New Years Eve!

I can't believe it's New Years Eve! It seems so strange not to be home with the NB gang. We'll definitely miss them!

Jamie, Chris and I started preparing early afternoon by heading to the grocery stores and getting everything we needed for food. The 3 of us spent a few hours cooking and getting it all together. Most arrived late afternoon and we had quite the full house. The evening ended up being pretty quite with all of us just sitting around chatting. I tried to get it going by bringing out the shooters. It worked a bit but most of the alcohol didn't seem to kick in until after midnight. It was also strange to ring in the new year knowing it wasn't 2008 in Canada for another 4 hours.

I wanted to talk to Karen and wish her a happy new year so I decided I'd call the legion as I knew she'd be there and I could surprise her. It ended up working out perfectly as I was able to talk to her, Graham, Jeffrey, Glorie, Travis, Shannon and Kelly! Couldn't get anymore perfect! They were all quite surprised.

All in all it was a good night but much quieter than previous years. I guess that comes with age though!

Link to New Years pics:

www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=82303&l=e826f&id=732460083

Back Home!

Keith and Eric had crawled back to the room at some stupid hour this morning in fine form. I made a bed on the floor for Eric from the pillows on the pullout couch - yeah, he didn't want to sleep on the couch. It was more of a fort really. Keith was so drunk I had to take his shoes off and unbutton his cuff links. Haha. It was kinda funny.

There were some headaches this morning but after a nice greasy breakfast in the hotel restaurant we were good to go. Well, I could have used many more hours of sleep! At lunch time we went to Lauren's parents place where Emma and Dave were hosting a little gathering for the Canadians. Dave made an amazing stew called African Beef Stew. He grew up in Kenya and his mom still lives there so this was a recipe he grew up on. And no there were no funky animals in it! Haha. After lunch Jamie, Brad, Carolyn and I headed out. I was anxious to get back home and wanted to get the drive over with.

A few hours later we were home. I could have slept the drive I'm sure, but it wouldn't have been very safe since I was the driver. We borrowed Emma's car for the week since we had so many people without cars coming to ours for New Years. Keith, Eric, Chris and Vern hit the road not long after us. Everyone (Jamie, Chris, Vern, Eric, Brad, Carolyn, Phil, Karin) who was in Helston for the night came to our place for supper. We ordered Indian and enjoyed a great variety. It was an early night as we were all bagged from last nights festivities. Plus, we have to prepare for tomorrow's New Year's gathering.

Dale & Lauren's Wedding Day!

Lauren was up early and headed to the Fox & Hounds to meet the girls and have her nails done. Chris and I waited at the house for Jack to have a nap then we headed down to meet everyone. Lauren was brave enough to have me do her hair so with Laura's help we did it. After we were finished it was my turn to get my nails done. I wasn't very smart about this as I should have gotten dressed first because I basically had to get dressed as soon as my nails were done. You can imagine how nice my french manicure looked then! Chris and I rushed around getting ready then getting the boutonnieres up to the boys at the house. They looked fantastic! But sorry guys, Lauren looks fabulous! We had a few minutes at the house and then it was off to the church, which is just a few minutes walk. The wedding went perfectly and was a beautiful ceremony.

Afterwards we went back to the Fox & Hounds Inn where the dinner and reception were held. We had about an hour of drinks and mingling than sat down for dinner. The dinner was incredible and was a really nice, cozy venue. Everyone did their speeches and Dale's made me and many others cry!

After the dinner it was time to start dancing. Olivia and her cousin Molly got the floor warmed up. It wasn't long and the dance floor wasn't empty for the rest of the night. We had such an excellent time. Everything came together so well. The pub in the hotel was perfect in size and atmosphere, the band was excellent and just the family and friends together made a great mix. I can't say enough praise about the day. Except that Keith and I have a tough standard to meet when we finally have our wedding!

Congratulations Mr & Mrs Dale Esliger! I'm honored to have such a wonderful brother and sister-in-law! xo

You'll have to follow these 2 links to my Facebook albums as I still can't upload pictures:

www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=81686&l=18fdc&id=732460083

www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=81698&l=6a655&id=732460083


I think the quality is causing the files to be too large to upload to Blogger.

Hen Party & Man Day

Today was Lauren's day to spend with her friends and Dale's day to spend with his. The guys spent the day golfing in the rain and pigeon clay shooting. The girls spent the day bowling and having lunch at the Exeter Inn where Lauren used to work. Late afternoon everyone met up at the recreation centre for a game of football. Jamie and I weren't interested in playing so we went for a walk through town, then her, Chris and I made the centre pieces for the wedding.

After everyone was back, the girls went to Jane's for drinks, munchies and the chocolate fountain! I bought the fountain a few weeks ago on eBay and it was a hit. Afterwards we went back to Lauren & Dale's for a drink, then went to the pub just down from their house. All the Canadians hung out and enjoyed being together. It was awesome. It felt like we were back home in Canada.

Off to sleep for Lauren & Dale's big day tomorrow....

The Canadians Arrive!!!

I am SO excited! Jamie, Eric, Brad and Carolyn arrive today! Everyone but Eric is traveling together as he's flying in from Denver where he lives. He called last night to say his flight was cancelled and he's on a different flight.

Jamie, Brad and Carolyn are taking the bus from Heathrow to Exeter where I'll pick them up. The wedding rehearsal is today so everyone else will be busy. I wanted to go anyway because I was so anxious to see them. It's about an hour to Exeter. When I arrived at the bus station they were already there. We headed back to Dale & Lauren's and everyone was back from the rehearsal when we returned. Eric was intending on getting a bus to Exeter, then another to Chulmeigh as a bus comes right to Dale & Lauren's. He was to catch the bus around 6pm but at 6:30pm while we were on our way to the pub for the rehearsal dinner. Eric called to say the bus never showed in Exeter.

I dropped everyone off at the pub, went back to the house to pick up Jamie for company and we went back to Exeter for Eric. Poor Eric, when we got there he had already been traveling for 24 hours and was bored stiff at the station. We came prepared with cider as it's legal here for passengers to drink. It was a very quick trip to and from Exeter as we wanted to try and make it back for the rehearsal dinner. We went straight to the pub and we had such good timing that everyone was just getting their main courses. We thought for sure we'd miss it because we were gone for 2 hours. We were happy to make it and order some much needed food.

Boxing Day

Congratulations Angie & Bruce on their engagement!!! They spent Xmas in Paris so Bruce proposed at the top of the Eiffel tower on Xmas Eve! Can you get any more romantic than that? We are so happy for them!

Happy Birthday Alexandra! Today is my best friend's daughter's birthday.

Christmas is over already? It's amazing how long we prepare for the day and it's over so quickly. Today was a quiet, relaxing one for what I remember. This is another day I can't remember a whole lot of what we did. I do remember Chris cooked sausage and peppers for supper as it's one of our favorite meals. AND Angie arrived! Angie & Bruce arrived after a very long evening of driving and not killing each other. Haha. It was Bruce's first time driving in the UK and to add the darkness and unknown territory to it all was not easy. They spent the evening with us which was really nice. They're staying until the 30th as they have to be in Ottawa for another wedding in Bruce's family.

Merry Christmas!!!

'Merry Christmas Baby' and a kiss on the forehead was what I woke up to this morning. That made my day already. This is mine and Keith' first Xmas together. Can you believe it? We've been together for 6 years or so and have never spent Xmas together. And out first Xmas together is as a married couple!

So far this doesn't seem so bad. Went down stairs as everyone was just getting up (around 9:30am or so). Olivia started the gift opening and she made Xmas! Xmas is not the same without kids. It reminded me of Matthew and Graham when they were young and how excited they'd get and the piles of gifts they would open. We took awhile to get through all our gifts and I didn't even fill up as I was opening my gifts. I kept my mind off the thought that it is Xmas and I'm normally opening these with my parents, brothers and grandparents. Whew, made it through!

After we opened our gifts we decided to meet Lauren's family for a walk in Eggsford forest where there's a nice walking trail. It's a really nice day out, mild and of course no snow because that's rare here. We slapped on our rubber boots as it's a bit muddy and headed out. Spent an hour or so walking and it was really nice for us all to be out.

Not long after our walk we all headed to Jane & Terry's (Lauren's parents) for Christmas appetizers and eventually Christmas dinner. Jane & Terry had a fantastic spread as always and we enjoyed smoked salmon, herring (I think) and even some caviar! Later we had Christmas dinner with turkey and ham and more fixings than I ever thought possible. It was amazing. Once gifts were exchanged and we were all stuffed, we headed back to Lauren and Dale's.

I called home before we went for our walk, then again when I got back from Jane's. It was weird to wish everyone Merry Christmas over the phone and to ask what they got for Xmas and tell them what I got. This was also Matthew's first time away for Xmas. He spent the day with our cousin Dawn who is also living in Calgary so I was relieved he wasn't spending it alone. I wasn't able to have much of a conversation with Mom as the first time we were kinda running out the door, there was no time during the day and then later the connection was so bad we couldn't talk so I was really disappointed about that. The same when I called Dad, Nan & Gampie, Matthew and Nanny Neil. I wasn't very impressed as it was my only way to spend some time with them today. But we (me & them) all made it through the day so I was very happy about that. And spending Christmas with Keith was excellent.

Christmas Eve

Happy Birthday Chris! Today is my mother-in-law's birthday.

Worked until lunch time then headed to Dale & Lauren's from there. Stopped in Truro for about an hour to grab a few last minute things. Arrived mid afternoon just as everyone was preparing for the Xmas Eve gathering of Lauren's family coming over for drinks and appetizers. We spent a few hours getting everything ready and it turned out great. I was very anxious to see Lauren's sister Emma as she's almost 4 months pregnant and we haven't seen her since August. Also anxious to meet her husband Dave who Keith and I have not yet met.

During the evening Keith whipped up some famous Moose Milk for everyone to try. It is so good! Everyone seemed to enjoy it. We all had a really great evening and it was a perfect way to start the Xmas holidays. Before heading to bed I opened my stocking stuffers from Nan & Gampie. I did have a tear sneak out, but then I was fine. Off to bed for the big day tomorrow - still nervous I'm going to cry like a fool opening my gifts from my family.

Blogger isn't letting me upload pictures!

Back to Helston

Today Olivia was in her very first play. The local church held a nativity play and she played an angel. She was the cutest of them all of course! The whole family went and watched with great pride at our little Olivia.

Mid afternoon I jumped in the car and came back home. I have to work tomorrow for a 1/2 day so I had to come back this evening. Not a big deal really, it gave me a bit of 'me time' which I always enjoy. Talked to Mom & Dad and continued to prepare myself for Xmas Day away from them. I can't believe I'm not home. And I'm missing Tipsy Eve!

South Molton

The girls went into South Molton to look for trim for centre pieces for the wedding. And from there I am drawing a blank! I can't remember what else we did that day. This always becomes a bit of a challenge when it's weeks before I update the blog!

I think we went to Lauren's parent's place for a meet and greet of the new family. Chris & Vern and Terry & Jane have not yet met so today was spent meeting the other side of the family.

Exeter Bound

What a morning! I thought I gave myself plenty of time to make my train, but I just made it! I had forgotten that I needed to fill the car up before returning it so that put me behind and almost caused me to miss my train. First I missed the turn off to the gas station, then there was a line up. Once I was finished I booted it back to Hertz to drop off the car - which is at the train station. I dropped my keys and ran out the door, I'm sure they thought I was crazy. Went to print my ticket off and the machine wouldn't print. I had to get in line and have one of the agents print it for me. The train arrived as I was doing this so I had to run to the train. Whew! My ticket was good for the next train in an hour but it wouldn't have been convenient.

Arrived in Exeter around lunch time and Keith, Dale, Vern and Olivia picked me up. We went into town (well Exeter is a city - largest one in the South West of England) to meet Lauren, Chris and Jack who were shopping. It was so nice to see Chris and Vern! The girls shopped for a bit then met the boys at a restaurant for lunch and drinks. Once finished we headed back to Dale & Lauren's. We spent the evening relaxing and just enjoying all of us being together as it happens maybe once a year.

1/2 Day At Work

I had one 1//2 day left of vacation so I took it today since I wasn't able to use it for Xmas Eve. Oh well. Finished at 1pm, popped into Asda to get a few last minute things and came home. Enjoyed a quiet afternoon and evening relaxing and updating the blog. I'm packed and ready to go for tomorrow morning to catch the train around 9:30am. Can't wait to see Chris and Vern! I'm so happy Keith's parents are here but I can't help but be jealous that my parents aren't here.

Chris & Vern Here!

Yay! Chris & Vern made it! They arrived this morning, caught the bus to Exeter and Keith picked them up there. They are all at Dale & Lauren's now enjoying time with their boys and their grandkids.

I had another late night at work so when I got home I realized I really don't have enough time to get the things I wanna get done to go to Dale's tomorrow. I've decided I'm going to wait and catch the train Friday morning instead. It was weird to talk to Keith and hear his parents in the background. you know, I find it really hard to comprehend it's been 8.5 months since we've seen friends and family from home.

Keith's Parents On Their Way

Chris & Vern fly out tonight! They leave Saint John this afternoon, fly into Halifax where Jamie will entertain them for the evening, then they fly out around midnight.

I took the afternoon off work as I'm trying to use up my vacation days. Did a bit of running around and was able to pick Keith up at work. Since Keith is heading to Dale's tomorrow, we went to pick up a rental car for me to get me to work. We spent the evening doing last minute things and getting everything together for him to leave. Speedy also dropped by for an hour (Rach was working) and enjoyed a wee Xmas dram with Keith.

Sick Again

This really sucks. During the night I woke up with one of the worst sore throats I've had. How spectacular.

Today I spent a few hours creating a few CDs for Dale & Lauren's wedding. There will be a band playing at the reception, but they want to have some music to play during the band's breaks. I got a bunch of requests from friends and family and put together what I hope are two good compilations.

I can't believe it but in just a few days Keith's parents will be in the UK! I also can't believe how fast Christmas is coming. The closer it gets the easier it seems to be that I'm going to be here and not at home with my family. I still have no doubt Xmas Day will be hard, but it'll be really nice to spend Xmas with Keith, especially our first Xmas being married.

Christmas Cookies

Keith headed to Truro with Speedy again to finish off their shopping. He had a few things he wanted to pick up so the 'girls' went on their way again. While they shopped, Rachel worked and I baked. Been forever since I've seen Rach as we've both been so busy. I spent a few hours baking shortbread and ginger snap cookies. I just can't get the ginger snaps right here with this damn oven, not like I can at home. At least they taste good.

I was starting to not feel great today. Well the past 2 days I've been quite tired and sure enough this evening I feel a sore throat coming on. Dammit! This is the third cold I've had in 3 months. Not sure what this English weather is doing to me. Whatever it is, I don't like it!

Dress Shopping Success!

Glad I'm not Keith this morning having to go to work.

Still on a mission to find a dress; I headed to Penzance. I spent an hour in New Look and came out with a dress, shawl, top, and winter boots. What a successful day! So relieved to have finally found a dress. And I found a top to go with my new grey skirt. So I'm all set.

Keith and I spent the evening wrapping his family's gifts. We were both really tired and lazy so it took the entire night to wrap them. We were in no rush and Keith just wanted to sleep.

Work Christmas Party

Another busy week at work. I'm only working 3 days this week as I still have some vacation days to use before Xmas, so I took today off. That made the week even busier trying to cram everything in.

Keith has a work function today that involves finishing work at lunchtime and going to meet everyone at the Legion here in Helston. It should be an interesting day for him! I enjoyed the day doing absolutely nothing, it was really nice for a change.

My work Xmas dinner is tonight so I'm heading back into work around 6pm to meet everyone. A few of the London crew are coming down so I finally get to meet the people I talk to everyday. When I arrived at work they had mulled wine ready so we were enjoying that. Then we headed to the Hunky Dory restaurant which is very nice fish restaurant in Falmouth. We spent the entire evening and almost until midnight there. It was a great evening with excellent food and company. I didn't drink so I drove a few of the guys home. When I arrived home just after midnight Keith was passed out cold in bed. He must have had a good day/night as normally he's a light sleeper.

Happy Birthday Lauren & Emma!

Happy 29th Lauren & Emma! Hope your day is excellent!

Feeling much more ambitious today I started making truffles for Christmas. I spent a few hours in the afternoon making various flavors; Kahlua, mint, rum, raspberry and I can't even remember the last kind. The raspberry ones I made with milk chocolate and the others with dark. Unfortunately the milk chocolate didn't set so they are pretty gooey, but work when eating them right out of the freezer as they are still soft. The Kahlua ones turned out the best. Hopefully I can contain myself from not eating them all before Xmas!

Christmas Decorating

Keith and I got up at 8am this morning as he was going to Truro with Speedy to do some Xmas shopping. I'm officially done so I'm not going near any stores on a Saturday...too manic for me. Well except for B&Q as we had to pick up a few things. It was early though so it was very quiet. I was pretty lazy after being out until late so I didn't do a whole lot. I did attempt to make some Red Onion soup which I had in Germany but I ended up grabbing the wrong recipe. It was alright, but not what I was looking for.
Keith arrived home mid afternoon and we spent the evening decorating and going through the gifts we'd bought.

Dress Shopping

Busy week getting back. Work has become busier and busier. Not that I'm complaining because I'm happy to be busy. Went to Truro today to see if I can find a dress for Dale & Lauren's wedding. This place (meaning the UK in general) is painful to find a normal dress. The fashion here is frightful to say the least, especially when it comes to dresses. If I was interested in wearing something really flashy and short with tights underneath, I'd be all set. And let's top that off with a really big, ugly sequence belt and some bad flat shoes. Haha. I'm not joking! I've seen girls wear belts with gym pants. It's just not right. Anyway, no luck today. Visited several shops, but no dresses I would be caught dead in. I did however find an awesome long heavy grey skirt. It'll look great with my high boots. After shopping for a few hours I headed back home.

Pete invited us out tonight so we went to his place in Penryn for a few drinks. On our way to Falmouth we stopped at the Old Barrel pub beside his place and grabbed a quick drink while waiting for a taxi. We spent most of the evening at Weatherspoons where we met up with Nick. Afterwards we went to Fin McCool's where there was actually a live folk band playing! It felt like we were at the Lower Deck! We felt so at home. The place was packed but it was good. To end the evenings we went to Remedies. As Keith and I were drinking we crashed at Pete's but not before Pete whipped us up some bacon sandwiches. Haha. So funny I know, but they are traditional English fare and so good after drinking.

Train back home

Sooooo tired! I can't wait to get home. Up at 6am this morning to go into work with Padre. She's dropping me at the tube station which is on the way to the base. I grab my 2 tubes back to Paddington and off to home I am. 5 hours later I arrive in Truro and Rach picks me up because Keith is flying.

Once I got home I pretty much did nothing for the rest of the day. Unfortunately Keith had a second flight today and didn't arrive home until 9:30pm. I was anxious to see him too, but had to wait. I had a fantastic trip but I'm glad to be home and crashing in my own bed tonight. Just wish I could sleep in and not go to work tomorrow. Who invented work anyway?

Back to England

Happy 29th Birthday Becks!

Seems weird to be in another country and saying I can't wait to go home....to England! Up and at it early this morning as we had to get on the road to home. Really not looking forward to this super long journey. We drove an hour or so and then stopped in Monschau for a few hour visit. More Xmas markets here. Very small town for what I could see. I didn't really buy anything as it was all the same as the others. It was also raining again and I was just anxious to get this drive over with.

The drive ended up being as painful as I expected. We ended up being late leaving Monschau which caused us to have to drive with fewer stops to try and make out time for the Chunnel. Even after all that, we still missed it. Which really sucked. We were almost an hour late arriving at 7pm and we ended up having to wait until after 10pm before we could get on the train. So here we are hanging out in the Eurotunnel terminal for a few hours. Thank God it's similar to an airport terminal so there are shops and duty free to entertain us. We finally arrived at the base at 12:30am. I'm staying with the Padre tonight as there's no way for me to get to Cornwall tonight. Finally crash at her place around 1:30am.

Blogger still won't let me upload pictures.

Trier Markets

Today we spend the entire day in Trier. Yay! No driving! To start the morning off we took a tour of the city on a little train/wagon thing. We saw most of the city this way and the commentary was given in German, French, and English. It was alright but I did get a little bored.

Once the tour was over Stacey, Eve, and I took off to explore more markets. There is absolutely no shortage of Xmas markets in this country. Some of the unique German items to buy are 'smokers' which are carved wooden figures (mostly male) that their bottom screws off to insert incense inside. With the lit incense the smoke comes out the figures mouth which always holds a pipe. It's really neat. I had to buy one because they're so unique. Nutcrackers are also obviously very popular and proper beer steins. I brought a nice stein home to Keith - I'm sure he'll have no problem putting it to good use.

It poured rain for morning and we, along with everyone else were soaked, but that didn't deter us. We spent the rain time in one of the impressive churches and courtyard. We grabbed lunch at a small cafe and after we were finished the rain had stopped and I ventured on my own. I'm not a good shopper with other people. If I'm on a mission, which I was to get Christmas gifts for Keith's parents, I have to shop by myself or I won't get anything done. I spent a few hours roaming the streets and shops of Trier. It was awesome, I loved it. Such a neat feeling to be in this foreign country, roaming on my own and not feeling overwhelmed or intimidated. When I was finished shopping - oh my God the stuff I bought, my backpack was so full - I called Stacey and met her and Eve for supper. We went to a restaurant right beside the markets. It was very busy and once again the food was excellent. We spent about 3 hours in the restaurant eating, chatting, drinking, and laughing. What a great time. Funny that I just met these girls and we clicked so well.

Once we were finished at the restaurant we headed back to the hotel. We were invited back to one of the rooms with a bunch of the girls so we went there and continued to drink some more wine.

I'll have to add the rest of the pictures another time because blogger is not cooperating.

Christmas Markets Galore

The hotel beds were so comfortable, thank-God because I needed some proper sleep. Also great shower and breakfast offered. We're were off at 8am to hit the Xmas markets in a few different towns. We're staying in Trier, the oldest city in Germany. Our first place to visit was Koblenz, about an hour away. More time on the bus - dear God.

Koblenz is a city that is situated where the Rhine and Moselle Rivers meet and at this point there is a massive monument of Emperor William I on horseback - it's quite impressive.

Just beside this monument stands 3 pieces of the Berlin wall - as you'll see from my pictures. After being a tourist and taking many pictures, Stacey and I headed into town to discover these amazing Christmas markets Germany is famous for.

The architecture here is so neat, I love it. The markets are set up in several places around the city center and are little wooden sheds open as kiosks. There is never ending food and drink as well. I quickly learned the German food is fantastic. So much variety rather than your typical burger and fries. Stacey and I sampled one of the desert like items. It was like a pancake with apple slices folded into it. The guy warmed it and served it with sugar sprinkled on top. It was so good.

Next was our wine tasting in Winnigen. We went to this very neat, cozy winery/vineyard. The couple who own the vineyard have built a small pub/restaurant like service on their property where they hold their wine tastings. It is a very welcoming place. The wine wasn't anything I like as most of it was white, but it was still a neat experience to have a German explain his wines to us.

Next we're on our way to Cochem, a small market town about 30 minutes away. This town was also kited out with Xmas market kiosks and food. Here, Stacey and I tried their deep friend potato pancake something or other. I have no idea what anything was called and even if I did, I'd never be able to pronounce it or spell it. This potato thing wasn't great as it was soaked in grease. Better luck next time. Cochem is also nestled alongside a river and has narrow little streets in its town center. There's also a castle that sits on the hill overlooking the town.

The last stop for the evening is Bernkastel. Wow! There's a huge building outfitted as an advent calendar! It's was amazing all lit up. Each window was decorated to look like a day on the calendar. Impressive. Another very cool town with quaint, narrow streets. By this point we are all starving so we all split up to go grab some grub. Stacey and I went to the first restaurant we saw that looked pretty decent. The atmosphere was great and the food fantastic. We had a great time relaxing and chatting and listening the the German chatter around us. By the time we were finished eating, all the markets were closed so we walked around with a few of the other girls and took in the sights.

We landed back at the hotel around 10pm. Stacey visited my room for more chatting and checking out what we bought.

Off to Germany!

The train arrived in London at 05:20. I relaxed in my bunk until 6, then I was off on my next adventure - the tube! The tube leaves right from London Paddington train station, which is super easy to get to. I only had to make one connection and it was smooth sailing. Once I arrived in West Ruislip where the base is, I only had a 6 minute walk and I was at the detachment.

The place was packed with people I didn't know. I just kind of hung around and had some of the continental breakfast they laid out for us. Just before we starting loading the bus I met Stacy. Right away her and I hit it off so we sat on the bus together and never shut up for several hours later. We left the detachment around 8:30am because of an accident on one of the motorways. Due to this accident it took us a long time to get out of London. We finally arrived in Dover around 10:30am I think. We had a few minutes wait and then we loaded on the Euro Tunnel (aka Chunnel). I thought the Chunnel was an underground highway system, but I was completely wrong. It's actually a train system. The vehicles drive into what is similar to a boxcar on a train. The train then travels through the tunnel - God knows how many meters/kilometers underground. There is enough room to get out and walk around the boxcar and to walk into all the connecting cars. The only facility available are a few bathrooms. It took about 45 minutes and then we were able to see sunlight again. There are really small windows in the car so you can't really seem much anyway, but you can tell when you're underground as it's nothing but darkness outside the windows.

We're in France! The chunnel finishes in Calais, France. We are now an hour ahead of the UK. We spend a few more hours driving and stop in a town somewhere in France to grab a very quick bite to eat. Most of us went to the grocery store that was there. It was very busy and I had a hoot trying to understand what I was buying and even more of a hoot trying to pay for my purchases via the self service check-out. I managed quite fine, but realized later than there is an English option for payment! Oh well, it was an experience. The highway we take to get to Germany travels about 30 miles from Vimy Ridge and that highway is scattered with large crosses bordered with a stone fence. These crosses are the mark the fallen during the war.


A few more hours and we're in Belgium! So cool! We stopped in a small town for supper and Stacy and I took a quick walk around. I attempted to take a few pictures but it was raining a bit so didn't have much luck. Also, very cold tonight. Back on the bus we continue to drive and pass through Luxembourg, ten finally we're in Germany! We eventually arrive at our hotel around 9:30pm and we're bagged. Way too much driving. It's an early night with most of us hitting the hay not long after arrival. Whew, 5 countries in 1 day is tiring!

Sleeper to London!

What a crazy week and day at work! With this being an even shorter week for me than normal, there was a lot to jam into those few days. We've won a few projects as well recently and the pace has picked up quite a bit, which is great. I ended up working until almost 7pm tonight and spent another hour at home trying to submit tender documents online because our internet was down at the studio. What a pain in the ass. I was basically running out the door to catch my train.

I'm on my way to London tonight as I leave tomorrow morning for Germany! Yay! The coach leaves the Canadian detachment in London at 8am so getting the overnight train was my only option. I was actually excited to check this sleeper option out. I booked a single cabin so I wasn't sharing with any strangers. The train departed Truro at 22:44 and I had my own little room with a bed and sink. It's small, but it's all you need. I was able to sleep a bit and even though the train can be a bit loud and bumpy at times it was somewhat soothing to fall asleep to the steady movement of the train.

Ah Sunday...

Keith is cooking again making chili for supper and I'm about to make shortbread cookies. I'm hoping to do some Xmas baking closer to Xmas, but have to make sure this pain in the ass over of ours will actually bake the cookies and not just burn the edges. I figured I'd try a trial run today. I guess today is more of a cooking day then yesterday. Keith is out mowing the lawn and cleaning the BBQ. Doesn't sound fun at all.

Cooking Day

It wasn't a very nice day so Keith and I went grocery shopping and that's about it. Keith spent few hours making mulligatawny soup and I shopped online for New Years favors, a chocolate fondue fountain, and Xmas stockings. The soup was fantastic. I don't know how he does it but no matter what he cooks it tastes great. The evening brought more movie watching - Month Python's The Holy Grail and The Siege with Bruce Willis and Denzel.

Movie Night

Happy Birthday Aaron!

When I got up at 8am this morning, there was a beautiful rainbow in the sky. This is a picture from our bedroom overlooking the married quarters behind our house.

I spent the entire day Xmas shopping. Nope, I'm not tired of it yet! Instead of torturing ourselves by going tomorrow (as Saturdays are crazy) I told Keith I'd go and do as much of his family as I could. I headed into to Truro and spent the day there visiting several shops. I love shopping! I even managed not t come home with anything for myself. That's pretty good! When I got home Keith and Speedy were hanging out having a beer. We spent the evening at Rosanna's place with Dave, Rach, and Speedy having wine, chatting, and watching a movie, Bad Santa. It was nice for a change as we haven't had movie night in weeks.

More Wrapping

Got the last of the gifts today and finished wrapping and getting them ready for shipping. Also made banana muffins. It was sad getting the gifts ready knowing I won't be home to watch my family open them. Very weird feeling really, with this being my first Christmas away from home. This is not going to be easy. The parcels will be shipped off tomorrow. It does feel good to have the shopping out of the way.

Cleaning...

Spent the morning and early afternoon cleaning and doing laundry. What a joy! After it was all done I headed to the Pool Tesco to do some more shopping. It was insane! I swear everyone in the county was at that Tesco. We cooked a roast for supper and I spent the evening wrapping gifts.

More Shopping

Shocking as it is, Keith suggested we do some shopping today. He figured he should get going on his family's shopping so we headed out to Falmouth. We didn't really accomplish a whole lot, but spent a few hours walking around Falmouth and just browsing. It was early evening when we were on our way home, so we headed to the Indian Restaurant for supper. Afterwards, we grabbed a few movies and spent the evening watching flicks, just like last night. Tonight we watched Ocean's Thirteen and The Wind That Shakes the Barley. Ocean's Thirteen was excellent - how couldn't it be with George Clooney and Brad Pitt to drool over? The second movie was a very Irish film and was a bit hard to understand at first. Eventually I got what they were saying and watched 1/2 of the movie before I went to bed. It wasn't really a flick that kept my interest.

Xmas Shopping!

Happy 30th Birthday Dan!!

I forget to post a picture of our new couch so here it is. It's huge and it's so comfortable! We've had it over a month now and it's so hard to get off it once you sit down. It's not great quality, but it does the trick.

I headed to Penzance this morning to finish off my Xmas shopping for my family. I have to finish it this weekend as the parcels have to be mailed early next week. I spent several hours in Penzance (20 minutes away) and was very happy that I didn't have to go to Truro or Falmouth for anything, I was able to get it all in one town. Friday seems to be a great day to go shopping because the shops weren't manic as I was thinking they may be.

Keith finished work early afternoon and was pretty low key for the rest of the day. Recovering from last night! We watched a few movies - The Davinci Code and Die Hard 4. Die Hard 4 was excellent!

Toranto Mess Dinner

The Toranto Mess dinner seems to be the highlight of the year for the officers. Tonight was the members only mess dinner. I've been told the history behind Toranto, but I can't remember it at the moment. Part of the evening involves teams (which I believe are the various squadrons) showing off their canons which they have built over the past weeks. I don't know all the details, but it sounded like an interesting setup. I have no doubt Keith and the rest of the boys will be in fine form tonight and hurting units tomorrow.

Happy Birthday Gampie!

Happy Birthday Gampie!

For his birthday I sent him home a remote control Mini Cooper! It's bright red and has the Union Jack flag painted on the roof. It's very British and very cool! I figured I'd help him feel like a kid again. He loved it.

The Waie Inn

Lauren was feeling much better today and Olivia and the boys needed to burn some energy so we went to the Waie Inn for a few hours. Olivia had a great time climbing the indoor play area and rushing down the slides. It's such a great place for kids to play and drain them of their energy! Dale & Keith played squash and by the time they were finished their game, Dale was feeling quite ill. He caught the bug Lauren had. Keith & I figured we'd get on the road early to let everyone recover. We got home at supper time and didn't really do any for the rest of the evening.

Remembrance Day Service

Keith was asked a few months back to attend a memorial service at Winkleigh Airfield today to lay a Canadian wreath. Winkleigh is about 10 minutes from Dale & Lauren's so it was perfect. The memorial was held today as it is a very small one (about 30 people) so everyone could still go to the main services tomorrow. We didn't know until we arrived that Winkleigh is the birthplace of 406 Squadron in Shearwater. It was formed during WWII when many Canadians were based at Winkleigh.

406 is the training squadron at Shearwater that all aircrew eventually pass through before being qualified navigators and pilots. In saying that, it meant Keith was quite the celebrity again because he of course went through 406 during his training. The people of Winkleigh and the British servicemen at the time were quite appreciative that Keith attended and had never ending stories to tell.

As part of the service he was presented with the honor roll of the men killed (all Canadians, and 1 Polish) and a picture of the monument that was erected at Winkleigh in 1995. After the service we were invited for tea/coffee and cakes. The people were extremely inviting and took very god care of us. Keith was also well photographed! His picture ended up in the paper and can be seen at:



I'm so proud! Ron Fletcher, the man in charge of the service also sent us the newspaper article, a picture taken of Keith & I, and a disk of all the pictures taken that day. I have no doubt we'll be back there next year. It such an experience to meet the vets and hear their stories.

We arrived back at Dale & Lauren's just after lunch and relaxed for the rest of the day. Lauren was sick throughout the night with some kind of bug so she needed to lay low to recover.

Off to Dale & Lauren's

Keith finished work at lunch time today so we headed out for Dale & Lauren's around 2pm. We had a bunch of stops to make on the way, one of them being to RAF St. Mawgan so we could buy some North American groceries. We also got stuck in some traffic for about 20 minutes. We arrived at Dale & Lauren's around 6pm - making for quite the long trip. We relaxed and enjoyed good company and good food as always. It was so good to see the kids. Olivia is still as fantastic as always and Jack is now much more attentive and loves to be entertained.

Beautiful Weather

Happy Birthday Paige! Today is Michelle's youngest' 2nd birthday.

I was thinking today what a fantastic fall we're having. I was out today for a few minutes without a coat on and on Halloween it was quite warm. There's still butterflies, other insects and all kinds of birds around. They all seem more prominent now than in the summer. We have a few tiny birds, not sure what they are that seem to enjoy flying into our upstairs windows. It's very bizarre! They head towards the window, hit their beak, fly off and come back to try again. It's only been the last few weeks, we haven't figured out why but I have a feeling the sun being lower in the sky is causing a reflection!

It's still running about 13C-15C during the day, but getting chillier at night. I could definitely handle this year round. However, the temperatures will fall soon and I'll complain.

So I bought a wet suit online on Monday and I got it today. It's in excellent condition and I only paid £31 for it! That's about $62. It is a second hand suit, but I didn't want to spend a lot of money not knowing if this is going to be something I enjoy. Friday I'll have to spend some time shopping ebay again for boots, flippers, and a board. The boots are only because the water isn't going to be warm enough to not wear any soon.

Keith and I put together a huge duty free booze order tonight. We're allowed 3 months worth of our allowance since we live so far away. That means we're ordering 18 litres of alcohol! This will cover a small portion of Xmas and New Years. Haha.Oh the excitement.

Happy Birthday Graham!

Happy 21st Birthday Graham! God, I'm getting old! I can't believe my youngest brother is now 21. I swear I don't feel old on my birthday, it always on theirs!

Keith had to work a few hours tonight. While he was at work I chatted to Michelle for an hour while she was at work! Hehe. So good to talk to her. We don't get much of a chance with the 5 hour time difference, so it's nice when we do catch each other.

Guy Fawkes Day

Pretty quiet day at work. My boss has been away since Thursday and doesn't come back until tomorrow, so it was a pretty quiet day. I had stuff to keep me busy all day, but it was a nice, peaceful Monday - I can't complain! So peaceful I almost fell asleep at my desk. Haha.

Lots of fireworks going off tonight. Many of the families in the married patch here have set theirs off. It's been a busy night for displays. Keith and I didn't go out to see any of the formal displays as we didn't get done supper until late. Now it's time to fall asleep...

Cooking Day

It was really nice to wake up this morning feeling normal and well. As the last 2 Sundays have been stricken with self inflicted headaches and hangover blahs. Today didn't consist of anything too exciting. Keith made some homemade mushroom soup for lunch and we cooked a roast for supper. It's been a pretty quiet, well rested weekend. It's been very nice. This weekend we're off to Devon as Keith has to attend a Remembrance Day service close to Dale & Lauren's to lay a Canadian wreath. We'll be spending the weekend with Dale, Lauren, and the kids.

Oh, and I just bought a wetsuit! I've been wanting to try body boarding when Keith goes surfing but haven't been able to without a suit. I just bought a winter one on ebay for cheap. Yay! Now I can go too! Hopefully I'll enjoy it as much as he does.

The Eden Project

This morning Rach & Speedy and Keith & I headed to St. Austell to visit the Eden Project. It's about an hour's drive from here. I've been wanting to go since we arrived, so we finally made the time to go. Speedy has been before, but the rest of us haven't been.

The Eden Project is:

"Eden is all about man's relationship with and dependence upon plants. Much of our food, our clothes, our shelter and our medicines come from the plant world. Without plants there would be no oxygen for us to breathe, no life on earth.

The Eden Project is a showcase for all the questions and many of the answers. But Eden is not a worthy, over-serious, guilt-ridden place; nor does it preach. It is about education and communication of the major environmental issues of the day, always presented in an engaging, involving, even humorous way.

More than 1,000,000 plants representing 5,000 species from many of the climatic zones of the world. Many of these can grow in the mild conditions of Cornwall, others need greenhouses and that is where Eden's two gigantic Biomes - the biggest conservatories in the world - come in."

We only made it through one of the biomes - the Rain Forest. We didn't have to spend that much time, but we did. Checking out every detail and taking so many pictures. We saw banana, pineapple and papaya trees, various palm trees, bamboo trees, a variety of pants I've never seen, and many other plants. It was fantastic. This is a fabulous charity and definitely worth to money to go. After we visited the biome we stopped for a quick bite to eat. We were going to go to the second biome, the Mediterranean but we decided to check out the Discovery Centre they have on sight. We also quickly visited the indoor skating rink they open during the fall and winter months - it's quite the rink! Not huge, but very nice with skate rentals, music playing, etc. We'll definitely have to visit again to see the rest of the place.

On the way home we stopped at a little fish market in a small village called Grampound. That was Keith's highlight of the trip. Rach and Speedy travelled separate from us as they had to get back earlier. At 7pm Keith and I went to Praa Sands where there was a fireworks display. We went to the Sand Bar restaurant which sits right on the beach. We watched some fireworks and had supper. It wasn't as great as I expected, but it was still something different to do.

The reason for the fireworks is, Monday November 5th is Guy Fawkes day, also known as Bon Fire night. "November 5th marks the anniversary of the Gunpowder Plot, a conspiracy to blow up the English Parliament and King James I in 1605, the day set for the king to open Parliament. The anniversary was named after Guy Fawkes, the most famous of the conspirators. Guy Fawkes Day, is still celebrated in England with fireworks and bonfires, on which effigies of the conspirator are burned."

Because the day falls on a Monday, it seems many people and businesses have decided to celebrate it over the weekend. We have already seen a few fireworks displays last night and a few more tonight. Every so often you can hear them crackling. Even in the married patch here, several families have set them off.

When Keith and I got home we watched 'Four Weddings and a Funeral'. Another not so fantastic movie. But very British! After that I couldn't keep my eyes opened and crashed for the night.

Keith Off

Keith had half of yesterday and all day today off. We spent the morning cleaning up and doing errands so we wouldn't have to do any of it on Sunday. The rest of the day was spent watching tv and lazing around. Very odd for both of us when it isn't Sunday. After supper I popped into town to grab a few movies. We spent the night watching 'All the Kings Men' and 'Wild Hogs'. Wild hogs was a great flick with John Travolta and Tim Allen. Definitely one to watch.

Happy Halloween!

Yeah, it's one of my favorite days of the year! I don't know why I like Halloween so much but it's always been one of my favorite times. I like seeing the kids dressed up and the feel in the air. We had no idea how many kids we'd have so I started with 2 bags of candy which equated to 50 chocolate bars. By 6:30pm I was out the door to buy more. I bought 2 more bags and within an hour and a half I had to put a sign on the door that we were out of candy. I am guesstimating we have about 75 trick-or-treaters. We were generous with the first few kids, but after we saw how many were coming, we cut it down to one candy per kid, otherwise we'd be broke. I had a lot of fun greeting the kids. Some year I'll get into the true spirit and dress up to.

Speedy and Rach came over and we ordered Indian. I'm going to turn into Indian food this week. The we watched a very bad horror flick. We turned out the lights, lit the fire and prepared to be scared, but it didn't happen. Don't waste your time or money on 'The hills have eyes'. So bad! But it was a good night!

Pumpkin Carving

A few weeks ago I bought 2 pumpkins and have kept forgetting to carve them. Tonight is my last chance so I made sure I remembered. After supper I spent an hour or so carving the pumpkins. I love Halloween and this time of year. As I was carving them, it took me back to when Matthew, Graham, and I use to carve them together. Oh, how I miss those days. They're lucky they weren't here or they would have been helping. Every year I make sure we have Jack-o-lanterns. In my mind, they make Halloween.

Back to Work

Happy 29th Birthday Jamie! We'll have to make up for it when you're here for New Years!

work busy again, which was great. I'm always happy to be busy. Makes the days go by faster and I find it harder work to make it look like you're busy!

A few things that have come to me lately. Anyone who knows me, knows I don't like Gin or olives. For some reason in the past month I have developed a liking for gin! Julia would be so proud! I have no idea where it came from but one night - actually when Dale & Olivia were visiting in September, I made Keith and Dale gin & tonics and for some strange reason they looked good. So I made myself one. then 2 weeks ago I had another urge for one and have been enjoying them since. Same goes for olives. I have tried them several times with no luck. A few weeks ago I went out after work with the guys for a drink and they ordered a few munchies, including olives. They actually looked appealing so I tried one, and another, and another. Now I guess I like olives. Bizarre!

Hangovers Suck

Why do I drink? keith and I didn't get out of bed until 11am. The time went back last night so if it hadn't, it actually would be 12pm. After a night out, my body's requires sleeeeeep. We didn't have too bad a mess to clean up. Maybe it's a good thing not as many showed up! We cleaned up and enjoyed a pretty relaxing, lazy Sunday watching 'Talladega Nights' starring Will Farrell. Even being too slack to cook supper, we ordered in Indian.

James Bond Night

Keith and Speedy went surfing this morning, so Rach came over and we crashed on our new cozy couch and watched a chick flick, 'An Unfinished Life'. It was pretty good. When the boys got back, early afternoon we cut Keith's birthday cake and it was pretty good. It can't be judged by it's appearance! Keith and I spent the afternoon getting the house ready for the James Bond party we're throwing tonight. Once the house was ready we had to grab munchies and prepare them. We cut it pretty close to when everyone was arriving. Only 9 of us in total turned up as several of the guys were out of town for the weekend. We didn't know this when we planned it for today. Oh well.


We still had a good time. Everyone was dressed up, mostly in suits and dresses as a formal affair. Speedy even showed up as Vespa from Casino Royale! I have to say he doesn't make a very hot lady. Mostly because he has hairy legs showing under his dress and his pearls were tangled in his chest hair. I don't remember Vespa being so hairy? Haha. It was great. Keith made lots of crazy concoctions and people drank them. Some were scary and one even involved cheese! I don't know, don't ask!


To end the evening we headed out to Big T's and danced our drunkeness away. Okay, not really as I think most of us were more drunk by the time we came out of the heat of the place. Keith and I supported each other on the walk home. So funny. We had a good time though. We definitely have to have another one when everyone is around.