halloween!

I can't believe I didn't say anything about Halloween yesterday! Goes to show that it's not really celebrated here. Supermarkets are not overwhelmed with bit bags of bite-sized candy bars and stores aren't overrun with pumpkin cutouts and mechanized goblins and ghouls. I do like the carved pumpkin part of Halloween - I miss that - and, come on... who am I kidding? I miss the candy! So, I guess I'll just have to buy giant goblin sized candy bars and eat them, snort snort. Piggy Wigs. Now that it's November, I wonder if Christmas spirit and cheer will gloss the stores and airwaves as it does at home; we shall see.

I was reading yesterday's blog and the whole "working kitchen" thing made me laugh - is that all one needs for a working kitchen? I know Gordon Ramsay or some super-chef would scoff and simply not approve, but then again - on the flip side - it could be a lot worse. PLUS! We have an oven, and that is a rare beast in a Romanian kitchen. I hit up the bakery on my way home from the gym this morning (I can't believe I actually went) but forgot the camera again! DOH. It is absolutely gorgeous outside - it's warm... and 20 degrees plus warm. I love it. So we've got a big game tonight for the men and for the women, so I'm going to take a nap for the sake of the team. Done and done!

am I actually... busy!?

What a busy, busy week!! I started training this week and it has been, hmm... a lot? The women's team trains almost twice as much as the men's team and so I found myself leaving for practice more often than Steve! Too bad I don't get paid twice as much. As much as I enjoy playing volleyball (and training, I suppose) it's a lot more fun if there's a paycheck at the end of the month SO, I'm going to stick it out for a few weeks, make them absolutely NEED me... and then demand millions. Of lei. And bani. (One lei is about 40 cents, and one bani is 1/100 of that, so yup, a million lei would be okay.) It's going pretty well though, the training; the coach barks a lot, doesn't talk too much (hasn't said more than two words to me) and runs some interesting drills: "Play set. No block." That's a fun one, because some of the girls on the team can absolutely smoke the ball... and I'm pretty sure it could put a crater in my face. Besides being a bit sore here and there (shoulder especially, no surprise there) I'm doing okay. I'm a little slow - laterally that is, pah! - and well, okay. I'm a little slow. The skills all came back pretty quickly (like riding a bike?) and I'm doing not too bad for not having played indoor in two years. Hurray. So, I think I'll stick out the charity blocking and spiking for a few weeks and then see if they can offer me anything. I know I'm helping the team and making things better, but twice a day is a big commitment.

We finally enjoyed some home-cooked meals this week! Yay! The team graciously (NOT) gave Steve one pot (with lid) and one frying pan and promised that more was on its way. (NOT.) SO, yesterday we hit up Carrefour and bought the bare essentials for a working kitchen: Lasagna pan/casserole dish, pizza tray/cookie sheet, big bowl, small pot, drinking glasses, sharp knife, veggie peeler, corkscrew and a strainer. We're also thinking about splurging and getting a toaster AND a hand blender guy. We have bought SO much kitchen stuff over the years... I don't want to think about it. But yum, good, home-cooked meals are on the horizon. And when Steve wants to cook we can just go to the Flora. Ha! Funny joke. We CAN still go to the Flora though, if we don't feel like cooking. We hit the place up last night for an extra special meal: the band was playing AND we were served a meal that I've never had before - beets, egg noodles, fries and a greasy chicken breast. That, I have had before but the rest - carbo loading city - was a first. The band was playing what we assumed to be traditional Romanian music, and it sounded like frenzied noise to us; it made me think of a movie where someone is rushing around here and there on fast forward while crazed music sets the tempo for an uncomfortable, rushed reality. It didn't make eating too pleasant - or maybe it was the food. Anyways, it was interesting.

I wanted to talk about the AMAZING bakery down the street and about the food situation - supermarket exploration - one of my favourite things about being in a new country - but guess what. I have to get ready for practice. The last one of the week - tomorrow is game day for the men and for the women, so I'll be cheering... but first, sleeping in!

dogspeak

I don't know if I've said anything about all of the stray dogs here, but it's a major problem in Romania. This afternoon we went to lunch at the fabulous Flora (usually it's not so fabulous but lunch today was good: cream of chicken soup, cabbage salad, buttered boiled potatoes and a chicken leg), and afterwards, while Steve was getting some therapy I saw this small gaggle of puppies playing and tripping over each other on the dry lawn in front of the hotel. Okay, I know it's technically a litter of puppies but gaggle sounds cuter and they were SO CUTE! And so stray. Their mom, who was extremely emaciated, had (I imagine) dug a little home out under a concrete walkway that nobody uses; so in and out of this hole they piled. They were sweet and scruffy and it was so hard to not pick them up and cuddle them... sad.

It's obvious almost as soon as you get her that there's a problem. There are dogs in the streets and parks, dogs waiting at stoplights (for real), dogs at all of the apartment blocks and puppies at the hotel. I couldn't find an official statistic as to what Romania's stray population is, but an animal rights group did a case study in a small town (Campina - not sure where that is), and based on the number of dogs in relation to the human population of the city, they estimated that there are no more than 1.5 million strays in the entire country. Bucharest's dog population is estimated at anywhere between 100,000 and 150,000; a guess for Constanta might be around 15,000 based on population. Apparently this is one of the many problems born out of Communist rule here; when Ceausescu had private homes demolished and cold concrete apartment monsters (blocks) put up in their place, people had no place or space for their dogs, and they were left out in the streets. Cities and Municipalities have dealt with the problem in different ways; before animal rights came into the picture dogs were rounded up and killed (though illegal, some say it still happens), and the neuter-and-return approach is another more effective, though costly practice. It seems as though the policy that's being exercised now is big-fat-nothing. Pounds and animal shelters are full beyond capacity and the population is increasing... like these poor puppies! The World Health Organization asserts that the only way to control and solve the problem is to spay/neuter and return; humane and effective. However, this has to happen on a national scale, and citizens have to be responsible for their own non-spayed or neutered dogs and not let them wander and get up to no good. Anyways, the sight of these poor little gaffer pups and their overworked, overtired maman was a cute one, but also a bit sad. Only half of the little ones will make it past five years of age, and the life can't be all that good. Or good at all. Sad. I looked up dog import rules for Canada when we got home, and imagined taking one of the little guys straight to the vet and then adopting him. Okay... enough.

So! We (me, Tammy and Jim) went to Bucharest yesterday to pick up Tammy's best friend Julie up from the airport, and drop Jim off to do some therapist-doctor rehab program business. I feel like I should give some background on who all of these people are... but another time. Anyways, the drive was much more interesting than the one I made last week when I arrived; I was awake and in the front seat. The landscape between the coast and the capital city is flat, and dotted with small towns and peculiarities. There were people on carts being pulled by ragged horses, several donkeys, people in the middle of fields with lone or multiple cows, donkeys or sheep, stray dogs, old women with their head scarves and puckered faces, and decaying towns, worn heavy with time and dust. One thing not at all peculiar? Crazy insane ridiculous drivers. Wow. I'm not really talking about speed, just a total neglect of rules, respect, and a will to stay alive. On our way home Jim kept saying, "I don't want to die in Romania, I don't want to die in Romania," and well sheesh, neither do we. Tammy did an excellent job at the wheel and we got home safely. We didn't do too much in old Bucaresti, but did kill quite a bit of time at a huge, incredible mall. There was some fabulous shopping to be had, but the highlight of our time there was Quiznos and Starbucks; a little taste of home. Yum.

I had my first practice with the team tonight and yes, I played front row the entire time. It wasn't so bad, just a bit comical; during warm-up the coach told me that if the running was too much (at least this is what I understood from his convoluted semi-okay English) then I could take a break and stop. No, the five minutes of running was just fine, as were the 90 minutes of jumping that followed. Whatever. At least I've earned my dinner; as soon as Steve gets home we're meeting up with Tammy and Jules for a dinner out on the townskee. Yay, food!!

A Sunday morning Short

Steve and his Tomis team won their game last night! Yay. The other team wasn’t completely horrible (at volleyball), but they reminded me of dark-aged savages in how they complained about calls not in their favour. Their grimaces and guttural yells made me think of hungry cave men ripping raw meat from an animal leg, or of bloodthirsty warrior men impaling and beheading people with spiky clubs; it was ugly. It became a bit entertaining, but I was afraid for the linespeople on their side of the court, who they stormed and yelled and intimidated. Anyways, it was an okay game and bottom line, Tomis won.

the gymnase, outside and in...

So the other day, Steve noticed that the Flora, the hotel that he stayed in when he first arrived (and where Jim, the Canadian therapist, who arrived mid-August, still abides) was getting an upgrade from two stars to three. They took down the stars from the fluorescent sign above the doorway and decaled another on the front doors – three stars! Steve (and others) wondered what improvements were being made and hoped that some might reach the kitchen. However, nothing much seemed to change. Steve moved out, and standard Flora fare is still chicken and pureed, packaged potatoes. Well… last night over dinner, the mystery was solved. Handball is huge here, and the local team had a home game last week; hotel standards for handball are minimum three stars, and well, for a short while the Flora was such a joint. Jim saw a maid scraping off the decals yesterday morning, and the glue is still fuzzy on the windows. How sneaky is that?!

The driveways, or front outdoor areas of most small homes are blanketed by a canopy of grapes... yum.

Another Mary Style place! What is Mary Style!?!

Apartment Pics

Our address? Posted just above the main door, just in case anyone forgets...

So yesterday afternoon I was sitting in the kitchen checking my email when I heard American English being spoken in the hallway; disheveled hair and all, I opened the door and... unsure of what to say - why did I rush to open the door? - Hi! Are you English? (duh.) There were two women in the hall, one American (Northern California) and one Romanian. We got to talking - why are you here why are you here - and Cynthia and her husband and their Romanian friend work/volunteer here/run an orphanage for HIV positive (street?) kids. They come to Constanta several times a year, staying for 10 days (ish) at a time and their office is right down the hall. So that was neat meeting them, and I've got their contact info... which I suppose isn't entirely necessary as I could just go and knock on their door!

So, Constanta. After a few more days here I'm really starting to like the city. People seem semi-friendly and not at all pretentious, women work out at the gym and there is a bakery! just down the street. It's sunny and warm-ish, the food is good (and inexpensive) and wine is cheap; people speak English and we have Canadian friends here! Yay! So, some more about the city.

Constanta (pronounced Constantza) is home to approximately 350,000 people, and is the largest port city on the Black Sea. The second largest city in Romania (and oldest) was founded around 500BC when Greeks founded the colony of Tomis for trading and commercial purposes; the Danube river delta isn't too far away. It was renamed Constantia by Emporer Constantine (950ish) but Tomis is still all over the place. Steve's team is named Tomis, there's a Tomis Mall, a Tom mall, a Tomis boulevard, a Tomis city fortress and much more I'm sure. Other interesting factoids? Ovid was banished here (and died); it's the centre of Islam in Romania; it's home to one of the country's top handball teams (handball is HUGE here) and one of the top volleyball teams (Tomis!); there are pink buses and rules on the road total zero.

This is a bit of an aside, but on my way to the gym this morning, I saw police talking to some normal looking people on the street; and who was giving whom a good talking to? While the normal person was reaming out the police officer (who didn't get out of the car - I wish I knew what they were talking about), people in the cars stuck behind the cruiser were honking! And shaking fists out the window! Maybe this is an indication of the degree of respect people have for er, law enforcement officials? Or just law enforcement? I have no idea what crime rates are like here BUT! There seem to be absolutely no rules on the road. At a pretty main intersection near our house that sees four lanes on each side of the square, there are no lights! Wait, that's a lie. There are lights but they are flashing yellow. This means Go And Don't Get Hit. It's madness! MADNESS! So in our little Tomis car, we must be aggressive (otherwise we'd never get anywhere) but be cautious. The car is no bigger than a ladybug.


But! It's better than nothing. There has been no progress on housewares but that just means I don't have to cook and we eat at the Flora or a restaurant... fine by me I guess. It would be nice to be able to make tea, or a hot meal, but we can keep being patient... for now. Here are some pics of the place with a few randoms thrown in there for fun.


Our front door, and just inside: the kitchen is to the immediate right, bedroom second right and a living room to the left


View from the kitchen window; the sea is just behind the buildings

Kitchen and wireless hotspot

Yes, the doorways are a weeeee bit... wee.

A wee bedroom

The living room and laundry room; there is some decent furniture but no shelf, table or desk. Stuff lives on the floor.

The view from the laundry enclave

This car is for sale by the cubic centimetre (1 euro/cm3) - is that weird?


A local coiffure, Mary Style! Even though I don't know what it means, I'd stay away from a hair place that has Frizerie on it's front window...

Lots of pictures and a few words...

The only shot I got in Bucharest.... I fell asleep as soon as we were out of the city!

Steve in front of The Flora, his home for the past three weeks

Today has been a laaaazy day. I'd like to attribute it to jet lag, but that would be exaggerating; I've just been seriously lazy. I made it out of the house this morning to check out the neighborhood, get some coffee and a few groceries; Tammy and I went for lunch at the Flora (yummy soup and icky meat) and that's about it. I was going to go to the gym, but Steve's game is on TV, so.. er, I'll just go tomorrow. Sure. Anyways, I took a few pics about town - more to come of course but here's just a little taste. We still don't have any pots or pans, so cooking is out of the question and since it's a bit chilly, I have to make my coffee/tea in the microwave. Frustrating. Steve's been asking for kitchen stuff for, well, only a few days I guess, but our suggestion of buying stuff and getting reimbursed was axed with a firm NO, I will get it today. Or tomorrow. Riiiight. It's a good thing that it's not too cold, otherwise I would not be getting out of bed. I can't seem to get any heat in here either so that's something we'll have to figure out. Anyways! Back to the game...

A view of the ocean from close to our place - beautiful minus the garbage and unfinished buildings behind me...

Our building! Our apartment is the second balcony up.

The front door

The resident stray dog - friendly but not overly - who is tagged; not sure what the deal is...

The street we live on; someone was collecting and burning leaves - looks like there's a lot more to come down!

A nice sidewalk view - lots of green!

There's a decent little shopping area near our place, complete with supermarket, deli, fruit stand, pharmacy, butcher shop and old lady. And dog.

A mini-mart across the street

Stelio and Steve in action... some shots of the game on TV




Some game video... hope this works!

Atterissage!

Romania! I am here. The trip wasn't too bad - my layover in Frankfurt was a bit long (3 1/2 hours) but I stopped feeling sorry for my tired self when the guy behind me in the McDonald's line told me that his trip from Papua New Guinea back home to the USA had him flying for days; he was too tired to read the menu. ("Excuse me, What's a McFlurry? Do these folks sell chocolate milkshakes?") The flight to Bucharest finally gave me some shut-eye; I feel asleep before the plane took off, and was jolted awake upon atterissage. Flying habits are funny; as soon as the plane arrived at the gate, 90% of the passengers stood up and crammed themselves and their carry-ons into the aisles - uncomfortable and unnecessary. Both of my bags arrived (yay) and Steve was there to pick me up - yay again. And, after traveling for close to 16 hours, what was the first thing I did in Romania? Hit up Ikea. As you can imagine, Sunday afternoon there was madness - it was infested with shoppers, but it kept me awake and I passed the tired-traveler-patience test. I survived. Steve asked me if I wanted a coffee before we left (Starbucks) and I said no - I just left the land of Overpriced Chain Coffee and Big Box, but Ikea's shopping complex had me feeling otherwise. Not to worry; the consumer shine ended before the parking lot did (back to Euro parking - on sidewalks, medians and wherever you want); the mall was an island in a sea of semi-dilapidation.

I wasn't too sure what to expect from this country or the city that we're living in, but was offered some insight from a book that I started a few days ago, Robert Kaplan's Eastward to Tartary. Kaplan is very good writer with a very deep well of knowledge on the area that we're living in. He's written a few other books on this region (and others) and his commentary on the political and social climate (and modern history) of the near East is thorough and insightful. What did he have to say about Romania? Well, lots, but at the heart of most of what he had to say was this: Where does East meet West? The historical implications of this question have long affected Romania, from the time of the split of the Roman Empire to the Austro-Hungarian empire that controlled the Northwestern part of Romania and the Turkish and Byzantium influence and rule found in the Southeast. Communism affected Romania differently that it did her neighbors, and the recovery process is still... in process. Kaplan talks about what makes the situation in Romania different than that of it's neighbors: it hosted Eastern Europe's most oppressive communist regime, and has been slow to recover. Why? Ineffective leadership, corruption and slow economic development. In terms of foreign investment, in 1997 American investments in Romania (pop. 23 million) totalled $250 million, while investments in Hungary (pop. 10 million) totalled $6 billion. Romania's per capita income in 1997 was only $1500; in Hungary it was $4500. Sure, the book was written ten years ago and I have to do some catch up on statistics but the information is telling. He also talks about how Romania's cities (he only names Bucharest) are fairly metropolitan, but progress and modernity end there; the rest of the country is agrarian and undeveloped. In any case, he did have an answer to the East/West question; instead of a definitive line or boundary, there are gradients of change and distinction. He did say that the gradient at the Hungary-Romania border was a significant ("definitive") one, marked by shacks, cratered dirt roads, trash and deserted factories and buildings. SO! This was my preparation, my book-introduction to the country, and, from my first impression, did it ring true?

My first impression, after all of the East/West business, was that it reminded me somehow of Russia and of Greece, but I can't say exactly why. Russia: there are big concrete apartment blocks and run-down streets, cratered, pot-holed roads and shacks here and there; people seem poor, but the women aren't (all) dressed to the nines. Greece: it's sunny!; people seem less cold, but not altogether friendly; there is vegetation and colour everywhere, and we're by the sea; there are stray animals (Greece = cats, Romania = dogs) and the buses are new. I'm sure there's more, but these were my first impressions. The language is a latin one, and I can pick out a few words that are cousins of Italian ones; it sounds like a mixture of Italian and Brazilian Portuguese. Strange sights? Women in housecoats, stray dogs and license plates from Michigan and Florida.

I've only been here for a day but feel like I've seen some of the city already. I caught a ride with Steve to practise yesterday (a sight to be seen - he drives a Matisse: big man in a small car) and walked around downtown while he bump-set-spiked. There are a few malls in the city (with good stores, yay) and downtown was cute... there's lots to see and explore. I had a coffee (vanilla frappe - calorie city, it was so good!) at a cute cafe and read my new mini phrase book (most people speak English though - goooood!) until his practise was over and the women's team took the floor. They have a few exhibition games this week so if I train with them it won't be until next week. After watching a few sets we went out for dinner; for less than $20 we had two LARGE pizzas and a bottle of wine. Things are not expensive. What else... Steve left town this morning for a game in Bucharest tomorrow night, but dropped me at the gym on his way to meet the team. There's a pretty decent gym within walking distance of our place and, again, people speak English. So, I'm all signed up (for 60 Lei/month, about $25) and even had a tour by a friendly employee, George. I'll get some pics up tomorrow (or soon) of our place and neighborhood. But...so far, so good!

europe bound!

So, I’m on the go again. I have about 20 minutes to enjoy the luxury of el fancy Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge before I have to squish and fold and arrange myself into the back of the air bus. I was at the airport in Winnipeg early enough this morning to get an aisle seat for the Toronto-Frankfurt segment (lucky) and was assigned a window seat for the Frankfurt-Bucharest line (lucky again!). The rest of my time in Vancouver was amazing and amazingly busy. On Wednesday night a quality group of friends got together for a few drinks and a little catch up – I love my friends! I’ll miss you all. So that was fun, but I can’t say that I enjoyed getting up at 4:30 the next morning to catch my 6:00 flight. Blech. I had a four hour layover in Calgary which was great – I got to see my sister, meet her boyfriend and eat some delish eggs and bacon at a popular breakfast haunt – Nelly’s I think? So that was just fabulous. Then to Winnipeg, more sleeping and unremarkable seatmates, good and good. Winnipeg brought more eating dates and errands, and I was busy seeing friends and getting last minute things done. And then! This morning Catherine dropped me off at the airport and comme ca I am on my way.

Steve’s parents made the trip out to the airport in Toronto to say hello and goodbye – so that was super nice. We had some coffee and lunch and caught up on family goings-ons – it looks like we might make it back to Toronto for Christmas (yay!) so there was lots to talk about. And then, I made it through security sans problems – with two heavy carry-ons (my backpack is full of books, so I have a small library of choice for plane reading) – and here I am in a very full lounge. Most people are on their phones, and the maroon-clad lady in front of me is also onto an as-full-as-it gets glass of wine (actually her second). There are so many goodies in here – snacks, drinks, mags, newspapers – I’m going to stock up for the ride. So, adieu to North American blogging for a few months at least – new home and next stop: Constanta, Romania.

happy thanksgiving!!

With everything that's going on with the world's financial crisis, I didn't think that I would get a literal, visual translation of the crack in the economy, but oooooh boy, I did. In my last post I bemoaned my lack of special, first class status, but was given the full meal deal (ew) on board, and I didn't pay cash, I paid for it with my eyeballs and (until now faded) memory. So, the plane filled up quickly, and my seatmate (a rather large feller) didn't hasten to do up (or find) his seat belt right away. I was quite settled in, reading (trying to) my Enroute magazine (which I love) when HE, half gets up, turning to the aisle to find these seat belt parts. Well, this move exposed some of his parts and yes they/it (hairy butt) was less than hmm... a foot away from my face? Not very pleasant. In fact, it was highly unpleasant and my controlled reaction was to close my eyes, turn towards the window, and will the memory away. At which point, the man turns to me and says, "Close quarters eh?" Er, yup. Yes buddy they're close quarters thank you very much for yours.

SO! That was the beginning of my trip and so far (since that moment) it's been great. We went up to Thetis this weekend to visit my parents - the trip there was a bit of a trek: Sarah and I couldn't find a parking spot in all of Horseshoe Bay, and were dissed by the dude at the Lion's Club parking lot just down the road. (He told us to go to the bank machine in town to get money to pay him; we did, and upon return found our parking spot GONE. The guy walking out - the guy that took the last spot/OURS smiled and said, "Lot's full." ARGH!) So we drove home and walked the 5km to the ferry terminal and caught the next one. The parentals picked us up on the other side, and we proceeded north to Comox where we had a lovely Thanksgiving lunch with our great-aunt Hope Spencer. It was a great little visit - yummy turkey and fixings, salad, bread and bubbly! Ooh, and chocolate covered strawberries. It was also a treat to see her, though she wasn't feeling so sweet - she's recently broken her hip and it doesn't sound like she's being given the attention or care from the hospital and support staff that she deserves. However, she was in good spirits and mentally acute enough to badger my dad about his political affiliation - something we can all hope for when we're 89.

We spent Sunday night and Monday relaxing on Thetis. We had a few more Thanksgiving meals (we don't need an excuse but hey), Sarah and I went for an awesome run... we lazed and chatted - all in all a great weekend. And then... the ferry back was another full ordeal. We got to the ferry terminal just before 3:00, waited in a line of over 1000 people, missed the 3:00 and 4:00 sailings, but made it on the 5:00. There was a wait, even for foot passengers! Crazy; there were line-ups all over the place. By the time we got to Horseshoe Bay, waiting in a line for the bus was the last thing we wanted to do, so we walked home; round trip from door to door took us seven hours? It was a bit exhausting, but worth it.

And, well, time is ticking. The election results are probably congealing, and time is running out to find a wedding dress here at home. Well, that's not true really. My maman and I went looking today and found a few with strong potential, but nothing with the this-is-it! feeling. I'm also getting a lot closer to my Romanian departure time... yay! But there's lots to do between now and then. For starters, I should stop procrastinating and take the dog for a walk...

The family just after dinner #1...


Just after dinner #2...

Enjoying an early(ish) morning on the porch

A roadside owl on the way to the ferry on Thetis

Amusing ourselves in the long line-up - one of the good ones...

i love home!!

So, it’s all done; I’ve moved out of my own house. The past couple of days (and weeks) have been a bit crazy: looking for and finding renters, cleaning, organizing, packing for Romania, packing up all of our stuff, booking flights and arranging trips and making sure everything on my list is crossed off and marked as complete. Ever since the Romania thing came up I’ve felt okay about leaving the house and renting it out, but today I have to say I was a bit sad. All of our stuff was packed away and the rooms were bare and empty – completely devoid of anything personal; plus, this is the first time that I’ve ever really felt like I have a home of my own. We’ve been so itinerant and have lived in so many places – even here in Winnipeg – but this time, it feels like my home, our home - and I’m leaving it! Plus, we’ve put a lot of work into the place; the transformation from pepto-pastel to modern, neutral (and in some cases bold) colours combined with some new (Ikea) furniture has made it cozy – and ours. So, even though I know that we’ll be back, and even though I know that that we have great friends to help look after the place, it just seems strange to leave. But! No home is complete without the people, and it’s been empty and a bit lonely in there all by myself. The second-rate hotel that Steve is still living in will sure be a change... but, we’ll be together and that’s the best of all. Yay.

empty empty empty...

a last look outside - beautiful fall colours!

all of our stuff, tetris-ed into a downstairs closet...

i love this view - so nice to wake up to...

So I’m on my way to Vancouver for what will probably be a bit of a whirlwind visit. We’re (my sister and I) heading up to my parent’s cottage tomorrow morning for a few days of Thetis Thanksgiving and who-knows-what, which leaves two days in Vancouver for shenanigans and some more who-knows-what. I am super excited about two solid plans: wedding dress shopping on Tuesday afternoon AND a girls night dinner and drinks on Wednesday… YAY! Super exciting. Then, back to Winnipeg for a day and half to tie up some loose ends and then it’s rock’n’roll Romania on Saturday. Actually, I don’t get on a plane headed for Romania until Sunday… but whatever. Last year we were fortunate enough to fly Business Class to Russia (and have it paid for) but this year, no dice. I’m back in the cattle car after swearing I’d never not fly Business Class again. Bottom line is, if I have to pay for it then it’s not going to happen (or if someone else isn’t going to pay for it – I’m certainly not going to) so just get me there as fast as you can and please may I have a window seat and please may I not be sitting beside anyone with stink or personal space invasion issues. I guess we’ll have to wait and see…

progress....

It's all coming together - I've found renters! Yay! This means I get to go to Vancouver for Thanksgiving, though I still have to make plans, book flights etc. I'll be racking up the air miles; or not... the fare that I'm going to book (I hope it's still there!) only gives you 25% of the trip's miles - B-S!! Oh well, whatever. So today's job is to pack it all up (the house, our stuff) and in to a small downstairs closet that is NOT to be touched. Volleyball has been good, though my entire back is sore; every muscle and part and joint and bone and tendon feels worked and abused - there's no shape like volleyball shape, that's the deal. What else has been going on this week - a friend of mine came over to help me install a programmable thermostat - er, well actually he did it all and I was the one who helped (didn't really). It was surprisingly easy, once set up, to program; the only thing is that it's in fahrenheit and my brain works in degrees celsius. SO, since the dated yellow-ish thermostat has mercury in it, I have to drive allll the way to the other side of Winnipeg, where I made an appointment to dispose of this tiny vile of noxious substance. It's just funny, when something so tiny poses a disproportionately large problem. The same can be said for broken toes I guess. It was super windy last night - I had thoughts about the house blowing away Dorothy and Toto style - and I thought I'd wake up to leaf-less trees, but no. Even though the leaves are a dark mustard yellow, and even though this tree has been shedding for a while now - it retained almost all of its little guys, which is very impressive. I'm just wondering if I'll have to rake again before I go. Meep.

I said I'd say something about Romanian Holocaust Remembrance Day, which is today, but I don't think I really have to. The people there suffered a terrible fate at the hands of Romanian fascists and extremists and German Nazis; here's to hoping that that kind of thing never happens again. (Is it naive to think it won't (?) - genocide, mass persecution - but, like I said, here's to hoping...)



On a brighter note - today is also Leif Erikson Day, celebrated by Nordic and Icelandic peoples in parts of the USA, Scandinavia and... wherever! In honour of the first Europeans to settle North America (who did the marketing for Columbus?), this "day" (which varies in date from place to place) honours the spirit of Norse discovery and Leif Erikson's arrival on the shores of North America. Based on various legends and accounts, Leif and his men (were there women? I should think so) purportedly arrived in present day Newfoundland in 1002(ish), 500 years before the Spaniards; L'Anse-aux-Meadows is one of the supposed settlement sites. Cool. But not really. Probably freezing bloody cold and man, what a hard life that would be. When I think about how long ago that was - 1002 - I think of Yaroslavl's 1000th birthday coming up in 1010. We are young bucks over here as Canadians. But I suppose that we are all a melange of other nationalities and THAT would be neat to know about... um, I guess that's called geneology. Right. Apparently there is a small gamut of claims to other possibilities of pre-Columbian trans-oceanic travel/contact but the Viking voyage is the only one that's widely accepted as being true. The idea that Portuguese fishermen graced the Eastern shores is also believed to have strong possibilities but wow... that's a long way to come for fish.

Romania - Booked!

I booked my flight! I am so excited. There's lots to do around here before I go BUT... at least I have a deadline - one to look forward to! I leave on the 18th from here, but am hoping to make it to Vancouver (and maybe Calgary) before then... depending on if and when I find people to live in our house! Argh. But, I somehow feel that everything will work out, so no stress. Anyways! I thought I'd blog a bit about Romania, and learn a thing or two (or ten) about this country that I'm going to call home for seven months. Soooo...

The flag and the coat of arms...

I'm going to forego talking about the history of the place because I don't really feel like writing a research paper - and it seems uber complicated and very dense. Romanian Holocaust Remembrance Day is coming up on Thursday, so I might write a bit about the horribly unfortunate history of the Jewish people in the country but for now... some fast facts. Romania is approximately the size of Oregon, and the capital, Bucharest, is latitudinally in line (more or less) with Portland, Montreal, Venice and Bordeaux. However! The city doesn't get Montreal weather (thank goodness) - the average temp for January is -1, and that's about as low as it goes. Well, not really. The Carpathian Mountains sound gorgeous (just gorgeous dahling) and, to state the obvious, it can get chilly in the mountains. It can get chilly in the Prairies too, but ha! I'm out of here. The 1500 kilometre-long mountain range (also known as the Transylvanian Alps) is purportedly the most unspoilt in Europe; it measures in as the second most extensive range in Europe, and accounts for roughly a third of Romania's territory. Very impressive. Romanian forests are home to 60% of Europe's brown bear population, 40% of it's wolf population AND part of Europe's only healthy population of wild lynx. The Danube Delta is also home to a variety of flora and fauna; it sounds like there's a massive influx of pelicans there in the Spring - scary.



The lynx - a gorgeous animal...

More than half of Romania's 22 million people live in towns and cities (Bucharest: 2.2 million), and get this: apparently, each of the country's 30,000 towns are no more than 64km from the next one - a reality that dates to feudal times when a day's travel with a horse and cart was limited to this distance. Interesting. So the population is a tad dense, at least in the cities. It sounds like the rest of the country - the rural population and the smaller towns - is sort of slow to move out of the past, and much of the country has been time-machined still. I'd love to see this, but moreoever, would love to be able to communicate with people in smaller towns and villages in the country. I'm not sure how friendly they'll be but ??? When we were in Greece we found the country folk super friendly, but couldn't communicate much other than Hi, How are you, I'm from Canada and I don't understand you - doh. The Romanian language is Latin-based, and apparently closely related to Italian SO! My hopes are that even if I can't really understand them, they might be able to capiche my Italian. We'll see. It can't be worse than Russia. Also, much of this is dependant on whether or not we have a car AND how much time we can find to travel.

Romania, as we all know, is home to Transylvania and the legend of Dracula. Based on Vlad Dracula (also known as Vlad the Impaler - does NOT sounds like a guy you'd want to meet), who was horrrrrible bloodthirsty and heartless, the legend sounds like a potential reality when you think of old, dark, spooky forests and windy country roads... eep. According to Romania's tourism website, Vampires hang around crossroads (!!) on the Eve of St. Andrew (Nov.29) and St. George's Day (Apr.23), so ummm I'll be staying home those days. Anyways, it sounds like there are LOTS of places to visit - Romania sounds beautiful; it's all about having the time and the means to get around and see some of this stuff. For now... it's time to pack.


Hope I don't ever see this dude.

a grrrrrreat weekend!

The weather here has been amazing! The last couple of days has been full of sunshine and warm! Up to 18 or 20 during the day... it is so lovely to be warm in the sun! Yesterday I spent most of the morning and afternoon doing yard work, but it was so nice outside that I didn't even mind. I raked and bagged seven bags of leaves, and all for what? The lawn is painted with a fresh coat of yellow - there are a LOT of leaves to come down still. But, the job would almost be too big if I left it all for another month or so... and for the renters! Ha. That wouldn't have been very nice. Still no progress in that department, so I have my fingers crossed for some action this week. Anyways, there were so many lovely fall colours in these leaves, I had to take some pics.



And! Speaking of new colours... I dyed my hair! I love it. I am such a procrastinator when it comes to getting my hair cut, and since it usually lives in a pony-tail anyways I can kind of get away with it. But enough is enough, and it looks so much better. My neighbor almost asked me if my sister was living here when he saw me yesterday, and my friend Tracy didn't even recognize me... yowsa. The highlight of my weekend, other than new hair and the fab weather, was a Friday afternoon picnic at the Forks with Tracy. We met around 3:00 with some beverages and a wide array of little delectables (yummy bread, organic hummus, olives and brie) and enjoyed the afternoon sun and... gulp, two bottles of wine! We were pretty much there until the sun went down, so don't judge... and it was sort of a send off picnic party - she's working for/with Cirque de Soleil in Korea and leaves Monday. Not that we need an occasion BUT... there you go. It was super fun - so sunny and warm, yummy snacks and great company. And now? I'm cleaning up the house and trying to pack everything away, in anticipation of someone moving in this week. Fingers crossed that I'll find someone soon... I want to get to Romania!



New hair!!