Canadian Candy

Okay, so technically this is British candy. It's made by Cadbury, but every country except America seems to be able to sell this stuff. All we get down here is the Easter eggs that aren't all that great anymore since they changed the filling. Anyway, the point is that this candy was DELICIOUS. To make a long story short, Jason and I ended up with $9.57 CAN to spend before we left the airport, so when we stopped at the gas station on our way to the airport, I grabbed a couple of snacks. This was one of them; I was determined to get something Canadian. And I don't like Smarties, so that was out. So I opted for Cadbury. This is a peanut butter caramel candy bar, and boy is it yummy. It's like a Butterfinger center (only not as sticky or chewy), surrounded by delicious Cadbury caramel, and dipped in chocolate. Oh man. I want some more of these, so if anyone is headed to Canada, you'll be my friend forever if you bring back some of these for me. And just in case you're wondering, no it doesn't say "Wonder Bra." It's "Wunderbar." (And why it has a Viking helmet on it is anyone's guess.)

The Interview

Well, we spent the entire afternoon and evening in Lacombe, Alberta, Canada. We were both exhausted before we even got there...a not-so-comfy bed and getting in quite late will do that to you. It was almost a 2-hour drive from Calgary up to Lacombe. We did it in our little mini car - it's a Kia of some kind; I'll get a picture of it tomorrow - and constantly made fun of the poor little thing. Once there, we had lunch in the cafeteria (an experience, to be sure...only one person in our group of six knew how the cafeteria worked), and then Jason launched into his long afternoon of meeting people, smiling, answering questions, and sweating. The building pictured above is the administration building at Canadian University College (a name which, I learned tonight, even the Canadians don't understand or like!).

The above (quite crappy) photo is a shot of where I spent my afternoon while Jason was in his string of appointments: The library's computer bank. Sheila (the assistant and soon-to-be head librarian) logged me in at 12:45 and I sat there and worked until 5:30. I got three stories done, did more research on two others, and waded through about 70 emails.

At 5:30, Jason was finally done with everything and Sheila offered us a tour of campus. We gladly accepted, and for the next 20 minutes we meandered past the dorm, the science building, the second dorm, the academy, the music building, and other misc. things. (Only not too many other things, because it's a really small campus. We walked slowly and stopped in a couple of buildings and it still only took us 20 minutes to get back to where we started. And yes, we saw the entire campus.) It was a little chilly...as you can see by the trees and the not-so-green grass, spring hasn't quite hit Lacombe yet!

This was my favourite place we went: Lakeview Hall. It's both a men's and women's dorm; men on one side, women on the other. The mezzanine level (where those stairs go) was modified with a floor-to-ceiling complete wall to separate the sexes. But it was the lobby that struck me. It's really a beautiful building. I didn't get to see any of the dorm rooms, but this area was lovely. The big picture windows overlook - you guessed it - a lake! The outsides of buildings may not look like much on this campus, but once you get inside, you're most often surprised at what they've done with the place. Such was the case here.

Just as an FYI, Jason felt the interview went well, and we should know by next week whether or not they are interested in offering him the job. Keep praying - not just that CUC will make the right decision, but that we will, too.

NOTE: For a photo of and post including our tiny rental car, click here!

Headed North

Today we worked a half day and headed to Seattle after lunch. Jason has a job interview in Alberta tomorrow, and we had a flight to catch. The Seattle airport has done a major renovation of their food court. It's beautiful! I don't know when they finished it, but this is the first time I've seen it. The view of the sunset behind all the planes taking off and landing...and the storm clouds moving in...it was fantastic.


The decor was very tasteful, and the place looked clean and new without looking overdone. We enjoyed a drink from Starbucks while passing time until our flight boarded at 9:30.

As for tomorrow...BEST WISHES, JASON!

Brewing Up Some Storms

I love this time of year! The clouds are so awesome to watch - they're constantly changing, and they are very different from the clouds that appear any other time of year. During the winter the cloud is the sky. It's just one big gigantic cloud that doesn't lift for more than about a day at a time between November and February. The fall clouds are cold and very unfriendly, and just look ominous and aloof. Summer clouds...wait. Do we even HAVE clouds in the summer? Not often...but when we do, they're thunderheads, billowing on the horizon, looking majestic and powerful. Spring clouds, though...they're happy clouds. They're on vacation, watching the world come back to life and enjoying the flowers so much that sometimes they part to let the sun show them brighter, and other times noticing they need a little lift, and dumping some rain. I love this time of year!

Rock Band

Today we did something different. Instead of eating at our house, we all went over to Ruth's boyfriend's apartment for breakfast. Ruth and Nick made pancakes, Jason and I made coffee cake, and Mom & Dad brought the juice. After breakfast (which was delicious, by the way), we hooked up Rock Band and got ready to play. The best part: We actually talked my parents into trying it out. That's my dad attempting to figure out what he's supposed to do on the guitar. Jason's holding the mic, I'm at the drums behind my dad, and Ruth is to the left of the photo with the other guitar. It was a family rock band! Mom played guitar, too, but after one song, both Mom and Dad decided to just let the kids play. They fell asleep! How they did that with Rock Band blaring I don't know. But it was great fun. Below: The pregnant lady takes to the guitar (note Dad in the background...)!

Spring Babies

My parents are here visiting this weekend, and after Sabbath lunch and a nap (for some of us), we decided to take advantage of the sunshine that had appeared after a grey morning. We grabbed our collection of old bread and headed to the one park we know of that has ducks and doesn't have signs saying not to feed them: Lions Park in College Place. The above sight greeted us at the far end of the pond. There are nine of them there, even though you might only see eight. They were so cute! And they were close enough to touch...though I resisted (it was tough). Finally, enough people gathered that it made Mama Duck nervous and she hopped off the rock where she was keeping an eye on her sleeping babes, plopped into the water, and quack-quacked until all nine of them were safely behind her. Then she led them into some overhanging branches at the edge of the island in the middle of the pond. There they waited, presumably until the crowd went away. The ducks didn't eat much, but it didn't matter...we enjoyed our time at the park thoroughly, thanks to these adorable babies.

Every Petal...

The wife of one of our history professors was diagnosed a few months ago with cancer. For a while they couldn't decide what kind it was, and after undergoing treatment for something it turns out she didn't have, she was just recently re-diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. A friend of hers - the wife of another history professor - organized a campus-wide Sabbath of support. She asked that anyone who knows Jonna leave flowers and/or notes of encouragement and support on the family's driveway gate. The evening was to start at 5 p.m. and go through sundown, welcoming the Sabbath with a gate full of flowers of faith. Someone had taped a note to the gate saying, "Every Petal is a Prayer," and when I arrived a few minutes after 5, several people were already there. They had bags full of lilac branches they were tying all over the gate. Someone else was there with a couple of potted geraniums. And others had already left bouquets of different types and colours of flowers at different spots on the gate. I added my bouquet (on behalf of a committee I chair at the university) and left again. I hope someone takes a picture when all is said and done. Jonna, we're still praying for you.