New adventures and a Christmas tree

We were hit with quite a snowstorm which started on Sunday night and finally ended yesterday night (Monday). I absolutely HAD to go to school yesterday, since I was giving my presentation for my Music, Text and Gender course. The roads were in bad condition, so we thought it better that I don't drive. So I bundled up all my handouts, visual aids and computer, put on my snow boots and walked to school. It was not easy going, since it was still snowing, and not all the sidewalks had been cleared. By the time I got to school, I was hot, cold, tired and yet invigorated from the fresh air. Throughout our 3 hour seminar, I kept peeking out the window, only to see the storm getting worse. I was not looking forward to the walk home, but I had no other option (ok, I could have taken the bus, but those of you who know me know that I most likely wouldn't have ended up at home). So I packed everything up and bravely started out once again. It was less pleasant coming home, since both the snow and the wind had picked up, but I made it. Can you believe it? Me, self-proclaimed hater of winter, walking in a storm!

This week marks the beginning of our Christmas jobs: Chris will be starting up again at HMV (brave man), and I will start my new job at the Body Shop. I am looking forward to it, since I've never worked at a place like that before, although I have worked retail. This time around, however, I am not going to get embroiled in workplace "politics", and by "politics" I mean the childish petty girlfights that took place the last time I worked retail.

We decorated our tree last weekend, and while initially Techno was content to sleep under it, he has gotten into a new bad habit of playing with the balls and ribbon at night when we are trying to sleep. It's always an adventure to come down in the morning and see how many ornaments he has managed to knock off. Thankfully, he just plays with the little balls and not any of our precious ornaments (they are mostly out of his reach), but let me tell you, that cat will be in for it if he breaks something valuable!

Just in case it doesn't make it to Christmas, I will post a picture of our tree now.

Winter Wonderland

We have been, or are in the midst of, experiencing the first snowstorm of the season. Since I didn't have class or anywhere I needed to be, I just enjoyed to snow coming down. I went for a walk in the park, went a little snap happy, came back home and had a lovely bath.

The snowman in the park. I didn't build it, but I sure enjoyed finding it in the park.

This is the same tree in previous post, only this time with only a few intrepid leaves, clinging bravely to the tree.

Techno has now seen his first snow, and like Jazz, I don't think he is too fond of it. Maybe now he won't make mad dashes outside, which results in either Chris or me running in whatever combination of clothing and foot covering we may be wearing at the time.

This is the kind of weather that makes you yearn for comfort food like macaroni and cheese (nothing but homemade for the Raines household), chocolate chip cookies, soup...I wonder, what are some of other people's comfort food?

Kitten update

Techno is back to normal. Healthy, happy and as crazy as he was before.

Yet another anniversary of sorts

Today (or tomorrow, we can't remember) marks our one year anniversary of living in Ottawa. I can't believe it's been that long. I still don't feel completely settled here, nor do I feel like this is home. Perhaps our stay here will always be a bit of a transition period for the Raines family. We certainly have made a few good friends, and experienced a lot of firsts along the way. Our first "Beaver Tail", our first time skating on the canal, first Ontario fall, with all its wonderful colours, first Ottawa Senators home game, our first Winterlude, my (Heather's) realizing why they make winter clothes for animals, first shwarma, our first Canada Day in the nations capital, our first time paddling on the same team...there are so many more, but I can't think of them at the moment.
This has been quite a week for us. Monday marked Chris's first day as Foundation Co-ordinator for the Ottawa Dragonboat Foundation. If you want to know what that is, you might have to ask him all the details. Wednesday was a stressful day for us. Our kitten (who is not so little anymore) had been somewhat lethargic and disinterested in anything around him. He is usually such an active cat. Active to the point of terrorizing us with his antics. We were justifiably concerned, and so we took him into the vet on Wednesday morning. With baited breath (and tears on my part) we waited for some concrete diagnosis from the vet. At one point during the day, there was the possibility of kidney problems. One of my friends just had to put down her cat because of renal failure, and although we never acknowledged it, the idea of having to put Techno down was weighing heavily for us. When we could wait no longer for the vet to call us and tell us the results of the kidney tests, we went to the clinic and waited there. They brought out Techno, all wrapped in a blanket, high as a kite from painkillers. It was such a relief to see him. When all was said and done, the vets didn't have a diagnosis for us, but they had been able to rukle out some pretty major issues. He did not have kidney problems, there was no obstruction in his stomach or intestines. In all probability, he had sustained some sort of back trauma, the pain of which was affecting his energy, activity level and appetite. He has been doing much better, although he is still on a mild painkiller. He is eating a bit, and when he does move, his movement isn't stilted. He is still operating with a low energy level, but the vet seems to think that it is a result of some residual back pain. I can't say how much I appreciated our vets. Two individual vets called me yesterday to check on his progress, and both told me that they had spent significant time thinking about Techno's symptoms, and the only conclusion they had was back pain. And so, we continue to monitor his input and output, activities and movement. Here's to hoping that he improves over the weekend, and is back to waking us up at 6:30 with his morning 'demons'.

An anniversary of sorts

While it is not an official anniversary, or not one that is usually celebrated by most people, today marks the one year and two week anniversary of my last medical mishap. If you look back over our blog archives, you will see that last October 1st, there is a beautiful and somewhat graphic picture of my finger, complete with stitches. A year and a month before that, I had stitches in my toe, and a year before that, well who could forget the infamous "I've fallen and I can't get up" incident, not to mention the summer of the broken arm? Anyways, I am very pleased that I have lasted this long. Perhaps Chris and my nephew Joshua have deflected the curse with their respective hospital/medical visits.
We have had some interesting fall weather of rainy days interspersed with beautifully brisk sunny days. I was on a run on Friday and I saw this tree in the park across the street of the house that warranted a return visit with a camera.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving all. I trust everyone had/is having a wonderful weekend, full of family, friends and food. We didn't have any plans for the weekend until Mike and Sue (our neighbours) invited us to their family dinner. Mike's parents live in a small town about an hour away from Ottawa. We drove in convoy with Mike, Sue, Rosie and Jack, and on our way we were able to admire the beautiful colours that constitute an Ontario autumn.

We went for a walk before dinner, here are a few of the pictures we took.

These were milkweed pods, just about ready to burst. Don't they look like something out of a sci-fi film? That lovely red colour is Sumac, and this picture doesn't even come close to illustrating the brilliant colours that we found in the field and woods.

We had so much fun watching Rosie and Jack tear through the underbrush. Later on, Sue and I walked around the corner from Mike's parents place to visit Rosie's birthplace. There, we encountered what I can only describe as doggie heaven. Rosie's birth mom, dad and sister were there, and to watch them play was so much fun. Watching boxers play is amazing, they bound around like they have springs in their legs.

Today is pretty laid back, I am going to do some school work and Chris is going to the Senators game. Yes folks, hockey season has started, and the Sens are doing well so far. I am once again a hockey widow :)
School is going well, I am really getting into my thesis work. I have to do my proposal soon, and then the real writing begins.

Well, it's time I get back to my work. I really am trying to update this blog more regularly, so expect more news soon.

P.S. no blog is complete without pictures of our cats. I had just sprinkled some home grown catnip on the stairs, and the result was hilarious to watch.

Dear Chris and Heather

Hi there, it's your friendly blog writing you to let you know how much I miss our regular meetings. You've been getting more and more sporadic with your visits, and I miss you. I would love to hear how your trip to Victoria and LA went, how the weddings were and how work and school are going. Do you miss me at all?

I know you have a new friend, Facebook,and rumor has it you have been spending a lot of time with it, but don't you think you could spare a few minutes to update me on your life? How are Techno and Jazz doing? Are they still fighting? And paddling? How is that going? You must be almost done, with only 2 festivals left to go.

Last time we spoke, you were going to make cinnamon buns....how did they turn out? Have you done any other baking or domestic stuff, like pickles or peaches? Look, I don't want to lay a guilt trip on you, I just want you to know that I am still interested in your day to day life. Please feel free to stop by regularly, if only for a quick update. Any news is welcome!
Yours truly,

Your blog

I am sitting, drinking my latte, and I decided it was time to update our blog, since it's been a month and a half since our last post. A lot and yet nothing has really happened since our last post. The Sens lost in the Stanley Cup final, our kitten is crazy and provides us with a never ending source of laughter (although he looks deceptively calm in this photo). Chris's big weekend of organizing the volunteers for the Ottawa Dragonboat festival has come and gone with considerable success. Our team, the Paddle Demons did well, with our A team receiving a medal, our women's team competing in the "A" final and our B team paddling strong races and doing well. I have been working for my professor, and that has been going well. I leave for Victoria in a week and a half for Jen's wedding, and then I am going to LA for a conference. I will return to Victoria on the 27th of July, and then Chris joins me for Tim's wedding. He then stays in Victoria while I return to Ottawa. On the day I get back, Kim is coming to spend some time with me. All in all it will be a busy month, and the it will be back to school for me. How is that for a quick update? I am off to make cinnamon buns now!

A GREAT DAY!!!!!

Today is a great day...the Sens just won the Eastern conference finals, which means they are in the Stanley Cup baby!!!! Chris is beside himself right now, and even I am pretty excited. The other exciting thing in our lives right now is the addition of a new kitten. We adopted Techno Raines this morning, and he is settling in nicely. He is like a little kid...go go go and then he crashes. We haven't really introduced him to Jazz yet, but they are aware of each other. This will be an interesting transition.

Wild Kingdom

We went for a walk along the river on Sunday, and we saw the most unusual animals. Ok, most of them weren't that unusual, but of all the animals we could have seen, a few surprised me. We saw dogs, of course, squirrels, ducks, geese, seagulls, orioles, river otters, or what we can only assume are river otters. It looked a little like a beaver, but no big flat tail. We also saw some turtles in the river! I couldn't believe it, we saw four of them, and they weren't small either. Later that night, I heard a strange noise coming from the backyard. At first I thought it was my music, but then I realized that it was most definitely coming from the backyard. I went to look, and there, on the fence next to ours were two large raccoons, fighting. I think I scared them off with my screaming for Chris to come down and look and they ran away. But now we don't let Jazzy out at night, because raccoons have been known to attack cats.
Tonight we had our first dragonboat practice. It was good to be on the water, and we are feeling a few aches and pains now. It's the first time we've paddled together. We both missed our old teams, but we are looking forward to forming bonds with our new team.

Funny stories

I was having a conversation with my sister yesterday, and she told me some of the funniest stories about my youngest niece, Ella. Ella is the ultimate girl...she loves princess things, clothes and anything pink. She is a selective eater, but Michelle told me about a few things she likes to eat, including bacon, which she likes because it's crunchy, squid (?) and shrimp. I expressed my amazement that she like shrimp, but then Michelle told me why. Ella likes shrimp because it is pink! Michelle is thinking of dyeing her mashed potatoes pink, just so that Ella will eat it!
The other story that Michelle told me had to do with Ella's clothing selection. Like most kids, Ella has her favorite outfits, and will put up a struggle if her favorite outfits are dirty. I guess Ella got one of her favored outfits dirty, and went upstairs to change. A little while later Michelle realized that it was all too quiet upstairs so she went up to investigate. There was Ella, with no clothes on, wrapped in her favorite blanket, quietly crying and mumbling to herself "I have nothing to wear. I have nothing to wear." The clincher was that she was sitting on top of the entire contents of both her and her sister's drawers.

Here are a few pictures of the little princess on her 4th birthday.

It's spring, part II

So I have been assured by friends that spring is really here. It seems like my garden thinks so too, look at the evidence I found on Wednesday.

They are lovely little crocuses (croci?) but if you look closely, you can see where the stupid squirrels have chewed on the flowers. Jazz has no interest in the squirrels, they can be in the backyard and she doesn't even seem to notice. She does like chirping at the birds though. It is going to be so nice this weekend, with highs up to 20! THAT is what spring is about :)
In other news, we went to the Sens game last night, where they won 3-0 (way to go Emery). The energy in Scotiabank Place was amazing, the fans were great and it was so much to watch the Sens win the clincher at home. However, we are still hoarse from all the screaming and yelling we did.

This summer, I will be working for my professor this summer as a Research Assistant. It is a great opportunity for me, and I will learn so much. I am not sure when I start, but I will finding that information out today.

All in all, things are looking up for us.

Construction, construction, construction...

So, our life right now is completely surrounded by construction. A building going up across the corner, the lot next to my building is being dug out in preparation for a new tower, and then there is the work being done on the sewer system on our road. Attached are a few photos I took today which will help explain what is really going on here. We can't get into our driveway because there is a giant hole in the road. Or maybe we can't get into our driveway because of the giant back hoe blocking the way? Anyway, a picture is worth a thousand words, hopefully this will be over soon...

The cutest thing in the world

I had a dream the other night that we adopted a polar bear....who wouldn't want one of these? I can't get over the fact that they grow up to be huge, ferocious animals? I love my cat and all, and it's great having neighbours that allow you full access to their dogs, but sometimes I think what my life would be more complete with a few wild animals roaming about my house!

My thoughts and prayers go out to the families and friends of those who have suffered a great loss today at Virginia Tech.

It's playoff time....

The honest truth

Here it is my friends, the honest truth....
Everyone asks me how we're enjoying Ottawa and I usually just say that it's going well, school is good, etc, because that it the polite thing to say. But the truth of the matter is, I am not enjoying it. I miss my friends, I miss the ocean, I miss the weather in Victoria, I miss it all. I know when I moved to Victoria I knew no one, and I was miserable for awhile, but I fell in love with the city right away. And slowly I made a place for myself and found friends. But it's taking me awhile to fall in love with this city, and while we have made some friends, it's hard to replace friends you've had for eight years. And the weather...well it just plain sucks. It is April 11, and the forecast is for 10cm of snow overnight. My poor little flowers aren't ever going to bloom if this keeps up. My list of grievances is long, and I am not going to innumerate them. The only thing that is getting me through on my down days is the knowledge that we only have to be here for another year and a half. My song might change, so keep checking back.

Maybe a little premature

So since I posted last we have had snow over the weekend, which did not make me happy. Why can't it just stay spring? Why, WHY!!!!
Other than that, not much has happened in our life. No wait, that's not true. Chris got a job! He is working for the Ottawa Dragonboat Festival, in the capacity of Volunteer Co-ordinator. As the title suggests, he will be in charge of all the volunteers, all 300+ of them. This is such a great opportunity for him, and so far, after his first 4 day week, he has really been enjoying it. Check in after his second 4 day work week :)
Tomorrow is my last class, and I couldn't be happier. It's been a good semester, but I am looking forward to having time to really concentrate on reading for my thesis. As for what I will be doing this summer? Well, it's still not 100% set in stone, so I won't say anything yet, but I do have something in the works, so check back soon.
P.S. Congratulations to both Alanna and Kristy on the birth of their sons. I can't believe my friends are having babies now!

It's spring it's spring it's spring!

Look at what we found in our garden today.....

We don't know what they are, but they sure are a welcome sight! I was quite excited when I saw these, since my friends Greg and Ruth posted blooms on their blog over a month ago (check it out at http://www.ruthngreg.blogspot.com/). To be fair, they live in Victoria, which is generally months ahead of the rest of Canada. I used to relish calling my family in Alberta and telling them about the tulips, daffodils, and cherry blossoms that were out and about in January. Being on the other side of the spectrum isn't so fun :(

Now we are trying to figure out what we are going to plant in our little yard. We don't get a lot of sun, so we are somewhat limited. We would ideally like to grow tomatoes, sweet peas (the flower), some herbs, maybe some onions and carrots. We are busy researching what will work in our garden, climate and skill level. Neither one of us is very good at gardening, so we will do our best within our limitations. Any ideas?

Strange Behavior

Spring is almost upon us, and I have found that it has brought out some strange behavior in our cat. I'll be the first to admit that she is not "normal", but what cat is? It just seems that lately she has gotten a bit weirder. At the moment she is lying in the lid of a box, something she has not really done before. The most interesting new quirk is her obsession with the bathtub. More often than not, if we can't find her in her chair or on the bed, she is in the bathtub, or lying on the mat in front of the bathtub. If either one of us is in the bathroom, she will wait outside the door, waiting to get it. She even almost joined me in the bathtub the other day. She was on the side of the bathtub while I was in it, and I was a little nervous that she would fall in. Who wants an angry wet cat with them in the bathtub? Not me! Her whole reason for the obsession? She likes to lick the water out of the tub, so if we are in there when she is, we will turn the tap on ever so slightly for a little bit, just so she can have some fresh water. She's so weird!

Being Green

I'll be the first to admit that Chris and I aren't the most aggressive environmentalists out there, but lately we have been trying to do our part. I realized today when I was taking out the garbage and recycling how much everyone could do if they were willing and able. I have noticed that since we got our indoor and outdoor composting bins, our garbage output has been significantly smaller. And since Ottawa has a comprehensive recycling program (paper, cardboard, plastic, glass and metal cans) we are wasting even less. I try to walk to school (when it's not -30), Chris can't wait to get his bike ready so that he can bike to work in the spring. We are trying to conserve as much energy as possible in the house; turning lights off in rooms we are not using, keeping the heat down, using energy efficient light bulbs....these are just a few of things we are trying to do to keep our earth greener.

After working at the CRD this summer, it just seems like it doesn't take much effort to help out in little ways, and if everyone did just a little bit, it would make such a big impact. It helps that we live in a city where have the initiatives for waste reduction. I hope that someday we'll see more cities implementing recycling programs, and that more people will be able to figure out ways to do their part.

Ok, that is my little "environmental call to arms". I don't mean to sound militant, it's just something that is becoming increasingly important to us.

Woo hoo!!

We finally went skating on the canal today! It was an adventure, but so much fun. I can't wait to go again. Maybe this time we will get in line to buy some beavertails (a flat doughnut with cinnamon and sugar sprinkled on top.) so we can eat them as we skate.
I also saw a cardinal today. These bright red birds are gorgeous against the white overcast sky.

Tomorrow we go for our first sushi in Ottawa. I can't wait!

Fun times with the Raines'

Last weekend we went to Winterlude, Ottawa's annual winter festival. We saw some amazing ice sculptures, ate maple pull candy, and walked on the canal.


This weekend we went to Quebec. We drove across the river and explored. We went to Parc Lac Beauchamp. We felt a little out of place, since everyone was skiing, skating or sledding. Next time we will bring our skates. It was our first time in Quebec, and driving along the river on the Quebec side was quite an experience. On the Ontario side, the houses are huge and beautiful, and on the Quebec side...well, it was quite a different story. The dichotomy was quite interesting. It makes me wonder why it is so. Anyways, now we are sitting, eating popcorn and watching The Westminster Dog Show. Those who know us know that I love dogs and Chris loves me, so he tolerates dogs. However, these dogs are amazing, since they are the best of the breeds. This, combined with the fact that we are surrounded by dogs right now only makes me want a dog even more. Yesterday we spent some time trying to figure out what would be a good companion dog to the boxer we are going to get someday. Our neighbours have two dogs, and they play together so well. Although two dogs seem like more work, when dogs are socialized well, and have a constant playmate, they are less destructive. So we decided that our good companion dog will be.....

This is a Shiba Inu. They are a medium sized Japanese dog. To me, they just look the a teddy bear in dog form. Some day.......

Good eats

We made lasagna today, and let me tell you, it was GOOOOOOOD! We added spinach, green peppers, and used ricotta instead of cottage cheese. Hmmmm, it was so yummy. It was also fun to make it together. I think lasagna is a two person job. Or maybe it's just easier to make with two people. We have also discovered a delicious little treat in our frozen section. They're called Tofutti Cuties and they are like ice cream sandwiches, but since they aren't dairy, I can eat them. They come in chocolate and vanilla flavors. Chris perverse the chocolate, but I like the vanilla ones best. The grocery store closest to our house doesn't always have them so we had to drive to 2 other stores to find them. But we did, and we bought a few boxes. They are that good. I would recommend that everyone try them!

The end of Christmas

I know, the end of Christmas in February? Well, I say it's the end of Christmas because on Friday, Chris and I went to see the Tragically Hip at Scotiabank Place. It was one of my Christmas presents from Chris. I realized a few things at the concert:
1) The Hip are amazing;
2) They make me proud to be Canadian;
3) Gordon Downie moves like a high-strung leprechaun.
We had a great night at the concert. Chris really enjoyed being at the Scotiabank Place, home of the Senators. Someday we'll go to a game there!

Brrrrrr

The cold has finally hit, and it has hit hard. Well, it's hit me hard. I've been walking a puppy at lunch hours, and while it has been so much fun, I've also never been colder in my life. Ok, I know I've said that before...try paddling in the winter, but this is certainly a different cold. It's the kind of cold where you just can't have any flesh exposed. Those who know me, know that once I get cold, there is virtually nothing I can do except have a bath. So I have been having a lot of baths. Which brings me to my next point; so many great things have happened lately that I have to share them with everyone.

1) We got a new hot water tank. Our old one made our hot water kind of rust coloured. It was no fun having a bath in that, not to mention the stains it left on all our surfaces.

2) We had a plumber come in and fix a few things-our kitchen taps were leaking and the hot water tap would screech and shake the pipes very badly. He also removed a very sticky shower head, and we were able to replace it with Chris' nice one from Langley.

3) We had guests over last night to play games. Not only was it the first time we've had guests over to our place, it was the first time we've entertained as a married couple. It was so much fun. As it stands now, the women won at Cranium, and the men won at Trivial Pursuit: Pop Culture.

School is going well, I am getting to know more people every week. I am enjoying my classes for the most part, but I am struggling with some of the subject matter. Marxist writing: not so easy!

Finally, here is a picture of Pico, the German Sheperd I walk daily.

On my way to school today I saw....

On my way to class today I saw many cool things. I walked to school in a snow blizzard (yes, a real blizzard, not just a west coasters version of one!). The snow was coming down so hard that I couldn't walk with my head up, I had to keep my head down and hope that I wouldn't walk into anyone else in the same predicament. I saw four different embassies a) Kenya b) Russia c) Romania d) Egypt. I also walked past an Amnesty International building and some other older buildings that I think are probably other embassies, but I just haven't seen the plaques yet. I tell you, even though I am not loving the weather here (sure it's warmer than it should be, but I am still ALWAYS cold) there are some unique things to see here.
I have now had both of my classes. One is Introduction to Musical Research and the other is A Seminar in Theory and Analysis: Music Criticism and the Left: Adorno and the Other. Quite a mouthful! I wasn't looking forward to the second class, having read some Adorno in the past, but I think I will enjoy it after all. I'll keep you all updated as the semester progresses.
Heather

The Best of everything

Yesterday we had the best day. It was a beautiful day so we decided to walk to Parliament. We saw where the Rideau joins the river, the National Art Gallery, the Gallery of Modern Photography, some other beautiful buildings, some really cool little shops on York St. It was just wonderful. We had dinner at the Elephant & Castle and then we walked home. Later on in the evening I was working on my very first paper for my very first official grad class, and Chris, the best husband in the world catered to my every need. He brought me a steamed milk, fresh water, took my dishes away, all so that I could concentrate on homework. He did the same tonight, except my hot drink of choice tonight was Camomille tea. It was so cute...he brought it up on a tray with a teaspoon and the sugar dish. He is just the best husband EVER!
Just in case anyone is curious, at this time last year, people were skating on the Rideau. It was 4 degrees yesterday!
Here are a few of the pictures from our walk yesterday.