Winnipeg: Main Street

Wandering around Main Street near Logan I made lots of neat discoveries. I found an organization called MAWA, established women artists mentor aspiring artists for one year and also a women run restaurant called The Tallest Poppy.

Generally these blocks are very down and out, there's a mission and a handful of drug addicts wandering around despite the cold. A fellow motioned me into his closed diner to show me an article on the millions that would be invested into Main Street in the next few years and he told me that I was photographing all the places that would be torn down.

I also found a book called The North End by John Paskievich of photographs of the North End (the neighborhood I was in) over the past 40 years. It's a great book of photographs and once I buy it, it will be a nice souvenir or Winnipeg.

WINNIPEG: George

It's a delicate balance to find people who are interesting to photograph but don't seem like they'll try to steel my camera.

WINNIPEG: Around Town

Every so often I drive around Winnipeg looking for slums, interesting people, decaying architecture etc.

WINNIPEG: Snow Glorious Snow!

Everytime it snows here I am thrilled because it temporarily covers all the dirty mounds with white and all the streets everything...

This snow fall was particularly pretty because the snow was extra sparkly.

WINNIPEG: Sleeping Beauties!

Winnipeg: The House - Upstairs

WINNIPEG: The House

Winnipeg: The House - Downstairs

Winnipeg: Easter Egg Coloring

WINNIPEG: Maya's 2nd Birthday

WINNIPEG: Bunnies and More!

I'm just as thrilled as the girls that we have three or four bunnies living in the back yard. They chased each other around this evening.

A woman who teaches Pilates and Yoga at the Y generously offered her number when she heard I was new in town. Tonight she, her husband and two daughters came over for dinner.

Winnipeg: Maya speaks Tagalog

She told me Mommy Maganda yesterday. It means I'm pretty in Tagalog. I was impressed and of course pleased.

WINNIPEG: HOTEL STILL!

Just a quick note to let you all know that we still don't have an address and are still living in a hotel. It's rather deluxe because we get three rooms - one for Rob & I - a living room and the girls room on the other side. It makes it much easier. When I sleep in the same room with Maya she wakes up all night long - the first few nights she woke up every hour or two.

We might move into a house next week.

Lula, Maya and I started daycare today. I went with them so they wouldn't feel abandoned. Everyone brings their lunch including me. One boy was covered with chocolate pudding by the end of lunch.

My camera batteries have run out, its too cold outside, the girls are keeping me busy, I can't take good pictures with mittens - and other excuses for why these posts have no photos. However, I am confident next week all this will have changed. I am crossing my mitten swathed fingers.

I still don't get celsius but shudder at negative anything. Earlier this week I decided not to venture outside and for all I know it may actually have been "warm" outside. The use the word "warm" here with reckless abandon. Totally inappropriate if you ask me.

WINNIPEG: MAYA

Maya messes with all the electrical equipment. She turned on the coffee pot on which Lula burned her finger. She changed all the alarm clocks - the time is wrong and sometimes I am woken in the middle of the night by the loud alarm. She runs around with the remotes, the telephones and anything else not placed out of reach.

She is also now demanding at night that "Skatch my back." She is sleeping in a bed since she just started climbing out of the crib.

Winnipeg - Initial Thoughts

I got a bloody noise upon arrival at the airport from the dryness.


Winnipeg
Notes: Winnipeggers love Winnipeg
Some things the same and some things different from Singapore.

-Right away I saw that they are editorials here about rude people in Winnipeg. Though my personal experience so far has been contrary to that. Someone always holds a door for me while I cruise around the underground passageways with the stroller.


-Instead of being hot outside and too cold and improperly dressed inside, we are cold outside and then sweat inside from either wearing or carrying a mountain of coats.

- So far I can’t find strong coffee besides Starbucks (same problem in Singapore) I prefer to get coffee someplace other than Starbucks since they sued Too Much Coffee Man www.tmcm.com
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I found a really nice children’s library and Lula & Maya adopted older little girls and forced books upon them. It was cute. For the rest of the time at the library they walked around with these little girls while I followed them.

We seem to have missed the cold front and so it’s bearable like NY winter. (edit – not alays)

We are living in a hotel with three rooms. It is fun is ways such as room service or having a lobby with people walking around or having the place cleaned every day and offered water and ice every night. On the other hand, paying 70 dollars for two adult breakfasts two child breakfasts isn’t fun. Also, we don’t have a kitchen. I went grocery shopping for things that don’t need cooking. Cereal not included since we don’t have bowls yet.

We were shown a beautiful light filled modern home in the suburbs. I really like it but I was hoping for some options and there appear to be none. Also, there is nothing walkable about the neighborhood it’s in. I had a misunderstanding with someone when I said the place wasn’t walkable they looked quizzical and I said, Y’know to shops and restaurants… OH, I see. I realized my term “walkable” is loaded with assumptions. Of course the neighborhood is walkable, you can walk in the backyard, along the highway, at the mall once you drive there…

Yesterday I decided to do additional scouting so I loaded the girls into our mini-van and drove past the house. Within ten minutes we were outside of Winnipeg in official country-side. There was nothing by plains and closed nurseries and a pick your own vegetable farm - something to look forward to if we stay here longer than expected.

Winnipeg is something like Albany and Cleveland.

There are lots of beautiful murals, old store fronts, painted building and old building ads.

Zoe in Singapore otherwise known as Winnipeg

A sudden turn of events has brought us out of the tropics and into a wintery snow storm in the coldest city in the world with a population over 600,000.

Rob is working on making a "gross-out" horror film so here we are.