Change we can believe in

This is off-topic for our little blog, but I just want to take the time to note that yesterday was a very remarkable day in America because of the inaguration of Barack Obama as our new President. There's a bombardment of hype and editorializing, and I admit that am hard-wired as a skeptic, but it just feels great and I for one am so glad and honored to have that man as our leader. My boss Charlie said it well: our economy runs on perception. Even if that's all that Obama can bring to the table (and I certainly believe he has a heck of a lot more to offer) then as a nation we're already in better shape than we were on Monday.

Another reason I know Christine is awesome

She can cook. Period.

Baked tuna with grapefruit salsa on soba noodles.

Thanks babe!

New Year's Eve

New Year's, while it can be fun, isn't really all that exciting in the broad array of holidays. So instead of trying to party like the rock stars that we are not (yet, anyway) we had a few friends come around to Christine's apartment and kept it mellow.

Mellow... that is, until the Baby Duck came out. Hilarity ensued, including a mission to accomplish some garbage bag sledding. All I can say is mission accomplished. Bear witness:

Gearing up for extreme sledding

Me, smiling, before I sledded my crotch over a rock

I have no idea who these people are...

The Lynch who stole Christmas

After Christine's indoctrination into my family's Christmas celebrations (moderate amounts of food and drink supplanted by a mink bowtie wearing grandfather and a cadre of female relatives who don't care for using indoor voices = fun) last year in Seattle, we decided to shift our yule-ness to the great white north of Calgary. I was very excited to spend my first Christmas with the Lynch family, and even with Seattle's snowy weather I was able to fly to Calgary on Christmas Eve with only a short delay.

Christmas was a very fun affair. I had not seen Christine in about three weeks, and we were so happy just to be together in the same country again. That, in itself, would have been enough of a present for me. However, since other gifts had already been tagged with my name and put under the tree, I would have been foolish to stop there. There were a number of lovely gifts, but I must highlight two in particular: hockey skates, and a down jacket. Receiving those certainly carried my Canadiazation another small step forward.

Christmas day was great- all of Christine's family in Calgary came over to open presents and tuck into the huge feast Bev cooked for us. It was what Christmas is supposed to be- catching up with family, having a few laughs, and enjoying time together. Oh, did I mention that there was snow on the ground? It's rare to have a white Christmas in Seattle, and it was energizing to go for an afternoon walk in the snow before dinner.

If all goes well with Christine's visa application to move to the states, we'll be having Christmas in Seattle again next year, but I for one am looking forward to many more holidays to come in Calgary.

Get down and stay down

Future-wife knows that figure skates are for sisses.

Christine & sister Stephanie

Moving West

So I'm moving west. But not until June/July. We're at the mercy of USA immigration here, so patience is a must.

Andrew went back to a snowy Seattle on Sunday and I started work again on monday (FYI it's in a Provincial {that's state for you Yanks} Park). My job basically consists of educating and entertaining youngsters about the environment. Not a bad gig. But, I am will be leaving in June (I know thats a long time from now, but humour me here)

I'll be moving to Seattle in June & am trying to warm up to the idea of rain and microsoft traffic. I live in a small town. When the train passes I consider it rush hour. I laugh when I watch the Washington State news and hear that schools are closing due to a "threat of snow". Hilarous.

But, I am excited to spend a winter without hitting minus 40 C on the mercury, I will be happy to grocery shop at trader joes, & the idea of green grass year round is appealing.

So I will say goodbye to Alberta- the rusty pontiacs and big trucks. I will say see ya later to the park and my high-waisted uniform pants ( I don't even need to wear a bra). I will say ciao to Canmore with outdoor pond hockey, and expansive mountain views and expensive groceries.

And I will get in the subaru and start my new life as a latte drinking, rain-boot wearing, market-shopping, sea-kayaking, p-patch growing, seahawk loving seattle-lite. But I promise you this. You can take the girl out of Alberta, but you can never take the Alberta out of the girl.