FIRE!!

Sunday, April 25th, 2010...suppertime. Lyndon had just taken the ham steak off the barbeque and came inside to put a pot of veggies on the stove to cook. Having turned them on, he resumed playing his game on the computer while we waited the few minutes it would take for them to boil. Within just a few minutes I heard a POP!!! I looked up from the computer towards the kitchen where the sound came from and through the window in the door leading to the kitchen I could see and orange glow. "There's a fire!!" I yelled and we both jumped into action. Lyndon was the first to reach the door and upon opening it the flames leapt from the pot which was on the back burner (a pot with less than 1/4 inch of grease had been left sitting there) and caught him on the side of the face. He rushed through the kitchen, grabbed the fire extinguisher and within less than a minute from the time I yelled, the fire in the pot was out. Flames were still licking away up inside the range hood and after Lyndon removed the pot of grease he quickly extinguished that fire as well. In all the commotion Maddie had run out into the street and was barking feverishly...a car stopped and a nice man got out to see if we needed help as he saw Maddie and then noticed the smoke billowing out the open door. Everything seemed to be under control so they went on their way.

Inside we started to clean up and figure out what the heck had happened and what we were supposed to do next. We concluded that the back burner where the pot of grease was sitting had gotten turned on instead of the front burner with the veggies (something that happens to everyone). I called our neighbour Sandy and he came right over. I then called Brandon McGee our real estate agent/insurance man and he too said.."I'm on my way." Meanwhile, Lyndon had gone upstairs and I heard water running up there. My first thought was that the fire had gone up through the wall so I called up the stairs to see what was going on. He assured me it was ok, he just got a little burn. Next thing I know, he comes downstairs, hands me a towel and says..wet this down. I did this and then turned to hand it to him and saw the burn on his face and neck. I don't know how he managed to stay so calm and collected...I thought I was going to throw up!! He wrapped the towel around his head and Sandy told me to take him to the hospital..he would stay here and mind the house and watch Maddie. After making a quick call to the medical clinic to be sure it was open and there would be someone there to see him we were off.

It was a scarey drive to Black's Harbour as Lyndon had the seat back and was laying there shivering. I was afraid he was going to go into shock so I sped up, not too fast though as I knew the last thing we needed was to be in a car accident. Lyndon looked at me and asked, "why are you driving so fast? I think you are in worse shape than I am!" He was probably right but I checked my speed and was still within the limit even though to me it felt like we were crawling.

The nurse that had answered my call earlier and told me that the doctor would be gone but a nurse would be there to see Lyndon greeted us and also informed us that the doctor had stayed as well to tend to him. Whew, what a relief! Before too long they had him bandaged up and looking very much like Osama BinLaddin and when I went in to see him, Lyndon was cracking jokes with the attending....everything just seemed so surreal to me! After receiving a shot of Demerol, a doctor's note for his work and a few tylenol 3's to go, we were on our way back home.


Brandon had been in and taken pictures for insurance and had then left to head down to Black's to meet us at the hospital. We had just missed him apparently and a few minutes later he also returned to the house. He assured us we would be taken care of through insurance and that someone would call us in the morning. He also offered us a hotel for the night but we chose to stay home with Maddie.

The next day the insurance adjuster came and gave us all the information we needed. He was fabulous as was everyone else that helped us through this.

So now, almost a week later, Lyndon is healing up nicely, we have our new stove, we are gradually getting everything washed from all the smoke, now it's mostly just the upstairs to finish. Once all the cleaning is done we have to paint every ceiling in the house as well as the whole kitchen. Tomorrow I plan on spending most of the day at the laundromat washing up all the bedding I had just done as well as most of our clothes. It's astounding at how much damage and extra work is caused by a fire that lasted less than one minute. We were soooo lucky that we were here when it started, I can't imagine how much worse it would have been if we had been sitting on the deck or even anywhere else in the house and had not heard that pop!

Thanks to Lyndon for remembering we had a fire extinguisher (this hadn't even crossed my mind), to Sandy and Lise our awesome neighbours who are always there for us and to Brandon McGee and Stanley Insurance who continue to take very good care of us.

Sometimes Life's a Beach!

Around 6am every morning at work I head to the dumpster with a load of garbage and this particular morning there was a light mist over the water. I couldn't resist going back in for my camera to take a couple shots but unfortunately as nice as the pictures are, they still don't do justice to the serenity of that early morning. I especially love the reflections in the water.

What a beautiful day today after a horrendous thunderstorm last night. I worked through the night baking bread and making some apple cinnamon dog bones then came home for a shower and a nap looking forward to a trip down to the beach this afternoon.

It's always a nice walk on New River Beach and usually desserted but today it just happened that there was a bus of kids from Ontario unloading as we pulled up to the parking lot. I figured there wouldn't be much chance of finding treasures with so many people combing the sand however we did end up with 15 sand dollars, a couple nice clam shells and Lyndon came away with a new pet...Mister Crab.

Maddie enjoyed the freedom of running the beach without a leash and some of the kids had fun playing with her as she chased them around in cirlces. I'm pretty sure she is going to sleep well tonight!

Good Friday Was A Little Sappy

I forgot to post my Easter weekend excursion, so here it is.

Good Friday was a beautiful, sunny day here in St. George...the perfect day for a walk in the woods. My good friend Elsie and her husband Donnie had never been to a sugar bush so we were happy that they decided to come along with us.

Duffries Maples is a small maple syrup operation near Kings Landing, about and hour and a half away from here.

The sugar shanty in the bush was newly built and the smell of fresh sawdust hung sweetly in the air when we got out of the car. The owners were really nice, very friendly and down home type people. We sampled some maple butter and got the low down on how their operation runs. The actual sugar bush was down the lane and across the road, right on the banks of the St. John river.

Donnie proceeded to check out the buckets and Elsie had her first taste of fresh sap...didn't think there was much flavor to it, just like sweet water. There in the bush we found two Adirondack chairs positioned with a perfect view of the serene river flowing by. Lyndon, coming off a nightshift with only an hours sleep, couldn't resist taking a few minutes to relax. The chairs had an obvious cup holder on the arm and I think Lyndon was disappointed that coffee wasn't served in the bush too!

After our stroll through the woods we headed back to the car and made our way to the nearest restaurant for a delicious lunch.

Lots of fresh air taken in and plenty of laughs along the way made for a quieter ride home. What a nice way to start the Easter weekend.

Ain't Life Great?!

I was thinking today about making some changes in my life....again...seems I do that a lot doesn't it? This time though, it's about making changes in my way of thinking. There has been so much drama going on in the background, things I worry about but have no control over and yet, I do have control over how I deal with it.
We all have people in our lives that think we are awesome, that appreciate the gifts we bring as individuals to the table of life and would sing our praises to those who question our integrity. We also have people in our lives or who have passed through our travels that don't believe in us, fear our awesomeness and are jealous of our abilities to overcome the odds and follow our dreams.
I believe I am here, in this place, at this moment in time for a reason. Life has brought me here on the journey to fulfil my dreams and I have been allowing the sourness of others to seep in and try to tarnish my path. I remind myself that just because they are not on the same path as me does not mean they are on the wrong path, just a different one.
My whole life I seem to have wanted to take the road less travelled and have never found it to be a lonely road...just less crowded. I see so much potential in my surroundings and feel in my bones that this is the place...my time is here and now and I need to make it count. The realization struck me today after a few conversations with some very good friends that my problem has been my perspective. I thought my dream was clear and concrete and I wanted it all at once. Life is not like that. It's the baby steps I take towards the goal that are really the dream I think. Sure I want to someday have a bed and breakfast but reality says that can't happen over night. In the meantime, though, I can open myself and our home up to visitors and enjoy their company. I can continue to work, save money to invest in our future here and I can bask in the knowledge that I have a job I love where I am appreciated. I have great people in my life that believe in me and my abilities and best of all I am at peace and truly believe it when I say...."Ain't life great!"

Sunday, March 28th was cool and overcast but I was itching to get out of the house and try out my new camera. Being without one since Christmas time has been like missing a limb in some ways. I headed out of town towards St. Stephen and took the turn to St. Andrew's. Since I was out and about by myself I was a little leary on going down roads I hadn't been on before...always afraid they will be a dead end and I won't have a place to turn around but that wasn't the case this time. The road I took was a dead end but had the nicest house at the end of it with this eagle's nest sitting on top of the hydro pole as well. The road runs along the Digdequash river and the house sits right on the banks. Beautiful spot.

I turned around and headed back towards St. George and took another detour to the left of the highway this time to see what was back in the sticks heading in this direction. A nice little waterfall in the Digdequash caught my eye so I pulled over to snap a few pictures. I really need to find someone in the area to go with me on these excursions that knows the woods and how to get down close to these spots...looked like a beautiful place for a picnic! So I continued on down the road happy to see that there were houses along the road so I didn't feel like I was heading into Deliverance country...the road twisted and turned, up and down hills and presented the odd pothole but it was a peaceful drive all in all. Soon I found my way to a road that pointed me back towards St. George and I was on my way home again.

Back in town I noticed the mist coming up from the gorge and the ice frozen to the surrounding trees and bushes so I wheeled into the Blueberry store parking lot and crossed the road to take a few more pictures. Moments like these make me feel like I am still just a tourist here but I can't seem to help myself. I love taking the pictures to share with my friends back in Ontario and also with my new friends here. It suprises me to find out that many of the locals don't venture off the beaten path so I feel it's my duty to let them know what's going on too...hahaha!!

So, that's it for today. The beautiful weather we had enjoyed the past few weeks has left us now and it's turned cold and overcast but I guess it's to be expected this time of year.

Fresh Starts

Don't you just love the longer days spring brings. More hours of sunshine and just an overall feeling of freshness in the air motivates us to take on those tasks we put off through the long winter months.


Today I am busy stripping beds and getting the guest bedrooms ready for friends and family I hope will be visiting this summer. The woodpile that didn't get brought into the house for winter is now being put away into the basement for next year, slowly but surely and the cleaning of the closets will begin soon as well.


Spring has sprung at the bakery as well. Sugar cookies and bunny cakes to celebrate the season and Easter holidays are brightening the shelves with their pretty purple, yellow, pink and green colours.


My first grandchild, Kingston, was born on March 18th, another new beginning this year. Although the circumstances around this blessed event are strained at this time I find peace in knowing that my blood and hopefully the best of my spirit have found a home in this new life. It's nice to know that you don't have to hold someone's hand to hold them in your heart.

Happy Spring!

A Mother's Prayer for her Daughter

May she always believe in herself...know that she is a gift to her mother and that her happiness is paramount. May her heart be open to those that seek her love but protected from those who do not appreciate all that she is.



If she is hurting, may the hurt lead to revelations of an inner strength she never knew she had. Give me strength and wisdom as a mother and woman to realize that I can't always make the hurt go away but can always be her soft place to fall when she needs me the most.



Let my advice be simple and true...help me not to be selfish or judgemental when she is making difficult choices. Let me be reminded that I have also made choices that no one else understood and whether they were the right choices or not I have learned from them and she will too.

I pray for my daughter that she will smile more often than she cries, that she loves stronger than she hates and that she forgives her mother for wanting to carry her burdens, for wanting to do physical harm to anyone that dares to deem insignificant the gift I cherish so dearly.

May the sun always shine warmly on her path, though clouds may appear, let it only be for a moment in time until she smiles again.

I Get By With a Little Help From My Friends

Another great holiday spent visiting so many of my friends. Here are just a few of the many people I got to connect with again. Some people are missing because my camera broke part way through my travels, others are not posted because I value my life! Unfortunately I wasn't able to see everyone that I wanted to but it doesn't seem to matter how long I stay there just isn't enough time and energy. How lucky am I to have that many friends!!! Pictured here from top left to right are:

Debbie, Shaun, Julie, Russell, Amy, Jake, Andrea, Tim, Sally, Sherrise

Not only do I have lots of friends but I just have to say I have the best looking ones too!!!

There are lots of people I need to thank as well. Thanks, Karen, for being there for me Christmas Eve to pick me up at the airport and also for being my date on New Year's Eve. I can't help but wonder if you have any lasting marks from the ping pong ball? Thanks to Kristie for the awesome Christmas dinner and also for taking me back to the airport. Thank you Brooke for taking time out of your busy life to have a sleep over with your old mom and for hanging out with me while I went visiting even though it meant the possiblity of having the youth sucked out of you! A huge thanks to my mom and dad for putting up with me for two whole weeks and letting me bomb around in the truck. I'm glad we got in a few games of marbles even though Dad won because he CHEATS!!! Just kidding...it was great. I was happy to meet up with Dave, Sonja, Michelle and Tammy for coffee too. Glad we are keeping in touch! Thanks to Bill and Brenda for inviting me to your New Year's party...lots of laughs! Thanks to Julien for inviting me to your hockey games...glad I got to spend time with you and your mom. Thank you Tim for breakfast at Angels Diner and for loaning me the book, I look forward to reading it as soon as I locate my glasses. It was great to see friends at Kelsey's again, thanks to Susan, Sherri, Julien, Amy, Shane, Kristie, Brooke, Melanie, Rob, Cindy, Mary Ann, and Rory.

My Friends from HBBS 2010

Left to right from the top

Brad, Jo-Anne, Lisa, Blain, Amanda, Mary, Ewelina

Unable to attend: Keith, Jodie, Linda, Alexis

It's always great to get together for lunch each time I return to Ontario with my friends from Hamilton Brant Behaviour Services. Working with such a great group of people is one of the few things I do miss. Brad (aka Willie...self applied nickname) and Blain never fail to supply stories that keep me in stitches throughout the meal and always made work fun. I'm not sure what Brad's aversion to Mary's hat is but I think it's stylin' and suits her perfectly! Best wishes in your upcoming nuptuals Mary and I hope you make it down for a visit on your honeymoon..can't beat the rates! Ewelina still looks like she walked off the cover of Vogue and my mentor Jo-Anne hasn't changed either...still has that smile that lights up the room! I'm also happy to say that Lisa and I keep in touch through gossip central (Facebook) from time to time and think it's hilarious that she still manages to lock herself out of the office on occasion! Unfortunately I never had the opportunity to work with Amanda as she joined the group after I moved but it was great to see her again too and she seems to fit in perfect...loved the digs about Brad's food noises...LOL! I have a neice that does that and it drives my dad crazy!

I'm happy that I stopped in at the office before lunch and had the chance to see Keith...BEST BOSS EVER!!!! ... to have a quick chat with Jodi, and a hug from Linda as well.

Remember that our door is always open and Lyndon and I would love for any of you to come visit. By the way, Lyndon suggests that should you ever need to hire another receptionist Keith should put "must know how to bake" as the number one prerequisite for the position and "will train for the office work" Hahaha!!!

Thanks again everyone for that awesome lunch and best wishes to all of you for the new year! Keep laughing!

First Snow Dec. 6, 2009

I guess it was bound to happen, after all this is December in Canada but I must admit I was hoping it would wait until late Christmas Eve. Waking up early and looking outside to see everything draped in white for the first time of the year is a kind of magical moment though. It brought back childhood memories of making snowmen and angels, building forts and tobogganing...but only for a few minutes. Then it sets in that driving is going to be more hazardous, shovelling needs to be done, the heating bill is going to take a jump, and the arthirits will no doubt flare up.

Days like this, in my mind, ache for Christmas cookies baking in the oven, a pot of homemade soup simmering on top of the stove, Christmas music playing and a steaming cup of cocoa in my hand. Yes, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas and what most of us probably needed boost our motivation to do that baking and shopping we've been putting off. It's also a good day to write out and post those Christmas cards I bought last month and have been wondering if I am ever going to send them.

I booked my flight home for a two week holiday with my family and friends from December 24th - January 8th. My parents home in Hagersville will be my homebase for the duration of my stay so if any of my friends and family have the time, I hope we can get together for coffee and visits. I'm really looking forward to it and am making a promise to myself to see as many people as I can without wearing myself out so much driving all over the place that I need days off when I get back to recouperate. Hopefully there will be no snow Christmas Eve to delay or cancel my flight, would hate to spend Christmas in the Moncton airport!

Guess that's my update for today...better get those Holiday cards off the shelf and start writing. Happy Snow Day to all!!

November brought with it a nice suprise...a visit from my friends Christy and Taylor Patterson. With every visitor this year came beautiful weather and this visit was not to be an acception. The sun shone every day giving us plenty of opportunities in the 3 days to venture out to some of my favorite spots.

Large clam shells and sand dollars were treasures found at New River Beach and sea urchins were picked up on our visit to Deer Island.

It was so nice to catch up with my friends and I'm so happy they made the trip here and back to Brantford safe and sound. I'm sure they will return to discover more hidden gems here in Charlotte County.

Visitors in the Fall

In the collage are pictures of my September and October visitors. David Parks, Sonja Maden, Tammy Douglas, Michelle Job, Sandy Rittenhouse and Bev Carpenter.

In October my cousin Sandy Ritthouse and her cousin Bev Carpenter arrived. Thanks to Facebook we were able to connect after many, many years and I was very excited to have them come and visit! Every day was filled with road trips including St. Martin's, Hopewell Rocks, St. Andrews and Deer Island. We sampled Comeau's restaurant this time and let me tell you..their Scallop and Fish chowder was amazing!!! Loaded with scallops, haddock, and potatoes this chowder was more than a meal in itself.

The highlight of the visit was the night before I had to go into work while they were here. I had gone to bed early and left the two of them to watch movies in the living room with a nice fire crackling away in the woodstove. About an hour after I had retired there was a knock on my bedroom door. It was Sandy stating that the house was filling up with smoke!!! I jumped out of bed and opened the door to find that a blueish haze was indeed hovering in the air. We quickly went downstairs to discover that the vent on the woodstove was closed and the smoke was coming through the heat vents instead of up the chimmney. Once the vent was opened the problem was solved, windows were opened and the smoke eventually cleared out.

It was great catching up with the two of them, lots of laughs and good times. The only thing missing was my other cousin Kim but hopefully she will make it down the next time they come.

Now awaiting my next visitors...Christi and Taylor Patterson! Woo Hoo!! The adventures continue!

It was a beautiful fall day on Saturday so I hopped in the car with camera in tow to enjoy the beautiful colours of the season. Unfortunately the pictures don't do justice to the eye-popping
scenes but here they are just the same. The drive down Canal Rd and back out to the highway at Second Falls is windy and serene...won't be long now before the deer will also be out along this route once hunting season is over.

Visitors in September

David, Sonja, Michelle and Tammy arrived on Wednesday, Sept. 23rd after a long drive from visiting family in Nova Scotia. It was great to see familiar faces again and to sit up late talking and catching up with Tammy and Michelle and getting to know my new friends, Dave and Sonja.

Over the next few days they visited a few of the local stores and saw some of the beautiful scenery around the area. Although I had to work during their visit, I'm glad that they ventured out on their own to explore and even took the ferry over to Deer Island.

On my day off we stopped at New River Beach for a short walk and then drove into Saint John to the City Market to pick up some fresh meat from the butcher and a few gifts. Dave enjoyed the "Guitar Man" playing outside the market singing some country music and after leaving the man a small token of appreciation in his guitar case we continued on our way.

Saturday night the folks treated me to a dinner out at the Silverking Restaurant in Black's Harbour for a delicous and overwhelming meal of fried clams, scallops, shrimp and fish. That small seafood platter was enough to feed an army!!! Thanks guys! Maybe next time we go there they will serve beer in a can for you Dave!

After 3 days of eating and visiting Dave had to remove his belt from his pants, we thought he was going to have to resort to wearing a pair of Lyndon's track pants, what can I say? The man loves his mashed potatoes and gravey! Both Dave and Sonja expressed their desire to return in the future and I hope they do! What a great visit which ended all to soon and before I knew it they were off to return to Brantford.

I want to thank them for the beautiful gift for my bathroom as well as the gift they left in my guest book. Most of all thanks for coming to visit, and hope to see you all down here in St. George again in the future!

Moments

Moments

Moments

As I sit here staring at the blank page wondering what exciting news I have to share from the East Coast what jumped to mind instead was how everyone is always saying the summer flies by. Usually I agree thinking that summer is never long enough but today I decide to take a more positive appoach and look back at the moments instead of the months.
Yes, it has been an unusually wet and cool summer but it really hasn't affected how many awesome moments I've had.
Every day at work where the job is hot and demanding I have the opportunity to go outside for my breaks and overlook the view of the river with the occasional eagle soaring above me and the fresh breeze a welcomed relief to cool me down. It's always a great moment.
Every day without fail when I return from work my dog Maddie is so overcome with joy at my return, so excited to see me that she can't wait for me to sit on the deck and put my feet up so she can jump in my lap and try to lick my ears and face as many times as possible. Always a great moment.
After every rain it's amazing to see the extreme greens everywhere from the trees to the grass glistening and the smell of freshness in the air that it leaves behind when the sun finally shines through.
Moments like walking on the beach, playing games, or taking long scenic drives with family members that I don't see often enough now, nor did I when I lived within an hours drive of them. The moments are like a million tiny snapshots in my memory to pull out and cherish anytime I think the days are slipping by too fast.
Even in those dark and despairing moments when my heart has been breaking and there are no words to speak that will diminish the hurt, something will happen in a moment to lift the burden and despite myself I find that the good and beautiful things in life are still with me to help me through.
I've had a great time the past few months travelling around, seeing beautiful places and spending time with family and friends which I am truly grateful for but most of all I feel blessed that my spirit is nurtured daily with all the moments I have experienced. When I think in moments rather than months it doesn't seem that time has flown by at all.

Mom, Dad and Pat's visit June 12th to the 19th, 2009

We had beautiful weather and the lupins were in full bloom the entire week that my parents and sister visited. Every day was filled with sightseeing excursions, naps and food just as every good vacation should be. All the local shops and restaurants were visited along with trips to St. John Market Square and City Market, a ride on the ferry to Grand Manan island where we spotted our first whale of the summer, a drive to St. Stephen and Calais Maine for some shopping and a jaunt through all the stores in beautiful St. Andrew's by the Sea.

Vicious games of marbles were played every night after supper and we were joined one evening by our neighbours Sandy and Lise Livingstone...lots of laughs, jokes and questionable language filled the house.

Dad needed a comfy place to sit and relax while watching tv so he purchased us a new lazyboy recliner, a very nice addition to the living room...thanks Dad!

All too soon the visit was over, it sure did fly by as most good things in life do. God willing they will be back again next summer to complete their next leg of the Charlotte County Tour.

Cape Breton Collage