The Year in Review (for Isabelle)

The year has been a big one for Isabelle. She started a new school, quite successfully I might add, and continues to grow and learn here in South Carolina.

Jane and I were reviewing a little and think that her two biggest accomplishments in the last little while have been learning to tie her shoes and learning to ride a two-wheeler.

The shoes started when the school started their swimming lessons at the Eastside YMCA. There was a note sent home that in the interest of speeding up the transition from the pool to the school the parents either needed to teach their kids to tie their shoes or send them in with Velcro or other "easy to lace up" shoes. We opted for the first and within a week or so she was doing pretty well. Now we need to work on how tight they are done up so that they stay tied.

Here is a neat video by Justin Roberts some of you kids (and parents) out there might like:

As for the two wheeler I'm sorry I didn't try earlier. On the other hand she may not have been ready earlier. The project started when I pulled out my scooter. (It's just a push scooter that I actually used to shoot down the hill in Kentville when I took the bus to work.) Anyway, all the kids have them here so I let Isabelle try it. I thought it would help her develop a better sense of balance.

Anyway, a few weeks ago we talked it over with her and pulled off the training wheels. We had a twenty minute session one day that went OK but didn't show any real progress. The second session last weekend was better but she was still pretty shaky and only getting maybe eight or ten feet before stopping. Then yesterday I went out with her and she just took off. She started doing big loops around the cul-de-sac. I was shocked and impressed! It was like she'd been scamming us. Anyway, here is the video, from yesterday, after only three lessons!

London

About a month and a half ago I took another trip to Ireland. The hours were long and as you may know, it's terribly dark there this time of year. Sunrise was about 7:30 and sunset just after 4:30. Consider the fact that there is hardly ever a clear day and I can see why the Irish spend so much time in pubs by the peat fire. Having said that the Irish are very warm and friendly people. I really enjoy my visits there even if I don't get to see as much countryside and and as many cultural aspects as I would like.

This time over I took advantage of being in Ireland to shoot across the North Channel to England. I took a no-frills airline across and learned a thing or two about low cost airlines. Despite having seats that don't recline, no first class, no food or beverage service, a very strict baggage policy, and general seating where you just pick your seat in the mass of people getting in, I had a good flight. The plane was very clean and the flight attendants very helpful. I suppose at $25 to $50 to go from Belfast to London it's hard to complain.

London itself was a little intimidating at first. Getting in I took the National Rail to Victoria Station. My friend Rob (we were at school together in Newfoundland at MUN) met up with me there after a few harried phone calls. It felt a little like the Amazing Race TV show. "I'm headed for this location, Rob, can you meet me there?" and then I figured out the train was actually going somewhere else so I called him back "Make that this place instead...is that a problem?" and so on. Add to the fact my phone was dying since I hadn't had a chance to charge it and you have two Canadians who were pretty happy to see each other when we finally caught up.

The first day Rob and I sneaked away and left Michelle with the the kids (they had birthday parties to attend). We did a huge walking tour of the city, getting out to the London Eye, Tower Bridge, The Monument, Piccadilly Circus, Buckingham Palace, and even some of Hyde Park. Below is a picture from the Monument. It was raining very hard and it felt pretty cold, even by Canadian standards.

Saturday is also the major market day in London so we walked through a few markets on our way around town. This is Covent Market. It was very impressive.

Another picture from Covent Garden.

Off course we walked by the Canadian Embassy below, but didn't have time to stop and chat.

Here is Buckingham Palace. As you see the weather was not ideal.

The London Eye as seen from the other side of the River Thames.

This is Big Ben, the clock tower at the Palace of Westminster, which is the House of Parliament.

And a view from the back.

This is Westminster as it sits along the river.

Other activities included a trip to the science museum with Aiden and Kathleen. We saw all sorts of things from the very new to the not so new. Here is a Royal Post coach, for Jane and all her stamp collecting friends.

With Aiden around we wanted to spend some time in Hyde park. This is one entrance near Albert Hall. The monument is the Albert Memorial.

Here is Albert Hall with Rob, Aiden, Kathleen, and Michelle in the foreground.

Now, while I was away it was Jane's birthday. For that I had made her a Penfold Post Box replica. Here is Isabelle next to it.

Now, while in London one of my goals was to find a copy of the box I had replicated. Here it is, finally, after searching for three days, we finally found one near the back side of Hyde park near the Nepalese embassy. These post boxes it turns out are much rarer than I thought. There were only a handful in the city and it made for an interesting "treasure" hunt. In the end it took me a few weeks of nights and Saturdays to make but I think Jane appreciates it. Now I want to make one for Elizabeth.

Here is the real thing.

Still on the postal theme:

This picture is Postman Pat. Some of you may know him. I put him in for Elizabeth and Jane.

My last full day in London I ventured out on my own. I took the national Rail into town and then onto the subway, or Tube, to start my day. I had a list of things to see and do and had planned my day carefully. Off course the first thing I did was take a wrong turn. In the end it was a good thing since I wandered into the French Quarter. One of the first things I saw was a great little bookstore.

Once past that I managed to find my way to Hyde Park again and tracked down Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens. There is a statue like this in Bowring Park in St. John's. It's sort of a tradition to be photographed with it in both locations in Jane's family but being by myself on a blustery fall day this is the best I could do with my phone's camera. (It turns out there are seven of these statues all over the world.)

My walk took me by lots of scenery and history. Here is the another entrance to Hyde Park. It's called Marble Arch.

Now back to Trafalgar Square and Nelson's Column, the monument to Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson who died due to injuries at the Battle of Trafalgar with the French and Spanish.

Of course no visit to London is complete without a trip to Tower Bridge. The one side was undergoing repairs and renovations and I didn't have time to go for a tour. It was just like in the movies though.

The end of my day brought me to Greenwich. It is a relatively quiet town near where Rob and Michelle live. Rob actually works in Greenwich so I was on my way to meet him there.

Greenwich is also where the Royal Observatory is and where the Prime Meridian is measured from. The museums were free and I was waiting on Rob so I walked around a little.

This is a shot of the top of the observatory at dusk. The large ball is called the Time Ball. It was used to tell time by the ships at anchor in the river. The ball would be raised and dropped at a specified time so the ships could set their clocks.

This is the view of the Maritime Museum and the Queen's House in Greenwich. It is below the hill where the observatory sits. The University of Greenwich sits behind it. That's where Rob works and studies.

Here is the line that was used to define the rest of the world.

The observatory set the standard for lots of things in its day, including the time and other measures. Below is a 24 hour clock and some length standards.

And that about sums it up. The last night we had a huge feed of Indian food and stayed up too late again. I was up in the wee hours to catch the National Rail and then the Tube to Heathrow. Through security, a little breakfast and I was home 18 hours later. Travelling the world is great but it's always nice to be home.

Now for Christmas...

Big Things and Heavy Lifting

A few weeks ago over Thanksgiving weekend a really big piece of gear came to town. Apparently there is a power generating station in North Carolina that is taking delivery of this stator.

Here is a link to another Blog called Bucky's Ride. He did a piece on it too.

Here is some of the news coverage on the load. And another article with some more pictures.

These Mammoet (pronounced Mammout) guys really mean business. They have some videos on their website that are pretty cool, at least for engineers anyway. They've moved some pretty big things in some pretty neat places.

The whole thing was at least as long as three or four tractor trailers.

The whole thing was huge. Apparently they had to close the road to get it through, as well as lift the phone and power lines as it travelled through. It was stopped here for the holiday and because they couldn't make any headway with the bad weather we had leading up to Thanksgiving.

The unit was pulled by three heavy duty truck with a few behind to push and help with braking.

The pipes on the top of the load were so the power lines would just slide over .

You can see the sets of wheels here ready to go.

Pretty cool stuff, at least I think so.

Indiana

I promise to post pictures of my trip to London soon but for now I am writing about Indiana while it is fresh in my mind. The place is dark and damp, much like Nova Scotia. I got there in the dark and didn't get to see much sunlight until the day I left, and even then. We also didn't get to see much of the surroundings although it did feel much like the Annapolis Valley without the mountains on either side. There is lots and lots of corn and other crops and you can see for miles.

Apparently there are lots of Amish in the area but we didn't get to drive through some of the little towns. Interesting story about that from one of my colleagues. He saw an Amish girl at the airport using a cell phone and playing video games. Not what you would expect from a culture that tends to shun modern devices. I didn't realize, like most people, that the Amish don't reject all technology. In fact there are lots of things they do use, in some cases computers and cell phones. In some of the towns it is about certain voltages and electric current, in others it's more about outside power and being self-sustaining. Either way it was eye opening for me.

Flying to Fort Wayne was interesting. To get there I went through Cincinnati and expected delays and huge crowds, it being American Thanksgiving weekend and all. In the end it was fine. The plane was crowded but at least I wasn't sitting next to the fellow behind me who prayed with his wife on the phone for about five minutes before the plane took off. He was noticeable nervous about flying and pretty much shared his whole conversation with everyone. The return trip was even more annoying as a hot-shot business man sitting next to me proceeded to converse on his Bluetooth headset about all his business deals to the point someone had to ask him to be quiet. (The lesson here is to respect others while on the phone in a confined space.) He also kept complaining about being in a the last row by the lavatory. At least he was going home, which is more than some people. I thought he would never hang up but finally did when the plane started moving. The flight attendant gave him a nasty look and that pretty much sealed it.

Getting home I flew through Atlanta and just missed Jane as she was headed to Orlando for FLOREX (a stamp and philately show.) In Fort Wayne security at the airport was very friendly but I can honestly say it was the laxest I have ever seen. The fellow in front of me got a lighter through and didn't even try to hide it. It went through the x-ray machine in plain sight and no-one said a thing. I'm sure the TSA would love to hear that.

In the plant things went well. I didn't have much time to spend seeing other processes but did get a pretty good feel for the size of the plant. The thing was huge. One thing I knew going in was that they make the tires for the US Military's HumVee. The neat part is how they name them. In the plant each tire has an alphanumeric code. The codes are used to identify the tire and appear as six inch letter on the tread. In the case of the two HumVee tires the codes are HONOR and HERO. No matter what your stand on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, I appreciate what little things like this can do for the moral of individuals overseas when they see the tires arrive it must be neat.

Food in Fort Wayne was pretty good. I ate at Hall's Gas Town and had a fillet steak and a crab cake with German fried potatoes (very sweet adn tangy). I also ate the best gumbo in the north east. It was so good we went back another night for more. They also had the best raspberry sweet tea. Another good spot was Paula's Seafood. Now I know what you are thinking, seafood, that far away from the ocean, can't be good. Well I fancy myself a little bit of a connoisseur when it comes to fish and it was very good, and fresh. The mussels were from PEI (which didn't hurt) and the clams and crab were excellent. The place had a fish market too that had all sorts of good stuff in it. I can honestly say I was very pleasantly surprised since I wasn't expecting great things. Too bad I won't be going back anytime soon.

Christmas Parades

This year we did two Christmas parades. One in Greenville last night under a canopy of twinkling lights. Another today in Simpsonville where it was only mildly warmer (35F last night, about 49F today).

In Greenville the downtown was crowded with about 30,000 people for a crisp cool night. Isabelle and I were on our own after having been to a birthday party at the Upstate Children's Museum. She had a blast and I stuck around to help out. In return I got to have a lovely chocolate cupcake and get to know some of Isabelle's friends.

Anyway, the parade was as good as last year. We brought chairs and had a picnic of hot chicken soup as we waited. Isabelle was very patient and made some friends. Our location was better than last year since we weren't at the very end. The bands don't play when they can see the end so we missed all the Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeers and Jingle Bells. There must have been seven or eight bands in all.

Here are some of the highlights.

Isabelle with her new Santa hat. She wanted one to wear in the Simpsonville parade. More on that later.

One of my favorites is always the firetrucks. Unfortunately I don't have too many other pictures but here is some video of the marching bands.

At the Simpsonville parade Isabelle was part of the action. I dropped her off dressed in lots of layers with her YMCA Dance shirt and here pyjama bottoms. All the other kids were there and they were ready to go. Being 64th in line it took a while for them to get moving but they did fine. There was lots of dancing and waving and general good cheer.

Maggie and I parked the Jeep at the other end and walked back. (She still gets lots of comments, usually something like: "That some purdy dawg you got dere!" Off course she laps it up.) The group was rearing to go so I went forward with the other dads to get some pics and video. Here is some of what I got.

In front of the float that the little kids rode in.

Walking along early on.

Focused on Miss Ashley and Miss Lori who did a great job getting them ready and keeping them going during the parade.

Ah, a breather! She was getting pretty hot under all those clothes with all the running and dancing.

A not so typical Santa "muffler shop" float.

This one is for my Dad who may have had a few run ins with a car like that once.

Now for some video of the dancers.

After the parade we hit Brewster's for a milkshake and then home for a long hot bath (Isabelle, not me). Then some supper, which Isabelle promptly threw-up, and then to bed. I don't think she was really sick with anything, just very tired and excited.

In the end they did great. Only a few of the little ones needed a break on the float. To top it all off, out of around 100 entries in 5 categories, they were entered in the "Best Walking Group" category and THEY WON IT, beating out all the other dance teams! Yeah Goldenstrip YMCA!

Report Card and Parent-Teacher Night

A short note on the report card. Isabelle got hers two weeks ago and everything seems to be in pretty good shape. That's not to say she doesn't have any issues, everyone has something they can improve.

In Isabelle's case it was interesting to see that she was stronger in French than in English for most points. I think it's because she's bored and doesn't concentrate as much in English. She tends to be further ahead than all the other kids while in French she needs to work a little harder to keep up.

It is also interesting that she claims her French teacher is her favorite. It's probably because she hasn't been in trouble with the French teacher yet. Either way she still loves school and seems to be learning lots. She still corrects my French (especially my Acadian French) and likes to go each day. Somedays she doesn't want to leave here friends at the end of the day. One thing she does need to work on is being able to tell the difference between J and G, especially in French. Since the sounds are the same but opposite I can see this will be interesting.

Finally, Parent -Teacher Night was this week. Unfortunately I was in Fort Wayne and couldn't attend. Jane made the trip in and spoke with both teachers. No big surprises or big issues. Apparently Isabelle likes to help out the other kids and is improving all areas. She no longer speaks English then translates to French as the French comes more naturally. Both teachers were happy with her progress and say she is fitting in very well. Hopefully this will continue. So far so good. Just the normal trials and tribulations of a expatriate's kid in a foreign country.

Turkey Day with the Neighbors

This was our first American Thanksgiving. I know what you're thinking, but last year my sister Rhea and her family came down to spend a few days. This time we were on our own. Our neighbors, however, didn't see this as an acceptable situation. We were invited over to take part in not only an American Thanksgiving, but a Southern Thanksgiving.

The whole affair was much as we expected but the menu was a little different than we were used to. The turkey was fine and took the allotted five hours (he was only 20 lbs you see) to cook. The hosts cooked the bird with celery, apple, onions, and other goodies in the, eh, cavity. The side dishes is where it gets interesting. They were certainly not what we were used to, although they were very tasty. Collard greens with bacon, black eyed peas and green beans, and off course lots of corn bread dressing (which we cooked in our oven as oven space was at a premium.) The dressing as the name implies is corn bread mixed in with some vegetables and other goodies. Jane made acorn squash halves in the oven with butter, brown sugar, and Canadian maple syrup.

Dessert was simple: pumpkin pie and an apple pie Jane ordered from a lady at Isabelle's school. The thing was huge and deep. I'm not sure she could have put more apple in it if she tried. I can't speak for the pumpkin pie but it seemed to go very quickly.

Of course there was the usual diner conversation along with some football. All in all a good evening. Add to it the fact we ended with a little turkey and fixins to take home and you could say it was a good time.

Off course now we want to reciprocate. So the next Canadian Thanksgiving we may have to invite them over for our version of the feast. Same bird of course, but jammed absolutely full of dressing with lots of onion, butter, and summer savory. Sides will have to include carrots, peas, mashed squash, mashed potatoes, pickles, cranberry, and maybe even turnip (although not everyone appreciates it.) Gravy will be Jane's pan gravy made from the drippings, complete with lumps, my favorite. Have I got your attention yet? For wine I think it would only be fitting to have something from Nova Scotia, maybe an Acadie Blanc from Domaine de Grand Pre (my favorite winery, even though I don't know a thing about wine.)

Other than that it was a pretty slow weekend. We cleaned up inside and did some raking and burning of leaves outside. Isabelle had lots of play time with the kids on the street. Maggie got caught up on her sleep, and I didn't. Seems like Isabelle always came to wake me for breakfast, although there wouldn't be much point even trying to wake Jane sometimes. At least she managed to get a piece of fruit a few mornings which bought me a few minutes more sleep.

We did go out shopping on Saturday. Friday was the crazy day as Black Friday kicked off the holiday shopping season. Some stores opened at five AM while others simply stayed open all night. Our shopping was mainly for the little people out there that we wish we could see more often. We also got a few things for a local child who is a little underprivileged.

We have an angel tree at work. You pick a child and based on what they asked for you buy a few items for Christmas. There are lots of requests for toys but just as many for school supplies and clothes. I picked a four year old who seems to be interested in cars, trucks, and Spiderman. He should be pleased when he gets his stuff. We used it as an opportunity to explain to Isabelle that not everyone is as lucky as we and the rest of our friends and neighbors are. She did help by picking out a few things and hopefully she'll remember him on Christmas day. I know I'll be thinking about him.

One last point on the shopping. We went at noon on Saturday. Saturday was Rivalry Day in US college football. All the usual rivalries were going on including the local Clemson Tigers playing at the USC Gamecocks in Columbia. Well lucky for us the game started at noon. The stores were deserted since everyone was watching the game. It was like the eye of a hurricane, crazy the day before and very crowded afterwards, but we had a relatively peaceful few hours while Clemson got beat up by USC (I'm trying not to be too smug to the Clemson fans out there, but it was nice ribbing the boys on the street.)

Summer Pics

Things had been so busy in the last little while I've fallen behind on my blog posts. Here's one that I've been meaning to post.

On my trip home this summer I got back in touch with my inner child. I figured one way to do this was with kites. Near the end of our time in Halifax Jane and I spent a few hours on Citadel Hill with Jane's parents and her sister flying Peter's kites. One, an big old one he keeps in the car and another was a new parafoil one we got for him at LL Bean. There was also a tiny one Stephanie had.

After Halifax we headed south for the ferry to Portland and of course my parent's place. There we had all the grandkids together for the first time in a long time. Here's the crew.

Isabelle always like visiting with her cousins. Lisette is especially fun since they are about a year apart in age. Here is one of the quieter moments sitting down and sharing a book.

The two of them also have a special bond with their Pappi. Some of you know that my father has been pretty much layed up with a back issue since early September. Here he is before he got taken out of business. Hopefully he'll be back to his old self in a few more months.

Once we got back we took advantage of Isabelle's school starting later than most to go to the new Greenville Children's Museum. We took one of Isabelle's friend and had a pretty good time.

Two of Isabelle's friends from Montessori have a birthday in early September. That made for a good reason to have a party and get some of the old gang together. The Rice's had a party at Herdklotz Park on the other end of town.

The general location left a little to be desired but the park itself was pretty good. A shelter for the party, some walking trails, a few soccer fields, and some great playground equipment. Have a look, the thing was a big as our house and had three levels.

Of course once school started Isabelle made a whole new set of friends. One of the first activities we did with some of them was a trip to Sky Top Orchard in NC. We did it last year too but this year with a larger group made it more fun. We got to meet some of the other parents and kids. Going earlier in the season also made the apple picking better too. Here's Isabelle with one of the boys in her class.

This year we've also started going north for some family fun. I'd never really been to Spartanburg except for work at the plant outside of town. One weekend not too long ago they had a multicultural festival with food, music, and performances by people form all over. Below is a neat sculpture that was in the park. If you look behind it you might be able to see what might be a Canadian flag. There must have been over 80 booths each representing a country. Each had volunteers talking about their country and most had a posters, music, and other things from around the world. Unfortunately the guy who got dressed as a Mountie had no idea. It was almost embarrassing. Other than that we had a pretty good time.

This is one of the neat things we saw there. It wasn't associated with any country but it had to be one of the oldest Schwinns I've seen. Pretty cool.

Finally, to celebrate to soccer season again, here is a picture of team.