Kia ora from Invermere,

It's been snowing out.  Snow makes for warmer days; when it's brilliantly blue it can get well below minus 10.  This is all a.o.k provided you dress for it.  And it's vital you do.   The other day I left the house without gloves, it felt warm in the sun when I stepped out but I quickly returned, however, as my hands became numb after less than half a block.  That said, the icy cold does make you feel alive.  Invermere is a beautiful town and I had a grand time taking photos of the frozen lake and the deer grazing in someone's back yard.

The house I'm living is a pretty swanky.  It's part of a newish complex of townhouses.  We have 3 bedrooms, the bathroom and the laundry on the top floor; a large, open plan living area, kitchen and balcony with barbequeue on the second level; and below that, the foyer and garage.

My housemates are a good bunch.  On our first night we had a barbequeue with some of our Panorama colleagues who share the same complex.   We are all of a similar age and temperament.  From what we've heard, they put the younger and rowdier ones on the hill to keep an eye on them.   In light of this, my original disappointment at not being on the mountain has disappeared.

I don't have regular internet access yet.  A group of us are going to get it hooked up soon.  There is free wireless at the local library, a 10 minute walk away.  I've expressed an interest in volunteering at the library once I have my work schedule sorted.  That should be fun.

Over  here in Canada there has been a huge push to vaccinate the public against H1N1.  The H1N1 vaccine is free to all Canadians, and the regular flu vaccine, as in New Zealand, is available to those who meet certain criterion.  There was a free clinic here on Wednesday offering both the vaccines so I checked it out.   I  got the H1N1 vaccine and when, out of curiosity, I enquired about the regular vaccine, the kind lady gave me that as well - even though I didn't meet the criterion.

Not too much else to report.  My job starts on the 9th of  December so I'm trying to live frugally, which is not too easy here...Anyhow, enough jibber jabber.  Log on to Samway.info and take a look at some of the new photos.

Regards,

Sam.