Hi Everyone

As you see I have not so very much more to write about since I have a job now and am settled in my apartment. I like the job and the apartment feel a little bit more like home, I regularly to the gym or for a swim at the pool. But every now and then something happens that I think is well worth it of writing about and you would enjoy reading about.

You might remember that last year my friends in Holland had snow in comparison with where I was staying in Canada. Well the beginning of November at work they were talking about the change 3 to 6 inches of snow could fall that evening and I thought still 'first I'll see and then believe it' Well the next morning I looked out the window and ... no snow, you see just like the Dutch meteorological forecasts ... oops I forgot they are no predictions but expectations ... so when a week or two ago they were talking about the changes of 12 inches of snow I had my doubts. The next morning on the way to work it started snowing slightly ... very small flakes, just like rain but it was not melting on the ground. I still thought that those 12 inches would take a while. Oh well, at the end of the day when it was time to go home, there was indeed a big dumping of snow and it was still snowing. It had snowed and snowed throughout the day ... Is this a little taste of what I can expect this winter? Now everything is gone again, the temperatures fluctuate too much but it was nice for as long as it lasted it looks so different when everything is white.

Other news is that I'll get some company from Holland with the holidays, the University will close for three weeks and so I invited my mother to come over. So together we booked an online ticket while talking trough Skype. I think it is very brave of her because despite that she regularly travels with public transportation, taking a plane is a slightly different story especially if the first flight is to Boston than a layover for almost 5 hours and then the transfer to Halifax. I just hope the weather will cooperate a bit so we can make some road trips without getting stuck in a snow storm (although that would give me something to write about ...) We have one advantage though, this time of year, we don't have to worry about mosquitoes and black flies ... So another two weeks and then we'll have 3 weeks off, Christmas day we'll spend with Jackie and Douglas in Shelburne and I'll figure out what the rest of the program will look like. But that's for the next update.

It is getting a little bit busier with the catering and my standard days off are shifting back and forth through the week. So when I got a message last week that maybe I had to work on my second day off.... I was not too happy...that's a shame .... I thought, until I got the full message about how or what it was all about. If I would be interested of going to the Halifax Metro Center for two days and to help with the catering for the concert of Prince, No pressure ... you know Purple Rain back in the eighties .... Euhhhh, No problem, work an extra day, how, when and for how long was that again.

Ultimately we had to cook for about 150 people, the crew that was building the stage, the band and Prince himself. The first day Tom and I went to Halifax, He had been there the day before to do some he had begun the preparations. We left around 6.30 and almost two hours later we arrived at the Metro Center. It is only an hour drive, but with the rush hour and going downtown it takes a little longer. We meet Bruce the Chef at this location, he'd already started breakfast. There are regular major events held at the Metro Center but somehow they have no proper kitchen to prepare meals for a large amount of people. There only one oven and a number of butane stoves to work with, what takes about an hour to boil a regular size pan. Despite the limited kitchen if you can call it that, it is a nice bunch of people to work with. Later that day we get a small tour and we see the stage and the VIP rooms where people can order warm snacks and pizzas during the concert. Tom and I more or less expected a glimpse of Prince of the sound check but it turns out that he only give one concert ... Unfortunately

The next day I go to Halifax, Tom stays in Wolfville to start preparations for Christmas dinner at the University the next day. It's been a long day, the team for which we make the meals is quite demanding, one moment they want this and the next something else ... but as it often turns out to be the case with artists and Prince is known to be pretty much demanding. But after a day of 12 hours I get taken to the skywalk where I secretly can watch the concert ... Unfortunately, the security is keeping an eye on me and before they throw me out I go back down I go back to one of the members of the Metro Center I had worked with that day. I explain that I am afraid to be sent away and they know another spot where I can sit and watch the show. Wow .... I'm sitting on about 50 feet from the stage and see Prince up close ... Now I'm not really a fan of this little guy (though he wears no high heels anymore) but I must say it is all very impressive especially when you consider that he is 53 years old. The audience is wildly enthusiastic especially if they start playing Purple rain, purple and golden confetti is flying through the air. When I wanted to make a picture, security called out 'No picture' later on I heard that this is quite normal. At the beginning of the concert everyone had the opportunity to take a picture and then had to put the cameras away. So unfortunately no pictures of the concert. But I am not complaining, here I am, enjoy the concert on a perfect spot without buying a ticket after a long day of work. I don't care if they tell me to go to Halifax again to help at a big event.

This concludes my story from Wolfville, Nova Scotia and it is perhaps a little early. But I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all Happy Holidays and all the best wishes for the 2012.

Greetings Gabrielle