January Ski Goals

 Cross Country Ski

As the month of January finishes I had a chance to count up all my km's that I logged during the month. I skied 100km in December and I am pleased to have beat that with my new total of 148km. So I guess my February goal will be 200km. Something to keep me busy in Feb but this means that I will have to ski everyday and commit to skiing more than a 4 or 5 km loop each time...  

Extreme Cold Warning

 Winter in Saskatchewan

So far the winter in Saskatchewan has actually been very mild. We have been blessed with warm temps but now this week we got hit with a reality check. These temps and extreme cold warnings are normal for January. So it wasn't really a surprise. 

I am happy to see that warmer temps are on the way and this cold snap really won't last that long. It did warm up today from -34 at breakfast to -17 at lunch so I was able to go out for a 5km ski on the lake. It was nice to get out of the house for a bit. It was also a beautiful day with blue sky and sun!  Often that is how these -30 days appear. With blue sky and sun. It is the wind chill that causes the problem. I spent an hour outside and my toes were pretty cold by the time I got back into the house. 

Jan 26 - Australia Day

Happy Australia Day!

It is a shout out to all my Australian friends. It is super hard to imagine that just 1 year ago I was in Australia and enjoying the heat of Queensland. Now it is covid and travel is almost impossible. I am stuck at home and waiting for the world to return to normal...

 

Christmas 2020

 Merry Christmas

It is nice to be home for Christmas. We have a "real" tree which also adds to the Christmas spirt. 

JANUARY 2021

 Winter in Saskatchewan 

I am staying close to home as there is not much to do in the winter and with the covid numbers on the raise in Saskatchewan it doesn't make sense to go anywhere. I spend my days reading books, drinking coffee and then cross country skiing in the afternoon.  As of January 31 there are 123 covid cases in my area of the province.  The Yorkton hospital has also had a covid outbreak with several doctors and nurses getting sick. 

DEC 2020

 Stay Home

This graphic makes me smile. We are stuck at home. Covid has made it difficult to go out as every time you leave your house you are putting yourself and your loved ones at risk. December has been wonderful with mild winter temps and snow. So I have been lucky. I spent my time cross country skiing or snowshoeing in the snow. It was fun to get ready for Xmas and to set up the lights in the yard. They actually went up in November because we had one day when it was +15C. Perfect for hanging lights. I like turning the lights on at supper time when it is dark. The twinkling Christmas lights bring me joy - even it it was too early for Christmas. 

NOV 2020

 Winter Arrives...

We got some ice and snow the past few days and today when the sun came out it was a perfect time to go for a walk in the winter wonderland. It is a sign of end of fall and the move into winter. It has been strange for me to experience these different seasons. After spending so many years in Macau & Hong Kong I had forgotten the changes that happen in nature each season. 

October 2020

 Hiding from Covid

Dad and I went out to Good Spirit Provincial Park and when for a 6km hike on the "Great Trail". It is part of the Trans Canada Trail. It was a beautiful day and we spotted 7 moose while out on the trail. 1 bull and 6 cows. It was exciting to see that many moose. Luckily the moose were all far away from us so no danger. 

SEPT 2020

 Stuck At Home

Fall has arrived. The green leaves are disappearing and the fall colours are arriving. Things are quiet. I am still hiding from Covid and staying at home in Saskatchewan. 

AUG 2020

 Covid-19

August is the end of summer. The flowers are in bloom and the days are lazy and long. I am still in Saskatchewan hanging out at my parent's house. Not much to report. I try to go out walking each day to stretch my legs and clear my head. 

Hong Kong Sunsets

 JULY 2020

The view from my old apartment in Hong Kong. I use to go up on to the rooftop after I got home from work and watch the sun go down over the sea. I sure miss that view. 

Life in the MPR

JULY 2020 

Another student project from TIS and Multi-media:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-hthCpSULo&feature=youtu.be

Animation Videos created by TIS students

 JULY 2020

I found some of my TIS mulit-media student's work while I was going through my old google drive. There are some funny animations to check out. 

John's Animations

#1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dU5YEKadu-c

#2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efNix1FcjkI

#3

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqDw91BuMn0

Frogs in Hong Kong

 JULY 2020

I found this video I made of the frogs in Hong Kong. I think they are a bull frog because they are very loud!

Sunset over Lantau Mountain, Hong Kong

 JULY 2020

I found this video I made during one of my hikes in Hong Kong. I think this hike was from 2017.

TIS Marketing Students designs

 JULY 2020

I came across another project that my students at TIS worked on back in 2014.

Marketing students were given the challenge to design a t-shirt, a backdrop and a poster to advertise for the upcoming ACAMIS volleyball tournament. Students were assigned teams and they started the challenge with a Q&A session with the TIS Athletic Director to get more information.  After a quick de-briefing with the TIS Athletic Director to understand the requirements each team was given a private meeting with the TIS Athletic Director to ask specific design and layout questions. 

Students were coached before hand and instructed to ask specific, detailed questions. The more questions they asked the more information they would have for this challenge. Also if their team could think of interesting design questions they might have an advantage over other teams. 

Students created their rough draft and had a chance to get some feedback on their designs. They entered this meeting with 3 different concepts or ideas so the client could pick the best one. This was a relaxed meeting where students got to ask questions and get tips on what types of designs would be chosen as the winner. 

Finally teams created their final design and had a chance to present their concept to a panel of judges. Teams were encouraged to be creative with their presentation and to be persuasive to convince the client to pick their design. Some teams used iPads to give each judge a change to see the digital designs. Other teams used a flip chart with large colourful posters to highlight their concept. 

In the end there was one clear winner. This team had the best design with a clean, simple design that incorporated the feedback from the TIS Athletic Director. This team also had a professional and organized presentation with each team member assisting in the presentation. 

The winning team: Melody, Michelle, Sabina, John and Andyson

Reflecting on past projects: The Best Part Of Me

JULY 2020

In the process of being stuck at home due to Covid I have been using the time to try to clean up old files and go through emails and backup drives...I came across this project that I worked on at TIS. 

2014 - The Best Part Of Me - A collaborative project with writing & photography

Recently the Gr. 3-? class completed a writing project based on Wendy Ewald's book, The Best Part of Me.  The students needed to pick a body part that they felt was their best part. Then they had to write a short piece to explain why they feel this way.  This became a collaborative project as the high school multimedia students visited the Gr. 3's to be their official photographer. 

The multimedia students were given the challenge to create an interesting and meaningful image of the chosen body part. Photographers were encouraged to try different camera angels, different lighting styles and get as close as possible to the subject. The results were stunning. Each Gr. 3 student had an unique photograph to help the tell their own personal story.  The high school students were able to show off their photography knowledge as well as demonstrate their leadership skills as they organized each student for each photo shoot of the "best of me".

JULY 2020 - walking

 JULY 2020

I have been walking around some of the back roads around town. This is a view of a back road. It is so peaceful to walk along this road and listen to the birds. My goal is to walk everyday. I try to log 13, 000 steps or more each day. 

 JUNE 2020

Summer has arrived in Saskatchewan. The flowers are out and I found 3 flowered avens in the backyard. I have also been able to have my morning coffee out on the deck in the warmth. 

 MAY 2020

Spring is here! The snow is gone and the flowers are out. I have found a few colourful flowers in the backyard...a yellow buttercup and shooting star.

I also came across this story about Spain the massive outbreak of Covid. 

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-03-24/spain-records-worst-day-of-outbreak-with-another-514-people-dead?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&cmpid=socialflow-facebook-business&utm_content=business&utm_campaign=socialflow-organic&fbclid=IwAR1C0dGpq8bLq_wV54i8cup21C1RCplxc3-2RBPmEu3lGMmtdFKVznV0r88

 APRIL 2020

Spring is finally arriving to Saskatchewan. The days are getting longer and the temps are getting warmer. I have been out walking around the town and today I saw a great sign of spring.....

Meanwhile, the news in Europe is grim. I read this article about covid in Italy. They are overwhelmed. Here is the link to the news story:

https://www.jpost.com/International/Israeli-doctor-in-Italy-We-no-longer-help-those-over-60-621856

Return to Canada

 MARCH 25, 2020

With the Covid pandemic expanding across the globe the Canadian government asked all Canadians abroad to return home. 

https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2020/03/16/canadian-travellers-trying-to-return-trapped-by-border-closures-for-covid-19.html?rf

The boarders of many countries were about to shut down. So I decided that I best return home to Saskatchewan. It was a long journey home. I arrived home and I had to stay a few nights in a local motel before I could make arrangements for a place to stay. I needed to complete a 14 day quarantine. 

It was a strange time to be back home but unable to see my parents. We had to talk on video chats or on the phone. Also during this time my mom got very sick and had to go to the hospital by ambulance as she got a lung infection. It was a stressful time. My mom ended up spending 20 days in the hospital. She did not have covid but she was very ill.

I finally got out of my quarantine and I was able to get home. It was a shock to be back in winter and -15c temps after hanging out in Asia and Australia.

Fish Identification

MARCH 06, 2020

 

Here are a few more fish that I have seen while snorkelling. Here is the video link where these images came from: https://youtu.be/9-hOU2khW28

Under water

 MARCH 6, 2020

I found this video and it shows many of the fish that I saw while snorkelling. 

Video:
https://youtu.be/9-hOU2khW28

Coconut

 MARCH 3, 2020

You know you are on holidays when you get to order a fresh coconut and drink the coconut water.

Plastic Pollution

 FEB 24, 2020

While we were in Padangbai we went to snorkel at the Blue Lagoon. However, the evening before it rained all night so when we got to the beach we were shocked to find so much plastic garbage floating in the water. We had to swim through a big mess to get out to the coral.

Underwater

 FEB 24, 2020

Jody & I were able to rent a GO PRO camera from a scuba diving shop. This meant that we could capture some photos of our snorkelling. We are staying in Padang, Bali. We visited a beach called blue lagoon. 

Mount Batur Volcano

 FEB 20. 2020

Hiking in Bali: Mount Batur

 FEB 20, 2020

I woke up at 2am and my driver picked me up at 2:30am. We drove to the base of the mountain and began the hike at 3:15am. An hour and a half later, still in the dark, we arrived to the top of the mountain. My guide made me a banana sandwich and a hot coffee . Then I waited for the sun rise. The sun came up around 5:20am. 

After the sun was up and it was much brighter out I exploded the top of the crater. I saw steam coming out from the volcano and there were monkeys running around grabbing leftover food. Finally, I ran back down to the car park and it only took 30 minutes.

Fruit Bat

 FEB 9, 2020

We stopped for lunch at a restaurant with a view of the volcano. There were clouds so we couldn’t see the top of the mountain. It was hiding in the clouds. When we were leaving the restaurant we saw a little family of fruit bats. There was a mom and 2 babies. They were just hanging out and there was some food that you could feed them with. These flying foxes were so cute. They really do have little fox faces. Their wing span is also incredible. We fed them some bananas and laughed as they put the whole piece in their mouth.

The Beauty of Bali

 FEB 8, 2020

We visited a water palace near Amed. This use to be a getaway for the royal family. They would come here to bath and relax in nature. There are natural springs here that create natural water pools. The grounds are beautiful. There are temples, gardens, pools, fish, and trees. It is lush and green. We enjoyed walking around the grounds and capturing some photos. Sorry, no photos to load this time......wifi issues again.

Underwater Paradise

 FEB 8, 2020

Here is a fish photos for you to enjoy. You can get a sense of how blue and how clear the water was.