Well, just over a year ago, I had so many hopes and dreams for our new life in Canada.  I still do – I’m just a little more realistic about it all now.  (Re)settlement takes time, lots of it. And all the things I’d hoped to do with Mehmet, all the places I’d hoped to see with him… well, we barely started on the list.

But as I look back over the year’s photos (I do this often, just go back through my pictures and reminisce) I realize how many new experience he did have. Although he likes to look at pictures with me, he’s not as nostalgic about things like this to the extent I am, so let me take you on a trip through his experiences of 2009, and I’ll imagine you are moved with me. :)

First of all, winter was a pretty big shock to both of us. We had just spent two years in the tropics, and before that we were in Istanbul, which is much milder than Canada in the winter!

Mehmet started to learn a bit about bundling up to go out in the cold wind… it’s the wind that kills you, man. At dad’s house he shovelled snow where the snowblower couldn’t reach.

We went to see our nephews Bryce and Jayden play ice hockey. This was a first for me too!

We went to a London Knights game – that was also a first for me, and great fun!

Mehmet pulled on ice skates for the first time, and made a go of it on Harley’s ice rink.

He even picked up a stick and watched joined the boys in some ’shoots and scores’!

One crazy day, we decided to build an igloo. Yeah, we weren’t that successful, though it was fun!

We went to see Niagara Falls (a must for anybody new to Canada!) and boy oh boy, was it cold.

My sister Joan took us cross-country skiing in the property around their home.  Mehmet’s first time on skis!

This past year, Mehmet was introduced to civilized dogs. (Can dogs be civilized?) In East Turkey, where he’s from, dogs are mean to anybody but their owner, and their purpose is to guard flocks and property. But our first day in Canada, he met dear Babe, and it was love at first site. Here he’s giving Babe a good scratch/brush.

Babe loved Mehmet too! Sadly, we lost Babe last year, but I’m so glad they met each other, because Babe was special in my heart too.

In Toronto there are lots of dogs, and most newcomers to Canada are quite surprised at how friendly and quiet they are.  We’ve enjoyed dog-sitting our landlord’s three dogs (Colt, Hogan and Taz) occasionally.

Because my family almost all live in rural areas, Mehmet got a good introduction to life in the Ontario countryside.

We met ‘Quack’, an abandoned baby duck that David and Cynthia adopted and cared for till it grew up. It turned out not to be a duck at all, but a Canadian goose!

He picked fresh beans from Dad and Carol’s garden… we still have some in our freezer.

Dad likes to take drives, and enjoyed introducing Mehmet to some local crops … like basil…

… tobacco…

and of course the greenhouse with the flowers!

We enjoyed a truly rural country fair in the fall…

… and by ‘truly rural’, we’re talking Demolition Derby. (I’m sorry.)

And some more experiences that are so stereotypically Canadian: A maple syrup bush!

And that delicious Canadian nectar collected from the trees… yum!

Canoeing – yay! It was just a taste of it… I’m pretty desperate to get him on an authentic canoe trip.

Camping – oh yeah! We had such a nice weekend camping with the whole family.

There were some excellent bike trails and we had a fantastic experience next to Lake Huron.

A campfire at my sister’s place. Another of my favourites.

His first roasted marshmallow!

A walk near the dam in my sister’s town.  We both love spending time in nature.

Mehmet was amazed by the beauty of the Canadian autumn. It really is a spectacular season.

Not to mention the whackiness of that unique North American observance of Halloween.

I mean, seriously… how do you explain spider webs and cemetaries suddenly appearing in all the neighbour’s lawns?

Of course, as you know, the year also involved some help in the baking department. All this is new for Mehmet. Decorating gingerbread cookies? Yes!

And baking homemade bread from scratch? Oh my!

There were lots of other firsts too:

Playing Wii…

Christmas tree decorating…

And doing some woodworking with Dad in the workshop.

The best part about the summer was getting different festivals and events around the city.

Caribanna Festival…

Buskerfest…

Centre Island (our favourite – we went there several times)…

And definitely biking. We biked a lot and often… this was new for Mehmet, biking in a city.

We discovered some beautiful bike paths!

It’s a great city on the lake, and we got to see a lot of it this past year.

Mehmet (and I of course!) got two new nieces this year. It’s not new for him – he’s got 10 nieces and nephews in Turkey, but that doesn’t mean being an uncle ever gets old!

A huge first (and last!)  for Mehmet this year was…

… that’s right. The chicken pox! It already seems like ages ago that I wrote about it here. But it’s still fresh in his mind and no wonder – it was a good ten days of anguish!

A large part of marrying me means being part of my family, which can be a great thing when it comes to support…

… and we love to play games, which Mehmet also enjoys.

Of course games are especially enjoyable if you win! Mehmet got the family award for winner of the Dutch shuffleboard tournament with his high score.

It’s all for fun! Look at the little trophy guy that Harley made using a tennis player (I think?) and his own shuffleboard creation.

And how about this one? In April, we had a baby shower for Joan and Matt. Normally baby showers include just the lay-deez, but not this one. It was a whole family surprise affair at our Easter family get-together. Now, we girls planned some traditional baby shower games, but the twist was that the guys (boys and men) were the ones that had to play the games. In this one activity, all the guys had one minute to ‘multi-task’ like a mom. They had to hold a baby (doll), hold the phone to their ear without hands as if they were on a phone conversation, and hang up baby clothes on the line – all at the same time. The guy who hung up the most clothes in the allotted time was the winner. Here was Mehmet’s try. :)

… but you know, like I said, when he married me, my family became his family, and well…  I can’t make any excuses:

I don’t really know what to say.

I mean, I’m so mature and restrained, so feminine and demure, right? (RIGHT?!) Am I really related to these people?

I can’ t explain this:

And I certainly don’t know what to say about this:

Even this one looks like Trouble with a ca-peee-tal T.

Oh, it’s a fun family, and my biggest goal for 2009 in regards to Mehmet was for them to get to know each other and love each other. I’m so glad we had a lot of family time over the year!

And somehow (just between you and me), I didn’t really think the transition is all that difficult.