London Calling

So Greg and I have decided to go to London for my reading break in February. We leave on Feb 16 and come back on the 27th. It's a lot cheaper to fly to London from here - it's so cheap that it's even cheaper than coming back to Vancouver. We'll be staying with Ian and Melinda, who moved to London in September, and we'll also get to visit with lots of Greg's friends from when he lived in Norwich and went to UEA. I'm quite excited about getting a break from school and getting to go travelling again.

We've been hiking a few times since we've been back from Vancouver since there isn't really any snow here yet. However, it looks like the no-snow situation is going to change tonight and we can bust out the snowshoes soon - the forecast for this evening is 20-40cm of snow overnight. I have been getting emails from school warning that I should be prepared for the possibility that school might close tomorrow. I feel like a little kid wishing for a snow-day!

Today's Halifact: We went to our first Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society meeting last night and learned more about the mainland moose. There are two kinds of moose in Nova Scotia: the Cape Breton Moose which is not endangered and is apparently descended from a handful of imported Albertan moose, and the mainland moose, which is native to Nova Scotia and is endangered. Apparently there is a population of about 13 moose living in a wilderness area about 20min from the city. I want to go find them. I love mooses, although I've never seen one :) .

Happy New Year

Happy New Year (and Merry Christmas too!). We are back in Halifax and back to the same old, same old. I am back in school, Greg is back... in the living room at his computer.

We had a great time in Vancouver over the holidays - despite all the rain and lack of snow in the mountains. We were pretty busy and tried to see a lot of people, but we can't please everyone! We did manage to get out on an overnight trip to Marriot Meadows (north of Pemberton on the Duffey Lake Road) which was a lot of fun. Unfortunately we went light and fast (okay, just light) on that trip and didn't bring a camera, so there aren't any photos.

Over the holidays a few people we know hit a major milestone in their lives. Congrats to Nick and Amanda, Patrick and Annavie, and Daphne and Vivek for finding the holiday season so warm and fuzzy that they decided to get engaged. As Greg said "Wow, they're dropping like flies".

Nothing much to report here in Halifax - Well, except that last night we had a make-your-own-sushi party here at the house. We also cooked up some Japanese treats such as yakisoba, gyoza, teriyaki chicken, edamame, sunomono salad, and okonomiyaki. The magic of Vancouver dining came to Halifax for one awesome night in our kitchen.

Today's Halifact: Dairy and milk products are really popular in the Maritimes. People really love their milk. They love it so much that people we know drink the stuff with lunch instead of pop or juice. There is even an awesome Dairy Board TV commercial. The scene: kids playing a basketball game. Cut to a kid crashing down on the bench with exhaustion, then picking up a big carton of milk and chugging it back. The caption?... "Milk for hydration." Goodness. As a girl from the land of soy, it's a bit weird to see.