ForumTitleContentMemberSexCountryDate/Time
CanadaKeeping in touch
You have brilliant timing, Ron. You and Sharon came to mind while I was walking our puppy this morning and I was wondering how you both were doing. I hope you will both be feeling MUCH BETTER very soon.
SonoranSongbirdFemaleCanada2008-08-12 12:00:00
CanadaSigh....
I keep reminding myself that at least this time we get to wait together! It does make it easier...and yet, not entirely. AOS eems to move much faster than the I-129F so far at least.
SonoranSongbirdFemaleCanada2008-09-29 09:44:00
CanadaHaha The Stupid Vice Presidential Debate
QUOTE (bowflex @ Oct 3 2008, 11:43 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
I've been having trouble ever being able to wrap my head around why the government should have any control about who someone can marry (other than age and such of course)



According to Rick Santorem it's to make sure we don't marry our dogs. whistling.gif
SonoranSongbirdFemaleCanada2008-10-03 11:53:00
CanadaLesbian Couple Wants to be Together
It is going to be like interracial marriage---sometime in the next few years, the courts are going to decide the fundamental right to marry the partner of one's choosing is a right we ALL enjoy, and 20 years later it will seem absolutely astonishing that gay marriage was ever banned.

I was a little surprised Palin said she thought at least gay couples should not be prevented from visiting each other in the hospital. I was NOT surprised at Biden's response, though I was a bit appalled at how emphatically he said he opposed gay marriage.

None of which helps Ick and her partner right now.
SonoranSongbirdFemaleCanada2008-10-03 11:47:00
CanadaLesbian Couple Wants to be Together
I don't have any helpful information, but wish you and your partner the best.
SonoranSongbirdFemaleCanada2008-09-29 11:28:00
CanadaWhite Stuff is Falling
I loved living in Southern California while my parents were still back in Upstate New York. I called in March once, on my way to Huntington Beach, and they were watching two feet of snow pile up on their patio. I'm evil, I know.

I love cool, autumny weather.
SonoranSongbirdFemaleCanada2008-10-03 12:54:00
CanadaWhite Stuff is Falling
QUOTE (Jeraly @ Oct 2 2008, 06:28 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
It hit 100f today so I am totally jealous of the snow - we don't even have the turning leaves! Just palm trees and sunshine... although we currently have some clouds and wind. But that's it cray5ol.gif



I feel your pain!

That is what our summers are like, except add in 95% humidity. But we get snow here. Usually in big 7-plus-inch storms, too. Last winter my town exceeded its plowing budget.
SonoranSongbirdFemaleCanada2008-10-03 12:30:00
Canadacouple questions
My husband renewed his passport before it expired so that the visa would go in the new passport that would be valid for 5 years. He applied in person (not sure if this is the norm in Canada--it would not be here) and they did ask him why he was renewing it early, but it wasn't a problem.
SonoranSongbirdFemaleCanada2008-10-20 14:13:00
CanadaCanada Border Patrol
QUOTE (Krikit @ Oct 19 2008, 11:42 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
QUOTE (Danielle-Justin @ Oct 19 2008, 12:17 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
* My fiance just got her K-1 visa and I'm here to help her pack and fly back home with her.

I would go with the above. Shows you have no intent to stay and is the truth. I think that's what my husband said when he flew up to get me. Something along those lines, anyway. Congratulations! smile.gif


That's what I said as well, for the same reasons. Have a safe journey!
SonoranSongbirdFemaleCanada2008-10-20 10:57:00
CanadaWedding tomorrow!
QUOTE (TheATeam @ Oct 12 2008, 07:18 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
The wedding day was a bit ridiculous with things getting messed up, but the wedding itself was beautiful...!


good.gif

That sounds like our wedding, too! I'm glad you had a lovely day anyway. Beautiful pictures!
SonoranSongbirdFemaleCanada2008-10-21 11:08:00
CanadaI eat whale blubber and club baby seals...
QUOTE (Sprailenes @ Aug 21 2008, 06:20 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
While looking for apartments we had one girl who kept going on about how I must be used to the cold.


So does that mean she wasn't going to fix the furnace or plug the draft, then?
SonoranSongbirdFemaleCanada2008-08-21 09:40:00
CanadaI eat whale blubber and club baby seals...
Wait a minute---no one has asked y'all how many maple leaves you have sewn onto your luggage???? Sounds like everyone you have met in the States has been falling down on the job.

My husband is offended that people here assume Canadians are polite. He claims he does not say "eh" but he really does.

Oh, and I like hockey more than he does.
SonoranSongbirdFemaleCanada2008-08-20 14:50:00
CanadaAnt's Taking a "VJ Vacation"...
I'm sorry to hear that. Here's hoping and praying for a complete recovery for your MIL!
SonoranSongbirdFemaleCanada2008-10-20 10:49:00
CanadaEvidence of relationship
We each brought all our plane tickets, boarding passes, etc, from the four visits we made during the time our I129F was pending, and I brought along printouts of a few emails I sent him (that showed his email and my reply---he always sent me a good morning email late the night before) and a copy of the first three pages of my inbox showing how much he'd emailed me. I also brought a few photos--about 8 of them, only 2 of which had both of us in them (there was one of my engagement ring, another of him with my dog, and two pictures of us in Banff National Park that were pretty obviously taken at the same spot).

All they looked at was the photos, and even then only cursorily. That's typical of the experiences most people have had at the consulates in Canada, from what I've seen here.
SonoranSongbirdFemaleCanada2008-11-03 11:45:00
CanadaCanadian Medical
My husband renewed his Canadian passport a year before it expired. He went in person to a passport office and they asked him why he was renewing it early and he told them. He renewed his early just so he wouldn't have to deal with renewing it while living in the US or with getting a copy of his visa to go in the new passport. Whether it is NECESSARY for you to renew or not, I'm not sure, but it is possible and may be more convenient for you.
SonoranSongbirdFemaleCanada2008-10-22 11:45:00
CanadaCanadian Medical
Yeah, as of some time in March, Dr Chana was no longer doing immigration physicals. At some point, they did have at least one doctor in Saskatchewan as well, but that is no longer the case. The consulate claimed they were going to get a new doctor for Edmonton, but I guess they haven't.

Dr Morgan can schedule an appointment around your interview date, and the consulate is willing to give you the interview before the medical (if, for example, you have an interview on a Monday or Tuesday), but you will need to bring them the results before they can issue the visa, and hotels in Vancouver can be pretty expensive. I think you could probably ask them to give you an interview on a Thursday and they'd accomodate the request.
SonoranSongbirdFemaleCanada2008-10-22 10:52:00
CanadaCanadian Medical
Dr Ian Morgan in Vancouver can give you the results the same day, but I think he has appointments only on Wednesday mornings. You can schedule your appointment with him around your interview, however.

Dr Viljoen in Calgary can get you the results in about 3 to 4 days. My husband had his appointment on a Thursday and picked up his results on the following Monday. If you need them mailed to you, he can do that by courier, but you need to pay the courier fee and obviously it will add a few days. My husband's experience with Dr Viljoen was good, but others have found him to be not so pleasant. I've not heard anything negative about Dr Morgan so far, but he is also more expensive. Supposedly they were going to get new civil surgeons, but I guess they haven't.
SonoranSongbirdFemaleCanada2008-10-21 13:45:00
CanadaOur Big Fat Canadian/American Wedding
Thanks, everyone. It was nice. In some ways I guess it was less exciting than it would have been if we weren't already really married, but in other ways, that took some of the pressure off. We both woke up for a few hours the night before. Eventually we got back to sleep---had this been the real thing, we might not have gotten back to sleep!

Re the pictures---by some miracle I was able to fit into my dress so we did not have to have a nudist wedding and they are not X rated. I don't mind posting a few in private messages. (Hmmm, X-rated piccies sound kind of fun, now that you mention it.....)
SonoranSongbirdFemaleCanada2008-11-03 16:56:00
CanadaOur Big Fat Canadian/American Wedding
We got re-hitched October 12 in front of all our friends and family (or all the ones who could make it, anyway) in beautiful Bellingham, Washington. Since we were already legally married, we had my sister-in-law act as our officiant. The ceremony was the same one we used when we got married in July, except we added a few sentences (about how we met and telling people we'd gotten legally married in July in a ceremony that included the same vows we were about to exchange word for word) and we added music.

Aside from the younger of my two little ring bearers having to be carried down the aisle crying (he had not finished eating his McDonald's french fries, plus I think he was still a bit jet lagged from the flight from Australia 4 days earlier), the ceremony went smoothly. The logistics of getting from the ceremony to the heur d'oervs and cocktail hour to the reception got a little bit messed up (because the room we'd wanted everyone to go to for cocktails while they were switching the main room over from the ceremony set up to the reception set up turned out to be too small). If I had it to do over again, I would have set up the bar outside to begin with.

But aside from those and a few minor glitches, everything went well. My husband was fabulously handsome in his suit, I still fit in my dress, and neither my sister or I fell walking down the aisle. The people we invited are folks we know from a fairly wide range of different places so most of them did not know each other before the wedding, but everyone seemed to get along. Although it was just a little too nippy to have the ceremony in the garden, we were lucky enough to get a beautiful sunny day so we could at least take pictures there (plus it made a lovely backdrop for the ceremony through the big floor-to-ceiling windows behind us).

I don't really want to post pictures in a public forum, but if you want to see a few, you can PM me and I'll send them via pm.
SonoranSongbirdFemaleCanada2008-10-31 13:41:00
CanadaUS citizenship anyone?
My husband will become a USC. He wants to be able to vote here since he lives here, and he is allowed to become a USC without having to revoke Canadian citizenship. If we ever move to Canada and I become eligible for Canadian citizenship, I would also become a dual citizen, for the same reasons.
SonoranSongbirdFemaleCanada2008-11-06 12:34:00
CanadaPuppy dogs and degenerative disk disease
QUOTE (thetreble @ Dec 3 2008, 09:32 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
####### yes. My dog was in SUCH an awful mood this morning. She would not kiss me...not look at me...she was obvioulsy mad at me because I made her sleep in her crate for once. (shes got a bad stomach as of late) That B*tch! laughing.gif All I wanted was a kiss.


My dog pulled something like that last year. She had to have minor surgery to remove a little growth on her back and she licked the spot on her front paw where they had shaved her fur for the IV to the point where it got infected (as fur grows in, it can be itchy). The vet had her on an ointment for it, and she HATED when I put it on her, so every time I did, she would refuse to play with me and only wanted to be with my husband. He was still my fiance then and was only visiting from Edmonton.

I don't think I could get Dallas to sleep in a crate either. Luckily, though, if she needs to go out in the middle of the night because of tummy problems, she will come and wake me up.
SonoranSongbirdFemaleCanada2008-12-03 10:44:00
CanadaPuppy dogs and degenerative disk disease
I'm sorry I don't have any advice at all, but I hope your sweetie-Kaia-puppy is feeling much better. It is so hard when furbabies are hurting and they can't even tell you exactly where it hurts or what's wrong! I often wish my dog could talk.
SonoranSongbirdFemaleCanada2008-12-03 10:27:00
CanadaGetting to Know You -
QUOTE (Krikit @ Dec 2 2008, 01:23 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
I hate Christmas songs. Though I do love "Christmas Eve in Sarajevo" by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.


I love that song!
SonoranSongbirdFemaleCanada2008-12-02 14:53:00
CanadaGetting to Know You -
1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?
Usually gift bags, partly because they are easier to reuse than wrapping paper, and partly because most gifts look much better in them than wrapped by me.

2. Real tree or Artificial?
This year, none. Normally artificial. Easier on our allergies, better for the environment, easier on my carpet.

3. When do you put up the tree?
Usually the weekend after Thanksgiving.

4. When do you take the tree down?
Weekend after New Years Day.

5. Do you like eggnog?
You mean gagnog?

6. Favorite gift received as a child?
I can't remember! For some reason, the most memorable gift was the inflatable Santa I got when I was 6 years old and demanded that my parents prove to me there really was a Santa Claus and they tried that so I would not spill the beans to my younger sister.

7. Hardest person to buy for?
No one is hard to buy for---you can always fall back on the old standards: books or booze. The one that is maybe a bit tricky is my boss, just because I usually come up with more personalized books for my other two coworkers than I come up with for her.

8. Easiest person to buy for?
My friend's 6-year-old daughter. I LOVE buying children's books! Although our teenage nieces tell us what to get them, so that is obviously very easy as well.

9. Do you have a nativity scene?
No.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards?
Mail.

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?
Can’t think of any–except maybe the inflatable Santa (see #6).

12. Favorite Christmas movie?
A Christmas Story. That’s the one no Christmas is complete without for me.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?
Meh, haven’t started yet.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?
No !

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
Stuffing!!!!!

16. Lights on the tree?
Yes!

17. Favorite Christmas songs:
”Oh, Holy Night,” especially the second verse. The lyrics are “Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother, and in His name all oppression shall cease,” which I have always found very moving..

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home?
Travel.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeers?
Not off hand.

20. What is a non-traditional tradition you do for the holidays?
From my family: seeing a movie on Christmas Day and having home made French onion soup on New Year’s Day. My Dad used to make it while watching a football game (I think one of the Bowl games). His is much better than mine. From my husband’s family: going out for Indian food on Boxing Day,

21. Angel on the tree top or a star?
Neither.

22. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?
Evening.

23. Most annoying thing about this time of the year?
Crowds at the stores and on the roads anywhere remotely near a store. Also, while I love Christmas carols, a lot of other Christmas music is actually pretty grating.

24. Favorite ornament theme or color?
Silvery colored ornaments and lights.

25. Favorite food for Christmas dinner?
Stuffing. Yum!!

26. What do you want for Christmas this year?
My husband’s green card. Err, I can think of a few other things, but none that are particularly wholesome.
SonoranSongbirdFemaleCanada2008-12-01 16:19:00
CanadaWhos going Home for Christmas?
QUOTE (DeadPoolX @ Nov 25 2008, 03:19 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Even more important is the fact I've recently been diagnosed with mononucleosis, which I've been "enjoying" thoroughly. My dad doesn't want me around if I'm contagious (which I currently am and will be for months after the symptoms have gone away), so going anywhere is out of the question.


Yuck! I had that when I was 19 or 20. I went to a Squeeze concert in Binghamton and actually fell asleep sitting in a bleacher seat at the SUNY Binghamtom gym with the music absolutely blairing because I was so worn down from it. I hope you feel better very soon!
SonoranSongbirdFemaleCanada2008-11-25 11:46:00
CanadaWhos going Home for Christmas?
We are going to Calgary for Christmas, which isn't really "home" for either of us (my family is in Washington State, he grew up in Edmonton, we live in southern Illinois), but we are going to fly up Christmas Eve, spend Christmas Day together at his sister's place (soaking in the hot tub!), and then have a few days after Christmas with his sister and her family (they are going to spend the actual holiday with my brother-in-law's side of the family this year). It will be our first Christmas as a married couple. I love this man so much!
SonoranSongbirdFemaleCanada2008-11-25 11:41:00
CanadaRidiculous!!!!!!
Heh--my friend's address works like that, too. It is 122 Blah Blah Blah Court SE # A122, or some such thing (literally, a three-word name). Plus she and her husband have different last names and they live in Washington State in a city with a long-ish name too, so addressing her wedding invitation in calligraphy was a b*tch and a half. Not as bad as the one to my cousin who lives on Rennaissance Drive in a house with a 5-digit addrss, though.



Well yours is probably just 59 Blah Blah Court, which makes sense, though.
SonoranSongbirdFemaleCanada2008-12-02 12:35:00
CanadaRidiculous!!!!!!
Oh, maybe they left off the apartment number when they sent the first one! If that happened, the postman might not be able to figure out which box to put it in without seeing your name on it.

Like you said, the problem is solved so it doesn't matter. I was just curious because I'd never heard of an address being in one name or another, that's all.
SonoranSongbirdFemaleCanada2008-12-02 12:25:00
CanadaRidiculous!!!!!!
QUOTE (Zee Bee @ Dec 2 2008, 10:09 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
I don't understand about the address being under Nick's name and not yours and needing the c/o.


I don't either. I did not change my last name so we have different last names and the house is still in my name only and he's never had any problems receiving mail addressed to him here. Not only that, I still get plenty of mail addressed to the folks I bought the house from nearly 5 years ago! The post office does not know or care whose house it is. Do you have a post office box? Or do you live in an apartment where someone from the apartment complex distributes the mail to the individual boxes?

In any case, that is very frustrating, and I'm glad that you at least got it fixed even if it took a while.
SonoranSongbirdFemaleCanada2008-12-02 12:09:00
CanadaMedical question
QUOTE (to_hope @ Dec 12 2008, 09:27 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
QUOTE (payxibka @ Dec 12 2008, 10:23 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
medical exam is to determine visa ineligibilities.... some contagious diseases could be a problem... A heart condition or a bone disease does not seem to fit that definition..

If you google "visa ineligibilities" you will see the definition.


That is what I have understood so far, but I read on this board a while ago that someone went and the immigration doctor discovered a heart murmur. He send her to have an EKG test-- heart murmurs aren't contagious, so I wondered why she needed to have that done? Maybe it was to make sure that the murmur wasn't a result of a contagious illness? (I'm not worried about my heart- just the back condition and having to get an MRI)


Could be because if the doctor finds something that could potentially impact your health, whether related to immigration or not, he would be pretty remiss not to suggest follow up for medical reasons.
SonoranSongbirdFemaleCanada2008-12-12 12:05:00
CanadaCongratulations Ant
Heh--of course the baby will be here first!

Congratulations.
SonoranSongbirdFemaleCanada2008-12-09 14:46:00
CanadaHow to do taxes Quebec/Can and CA/USA.. the first year...
Yeah, you file both state and federal taxes in the US. For most states (including California, if memory serves), your state return will have lines where it just asks for adjusted gross income from a specified line on your federal return.

As far as the interplay between the two tax returns (because you should not have to pay taxes on the income you had in Quebec in both countries), that is something we are trying to figure out as well.
SonoranSongbirdFemaleCanada2008-12-16 12:08:00
CanadaConsidering Abondoning it all
Meh, nothing to add, either on the relationship or immigration issues, so I'll just say I'm sorry to hear that and I hope things work out for the best for both of you.
SonoranSongbirdFemaleCanada2008-12-19 16:19:00
CanadaCountdown to Christmas Thread
Woot! Five days until our first Christmas Eve as husband and wife! Please, please, please let us not get snowed in at O'Hare changing planes!

Marilyn---I love the kitties under the misletoe in your signature.
SonoranSongbirdFemaleCanada2008-12-19 16:07:00
CanadaCountdown to Christmas Thread
Carla, that bird cage is beautiful! You know what the best thing about the snow we got is? It covers up the flippin' ICE so we can actually walk our dog without sliding all over the place! And yes, it is very pretty. I've been checking the weather in Calgary and it looks like we will have a VERY white Christmas there this year (last year, oddly enough, we didn't---we drove from Edmonton to Calgary and the snow pretty much disappeared at Red Deer). I wonder how my sister-in-law's tiny little terrier mix is handling the snow. I'm sure it is much deeper than he is tall!

I just mailed off some Christmas gifts this morning. All that's left now is packing and putting vacation holds on our mail and newspaper.
SonoranSongbirdFemaleCanada2008-12-16 11:51:00
CanadaCountdown to Christmas Thread
That's what we do---only get gifts for the kids (well, the oldest of our three nieces just turned 20, so she isn't really a kid anymore I guess). Last year we got each other gifts, too, but this year we are not going to do that. We will, errm, umm, give each other something other than a store bought gift, wink, wink. I exchange gifts with my coworkers too, but other than that, just our nieces and my friend's 6-year-old-daughter and my other friend's 1-year-old grandson.

Marilyn, those ornaments are gorgeous!!
SonoranSongbirdFemaleCanada2008-12-12 11:47:00
CanadaCountdown to Christmas Thread
Woot! Plane tickets booked!
SonoranSongbirdFemaleCanada2008-12-11 18:15:00
CanadaCountdown to Christmas Thread
I should add, Tucson actually does get snow, it's just that if it snows in town, it usually melts by noon. It only stays on the ground all winter in the Catalina Mountains.

*Sigh!*
SonoranSongbirdFemaleCanada2008-12-11 11:21:00
CanadaCountdown to Christmas Thread
I used to live in a warm place that did not get snow. I miss it. The city I am about to book plane tickets to for Christmas---Calgary, Alberta---is currently at -20C with a big-a$$ snowstorm on the way (okay, it was at -20 last night when my sister-in-law called). One of my nicest Christmases ever was spent in Tucson, Arizona. It was 75 degrees and I drove halfway up the Mount Lemmon Highway to get a nice view of the solar eclipse from the Babat Duag overlook, then drove back to town to have a nice Christmas dinner with some friends of mine. The down side was that my dog and my friend's dog decided to show off their hunting prowess by bringing half a freshly killed desert jackrabbit to the house. Barfola! The dogs looked so proud of themselves, too.

Back to Christmas countdown: about to book flight to Calgary, husband will reserve rental car after I've booked the tickets. I reserved puppy-wuppy's spot at the kennel this morning. All we have to do is buy Christmas gifts for our nieces and my friend's 6-year-old daughter.
SonoranSongbirdFemaleCanada2008-12-11 11:17:00
CanadaCountdown to Christmas Thread
I want one too!

Really what I want is to live in Arizona again and have an actual palm tree to put the lights on. But I guess I can count my blessings because if I had been the one to move instead of my husband, we'd seriously be freezing our butts off. It is -18C in Edmonton today. And 55F--above zero--here. Granted, that isn't going to last (it is supposed to snow in a few hours!), but I'm about to go out and enjoy it for a few minutes.

I mailed the rest of our Christmas cards yesterday. I think I might go order some Christmas cookies because I'm really hungry right now. (Ant is eating for 2 but I think I'm eating for 12--myself plus an entire college football team---there are 11 big huge teenage boys on a college football team, right?).
SonoranSongbirdFemaleCanada2008-12-09 14:45:00