Vegas, renovation and an unhappy owl.

I've been super busy the last little bit - no blog posts! Here's what I've been up to.

I spent a weekend in Las Vegas with some of my girlfriends. What a great place to go to get away!

It was my first time away from Mia, and I was pretty apprehensive about leaving her. She still nurses many times a day, so the first thing that happened to me was - a day of traveling and only hand-expressing in washrooms when I could catch a few minutes (I took my pump but couldn't use it the first day) - combined with wearing an actual bra rather than a nursing bra - and I came down with a FIERCE case of mastitis 12 hours into the trip. Wow, does that ever hurt.

So I headed to a clinic to get that sorted and lost a day of vacation and $200 in doctor's fees (how on earth do Americans afford health care???). One needle, a bottle of antibiotics, a long nap and lots of Tylenol later, I was about 80% better by the second night there.

I ended up having a great time, catching two (!) Cirque du Soleil shows (Ka and Zumanity) and losing ALL the money I gambled - all two dollars of it!

And I missed Mia like crazy, but it was so liberating to be off on my own.

The renovations are going as renovations go - one step forward, one step back. They are supposed to be done by November 1st, but that will never happen. They sanded down the hardwood floor, stained and varnished it - and did such a crap job that they are going to come back and redo the entire thing. That was two weeks of work right there, wasted. The varnish has such bad fumes that we had to go to a hotel once already. The only nearby hotel that accepts dogs is about $185 a night...

The tile that went into the bathroom was done with the wrong colour grout... that will need to come out and be redone as well. ARGH! It's so frustrating. The contractors are complete jerks about all this, too. They're never on site to supervise the trades, and when we tell them something has been done wrong (which has happened every single step of the way), they get mad at us.

The one guy has actually gotten into shouting matches with my husband and refused to speak with him for a few months. On Saturday he told me that "dealing with people is the worst part of his job". As far as I can see, as a construction site manager, that IS his job - dealing with the trades and being the liaison between the construction and the homeowners! And he doesn't even do it...! I can't tell you how frustrating the whole situation has been.

And, I decided, like a crazy woman, to make Mia's Hallowe'en costume. I did a tunic with feathers, and wings, and a mask - she's going to be an owl. It turned out really well! Only, she hates it. "All done! All done!" and crying. She won't even wear the mask and she usually loves masks. I must have spent 30+ hours on it and seriously was nearly in tears when she started throwing a fit about trying it on.

It's been a little quiet...

...because we've just come back from a family camping trip to Yellowstone National Park!

It was our first time RV camping (we rented one for the week) and what a great experience that was. SO much easier and more convenient than tent camping, especially with a toddler!

After all those geysers, mud pots, fumaroles and springs, we are a little "geo-thermaled out", as my husband puts it. I think a week was about right.

Mia had a fantastic time spotting "animohs" like bison, elk, deer, pronghorn, wolves and bears (at a rehab centre for those - we only saw two black bears in the wild), coyotes, bald eagles, hawks, grouse, mountain bluebirds, and ravens (everywhere). There were NO bugs at all and the weather was just about perfect - sunny and 22 degrees or thereabouts each day, but for one cloudy day. The nights were cold, but the RV kept us fairly snug.

I definitely recommend RV camping for families. It was so nice to be able to come back from a hike and cook a hot meal right there in the parking lot if we wanted - or stop at a pull-out beside a beautiful outlook for a snack.

Here are some of my favourite pictures from our trip: 

There is never a bad place to nurse, according to bison.

This was a common sight. It looks like a postcard, doesn't it?!

We hiked, Mia rode in the carrier. I loved the contrast of her sparkly shoes to our dusty hiking boots!

Having a meal by the lake - watching Daddy feed the dog after our dinner.

A beautiful spot for me to breastfeed - watching Old Faithful erupt!

Our family at one of the most beautiful of the geysers, Imperial Geyser. Worth the 6 mile (9.7 km) round trip hike!

While we were away, the contractors have nearly completed the drywall sanding, and installed hardwood in the office, living and dining rooms, feathering it into the existing hardwood in the rest of the main floor. There is still much to be done, but it's starting to seem possible that we will be able to live in a real house again rather than a construction site. They've threatened me with the prospect of moving the fridge onto the back upstairs deck (even more inconvenient than now, upstairs in the office while our kitchen and eating area are in the basement), and the washer and dryer into the garage, where they will be unuseable. I sure hope we can work around that.

Playtex Twist 'N Click Snacker and Bowl Review

As any toddler's parent knows, snacking is suddenly extremely important. A hungry toddler is a CRAZY toddler, if mine is anything to go by. She gets whiny, cranky, and wild if she does not have snacks!

Some days it feels like all I do all day is prepare food, with three meals and three snacks each day (okay, the last snack is just my hubby and I after Mia's gone to bed! ha ha!). And on days when we have errands to run or anything that takes us out of the house for any length of time, it can be a challenge to make sure Mia gets a healthy snack before the meltdowns begin.

So anything that makes it easier gets my attention! Playtex has a couple new products that do just that.

Mia knew these were for her and could not keep her hands off even for a moment!

The Twist 'N Click Bowl comes in a set of two (suggested retail of $7.99 in Canada). It has an audible click when the lid is properly sealed, and is guaranteed leak-proof! It has a spot for a name on the bottom in case you are sending it to day care or school, for example. It's just the right size for a child. Mia is not a big eater and would probably not finish a whole bowl at this point, but it's a great size for taking along to the beach, errand run, hike, long drive, or any time you might want a bit of snack for everyone (I confess, I like to share Mia's snack most times!). I think in future it will be a perfect size for packing in her lunch for school as well. 

The Twist 'N Click Snacker (suggested retail of $5.49 in Canada) is a great design for a snack container. It has a snap-on lid that twists around to the base, so food stays fresh when it's closed and it acts as an extended handle and a sturdy base when it's open. The lid that stays screwed onto the cup has a flexible opening that little hands can easily reach through for grabbable snacks. And the screw top has a nice feature of an arrow that points to where you want to tighten it to for the best seal. It's nice and light, easy for Mia to hold with the handle, and it is tough.

 Here is the Twist 'N Click Snacker in action. Mia can open the snap lid herself and twist it around to the base. She quickly got the hang of reaching in and pulling out the cereal I'd put in there for her. And the lid of the Twist 'N Click Bowl makes a great plate, apparently! I just hope the cereal all made it into her mouth and not down between the couch cushions...

 Here's the arrow that indicates the area for the best seal. You can't see too clearly, but it's really obvious where you need to close it to on the bowl.

Mm, perfect for strawberries!

 My favourite bits? I love that these are durable, portable, leakproof, and dishwasher safe. I love the fun colours they come in, too! We got the lime green and hot pink combination - nice and bright.

I also like that the Snacker doesn't spill the goods even when tipped over... My daughter can't remember to keep things upright at this age. 

Overall, great products. I'm torn between which I like best. I think the Snacker has fun functionality, but the Bowls might be more practical in the long run.

Mia's current favourite snacks are: berries, fish-shaped cheese crackers (or any kind of cracker, really), dry cereal, pudding (bad mum!), those squeezy applesauce pouches, hard-boiled eggs, olives, buttered toast fingers, and baked marinated tofu cubes.

 I could use some more inspiration. Mia's diet is pretty varied, but I tend to head for the same easy snacks time after time... What are (or were) your toddler's favourite snacks?

Playtex Diaper Genie™ Portable Diaper Bag Dispenser - Review!

If you've ever been out with a baby, you know the joys of changing diapers on the go. There's no doubt that the first thing you want to do is find a place to get rid of that diaper! I've changed diapers in all sorts of places - the back seat of the car has been a frequent one, with all our road trips - and it's a big pain when you've got an icky diaper and nowhere to put it.

Playtex has come out with a new product in the Diaper Genie line: the Diaper Genie™ Portable Diaper Bag Dispenser. It's a little doohickey on a clip that holds 25 bags for those diapers. Clip it on to the stroller, stash it in the diaper bag or car, and you can save yourself the "Ugh, what do I do with this???" moment!

The opaque bags keep diapers sealed and discreet until you can get them home to wash them (cloth) or dispose of them (disposables). The bags are also lavender scented, to help minimize the ick factor (thank you!).  My husband always complains about the smell of diapers so a fresher scent is appreciated. And any mum who has been in a nursing room at a mall knows the nasty smell of the garbage in those rooms! Imagine if those stinky diapers were contained in lavender-scented bags instead. It would be a MUCH more pleasant experience.

We got to try out the portable Diaper Genie, and I like it. I find it adds a little more weight to the diaper bag, so I just keep it in the car for changes on the road, and pop it in the stroller when we take the stroller. It is simple to use and very convenient.

I think it fits right in with the Playtex and Diaper Genie brands - simple, smart solutions that make baby care easier. I do wish it had a childproof feature to it, as the cute package and bright green clip are very appealing to my daughter. She really, really wants to play with it, but of course as it contains plastic bags, it's off limits. I worry that my clever girl will find a way to get at it (she is oh, so determined once she sets her mind to something).

The only other thing I would like to see is compostable bags. I feel hypocritical using disposable, non-biodegradable plastic bags for cloth diapers; I usually use a small washable wetbag. It is super convenient for traveling though, and we do use disposables when we are on the road or away from home for long days. Sometimes you just don't have the laundry option and this is a nice thing to have for those times.

The portable Diaper Genie retails for $4.99 and I think it would be a good addition to a baby shower gift or for any mum on the go. You can read more about it at www.playtexbaby.ca or www.playtexmommyville.ca

Disclosure: Playtex sent me the Diaper Genie™ Portable Diaper Bag Dispenser to try out. This is my honest opinion, and I was not paid for this review.

Busy and unprepared for travel!

I've been keeping busy just being a mum lately. Someone's having super short naps (35-45 minutes) so I'm not getting much done - a little baking here and there to keep me sane. Somehow baking has always been my go-to pursuit when I need some Me Time. There's something so satisfying about whipping up a coconut loaf, muffins or cake. It takes hardly any time, really, to prepare, and you end up with something so yummy!

We are looking forward to taking a Mediterranean cruise next month - Barcelona to Monaco, Rome, Pisa, Sicily, Naples, Palma de Mallorca and Marseilles. Mia will be about 8 months old for her first very long flight (those flights to Calgary and back were just practice) and her first European vacation. Too bad she won't remember any of it when she's older.

The cruise is coming up so fast and we're a little unprepared. So if you have any must-see sights in any of those cities, let me know! We'll be in Barcelona for 4 days, pre-cruise. Here's our list so far:

Barcelona: Sagrada Familia, Park Güell, Mercat de la Boqueria
Monaco: ???
Rome: Colosseum
Pisa: the Tower, of course - from the outside only as children aged under eight are not allowed in.
Sicily: Cattedrale di Monreale, maybe...???
Naples: ???
Palma de Mallorca: Cathedral (Le Seu)...???
Marseilles: ???

Yeah, we need to do some planning! Suggestions welcome!

A Western Weekend

On Friday, my husband texted to ask if I wanted to go to the Calgary Stampede on the weekend. I don't know much about these things, but it's been Stampede all week on the radio, billboards, flags, you name it around Calgary. My impression of the Stampede was that it's an agricultural fair - I thought it would be like the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) or the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair that we have in Toronto. The Stampede is a Calgary must, apparently - and in the spirit of making the most of our time here, we bought tickets.

On Saturday morning I read the headline on CBC about a horse being put down after the chuckwagon races Friday night. Death at the fair? I read on and learned that horses seem to die often during or after chuckwagon races - from heart attacks, broken legs, or exhaustion. After six horses died last year, they made new health and safety regulations for the races, yet one still died on Friday. How sad!

We did go to the Stampede and joined the crowds; the vast majority were decked out in plaid, cowboy hats and boots and what our Albertan friend calls "turkey platters" (those big ol' belt buckles). Apparently, the Stampede is a license to skank as well... Forgive me my geezer's take on this but the young women there really weren't wearing enough! I'm all for flattering clothing and am not averse to mini skirts or tight shirts, but girls - don't dress like it's for sale! But I digress...

We wandered the livestock buildings (one building to admire the animals, the next to encourage us to eat them - sigh), watched some of a very cool and speedy sheep shearing competition, saw lovely heavy horses parade around with chariots, and, yes, attended the chuckwagon races.

I found the races to be a little boring, actually. There are nine heats with four chuckwagons racing each one. There was one that was quite close at the end, and that was exciting just to see which team won, but mainly it was won from the start. Yes, the horses run fast. I guess I'm just not a race aficionado, because it seems really pointless to see which corporate-sponsored team runs the fastest. Who really cares? A stadium full of people and some big business, apparently - just not me. I went up behind the stands and nursed Mia in the middle of the races so I didn't see all of them. Maybe I missed the whole point somehow, but I think not.

Mia and I at the chuckwagon races

After the races was a live show somewhat modeled after Cirque de Soleil shows called Volte, which included a great fireworks display. Mia seemed to like the fireworks, starting a little at the pop!s but open mouthed with wonder at the lights and colours.

I did enjoy the Stampede - the midway was fun to wander (though we didn't play the games or ride the rides - I just love the colour and bustle of it all). It was fun people-watching. I imagine a lot of the cowboy/girl get-ups we saw are brought out once a year just for Stampede! We got some fancy spiral cut chips and I had a yummy fruit shake. My husband enjoyed an applewood smoked beef sandwich. Mia loved the heavy horse show with the live orchestra - she was wide-eyed and bouncing on my husband's knee as we watched. I think the aspects that I liked are the country fair parts, though, not necessarily the parts that make it the Stampede.

The other thing we did this weekend was a 12.3km hike in Kananaskis Country - the Powderface Trail (Prairie Link). It goes up and down and up and down a LOT, so we were sore-legged by the end! Mia rode in the carrier and slept much of the way. We'd just finished two-thirds of the trail when it began to rain and hail (!), and the temperature dropped from a comfy 20 degrees down to 12, so we rushed - as much as we could, tired hikers we - through to the end and were thoroughly drenched and chilled by the time we got to the car. Luckily, Mia's carrier has a good waterproof canopy and while she was a little chilly, she warmed up fast while she nursed.

I love a good hike but definitely could have done without the rain!

So that was our western weekend!

We're down with NIP

I've nursed in a lot of different places - at the mall, on airplanes and in airports, at family reunions, restaurants, in the car (stopped of course!), park benches, in crowds, you name it - but this is the prettiest place I've ever nursed:Behind me, a huge waterfall - you don't get a sense of the massive scale in this photo - and that's snow - yep, snow in July! We're up a mountain! And this is the view in front of me:We were at Waterton Lakes National Park for the weekend, hiking up a storm (this particular hike, to Lower Rowe Lake, was 8.2 km up the side of a mountain). Mia was in her new carrier (the Deuter Kid Comfort III) that my husband found secondhand.
She's still a little on the small side for it, but she finds it comfortable enough to sleep in for long hikes and my husband finds it comfortable to carry her in it.

The wildflowers were at their peak, and we saw all kinds of wildlife - antelope, black bears, marmots, bison, mule deer, snowshoe hares, pheasants, red fox, pikas, golden mantled and Colombian ground squirrels, and a stunning mountain bluebird. It was such a fun weekend. The town of Waterton is really nice, with little shops and a pretty waterfront.

Mia had her first pool swim (she did well, but I can't say she loved it). My husband was a lifeguard and swim instructor for years and years, so I trust him completely with water and Mia. I'm not a great swimmer, so I did have some anxiety over it. My hope is for Mia to be a happy, skilled swimmer so that she doesn't end up like me in that respect!

What's the prettiest place you've ever nursed your baby?

Best swim diaper?

I need your advice! What's your favourite (cloth) swim diaper? Mia's about 17 lbs (I haven't weighed her recently) and has chubby thighs.

Something available in Canada (online is fine) would be great... I was about to order one from CSN Baby, but the $7 diaper had $19 in shipping (!), $8 in border fees and $5 in taxes, bringing the total to nearly $40. Um, no thanks!!

Edit: I ended up getting a Monkey Doodlez cloth diaper and so far so good. Of course we haven't had what my husband so nicely terms an "aquadump" yet...

We've been busy lately, spending the last weekend in Canmore, with side trips to Banff and Lake Louise. What a lovely time was had by all - except for the bouts of car seat crying by Miss I-Hate-The-Car Mia.

Mia at Lake Louise.
You can't really tell because of the light, but the whole lake
is a brilliant turquoise like at the left there.

We also hit The National horse jumping championship for a spot of hopping horses. I found the Prairie Dogs (dogs running obstacle courses, I know there's a name for that) much more entertaining!

Mia at The National

Mia celebrated her four-month "birthday" by sleeping for FIVE HOURS IN A ROW! Hooray! Then, the next night, she slept for FIVE AND A HALF HOURS IN A ROW! Double Hooray! ...Then, last night, she was up every 2-2.5 hours again. But... I saw the light. And it was so beautiful.

She also has perfected rolling from back to tummy in the last few days. Way to go, Mia!

We are heading back to lush, hot, humid Ontario tomorrow for a bit - to stay at a cottage with family, and for my husband's grandmother's 90th birthday party. We're both looking forward to being at home, in our own house, for a few days and leaving the rental condo in Calgary behind.

Sadly, our neighbours who are looking after our house have reported that all the fish in our aquarium have died. I imagine the house got too hot. Hopefully our gardens are surviving the lack of tending.

I'm not sure if I'll have internet access for the duration of our stay in Ontario (eeek!), but keep on leaving those comments (especially for the giveaway!) and I will get to reading them on my return before the month is out!

Dinosaurs, Hoo doos & the Badlands

(Sounds like a great children's book title!)

This weekend we visited Alberta's Badlands.

Drumheller, Alberta has the world's largest town mascot - a towering dinosaur (that you have to pay to climb up for a view from the dino's mouth. We didn't.). Mia was singularly unafraid, but played the part of mockingly terrified well for a photo! It's way bigger than it looks in this photo at 86 feet tall!

The Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology is one of the world's finest dinosaur museums, with lots of bones! It's amazing to think that T. Rex and Stegosauri roamed around these parts long ago. Definitely worth a visit if you're anywhere nearby.

We hiked the loop by the RTM and it was lovely, with the characteristic "popcorn rock" of bentonite clay and views of the gorgeous badlands, but we were swarmed by the little bloodsuckers. Mia was wrapped up in her carrier and a blanket and hat, so didn't get bitten at all.

The Hoo Doos, however, are probably not as awesome as you might expect. I mean, they sound awesome, right? Like something out of L. Frank Baum's Oz books! I expected the Wheelers to roll out from behind every corner. Alas, there was no Wheeler in sight (or maybe not; as I recall, they weren't very nice). The Hoo Doos are pillars of soft rock, topped by a hard one - creations of erosion. There are only a few at the location and the mosquitos are insane.
They do look cool.

More weird things about Calgary

You knew it wasn't over, right? Calgary's different. I'm not saying bad, just different.

• It's dry. I mean really dry. Mia's hair has a wave in Ontario - here it's straight. I'm slathering on the lotion like nobody's business just to keep my skin from cracking. Saline nasal spray is a household necessity. Now, lately there've been rainfall warnings and a week of rain, so it's not been quite as dry, but still. On the plus side, my cloth diapers hung up after washing dry in just a few hours here, compared to a day and a half in Ontario.
  
• It's dirty. Don't take this personally, Calgarians. Not using salt on the roads during winter (it gets too cold for that) leaves little option but sand for winter driving. Only, it seems to be a mix of sand and pea gravel. By spring there is a swath 6 feet wide on both sides of every road of grit and stones. Oh, it will be cleaned up... by July, they say. Meanwhile, every other car has a giant crack across the windshield because of the flying gravel.
• It's windy. Very windy. One time, my husband and I were going for a walk with Mia in the stroller, canopy up to block the wind, when my husband said, "Hey, I don't even have to push!" Sure enough, he let go and Mia was blown across the field we were walking in by the wind at such a rate that I had to really dash to get my hands on the handle of the stroller. Yes, Calgary tried to steal my baby.
  
• It has private parks. Some neighbourhoods have these fenced-in green areas. I mean big ones, with lakes and such. I guess Some People don't want the riff-raff spoiling their scenery?
• It claims to have friendly people. Okay, but where? I have met a number of friendly people here - but they are all from somewhere else! The friendly folks I have met here are from Toronto, Edmonton, England and Ireland. The one native Calgarian I've met (not in a social situation, this was a cab driver) spent some minutes complaining about how unfriendly it is elsewhere... and on my daily walks with Mia, it's me (the Ontario transplant) saying good morning to the people I see on the trails and them reluctantly meeting my gaze and grunting. Am I hanging out in the wrong neighbourhood or something? Maybe all the friendly people are in the north end of C-town. Yeah, I'm calling it C-town.
  
• Milk. Where I come from, milk comes in bags. It's tidy, it's handy, it keeps better, it's the Canadian way. Here in Calgary, milk comes American-style, in an unwieldy 4L plastic jug that is heavy, gets gross crusties around the rim, and you have to return the darn thing to some place called the Bottle Depot to get your deposit back. Ugh! What a stupid system.
• Liquor is available everywhere. I know that's not exclusive to Calgary, but in Ontario if you want to get loaded, you're making a stop at the Liquor Control Board of Ontario stores (LCBO) or at the Beer Store. Those are the only two options (okay, unless you shop at the lame wine kiosks in the grocery store that have very limited selection, or make your own). Here it's wide open. The Real Canadian Superstore has an associated liquor store. The Costco even has one. There are independent liquor stores. There is booze everywhere. I like it.
  

Ah, Calgary. What a freaky city.

One thing that is awesome about Calgary is the proximity to the mountains (Wait - it's great because it's near great things? hmm. Would I be more great if my next door neighbour was great?). This weekend, we're heading to Banff to do some hiking and hoary marmot spotting. I love those hairy little guys. Just look at that cutie over there.

Did you miss my first Weird Things about Calgary post?

First airplane ride and a couple of good movies

Mia handled her first airplane rides quite well! Two four-hour flights down, at least two more to go before the summer's out (maybe four), and two giant ones to come in the fall when we travel to Europe.

She managed to wet herself about 10 minutes before takeoff on the way back to Calgary and so cried for the half hour it took for the seatbelt sign to come off. I'm sure the rest of the passengers were rolling their eyes and thinking she would cry the whole way home. Of course not! As soon as her diaper was changed, she was happy again. She slept most of both flights. What a good traveler!

By the end of this year she will have been to 6 countries and logged over 36 hours of flying.

Also, I watched two good movies recently that are worth checking out. Although I watch rather a lot of movies, I don't usually write movie reviews. Mostly I find movies are rehashes of the same old same old, or even close duplicates of each other (case in point: No Strings Attached vs Love, Sex and Other Drugs - if you've seen these you will know what I mean. And if you're going to watch one or the other, LS&OD is much more intelligent).

The first of the two I'm recommending today: Limitless. This didn't get a lot of press (that I saw - granted, I don't get out much and can't remember the last time I saw a movie in the theatre. I usually watch everything online). It had some weird, surreal moments, especially at the beginning, which I really liked. It has action, good-looking people, and a plot that really makes you think, with a couple of twists that keep it interesting. Recommended for a movie night!

The second movie I can recommend is called Me and You and Everyone We Know (from 2005). It's quirky and definitely for grown-ups (it has some very odd, non-graphic sexual discussion). It's about... people, I guess, and connections or relationships. I liked the indy quality (it's no Hollywood blockbuster). Definitely worth a watch if you're in the mood for something interesting and provocative. I saw this one on the plane back home and was surprised that such an interesting, off-the-beaten-track film was offered on Air Canada.

So there you go. A couple of goodies to look out for.

Coming soon: a review of the Glup bébé bandanna from Everything Mom and Baby

Weird things about Calgary

Coming to a new city, there are always little things you notice that seem strange.
Here's what's weird about Calgary:

• Drivers heed the speed limit. I have seen this bizarre phenomenon in Nova Scotia as well. Motorists actually drive at the speed limit! In Ontario, 10km above is the norm. Seriously, everyone does it - and people honk if you drive at the posted limit. I'm not saying that's right; it's just the way it is. But here in Calgary, if it says 30km (eg in a playground zone), everyone drives 30 km/hr. Really. Weird, right?
  
• Drivers stop for pedestrians. Even when I'm crossing a road with a 60km/hr speed limit, not at a cross walk... they'll stop. If you tried that in Ontario you'd either better be quick or you'd wait a loooong time for a break in traffic. Here, all I have to do is stand anywhere near the side of the road and everyone stops and waves me across.
• The streets all have the same name. Have you ever tried getting around in a city where every street is called the same darn thing?!? It's incredibly frustrating! The neighbourhoods are all named, and each street in each neighbourhood has a name based on the neighbourhood's name. For example, in the neighbourhood Evergreen, you'll have Everridge Drive, Everridge Close, Everridge Lane, Everbrook Street, Everbrook Gardens, Everoak Way, Everoak Circle, and on and on in that manner. I got lost my first time out walking... I am going to have to start leaving a crumb trail or something. Who thought up that idiotic system?
• The housing looks funny. I guess there's no clay around, because a brick house is nowhere to be seen. Sure, there might be a little decorative brick here and there, but in general, houses are completely siding or stucco. How depressing to have every subdivision in varying shades of greige! Not only that,
  
• The driveways are concrete. That's weird to me, because back home suburban driveways are (in general) asphalt. I would think it's a pain in the rear to shovel snow off of a concrete driveway because of all the seams. And they do have to shovel all winter long. However, I hear the snow here is lighter than at home because it's so cold in winter.
  
• They have enormous rabbits. I mean, we have rabbits in Ontario. They're cute little things. The rabbits here are bigger than cats and wander around during the daytime, even! Wow. They're really BIG! DH insists on calling them jackrabbits (which they are) - but I just call them Big Freakin' Monster Bunnies.
  
• Groceries cost a bundle. I'd estimate 20-40% more than at home. Wow. At least the taxes are lower!
  
• The washing machines play little electronic tunes. Okay, this one is probably limited to the one in the condo we're renting! It plays a little happy tune when the laundry is done. And there's no way to turn the sound off. Weird.
  

Hm, that's all I can think of for now. I'm positive that there are more weird things going on out here, though.

I wasn't done... there are More Weird Things About Calgary

Winner - Comfy Rumps! & Road trip pics

Finally! Sorry for the loooong delay. We spent four 12-hour days driving across the country with a 10-week old, a week trying to find a short-term, furnished, affordable place to live, and a weekend starting to settle in for the three-month stint here in Calgary.

The winner is....
A long-time follower and a super sweet person.

On the road, Mia spent a lot of time doing this (thank goodness):
Some time being entertained by Mummy and Superfrog:And, of course, some time doing this (we all felt his way at times - it was a LONG drive!):Are any of you in Calgary?

Airport exposure

I had a great time this weekend traveling. We drove down to Buffalo, and then flew from there out to Baltimore. We did some shopping in Baltimore, spent two days sight-seeing in Washington, and then flew back to Buffalo and drove home again. All in all a fun trip.

But at the Baltimore-Washington airport, something weird happened to me. I was randomly selected to step into this big grey booth. I was directed to step in, put my feet on the yellow footprints and raise my arms. A few seconds and it was over with. The security agent spoke into a radio, and then told me I was cleared. I figured it was some sort of scan but really didn't know what had just happened to me.

When I was cleared moments later, my husband told me it was a whole-body imaging (aka millimeter wave scanning) booth. What's that? "It scans your body like an x-ray, just under your clothes," he told me, "It's very controversial."

Yeah. No kidding. At first I thought it was funny, and overall less invasive than a physical pat-down. But I just read up on it and it basically uses ultra high frequency radio waves to send an image of your body to a computer in a closed room apart from the security screening area. Just your body. Clothes are rendered translucent. The technician viewing the image never sees the subject in person, and the security personnel with the subject never sees the image. They say images are not recorded in any way (who really knows if that's true?). It boils down to - some stranger just saw me naked. The picture you see at left is an example of what these images look like. The faces are blurred, apparently (are they? There is no way for the traveler to be sure of this), but as you can see it gives a very clear image of everything else.

There were no warnings about health risks (or privacy invasion) at all, that I could see. Nor was I told verbally about any risks, or given the option for a pat-down instead. I honestly had no idea what was happening to me. In previous travels I have gone through one of those machines that puffs air at you, captures the particulate, and analyzes that for threats. On first glance I kind of thought this machine did the same thing - until I went through it.

Now if you've been reading what's going on with me lately you will know that I am pregnant. And although this pregnancy is sure to end in miscarriage for me, I am still concerned, until that happens, about what happens with my body. So are there risks to fetuses from ultra high frequency radio waves? Are there risks to me? I couldn't find a definitive answer.

All in all I feel a little violated. If given the choice to make an informed decision about going into that booth, I would have opted for a physical pat-down. I don't like the idea that an image of my naked body was just searched visually. It gives me the creeps.

So thanks a lot, Baltimore Washington International Airport, for an icky end to an otherwise great vacation.