Not lost... not missing...

I'm sure that all my readers have long since decided that I've dropped off the face of the planet, but in reality, life has just been busy and blogging has been a victim of the lack of time. Hopefully I'll be back to the normal posting schedule very soon!

2009: Weeks 10-12

How quickly the weeks fly by; suddenly I'm 3 weeks behind on posting. Again! Oh well, there shall be no blog guilt, just a catch up post.

Life has been rather busy - work all week and busy weekends. Which is fine, except that I'm really looking forward to sleeping in ... sometime. Setting an alarm on a Friday night just doesn't seem right. Arriving early at the markets was worth the early start, so was brunch with friends. Getting up to go to the lab on a Saturday morning though ... not so much fun, but at least the 2 hour incubation has given me some email and blog catch up time.

Best of 3 weeks
- A trip to SMH growers markets with Peta - stand out purchases were fresh apples and pomegranate balsamic.
- Finally going to one of Angie's jewellery parties - what beautiful things she makes!
- Sound Relief at the SCG; especially the seat in the stands which meant we did not get wet when the (two!) storms passed through.
- Brunch with friends at Bellagio in Waverly.

Worst of 3 weeks
- Too much work, not enough play.
- Family illness.

2008: Weeks 49-52

Despite my valiant efforts to write each week, the time has come to admit defeat and write a few posts to get back up to date. The last weeks of December were rather busy, filled with travel and preparation for travel.

We started the month in London, sending the last 5 nights of our trip in a nice little hotel between Paddington Station and Hyde Park. Despite constant gray skies and drizzle, and extreme tiredness we managed to fit in the Tower of London, the National Portrait Gallery, and the National Gallery. We also walked through Hyde Park, visited the Diana memorial fountain, and explored the very eclectic Victoria and Albert Museum. On the social side of things, we caught up with friends at a nice pub in Camden, and toasted our last night of holiday drinking cider with John. Then, after almost 3 months, we were on a plane and back to Canada.

Our 11 days in Merrickville were spent packing and organising, applying for jobs, and of course enjoying a bit of Canadian winter. We had an early white Christmas, and enjoyed walking around the snowy village. And we had a memorable trip into to Ottawa, trying to get around during a transit strike the day after a massive snow fall. Too soon, though, we were back at the airport, this time heading for Sydney.

After way too many hours on a plane (delayed because we had to be de-iced in Vancouver of all places), we finally touched down, and after a short wait for the plane to be be dosed with bug spray, we finally had our feet on the ground. All 4 of our large bags arrived safely, and we were soon through the gate and greeting my family. They were happy to see us of course, but there was better news to come for them - after months of secretly applying for visas and talking about where to live we finally told them that we were planning to stay.

The last week of December was filled with celebrating Christmas and my Dad's birthday and settling in to Australian life. Finally, we saw out the year eating great food and drinking great wine with some very good friends.

Best of 2008
- skiing Banff
- NYC with Lynda
- Elysa and Patrick's wedding
- Algonquin Park
- camping at Castle Mountain
- roadtrip to Vancouver Island
- Radiohead in Vancouver
- Quebec City
- Edinburgh
- Amsterdam
- white Christmas in Merrickville
- sunny Christmas in Sydney

Due Diligence

Inspired by the good Dr over at ...marvel a day I'm feeling inspired to be rather more diligent about posting. It's not that I have nothing to write about - the opposite actually - but finding time to focus and write down the ideas I have (hopefully articulately) takes time. As I write this, I'm feeling a bit pathetic really. I mean, it's not as if I have kids, or a degree in progress , or something to keep me really busy.

So now, an update. Summer in Calgary has been filled with camping and hiking adventures in the mountains (see Flickr for LOTS of photos). I also had a weekend in Vancouver with my parents before they came and visited Calgary. We had an excellent time - the highlight was probably taking them for a trip to Banff, Lake Louise, and Jasper, and hearing comments like "I've seen pictures of those lakes, but I never believed they were really that blue". They are THAT blue. For a contrast, we also visited Drumheller, about 2 hours east of Calgary. It's a region where numerous dinosaur remains have been found, and the stark badlands of the area were quite a contrast to the alpine landscapes of the mountains.

The next adventure is a trip to Europe. Matt and I are flying to London this week, then to Amsterdam, Brussels, Luxembourg, Paris, Liverpool, and Manchester. Quite a whirlwind in 2 1/2 weeks, but it should be lots of fun, and give me plenty of chances to practice my French. I managed to get by in Paris 5 years ago with very basic travelers French, but I'm hoping that 9 months at the Alliance Francaise has left me prepared for actual conversations. Who knows, I may even start blogging in French!

Calgary update

Time for an update on life in Calgary. Life in our little house is good - I'm getting used to all the testosterone (3 men plus their friends), and I think they're getting used to having a girl in the house. Actually, they might be having more influence on me than the reverse - tonight I have the place to myself and I'm sitting watching the hockey in HD! Calgary are 2-1 against Chicago as I type.

The weather has been all over the place, over 10C during the weekend, but down below -10C today. The predicted high for Friday is a chilly -13C! Yesterday I bought myself a new tuque and mittens, so I'm ready for anything.

The coffee scene is pretty dismal compared to Ithaca. Tim Hortons provide staple fresh coffee, but it's nothing compared to a good latte from Gimme! A little easier on the wallet though. On Saturday I visited Bumpy's for a real coffee - textured milk, none of that awful Starbucksesque foam, and a rosetta. Bliss, but unfortunately too far away to make a daily ritual.

Work is work, but unlike Ithaca I'm working pretty normal hours. It's quite a treat to be home by 6pm each night! The University HR department is pretty "relaxed", so I still don't have an ID card for after hours access to the building. I'm not in any hurry, although an email address might come in handy.

That's about all the news for now. Less than four weeks before Matt and I hit the heat shock of our Christmas holiday. Can't wait!

Still out here

How long is too long between posts? I'm guessing that when your friends email to check if you're still alive it's been too long. Sorry. There's a lot going on here, mostly revolving around moving. More details to follow.

Hmmm....not doing so well at the posting lately. Life is busy, but not unusually so. So often I feel that I'm running just to keep on top of the few things I have to take care of, and then I'm in awe of my friends who look after themselves and their families.

The second most exciting recent (and continuing) event is the unfolding of Spring. The daffodils are out, and a few tulips are starting to emerge. Most trees are covered in tiny sprouts of green, and fruiting trees are blossoming. Magnolias are in bud, and should burst into full flower in the next few days. And the weather is consistently warmer, enough to wear skirts and thongs. Hooray!

The most exciting recent event is a stolen (ie/ all I could manage) week of vacation. Location and photos to come.

The most unexciting event is some new upstairs neighbours, who I swear do not sleep or go out of the house. They do listen to irritating hip hop and play car racing video games though. Put that with a total lack of insulation in my bedroom ceiling, and I'm going slightly crazy. Only a few more weeks before my lease runs out though :)

Still out here ....

.... just feeling a bit quiet.

Still alive, and back in the blogosphere at last

Can it really be a month since I posted here? A quick sampling of events to catch you up;

- Home to Sydney for Christmas. 2 weeks of warm days and spending time with friends and family. Also one of the hottest days I remember, 45C (that's about 110F for my American friends).
- Managed to consume 1L of beer in a single sitting (from a single stein).
- Back to Ithaca with no traveling adventures. And I was SO hoping for another Pacific island stopover....
- Unseasonably warm weather in Ithaca, over 10C in January! Feels like a Sydney winter. The last few days it cooled back down (-10C), but the forecast is for "warm" weather and rain for the next week or so.
- A new look for my apartment - I was tired of waking up bathed in red light from the curtains, so it's a bit more neutral in here now. I also moved the furniture around a bit.
- I have to decide by the end of the month if I want to sign my lease from June 2006 - May 2007. Quite a dilemma, I expect to have left Ithaca well before May 2007, but if I don't sign, I need to find somewhere new to live. And if I do sign, I need to find someone to sublet my unfurnished apartment for Spring 2007.
- I have been to the lab every day since I got back here. Some things never change.

Another week, another post...or not

Well, another week over, and not much to report. The snow melted by Wednesday morning, but not before I had the joy of scraping snow/ice off the car on Tuesday night. Note to Julie for the future - scrape off the car as soon as it snows because when the snow melts and refreezes it's a pain.

I saw 2 movies over the weekend, Garden State and I Heart Huckabees. Both pretty good, although Garden State is my pick of the two. It was written and directed by Zach Braff of Scrubs, and he also plays the lead role. Nice soundtrack too.

Other highlights of the past week include several coffees at Gimme! and writing my Christmas card list. It's all action here folks.