Visit to Cape Split

Well I just returned from a very nice trip to Cape Split Nova Scotia with some friends I am working with here in Halifax. The weather and conditions during my stay so far has been less than conducive to getting out of my room and getting fresh air. Our trip took most of the day. We got to the parking lot and hiked about 8km along a snowy trail down the peninsula to the cape. It was a beautiful day that allowed for some great photography and escapism.

The pictures are being posted to the galleries site. Most of the pictures are in the Halifax Gallery.

At Work

Everyone is working these days. Christa is coordinating the final renovation to our home in Victoria. The two bathrooms are getting the treated to an update right now. The update should bring mean that there is little or no completely 'original' items in the condo. This time 'round we are getting someone else to do the majority of the work.

Chris is in Halifax for work while all of the renovation is being conducted. Though he may not be working as hard as Christa and everyone in Victoria, he is "at work".

January 09

We know, we don't update the website as often as we probably should. This cyber-sin would be more forgivable if we were busier, but alas, our excuses are as thin as the posts here. So we will not ask for forgiveness, but will beg your indulgence.

So what did we get up to in January? Good question. The winding down of the holiday season brought us back to focusing on our backyard. We organised an upcoming bathroom renovation that is due to start in February. Heidi had her first haircut early in the month and looks as cute as ever. We also made a couple of outings - attempts to fly a kite, and visits to the beach. Pictures are available from the gallery.

Everyone is Home

It has been a long time, but everyone is now home in Victoria and enjoying the lovely weather that we are having here. Christa and Heidi met Chris at the airport and everyone was quite happy.

We are all glad to be together again and are just enjoying some time together as a family.

There will be more posts regarding Chris' adventures and work over the past six months. You can see some of the pictures of his holiday travels by following these links:

• Switzerland
• Egypt
• Ireland/Northern Ireland

More to come.

Winter Update

It has been a while since the last post to the site. We've been very busy. After Christa graduated in December we've fully moved out of our Condo in Nanaimo, spruced it up and rented it. Meanwhile Christa is working almost full time as a teacher on call with (substitute) with the Greater Victoria School District. Heidi is now in DayCare full time and enjoying it. Chris is busy getting ready for his upcoming trip.

We've been shocked at just how busy Christa has been teaching. We credit some of the underrated education she's received. Because she went to Malaspina (not UVic) she is qualified to teach K-12 (not just High School) and the much-maligned "BBB" French profile from RMC has helped permit her to be qualified to teach that beautiful language. She has worked every day this week and often only misses a call once a week.

The last couple of months, though busy, have afforded us some very good time together as a family. You can see some of the great pictures we've taken at a new gallery c/o Google here.

A Great Weekend

We just finished a great weekend. Chris, Christa and Heidi all went up to Mt Washington. We spent our time snowshoeing around some of the area that we hiked this summer. Chris and Christa had snowshoes and Heidi was pulled around in a sled that was harnessed to Chris. There were plenty of dogs being walked to keep Heidi entertained and talking about dogs for the indefinite future.

Russell has made his way to the island and we're looking forward to a gathering of the clans and a fondue this evening. Ellen and Corrine should be joining us.

As an aside, we are trying out Skype as an alternative to a long distance phone plan. Obviously you can still call us on our various phone lines, but you can also reach us using the skype contact name "chris.christa.maier"

New Gallery

We've added a new photo Gallery today. You can find it here. We will also keep a link to it with all of the other photo galleries here.

Happy New Year

We want to take this opportunity to wish everyone a very Happy New Year! We hope that everyone will find 2008 to be full of happiness, joy and good fortune. We've had a great 2007 and are looking forward to all of the opportunities, challenges and excitement that this new year promises to bring.

We've had a great holiday season so far and as it is winding down we are still smiling away at all of the memories. For New Year's Eve we had a quiet night at home. Miss Heidi had her first authentic Swiss Fondue. We made the cheese sauce from scratch. It was quite the affair and Heidi seemed to enjoy it. After Heidi went to bed we cooked a delicious English Pudding a friend made for us - delicious. The rest of the evening and into the morning was spent watching the final few episodes of Lost - a television program we have become addicted to watching on DVD.

Again, all the best in the New Year.