Snow cone

Saturday 31 December 2011

I'm not sure if these kids were just too lazy to make a real snowman, or if the snow was too powdery for any kind of shaping.

Down the street

Friday 30 December 2011

Well, we got our white Christmas, and it's not too cold here in Regina. A perfect visit home!

A little overboard

Thursday 29 December 2011

A house in Regina that went a little overboard with the inflatable decorations.

Della's surprise

Wednesday 28 December 2011

Tonight was the surprise 60th birthday party for Della, a close family friend of the Birds'. Here is her surprise face - and yes, she was actually shocked and didn't have a clue, despite months of preparation.

Saskatchewan

Tuesday 27 December 2011

This photo was taken about ten minutes away from where Ryan grew up. He loves these prairies, although I still feel a little overexposed on them. I can see the beauty, though, in the simplicity and big skies.

Rider gnome

Monday 26 December 2011

We're in Roughrider country here (that's the local football team, by the way), and you can purchase any kind of Rider-themed merchandise you can possibly imagine. Suspenders, baby clothes, trailer hitch covers, shower curtains, and yes, even garden gnomes.

The Birds' tree

Sunday 25 December 2011

St. Basil's

Saturday 24 December 2011

This is the inside of St. Basil's Ukrainian Catholic Church in Regina, Saskatchewan. We attended midnight mass there tonight - it was a long and boring affair, but at least we got to stare at this wonderful iconoclast!

Baby headband

Friday 23 December 2011

About six months ago Ryan decided he'd like to learn to knit. So, I set him up with the basics and he chose a headband for a friend's baby for his first project. It was supposed to be ready in time for the Pride Parade (in August) . . . he just finished it today. (It didn't take him that long, he just kept forgetting about it.) Ah well, it looks lovely oh him, don't you think?

Electric mail

Thursday 22 December 2011

Go, Canada Post!

Mindful

Wednesday 21 December 2011

Ryan and I went to a Solstice Lantern Festival tonight. It was rather disappointing and there were only a few "lanterns" (this display among them), but we had a nice night out, ran into some friends, and enjoyed the walk up there.

Royal Fever

Tuesday 20 December 2011

Festive window

Monday 19 December 2011

We may not have yards here in the big city, but we still love to decorate!

Creche angel

Sunday 18 December 2011

Everyone brought their creche sets into church today, and set them up in the front. It was nice to see such different sets, and from all over the world, too. I think this one was from Guatamala.

Science World Free Day!

Saturday 17 December 2011

Ahhhhh! Run!!!! There's a dinosaur in the museum! Don't just stand there gawking, get out of here!

Kindy singing

Friday 16 December 2011

Today was the Christmas party, so the kids all sang the songs they'd been practicing for their parents. Adorable.

Reel Big Fish

Thursday December 2011

Concerts are so hard to photograph. This one was a ton of fun to attend, though!

Cookie trays

Wednesday 14 December 2011

This year's cookie trays, ready to be given to friends. The goodies: sugar cookies, coffee toffee bars, almond snowballs, peppernuts, chocolate-covered pretzels, and sweet 'n spicy nuts.

The Sun building

Tuesday 13 December 2011

Clam chorus

Monday 12 December 2011

The Christmas window display at a local cooking supply store - anamatronic clams singing the Hallelujah chorus. I love it.

Gingerbread contest

Sunday 11 December 2011

All the contestants of a gingerbread house contest are displayed at a local hotel. There were bigger, more elaborate, and more realistic ones than this one, but this was my favorite. Simple, elegant, traditional, yet still exquisite.

Our tree

Saturday 10 December 2011

There was a potted bush on the balcony when we moved in, and we figured it would make a lovely Christmas tree this year.

The island nears

Friday 9 December 2011

It's pretty rare that you can see the mountains on Vancouver Island so clearly.

The stars of St. Paul's

Thursday 8 December 2011

The hospital down the street is doing renovations, and so is covered with scaffolding. For Christmas, they covered the scaffolding with all kinds of gorgeous Christmas lights, brightening the whole block.

Canada Place . . .

Wednesday 7 December 2011

. . . is all dressed up for Christmas.

Pictures for me

Tuesday 6 December 2011

It's been nice working in a kindergarten classroom again. And now that the kids have gotten to know me, they're drawing pictures for me, which is one of my favorite parts of being a teacher. These are Christmas presents just for me.

Christmas garden

Monday 5 December 2011

Remember that humming bird from a few days back? Well, now the person who takes care of this little median garden has decorated it for Christmas!

It's Santa!

Sunday 4 December 2011

The Santa Parade was today, right after my final exam for the year. What a nice afternoon!

A day at Vanier Park

Saturday 3 December 2011

All the museums at Vanier Park in Kitsilano had a special on today - five dollars for admission to several places. We saw the Maritime museum, the Science museum, the Planetarium, the Vancouver archives. This picture is from an exhibit on neon in the Vancouver museum. It used to be the most popular method of advertising in Vancouver, and covered city streets.

It's beginning to look . . .

Friday 2 December 2011

One of Vancouver's best-known symbols, the seawall inuksuk.

Urban hummingbird

Thursday 1 December 2011

A local resident keeps one of the little median gardens growing and decorated, which is such a nice touch, making the neighborhood that much brighter.

Seawall

Wednesday 30 November 2011

I jog on the seawall three days a week (working my way up to 5K!) and it drives me crazy that I always see such beautiful shots when I'm running and don't have my camera. I even saw a bald eagle perched on a rock just off shore one morning! So today I decided to put my little old camera in my pocket, and was rewarded with this lovely photo.

BC's setting sun

Tuesday 29 November 2011

The boys

Monday 28 November 2011

Ryan's brother and three of his friends were here all weekend for the Grey Cup. I couldn't resist posting this neat picture of them on their way to the game, all done up in their Rider gear.

It was quite interesting, to see everyone dressed up in their own football team's colors, even if they weren't playing. Green was second only to orange (the Lions' color) -- the Roughriders definitely have a very loyal fanbase!

Go Lions Go!

Sunday 27 November 2011

Ryan is a big CFL fan, so months ago, when we learned that the Grey Cup would be in Vancouver, we bought tickets. Ryan was really hoping his Saskatchewan Roughriders would make it, but no such luck this year. Instead, we got to watch our home team, the BC Lions, win! (A much better party, I think!)

HMCS Regina

Saturday 26 November 2011

It's Grey Cup (Canadian Super Bowl) weekend here in Vancouver, and there's a ton of parties and activities going on. Her Majesty's Canadian Ship Regina is in town, and was giving tours to the public today. It was awfully rainy, but I think it made for a nice picture of this compass-thingy.

Unlikely berries

Friday 25 November 2011

Finally, a sunny day!

All the leaves are down now, and things look pretty wintery. So I was quite surprised to come upon this tree with all its leaves, and whose bright orange berries made it look like it was in full bloom. I don't know what kind of tree it is, but I want one in my backyard!

Japadog!

Thursday 24 November 2011

Finally tried Japadog, a really famous Japanese hot dog place here. They serve high-quality dogs with Asian toppings. This one has mayo, hot sauce, onions, and seaweed. It was amazing.

November sun

Wednesday 23 November 2011

We got a little peek at the sun today. But we're in the middle of the rainiest month of the year, and, frankly, could use a bit more sunshine.

Misty surprise

Tuesday 22 November 2011

A lovely surprise was just waiting for the right building to be demolished.

Red and Green

Monday 21 November 2011

Sea to Sky

Sunday 20 November 2011

On the way home from Whistler.

(I'm having fun fiddling with some of my photos lately!)

The rings

Saturday 19 November 2011

Ryan and I were up in Whistler this weekend, helping a friend put together a photo scavenger hunt. We had a good time, despite some differences in artistic scavenging opinion.

Here are the Olympic rings, from the Winter Olympics last year.

Snowfall

Friday 18 November 2011

We had the first snowfall of the year here. Luckily, this is temperate Vancouver, meaning the snow didn't stick downtown. I took this picture when I went south to Langara College to take a math placement test.

Still, I hope we don't see too much more of this this year - I'm a thin-blooded Vancouverite now, after all.

A dozen twins!

Thursday 17 November 2011

Okay, remember a few days ago when I was so impressed to have gotten two twin eggs in a row? Turns out the whole dozen eggs were twins. Amazing, huh? Luckily, I got a photo of this one!

Luo PinXin, our handsome mayor

Wednesday 16 November 2011

All the politicians and real estate agents here have Chinese names, no matter their ethnicity. In a city like Vancouver, it just makes sense. I wonder how they choose them?

Watch out!

Tuesday 15 November 2011

Cranberries

Monday 14 November 2011

Tons of cranberries are grown here in B.C. Unfortunately, it's hard to get a hold of them, due to the fact that most of them are sold to juice companies like Ocean Spray. Ryan and I managed to get a hold of some while over on Vancouver Island, and have been slowly baking them into delicious things.

Five pin

Sunday 13 November 2011

Went to a friend's birthday bowling party today. If you look closely, you can see that this is five-pin bowling, which is much more common than ten-pin here in Canada. I find it less satisfying (no giant crashes where tons of pins fall), and the smaller ball is hard to hold on to. But still fun with friends!

Double twin bread!

Saturday 12 November 2011

So, I was making some delicious cranberry bread for a friend's brunch tomorrow. I cracked an egg, and was super excited that it was twins! Okay, took a picture and stirred it into the butter/sugar mixture. Cracked the next egg, and it was twins, too! I wish I hadn't already mixed in the other one, but ah well. I took another picture and decided to practice collages in Picasa.

And yes, the "Double twin bread" was quadrupally excellent.