Our last week wasn’t as busy as the rest of the holiday which was really nice. My granddad races horses (he’s passed away now, but his wife continues to race) and his horse and driver were racing, so a few of our family members went down to the track to see.

My mom hosted Easter dinner this past weekend. It was really nice to see a lot of my extended family. There have been a couple of new babies since we moved up north, so it was nice to meet them.

We also were able to visit with some friends from our old stomping grounds. It was really good to see them. Of course, it’s never enough time, but we’re hoping to visit more when we’re down next time.

Of course it wouldn’t be a last day without the dog doing something worth telling!! Apparently Cisco chased one of my mom’s neighbors cat up a tree yesterday.  My mom saw it all happen and she figured that by the evening the cat would have climbed down. Last night after supper my mom noticed the cat was still up in the tree!! So Etienne and my mom’s boyfriend pulled out a ladder and tried to get the cat down. Of course it just ran up higher in the tree.  What a dog!! I still don’t know if the cat has come down from the tree or not.

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This past week we spent 5 days in Ottawa. For the most part it was a really good time.

Cisco even got to experience a night in the doggie hospital. She had been sick for a couple days before we went to Ottawa and she looked like she was on the mend. Unfortunately she ended up getting worse. We took her into the Ottawa Veterinary Hospital and they figured it would be best if she stayed the night so they could give her fluids and meds via intravenous (IV). We picked her up the next afternoon and she was already looking much better. She has continued to improve daily so I think the worst is over. Not the way we were expecting to spend our time in Ottawa.

We did have an opportunity to get around the city and do some interesting activities.

RCMP Musical Ride

The first thing we did was got to see the stables at the Musical ride. I did get an opportunity to see the show a couple years ago when they made their way through Alberta. It is very interesting to see. I’d really like to see it again. Maybe one day we’ll be able to see their Sunset Ceremonies in Ottawa.

We also had an opportunity to walk around Parliament Hill. Ottawa really is a nice city.

The next day I got a tour of Ottawa EMS Headquarters. I have a friend/co-worker from Alberta that is now working in Ottawa so he showed me around their facility. I have to admit that it is pretty amazing! After the personal tour they took us out for dinner to a mexican restaurant. It was really good food. It was great to see them. Thanks you guys for showing us around!!

Later that evening we went to the Senator’s/Hurricanes game. It had been a long time since either of us had been to a hockey game. It was a lot of fun. I really wish we would have stayed to the bitter end. Now I know this is somewhat embarrassing and I should be ashamed (since I grew up in Alberta) that I don’t know a lot about hockey. Etienne and I had a discussion about what happens in a tie situation. One of us believed they did 1 period of OT and then a shoot out, the other one believed they did 1 OT period and then called it a tie. So the score was 3/2 for Carolina and there was 10 seconds left in the game so we decided to start leaving so we could beat the crowd. Well just as we started up the stairs we heard the horn and cheering. Senator’s tied it up with only a couple seconds left. We decided to stay for the last OT period. We were commenting on how all the people that had already left were going to be upset they missed the goal and the OT period. Well 5 minutes goes by and no one scores, so we figured we’d leave. Once we get home we discovered that they in fact did have a shoot out and we missed it. So I guess we ate our words laughing at all the suckers that left before we did!

We also checked out the Aviation Museum. It was very interesting to see aircraft from all era’s. I have included a few pictures.

Huey

F18

Interior of one of the first commercial airlines

Messerschmitt Komet

Lancaster

We don't remember which plane this is....

This one either....

???

Our last event was the Harlem Globetrotters. Neither of us have seen them before, so it was a really good night. This time we stayed right until the end and were caught in traffic. After driving around the city for the past 4 days we got pretty familiar with it. As we were driving back to our hotel they had closed the exit to the highway. This was the only way we knew how to get home. This is where I am very thankful for the iPhone! We managed to find our way home without getting lost!

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The initial meeting made us less than proud. She was quite standoffish and aggressive towards the other dogs. I have to admit that I was quite embarrassed. We were the “delinquents” of the park. Everyone was looking at us. Finally we decided to brave it and take her off the leash. From there things got better. There were a few “hairy” moments, but overall she made us proud in the end! We have taken her a couple times since. I’m hoping to be able to take her on a regular basis until we head back to the North. Below are a few pictures we took of her playing with other dogs.

Checking out the other dogs

Now I don’t know if it’s normal or not, but everytime we take Cisco to the dog park she starts to drool/foam at the mouth excessively. It almost looks like a rabid dog! It’s so gross because she always ends up rubbing her face on my pants!! Gross!! We couldn’t get a picture to show how bad it can get, but this does give a small glimpse into what she looks like by the time we leave.

Can you see the slobber?

The other day we decided to go and check out Mont-Royal. Etienne says he’s never been up there. We figured it was a good opportunity to take the dog for a nice walk. So, off we go. We find a place to park, pay our $2.50 to park for an hour and that is when discovered we didn’t have a collar to walk the dog with. Thankfully, we did have her seatbelt harness. Now, it’s not the most ideal thing to walk her with, but it would have to do. Good thing she’s a dog and doesn’t really care that she’s walking around with a harness that is padded along her chest!! We didn’t get very far when we came upon a couple other dogs. This is where Cisco decided to have a small temper tantrum. She started crying very loudly. It got the attention of most people around us. As we continued to walk she got louder and louder and more and more embarrassing!! So after about 5 minutes of that we were quite embarrassed, so we packed everyone up and left. We ended up taking her back to the dog park to play for a bit.

The next day we decided to give it another try and this time we were able to take a nice walk and enjoy the scenery from Mont-Royal. We took a few pictures from our walk.

Cisco and I checking out the sights

The view

Cisco checking out the sights

The below picture is a little off topic, but I just have to tell it.  While I was in Edmonton and Etienne was still in Chester, I would phone him and tell him what I was eating (Tim Horton’s, Pizza, Pita Pit, etc) and ask him if he was jealous. Everytime he would say No. Well one evening I called him to say that I had just finished eating a blizzard and asked him if he was jealous. Well apparently this was one item that he was jealous about. It became an on-going joke until the other day when………

Etienne finally got his DQ!!

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Below is an excerpt from Wikipedia on the definition of a “sugar shack”

A sugar house (also known as a sap house, sugar shack, sugar shanty, or “cabane à sucre”) is a small cabin or shack where sap collected from sugar maple trees is boiled into maple syrup.

In Quebec, most sugar houses are family-owned.^{[citation needed]} During the spring when the maple syrup is flowing or running, and Easter, the families and guests gather in these sugar houses to celebrate, often delighting in foods cooked with maple syrup, some of the rarer ones being sausages cooked in maple syrup, or eggs poached in maple syrup. Most sugar houses located near urban centers also offer reception halls and outdoor activities open to the general public during certain months. Many of these activities include sleigh-riding, tours of the grounds, and eating maple toffee made in the house often in front of the clientele.

The reception halls cater to large groups offering many varied dishes complimented by maple syrup. These dishes range from ham, bacon, sausages, scrambled eggs, pork rinds, and pancakes to many other breakfast type dishes. There are also specialties like homemade pickles, homemade breads, followed by desserts like sugar pie and maple taffy on the snow.^[1]

Another interesting fact is that in most of these buildings the great room is furnished with long tables, so everyone just sits and enjoys the food in a buffet style or the servers bring food until you tell them to stop. It is a tradition from Québec.

On Sunday we went out to Etienne’s brother-in-law’s parents cabin. On their land they have maple trees. They have started using them to make their own maple syrup.  We had an opportunity to go to their property and see how maple syrup is made. We also went to Etienne’s brother-in-laws uncles place where he makes a significant amount more. After wards we were able to have a traditional meal. It was a really good day overall.

Here are a few pictures from our day.

Their property is in southern Quebec and it actually touches the US Border. Below is a picture of a marker that is just off their property.

US/Canada border

As you can see from the picture, the dog decided to venture into US territory without a passport!!

One of the spouts

The building where they boil the water from the maple trees

The boiler

Sweet water - somewhere in between water and maple syrup

Finished product

The Uncle's boiler

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The first night we went for dinner with my sister, it is her birthday today, so we went to celebrate. We then went to watch our 2nd cousin’s hockey game. It was really good to see everyone. The second day we decided to head out to Drumheller for the day. It was a very busy day, but the weather was fantastic and I had a good time. Even though I lived in Alberta for 30 years, I never had actually been to the Drumheller area and done any “touristy” activities. It’s nice to explore things that are so close to home (home as in where I grew up).

First off we stopped off at Horseshoe Canyon. Below are a couple pictures of it.

Horseshoe Canyon

The we went to the Royal Tyrrell Museum. It was really interesting to see all the era’s. We picked a really good time to go cause there were very few people in the museum. After we had a look around the museum and a quick lunch, we did a short hike right outside of the building. It only took us a little over 30 minutes, it was a great way to take advantage of the warm weather.

T-Rex

After the museum we stopped off at the little church. It was built in 1968. It’s dimensions are: 11 feet long and 7 feet wide. From the pictures you can see how small it really is. It’s too bad the door was locked, it would have been really neat to sit inside it.

The sign at the "Little Church"

The inside of the church

From there we headed to the Largest Dinosaur in the world.  This is where I paid $3 to climb over 100 steps….I’m still shaking my head at that one!! Here is some information about the worlds largest dinosaur:

- The World’s Largest Dinosaur is actually four times the size of a real Tyrannosaurus rex and anatomically speaking, she is a female dinosaur. Weighing in at a grand total of 145,000 pounds, she’s constructed almost entirely out of steel. She stands 86 feet tall and is 151 feet long.

I was expecting a more spectacular view, especially after climbing that many stairs, none the less, it was cool!

World's Tallest Dinosaur

View from the mouth of the dinosaur

View from the mouth of the dinosaur

After I winded myself, we stopped off at the Star Mine Suspension Bridge.

Suspension bridge

From the other side of the bridge

View of the river from the bridge

Whew, what a day so far. Our last stop of the day was at the Hoodoos. Hoodoos take millions of years to form and stand 5 to 7 metres tall. Each hoodoo is a sandstone pillar resting on a thick base of shale that is capped by a large stone. Hoodoos are very fragile and can erode completely if their capstone is dislodged. The name “Hoodoo” comes from the word “voodoo” and was given to these geological formations by the Europeans. In the Blackfoot and Cree traditions, however, the Hoodoos are believed to be petrified giants who come alive at night to hurl rocks at intruders.

Hoodoos

This morning I pretty much got up and headed home. My gramma has spent most of the winter with my aunt (her daughter). She decided it was time to get back home. I had the opportunity to drive her from Calgary to Edmonton. It was a great time to be able to chat with her. It’s hard living so far away. I don’t get to see her very often. I value the time I do get to spend with her.  All I have to say is when I am in my 80′s I hope i’m as active as she is. She still golf’s!! That is impressive.

I’m getting very excited for Etienne to join me down here. Only eight more days until I head to Winnipeg to meet up with him. Tomorrow i’m getting together with great friends and Monday I’m heading to Camrose. I can’t wait to see them. Then I can honestly say that my schedule is starting to slow down. I have 5 days that I don’t have to spend on the highway. That is very nice.

I’ve been saying that I’m looking forward to our time in Montreal because it should be very quiet compared to my time here, but I think I’m eating my words now! Our friend from Chester is going to come up to Montreal to visit with us for a couple of days. We have also planned to head to Ottawa for a couple of days. Ottawa is one city on our list of places we would like to go after the North. I figured this was a great opportunity to spend a few days there to check things out. So far we have tickets to a Senator’s game and to see the Harlem Globetrotters. I’m excited for those. I have a friend and old co-worker from Valleyview/GP that is now living in Ottawa. He’s going to take me to the EMS headquarters to check things out. I’m also excited for that. Of course, we will also have the people that Etienne wants to see while we are in Montreal. I’m sure our time will fill up quickly.

Wow, this post has become quite the novel. I will try to update more when we are in Montreal.

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I spent a week up in Valleyview and Grande Prairie. I had a wonderful visit while there. I was able to see quite a few people. Many hours were spent catching up on recent events and reminiscing on great memories. There were lots of laughs and even a few tears (thanks Deb :p). There just never seems to be enough time to spend with everyone.  It is never easy to say good-bye. The worst was when I was leaving Valleyview to head to Grande Prairie and one of the twins was sad and ran to her room when I got up to leave. Almost brought tears to my eyes. I miss those girls like crazy!

I wish I had carried around a recorder during my visits. There were many funny comments made by the children I was visiting.

One that stands out in my mind went like this: (I can’t remember which of the twins said it…)

Little girl: Auntie Carly, do you have a baby growing in your tummy?

Me: Nope I don’t

Little girl: Why is it so big then?

I haven’t laughed that hard in a long time!! I think her mom was mortified, but it really was funny. The things kids say!!

The other story was one that I will not let Etienne forget anytime soon!

Alex: Auntie Carly, let me see your ring

Me: What ring? (At this point she grabs my left hand and looks at it)

Alex: Well you and Etienne are married

Me: No Alex, we’re not

Alex: How come?

Me: I don’t know, you have to ask Etienne that!!

Again, I laughed pretty hard.

This past weekend I taught my last course while I am here. It was really nice to get back into what I love. It really made me realize how much I miss my job and I can’t wait to get back into it when we move back down south. I have also realized that I am loving all the experiences we’ve had up north and I want to continue doing that. So for now, I’m enjoying being a “woman of leisure”……

Yesterday I was in Barrhead and had a great time visiting. This week I’m heading to Calgary to visit with my sister, cousin, gramma, aunt and a few other family members. Next week I’m heading to Camrose to visit a good friend. It has been so busy. Today is the first day that I don’t have plans! It’s almost noon and I’m still in my pj’s……Man, does it feel good. I’m still deciding if anyone would notice if I drove to Tim Horton’s for a coffee in my pj’s…..if I stay in my car does it count?

So far I’ve driven about 1400kms. I have somewhere around another 1000 – 2000kms to drive. I will calculate the distance I’ve traveled both by plane and vehicle at the end of my trip down here. I’m kinda scared to see how much time I actually spent in a car or plane!

As much as I love seeing all my friends and family, I don’t think I will do this long of a trip again! 9 weeks away from home is a long time, and 5 weeks away from Etienne is even worse. It’s probably a lot harder for him than it is for me. I at least have friends and family around me all the time, but up there he’s in a home with just him and the dog. I couldn’t imagine what I would have done if Etienne came down here for 5 weeks leaving me up there.

Well I’m off to enjoy the rest of my “nothing” day. Hope all is well in the great white north! I can’t wait to get back up there and back on the snow machine!! I have included a couple of pictures from my visit in Valleyview……

Alex and I

Trying to pose nice for the camera

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My first week here was busy, but good. I got to catch up with a few people. I did have my priorities though! My hairdresser was my very first stop. Then I had to get winter tires….That was Etienne’s priority for me! I taught the first weekend I was here and it went pretty good. It didn’t take long to get back into the groove of things. I have one more course to teach next weekend.

Last week I was in Penticton, BC visiting a friend. We didn’t do anything crazy, and I was very thankful for that. We did go to a wine tasting. Neither of us are wine drinkers at all, but we figured this was a good place to start. I’m thinking that either we both have had some really bad wine in the past, or we were both in serious need of a drink because all 5 of the wines we tasted were very good! We even got to taste a sparkling wine that they made specifically for the Olympics. Apparently it’s what they are serving the athletes? Or so we were told. It was a great visit and as always, I was sad to say good-bye. We have been friends since elementary school, and we only seem to be moving farther away from each other. So I always enjoy the time we get to spend together.

This week I’m heading back to Etienne and I’s old stomping grounds. Valleyview, Ab. Not excited to be going back to that town, but I am excited to see all the wonderful people we said good-bye to when we moved.

Yesterday a couple of my cousins came over with their new babies. A few of my aunts also came. It was great to see family again. We had a great afternoon catching up.

I have included a few pictures we took while I was in Penticton. Hope you enjoy them.  From the pictures you would never know that they were taken in the middle of February. The weather was fantastic while I was there.

I will try to write another post again when things calm down again.

At the winery where we did the wine tasting

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My flight from Chester to Winnipeg was uneventful. We were on time and no problems throughout the flight. The sky was beautiful and the sunset even more so.

My flight from Winnipeg to Edmonton was a complete different story. We left about half an hour late. Once we got to Edmonton there was heavy fog. We ended up circling over Nisku for about half an hour or so until they decided that we were going to fly to Calgary instead. No big deal. It was only 9am and I had until 4pm to make my appointment. We landed in Calgary and they encouraged us to wait on the plane for the fog in Edmonton to clear up and then we’d head back to Edmonton. After about an hour they decided that we needed to get off the plane and reschedule our flight! So we all get off and wait for our luggage. Then we all headed to re-book our flights. After waiting in line for about an hour a man came around with a piece of paper saying that we needed to call that number to rebook, he said it was going to be quicker than waiting in line. Well that’s all fine and dandy for those who have a cell phone and could stand in line and sit on the phone as well. As I do not have a cell phone, I left the line-up to find a pay phone to phone this number. Well, after waiting for about 10 minutes I decided it was ridiculous, so I hung up and went back into line. After waiting for another half an hour or so I finally had my turn to reschedule. After discussions of whether or not Edmonton had re-opened the airport, they rebooked me on a flight a couple hours later.  The one saving grace was that I ran into my aunt at the airport. It was nice to chat with a familiar face while waiting in line. While all this was going on my poor Dad was waiting at the Edmonton airport. Since I didn’t have a cell phone and they didn’t let us off the plane, it took me 2 hours before I could call him to let him know what was going on. On his end our flight said that it was delayed, and then that it had arrived! It never updated saying that we were re-routed.  How frustrating for him.

Once I finally landed in Edmonton, it was time to go to the storage place to pick up my car. Well, when we got there I realized that Etienne had given me the wrong key. So we had to drive into Edmonton and pick up our spare key that we (thankfully) left at my mom’s. Then we headed back out to Nisku to pick up my car. You can only imagine how relieved I was when my car started no problem! It would have been the only thing left to go wrong for the day!! lol.

Well, this morning I had a 9am appointment to get winter tires put on my car. So I head out only to find out that my car won’t start!!! Can my luck get any better?!?! All my lights, radio and everything came on, it just wouldn’t start. So I called the 24 hour roadside assistance and they sent someone out to tell me that my starter is fried! Ugh….this will be the third starter in a year on a brand new vehicle!! So off we go, towing my car to the dealership. So I had to cancel my tire appointment. As I sit and type this, I am waiting for the shuttle vehicle to pick me up and take me back to the dealership to pick up my car. Keep your fingers crossed that I have no more issues. This trip can only get better from here right??? Here’s to hoping!!

On a good note, I finally got my hair done today. My hairdresser hacked off about 6 inches!! It feels so good to have my cut, colored and styled!

Oh right…..I almost forgot, my computer also stopped working for me last night when I got here! I have everything on there. All my passwords, my schedule while I’m down here, pictures and videos I wanted to show friends and family while we’re here. Good thing we back up my computer. I guess I’m making an appointment with a Genius at Apple to hopefully fix my computer!

I didn’t get a chance to post this before the shuttle got here. So I now have my car back…they even washed it for free. Now all the grasshoppers are gone! I just finished eating a fantastic meal, going to watch a little TV and head to bed. Here’s to hoping tomorrow brings a better day.

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