No news is good news

I know, I know - lame ass alert! I haven't updated this is the longest time because... well... I haven't really had anything to update with! Unless of course you consider the day-to-day coffee shop activities of an unemployed Brit in Canada as newsworthy...

Actually, I lie. The last two months has been extremely busy. My husband and I (will I ever get tired of using that phrase? To quote Alicia Silverstone in 'Clueless' - "I don't think so!") continue to learn PLENTY about each other. For example, Michael gleans many hours of amusement (and a fair amount of exasperation) at the expense of the colourful variations in my accent and dialect. He marvels at the way I promounce 'Tuna'; i.e with a 'ch' sound ('CHEW-na'). He is even more amused at the way the Northern English drop their T's in words such as 'bottle' and 'kettle'. Example - 'do you want a peanut butter butty?' or 'Shall I put kettle on?', with the complete absence of pronunciation of any of the T's, are the source of much delight. Even more mystifying to him are the phrases I use. 'Have a ganders at that!' and 'It's a bit parky' are met with baffled-but-bemused stares and sometimes I swear to God he doesn't understand a word I say but nods politely anyway. I pity the poor bugger when he has to endure a night in the pub with a whole group of us. I have noticed he has started peppering his speech with such choice phrases as 'That's doing my head in!" and "it's getting on my tits, that is..."

My volunteer jobs have also taken off in a pretty big way. I am now writing and delivering a 12 week Presentation Skills course for all new volunteers at one of my jobs, and continue to file my nails as 'front desk dolly' at my other position.

Also worthy of note is our recent trip to Edmonton to meet the German mother-in-law. At this point I guess you are expecting me to relay some horror story about how I made an utter fool of myself; shockingly enough, it went off without a hitch and I think Ingrid Gutsche actually liked - neigh, approved of - me! We took her to the hospital for an appointment and she told the nurse we were 'her boys', which was very sweet. Lets hope old Ma Britton shows similar approval later this year...

Speaking of which, all being well my husband and I (there I go again) should be gracing the likes of 'Funny Girls' and 'Th'owd Chippy' with our presence in November. That all depends on Canadian Immigration making a decision on my legal status by that point but fingers crossed I'll be sharing the delights of a chippy tea and Greg's pastys with Michael very soon...