Thursday's News

The Magnolia Warbler

The female downy Woodpecker

Work awaits me, so I will try to make this quick even though I have lots to say! We are still bird crazy - we saw and identified two more species (I feel like I should adjust my glasses here to keep in line with the nerdy picture I'm painting of myself), the Downy Woodpecker and the Magnolia Warbler. We also spotted a FAT robin sitting in the tree outside of our bedroom window, and check out the gaggle of girlies (or boys) that these two geese are trailing around...

Fat Robin


The view from our bedroom window... it's lovely!

More bird news (sorry, this will be it for today) - Steve said that he came home to three geese on our lawn - EATING OUR WEEDS! I haven't done a thing with the garden (the retaining walls are rotting and falling apart too... it's screaming for attention!) and voila... the geese are doing it for me. They are also probably fertilizing it. Whether this is good or bad, I'm not sure.


Just in case anyone noticed that I didn't blog after bball last night, it wasn't because my lungs internally combusted and took the rest of me with them - I was lazy. And tired. And procrastin-waiting. HA! Er, anyways, we got some big news yesterday... Team Canada Men are moving. The women are staying in Winnipeg, but the training center for the men is moving to Ottawa/Gatineau... as of January 2009 (I think that's the date). Both Winnipeg and Gatineau made bids for the men's team but the guys are moving, and it's a bit sad. It sort of feels like the end of an era - the team is beginning a new phase - a new cycle with a fairly new team. There was a pretty solid group of guys that made up the core of the team and because a trip to the Olympics in Beijing isn't happening, many of these long time players are retiring and moving on to new things. And just like many of these vets will be looking to start non volleyball-oriented lives, these new, young players will be starting their careers, with the London 2012 Olympics in mind. That's not to say that none of the players from the past quad or two won't be looking to do the same... but, it will be different. It really does seem like the end of an era. Sad, but exciting at the same time. Hopefully Gatineau provides better training facilites and a great support system to help these athletes and the program achieve their goals and potential... and that the centre here in Winnipeg continues to strive for the same for the women.


What all of this means for us is uncertain at the moment, but the main reason that we bought a house here was the volleyball. Maybe we'll be moving? I don't know. For now, we're trying to stay focused on banishing the uglies and making some changes around here. We'll think about "the move" (volleyball and, potentially home?) later. Here are some pics of the reno'd rooms.

Gone to the birds...

Though I wouldn't say that we are becoming avid birdwatchers, there are so many different birds in our backyard/on the lake/retention pond (lake sounds better) that we are getting to know some of the species that are flitting and feeding behind our house. Though I know this list isn't complete... here are some of our new friends. Or at least pictures of their friends.

Yellowthroat

Mallards!

Baltimore Oriole - it was gorgeous, almost fluorescent red!


Pine Warbler


Yellow Warbler


American Redstart


Robin


Canada Goose


Clay-colored Sparrow
Looooooon!

I know that I haven't posted pics of the house yet, and will do so soon... but I'm glad that I waited. (Or procrastinated - how about procrastin-waited?) Anyways, since we've been back, the trees have gone from being bare bones-winter trees to wondrous green-leaved trees! It's beautiful! I'm still sweeping up from the winter deadness... but the colours are great. So, pictures are coming soon. We finished banishing ugly wall colours from two rooms, so I'll post those tomorrow as well... that is if my lungs don't collapse and take me with them tomorrow night at basketball. Ummm... other than that, nothing is new really - yard work and painting and green leaves - this is the progress that we've made this week. Yay. And bird identification.

Banished to the Kingdom of Ugly

The orange room - looks like an Orange Creamsicle room in this one...

One of the things I wanted to do today (of many) was take pictures of the house and post them... but EEEP! I didn't. I did, however, take some pictures of the colour that is being banished from these walls... perhaps to arrive in the Kingdom of Ugly. Actually, I'm sure they're already there. Anyways, this first pic is of the only orange room in the house; after I took it I realized that these are the colours of my elementary school, Irwin Park. Steve told me that I could keep the orange if the memories of kindergarten through grade six really meant that much to me (if you think this is love, it's not: it's sarcasm)... but er, I had to pass. Yesterday we primed the Irwin Park room and a purple room downstairs, and today we got to the second room with PAINT! Now that primed room number two has a coat of a nice warm neutral colour on it, neither of us can stand the purple and pink that is still lurking everywhere else - we just want to attack it all! Perhaps the worst combination of colours and materials in the entire house (I know this a matter of taste, no offense if this type of... pink fluff-curtain is found in your home) is the pink fluff-puff curtains in the pink living room. The paint looks a bit peachy next to these curtains... but what wouldn't. They make me think of a Cindarella poof-ball dress... but when I googled ugly pink dress, this is what came up. Quite possibly made from the same material.

(I remember all of the mice putting this number together! I love that part... the cutest mice ever!)

not so cute.

I haven't said anything yet about the number of birds that hang out in our neighborhood... and in our back yard. Last night I finally got myself get out of the house for a workout, and upon my return Steve talked for ... mmmm, 10 minutes? about the number of birds he saw in the back yard while I was gone. There are Canada geese, mallard ducks, red-winged blackbirds, robins and lots more - I checked a birds of Manitoba book out of the library today - so I can learn the names of the many other birds. Eeeeh this makes me feel like a total bird keener - but really, there are just so many, and so many beautiful ones! It's awesome. Steve also saw some kind of unidentifiable creature in the water - Winnipeg's ogopogo? Maybe. Anyways, tomorrow I will make a real effort to take some pictures of the house... but for now, all you get is PAINT!

The weeds left me brain dead!

The last two days have been packed full of yard work - there is so much to do it's mind boggling! But rewarding. At least to me - I've been weeding, sweeping and cleaning out the junk/leaves/garbage/weeds/small trees under our patio... not that anyone LOOKS under there... but it was noticeable. Anyways. Yup. We've also been looking for some patio furniture, a bbq and some dishes to replace the ones that we have - I believe that Steve bought them (or was given them) in his first year of university from someone else who may have inherited them from someone else (at least that's what I want to believe - they are ick) - these mismatched pastel Corel dishes have got to go. I can't believe that we've gone all of these years without buying some half-decent looking dinner plates. Oh well, plates are plates. Excuse my brain dead state - a day of weeding under the patio and shopping in Sears will do that to you SO here are some pics from our time in Vancouver... and some chores that we tackled yesterday.

The new cottage - or home away from home...

Spectacular views

In Whytecliffe park...

Fixing a leaky faucet... with a smile!

Attacking the weeds: not sure where my smile is....

I love home!!

We are back at home in Winnipeg... and it's GREAT! We had an amazing time in Vancouver - seeing friends, family, enjoying sunny (sometimes) weather, playing beach vball and just cruising around... it was awesome. It's funny, whenever we're in Vancouver we both agree that we want to live there - but as soon as we're back here... we're happy to be in Winnipeg. (I know that this may sound crazy - I think it sounds a little crazy sometimes.) We do get a little more bang for our buck here - a beautiful house in a quiet neighborhood (makes me sound/feel old) vs. a shoebox apartment in a very urban area. I know that we'd be happy in almost any city in Canada (as long as it's not too Yaroslavl-esque) and for now that place is Winnipeg. What I miss most about Vancouver is family, friends, the beach and the spectacular scenery. But, like I said, we've got it pretty good here.

So I have lots to say about our time in Vancouver but also lots to say about what's going on around here - busy craziness! I can't post any pictures - our computer went to sleep and never woke up (computer suicide?). However, thanks to my friend Kim, we have a laptop that works... but doesn't have the modern memory card slot built in. So, until I find a cord to connect the camera to el computer, we are without photos. We took some nice pics of Thetis (though none of the wedding venue, oops) and ... actually, I think the only other pictures we took in Vancouver were from an afternoon trip to Whytecliffe Park. Eep. Anyways! There are some good ones. We were supposed to head back here last Wednesday, but when we heard that the weather was taking a turn for the better, we decided to stay for a few more days. It did have something to do with the fact that we hadn't found the time to do everything/see everyone that we wanted... but the promise of 30 degree weather? Hook, line and sinker - and Saturday was gorgeous. Some friends and I got together and played vball in the morning, and then enjoyed Strongbows on the beach in the afternoon - while soaking up the sun. It was great.. Yum Strongbow... I am a new fan of this delicious cidery drink. What else what else... I guess I am not too good at backtracking - there's so much to say about our trip but ?? It escapes me. So, Winnipeg. It is great to be back at our house - we bought a house here in December, and are seeing Spring here for the first time. There is a TON of work to do - the regular spring cleaning inside the house - though I'm not sure if the dirt and dust is a regular spring cleaning dirt or if it is a built up neglected-cleaning dirt. There's a lot. And there's a ton of yard work to do too - yesterday we bought our first lawn mower! Plus, we have plans to paint... the pink and purple (and orange and yellow) walls are ... gross. There are lots of ideas and changes that we have in mind, but we are prioritizing; painting and (maybe) doing a bathroom are our initial summer goals for the house. I'm going to look for that camera cord so I can post some pics of the colours on the walls... gross gross gross. Anyways! It's a gorgeous day today and there is lots of yard work to do so I'm going to get outside and make myself useful.

Off the blogwagon

I am off the blogwagon. This obviously needs no explanation but I feel as though I can provide a few excuses.... our time here in Vancouver has been crazy and jam-packed and even though the weather hasn't been great (leaving me with ample inside, on-the-computer time) we have been OUTSIDE and away from the computer. Our lives here are completely the .. er... opposite? from our lives in Russia. We have friends! There is busy-ness! Okay, I'll get over it, we're not in Russia anymore. 

SO! We've had a great time here and, like I said, have been super busy. Sisters have been in and out of town, we've been up to Thetis to check out a wedding venue and see the new Osberg home away from home, we've visited friends and family, had lots (LOTS) of yummy meals... and last night, I went to the CAKE concert! It was AWESOME! So so so so much fun. Yay. We were scheduled to make our way back to Winnipeg this morning but changed our flights - in part because we want some more time here with family and friends and in part because we heard that the weather is supposed to be incredible this weekend.... close to 30! Yippee! What else... There's so much more to write-blog about but with so much to do, being on the computer isn't a priority - I'll do it later. We're really looking forward to getting home to our place in Winnipeg too, but for now we're enjoying our time in Vancouver!!

the wealth-o-meter

Being back in Canada is just the best thing ever. The climate in Russia (people and weather) was so gloomy that the colour, vibrancy and friendliness here is still kind of overwhelming in a completely wonderful way. Another thing that is not so much overwhelming but ... glaringly obvious, is the wealth and prosperity that we are so fortunate to experience, have and have around us. I was telling my parents that one of the most memorable things about our time in Russia was the polarity between rich and poor (there is no such thing as a middle-class), and how this was reflected in the size of Margaret's apartment. As a teacher and an engineer, Margaret and her husband are a couple that are both working jobs that, in Canada, would enable them to own a fairly modest home. (Okay, maybe not in Vancouver... but almost everywhere else.) Their place in Russia was very small and their salaries were too limited to improve living conditions in terms of dwelling size/space (their living room was also the office and their bedroom). Plus, there were no yards, no lawns, no garages, no large lots - only massive apartment blocks that probably housed over 100 families. So, my senses are still in candy-land here with the houses, gardens, green lawns, happy people (someone said hi to me yesterday and I wasn't ready for it - it was lovely), customer service (non-existent in Russia) and the produce! The food! Russia and Canada are on opposite ends of the wealth-o-meter, that's for sure.

So it's great to be back in Vancouver - I love it here... and I wish that houses/apartments/shoeboxes weren't so ridiculously expensive. It's great to see my parents and my friends! And just be back in such a beautiful place. Also, I just have to say that yesterday was one of the best days EVER. I met some friends down at Spanish West to play beach volleyball - it was sunny, warm, calm and it was SO good to see my friends... I have the best friends in the universe. Yay.

A few days ago after I changed my blog name I had to laugh at myself - on my way home I started thinking about what home really means... and thought about writing a blog about it... when suddenly, I LOVE LAMP lamped into my head. If you haven't seen Anchorman (quality) then you won't know what I'm talking about BUT my deep thoughts were quickly replaced Brick Tamland (played by Steve Carell), a man bestowed with an almost negative IQ. In the movie he totters around the office sputtering insensible incomprehensible gibberish like I LOVE LAMP and I LOVE DESK. Random. Anyways, so deep thoughts about home and I LOVE HOME were replaced by low IQ Anchorman thoughts (I love home is something he would say) and it just made me laugh.

back in winnipeg...

Man oh MAN my eyes are bugging out. Too much time on the computer. In Russia I was really thankful for this geography course that I'm taking - it was the one thing that I had to do while I was there, and it gave me some focus and blah blah blah. However, since we've returned to Canada I've completely forgotten about it (admittedly somewhat on purpose) and so today I find myself scrambling to write a paper that I've been thinking about (a little bit) but not actually writing. Our trusty computer decided not to turn on this morning (computers do NOT need days off) so I have been at the Univeristy of Manitoba trying to get this thing done. It was a beautiful day before I came into this computer lab, and I hope that it still is... I'm on my way out. Winnipeg is the one place that, whenever I come back here, I feel as though I never left. Or that I just left last week. Strange... maybe it's a prairie spell. Our house is more or less in good condition (though lots of yard work and cleaning to do), and I'm really looking forward to sitting on the patio with a cup of coffee this afternoon. Or a beer. Or some vodka. We had a New Years party chez nous and our liquor cabinet (makeshift) is stocked, though most (or all) of the bottles only have one drink left in them... that's enough for me. SO! I'm here for the weekend and then heading to Vancouver! YAY! I'm super excited to see family and friends and am still LOVING being back in Canada... I'm also really looking forward to settling down and (hopefully) staying in one place for more than three months. We'll see. Okay, I have lots more that I could say/write about but my eyes are going to fall out of my head if I stay on this computer for another minute. So I'm out of here!

ps I changed the blog name on impulse without thinking about it... we're not in Russia anymore and I love home! SOoooooo ??? it will work for now!

It's MAY!

Shopping is exhausting. Yes, I'm aware that this statement makes me sound old BUT I am going to blame the jet-lag. On Tuesday the four of us (me, Steve, Bob and Marg) made a trip to Ikea to pick up odds and ends (and heavy oak countertops), and it tired all of us right out. Ikea is amazing, I love it, but when you have to walk through the showrooms to get to stuff and then get lost and then decide to go looking again to kill time... well, you need a nap in the car. Yesterday we hit up Yorkdale - both of us were super eager to shop and find some nice new clothes (our time in Russia made us realize that the jeans and sweatshirt look might need some updating) but instead of fulfilling the movie-shopping-spree image of skipping out of the mall with umpteen bags, we left with only two bags - both of which fit in my purse. Steve bought a shirt and two magazines, and I didn't buy a thing. Whenever I plan a shopping trip and get excited about it, I never find anything. Anyways, we needed coffee to get through the mega-mall experience - we were out of mall-shape... and again, I'll blame the jet-lag.

Since we've been back in Canada, we've also started BRAIN AGE TRAINING. And testing. Steve's parents have a small Nintendo DS that has a program that tests your brain age... and then gives you training exercises to do when you realize that your brain age should match your actual age. The first time I did the test I think my brain age was around 60? Pathetic, I know. But I'm down to the thirties. Last night I was 37, and that's after two beers! Amazing. Not amazing. Anyways, it's fun. AGH! I just realized that it's May 1st. Time flies. I just looked up May 1st on Wikipedia, and maaaaaan oh man there are a lot of special events tied to today's date. There's May Day/Labour Day; it's National Love Day in the Czech Republic, AND... just in case you ever wondered when Worldwide National Outdoor Intercourse Day is... it's today. Er, right.