Dog walking ...

One of my worries about working full time was what to do with Abbey, knowing that both C and I would be away from home for 9-10 hours each day.  Mum told me about a dog walking service in Melbourne that her friend uses so I set out to find a similar service in Calgary and was amazed at the options that are available to dog owners everything from 'puppy pee break' services to dog walking and even doggy daycare.  The service we ended up choosing is called All Paws In, a local dog walking service.  Four days a week (our neighbour looks after Abbey one day a week), Ryan comes to our house in the middle of the day, picks up Abbey and whisks her, along with about 8 other dogs, off to a local off-leash park for an hour long walk.  Upon return, he gives her a treat bone I've left and leaves us a little note telling us the time Abbey was out (normally about 2.5 hours in total), where they went, whether or not she relieved herself and a little note about her adventures (my favourite so far has been Abbey played like crazy today!)  

Abbey on her walk with All Paws In (photo by Ryan of All Paws In)

 

It is a terrific service and gives me peace of mind knowing that Abbey is having fun and not bored at home, destroying our furniture!  In the evenings, she is often too tired for a another big walk but always keen for a cuddle and a play.

The first paddling adventure ...

The weather was so stunning in Calgary yesterday that I decided it was time for Abbey's first water adventure.  Since it was too hot and too far for her little legs to carry her, I strapped her into her bike basket and off to the Bow river we headed.  Once we came across a shallow area with no raging waters, we went wading into the freezing cold mountain water.  After a small moment of apprehension, Abbey jumped into the water and had a ball.  Following some play time, we headed into busy Prince's Island Park for a stroll amongst the sun-loving crowds.

View from our paddling spot

First taste of the mountain waters

Prince's Island Park

Beautiful island trees

The waterway between the park and the 'mainland'

Two weeks in ...

There has been a considerable lack of blogging on my part over the past two weeks.  It's been over two years since I've really worked full time so my body and brain are taking some adjusting to getting back into the daily grind of leaving home early and not returning until late-ish.  It's been tough.  Especially when you throw a puppy, half marathon training and a thesis into the mix!  But, I'm loving every minute of it.  I knew that I missed the classroom but didn't realise just how much.  I love the interactions with the kids and the planning for their needs.  Even more, I'm loving the interactions with other teachers.  That was one of the things I really missed in my last job, just having other adults to chat to during the day and share ideas with.  All the staff have been so welcoming and it's so great to be on a team where everyone enjoys figuring out new ways to work with the kids and improve the teaching/learning process.  Coming into a new classroom this late in the year (only 6 weeks of school to go!) was always going to be a challenge but it hasn't been as stressful as I thought it would be.  It certainly doesn't feel like I have only been with my Grade 5 class for two weeks, they are a great group of kids and have been so helpful to me ("Miss Davidson, you forgot to _______!" is a routine call!)  We're off on camp this week which will be a great way to get to know the kids a little better before I say goodbye to them and they head off to Grade 6!

'The Hunter' and some homesickness ...

At the end of last year, a friend of mine told me about the movie, 'The Hunter', and said that I must see it for the Tasmanian scenery is stunning.  Alas, by the time I arrived in Australia and looked for the movie, it had finished its screening.  I resigned myself to the fact that I'd have to wait for it to come out on DVD, purchase it and watch it in Canada.  So you can imagine my surprise (and squeal of excitement) when C read out 'The Hunter' as he was browsing Calgary's movie selection hoping for a good Friday night movie to go see.  It began 10 minutes after we'd found it so we hightailed it down to the cinema (the Globe on 8th if you're in Calgary) to catch it. 

The movie was amazing.  The storyline was a little slow at times but I could have watched it for hours, just soaking up the wonderful cinematography of the Tasmanian wilderness.  I particularly loved the wide-sweeping shots of the Tasmanian button grass, my favourite plant!  Throughout the movie, I had pangs of homesickness - for my family and for Tasmania.  The whole idea of hunting for the Tasmanian tiger was a little cheesy but the acting and the scenery were simply spectacular. 

For those who don't know what button grass is, here's a picture ... isn't it just lovely?

If you're a CanAussie in Canada and want a taste of home, check it out at the cinema and if you're in Australia and want to see some of Tasmania's finest scenery, check out 'The Hunter' on DVD!

First running event in a while ...

On Sunday, I participated in the first running event of my spring/summer running schedule.  It was the first running race I've run since I ran a 14km event in Hangzhou, China, back in 2009.  It was held in downtown Calgary, a 10km out and back course along the Bow river.  Being so close, my warm up was the bike ride to the event.  It was a smallish event, with just about 200 people running the 10km race and a few more running the 5km race.  The week before, I'd been reading in magazines and on blogs about the importance of sticking to your race plan which is a tricky thing to do when everyone seems to bolt out of the gates as soon as the gun goes off.  It is very tempting to take off with everyone else but I know only too well that demoralising feeling that comes when you get overtaken later in the race.  It's much better to start slow and then be the one doing the overtaking later towards the end.  Which is exactly what I did.  I still started out a little fast (having the Garmin GPS is amazing because you can see exactly how fast you are running) but managed to maintain that pace and overtake lots of people on the returning 5km.  The fastest I've ever run 10km is 58 minutes, but with the competitive atmosphere, I figured that I could run the race in about 55 minutes.  So, you can imagine my surprise when I crossed the finish line in just over 51 minutes!  Sixth female in the whole race and second in my age group.  Wow!  I was absolutely stoked and am still on a high, two days later.  More 10km races, here I come!

A new job ...

A few weeks ago, I applied for a temporary teaching job at one of the schools high on my 'I want to work there' list, thinking that if I got an interview, it would be a great experience.  Well, I had the interview last Tuesday morning, was offered the job on Tuesday afternoon and started the job on Thursday afternoon!  Phew.  It was a crazy week.

Some of my family visiting my classroom during my last big parent exhibition at MLC in Melbourne

The job is teaching Grade 5 at Calgary Girls' School, which has caused all sorts of wonderful memories of teaching Grade 5 at MLC in Melbourne flooding back to me.  It's a lovely little school with Grades 4-9 spread over two campuses.  It is a public charter school but definitely has more of a private school feel - the students all wear uniforms and all have their own Macbook computers to work on.  I've now had a day and a half of handover time (including a fascinating field trip to the CTV studio today where we watched a live broadcast of the news) and tomorrow, the girls are all mine for the next 8 weeks.  The class are delightful and being with them really makes me realise how much I have missed the buzz of the classroom and the interaction with so many diverse personalities.  I'm really being thrown in the deep end because the girls are in the middle of a number of intriguing curriculum projects and in two weeks, we'll be heading off on Grade 5 camp for two nights.  The job has also helped me clear a bureaucratic hurdle - I'm now a certified Albertan teacher!  Now I just have to cross my fingers and hope that the departing teacher loves maternity leave and I can continue in this role in the next school year!

Off leash adventures ...

It was a beautiful morning here today.  Perfect for Abbey's first off leash adventure in the park just down the road from our home.  Abbey had a brilliant time running amok in the park and playing with the other dogs but was also incredibly responsive to my calls for her to return - the fact that I had freeze dried chicken breast in my jacket pocket may have had something to do with this!  Since we all had so much fun, we will definitely be adding this park to our regular walking routine!

Green grass!  At last!

Surveying the downtown area from the off-leash park

Happy puppy

Racing dog

Following the well trodden pathway

Treats for coming when called