Saturday 22 December 2012

Dreaming in Spanish

One of my retirement projects is trying to learn to speak Spanish. With significant emphasis on the word "trying"!!!

While driving down to Mexico in September, Andrew and I listened to the Michel Thomas Spanish course. You can learn Spanish in 10 hours! You'll listen, absorb, then speak. It simply works like magic! 

Ha, ha! Call me a skeptic but I knew it couldn't be that easy. And it's not! Although the Michel Thomas method is easy to listen to and probably the best course we've come across . . . it's still not easy (at least not for me!) and requires lots of repetition.

Andrew came across Duolingo recently which also gets good reviews and which I'm finding quite fun. Even though I've apparently "mastered" the lessons on food, animals, plurals and possessives, I still have trouble sometimes remembering when to use la, el, las, los, and when verbs end in o, e, en, es, or mos, and so on.

Yes, I know there are "rules" but as Mr. Thomas will tell you, "In Spanish it is always this way . . . except when there is an exception!"  Sigh . . .

Yesterday I spent more time than usual at my Spanish studies going over and over the Duolingo plurals and possessives lessons, which comes after the food and animal lessons.

Los gatos beben leche.

El oso come pescado.

Mi perro come pan.

I hope that dreaming about it last night means that it's finally sinking into my brain!

Sunday 9 December 2012

Happy Anniversary!


1995


2012 - the dress still fits!
1995 was a big year for Andrew & I. We spent July & August in Pakistan and just a few days after summiting Broad Peak (12th highest mountain in the world, first Canadians to summit) and having an epic descent, we celebrated my birthday at base camp. Chocolate cake cooked over a camp stove, cards, balloons, and Andrew asking me to marry him. A most excellent day!

Three months later (December 9 -- an even more excellent day) we got married at my dad's place with a huge crowd of 10 people in attendance.

Me & my sister, Bev
Andrew, his Mom, & sister Clare

Me & my Dad

Ken (Andrew's business partner) and Royane
Ken, Andrew, me, Bev
With the proud parents.
With Reverend John Middleton, Saskatoon Police Service Chaplain and McKinlay family friend.
My nephew, Andrew
With my niece, Nicole
My niece Julie and brother-in-law Ross. Julie making sure the chef makes dessert properly! 
Signed and sealed!
We've had an incredible 17 years and are looking forward to many, many more! I couldn't have asked for a better climbing partner, adventure partner and life partner. Even if, on occasion, he still claims the lack of oxygen at altitude was affecting his thinking when he proposed!  :-)

The happy couple -- 1995
The happy couple -- 2012