23 years ago today

The things I remember

*dreaming I was in labor, waking up and I was~~
*driving to the hospital at 5:30am and seeing 3 deer on the side of the road, munching... a mom, a dad, and a baby. Wanted to name our new baby fawna or bucko after the baby deer we saw... decided that wasn't a good idea. Broke the nervousness on the 25 minute drive to the hospital though.
*finding out how easy it was to breastfeed a newborn baby
*learning that when there is a sudden drop in barometric pressure (like during a hurricane) that mothers go into labor quite quickly. I waited in the hallway, after my baby was born and listened to 3 other babies being born, cause no one had time to move me to a better spot, cause the babies were coming too fast. Interestingly, we had a huge windstorm that day, with many fallen trees and damaged properties.
*finding out how hard it is to breastfeed a 4 hour old baby.
*meeting my new room mate that had the ugliest baby in the world.
*realizing that all babies were ugly except mine.
*realizing that I had the most beautiful baby in the world

Happy Birthday my little Stephanie April Peters 8lb 5oz... born at 7:55am April 30 1984

(picture coming, as soon as the scanner is installed after supper)

Travelling day....week really!

The kids are home from ST FX. Terry drove to St. FX on Friday morning towing the utility trailer and by supper they were back, just ahead of the rain. (TRIP #1) The kids spent the evening unpacking, sorting, laundry and organizing.

this morning they are off to Goose Bay Labrador at 11am today.. Daddy has just left a few minutes ago for the trip to the Airport. (Trip #2) They will be there at 1:15pm. There is nothing worse than putting your kids on an airplane...especially if you hate flying as much as I do. ugh. Terry will leave the airport and go to his mom's where he will spend the day doing "technical support" on his mom's network of computers in her house

Today is my niece's birthday... Patience Louise MacLean is turning 32. This would be my sisters' baby girl and only biological daughter. She is living in St. John New Brunswick and holds down two really fun jobs. She is a hair stylist and she also works in a Gym. Happy Birthday Patience.

Tomorrow is Stephanie's 23rd birthday. Imagine. She will be spending her birthday packing and organizing to get ready for a 26 day trip to Merida Mexico which starts on Tuesday. Another day of worry for me as she will be up and down about 4 times in 4 different aircraft at 4 different airports!!! ugh

Then Michelle and Scott get back home on Saturday at 3, and they both begin their summer jobs with a few days of that.

Today is Purse club... yipeee. We are off to Wolfville at 1, and its nice to get together with all the girls. Cindy Harrison will be back from her trip south where she went with 11 other girlfriends from her youth. They are all turning 50 this year. How cool is that. I can't wait to hear about the trip. Heather GR won the purse last month, so we will get to see her purchases today. I think it will be summer clothes.... we shall see

Penis FISH!!!!

Yes, there really is a reason why I don't swim in the Amazon, or any wild water...Lakes, rivers, oceans. There really are Penis Fish. Called .... CANDIRU

Grey's Anatomy have stooped pretty low this week. Even I was cringing at the "low" blow, with the tubes and hooks and ewwww.... I see things rapidly falling apart on Grey's, for everyone except Christine and Cranky. Who actually smiled once in this show. So, who knows what the final 3 will bring. I plan on having a conversation with the producers of the show tomorrow morning on my walk (via the most recent PodCast) so I will let you know.

FLU 101 done. I think. Back to work...normal life in my system.. so far...

Terry hits the 101 tomorrow, to head to Antigonish to pic up Scott and Michelle, who are done... done ... done. Michelle is in the midst of major construction there at Burke house, and since early yesterday, the bulldozers and dirtmovers have been hard at it. She has to stay until the very last little pumpkin is out of Burke House, which will be tomorrow at 3pm. So, meanwhile she is holding down in her little room, while the walls, windows, doors, and grounds come down all around her. She feels like they are perched, ready to bounce the minute she vacates the hallways. Its a sad thing to see the legendary BURKE house, home of the frosh for millions of years, go by the dumpster, but in Sept, it will be a new BURKE house, same brick walls but all new inside. Michelle gets a bigger, new room, with a private bathroom (down the hall) and a whole new era of BURKE. Nice that she spent 2 years in old BURKE which is unheard of, since it has been a totally FROSH house for years. No body gets to return to it a second year. Not only did she get to spend a second year, but is returning for a third year and the Senior RA. Scott, who was a BURKE FROSH boy, got to return for a second year, as the house president, but two years was enough of the madness for him. He is off to his own apt (with 6 other boys) just down the road. I think it will be like a Mini Burke, myself, since most of the boys he is rooming with are exiles (ex Burke). But the food will be better than the last two years, since he will be buying and preparing it himself. How many nights a week can you have fondue Scott? But, we do know the hollandaise sauce goes with everything, so that's a good thing. Scott and Michelle are going to Goose Bay for a week on Sunday, so I hope Scott spends a day or two, copying out his mom's favorite recipes, since every one of them I have had are absolutely AWESOME. Skor Short breads... fondue, and Brownies. (So far)

Stephanie, is done as well. Last assignment handed in today. 5th year, done. Check!! One more, for this hurdle. On Tuesday, she flies out from Fredericton to Merida Mexico where she will be studying Mayan Culture ( I think) and taking 3 UNB courses while visiting Mayan stuff, like ruins and shopping Malls (I think).
For her birthday, we gave her a new camera. We bought Stephanie a digital camera in like 2000 when she went to Japan. I think it was a 2.0. Top of the line back then. But on her trip to Belize last year, her pictures were very blurry and thank God for all the other people's pictures, because Stephanie's just were not worth saving. So, how can you have a world traveler amongst us, and have her go with a 7 year old camera. So, she has been having fun with it, since she got it yesterday as you can see by her blog. Mostly cats, but she is taking requests!! Her birthday is Monday... April 30th, and although she didn't make me wait for her as long as Michelle did (being 15 days LATE) Stephanie was due on April 25, yesterday, Day 2 of my FLU. To be fair to Stephanie, it was smart that she didn't come on time, because we didn't come up with a name for her until the night before she was born. (April 29th) Well, we did have Jeffery David picked out, and that would have had to do, I guess.

I have a very sick "Glee" in my heart, and a little nervous twitch, so I have to share it. From the day Chantal got the word that she was posted, I warned her that the Military has a way of messing with your mind. I warned her not to go to far with stuff until the blessed "MESSAGE". Ok, no message so far, and I am thrilled... and selfishly excited that maybe I was right, yet again. Here is my problem, I may be getting my hopes up now, and just high enough to dare to hope that she won't get posted this year, and then WHAM... Jun 15 or so... a message... typical Military style.. and my hopes get dashed. So I won't hope too hard, so that I won't fall to hard, if and when the message does come in....

Flu 101

Like all the other blogs I have been reading today, my weekend was filled with yardwork and soaking up the sun. It was so nice to unbury all my plants. My front yard garden has so many little bushes and plants and everyone of them was either a gift or family "pass a longs". As I pulled all the old leaves off of each buried plant, little memories of how I got it, or who gave it to me, made me feel so nice. The back yard was mostly leaves, twigs and dog poop!!! Not as enjoyable.
Long story..short. On Monday, I was not feeling so great. Sore, but not my arms or legs. My stomach. I was feeling sort of pissed off, that a little raking and bending could hurt my stomach, actually, the fact that I was so out of shape, was the main reason. Right after supper, which was less than enjoyable, I headed down the 1o1 to the airport to pick up Terry. He's been away for a week, spending time with his dad, now that he was out of hospital, finally. While driving, my stomach was still sore, and I felt that maybe my pants were too tight (another depressing thought). Around Windsor, I felt I couldn't take it any more, and undid my pants.... well, I am not sure what that released but, all of a sudden, I started to get very hot.. sweating... and that was with the air on. In no time at all, I realized, I have to pull over. Sure enough, I got out and was sick on the side of the highway. Ugh. I certainly didn't feel like I could drive the rest of the way to the airport. But I made it. I was never so happy to see that exit sign in my life.
Terry drove home and I had to stop twice, once on the road, once in Sackville... It was a very long night, every hour I was up, and then as the morning broke, it was very 20 minutes. Not fun. I slept and visited the bathroom all day yesterday and my body is so sore I can hardly walk. I am going to try not to lay down today, because my back is so sore, I think moving is better than laying down. But I still have the need for the bathroom... I would love to know where all the liquid comes from! ugh, sorry about that.

Michelle and Scott will be home on Friday and they leave again on Sunday for Goose Bay. Scott's parents are in Goose and they are looking forward to a visit from the pair. Once they are back to Greenwood, they will both start work. Michelle at Peoples and Scott at the Aurora Inn... Stephanie leaves for Mexico next Tuesday and is back May 25. She starts work at the craft council on June 1, so we get to have her home for a few days before she starts work. Sean started yesterday. So, that's it for all the kids working for the summer. Way better feeling than last year when jobs were pretty scarce and they all were struggling to find work.

ok, now I have to go lay down.

Legally BLIND

I spent the afternoon with dad, driving him to Kentville to see Dr. Scott. Dr. Scott is Dad's Eye Doc and his visits to that office are every 6 months. We hobble into a VERY crowded and cramped waiting room, where dad has to maneuver between legs, feet, and canes to get to a chair. No easy feat for him. (Pardon the Pun). Today was no different, but we managed and dad got his eyes dilated and pressured fairly quickly. They are good to him that way, and get him into a smaller waiting area pretty quickly. So he sat with 3 other elders in the hallway to Dr. Scotts office instead of the waiting room. These other 3 were all from Dutch Brook and all had thick french accents. Dad confided in me later that they reminded him of Mom and her family. All three made there appts together to take advantage of someone driving them. So they kept him busy with stories of cataract surgeries and other "old people" conversation. I was around the corner, but within ear shot and could see a part of his cane, so when he was called in, I could zip over and help him up. It was so nice to hear him chatting it up and laughing with these three other seniors. Finally after an hour's wait, it was dad's turn to go into the office with the big chair and Dr. Scott was in to see him shortly after. The visit was short but good news all around. Dad's eyes are NO WORSE than they were 6 months ago.... Pretty bad when that is good news. But the other good news is, Dr. Scott declared dad "LEGALLY BLIND". Now if you think that is a bad thing, its not. Here's why. In a tiny side conversation between Dad and the nurse, there is always a joke about dad reading the chart. He can read the "E". that is because its the biggest letter, its at the top of the chart, and it stands alone. Also, they never change the charge, so he sits down, she says her speech about the chart and he automatically says "E". They have a chuckle, and then its on to the other stuff. Today, his nurse (whom dad says, can't keep her hands off him), said... well, at least you can get the big tax deduction for reading only an E. Well, I swear, I saw fireworks come out of dad's eyes. She explained that dad has been seeing on 6/20 for about 2 years. That is Legally Blind, and didn't he know that. Well, we didn't have a chance to talk about it, (me and him) cause we weren't sitting together, but as soon as we got into the big office with the chair, he was bursting at the seams. You cannot imagine how exciting it is for dad when there is a chance that he can screw the government out of some money. So the minute Dr. Scott came into the room, Dad approached him. And yes, dad is da da da da... Legally Blind. He has been for about 2 years.
Well what a hoot. All the way home in the car, it was things like "I wonder how many forms we need to have filled out?", I wonder how much the deduction is?"... those things. We made a stop at the drug store for a few things, and he played the Legally Blind "Card" to get me to do a few "Extra" services.... "I can't carry that, I am Legally Blind!!!" I can't use that debit machine...Blind you know.... Meanwhile he stomped my toes (on purpose) with his cane and said... oops, sorry, Legally Blind you know. At the Bank.... oh, can't wait in Line.... Legally Blind, you know. We chuckled all afternoon.
THE MINUTE we got in the house.... I had to bring up his "already done" Income Tax Return, and re do it with the full disability credits... and.. will all the forms filled out and filed... he will get money back. Yes, for the first time in 20 years....money back!!!! I think he could see little better this evening over tea.

Our second big funny..... Down stairs in Dad's sitting room, he has an old, small filing cabinet, that sits by his big chair. It has some treats "in the drawer" to feed the cat and dog, and he stashes a little treat for himself in there too. At Easter, he got a box of sugarless chocolates from the Easter Bunny, and it was filled with WRAPPED sugar free chocolates, from Hershey. Some were foil wrapped, looking like peanut butter cups, and some were Cello wrapped... not sure what they were. Well, we will never know. Mollie, who is never away from dad... for the second time this year, has chosen to spend her time "alone" in the house, looking through dad's belongings for Chocolate. When we came home and Dad went down stairs, there he found the filing cabinet drawer open, the Easter box for the chocolates there, and all the chocolates missing, wrappers and all. Now, how she got that drawer open, we don't know, and she left the entire dish of dog treats there, untouched.
Our walk tomorrow morning should be interesting, and possibly filled with shiny gold wrappers....

What a day.

April 16....God used this day to create TWO very special people

1967

Jill MacD, JillyBean... Happy Birthday. You are THE most, creative and gifted person I know. You are amazing, and that just isn't quite enough. You are generous, kind and understanding. You are helpful and caring... ok... so you are going to kill me for this..... but

I just can't let the 40th anniversary of "Canada's Centenial" go by without a blog. Like, remember the song

"Caaaaa...naaaaaa...daa.........WEEEEEEE...Love ....you......dum da da dum dum dum da da dum... I don't remember the rest of the song.

And then there is the Centenial symbol of our new flag. The triangles... remember drawing those a thousand times in school.




And the penny.... Jill, there are still those pennies around, and I always think to myself... wow, this penny is as old as Jill. Oh, that was bad.... sorry. If it makes you feel better, its not as old as me.




Remember, now, Jill. We have been friends for a long time. We have been through many fun things, some sad things, some painful things, some fun but painful things (that would be me, trying to be creative, and you being soooo supportive) So, because we have known each other for a very long time, and we have been through lots together, I felt it was my job to honor you on this 40th anniversary of a very special event.


Happy Birthday Jilly Bean, and remember.... it could have been WAY worse.



Ok, everyone, meet Jill MacDonald
Born April 16, 1967




Please enjoy just a few of the hundreds of pictures I have scanned into my computer, and will use, if Jill shows up at my office today..... ugh.


Please email Jill today, or visit her blog (in my favorites) and wish her a Happy 40th birthday.





I love ya Jill...... remember, we are going to grow old together.


1975

The big news in 1975..... Metric. Schools were forced to teach only in Metric. Labels on food.... metric only. My Nanny in law became a woman of metric and began ordering a kilometer of ground beef from the butcher, whenever she need to buy the good ground round for making Kibbi.


Musical news of 1975.... "Love with Keep us together" by Captain and Tennille.

Other news in 1975... The UN decreeded 1975 as the International Year of the Woman. How appropriate that 1975 be "Year of the Woman" when a wonderful "woman to be" was born into the world.

Chantal Paquin-McAlpine

I have only know Chantal for about 2 years and I can't believe how lucky I am to have her as a friend and a co-worker. Chantal has brought so much to our school, with her knowledge, her talents and her amazing ability to " say it like it really is". This girl says what your thinking but don't want to say.... she cracks me up almost every day.

I am totally old enough to be her mother (if I was just a little more promiscuous...being just 16 when she would have been born), but yet, she makes me feel like I am as young as she is.

Here are just a few observations I can share about Chantal. Chantal is a "Poster child" for the association of "ONLY CHILD" children. It is not an easy thing to be one, and also to raise one.... and usually it can pretty obvious that your talkin' to an "only".... BUT Chantal... although, she is an "only" .... is the PERFECT "only". She is beautifully spoiled, and devilishly proud of it, but that is as far as the characteristics go. I would think that she was raised with several siblings... because she is as feisty and strong as themiddle child of several boys. She stands her ground, with grace and humor, and truly looks at the other side of things when faced with a conflict. Kudos to Chantal... and to her parents.... you should right a book on raising "an only child" so perfectly.

Chantal... mother of twins... two year old twins..... oh my GOD.... first off, she isn't 20 inches around... and birthed two FULL TERM babies....
Chantal, you brighten our school with your presence, you sense of humor (sometimes sick as it is), your kindness, your positive attitude in sometimes the worst situations.... your openness and eagerness to compliment and encourage everyone around you. I haven't even touched on your teaching and parenting abilities.... I will save those comments for another blog.

Happy Birthday Chantal.....

Please visit Chantal's blog and wish her a Happy Birthday...

2007 LADIES CLOSING BONSPIEL

What a great weekend. Our first game, even though Wendy and Debbie were nervous… went fantastic. We all played like pro’s. I was too naive to be nervous, and really enjoyed the game. The best part was trying (and I mean trying) to make our opponents smile!!!
Saturday… a game against a Greenwood team, who had a rough game, and we shook hands in the 6th, which moved us to Sunday’s semi Finals in “A”, and sent that team straight back out onto the ice for their final game.
Both Friday and Saturday nights were filled with great music, tons of dancing and lots of laughs.
The theme of the whole Bonspiel was “Around the World” and Saturday night the teams did not disappoint. Almost every team was in costume (which included a team dressed as "Canadians" and a team of stowaway immigrants disguised as Canadians) and everyone was in great spirits and the imagination that went into the costumes was amazing. See below for costume pictures.
Sunday morning, was a fairly fun game, in that the other team was very friendly, but we had a couple of rough ends, and they had a couple of lucky/fluke ends. Results... we are done, and we won some really sweet rings from People’s Jewelers, which are a light blue stone with a little diamond on either side. Really sweet.

The Scottish Country was well represented and the Scottish tradition of sharing a friendship cup called a

quaich (pronounced kwa-.... then make a "cat bringing up a furball" sound. Several teams passed this beautiful quaich around the table, with each taking a generous slurp of "Glava" and being careful to leave enough in the quaich for the last person. Unfortunately, or fortunately, the last person, who was Wendy (the true Scot amongst us) was left with at least 4 oz of Glava in the quaich. And being a true Scot, and bound by scottish law, tradition is, she must finish the remaining spirits..... in one gulp. What a bonnie Lass she was, and did her country (and my temporary country) proud.

Some of our Brave and brilliant opponents....This country doesn't have just a bobsled team, they have a curling Team as well... Meet the Jamaicans.

The warmer countries were certainly popular.

There were teams with wider representation, covering a few countries.

Doc's without borders... They were offering up "Shots" all evening, to just about everyone.. So selfless these doctors were!!

And one team represented all the "Miss World" winners for several countries.

Please meet "Miss Switzerland Miss Brazil Missed!! & Miss Figi

a Here is a funny story about this team, and heartwarming as well. This is truly a family tradition with this team. Mom (Miss Brazil)who is in her 70's and her two daughters (Miss Switzerland and Missed) have been teaming up together and coming to this bonspiel for years. Miss Switzerland comes all the way from Winnipeg for this bonspiel, and time spent with her family. This team has never failed to disappoint us, and have left us in tearful, painful laughter for most of the evening. I can't end this blog without a "rear" view of "Missed"

What a great Bonspiel, and the meal was awesome, the service was great too. It was so fun to have Cricket here at her very first Bonspiel, and we met a fun team from Yarmouth, who won just about everything there was to win, with tickets. They won their entry back, the won a yummy door prize, a big gift basket and a runner up prize as well.... and I am thinking we might try their bonspiel next year.... stay tuned.

The END (pardon the THONG!!)

On to the next big event.....

The Ladies Closing Bonspiel this weekend...

Once the kids hit the road with their dad for Halifax and connecting buses to UNB and St. FX, I began cleaning out all the easter decorations, stripping beds, dusting the bedrooms.... ugh. After lunch, Debbie and I hit the big town of Wolfville on a mission to buy some funky beach accessories in bright colors to make a basket up for the bonspiel. Each of the ladies teams have to donate a basket for the auction table. In a half brained effort, we came up with a beach, cooler, and accessories theme. Wolfville and its three gift shops were fun but had nothing that fit the bill. Jelly cupboard had amazingly fun dip and spreader bowls, neat purses and beautiful dishes, but nothing that could spark the least bit of excitement for this basket. Our next stop was Wheatons, in search for funky glasses and turn our beach theme into a wine cooler theme. But alas, no funky glasses..... we are just a little too early. BUT we did find the sweetest "Daisy" serving dish with some really nice little dessert plates. A few "yellow" accessories and voila... a really sweet basket to sell tickets on this weekend.

So that is task number one....

Now I have to repair a kilt Debbie and I took apart so that it fits me better. Our costumes for next weekend's bonspiel which has the "Around the World" theme, will be Scotland. Therefore, we are all dressing in kilts, which is ironic because we are the only team that wear skirts to curl, in our club. Kind of appropriate, don't ya think!

I have gotten MSN messages from both girls and they are both home safe and sound and ready for the next month of exams and other challenges.

Last Blog for today....

Well, they found all their destinations.... without any trouble... Middleton, Waterville, Cambridge and Middleton again and finally Kingston. Back home with smiles and loot.... whoppers and cookbooks for some, ... frying pan for Corey.... kraft dinner pot for Scott (new apt, next year), cooking goodies for Sean... no cooking stuff for the girls.... that is weird. Supper is over, Ice Cream Cake is finished and we are all settling down for tea. Actually, I am down stairs blogging while they do the dishes.... but heading up right now.

Thanks to everyone who helped with 2007 Easter Hunt...the last one. I mean it, this time.

Ok, who has more fun....Easter Blog # 4

We almost got plowed out. But, have a look at how this plow guys' day is going.... this happened another year, about 3 years ago.... took our dippy corner a little toooooo tight... and boom...into the ditch, right by our driveway...

The hunt is on...

They left the house at 3 ish, after Terry successful got the little car out of the subdivision... they were nervous and uncertain as to where they were going or who they were going meet at the door.

They were heading to Jills house, and Jill was sweet enough to take this picture of the totally un eager group of 4... who were making their way to a strangers' door.

Relief on the faces - to see a friendly and familiar face. Now there are off to Berwick...or Waterville...who knows...

Happy Easter Blog #2

So.... just wanted to update you on the hunt..... Lunch is over... and they have opened their instructions.

8 Reagh St, Middleton... Find the house...find the egg....Bunny Ears are a must, pictures would be nice.

But, the roads are a mess, the wind is blowin'....so... they will have to wait to set off on their journey. Scott is busily scanning Google Maps to find the house.

That's fine...using the internet will only work for the first address... mooowhaaaaaaaaa

Meanwhile back at home... poor Mollie loves to play outside while Terry and the kids are shoveling... but she pays a miserable price

Happy Easter Morning

Can you believe the weather. Last night after a great game of cranium and two dice games I hit the bed, and there was about an inch of snow on the ground.

This morning, after the Easter Bunny had laid out his offerings, there was 12 inches of snow on the deck rails.

no kidding...12 inches... check out the pics.

The cats were mad, the dog was thrilled... and I am not the most pleased. First off, we were all set with crafts, coloring and word searches for church this morning and now, IF I can get to church, there will be very few there...ugh. Our neighbour shoved his entire driveway this morning, only to get stuck once he backed out onto the street... Not sure what my attempt will bring. We shall see.

My Easter Treasure hunt planned for this afternoon....involving a long drive in the car.... may or may not happen. Time will tell.

Check out our webcam on the family website... it shows yesterday in the front yard...and this morning...http://users.eastlink.ca/~donnapeters/

Busy week...

Did you ever have one of those weeks where you just can't keep up, but you spend lots of time doing nothing. That has been this week for me. My list was just too long this week, and yet, I never missed a "Take Home Chef" program, even when they were repeats!! Even Terry made time to curl up after supper with me and the dog to watch my Curtis.

Highlights since my last blog

A weekend at Cranberry Lake. Terry and I joined Debbie and Brian Walker, Hazel and Doug McEwan and Wendy R and Doug C to go to a Curling Bonspiel in Clare (French Shore). It was a stressful week for me getting ready to leave, as well as fighting a cold, but once we got on the road, it was so relaxing and fun. The curling part was the funnest time I have had curling. No stress what so ever, and the games we played were all close games with each of us coming though with some great TV quality shots. Alas, we lost every game, but two of them were in extra ends (which means we weren't slaughtered). The up part about losing every game was that we got drinks bought for us, and we were done playing by supper on Saturday. The food was great at both the cottage and the bonspiel. After a yummy BBQ'd pork dinner (with Carrot cake for dessert), we cozied up to the glass and watched Debbie and Brian's game. It, too, was very close, and if it hadn't been for my very effective jinxing, the their team would have won. But that would have sucked for me, cause that would have meant that they would have had to play again that evening, and I was more interested in going back to the cottage and socializing. thankfully, they lost, and we ended up back at the cottage for an evening of nibbles, drinks, laughs and late night trivial pursuit. A view from the deck of our cottage.

The week was busy at school, but for me, some major deadlines are over, and I am in that sort of, ok, whatever I get done this week is a bonus Mode..... Next week, its starting up all the new year financial stuff. This week I had to pull money from people who were suppose to pay us for things...like the photographer, Home and School, AVRSB and Health promotion Grants. This week I recovered about $6000 of money owed to the school. That felt pretty good once I made the contacts. Getting to that end was the hardest part. All in all, a successful week. The week was also broke up with some scrapbooking with Debbie on Monday night. That is always a success and I see the near end to a very long project I am on, that didn't need to take this long. Debbie is a great help and encouragement, and I am determined to get this Triplets album finished by June. (better, in May). Curling on Tuesday night, and it was a "fun" game that I didn't really want to curl, but once I was there, it was a blast. Sadly, we curl again next Tuesday night in a Play Off Tie Breaker game against my very first skip and her team, which consist of Hazel, my mixed curling team mate, Josee, a former teammate, and Cricket who is a really good friend, co worker and a brand new curler. How could I even hope or want to win over these guys. Ugh.

Doc appt for dad this week, and we have been waiting for this appt for a month. He was anxious to give her a piece of his mind, but sadly, she gave him a piece of hers, and she had a bigger piece, and won the whole contest. I like her, she is not intimidated by my dad, not one little bit. She is actually pretty cute, and very smart. And it is getting easier to understand her too. She is from Sri Lanka, and her accent has been a bit of a barrier for us, but we are getting more use to it, or she is getting better at English. Who knows. Dad came away from the appt with new information, he got his questions answered and felt a bit more encouraged and in better control of his circumstances.

Kids are home. Poor Stephanie braved yet another snow storm travel day by bus. She has not missed a snowstorm travel day yet this year. New Brunswick got 30 cm of snow yesterday while we bustled around in cold rain here in the valley. Her bus was almost an hour late arriving Halifax around 7:30pm. Scott and Michelle did not travel in snow, but their fun plans for the day were also turned sour by the weather. They caught an early bus from Antigonish to beat the holiday crowd and arrived in Halifax just after lunch. They planned on spending the afternoon downtown, window shopping and cafe hopping. Sadly, it was very cold and pelting rain all afternoon, and they dashed from store to store but finally gave up and went back to the bus station to relax. They had to change their clothes because they were frozen in their wet clothes and they spent 3 hours there waiting for Stephanie and Daddy who was picking them up. Terry spent the afternoon driving in the rain to his brother in laws, to deliver wood, and they buzzed around Bayers Lake getting a few things together before Terry headed into the city to wait for Stephanies bus as well. Finally after a quick stop for supper at Arbies in Bedford, they arrived home at 10pm.

That's about it... I think. Today.... Stephanie caught us up on all her Mexico plans, summer work plans and her latest knitting projects. Mick shared some old year books from Burke that some alumni have sent to her and then spent an hour giggling over my yearbooks.

Plans are underway for the rest of the weekend and we will keep you posted on all the activities...