[edmonton life]

It has been 10 months of first-time home ownership and 11 months since we moved from England to Edmonton. Gosh, lots has happened in that time (new jobs, travels, friends, marriage, a baby on the way...) but what we've been really enjoying is settling into our new ( 6 year old) home. Not only have we now been excited about organising a nursery for the little one on the way, but over the last ten months, just doing the routine house maintenance hasn't been a chore but a pleasure. At last we're no longer renters and keeping someone else's abode in tip-top condition; it's our own.

Last summer (mid June), as soon as we took possession of the house, I set about planting some trees and bushes. I couldn't believe that the previous owners had lived here 6 years and hadn't planted one thing...not a flower, not a seed! I quickly found out what plants could withstand an Albertan winter and am so pleased to see that our trees have survived. I was warned that our delicate lilacs wouldn't make it (though I did pick ones that were grown in Alberta and hardy for our climate).

So far, our cherry tree, maple tree, red ash tree, lilac bushes and willow are doing well. I'm hoping the apple tree will show more signs of life soon but it is in the shadiest bit of the garden.

This summer (hopefully this weekend!) I plan to start my raised bed in which I'll grow veggies.

Besides gardening, we also wanted to get our back garden fully fenced in. For some reason the previous owners didn't bother bringing the side fences all the way to the back of the house to enclose the garden. Yesterday, a brilliant retired carpenter came and not only built us our fence, but added on two gates. I didn't want just one gate...then you're stuck in the garden on one side. This is how it looks now. We'll be able to stain the new addition in a week or so once the wood has dried out a bit more.

As you can see, there are four hinges on each gate. These are extra wide gates and the additional hinges offer that much-needed support. Also, a few of those beams on top of the gates will come off, they're there also to offer support while the cement (for the posts) dries.

And this is the view from the bottom of the garden:

And yes, there are a few patches of slow-growing grass...I have reseeded but this dry Alberta weather is not the best for grass. I'm actually looking forward to it raining!

[assistant prof: creative writing & english]

Be aware: the deadline is coming up - 15 May 2010

Dalhousie University

Location: Nova Scotia

The Department of English at Dalhousie University invites applications for a ten-month sessional position in Creative Writing and English at the Lecturer / Assistant Professor level, effective August 1, 2010, subject to budgetary approval. The successful applicant will teach primarily in Creative Writing but will also teach at the introductory level in English literature. The applicant should possess an MA or MFA in Creative Writing and have a strong publishing resume in Creative Writing, with at least two creative works published by reputable publishers. Preference will be given to those with experience in university-level teaching. Applications, which must include a complete curriculum vitae, a statement of writing and teaching interests, evidence of teaching effectiveness, as well as three confidential letters of reference forwarded by the referees, should be sent in hard copy to: 

Dr. Christina Luckyj
Chair
Department of English
Dalhousie University
Halifax, Nova Scotia
B3H 4P9

The deadline for receipt of applications is May 15, 2010.



Note: Image from the English Department at Dalhousie. 

[banff]

More pics from the interventions conference location:

[lake louise]

Supreme gorgeousness:

People skating, skiing, and playing hockey on frozen Lake Louise.

Yup, that's right. That's me, standing on frozen Lake Louise!

[west edmonton sunset and construction-scape]

Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone

[beaumont winter sunset]

[inanimate alice = the future of the novel]

The Future of the Novel is Digital: Interactive Narrative 'Inanimate Alice' Featured in Epic Documentary TV Series

VANCOUVER, Dec. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Inanimate Alice, the award-winning multimedia title from novelist Kate Pullinger, recent recipient of the Governor General's Award for fiction, features in the final episode of TVO's epic documentary series Empire of the Word broadcasting December 16, in Canada.

Demonstrating an entertaining new way to read, the interaction of Inanimate Alice makes for an immersive reading experience. Being interspersed with puzzles and games, simple to start with, growing more complex with each episode as the story unfolds, the series has a layered structure and a multi-tasking environment that digital natives feel is their territory and which teachers can employ for reading inspiration.

Inanimate Alice may feel more like playing a casual game than reading a novel, however a richly endowed story is at the heart of the experience. "Inanimate Alice has been created as a world story," said series producer Ian Harper. "It is about peoples and places and the world young people experience today. It reaches beyond borders and the constraints of language and religion."
"What is really exciting is for us to receive messages from young students on their home computers telling us they have been working on Inanimate Alice at school and asking when the next episode will be available," said Harper.

The teaching resources [by me!] associated with the Inanimate Alice series have been accessed by Departments of Education, National Libraries and major universities around the world. In Australia, the series is seen as "demonstrating an innovative way of presenting resources that support learning in the areas of English Literacy and Information and Communications Technology." Elsewhere, teachers are using episodes for improvement in English Language training. "No matter how hard we try we cannot get young students to read from books," a teacher from Singapore noted.

Harper commented, "It is gratifying to see the series being deployed across wide age ranges, encouraging the hard-to-engage while inspiring creative writing amongst the gifted. While we are immersed in the discussion about what shape the books of the future will take, we'd like to see the series be a kick-start for more traditional forms of reading."

http://www.inanimatealice.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/inanimatealice
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Inanimate-Alice/125007357446

Investors interested in learning more about Inanimate Alice contact, Ian Harper, harperjian@gmail.com

[october skies]

[old strathcona farmers' market: edmonton]

[only in alberta]

would one spot a hummer (yes, there are quite a few here) with "oil man" pasted on the back window.

I know it's a little hard to make out but trust me, it does say "oil man."

[sunset // fields]

[dawson bridge]

[capturing downtown edmonton]

 

 

 

[views from the car]

Driving home from uni I always catch myself marvelling that I'm here. In Edmonton. Living and working back in Canada. It feels amazing. And, as many of you know, I'm seldom without my camera, so I find myself nabbing shots when at a red light or waiting my turn at four-way stop.

 

 

 

 

 

[labour day weekend: elk island national park]