Going to Canada eh ?

A few more words that caught us out

birdie =  shuttlecock the thing you hit in Badminton

baseboard = skirting board

wagon (as model of car ) = estate car

take a boo = take a look

vest= waistcoat or sleeveless body warmer or gilet or tank top

top = t-shirt or shirt or polo shirt

roll neck = polo neck

• shoes = court shoes, ballet shoes, stillettos, sling-backs, wedges, platforms
• runners = trainers (they have trainers, but don’t ask for them, usually top end of the market)
• sneakers = plimsoles, pumps, gym shoes
• loafers = hush puppies, deck shoes, espadrilles, slippers
• moccasins = sandals, flip-flops, gellies
• boots = ankle boots, knee boots, thigh boots, moon boots, hiking boots, biker boots, wellies

roadside turnout= layby

parking lane = hard shoulder

helper= in a work environment= assistant but not in a shop (store) here they have sales associates.

helper= on the railway a helper is a banking engine (one at the back of a heavy train pushing it up a steep incline)

helper= in food a Hamburger Helper is a packet meal added to minced beef to make a pasta dish

aid = carer for disabled passenger on bus or plane

pop = any carbonated drink ie fizzy drink

Last Saturday was Dave’ s birthday party and then on the Sunday he took part in his first Mass as an altar server. He got to carry the cross in the procession  mostly because he was the tallest of the three servers.

Oh yes and Penny got surrounded by balloons when she was asleep and wasn’t too sure what to do when she woke up.

A few weeks ago we mentioned that Sylvan Lake was frozen over and the ice so thick we drove on it. Here are the pictures to prove it.

The past 2 weeks nature has been reminding us who is in charge. The temperature range in one week went from -38  to +4. The thaw created its own set of “interesting” situations. Large clumps of ice and snow would detach themselves from buildings with little or no warning. One dropped off the office where Pete works with dramatic effects but fortunately no one near it at the time.

As the snow melts puddles of surface water collect unable to run away as the passage  to the drains is still blocked. There were pictures on the news of cars that had been parked in puddles but were unable to move after the water froze trapping the tyres in 2″ on solid ice. In one field by the highway we could see a bulldozer slowing clearing a field. He was making good progress day by day until the Thursday when it snowed and wiped out all the good work he had done.

Yesterday was David’s birthday party which we held in a Sports Centre in Red Deer. The kids had the choice of swimming, field house or skating. They spent so long swimming that they ran out of time for skating. David was probably relieved at this as he is not yet a confident skater.

The day was complicated by Pete’s car failing on the way to the party. For some time the battery warning light had been coming on but when we put the battery charger on, it said the battery was fine.

It was lying.

The clue was when Pete used the indicators and instead of the lights flashing the fuel gauge flickered up and down. A mile later the car coasted to a stop on the hard shoulder of the highway. We crammed everything into Lin’s car and went to the party. On the way back we stopped to let Pete out and call the AMA. Miraculously the car started but only made about half a mile before dying again.  At this point we gave up and called the AMA. It took an hours wait but the truck arrived and took the car back home. Under terms of the membership only the first 5km of transporting is free but fortunately we were less than that from home.

Pete had already decided to take a half day off on Monday to go looking for another car. The plan was to go back to the place we got Lin’s car from. Maybe Pete’s car knew that was going to happen, had taken offence and broken down out of spite.

Today we had the long awaited winter storm. The forecasted rain didn’t happen but we woke up to several inches of snow this morning. Red Deer was reporting 15 cm and parts of Calgary 25.

After weeks of putting it off Pete finally went to the dentist. The surgery was a bit open plan being one large room sectioned off by bookcases so it was possible to hear the treatments of the other patients.

Step one was a nurse tapping all the teeth to see which one produced a scream and then x raying the offending tooth. In the UK this used to be with the assistance of the patient holding the x-ray plate while the operator tried to line up the gun with the plate. Here they had a plastic holder which held the plate in place inside your mouth and then on the outside it had a target ring that held the x-ray gun in line with the plate.

Between 5 minutes and eternity later the dentist appeared. His name was Simon and he was from Ghana. He spoke perfect English and we  spent a few moments rubbishing the locals for their non english grammar befor he told me the bets course of actino in the long run would be to remove the tooth.

This was no surprise to me but I was not looking forward to it.  First off was the rinse and spit routine except there was no bowl as we are used to in England. Here you had to spit back into the paper cup the rinse came in. The came the chair business. In stead of reclining slightly it became almost flat so that Simon could work on me whilst sitting down. The came the strangest question of all. Would you like sun glasses ? This was to protect my eyes from the bright light that all dentists have. I delined as I would not be able to watch television without my normal glasses.

Watch television ? yes there was one fitted flush in the ceiling facing down so the patient could see it perfectly. At this point I started wondering how well it had been fixed and reckoned that as it hadn’t fallen on anyone else then I would be reasonably safe. They were showing a curling match between places I had never heard of, playing a game I didn’t understand with the sound off so I had no idea what was happening. I suppose the idea was to take my mind off what Simon was doing.

He had quite a job because as soon as he started on the tooth it shattered and he had to dig out the roots and bits piecemeal. As soon as he had finished he was off to the next bay while a nurse gave me the post operative instructions. She also gave me a small envelope and at first I thought they were giving me the offending tooth as a trophy but fortunately it only contained more pieces of gauge to stop the bleeding.

Back into the reception area for the next nerve racking bit, the bill. Once the receptionist had the correct transaction code and tooth number she submitted the bill on line to my health insurance company and in the same time that you might wait for an on line credit card transaction to process the claim was approved in full.

Private Health insurance here makes up the short fall for the provincial health care system rather than operating as parallel system like BUPA does in the UK. Unitl Jan 2009 we used to have to contribute to Alberta Health care but now it is free. Manulife is somthing both employer ans employee contribute to and covers ambulance transportation , dental work but not eye glasses, massages, chiropractos and $14 out of the $16 dollar prescritption charge. It is not treated as a taxable benefit by revenue Canada in fact you can get some tax relief for medial expenses including eye glasses.

The other week end David went to cub camp at nearby Sylvan Lake. We had to take him there on the Friday night. All was well on the main roads but when we turned off on to the range roads we found it heavy going. Although reasonably clear of snow the whole surface was white and judging the width of the road surface was difficult so we kept to the middle of the road.

Once on the camp site navigation was more by hope than anything else as dusk had fallen and the landmarks and signs were not well lit.We were dreading meeting anyone coming the other way as the tracks were only one vehicle wide and lined with high banks of snow. Eventually we got him to the cabins the cubs were staying in and Pete helped him make his bed. The bunks looked like they were leftover from The Great Escape. On the first one we picked the base was propped up by a couple of logs and collapsed when we put bedding on it.

We eventually got him settled wished the cub leaders luck and retired to the nearest A&W for a hot drink before setting off for home.

Saturday saw another attempt at video conferencing with Andrew back home. This time he remembered his web cam but not his headset so we could see each other but had to use the old fashioned telephone to talk to each other. Third time lucky and we might do it all over the internet.

There had been a light dusting of snow on Saturday, nothing to worry about we thought but in Sunday a strong wind was blowing and all the lose snow was being blown across the roads, reducing visibility dramaticaly. If did not have to collect David we would not have ventured out. Snow clearance had been minimal on the Sunday and Lin drove most of the journey in second gear at no more than 40kph she wanted to be higher up and have her strobe light from the bus. Worryingly lots of trucks over took us but we have no idea if they could see where they were going or had radar assistance. The camp site roads were equally bad but atleast this time it was in daylight. By the time we returned home we had passed 5 cars crashed or abandoned either at the roadside or in the median.

Dave had the opportunity to try both snow shoeing and skiing but apparently he did not have enough strenght in his legs to keep going for long.

This was the week end when the clocks went forward in Canada (but not apparently in the UK).So for a while the time difference is only 6 hours in stead of 7. Confusing or what ?

Winter was back this week. Temperatures fell to -29 (-33 with wind chill) and we had a few snow flurries, only a couple of inches but enough to make the roads slippery and obscure kerbs and road markings. One day Peter found he had parked in the office car park with two wheels on the curb but couldnt tell at first because everything was white and lumpy.

Ash Wednesday was big event for the schools with lots of schools bussed in to special masses at the Catholic churches. The bus company gave Lin their newest and biggest to date.  The vehicle was so awe inspiring, it even shocked the kids into silence.  Lin described it to me and I nicknamed it the enterprise, all I can say is rather her than me.