The new symphony hall in my Christmas village
The art gallery
26 days until Christmas!
This weekend has been a bit blah, since it has rained all the time, so our hopes of getting
out to the Fort Langley Christmas weekend appear to be dashed. Still, it gave me time to
do some cleaning and put up my Christmas decorations, including the definite centrepiece
of my decorating, my porcelain village. I got two new buildings for it last week - a
symphony hall and an art gallery - and pictures of the new buildings, plus the whole town
are below. I really need to get more actual houses though - I only have one! The people
who live in that house must be awfully rich to keep the whole town going.
I've been feeling a bit homesick for London the past few weeks, if it's possible to feel
homesick for a place you lived in for a year. So to counteract that, I decided to make a list
of some of the things that make living in Vancouver and my job here so interesting. And
here it is!
1. Not asking for the temperature in the morning - just "is it raining or not?"
This coming week should be fairly quiet, but it'll start to get busier as Christmas gets
closer. I'm hoping to do my gingerbread house next weekend, and then we have a very
busy week of shows and activities.
See you in December!
2. The view of the mountains from the Skytrain on the way to work
3. Watching the mountain tops get whiter each day as more snow falls
3. Logging on to my computer at work and seeing the countdown to the Olympics first
thing each morning
4. Meeting the Olympic mascots
5. Walking in Stanley Park, or any of the city's other nearly 200 city parks
6. Planning a weekend ski trip that's only an hour's drive away
7. Having a Costco downtown :-)
8. Choosing between hundreds of authentic Asian restaurants
9. Receiving a Christmas activities brochure in the mail - so much to do!
10. My family is only a 90-minute plane trip away.
The art gallery
33 days until Christmas!
Today was a busy day! We did some shopping, went to the matinee of Hairspray, more
shopping, the One of a Kind craft show, and finally some more shopping. We also tried to
get tickets for a couple of shows, but I obviously don't understand how box offices work
in this city, so I guess we will just buy them online.
Last weekend was also very busy, but tons of fun! I flew into Edmonton on Friday night,
and Saturday was spent getting lots of Christmas shopping done, and spending some
good quality time with my mom, sister and nephews. I already gave my mom the presents
from me and Todd, being a nativity set and a new piano bench, since she could use both
of them immediately.
On Sunday we drove to Provost and spent the next day and a half in town while Mom
worked and I went through some of my old boxes, throwing out five garbage bags full of
stuff! Tuesday we went back to Edmonton, said a quick hello to the boys and then went for
supper to the Olive Garden with my sisters, mom and my cousin Meg. Then it was time for
the New Kids concert! We all felt a little silly when we got there, but once it started, we
enjoyed ourselves a lot.
There was actually a point in the show where I got a little teary - Jordan was singing "I'll
be Loving You", and I was transported back to 18 years earlier, when being in the same
room with him while he was singing that song was all that I wanted out of life. It made me
nostalgic for that simpler time, but also happy and a bit in awe of everything that has
passed since then.
The other big news of the weekend is that my sister asked me to be a bridesmaid for her
wedding next year! I'm very touched, and am looking forward to it.
I'm also looking forward to Christmas, which is coming very soon!! Next weekend the
decorating and Christmas music will start, and I can't wait. :-)
Here are a few pictures from the weekend!
Reading a story with Caleb and Ethan
Ethan
The New Kids on the Block, in Oilers jerseys at the end of the show
So I'm truly back into the working routine, and though I'm really happy with my job and
everything, it still sort of sucks to have to get up in the morning. :-) But I'm sure I'll get
used to it again before too long. The biggest issue right now is that I'm working really
long days - leaving the apartment at 7 am and not getting back until 6 pm - so I'm really
tired when I get home. But I need to start doing things in the evening, and not just
collapsing on the couch until it's time to go to bed.
We had a really good time this past weekend checking out some of the museums around
the city. On Saturday we went to the art gallery, as they had all new exhibitions from the
last time we were there. The feminist art was okay, but we both preferred the landscape
pictures. Sunday we headed over to Kitsilano and visited the Vancouver Museum first,
which goes through the history of the city, had a yummy lunch at Nando's, and then took
in the Space Centre, which was mostly shows and stuff, with just a few actual displays.
Overall they were all pretty good, but we probably don't need to go back to the Space
Centre anytime soon.
I've started on my Christmas shopping, but there's still much more to go. I'm very excited
to decorate since I didn't get to last year. We've decided we're getting a real tree, since we
don't have room to store an artificial one, and I'm so happy! I haven't had a real tree in
about 5 years. Tiger likes them too.
I was relieved with the result of the US election - I hope he can live up to everyone's
expectations. But really, it couldn't get much worse than the past 8 years, right??
Tomorrow we're going to the Remembrance Day ceremony downtown, and then just
relaxing for the rest of the day. I am heading home to Alberta this weekend - just me, not
Todd - for four days. I can't wait to see everyone, and especially my adorable nephews! I'll
be in Edmonton for a couple of days, and then at home with my mom for a couple of days
too. It's so cool to live close enough to go home for just a few days! I'll have a 10-day trip
home over Christmas, as my office is closed the week between Christmas and New Year's.
The flights were expensive, unfortunately, but it'll be worth it.
That's about all that's going on for now! I'll have more news and hopefully some pictures
next week after I get back. Have a great week everyone!
Not much to report since my last entry four days ago, but I had some time today and
wanted to do a new Christmas design! Only 54 days left!! :-)
The first week at work was good. It's a lot of information to take in, but everyone is really
laid back and welcoming. Tonight Todd and I went to a 50's-style diner around the corner
for a celebratory supper. Our Halloween was pretty quiet, we didn't have any kids come, so
Todd gets to eat all the candy. :-)
I'm looking forward to the extra hour of sleep tonight! Hope you all have a great weekend.