Erin and Andrea
flying a kite in our back yard

 

Our niece Andrea, practicing her model pose

 

My niece Erin
She sat on this piece of playground equipment and told me to take a picture of her feet. I have to say, I quite like it!

 

My niece Kaylee

Vacation

This is a picture of Jason at the old Pinawa dam. We actually got to take a few days off last week and spent some time with my family at Wilderness Edge in Pinawa. The holiday was brought about by the visit of my sister and her family from Kansas. It was really good to get away, especially since Jason has begun harvesting this week and I'm working every morning at 6 am this week so we will not get a whole lot of time to spend together!

Additionally, while we were in Pinawa, Jason and I went into Winnipeg for a practicum 'orientation' of sorts. It mostly outlined the academic requirements for Jason's practicum but also gave us a reminder of some of the ways we should approach a new location to make sure that we are being culturally sensitive. All in all, it was good to spend some time thinking about what it is that we are going to Grenada to do and how we want to interact with Grenadians.

Well, that's it for now. I'm not feeling particularly verbose today, I will post again soon with some of my favourite pictures from our vacation.

Kristy

First Anniversary!!

It hardly seems like a year has already passed. Just over a year ago I stuffed myself into a three-piece suit on a 34 degree summer day and got hitched to my best friend. A lot of things have happened: another school year, lots of moving, getting used to living together, planning to leave the country for six months, and juggling two busy schedules.

Our first anniversary was a bit of a budget anniversary, next year it's Paris! (kidding, we have to save something for later) So we hopped in the car and went on a tour of the Whiteshell. First stop, Alfred Hole Goose Sanctuary. I know, I know there are not many geese there at this time of the year but the area is beautiful and there is a lovely path around the pond.

The next scheduled was Seven Sister Dam but we found something interesting along the way. Along the 307 highway is a sign stating simply: Petroforms. It picqued our curiousity and we jumped out of the car and down the trail, not knowing what to expect. I think I can safely say that we were both blown away by what we found. Dozens of symbols are laid out with rocks across a large (probably a couple acres) area of exposed rocks and trees. Many of the symbols are obscure and hard to discern, and some look like they have been moved. But some of the more clearly defined images are incredible. As evidenced here:

For the next 45 minutes we walked around, snapped pictures and generally were in awe of the place. We continued on the Seven Sisters but it was a let down after the Petroforms. If anyone is heading down the 307 with some time on their hands I would recommend checking out the site but it might be a good idea to bring a coloured piece of cloth and some tobacco, you'll see what I mean.

All in all I thoroughly enjoyed our first anniversary. Oh yeah and I got Kristy Cirque du Soleil tickets as a gift. I think that she likes them. She gave me a wicked awesome new canoe paddle and new jackknife. Finally, a paddle that is my size! Now we just need a little time off to do the canoe route up in Nopiming.

Later,
Jason

progress and a sidenote

Well, let's see...where to begin. I am currently putting the finishing touches on my country profile paper for Grenada. It's just a short little assignment but I dislike homework during the summer.

Friday was a good day because my financial assistance from the college arrived (yep, they are paying me to leave the country) and so we are just a little bit closer to reaching our savings goal for Grenada.

Tuesday I go in for my last innoculation from the travel nurse and so that will be finished shortly.

So, little by little we are getting closer and closer to Grenada. It still feels so far away but shockingly close. (yep, I get simultaneous and mixed feelings)

On a different note Kristy and I had an interesting encounter Friday night. We went out to St. Malo, where my mother has her trailer parked for three weeks, and went for a swim and supper. We left before dark because I had a group bike ride Saturday morning. On the way back home we stopped off to snap a few pictures with the digital camera. I have this fascination with old barns and buildings, the more weathered and dilapidated, the better. So we are standing on the side of a canola field taking pictures of a small, old granary when I notice a cyclist approaching. More importantly, he is riding on a recumbent. Kristy and I yell things like, "Nice bike!", etc. and he stops. We walk up to admire his ride (recumbents aren't very common) and I say that we too, are cyclists. This guy stands up from his bike and asks me if I want to take it for a spin, just like that. I do and let me tell you, the balance needed for a recumbent is very different from a regular bike but I manage to ride around a bit. We keep talking and it turns out this guy, Tom, built this bike on his own and his shop was just a little way down the road. Tom invites us over and so we check out his shop. It's filled with crazy contraptions from a tandem bike that only has pedals for the person on the rear, a tall bike (five or six feet tall) and a couple more recumbents (one was even a three wheeled version, with two wheels up front). It's amazing the people you meet on chance encounters when you are out doing your own weird thing, like taking pictures of old buildings. Anyway, here is a picture of me sitting on the recumbent.

Thanks for tuning in, we will have more updates soon.

Jason