Marie's Web Log

I finally had some photos developed. They go back a little, so I'll only put up a few now so as not to overwhelm you. These are from Halloween. Mum, I'm mailing you hard copies of these.

Posted by marie at 05:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

This morning, I was in our bedroom with Amelia when she suddenly came out with, "I wub oo, Mummy." It wasn't apropos of anything. I don't think she was even looking at me - she was climbing up on to the bed. I didn't really take in what she'd said until she said it again. Then Ian came in and I said, "I think she just said 'I love you, Mummy.'" He said he'd thought she'd said "I love you, Daddy" yesterday, but he hadn't been sure.

She said it again at bedtime. We've been saying it to her for ages, of course, but I'm not sure what's brought this on. It's wonderful, though.

I wub oo, too, baby.

Posted by marie at 05:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Photo of Dartmoor in the snow from BBC Devon's web site.

You have to laugh. An inch or two of snow fell on some parts of Devon yesterday (mostly in the northern parts of the county and on the moors). Of course, there was widespread chaos. Schools were closed all over the place. People were warned not to travel unless they absolutely had to. Yes, I know they're not used to it, and maybe they don't have winter tires (or tyres, if you prefer). But it still makes me giggle.

I spoke to someone on the phone today who lives up near Dartmoor and she said it was absolutely heaving up there with people come to see the snow. (Granted, it was a gorgeous sunny day.) That amused me as well. I've seen more than enough snow to last me a lifetime.

The day before it snowed, I was listening to the radio in the car while going to pick up Amelia from daycare, and the local traffic report came on. They mentioned that up on the B3-double-something-or-other road, there were delays because Farmer Travis (yes, they called him by name) was moving his sheep to get them to the sheds before the bad weather came. Picturing a cute little flock of a dozen or so sheep meandering across a country road, are you? Not exactly - there were 3000 of them!

Today Ian and went to get our flu shots. We were a bit out of place in the waiting room, being the only people under about 60. Not surprising, since the papers in the last week have been full of reports about the government rationing shots to only those who are most susceptible. I'm not sure how Ian managed to get the appointment - last year we had to do without. We got into the office and as the doctor was giving us the shots, the lady at the computer was saying: "You look a bit young for this clinic. Are you asthmatic? Did we write and ask you to come in?" Basically, why are you here? Luckily, it was too late for them to take the vaccine back.

Posted by marie at 04:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

First the main news: Ian found out today that he got his MSc, with distinction. Needless to say, he's delighted. I think this will also give him more confidence in pursuing his business proposition.

In other news: Last Thursday (Ian's birthday) he and I climbed to the top of Brat (or Bray or Bra, depending on the source you consult) Tor on the edge of Dartmoor. It's a rocky outcrop about 450 feet above sea level. It was a clear day, not too cold, and the view was magnificient. Perhaps the best thing about it was that there was a pub down at the bottom, on the main road. A gastro pub, serving fancier food than you would expect. The food was delicious - best squash soup I've ever tasted.

And now the weather: It's been cold the last few days. Not Canadian cold, but about -5, with frost staying on the ground. Unusual this early in the winter. But at least it's been sunny.

And lastly, the sport: OK, I lied. There's no sport. Not on this station.

Posted by marie at 06:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

We were lucky, yesterday was a beautiful sunny day. When the air warmed up in the afternoon, it must have been about 12 or 15 Celsius. We drove down to Paignton Zoo, where we met our friends Sarah and Dan and their children Abi and Asher. We all had a great time walking around (or in the childrens' case, running) looking at the animals. It's a good zoo, a bit like the one in Toronto but smaller, with open enclosures instead of cages. They have a lot of various types of monkeys - it seems to be their specialty - but we also saw tigers and lions and elephants and giraffes (and kangaroos, though only from afar). We ended up spending all day there.

On the way home, Amelia had a sleep in the car, then we had her birthday cake and opened the rest of her gifts. We and Ian's parents gave her a wooden kitchen from the great shop called the Early Learning Centre - it's a compact unit of oven, sink, shelf and places to hang things. I'll paste in a photo from their website below. She loves it, and also her play food, toy birthday cake, more doll's house furniture, Barbie doll outfits, puzzles, stickers and books, and food shopping game. Thanks everyone! What's left to give her for Christmas?

Child models having fun with Amelia's kitchen.

Posted by marie at 01:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I'm not planning on posting every day. Mum, the photo was taken in the park in Halifax, in front of the fountain. Kenda was taking photos of the girls, remember?

Better weather the last few days. Looks like our zoo outing will be on. Very funny by the way, Dale - though you're right, leaving Amelia at the zoo would be cheaper than daycare!

That's it for now...

Posted by marie at 01:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Here's a photo sent to me (finally! :-)) by my good friend Kenda in Halifax, whom we visited very briefly in August. It seems like a million years ago now. Sigh.

Posted by marie at 05:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Yeah, yeah I know. No entries for a while. Not much to say - miserable weather, not cold but rainy. We had a small party for Halloween, though Amelia wouldn't keep her costume on. Four trick-or-treaters came to the door, which is four more than last year. I think they were the kids who live next door and two friends. When I drove up to the nearby campus of the university for my Chinese lesson, I did see three young men putting on large rubber masks and getting into a car. But then they may have just been going to rob a bank.

On bonfire night we walked to the end of the street to watch fireworks being set off. We're not sure who was doing them, but they were quite big and impressive. Even after we went back inside we could hear fireworks pretty constantly from all directions. There was a show on TV giving the history of bonfire night - apparently the plotters who planned to blow up parliament were angry Catholics frustrated by years of religious oppression. Nice thing to celebrate.

Not much else. Amelia has stopped crying when we take her to daycare. Her third birthday is this Saturday. We are hoping to take her to the zoo.

Posted by marie at 04:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)