kids were seperated into groups to go round and take part. We had Pumpkin Putting, Ghost Stories, Cookie Decorating, Pumpkin Decorating, Apple bobbing and a Halloween memory test. This was followed by a sing-song and treat bags and then all the kids were booted out the door (with their parents of course!). We had the whole thing wrapped up within 2 hours - result! The leaders then stayed behind for a Group Committee Meeting.
Tuesday was of course Halloween itself. Deborah stayed at home and did the dishing out of the sweets/treats (she dressed up as a witch) and I took Matthew & Emma out. We were joined by Mary-Beth and her children Emily & Christopher, and Jeanette brought along Spencer. So a nice little crowd. Christopher is only 3 and was dressed as Bear in the Big Blue House. Talk about cute....I even dressed up as Count Gustavo of Transylvania. We were out for about 2 hours and the kids collected a mass of sweets and crisps - enough to keep them going until Christmas! Deborah had between 80 and 100 kids at the door. Thankfully it's now over bar the battle to stop Matthew & Emma eating their horde in one sitting...
Halloween decorations are down, just need to start preparing for the Christmas ones! Generally people put the outside house lights up early to get them up before the weather turns really bad and prevents them from doing so. However, it just doesn't feel right!
We're going to take a tree from the garden this year - we have plenty! Helps us thin them out as well.
Deborah has been busy with Welcome Wagon visits. It's amazing the amount of people who are moving in and out of the area. As far as VIP cakes goes, I'm going to start designing the website soon to at least have an information site up.
Matthew & Emma are off school today - Teacher Training. In fact they only have one Monday at school this month! Next week is Remembrance. This is a statutory holiday in Canada, and consequently I have the Monday off.
And that about completes the week.
Postscript....Indeed it did snow - all afternoon. Then it turned to rain and this morning it's all gone.....so it didn't count!!