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.