Living with Canucks: Struggling to keep the pace

Oh boy, does this work thing ever get in the way of buggering about in the great outdoors. The one joy of teaching is the summer holidays, but it is so long that you really get used to not working and enjoying life as it should be lived. Alas, on returning to work, a serious readjustment to the system is needed to perk up during the week and feign interest in youngsters' academic achievement, and squeezing the fun things back into a two day weekend takes some organising. We're getting there, but time seems to be flying by already, we've had two weeks back at school and I'm still struggling to keep up with the pace (hence, only getting to post this blog at ten past eleven in the evening (isn't it betime already?!?!?)).
Bri and I got out on the bikes last weekend and rode up past Elbow Falls in K Country - having had a rather splendid early September snowfall...

You can just about make out the snow on Mt's Glasgow and Cornwall in the background (and perhaps Banded Peak - but my Geography is a bit off looking at this photo). Brina was humming away with the thick tyres of her mountain bike on the tarmac, once more chuntering about needing a road bike..... Today (one week later), we took the bikes out again, as it has been silly hot and sunny for a mid September weekend. I rode out to Canmore at an unearthly hour for a Saturday morning, where Brina then picked me up in the mighty focus and we headed out for a ride together around Lake Minnewanka (still can't believe they called it that - from the millions of choices to christen a lake, the little masturbator). We left the camera at home (we - meaning Brina) and so have zero photo evidence of today's balmy weather and pristine views of snow capped Rundle beneath azure blue sky (reached the giddy heights of 24 degrees today) - although it was markedly colder early doors when I left the house in freezing shadows.

Our basement was coming on a treat, but alas, the "handymen" were clearly only "handymen" as opposed to "craftsmen" - so we're about to start a whole new stressful rigmarole in our lives of trying to avoid being ripped off by over zealous incompetent carpenters - watch this space for the imminent lawsuit (see any patterns developing here? Be it real estate agents or builders.... - no wonder my hair's falling out!!!!).

The new snowboard is on its way - hooray!!!!!! But hopefully we'll be milking the bikes for a bit longer if this weather holds out (unlikely). Realised today that I need to beef up a bit before the minus 40 winter arrives - as Brina's response to meeting me in Canmore today wasn't "how was the ride" - to which the retort would have been "smashing thanks..". But her response to me dismounting from the roadie bike was "you really are the skinniest man in the world aren't you!?!" - to which my retort was a good old fashioned British two fingered salute followed by some serious huffing and puffing - and a grand consumptions of Guiness this evening just to start building up the "balast" for sliding down snowy slopes on a plank of wood in the icey cold.

Follow the lines people (photo from Moab if you hadn't guessed).