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Karate Started!

We finally made it to our first Karate session on Monday evening. I am still suffering after such a long break from training but Becky is fine. Our new Dojo is in the north east, only about 20 mins drive away and is very nice indeed. Sensei David Jones and his students made us feel very welcome. We look forward to getting back into shape and making lots of new friends. We will post a picture soon....

What's this white stuff?

We woke up this morning to our first snow! I think this little dusting has come to ease us into what is to come. The kids are looking forward to more snow, not so sure about Becky and I! The weather here is very odd, they do say that you could experience all 4 seasons in one day. We have certainly seen some of that already

This holiday weekend also saw our first Thanks Giving. It was officially yesterday, but we were invited to Nick & Ali's house on Sunday to celebrate 'Thanks Giving' together with his parents, who finally arrived in Calgary 4 weeks ago. We had a wonderful feast of roast Turkey and trimmings with great company. Nick & Ali have really made us feel so welcome we feel so very fortunate to have such great friends :-)

Here are some more pictures of the snow this morning :-

Boxes arrived !$%!

Yes, they have finally arrived and with it the memories of packing them! Now all we have to do is unpack! We have already made a start and find ourselves in a nice big mess. If we can only find the box with the hangers in we will be okay :-) One of the first boxes we opened contained all the gifts and cards that our friends and family gave us at our leaving party, that really brought back some great memories and some sad ones too. We have all settled in here fantastically well but we often think about our great friends and family we have left behind and shed the odd tear ;-( So we do look forward to your visits.
One item we have now found is our Karate Gi's. We have missed our karate and are both looking forward to seeking out our new club to resume our training.

This week Becky sat the Canadian Nursing exam. She is glad that is over and we keep our fingers crossed that we get good news through the mail in a few weeks or so. She said it was a lot harder that all the tests she has done from the books and the actual on line readiness test which she got 83% on.

1st Canadian IV Start!

I'm posting under Steve's name because I'm on his computer but I had to share that I did my 1st (& successful) IV start today!! I know I used to do them some time back in the UK but the needle & introducer is different to those I used in the UK plus I only did 3 in the last 2 years once I moved to Holly - so I was really out of practice.

The patient was really happy because she said I had been the most gentle person she'd ever had. I told her it's because I don't like needles either! Those who know me are well aware that's true! I have to do 2 more before I'm certified competent -I had to do 10 in the UK!

Beer can chicken

With Steve getting the hang of the gas BBQ we decided to try something new last night. When we were staying with Nick & Ali they cooked up beer can chicken, it was delicious, so we decided to give it a try!

Armed with a recipe from the internet we made a rub for the chicken from rosemary, thyme, sage, chili seasoning (not hot), lime & cumin. I think there may have been corriander there too. Then we cut off the top of the beer can (actually we made 2 because of our numbers). Discarding half the beer down Steve we then added lime juice, olive oil & the same herbs as above to the can.

We stuck the can up the chicken's bottom & stuffed the neck with more herbs, as above. We placed ours in a roasting tin, although you can use just foil or even nothing if you're a purist (but that makes a mess of the grill!) The BBQ is lit around the chicken but not directly under it. We cooked on medium for 1.5 hours & had the most beautiful chicken we've ever cooked for dinner. I'm NEVER roasting in the oven again!! So if you want some you'll just have to come & get it!

First Day & Cast Off!

Well I SURVIVED!!!! I had 4 patients together with a more senior RN. She further subdivided so I took 2 - with LOADS of supervision because of all the computer stuff. I gave meds & flushed a couple of Central lines. I put some IV fluids up through the pumps & wrote up some charts. The RN was really nice, as were all the staff I met today.

The PCA (patient Controlled Analgesia) drugs are supplied in pre-filled syringes so no messing about with vials & vials of watyer for injection anymore!! Or the Controlled drug book either! it's signed for that patient, supplied by pharmacy for that patient & you sign on the computer that you gave it. Other than some stock items (paracetamol, aspirin etc) all the patients drugs come in single issue packets & are kept in a drawer with their name on on a drug cart. Pharmacy is responsible for filling it up everyday.

One thing that stuck out a mile was how excellent the cleaning was. Each ward has a cleaner plus there are teams that come round & mop & polish floors etc. it was positively sparkling the whole day.

We were kept going but they make sure you get your breaks properly. We have 2 half hour breaks - one for breakfast (I was on an early) & one for lunch. It was busy but not ballistic by any measure.

The other news today is that Sophie got her cast off! We took her to a local clinic to have it done. Her ankle still looks bruised & a tad swollen though so they have requested another X-ray, which we'll have done tomorrow. I think it's fine though, she just needs to be a bit careful