Day One - 25 December 2010

In one week I will leave my kids Tyler and Olivia; the six cats and two dogs here in Oakridge Oregon and head north to the U of A to begin my Master's of Political Science. 
I'll stop for a few days in Kelowna to spend time with my dad and sister and her family, stop in Vernon to see Sal and then arrive in Edmonton on 8 January. Classes begin the week of the 10 January...
I am both dreading it and looking forward to the new experience. It's not unlike when I went to Spain in the summer of 2009 to finish my language requirement for my undergrad degree...mind you at 54 it was a bit of a feat...not the travel...the español ...almost killed me! The travel was amazing...trains to A Caruna and Pontevedra ...the bus to Lugo and the Roman wall...and hiking all over the place...exploring the ciudad vieja de Santiago de Compostela...I did learn some Spanish!....
When I am going insane working on my thesis...I will write about Galicia Spain and post photos...
I digress...I was very fortunate to find lodging through my 2nd cousin Nora who advised me to contact her friend Candas...and in 48 hours I went from homeless in -40 celcius (hypothetically) to the red room...(my student housing choice fell through at the last moment though I did have the option of a studio for over 700$ per month....it was well over my student loan budget of 400$...I could have stayed in student housing for 2.5 months and then would have had to move into a tent...not a happy thought!
It is christmas and though we are not religious....we do enjoy a good turkey dinner and I prepared a nice brined breast, 4 thighs and 3 drumsticks...spuds, stuffing, carrots, Brussels sprouts, gravy, and yams...oh and some home made buns... and fresh cranberry sauce...not exactly as nice as Hannah's, however it was tolerable. 
I told Tyler we would eat around 2 however Liv and I took Pullo and Stella over to the Westfir covered bridge for a walk and we got a bit behind...so Tyler feel asleep and dinner was eaten by Liv and me....around 4 Tyler just finished his second helping now....and has gone back to sleep I think...that turkey worked quickly!
I have been living a bit differently since 2001....I will give my impressions of this preamble to my current adventure...it's complicated but it all comes together in the end...though I am not there yet....