Wasp Nest

There is a wasp nest in the backyard. I have never seen one before and it is fairly interesting. It is made out of paper and wasp saliva. The picture above is upside down - it is hanging from a narrow concentrated piece of paper. You can see once wasp is sort of underneath the hive. Eventually the wasp grubs are supposed to grow in each of the cells. We noticed the nest, because our dog Toby was very disturbed by its presence. The wasps arent all that interested in him and they arent stinging Toby or any other passerby they are just getting along with their work. It seems a shame to knock it down, but it might be dangerous to leave it as is with a growing number of wasps. I am not afraid of most insects- as long as they dont crawl on me, so I was considering knocking it down and then running away like a madwoman indoors. On closer inspection I would prefer that someone else does it, maybe if I asked really, really nicely TWN would fly over and do the deed for me. Umm... not so much.

The Canada Goose flew back for the winter.

I am back in Winnipeg after a very, very long journey. It was much longer than it needed to be due to a long layover in Toronto and a cancelled flight. I left a week ago today. It has been hard to adjust to the jet lag. Even old Winnipeg has seen some changes in the time that I have been away, the Greyhound bus services are at the airport rather than downtown and Ellice Theatre is being reinvented into a foreign and independent film house. I have been told that this summer was a cold and wet one in southern Manitoba, but other than the first day I arrived it has been hot and dry. Ideal beach weather. Maybe I will head out this weekend to Patricia beach, it would be nice to have some 2009 shots of one of my favourite places in Manitoba!

A weekend of sabbaths.

This weekend I went to church three times, to three different churches. The first was on a saturday at a seventh day adventist church. My young cousin Sophia was graduating for this year's daily vacation bible school program. The theme was "Kids in the Kitchen". She brought us back oatmeal cookies one day and another day we went fruit picking in the english country side. It was a long bus ride almost everywhere we went. Hooray for ipods!

Next up I visited my Aunt's church. It was a traditional afro-carribbean church, so the women wore hats and skirts with a modest hemline. I didn't have a hat so I had to improvise and wear my scarf around my head.


Lastly I went to Hillsong Church London on sunday evening. It was the most like my church at home. I go with grand plans of meeting new english friends, but this time was a bit of a bust in that regard. I read a book in starbucks for awhile on my own, which was alright. The rest of the service was lovely and while in the church itself I met some people.

TWN at the V&A

TWN and I on the Millenium Bridge

Nothing could replace this happiness

My t-shirt reads nothing could replace this happiness. I bought it last summer and have not worn it much this year, although my sisters have worn it quite a bit.

Some of the colourful shapes on the tree have raised bumps and I like the texture. I think I will bring it along in my 20kg baggage allowance on the plane. It could be a theme for the summer.

I am so excited to be going away to another country for two months taking in the culture and the tourist sights, spending lots of time at the beach and of course summer camping by the sea! That sort of thing just does not happen in the keystone province- lakes dont count. I am determined to be grateful for such a wonderful opportunity and not complain at all. Not even anything more about my luggage. Shhh!

A few days to go!

I am sorting out what clothes to bring and going out with friends one last time before a grand trip!