More snow!

This afternoon we looked out the window and discovered it was snowing again! This is what I'd really been hoping for a while back, rather than pictures of it snowing at my work, as this way you also get to see more of where we live! So here it is...

Looking from the entrance of our basement flat out into the back yard...


Looking from the garage back towards the house (the lower windows are our flat)...


And into the neighbours' backyards...


The street out the front...


Our car...


The front of the house from across the street (the lower left window is our loungeroom)...


A picture Ben took from that window of me taking photos...


And grass poking through the snow outside our door...

Ben goes to Bamfield

This week as part of my new job, I went out to Vancouver Island to the Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre. Bamfield is in a remote area on the west coast of the island, only accessible by boat or logging road. I have always heard that the island is beautiful, and it is, but Bamfield was stupendous.



My entire group from work (the 17 members of the Marine Sciences team) was in Bamfield for our first "Marine Team Boot-camp Training". Along with lots of talks about survey methods and protocols, equipment use and data back-up protocols, we also did some hands-on work that was great fun. We did some intertidal zone surveys and species identification, seine netting, marine mammal surveys (got to see a river otter and both Californian and Steller sea lions - see second photo below), and sediment surveys.



On top of all that, we spent the entire three days surrounded by the most awesome scenery you can imagine! Did I mention that I quite like my job?!

Killer Bunnies Night #2

Last night we had another dinner and Killer Bunnies night... attendees included us, Susie, Darwin, Gerard, Lisa and Britta... very fun!

A little bit of snow

I'd been hoping it would snow again before the end of winter so that I'd get the chance to take some photos of it for you all! It has snowed two or three times since we arrived, but I missed the opportunity. This week we had a little snow during the day on Wednesday... so, knowing it was probably my last chance, I braved the freezing cold during my afternoon tea break at work to get these pics for you! :) It wasn't much snow, and it had all melted a few hours later, but here it is...

The Episode of the Exploding Crumble

Tonight we had Harold and Kathy over for dinner, and Ben made two lovely apple and strawberry crumbles to complement my main course.

This is what happened when I, intending to cook the greens, accidentally turned on the wrong element... one which happened to have an apple and strawberry crumble sitting on it to cool...

At the time of the explosion, I had just noticed the crumble bubbling, gone over to investigate, realised what I'd done, and turned off the element.

I was leaning right over the top of it as it exploded with a pop (it) and a scream (me) that brought Ben and our guests running, and apparently was even audible in the house upstairs...

Right now I am feeling extremely grateful that crumble was the only thing I ended up covered in.

Poor Ben made a third crumble (the second one had glass land in the top of it), and I cooked new veggies. The rest of the night was uneventful and very enjoyable!!

Oh, and it was a Pyrex dish we had just borrowed from our poor long-suffering landlord, Myla...

Travelling supper

Last night we went to a "travelling supper", which back home is probably better known as a "progressive dinner"! "Supper" is what they call the night meal here... we call it "tea"... but here that would imply "tea and biscuits"... which they call a "coffee break"... and we call "smoko" or "morning/ afternoon tea"... are you keeping up??!!

The travelling supper was a three course meal, starting at 6:30pm, with each course at a different house. It was a very fun night - and delicious! Appetizers were at Tyson and Nicole's house (cheese, salami and crackers, kiwifruit and dragonfruit, mini quiches, bacon-wrapped scallops, and more), the main course was at Stuart and Rosanne's house (a bean salad, mixed baked veggies, baby roast potatoes, chicken skewers, and more), and dessert was at Andrew's house (a birthday dessert made for - and by - Myla!).

The photo below is of the main course in Stuart and Rosanne's apartment.
Clockwise from front: Andrew, Rosanne, Jolana, Peter, Hod, Tyson, Nicole, Myla, Shonna, Janelle, Stuart, Ben.
Missing from photo: Angharad (may be behind Stuart and Janelle?), me!


Today (Saturday), Ben and I went to the Outdoor Adventure Show at BC Place in downtown Vancouver. This was a travel expo with stands advertising various tour companies, Canadian towns/regions, mountain resorts, whitewater rafting/ kayaking/ hiking/ snowsports and other adventure providers, as well as health food, workout machines, clothing, equipment etc. There were also at least two stalls selling Aussie products - hats, oilskins, leather restorer etc - and even Intrepid Travel was there!

Anyway, it was a good opportunity to gather some inspiration and ideas for making the most of our time in Canada! We entered heaps of competitions so we'll let you know if we win any free trips to the Bahamas/ Vietnam/ Peru, skirmish for 10 people, etc!!! Also got some great freebies and lots of brochures (which I enjoy collecting and dreaming over!).

After a couple of hours at the expo, we drove through Stanley Park, a 1000 acre park in Vancouver, with lovely water and mountain views that we definitely intend to return to and appreciate in more depth (and on foot)!


This afternoon Ben went snowboarding at Cypress Mountain for a few hours with Stuart (wearing a green shirt in the travelling supper photo) - he enjoyed it! :)

And that's all our news for now... Goodnight!

PS. Happy birthday Mum!!!