Big dogs, small dogs ...

I'm not sure who is taking up more room on the couch ... Belle certainly looks happy using my rear end as a pillow

On the weekend, I looked after the two ranch dogs, while their owner, the resident cowboy, was away.  I'm not used to having big dogs around, having grown up with terriers - Australian Silky, Cairn, West Highland -  since I was small.  So, it came as some surprise when both dogs, Belle and Malibu, wanted  to jump on the couch with me on Saturday evening.  I certainly wasn't going to be squashed up at one end of the couch, so they had to be satisfied with taking turns.  As much as I loved having the dogs around, they were just too big for a small apartment.  Hence the reason why I'm planning to get West Highland terrier some time in the next year.

Two dogs, one mother - plenty of room for everyone on the couch!

So still, so quiet, so peaceful ...

Morning view from my living room balcony

This weekend was an incredibly quiet one for me as I worked hard on my uni assignments for 3 full days.  The only relatively exciting events were an evening workout/dinner date with C, a couple of Skype calls to Australia and a walk involving a run-in with three loose bulls (hey, that's life on the ranch for you!)  Because I work best in the morning, I got up super early each morning and wrote in my PJs with a pot of tea and the fire crackling.  The mornings are just so beautiful here in the foothills of the mountains.  The sun coming up, layers of mist coating the hills, the mountains in the background, frost on the ground.  It's so peaceful and and calming.  And productive.  I managed to get some great writing done this weekend in such a beautiful setting with few distractions.

And from my bedroom balcony ... that's Malibu the dog, not a coyote!

Happy Mothers Day Mum!

The three kids and Mum

Happy Mothers Day to my lovely mother, and all the other lovely mothers out there.  I feel lucky to have such a wonderful Mum who is more than just a mother, she's my best friend ... how corny does that sound?!  But, it's true.  I miss her an awful lot since I've been living overseas and I can't wait until she comes back to Canada for another visit.

The curse of perfectionism ...

Mostly, when people commit themselves to something, they aim to do their best.  Not me.  No, I like to be the best, or at least somewhere near the very top.  When I got my Year 12 results, I wanted to repeat a subject because, in the final exam, I didn't get an A+, the result I'd come to expect throughout the course.  This is the curse of perfectionism.  Therefore, it's quite ironic that in my current studies, I'm reading and writing about how to help students overcome perfectionism and learn to be happy with reasonable expectations and results.  After a week of stressing about the possibility of not receiving the highest mark in this current assignment, which in turn has lead to lack of sleep, increased teeth grinding, grumpiness and a tendency to eat and drink poorly, I decided to do something about it.  I went to the gym, I had a massage, I took a bath, I cooked healthy dinners.  But, most importantly, I allowed myself time to think.  I was reminded of this important element of doing something well when I read Sarah Wilson's post entitled 'being great takes time.'  I pride myself on allowing students time to think, but hadn't been allowing myself the same luxury necessity.  I've simply been too stressed about watching the word count grow and padding out my reference list.  In other words, I was just playing the game, and a game is university.  I thought back to my reasons for taking this course - to think and to learn, not to get high distinctions.  After reminding myself of this important lesson, I've taken the time to think - which for me, is best achieved during long walks, long showers, long browsing periods through research articles on the net.  And now, if I do say so myself, I'm coming out with some pretty great thoughts!  So, for the moment, all is well in this perfectionist's world ... I'm still aiming to write a bloody good essay and if I get top marks, great.  If not, I'll just drown my sorrows in a bottle of Verve.

Field, not ice, hockey ...

2007 Kew hockey team - Grand Final winners!

After watching an ice hockey game here in Calgary a few weeks ago, I decided that I missed playing competitive sport enough to hunt down and join a women's field hockey team.  As soon as I'd found a team, I had my suspicions re-affirmed ... field hockey is not a hugely popular sport in Canada.  The club seemed desperate for players; they put me straight into the A Grade team; and it is close to impossible to buy a hockey stick in Calgary.  Which is how I ended up in Vancouver last Thursday night.  I stopped off in Vancouver on my way back to Calgary so that I could visit a store dedicated to field hockey.  It turned into a very funny afternoon actually.  The taxi driver who took me to the store (way out in the 'burbs) was an interesting guy from Iran and we got chatting about travel and living away from 'home'.  I almost felt sad to get out of the taxi after such an intriguing conversation.  But then, as we pulled up to the store and he realised where I was going, he revealed that he had been the youngest player on the Iranian field hockey team in the 1980 Moscow Olympics!  After some wowing over that, it was decided that he would come hockey stick shopping with me and would then drive me back into downtown Vancouver.  We entered the store and spent about 20 minutes trying the sticks out until I chose a stick that felt good and suited my budget.  So, now I can say that I've played hockey with an Olympian!  After three years of not playing, I'm slightly nervous about my A Grade debut tonight, but fingers crossed, my skills, running fitness and 'hip and shouldering' ability (!) will return quickly.

After note - Due to my ability to procrastinate well, which leads to uni assignments not being written, which leads to major stress, which leads to feeling poorly, I've decided to postpone my hockey debut until next Tuesday night. 

Canadian Election ...

Today is the day of the Canadian election.  I don't really know much about it as I haven't been following it terribly closely, but I thought I'd share a bit of Monty Python Election Night Special humour.  I am, however, making more of an effort to understand this great country, with an upcoming visit to the Glenbow museum to see Calgary's premier, Naheed Nenshi, speak about his vision for Calgary's future.

Lacrosse ...

Pushing with the stick

Did you know that lacrosse is Canada's national sport?  I didn't before last night - I had, wrongly, assumed it was ice hockey.  My reason for going to the lacrosse game was to meet the Australian expat social group based in Calgary.  We were an interesting group - some Aussies in their AFL tops, some in lacrosse tops, a couple of Canadians (C was in the minority for once!) and a German guy who I suspect thought he was joining the Austrian expat group.  We had tickets for the play offs for the National Lacrosse League, so it was a pretty important game for the Calgary Roughnecks (roughneck meaning someone who works on the oil and gas rigs here in Alberta) and the Colorado Mammoths.    

Passing ... to the opposition?

A Calgary Roughnecks goal is celebrated

The  game was held in the same arena in which I've seen the cattle penning and the ice hockey, however the crowd at the lacrosse was totally different.  Tickets were only $22, which meant that the crowd was more family friendly.  However, the locals behaved in quite an un-sportsman-like manner towards the other team, with the announcer making a loud cry of 'What's he got?' when the opposing team missed a goal, to which the crowd roared 'Nothing!'  If the aim was to demoralise the other team, it certainly worked as more than once I noticed the goalie with his head down and the home team ended up winning by quite a significant margin.

In trouble with the refs

More cowbell!

The fans are a major component of the lacrosse game, with many opportunities for them to get involved during the game.  In fact, it seemed that the game was just as much about the entertainment as it was about the sport.  Loud rock music played for most of the game and the crowd was encouraged to support their team loudly and proudly.

Interchange bench

Winners

 

It's a rough game too - hacking and hitting with your lacrosse stick is encouraged and throughout the game, and many players were sent off for being too aggressive.  According the lacrosse fanatics, the Calgary Roughnecks may not be appearing in the NLL next year ... apparently they have run out of money.  Which is a sad state for Canada's national sport.

Finally, some sportsmanship ... shaking hands at the end of the game