Ah Summer!

Just got back from the islands- nowhere exotic- just Cape Breton And Prince Edward- but nice nonetheless. The kids had a great time in Halifax. We highly recommend the harbour tours and running around the Public Gardens. Prince Edward Island was okay but their hospitality is lacking and it really is a place you can go to once and feel you don't need to return.Cape Breton was as quaint as ever. Baddeck is as charming as ever and the Inverary Inn is a great place to stay. The kids loved the evening campfire on the beach. Seeing family was of course the best part of all. As always time passed too quickly and we had to part ways again. There's something about going home to the place you grew up that stirs up old memories long forgotten. I will have to remember to not wait so long between the treks home.

Good Intentions

So much for keeping up with this blog. Maybe I will just make it an annual event.I did keep blogging on a more professional level. I used blogger in my Grade 3 French Immersion class and they loved it. Since it was the first year for it, it was a work in progress but keep checking us out and there will undoubtedly be progress and growth.Just think last summer I didn't even know what a blog was and now it holdsa a regular place on my timetable!Check us out. There are links for each student's individual blog there too.

http://ecoleccloughlin.blogspot.com

Brother in the barren land

A rainy day here so I thought I would take a little time to blog about my brother. We don't get to see each other much as he is in the Canadian Armed Forces and is usually stationed in Edmonton. Recently he was posted to Alert, Canada for a 6 month stint where soon he will be going 24 hrs a day without daylight. Didn't realize how far north he was until I googled the place. Check it out:

The closest Inuit settlement is Grise Fiord, located about 725 km to the south. Although Edmonton is the nearest Canadian city at 3475 km, Stockholm is only 3282 km away. Other distances from Alert which may be of interest are:
Vancouver, BC 4264 km
Winnipeg, MB 3990 km
Toronto, ON 4344 km
Ottawa, ON 4151 km
Montreal, QC 4135 km
Halifax, NS 4183 km
Resolute Bay, NWT 1046 km
Thule, AFB, Greenland 676 km
the geographic North Pole is 817 km to the north

To get a visual of its location check it out on the map at
www.chem.purdue.edu/shepson/Alert/PSE/canada.gif

A hiking we will go

Tuition took my money and there are two young kids to entertain and enjoy so what to do, what to do? Well, we discovered we could do some hiking here on the west coast of Newfoundland. Down in Lark Harbor there is a spectacular view from the top of the Govenor's Stairway. You can see the whole Bay of Islands on a clear day. Here in Corner Brook , the Ducks Unlimited trail has been extended to meet the Glynmill Inn Pond trail. The Steady Brook Falls is a steeper one( especially with little ones) but another awesome view.The Massey Drive lake has a more even terrain but the kids tend to run not hike this one! Caleigh and Josh have developed some strong calf muscles. This week we are heading off to the Codroy Valley to discover that part of the province. I refuse to look at the calendar yet and count the days remaining. There is still too much resting and relaxing to fit in!

4 year old skypes!

Gave my 4 year old daughter some screen time yesterday when suddenly the computer started ringing. Freaked her out a little at first but when she got to talk to a friend, it was the most natural thing to do-just another way of using the computer to her. This internet telephony is great. Check it out http://www.skype.com For anyone calling here, you just might get into a lengthy conversation with a 4 year old!

Summer has begun!

The 3 weeks of Masters work is done. The girls from the backroom survived debates,distress and a night of daiquiris and are half way through the program . Summer is officially here now that we can relax before heading back to work in a few weeks. I figure there better be some family time because of a remark made by my daughter. As we were sitting down to breakfast and Bob came through the door from his nightshift she said," This can't be good." Asked to explain she said," Well if you're home Daddy is at work so if he is home that means you are leaving today." Guess that is a good indication that family time is now a priority and she needs to see her 2 parents together! Guilt! guilt !guilt!

Married to a Masters student

I have been so excited and enthusiastic with learning again since starting this Masters program that I have shared projects, papers and points of view with my husband on a regular basis. So this past week he has heard about database searches and blogging. He was quite impressed with access to information on the databases and was amazed at the blogs.
He asked me to find someway of getting a friend of his from North Sydney to Lewiston , Maine via best highway routes. I found a really good site www.freetrip.com that not only maps best route but also offers choice of lodgings and road speeds in the areas. Great site for travellers. I am spending all my $$ on tuition so can't use the site to travel anywhere but hope someone else can put it to good use!