Last week, while doing some sightseeing in the city, I took this photo of Saint John. I work in the Uptown area, which is depicted in the centre of the photo.
Saint John is a unique city geographically. There is a harbour which splits east from west, yet many of the communities are also split by the rock, which the houses are built on and between. In some areas, it makes for lots of elevation changes in a short distance.
A couple of weeks ago, Sheena and I took Rebecca to the Moncton Santa Claus parade. It was a parade of 150 entrants, including floats, marching bands, dancers, performers, and the like. As for Christmas parades, its probably one of the best I've seen. This year, Rebecca is all about lights. Her and Nana light up the house lights every evening, with Rebecca running from socket to socket saying "on! on! on!" So, seeing transport trucks lit up with Christmas lights, drove Rebecca over the top. It was so funny, we took a video of her during the parade. Watch it here (fyi: its 4 megs): Download Santa claus parade 08
We took a little trip to the Moncton (Magnetic Hill) Zoo today, for Rebecca's first real zoo experience. She was enthralled with the animals, in particular with the Gibbon monkeys and the baby goats. There wasn't a whole lot of people at the Zoo today, looks like off-season is the best time to visit. Check out the noisy monkeys: Download rebecca_and_gibbons.wmv
(2mb).
Thanks to a wonderful Christmas gift,
Sheena and I went out to our first Calgary
Flames hockey game -- which was also Sheena's first NHL game. Our seats were awesome, close to the ice in a season ticket holder spot. We didn't have any flames stuff to wear, so we wore red just to fit in. :) The game against Minnesota couldn't have been better -- against a closely matched team and with both vying for a better playoff spot, the friction was high between them. There were five fights, one hat-trick by Jerome Iginla and quite a few great saves by Kipper. We spent the night taking in the sights, sounds and flames of a regular hockey game at the 'Dome. We kept thinking, what a luxury it would be to have season tickets. Thanks Steph for babysitting and giving us a great night!
Last Saturday, we took Rebecca for her first 'on-ice' experience: skating at the Bowness Park lagoons. Being that it's one of our favorite spots for skating around Calgary, we figured Rebecca would enjoy it as well. Dressed up in her bear suit and a padded sled, Rebecca seemed to like being pulled around by both of us, gazing at the ice going past her. Most of all, she loved sitting up to take in the sights. What only added to the fun was the warm weather as well. Having chinook temperatures made it easier to enjoy the skating without having to think about bundling up for cold weather!
Sheena and I went out on a date tonight (thanks Steph for
babysitting!) and took in
some skating and
Christmas lights at the Airdrie Festival of Lights. We hadn't been skating in a year and then some and relished at how close to home this spot was. It was a ball and Sheena tried out her new skates (they have a very neat lacing system on them. ) So for a few hours, we took in the lights, skated for a bunch and vowed to return with Rebecca.
After a long hiatus at large concert-going, we found ourselves attending two different concerts at the Saddledome: The Rankin Family and the Barenaked Ladies.
The Rankin Family concert was a great time -- although both of us wish we could have been
dancing in a wide open space listening to them! Our seats were good, off to the left of the stage. It was Sheena's first time seeing them perform together and my second time. The music sounded great, with new additions of Molly Rankin and Mac Morin really adding to the concert. For a few songs in the concert, there was a bit of a somber tone -- but others, you could tell they still hadn't lost their flare for entertaining with new and old songs. It was great to hear Mull River Shuffle live, I know Sheena enjoyed it thoroughly. Our friends Mike and Ramona hadn't experienced a East Coast concert before -- I kept telling them that the dances and smaller events are even better.
Last week, I went and saw the Barenaked Ladies with Steph. Again, I had listened to their music since grade 10 and never had the opportunity to see them in a live event. I had heard about their off-the-wall shows, but it was a quite a bit of fun to see it for myself (I found myself remembering most of the lyrics to quite a few songs). Overall, I was struck by their energy and spontaneity -- something I had not seen in a concert before (I've been to quite a few in my university days). They featured quite a few oldies, and of course, the new album. The best part I'd have to say was when all the band members used a single mic (in the 50s music style), with two harmonies in the background and the leads in the front. Excellent sound and a way to split up the concert. With 2 encores and a two hour show, it was well worth the event. Plus, we were on the floor, almost-front and centre to the stage. I was kicking myself for not bringing the camera. This guy did take some awesome photos at the concert...
We're back in Calgary after a great holiday in the east -- and you can certainly tell we're back on the cold prairie. This week is featuring some of the coldest weather we've ever experienced. With the wind chill, it'll be down around the -40C range. Those temps usually make for some cold night shifts! If we're not working, we're usually holed up in the house with blankets watching season 5 of 24. Here's a sample:
We're gearing up for Christmas!
Here's some photos, more to come this week!
