Riffles & Horses

It has already been a few days since I last wrote. I have been talking to several people that tell me they check this blog often, and so I will force myself to frequently give updates of life in AB.

Here's for the past few days... Since I last wrote, I have been quite busy (as always).

On Saturday night, I joined Rachel and some of her coworkers at a Xmas party near her house. I met her colleague Dee, a 62-year old lady who has more energy than I do, and Jason, a firefighter who also works at the Canmore hospital with them.

Later, Rachel, Jason and I went to Dee's for a movie, and Jason stayed there for the night. On Sunday, we all went to church in the morning and to Bruno's for lunch after, where Rachel & Jason met Terry and Nikole. On Sunday afternoon, Rachel, Jason and I headed to Calgary for the evening, Rachel & I did a bit of shopping around town while Jason and his housemate, Nathan, ran some errands. We made dinner at their house and talked for a while. Before we knew it, it was 4am! Rachel and I slept there for a few hours and on Monday morning, bright and early, we went... hunting! Yes, you read right: hunting!

As some of you (many of you) may know, I have never been hunting before. It is definitely not a lifestyle passed on by my parents (they would not shoot an animal if their life depended on it!) or something experienced through friends. I do not know a lot of people that hunt... But Jason does. Rachel and I were both completely inexperienced, but we had a blast. We drove down to Turner Valley, to the Anchor D Ranch. Jason knows the owner, Dewy, and his wife Jen. Both awesome people!

They let us hunt on their land for the day. There are so many coyotes around there that hunting season for them is open year-round. You can also shoot cougars if you have bought a tag (i.e. permit). Deer & elk seasons are now closed and shooting them would incur major fines... Anyways, we were hoping to see something. Apart from seeing a few partridges, we didn't see anything else. We were probably making too much noise, with our footsteps breaking the hard snow surface... Better luck next time!

We were back at the ranch around 2:30pm and spent the rest of the day helping out with the horses, and feeding them. I had a great day! I loved the atmosphere on the ranch and the friendliness of the owners. They took us with them around the ranch and we played with the 9 dogs! I really enjoyed my time. Before we left, they invited us to come back for their staff Xmas party next Saturday - I have a hunch it'll more of a party than a staff party. I think they'll have friends and families around and maybe a few staff!

Apart from that, work this week has been good. Everybody is sick and so we've been stretching ourselves to have all the shifts covered. As for me, I stopped by the doctor's last night and have to take some medication. A few minutes after I had left, I noticed that my left eye was starting to swell. I went back in and was told I was probably having an allergic reaction. I have been taking Benadryl to keep it down but the swelling still shows a bit. It's getting better!

It has been really cold here in Banff, and it has snowed quite a lot. It is beautiful!

Countdowns:
- 8 days before Xmas
- 12 days before Stef arrives
- 16 before Marc & Yves arrive
- 17 days before New Year's
- 25 days before they leave
- 34 before leaving for Morocco

Exciting things happening soon! :)

Love,

Annik