Christmas in the Alps

Skiing in the Italian Alps was great! The kids were in Ski School from 9 -11 in the morning while N and I skied some harder runs. We then all skied the nursery sloops or explored Livigno for the rest of the day.


Ski School made for a very early start. We had to leave our apartment with all our equipment by 8:30 every morning to walk to the bus stop, to catch a bus, to walk to the ski school. We were all exhausted by noon. I have never walked on skis so much in my life! There wasn’t really a central area that all the lifts filtered into. They all just came down the mountain into the valley and there was a bus service that took you from lift to lift. Not ideal, but I’m not complaining.

(On this map, blue is easy, red is intermediate and black is difficult)

The sun shone bright every day which made it easier to get up each early morning.

It was the first time the kids had seen so much snow (well, Christie did when she was a baby in German… but that was a while ago) so Christie was amazed at her frozen hair,

we were sure to play with icicles (Jack wanted to bring one back on the plane), jump in piles of snow, scope out the Christmas Igloos that the locals made,












make snow angels





























and toboggan. The tobogganing we did was awesome! One of the ski lifts had these toboggan’s that hooked up to a button lift (like a t-bar but it’s a round disk not a T). It took you half way up a ski run and then down you came! So much fun!

Here is a video of J's 'no fear' attempt at tobogganing... Look out C!!


Christmas was great. We missed spending it with family, but since I spend every Christmas away from my family it seemed to be easier this year as I kept myself busy with skiing. It was the first Christmas (and pray the last) that we were up dressed and out the door by 8:30 (Ski School) and waited to open all our gifts until the afternoon. The kids didn't seem to mind. They were so excited to ski that Santa seemed a distant thing.

We brought as many gifts as we could pack, opened some before we left and opened some when we returned. Santa was good as he gave mostly ski stuff and things for the 5 hour bus ride.






And now, thanks to D and C, N has a new monkey... he's called Sock Monkey.


On the last day the kids had learned enough to do an easy run off of the bunny slopes. We took them up to the top of the mountain and skied all the way down; stopping for lunch at the lodge half way down. They did great! C took it nice and easy practising her skills. She was exhausted by the time she got to the bottom, but she learned more and more with each turn. J took the brave route and tucked most of the way down. This landed him in the trees a few times, but we couldn't wipe the smile off his face!




Here is a video of me taking J and C slowly down a part of the mountain that was scary for a first time skier.



We had a great time and would love to have stayed for another week. Happy New Year, Merry Christmas and... CHEERS!

Tate Modern, Edinburgh and Tim and Sal's Wedding in the Lake District

Hi Everyone,
I'm in the middle of reports right now so the words on this will be short. Let's be honest, most people only look at the photos anyway ;)

Tate Modern:


Nick and I took a get-a-away to Edinburgh, Scotland. It was my first time in Scotland. Nick went to see Kat and Danny (Danny was our best man) who have just moved there, I went there to drink Whiskey (yes, with a capital) and we both went there to get away from the stresses of home.


This is a cannon that fires at 1300 hours to let everyone know what time it is (I thought Mary Poppins was set in London?)


The pub I text Dan from.




The streets of Edinburgh.


Monkey in Edinburgh.


Nick's brother Tim got married to Sally-Ann (Sal in our family) in a beautiful area of England called the Lake District. It's almost on the Scotland boarder. The whole time we were there I just kept thinking how much my family would love it here. Grandma, Grandpa with walking poles and woolly hats. We didn't get to do much hiking (hill walking as they say here) as we had the wedding, Nick's Dad and sister (who only brought nice shoes) but we have plans to get back as soon as possible.


The wedding was beautiful and heartfelt. The first dance was attempted three times as the sound system kept failing. Eventually the dancing was aborted all together and one of the guests (Justin who composes scores for TV and movies) picked up his guitar to help the entertainment along. We all had a good ol’ fashion sing-a-long. It made the evening all the more special – especially when Nick’s dad figured out that Justin looked like Sideshow Bob off the Simpson’s.


At any rate, a good time was had by all.

Half Term Break

I've made it! I'm finally done my first half term at my new school. In England, schools run on three terms (semesters) with a break in the middle of each term and a break at the end of each term. It adds up to a lot of breaks, but they teach until mid-July or end of July in some schools.



So. It's been hard. I've almost given up under the stress. Too much work. Too much pressure. I'm barely holding on but I'm trying very hard to stay on top of things. I am teaching grade 6-11 chemistry and grade 6 physics, plus homeroom, plus on Fridays I take a few kids off-campus to volunteer at a disabled centre (mandatory volunteer that is). Science teachers have to take in one or two pieces of marking each week for each class. That's 230 pieces a week for me. This would be fine if I wasn't having to lesson plan / unit plan / report write / student manage / BREATHE on top of this. It's a very tense demanding school. The Head of Chemistry has already come into my class for the second observation!

My hardest adjustment to make is culture shock. Yes, I know I've lived here for 3 years already, but I've never been submersed into the British style of employment. There is almost no positive reinforcement. Stiff upper lip, no fuss and all that. This is hard for me to deal with. I live off of praise. My last two schools were more American than British or Canadian. This meant things were a bit over the top with positive comments but at least I got them. I've gone from "That was the most wonderful class I have ever observed - ever!" to "It was fine. Now, some concerns I have are..." and then conversation continues with a list of very minute details that aren't really a concern, but one must give one's employee a list of 'constructive criticism' or how will one improve. Agreed. But, a list of positive reinforcement prior to the constructive criticism would do wonders to cushion my sensitive North American ego!

I suppose these comments aren't fair. I've been given loads of uplifting encouragement, support and acknowledgment from other Heads and some staff, just not from the people I really want to impress.

The school is transitioning between the old school teaching of 'sit down, shut up, write 60 mins of notes, go home and memorize them' to the new school teaching of interactive, exploratory and self learning. They want to transition (which is why they've hired new teachers like me) but they're scared of change (which is why they're so demanding). This, of course, is only my observations and not official :) If I can get through this year and prove myself to them, next year should be great.

Outside of work, I'm trying to get myself settled into the community so I'm going to the gym and I've joined a volleyball league (hard to find in the UK).



Oh, did I mention that I'm trying to find time to cook and clean as well??? Thank God Nick does all the cleaning and laundry on top of supporting me and making sure I haven't forgot anything (like to eat). I don't know what I'd do without him.

I'm getting there, but man am I glad I have two weeks off.


It hasn't been all work... Here's a bit of the cool stuff we've been up to.

We took the kids to near-by Knebworth House


to watch a mock jousting competition,




and walk the beautiful grounds which held a hedge maze, carvings from tree stumps





and a luscious fruit & veggie garden.
The person who took a bite from this apple didn't even wait to pick it from the tree!


Nick and I rode our motorbikes to watch Christie row at Ross-on-Wye. We stayed at a gorgeous B&B,
which was something one could only find in England. I found myself wondering how I could re-create this in a new home in Canada.After Ross, we rode along the winding country lanes through Stratford-upon-Avon (Shakespeare's home) and explored some cute pubs and beautiful countryside.









Nick found some rednecked Brits who took him out shooting. Turns out rednecks aren't just in Alberta.









I saw David Beckham jogging near our house.

















It was my birthday. The big 3-0! Mom and Jim got Nick and I tickets to go see the Westend show Spamalot (Monty Python live theatre). Nick gave me diamond earrings! (Exactly what I wanted - right size, shape and beauty) Nick also gave me (us) a trip to Edinburgh, Scotland which we're taking next week.

To celebrate the big 30, Nick and I went to Macbeth starring none other than Patrick Stewart as Macbeth himself and Kate Fleetwood as Lady Macbeth. It was nothing short of brilliant.


We booked a holiday to go skiing with the kids in Italy over Christmas.







We've bought a new bathroom which will be installed over the next month or two.





Our friends had a little baby boy and I cross-stiched a birth sampler for him. (Aren't I my mother's daughter!)

And, that's about all that's happened over the last time I've posted. That's plenty enough. I hope you are all well, happy and healthy. Hopefully I'll post again in a couple of weeks and tell you all about Edinburgh and Nick's brother's wedding in the Lake District.

x