Finally...a new post!

Well, at last I've found a moment to write something about our trip to Canada. We've been back a week today and I've either been at work fighting to stay awake or in bed fighting to go to sleep. I don't know if it is a proven fact that jet-lag is worse after a Monarch flight but it feels that way to me! Jasper was beautiful and the mountains were breathtaking. We saw all kinds of wildlife including Moose, elk and bighorn sheep. We didn't have all that much snow but we had a great time on the mountain anyway. Neil's snowboarding is coming on very well and he'll soon be better than me, much to my annoyance! Oh well, it was nice to have the advantage while it lasted. We skated on a lake in true canadian style and drank plenty of Moosehead Ale in front of the crackling fire back at the lodge. In Beaumont our house is coming along nicely, we have two floors! It was great for me to finally meet Keith, Mary and family and to see all the places that I'd seen on Neil's video taken back in the summer.
On a more reflective note, it was a strange experience going to Canada not just for holiday but with a real possibility of the place becoming our adoptive home. I have to say it created a strange atmosphere and made the whole situation more real. Up until now it's almost felt like we were pretending. We both felt glad of these feelings as it can be all too easy to get caught up in idealistic and, dare I say, unrealistic day-dreams of how your new life will turn out. We still want to go more than ever and we're still excited about all the possibilties and new experiences this opportunity is going to bring us, but.... these feelings are already edged with a wierd emptiness that is inevitabley going to stay with us for quite a long time after our arrival and maybe even forever? You can't imagine just how much you take for granted. Aside from the obvious things such as ALL YOUR FAMILY! Things like winding roads, little cars, wet air and hickley-pickledy green, grassy fields divided by hedges. All this familiarity that seems so unexciting while you're living amoungst it is what makes a place home. Without it, it's easy to feel lost. This said, I firmly believe that everybody should step out of their fish bowl and experience new things at some point in their lives. It can be scary but will open your eyes to things that may otherwise have passed you by. Personally, I don't think it helps to compare one place to another, I'm not going because I feel Canada is better than England, I just feel that I will learn more about other people, places and perhaps even more about myself if I give life a go in a new place.

HAVE A LOOK AT THE LINK ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE OF THE SCREEN THAT SAYS
PICTURE GALLERY!