The new place

We moved into apartment 3310 on Towerland Drive in Airdrie on the 1st of December 2012. It was a cold, snowy, gloomy all around miserable day. Being a Saturday D was at work so I packed our things into the rental car and headed over to meet the agent and collect the keys. It was strange feeling knowing that pretty much everything we owned could fit in one small sedan. I met the agent who showed me through the and then left me to begin moving in our stuff. It took a few trips up and down the stairs but before long all of our things were inside, and I was all alone. It was so quiet. After the few months we had enjoyed holidaying in the states constantly on the go with my loud and crazy family then the chaos of driving back and forward to Airdrie every week I was suddenly all alone and overcome with feelings of being lonely, relieved, excited, proud, sad, anxious and terrified all at once. I started to cry. And once I started I couldn't stop. So I pulled out our new comforter, laid down on it next to the window and as I watched the snow fall down I bawled my eyes out all afternoon.

Airdrie is a really nice small town about 15 mins North of Calgary in Alberta. On clear days you can see the rocky mountains. It has all the amenities that are important to us - plenty of shops, public transport, small movie theatre, gym and the Calgary International airport close by. I knew as soon as we would be happy here.

Morning on the Main Street of Airdrie only a few mins walk from our place

Nose Creek runs directly in front of our apartment which is closest to the camera on the 3rd floor

To begin with all we had was some items for cooking & eating plus 2 chairs kindly given to us by one of D's new work friends but that really was it. We had a comforter to sleep on - no mattress and no bed. I won't lie it was a fairly uncomfortable first week but as soon as we had the funds we were borrowing a friends truck and driving to Ikea. We also managed to pick up some items from the local Salvation Army thrift store too.

Our bed is a mattress on the floor but it's comfortable enough and beats sleeping directly on the floor so we're happy with this for now...


Yes, we're sleeping Japanese style

D's bedside table - LACK from Ikea $12.99 SOLD!

With all the snow outside we really did need a bit of life inside

My bedside LACKing a soda and candy for once, not often it looks nice like this

We both love the bathroom, probably because of the cool treescape shower curtain and Marty the Moose we bought in Banff NP. This is the only animal head that will ever grace my walls!

I'm having at least 3 baths a week LOVING the bath... plus showers on the other days hehe

This bath tray from Ikea makes facebooking in the bath a breeze

The living room has been tough to make look 'full'. For a 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom apartment it is very spacious. And because we don't have a table & chairs or coffee table it feels fairly empty sometimes. Putting an orange throw on the floor fills in some of that space and adds a pop of colour. No way we could afford a rug so we've made do!

Small inexpensive decorations - I made the bear coasters from felt and the owl from a used toilet roll

The wall that reminds us of home and all the awesome people we are privileged to call our family & friends

The living room, the couch is ugly but comfy and the cute armchair makes up for it.

Luckily for us the rentals here come with a fridge so that's an expense we haven't had to bear. There is also a laundry room on site so no expensive washer or dryer either yahoo!

We love this fun reference to deliverance. I smile every time I open the fridge

The stove is HUGE compared to standard ones in Australia, the rest of the kitchen is fairly standard though

He got the job.... now what do we do?

We were sitting at Safeway when D got the call. Because we hadn't been here that long and hadn't had the chance to make any friends to give out our number we knew it was more than likely for a job. He answered and a smily instantly grew on his face. Then he gave me a thumbs up. He had gotten the job in Airdrie. Now came the hard part, how the hell were we going to make this work?

After some thought we decided it wouldn't be smart to move to Airdrie for a job that D hadn't even started yet - what if he hated it? What if it didn't work out? There were too many what ifs to simply close our eyes and jump in. So we decided to hire a car and drive down for the first weekend staying in a cheap hotel to see how it went and then make a more informed decidion based on that experience. Someone (ie me) stupidly booked what must have been the smallest car in the fleet - a Fiat 500 that barely fit me and D in let alone a suitcase in the back. The weather was terrible and only getting worse so we knew if was going to be a pretty tense drive south in our cardboard box. We couldn't actually get a hotel in Airdrie so we stayed at one of the Calgary airport hotels which added about 30 mins onto the drive. D and I both know what a long commute is like, we both went in opposite directions 45 mins each way to get to our jobs in Australia so I knew as soon as we arrived at the hotel living in Calgary was not going to be an option if D did in fact want this job... it would have to be Airdrie.

The drive to Calgary and back became a weekly event

D woke up and got himself off to work in the dark that first day and I sat like a worrying mother all day waiting for him to come home anxious about how he was going. I was so proud of him and hoped he had a good day. He did. When he came home that night he couldn't have been happier with how the day went - he wanted the job and he wanted to live in Airdrie. I agreed and set out to find a place to live. 

D after his first day of work - yep thats the shoebox for a car we rented

Calgary night sky

Halloween was during that first week and back in St Albert so I used some things I had around the house to create possibly the worlds worst cat outfit but considering how huge Halloween is in Canada and how little it's celebrated in Australia I didn't want to miss out. D of course opted out of dressing up and even contemplated buying a BB gun to shoot the kids with but I wouldn't allow it. It was a fun night giving out candy to the kids, and even fun-ner when I discovered there was plenty left over for me as well as mega discounts on bulk lots of it in all the stores.... yummm!

Me as a cat for Halloween - immediately regretted the thongs

Meeeooowww i'm poor

Over the next few days I researched rentals over the internet and made appointments to view. I thought we would be lucky and get one starting in November but unfortunately there wasn't anything available until December which was still 5 or so weeks away. We jumped on it as we didn't want to miss out and potentially have to wait until January. Our application was approved straight away and we spent the next month hiring a car, driving to Airdire and staying in a hotel for the working week then driving back to St Albert for the rest of the week. We felt like gypsy's most of the time and we were haemorrhaging money (thank god for our credit card) but we didn't have a choice. Luckily the petrol was a damn site cheaper than Australia!

Compared to our price of $1.50+ p/l in Australia this is awesome but I  have seen it cheaper since this photo  as well

D had 1 day off one weekend while we were staying in Calgary and we took the opportunity to visit the Calgary Tower to get a birdseye view of the city and the rocky mountains to the west. Calgary was quiet that day as it was a Sunday but it's definitely a nice city I hoped to spend more time in.

Calgary tower from the ground

A weird feeling standing on glass with nothing between your feet and the ground below

Calgary with the rocky mountains in the background

All the while I had still been looking for work and ended up landing a job at The Body Shop about 10 mins drive out of town. I started 2 weeks before we were due to move. I loved the girls there however the job itself was hideous. One day I stood out the front of the store with a lame wheel to try and entice potential customers to spin for 6 hours straight. I decided the weekend we moved that I couldn't do it anymore and I quit. D has always been very supportive when it comes to my reluctance to work... It's not that I don't want to work, it's that I have no idea what I want to do and it constantly leads to my depression in the workplace. So it was 2 jobs down and a move ahead.

By the end of the month we had been driving back and fourth we were well and truly ready for a place of our own. It had been fantastic to stay with D's relatives and get to know them better and so wonderful of them to open their home to us but it was time to stand on our own feet for once. The feeling was that the last month had all been about work, and we were ready for some fun...

We booked a greyhound bus to take us to Airdrie instead of a car that last week which cost us a whole $2 per ticket (I got in early and snagged a sale fare). Before long we were here. Airdire, Alberta... a place until a month ago we had never heard of was our new home.

The interview turned Rocky Mountain Adventure

I had only completed one shift at the science centre when D got an interview to work as a welder for a company that supplies the oil sand mines up North. It was a fantastic opportunity, only problem was the job was in Airdire - only about 15 mins north of Calgary but 3 hours south of St Albert. He wondered if he should even go to the interview because how would we make it work if he landed the job. We had no car, no house, next to no money and knew no one in that area to help us. After some careful consideration we decided it was an opportunity he couldn't pass up and somehow if he got the job we would just make it work. We decided to drive down for the interview and then back via Banff, Japser and the Icefields parkway so if he didn't get it the trip wasn't for nothing.

D's family lent us their van for the weekend and we set out on a cold but clear Thursday morning as the sun was just peaking above the horizon, it was around 8:30am... Despite visiting the states a couple of times and being in Canada for a few weeks already this was D's first time behind the wheel on the wrong side of the car and the wrong side of the road. It was a pretty tense drive but the roads were fairly quiet and we made it to Airdrie without a hitch. I sat in the car while D went in for the interview and he emerged happy at how it had gone but not wanting to be over confident. We both agreed it was good to get the interview in any case and whatever happened was fine.

D having a go at driving

About 10 mins out of Airdrie we drove past the famous 'Bass Pro' which is a hunting/ fishing/ camping/ outdoor lovers paradise. Despite being many of these throughout the USA there are only 2 in all of Canada - would D be lucky enough to possibly live this close to one of them? As we drove past and the took the exit towards Banff our focus then shifted to the fact we were about to drive into the rocky mountains and we were both filled with so much excitement.

It only took just over an hour to reach the Banff park gates where we paid our fee and drove into the town. Understandably the town is very tourist oriented with hotels and souvenier shops lining the main road that drives through. We drove straight to the world famous Fairmont Banff Springs - it's the massive hotel surrounded by mountains and towering pines seen on most Canadian vacation advertisements. Rooms here start at $500 per night. Needless to say we took some photos and kept on driving! We visited bow falls then drove back to town to check into our hotel - the Banff Aspen Lodge. It was fairly modern and inexpensive with breakfast included and an awesome hot tub outside next to an open fireplace. 

Banff Ave, stunning mountains all around

Me feeding a beautiful mule deer on Banff Ave

D looking for fish at bow falls

Gorgeous sunset over the mountains, goodnight Banff

We weren't able to do or see a lot in Banff not just because of the time restraints or money but because we were visiting in an off season where many of the tourist attractions were closed such as the hot springs and gondola. Oh well we could do those things next time. The next morning we left Banff for Jasper via the Icefields parkway.

When we left it was starting to shower but during the 45 min trip to Lake Louise it began to snow, and it was pretty heavy snow! Not really the conditions we wanted on our first drive in Canada but we had no where to go but forward. Lake Louise was gorgeous but not really what I had expected. It's beautiful but compared to scenery we have seen in other parts of the world I didn't think it was anything that special. The visibility of the glacier behind was non existant due to fog and snow so we wandered into another ritzy hotel on the shore. It was a lovely place but I felt it detracted from the natural beauty of the lake. It didn't feel like we were in a National park.

Canoe rental hut on the shore of Lake Louise - also closed :(

D looking the part of a real local

Lake louise, would love to see it in better weather

The Icefields Parkway is one of the most scenic drives in the world and although it was terrible weather for most of the drive with poor visibility, massive snowfall and icy conditions we did manage to see lots of beautiful scenery and landmarks.

The clearing fog against the mounatins was stunning

I wanted to bottle this water and take it home, just gorgeous

One of the many canyons at Athabasca Falls

D looking cofused about all the rock formations people have left - have investigated an still don't know what this is all about

As we drove into Jasper the weather lifted and we were blessed with gorgeous clear blue skies and warmer weather, it really is like all seasons in one day here. Japser was lovely but a lot smaller than Banff. It looked a lot older as well, like Banffs poor little brother but we loved it. Most of our wildlife viewings were here as well.

We're there!

D got very excited about this - a whitetail deer the first he had seen

We strolled around the main street of Jasper for a while before getting in the car and driving about 10 mins out of town to our hotel on Pyramid Lake - so named because of the mountain that stands behind it. Just lovely and we took a canoe out that afternoon before the sun hid behind the surrounding mountains.

The canoe on the still waters of Pyramid Lake

I'm clearly doing all the work.. wishing I brough gloves cause my hands were frozen

As it turned out it was the best idea to do our canoe outing that afternoon as the next morning we woke to a beautiful winter wonderland. Its amazing the difference from one day to the next here. I wish we could have stayed a week at this place but alas we had to get in the car and drive these icy conditions all the way back to St Albert. I was concerned the roads would be closed but we made it through. There were plenty of cars turned on their roofs on the roadside though!

Tha afternoon we arrived - around 4pm

The morning we left - around 9am

A majestic male elk and his heard of women admirers

This coyote was next to the main road

Bighord sheep out in the elements

I was sorry to be leaving the mounatins, maybe the fact I grew up on a mountain means I will always feel familiar and at home in them. But for now it was back to reality and hoping that D landed a job soon!

I'm officially employed

So only 2 weeks into our Canadian adventure and I have landed a job. I'm so happy and totally didn't expect it to be this easy. As we were driving around the last few weeks I had been noticing signs advertising a new Star Wars exhibition at the Edmonton World of Science and made a mental note to go on their website to check it out. I am a huge Star Wars fan - as is D.

One of the signs that drew me in... the force was with me!

As fate would have it, the exhibition was not open yet but they were in the process of hiring staff to run it, oh hells yeah! So I submitted my resume, went in and blitzed the interview (as I so often do) and received a call the next day offering me a different position to what i'd applied for that was a bit more involved and not actually part of the Star Wars exhibit but paid the same (a measly but above minimum wage of $11.50 per hr!).... hmmm what to do. Screw it, I needed work so I accepted.

The centre

I would be working as a box office assistant where I was responsible for selling tickets and providing assistance to visitors to the centre. A definite step down from the job I left at home but I'm not here to better my career or start a new one.

My first day of work, and my new Steve Madden work shoes - cute!!

The centre is about 30 mins and I have to transfer busses once but I don't care. I am employed in Canada, and in a Star Wars context - GO ME!

O Canada

We arrived in Canada on the 5th October 2012. The Edmonton airport was all but empty for our arrival at 1am and we were the last ones to leave - it was filled with hockey memorabilia which was enough to excite us despite the hour. We held our breaths as the airport officer stamped our working visas, until this time it still didn't feel like it was actually happening. We were greeted on the other side by D's aunt and cousin who kindly agreed to collect us and we walked out into the cold dark night not knowing exactly what we were in for...

The pamphlet given to us when we crossed the border

It took about an hour to get from the airport to the house we would be staying at in St Albert. There was a basement suite that would be ours, there was no bathroom but there was a bed, and my god we needed it. We threw our bags on the floor and didn't wake until lunch time the next day. Our first few days in Canada were spent catching up on sleep, hanging around the house and being driven around town and Edmonton. I was still terribly disorientated!

Main street of St Albert

The last day of markets for the year, before the subzero sets in!

The weather was just beautiful - sunny clear skies and a cool wind that reminded me of the perfect winter days we get back in Australia. It was autumn so all the leaves were turning beautiful colours of red and orange falling softly from the trees. St Albert is a lovely town - much bigger than the small town we are from in Australia but I instantly felt safe and comfortable here.

Just like the movies, even a white picket fence!

The street D's family live on in St Albert

Its raking time!

D showing me how to do it the 'right way'

By luck we arrived over the Canadian Thanksgiving weekend and the family came over for a turkey dinner. For anyone who knows me well I am pretty picky when it comes to food and generally only eat chicken, it's actually somewhat of an embarrassment at my age turning up my nose to perfectly good food but I was determined to try turkey for the first time. I was pleasantly surprised - I actually liked it! My mind was in competition with my tastebuds though and although I enjoyed it i kept thinking in my head 'I;m eating turkey' and couldn't just relax and enjoy the mean fully. Oh well I did it regardless! We had pumpkin pie for dinner which was also a first for us - this one I did not struggle with... the first of many pumpkin pies I think!
Next thing on the agenda? Get jobs!!