Dis heerlike lente

Ek sal nie só voorbarig wees en sê “die winter is verby nie” maar die lente is beslis hier. Die Kanadese spot met mekaar dat indien jy die wintersklere te vroeg wegbêre gaan ons vir oulaas ’n sneeustorm kry. Dit was beslis al so tussendeur die warmer weer ysig koud, koud genoeg vir ál die wintersklere. Een só koue oggend op pad skool toe het ’n vrou gebieg sy het net die dag van tevore die jasse weggepak...

My gunsteling deel van die warmer weer is die voëltjies wat terug is. Ek was so gewoond aan die gekwetter en getjirp in my ouers se welige agtertuin dat die stilte van die Kanadese winter vir my vreemd was. Skielik is ek weer bewus van ’n geroep iewers uit ’n boom of ’n klein swerm wat al in die rondte vlieg.

Die volgende ding wat opmerklik met die warmer weer gepaard gaan is dat troppe kinders skielik in die straat te sien is. Ek het nie geweet daar bly soveel kinders in ons singel nie. Dis net fietse, basketballe en hokkiestokke waar jy kyk. Hier is mos geen heinings nie so jy weet daar word oor en weer in agterplase gekuier as bogenoemde items op die voorste grasperk gestrooi lê. Oor naweke drom kinders saam by die parkie, soms sonder enige toesig. Dit is ’n heel anderse prentjie as waaraan ons gewoond is. Daar is ook baie mense wat gaan stap, enige tyd van die dag. Ek het selfs, op die eerste dag wat die temperatuur tot by 8°C gestyg het, iemand in ’n kortbroek en plakkies gewaar.

 

Een van die moderne klimrame by Ralph se skool.

Daar was darem ook ’n paar ander eerstes vir ons gesin sedert my laaste inskrywing, so saam met die koms van die nuwe seisoen. Ek was vir die eerste keer in ’n IKEA. Wat ’n belewenis! Dit is ’n enorme gebou. Van buite af lyk dit omtrent so groot soos Brooklyn se hele winkelsentrum. Al moes ek in ’n lang tou staan vir toegang, was COVID my eintlik genadig want hulle laat net 250 mense op ’n slag in die winkel toe. So ek kon na hartelus verdwaal (aanvanklik) sonder ’n gestamp en gestoot. Ek dink as iemand my moes dophou sou hulle dink ek is niks gewoond nie. My mond het omtrent oopgehang. Ek sou twee trollies vol goed daar wegdra maar my man se kredietkaart het my in toom gehou. Ek het wel my heel eerste huisplantjie daar gekoop. Google sê dit staan algemeen bekend as ’n ‘slangplant’ of ‘skoonmoeder se tong’. As lid van die Asparagacea-familie is dit inheems aan tropiese Wes-Afrika, van Nigerië tot die Kongo. Dit is baie gewild in Kanada omdat dit so min aandag nodig het. Ek sien uit daarna om my eie huis te hê met plek om my versameling te groei.

 

My nuwe plantjie versier my lessenaar.

Ons het ook ons eerste besoek aan ’n Kanadese tandarts agter die rug. Staatsmedies dek nie tandheelkunde nie en mense het al gespot dat dit goedkoper is om terug Suid-Afrika toe te vlieg en jou tande daar te laat doen. Hulle is nie heeltemal verkeerd nie maar gelukkig het ons ekstra dekking deur my man se werk wat wel 80% van die kostes dek. My oudste het vroeg in die jaar sy eerste twee tande gewissel maar het ook ’n klomp gaatjies in sy kiestande. As kinders hier nie gemoedelik is tydens die proses om dit te stop nie, word hul maklik na ’n spesialis verwys of selfs onder narkose gedoen. Ons sakke is nie diep genoeg vir só uitgawe nie, maar gelukkig was Ralph baie dapper met sy eerste stopsel en het die personeel vermaak met sy geselsies en nuuskierigheid. Hulle het voorgestel dat ons maandeliks terug gaan om een tand op ’n slag reg te maak, sodat hy nie oorweldig voel nie.

Terug by die lente – nou dat die sneeu gesmelt het is tuine weer sigbaar. Ek het nogal gewonder hoe maak mens oor die winter met jou tuin en of jy elke lente van voor af plant. Ons kinders het hierdie week een middag by die bure met grawe in die grond gespeel en toe ons van die blare wegvee is, is byna al Erin se kruie reeds besig om uit te loop. Hoe wonderlik is die natuur darem! Meerjarige kruie en plante ‘rus’ eenvoudig onder die sneeu en groei weer sodra die toestande gunstig genoeg is. Ek wou nog altyd ’n kruie- en groentetuin hê, so dit is beslis iets wat ek sal aanpak as ek my eie erf het. Die grond hier is amper soos klei wanneer dit nat is en blykbaar besonders vrugbaar.

 

Skoolgrond se straataansig. Ons huurhuis is gemerk – lekker naby.

Iets wat ek van Suid-Afrika mis en nog nie genoem het nie, is my geliefde haarkapper en skoonheidsterapeut. Ek het vir oulaas, net voor ons na Kanada vertrek het, my hare laat sny en kleur en my wenkbroue laat doen. Hulle was albei vir my soos vriendinne en ek was baie geheg aan hulle en hulle vaardighede. Ek het uiteindelik so twee weke terug die vrymoedigheid gehad om ’n haarkapper op die dorp te besoek, ná ek haar Instagram-profiel vir maande dopgehou het. Die gesegde change is as good as a holiday is hier gepas en ek is gereed vir die nuwe seisoen met ’n korter kapsel en vars blonde kleur. Ek voel sommer soos ’n nuwe mens!

Omdat daglig in die winter so kort en in die somer so lank duur, gebeur die oorgang baie vinnig. Skielik is dit teen 20:00 nog nie heeltemal donker nie en moet ek met my vyfjarige redeneer hoekom hy moet gaan slaap as dit “nog nie aand is nie”. Ek kan my nie indink hoe dit hoogsomer gaan wees as dit 22:00 snags nog lig is nie. Dus kan jy nie enige gordyne in jou huis hang nie, dit moet die sonlig heeltemal kan blok.

Spookasem-sonsondergangs, 19:30.

Ons sien uit na alles wat die nuwe seisoen in Kanada vir ons inhou en dit is heerlik om dit deur die gemeenskap te beleef, ten spyte van die pandemie. Ons is vol hoop dat die warmer weer ook verslappings vir ons inperking gaan bring, maar intussen raak dit al hoe meer aangenaam om buite te kuier. Ons braaier (geskenk van buddy Kevin en deur Callie gediens) is gereed.

 

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Spring is in the air

I won’t be so bold to say that the winter is over, but spring is definitely on the way. Canadians joke around that if you put your winter gear away too early, you will cause a snowstorm – just for old time’s sake. Indeed, between the warmer weather of late we have had a few icy days that required all our winter gear. One such chilly morning on our way to school, a woman confessed that she had put the jackets away just the day before…

My favourite part of the warmer weather is the return of all the birds. I was so used to the tweeting and chirping in my parents’ lush garden that the quiet Canadian winter felt strange to me. Suddenly I am aware of a call somewhere in a tree or a small flock flying around in circles.

The next thing that accompanies the warmer weather is the herd of children that appeared in the streets. I didn’t even know there lived so many children in our crescent. There are bikes, basketballs and hockey sticks everywhere. As you may recall, there aren’t fences around most properties, so you know there is a gathering of children in someone’s backyard when the front yard is littered with previously mentioned objects. During weekends kids play in the park, sometimes without any adult supervision. A vastly different picture compared to what we are used to. You can spot people going for walks all around town, any time of day (or night). On the very first day that the temperature reached 8°C, I even noticed someone wearing shorts and flip flops.

 

One of the modern play structures at Ralph's school.

We’ve had at least a few firsts since my last entry, to celebrate the new season. I had my first visit to IKEA. What an experience! It is an enormous building – from the outside it looks as big as the entire Brooklyn Mall in Pretoria. Even though I stood in an awfully long que to gain entrance, COVID turned out to be a blessing, as they only allow 250 people inside at a time. I could get lost to my heart’s content (at first) without bumping into other shoppers. I think if someone was watching me, they would think I was entranced. I was blown away! I could easily have filled two shopping carts with…things, but my husband’s credit card kept me in check. I did buy my very first houseplant – generally known as a ‘snake plant’ or ‘mother-in-law's tongue’. The Sansevieria trifasciata is native to tropical West Africa (a nod to my birthland) and is popular in Canada because they are easy to grow and nearly indestructible, even with low light. I look forward to having my own home so I can grow my collection of indoor plants. 

 

My new plant decorates my desk.

We also had our first visit to a Canadian dentist. Manitoba Health does not cover dental work and people have joked that it might be cheaper to fly back to South-Africa and have your teeth done there. Turns out they were not entirely exaggerating and luckily my husband’s employer offers additional insurance that covers 80% of the costs. My eldest lost his first two baby teeth early this year but he also had a few cavities in his molars. If children are not comfortable with dental work, they can easily be referred to a specialist or the procedure can even be performed under anaesthesia. Our pockets are certainly not deep enough for that option, but luckily Ralph was very brave during his first filling. He was a real chatterbox and amused the staff with his inquisitiveness. They suggested that we return once a month for the remaining cavities, so he won’t be overwhelmed.

Back to springtime – now that all the snow has melted, gardens are visible again. I often wondered what happens to a garden during the winter and if everything is replanted in the spring. My children were at a friend's house recently, playing in the dirt with shovels. When we brushed away some of the leaves, almost all of Erin’s herbs from the previous summer were sprouting! How magnificent is Mother Nature! Perennial herbs and plants simply ‘rest’ under the snow and start to grow again as soon as the conditions are favourable. The soil here is almost like clay when it is wet and apparently very fertile. I’ve always wanted my own herb and vegetable garden, so that is a project I would like to start when I have my own yard.

 

The street view of the school grounds. Our rental is marked, conveniently close by.

The transition between daylight hours in the winter and summer happens very quickly here because the sun sets so early in the winter and so late in summer. Suddenly, it is not fully dark yet by 20:00 and I must reason with my five-year-old why he needs to go to bed when it is “not night-time yet”. As a result, you need block-out curtains, so it appears to be dark in the evening and the sunlight doesn’t chase you out of bed too early in the morning.

Another thing I miss from South Africa and haven’t mentioned yes, is my beloved hair stylist and beauty therapist. Just before we left for Canada, I had my hair coloured and cut and my eyebrows done. Both ladies were like friends to me, and I was rather attached to them and their skills. Two weeks ago, I finally had the courage to make an appointment with a hair stylist in town. I’d been keeping an eye on her Instagram profile for a few months. Change is indeed as good as a holiday and I was ready for spring with a shorter haircut and fresh blonde colour. I felt like a new person!

Cotton candy sunset, 19:30.

We look forward to everything that the new season in Canada has in store for us. It is wonderful to experience the transition between seasons from the community’s point of view, regardless of the pandemic. We are hopeful that the warmer weather will also bring a slackening to the province restrictions, but until then it is becoming increasingly pleasant to spend time with people outdoors. Our barbeque (handed down by buddy Kevin and serviced by Carl) is ready.