It has been a while since I wrote to any of my friends with a quality status update, so I thought I would remedy that right now!!!
After the moaning (subtle or not-so-subtle) about the weather in my previous updates I have to say that summer in the Chuck almost makes up for the months and months of cold that are a typical Canadian Northern winter. We have really been spoiled as most of this summer has been sunny or at the very least not raining (this is a distinction that only a person from the UK can truly appreciate) – don’t mind putting on a jumper but hate to put on a Mac!
This improvement in the weather has meant that we have been able to get out and about more and have thus met some new people. For those of you who are not on Facebook and have not been following my updates there – I have become a big fan of the gym and amongst my new friends have found a running partner. A lovely woman named Saskia who is a neighbour has been encouraging me to run – and has managed to get me out running a solid 30 minutes twice a week. Needless to say with all of this activity my bottom and some other wobblies have shrunk (much to my delight) – although there is still room for improvement.
Another thing which has improved with the weather is my attitude. I think the shock of a new country (new part of it in any case) added to being confined by the weather was getting me down. Being able to walk out without having to wrestle myself or a baby into any mad layers of clothing really does help make a girl smile! I am feeling more settled here and so are Maddie and Darren. They say ‘happy Mummy, happy household’ and I don’t think that is too far off the mark! I even have a bit of a tan (although it is hilarious when you see the tan lines (nothing sexy here - just above my ankles and anything that would show above the chest in a tank-top is lovely and brown…the rest is sort of a doughy white!).
We have had a chance (especially of late with Darren taking a week off work) to explore a bit more of the city and surrounding areas. Edmonton is not missing its beautiful parts – most of which are to do with the natural beauty of parks in Canada. We had the chance to visit
Elk Island National Park – which has two types of Bison (plains and woodland) roaming around the park. We even have some photos of one old fellow just after he had a dust bath which involved him rolling around like a dog on the ground in some dry mud! Although we didn’t get onto any of the walking trails there – we did enjoy our recce of the area and have plans to go back at the end of the summer or in the autumn.
The Saskatchewan river flows through Edmonton and is surrounded on both sides by some lovely parks which we explored on both foot and bicycle – Madeleine has a new seat at the back of Darren’s mountain bike which she rides while wearing her pink and purple flame bike hat (helmet in Canadian lingo) all the while giving a fine imitation of the Queen in a golden barouche! Very cute! This seat is a fabulous addition to our lives because walking with an 18-month-old child can be like removing ones own teeth with a pair of tweezers!!
One of our favourite places in Edmonton (well mine anyway as I am a history junkie like my Dad) is
Fort Edmonton. This is a really cool place which has helped to preserve the history of the city of Edmonton by reconstructing and preserving historic buildings of the area. There are three main streets set in different eras and a reconstruction of the original fort which was found at Edmonton. The park has reenactments, in the form of employees in traditional and historical dress, which occur daily - with special events throughout the summer. It is a great place for a Sunday wander - and as not all the buildings are open each time you go, there is always something different to look at. They also have loads of horses there - and Maddie is a HUGE fan - loves to pet them and, as with any living creature, she likes to shout at them (I guess this is her way of showing them how much she cares)! Hopefully, the next time we go we can get to ride the ferris wheel, or the street car(circa 1920), take a trip on the train (circa 1850s), or even a coach or buggie ride (circa 1850 and 1900 respectively)!
The new pace of life in Edmonton really seems to suit Darren – and his handicap is improving all the time. His new company likes to get its employees involved in events and quite of few of those involve either golfing or playing poker. I think this suits him down to the ground!
Madeleine is enjoying trying out everything – and I mean everything – around her. She is constantly pushing the boundaries – but luckily she is not too much of a Diva to get wound up when we put limits on her. Although her temper is coming along nicely! Every week brings a new fetish with her so if you don’t like some of her behaviour then wait a week and something else (also annoying) will take its place!
Well as she is currently wrestling in my lap I should sign off and hope that I will get some meaty update replies!
Lots of love!
Marjorie (Darren, Madeleine & Othello).
