Hummingbirds

For those of you in Australia and other parts of the globe who are not familiar with the Hummingbird, they are petite birds with iridescent feathers found in the Americas. Their name comes from the fact that they flap their wings so fast (about 80 times per second) that they make a humming noise. Apparently they can even fly backwards and upside down.
I have always been fascinated with these tiny creatures, enjoying them at friend's feeders on the Canadian Prairie and Okanagan. Recently Keith and I had the pleasure of experiencing a variety of them in Costa Rica where about 50 species live.
I have learned that there is both a local and migrating hummingbird species on Vancouver Island. I had noticed one enjoying my patio flowers last fall but had not seen any this spring.
The day I sent off my final dissertation one fluttered at my office window. I took it as a good omen.
In celebration of the completion of the dissertation Keith bought me a feeder which is attached to that window and today I have had regular visits from the shy but sweet bird. Who, as a matter of fact is enjoying the sugar water as I write. I would have to pull up the blind to take a photo and probably scare him or her off so here are a couple of photos of the birds we saw in Costa Rica.

A Significant Birthday

My Mother turned 75 on Monday.

This is the first time since 1982 we’ve lived in the same vicinity. For most of my life we’ve lived in different provinces and in some cases different countries. The last time I was with my Mum on her birthday was 10 years ago when her children and grandchildren surprised her for her 65^th.   

We had a lovely day. We were inspired listening to Elizabeth May who is an MP in Sidney. We had lunch overlooking the harbour with my Mother’s niece. We soaked in Emily Carr, Carol Sabiston and other BC artists at the Art Gallery and we shopped.  

I found out things about each of us I had never known.

I feel grateful that my mother is still alive and well and we can spend time together and get to know one another...again. 

Not done yet!

I think some of my friends and family are scared to ask me about my doctorate.

Many of you are probably wondering 'how' or maybe 'if'  I am still working on it.

The answer is yes! I'm still writing and it's going strong.

A fellow student asked me to give him one piece of advice on completing the doctorate.  I wasn't sure I was in a situation to offer a suggestion since I was struggling too. But I said to him: "Keep at it, do something every day to work on your dissertation".

Hardly a day has gone by in the past 14 months when I have not done even a little bit of work on my thesis.  It's come a long way from clumsy draft chapters, put together without any thread or compelling argument.

Now, seven stronger chapters and 200 references form a 170 page document that is about to go to the editor before it gets one last review by my supervisors, and then the ultimate test...

the Expert Panel.

Yikes!

And no, unfortunately I don't have to go back to Australia to defend it.  

But to be honest, I think I have been dragging it out a bit as I will miss my daily connection to the wonderful land 'down under'.

Cecile Marie Wiebe

Certain people come into our lives and make a huge difference. 

When my children were small I put an advertisement in the paper for a ‘nanny’ to come into the home and mind them. I received a call from a woman with a French Canadian accent and spontaneous laugh. Her questions about the children told me she was the right person for us.

Cecile treated my daughters like they were her grandchildren and they in turn loved her like their grandmother.  She walked them and the neighborhood kids to school. An extrovert, she quickly knew most of the teachers and parents and many of our neighbours, people we didn’t even know.

We have so many happy memories of Cecile.

She was never in a rush to leave at the end of a long day. She took the time to tell me verbatim everything the girls said and what they did each day.  Her husband would sit patiently reading a paperback in the car for sometimes an hour waiting for her. 

She and her family loved to shop.  If one of the girls requested something for their birthday or Christmas in a certain colour or with a certain character on it they always found it. They would find the rare few things with ‘Stefanie’ spelled correctly, something no one else managed to do.

She played to lottery, always buying tickets and usually winning a few dollars every now and again. I lived in fear she would win the jackpot and leave us.

She loved to eat and had a healthy appetite, despite her petite size. Having been born in New Brunswick she enjoyed seafood. She and her family frequented the restaurant ‘Red Lobster’.  They had their own table and all the staff treated them like family.

We have a spice jar with 'Cinnamon Sugar' hand written on it by Cecile. She made lots of special treats for the girls.

Cecile passed from this world on February 19, 2014.  We will never forget her and will always be indebted to her and all she did for us as a family, not just our daughters. 

Andrea,  Stephanie Harries, Cecile and Stefanie - July 2007

Spring

I've spent most of my adult life living on the flat prairie.

Saskatchewan

The weather is cold half of the year with sub-zero temperatures from November until April.

The spectacular Rockie Mountains - near Banff

Such is the life for most of us hearty Canadians.

But now I'm living in a place where it rains in the winter and the grass gets softer and greener.
Some trees lose their leaves but others keep them all year.  There are even some palm trees growing here.
After spending a few days in cold, bleak, snowy Winnipeg I returned to find snowdrops and crocus blooming. I haven't seen crocus since I lived in Montreal in my youth!
Spring has sprung in January!

Purple Crocus

Snowdrops

A new year!

That's me with 'Santa' and 'Mrs. Claus'

Performing our family's song on Christmas Eve

I had a lovely Christmas break in frigid Edmonton. I really had forgotten how cold it can be!

But the people there are very warm and make up for the blowing snow and -35C temperatures, especially our family.

Dinner with Don and Yukola - Keith's parents

We always have Christmas Eve with my daughter Andrea's in-laws  -  a jam packed evening of song, Santa and silliness!
All the kids were over for a pot-luck Christmas dinner. The food and company were great!

Christmas dinner with all the kids!

My daughter needed a new car as her 1994 Ford Aspire was about to expire in the cold weather. It was either new tires or a new car and we all agreed she needed an upgrade. She and I searcheds around and found a good one, almost the same as her sister's car!

Stef's "new to her" car

I'm now back at the warmer and wet coast. Everyone at work this week was sharing what they did on their holiday break and lamenting how quickly their relaxed state has dissipated.
 

Snow is Canadian

It snowed today in Victoria. Wet snow that formed a pretty coating on the leaves, still holding on to some of the trees and bushes.  But it didn’t stick to the roads.

In anticipation of the weather the college had sent out numerous e-mails about snow protocol. Had I not been aware I might have trekked to work to find no one home!

But it didn’t snow much. I was at the University of Victoria and heard a couple of students gleefully state that this was only the second time they’d seen the stuff. One wondered if snowflakes looked the same everywhere. 

As I drove home I saw a mother standing beside some preschoolers madly trying to create something with the sticky but quickly melting stuff. Kids here don’t get much chance to play in it. One of my colleagues, who grew up in eastern Canada, laments that her kids have no idea how to make a snowman!

Victoria is a nice place for older folks but kids growing up here are missing out on an essential part of being Canadian – a good snowball fight! 

Edmonton Nov. 17