A Portrait in Time... a.k.a. the Framed Effect

On the recent occasion of my having attained to the 3rd decade of my life, the 30th anniversary of my birth, the 10,950th day of my life (if i have the math correct, it's entirely possible that i don't since math was never my forte in school - i usually try to block out memories of math class since they usually involved dizziness, frustration, tears occasionally and many, many blank looks as my poor math instructors tried valiently to stuff the illogical facts into the all-too-small math section of my brain. My poor father can attest to that fact, perhaps that's why he looks so fierce on the picture below!), there was a gathering at the parental abode on the Mother street. There were gathered all manner of guests and their shoes and there a merry olde (doesn't that word look infinitely better with an "e" on the end of it?) time was had by the invitees. There was cake and goodies aplenty and i thoroughly enjoyed spending the evening with my nearest and dearest ones. I love you all!!!! I thought i would share a few select images for the amusement of my reading public. Most of these shots are of my immediate family, who would have less propensity to sue me for improperly representing them as would certain other guests of the evening, who showed quite eagerly their ability to "get into the picture" well! I shall refrain from posting said pictures, but never fear, they shall rear their ugly heads at some point in our future relationship! I give you the Mussches!!!

The pater familias - "so you want to date my daughter?" (no wonder i'm still single!!!)

The fatherly figure once again, with his feline compatriot! The motherly figure - does she look "gilty?"

"We are waiting for the $30 you said you would pay us to pose..."
Trying to get the picture focused is a difficult thing apparently!

My two youngest sisters... looking charming as usual
Grandma, a real "purl"
And Junior decided to get framed as well, perhaps he or she is a juvenile delinquent!

Just for fun... these girls are mature!

Just because this picture makes me laugh everytime i see it! I love you, Dad!

Drip, drip, drop little September showers...

Here comes the rain again... yeah! Who knew we would be saying things like that? Anyways, the rains have come again (i sound like a tribal leader on one of those old movies) and the land is just soaking it up. I think it might be a birthday present for my friend and former boss Jeff Tigchelaar who is celebrating his birthday today - on this day last year, he was gingerly pulling 46 balloons out of his tractor seat where they had been stored the night before!! heehee! And it is also my Mom's birthday. I am going there shortly to congratulate her and give her a big hug. I love her so much!
I also would like to mention my Grandmother. She is currently visiting from B.C. and is 84. She started experiencing T.I.A.s or mini-strokes this weekend and has been hospitalized and has gone through tests and examinations to figure out the cause of these occurences. No answers have been found yet, hopefully soon, but if you could keep her in your prayers, that would be appreciated. We hope she'll come home soon but only time and the doctors will tell. So that's why this is a very thoroughly uncreative post... no ability to think witily at all.
So i'll include a little joke i was told yesterday... (i can't call it lame cause people might object!
How do you get a giraffe into a fridge?
Open the door and push him in.
How do you get an elephant into the fridge?
Open the door, take the giraffe out and push him in.
The king of the jungle, the lion, called a meeting of all the jungle beasts. One creature was missing... Who was it?
The elephant, he was still in the fridge.
How do you tell there's been an elephant in the fridge?
There's footprints all over the butter...
I probably wrote it wrong and please correct me if i have... i had to include it cause it was so silly! Enjoy!

4:43 Ramblings...

Hmmm... finally done the housework and buzzing around frantically trying to get the housework done in as little time as possible to economize on time and to get the more tedious jobs done asap. I managed to get the windows outside washed - kinda a fun job... but i am a chicken with heights and doing work so it is a bonus that we are in the basement - no ladders for me! It's kinda lonely outside though - Carina had noticed a little kitten hanging out under our neighbour's old car which has no life in it anymore, and she was worried about it making it through the winter. Always the animal lover and concerned for their wellbeing (not that i am not, but however, i just don't seem to notice these things - it's kinda like that "thinking" thing that Mom does - she actually has the problem where she wakes up at unearthly hours of the morning unable to return back to the blissful land of unconsciousness due to the vast amount of thoughts that traipse around her head and cause such mayhem that there is no rest any more for her... hmmm... i think my poor alarm clock would certainly love it if i could think a little bit more and hit him a little bit less - you'd actually think (heehee) that the alarm clock would begin a programme of subtle hinting and subliminal messages to me - trying to invade my mind as i slept and fill it with all sorts of complicated thoughts - but alas for him, he has not yet perfected the art of penetrating my mind's keen defences - even my teachers didn't manage to get too far in that department!)

Anyways, back to our story!!!!

Carina began feeding the little feline, and believe me, he/she (we weren't really sure what gender the kitten was, never did really good at that science thing) was super skinny. You could see his little hip bones and ribs... he probably subsisted on catching grasshoppers and flies and little critters of that sort - cause when he spied our birds outside, he was meowing away and knew exactly what was on his menu - wings! Anyways, after about a week or two of bribery, and trying each day to inch closer to him - we finally succeeded early this week to get "Hobo" to come and sit next to us, even to let us pet him/her a little bit! A little victory. With a bit more patience and kitten kibble, we were able to pick Hobo up and he/she became quite affectionate. Now the question was what to do with him/her? Sydney was having no part of a young whippersnapper horning in on his domain and growled loudly to let us know that. So our place was out. The SPCA. Well, a good option but a sad one... who knows if he would be chosen out of the myriad of little kittens there, he is cute with beautiful black and white markings and is very affectionate, but there's lots of cute ones there - everytime i go there just to look, my heart ends up leaving pieces behind with these sad faced little critters.

So option three, did we know anyone who would find a place in their heart for Hobo? Sure enough, the first people we talked to were willing to open up their barn to our little friend and bonus, they even already have two little friends for him/her. So one final lure of food, and Hobo was safely ensconced in a cat carrier, albeit meowing pitifully, and was transported to the new abode about ten minutes away. So all's well that ends well...

Hmmm. enough rambling for now, i suppose i should probably go and start some supper... what shall we have? I am at odds about that. Possibly the easy option of chicken on a bun... sounds good to me, with some salad. I guess i'm just not energetic enough to make some fantastic culinary dish. I also thought about bami but wasn't sure what meat to put with it... and then pizza, but that's not healthy, and then nothing at all, and that wasn't an option either according to my stomach. So it remains to be seen what sort of creative juices will flow or has the stash completely dried up?? Stay tuned for further details...

Port Burwell Days

What a fly chick!

Scribbling in the sand

Aaah.. the waves on the shore and Prince Charming in sail boat!

Sunrise, sunset, swiftly fly the days!

Our wonderful colourful fire!

Last weekend, my friends led me on a merry chase as they planned an amazing weekend away! I love them all so much. Months ago already i was told to leave this weekend along, i wasn't allowed to book any shifts and i knew something was up. It turned out to be camping at Port Burwell and it was so fun! There was a lot of a certain element - rain, but it wasn't enough to dampen our spirits and we carried on until Sunday morning at 9 when we decided that was enough and packed up in the rain! But there were wonderful memories made and i thought i would post a few pics now and try to emend this later and make it that much more of a story.

And the answer is....

Drum roll please... tatatatatatata.....
The answer is not a place to buy subs and not an African rice dish
but meaning "perplexing or puzzling 'how extremely quisquous!' you declare as you pore over the chessboard"
Hmm, the interest that was generated by this word has been encouraging to me as a blogger and so i'll post another poser for you all to ponder...
What is a "ha-ha"?
I'll wait with bated breath for any worthwhile suggestions...
Happy solving!

And the word of the day is...

quisquous

Yep... and you have to guess what it is...

I'll post the answer in a few days!

An Unbeelievable Epic Fairy Tale

Once upon a time, in a far-away land, in the Kingdom of Glove, there was a story. An epic story to be sure. A tale of far-off places, daring sword fights, magic spells and a prince in disguise... wait a minute, that's the story of Beauty and the Beast... Okay, start again... A tale of battle, of bravery and of bees. Bees?? What's that you say? Yep, bees. Beelieve it or not! Okay, tell me all about it.
The brave knight who lived in the Kingdom of Glove lived in a wonderful castle... it had an Upstairs and a Downstairs, and in the Downstairs level, there lived two fair maidens. Their names were Drusilla and Anastasia... wait, wait, wait... nope that's Cinderella! Okay, their names were Darina and Canielle.

These maidens toiled each day at their respective jobs, having yet to be swept off their dainty feet by Prince Charming One and Two, who apparently were off slaying dragons in outer Mongolia and had no time for such romantic pursuits as seeking their One True Love. Be that as it may, these maidens went to college, got their education and now were a vital part of the local workforce, seeking to mingle with the commoners and do what they could to further the educational and health status of their community.

(we pause now for a commercial break. We bring you a word from our sponsors. Use Dove Soup, oops, Soap, it leaves your skin feeling feathery soft. And now back to our gripping story! - all voiced in a very enthusiastic commentatorish voice)

Now one day, the fair maidens noticed that the local population of the apian variety seemed to be especially present right outside their portal. They noticed it so much that in fact they were scared for their lives as the monster bees seemed to be aggressive and delighted in chasing them hither and yon, forcing them to assume very unladylike postures as they dove into their chariots and conveyed themselves away to their places of employment. They discussed the dilemma over a cold coffee that evening and decided that they would seek the protection of the brave knight who dwelt in the Upstairs. Darina and Canielle pleaded with the brave knight to rescue them from this winged terror. He naturally did what any noble knight who has taken the handy dandy training course would do... as per Chapter 78, page 459, he carefully removed from his toolkit the weapon of choice to deal with these beests! He would make his hero, Red Green, proud. A strip of duct tape soon covered the dwelling holes of the waspish little creatures. Hah! The enemy was conquered!

But alas and alack, when Canielle and Darina emerged from their dwelling early the next morn, they were again confronted by swarms of slightly enraged little critters who had spent the knight hours gnawing away at the tape and had now full access to their homes again. The maidens again were forced to race to their chariots, robes flying and luscious locks trailing behind them as they went. "Oh brave knight, please defend us!" they pleaded. The knight, seeing that his initial plan had a few flaws, decided to head for his chemical weapon arsenal. He planned his Raid carefully! He donned his gas mask and sang in a droning but cheerful tone as he sprayed his winged foes. "The danger was now over, to be sure!" he assured his Downstairs dwellers.

But once more, as the sun rose over the hills and dales, unbeelievably, there came a loud humming and buzzing noise! The apian mob had once again taken to the skies, perhaps now chemically and genetically modified, but ready for war. Their ranks were drone up, their queen was at the ready and the nest was yet to come! So one more time, the giant's head began to nod, the giant's eyes began to close and the giant began to... Wait, wait, you are the worst story teller in the history of story telling... the situation amongst story tellers is getting very Grimm, i tell you! That's from Jack in the Beanstalk... or is it and the Beanstalk... i seem to recall it being read as "in" when i was younger, but my memory is no longer what it used to be... Anyways, i digress... back to our hero.

Sir Knight, the Beerave One, decided that all the stops would be pulled out and the buttons be pushed in and there would be "blood tonight!" (that's for all loyal PB fans out there!) He had his squire clad him in his best armour, readied his flint and steeled himself for action. (imaging epic movie score music of the John Williams variety playing in the background, causing the audience's inner psyche to be ready for the conflict!) "Brave maidens, open that door and wasp my back for me!" The maidens, quaking with fear, did as they were told and watched as the battle was joined! The brave knight lit his weapon of choice, a "Burn-a-Bee" propane torch and showed everyone that he was all he was cracked up to bee! He feinted and dodged, he spun and twirled, he was a blazing spark in the darkness of the swarm of wasps. The maidens feared for his very life, but at last, in a fiery conflagration, the brave knight succeeded in his quest to conquer the wasps. Emerging with smoke smudges on his noble face, he rocked a little on his feet as he murmured his battle cry, "I am now Lord of the Bees!" (no literary licence was taken with that utterance... our knight lost his licence somewhere on the battlefields of the south and so cannot be held responsible for any offense caused by assuming that title!)

So the lovely maidens of the Kingdom of Glove, Darina and Canielle, were freed from their torment and anguish by the brave Knight of the Blowtorch! Freedom had been returned to their cozy nest and they lived happily ever after.

The End

p.s. applications for prince charming are still available at http://www.princapply.ca/

And the word of the day is...

I recently was party to a slight roadtrip to the eastern regions of the St. Catherines area... betaking ourselves to a major book selling establishment, known as the Book Depot. Whilst perusing the shelves laden with books on every subject under the sun (or so it seemed), i came across a book sure to be a classic in my bathroom literature section. It was ingeniously titled "The Superior Person's Book of Words" and is filled with many not so superior drawings to illustrate the topics in the book. It was brought to my attention by my younger sibling who obviously realized that i am amongst that category of humans (just kidding of course!). I have reached a state of ataraxia whilst i sit upon my couch perusing the little volume. But the word i have chosen with which to increase your vocabulary this fine day is : dactylogram - sounds like a really fancy mathematical term for one of those graphs such as sine, cosine, and tangent that i was supposed to learn all about in math class in highschool but alas and alack, i spent more of my time either daydreaming, staring off into the woods beyond the school hoping to be miraculously transported out of my academic environment and away from the instruments of torture, or waiting for the bell to ring signalling the end of yet another class filled with complete unknowingness. But dactylogram is actually defined as a ... fingerprint! The book is quoted as saying "a casual reference to your having been invited by the authorities to let them have your dactylograms may give the listener the impression that you are a distinguished applied mathematician who is called in by the government from time to time in a consultative capacity." Heehee... enjoy spreading your dactylograms all over the place today! and don't put any on my car windows!

3:31 ramblings

Here i sit on the couch, at 3:31 in the afternoon, indulging in a lekker cold coffee... the drink of choice this summer and marvelling at the wonderful breeze coming wafting through my window. I am so thankful this day for friends who listen to me... for my family, for the many blessings that lay around me, sometimes unappreciated or unacknowledged. I got to cuddle with a little 3 day old baby in the nursery yesterday afternoon and just enjoyed getting a snuggle in there. Looking at the little cute button nose, the fine baby hair, the pudgy little fingers, the squinting eyes, and i wondered where will this child be in 10 years, 20 years? There's so much potential locked up inside each of us... and i have to remember that. I tend too often to get down on myself and what i can and can't do in life, but i have to be more open to suggestions. So here's to the future, to discovering hidden talents and nurturing ones that already exist.

Do you know...

At the end of a crazy shift... coming up to 6:45 pm and my brain still spinning with all the myriad tasks to be accomplished in a mere 15 minutes to allow me to miraculously disappear to my home on time, my patient's iv started to act up. It was my own fault really since i had hung his medication and it came out of the fridge and was therefore condensating and kinda bubbly... causing the pump to constantly blare out it's warning of "air in line" to the horror and dismay of my poor ears. Anyways, i decided that my patient was mature enough to try and fix his own pump (i've had a fellow who used to change the rate on the pump and i'd walk back in the room and his pump was supposed to be running at 150 ml/hour and he would slow it to 75 ml/hour, claiming his vein hurt - stinker!!). So it was "fred, you know what?".. And so, Fred turned to me and said "nope, but i heard he's a nice guy!". I will readily admit it took a few minutes to add it all up and come up with a good reply, i was sniggering so much. I know it all sounds very silly and small, but it sure made me laugh at the end of a long crazy day! Thanks a lot "fred" for cheering one sad little nursie up!

it's 4:55 am...

Hi all... it's been eons since i last posted anything on this virtual space... with the simple reason that not too much really super exciting has been happening in my life... just the ordinary run-of-the-mill stuff which doesn't make for good copy on the blog. But here i am, at 4:55 am... sitting haphazardly on the edge of my chair to keep myself awake, having survived a crazy beginning of the shift which involved me running around like a chicken with her head choppped off... and several off-key renditions of popular romantic and children's songs sung to relieve stress. I do like my work... i like my patients, i like the families (most of the time!) but i don't enjoy the politics of things... i realize more and more, that whatever job you have that involves working with people, will necessarily have politics stemming out of it... but i wish it wasn't such a problem. I realize that nursing is not unique in this aspect of things, but seemingly, cooping 6 or 7 women (usually, we don't have any guys working on our floor - maybe they're scared of us!!) up on an outdated hospital ward causes some interesting results when their personalities clash and merge like tectonic plates in an earthquake prone zone... perhaps we oughta post "seismic eruption potentials" on the ward each morning so you would know if you have to wear your hard hat and miner light when you started your shift!!
boy, oh, boy, these posts in the early morning do devolve into such inane scribblings... i long deeply for something wonderfully eloquent to say but alas, the words escape my scrabbling tongue and brain and wander off to lodge somewhere in neverland, far from my grasp. Ach, well, enough craziness for now... someday, my faithful readers, there will come a post with such depth, such insight that you will be blown away, but for now, you must dwell a little longer in the land of literary mediocrity.

Grundy Lake Memories

Hi there... i'm pretty much exhausted from two long and hard days at work, but i thought i would quickly post a few pics from our recent sojourn into the Ontario wilderness a.k.a. Grundy Lake. Carina, Lauren, Amanda and I travelled up on Thursday evening and spent the weekend with my parental units perusing the pines, breathing the brisk (yep, read it and weep, brisk... not muggy, not clammy, but even that wonderful word brisk!!) air, feeding the fires and living with the loons.... I love Grundy!!!

Enjoying some breakfast family time

On the way to the beach or on the way home???

Some Russian spies at the Trading Post??

Watching the sun set over the lake

A frog and a sunset... oh so eloquent i am tonight...

6 a.m. Canoeing into the sunrise... what an amazing morning!

Storms coming!!

Cool breezes stir

Lifting the moist heavy air and providing relief

to the weary sticky populace

Skies threaten

Skies darken

Clouds gather

The air smells fresher

The flies bite, anxious about what is to come

Anticipation builds

When will it break?

Lighting plays in the sky

Jagged lines of energy, streaking a dark canvas

Thunder grumbles, rumbles, growls

Longing to be given full voice

Free rein to let loose with awesome power

How much power is in a storm?

Power to astonish,

amaze,

harm,

even renew.

Kleine Vanderdeen

What are little boys made of?

Frogs and snails and puppy dog tails.

What are little girls made of?

Sugar and spice and everything nice.

Hmm... not sure i believe all that mumbo jumbo! These are a few pics of my nephew or niece a growin' away in his/her mom's tummy!! I am so looking forward to meeting this little person

Wondering who he or she is. Will they like peanut butter (a family trait), funny rocks, cool clouds, reading books of any type or sort, going camping, hanging out together?

I can't wait to cuddle with this little one and make sure that he or she (i wish there was a better way to write that) knows that there is so much love surrounding him or her.

Praise God that He creates new life and nurtures it in the mother's womb, He weaves us together and makes us who we are in the secret places!!

5:26 AM

At precisely 5:26 am... here i sit in my chair. I am struggling to stay awake and avoid falling off said chair which would indeed cause a loud clunk as my head hits the filing cabinet and my feet fly up and hit the keyboard holder thingy and a major disaster ensues. So what can i possibly write about at this time of the morning. Most of the world is still asleep at this time... i know i sure would be if i didn't have to be here... hmm... 8 am, 9 am, even 10 would be a more appropriate time to be greeting the day. That all said, it is still nice to walk out of here when the 7:00 bell hits and know that i get to go to bed whilst the rest of you have to spend the day toiling and labouring. I will think of you all when my tired, fuzzy head hits the pillow and remains there for the next 9 or so hours... oh how i love sleep!! And in that sleep, what dreams may come?? Dreams i dream are crazy - about wars and places i've been, people chasing me and me working crazy shifts at the hospital or all manner of strange things. But the sad thing i always think is that i never seem to dream the classic dream of waking up just before you hit the bottom of a long fall, or my teeth falling out or crazy things like that. Just once i'd like to experience it so that i can identify with others... maybe if i sit long enough here, the dream bugs will spread their fairy dust on me and cause me to dream so crazy and deep that i'll never want to do that again. Okay, that's enough sleepy headed rambling for now...
Sleep well, domi bien, dovidzenya, slaap lekker and all such other epithets that maybe be appropriate at this time!!!

Lost and found

Lost and lonelyHe leads me by quiet waters
He restores my soul

I am put to wondering about our Creator.

How great He is to have made such wildness

Such beauty and contrast

And i think about life too

How we face beauty but also ugliness

Ugliness spawned by sin and evil

By an invasion into the world

By one who doesn't seek our good

But how we are protected and surrounded by a God

A Father, a Saviour

What an awesome knowledge

What amazing grace

That we are pulled out of our contrasting state of lostness

And are found with the Almighty

That he chose and redeemed us

That He set us apart to be His own

That we are called His Children!!!

That He loves us

He loves me.

Love

A little Whine

Hmm... it's sure been a long hiatus from writing. Argh, over a month. I apologize to anyone who reads this at all for the lack of originality and freshness in this page. My thoughts have grown stale in my head and have left me dry and longing for some rain to refresh my head... just like the grass outside which when you walk on it, hurts your feet and makes you need to wear shoes everywhere - i haven't built up any sorts of summer callouses as a result. I also am fast losing my tan which has faded away to nothing...

I am going to say it here... cause of a lack of a better place to say it... that i am lazy!!! I have been back from our trip to Europe for over a month and a bit now and i still can't seem to get back into the groove of life that existed before i left. It's like that groove has been filled in by time and now i have to dig it out again and i don't seem to have the stamina or willpower to do it. I have been a disappointment to myself as the queen of lack of motivation. Help!!! I so need a great big kick in the pants to make sure i keep going and doing what i'm supposed to do. I am so whining right now so i'd better stop...

I have exercises from my physiotherapist to do and i can't even seem to get them done and they're for my own good - just like exercise in general or healthy eating(what's that??) Okay, i'm done for now!!!

A moment in time

Across the field i saw him

He was capering, sniffing, searching

I was watching, waiting, listening

Two separate creatures

joined by a moment in time

He lifted his head and became wary

He knew he was not alone in the field

I stood stockstill, attempting not to disturb his day

Then....

He ran.

I sought to follow him with my eyes as he sped away into the woods

A flash of orange amidst the greenery

And then, there he was, on the path in front of me

Both of us stopped

Stared a moment

Pondering the other

and then

the moment was broken and

we went about our business

A chance encounter.

Home again

Seems like only yesterday that we trekked up the stairs to our business class seats at Hamilton Airport, heading off on an adventure of epic proportions, a month long odyssey in the isle of England and the wilds of Paris and the motherland of Holland. Seems like only yesterday the decisions of what to take with me in my limited space backpack were the biggest things i had to think of. And now, i sit here on my bed with a lovely cool breeze blowing through my window and i am almost at a standstill cause my mind doesn't know what to do. I likened it to a heart yesterday - sometimes the nerves in the heart can get too stimulated and they eventually don't know what to do and so they forget to send the proper signals to the heart muscles and consequently, the heart simply sits there and quivers... not sure what to do - a life-threatening situation. Well, i'm not in any sort of life's danger, but it does feel like i'm at a standstill... quivering and not sure in which direction i'm supposed to be heading. I know i have clean-up to do, i have committee work to do, i should develop my pictures (an intimidating thing in itself since we took so many - i'll betcha all told up it'll be close to a 1000!!!), and i should remember how to live my life. But what am i supposed to do first and how to do it? I've tried to think about a few things on this trip... it was very busy but i still managed to squeeze some thinking time in there.. must be a daughter of my mother!!

I've been thinking that we've passed through so many little villages and towns in England and in Holland and i've seen the lifestyles and life pace. And i must say that if it weren't for family and friends here, i'd be sorely tempted to abandon things here and head to a little village and set up shop there... i think i'm the sort of person who could be greatly happy with a simple little life - to work in a shop somewhere, to buy your groceries at a store where the owner knows your name, to walk everywhere, to slow down a little and enjoy the pace of life in a different zone. Why do we rush everywhere desparately, with our children and sanity flapping behind us? How do i slow down? How do i appreciate the blessings i have and be a blessing to others? How am i to serve best? So many things to think on and muse on and ponder... I pray that the heartbeat may reach its regular rhythm again and keep me going...

I've posted a few pics of Holland just cause i liked them and cause we had such a great time there. I spent the first night with family in Stadskanaal - Riksta and Johannes and their children - it was really nice to catch up with them again... and Bernadet and Marcel and their children, and Dinie and Alje came also... so we had a very gezellig afternoon all together. Tanan and Lauren came to pick me up on Sunday evening and we headed to Groningen for the night... always nice to chat with her and stay up late and drink yummy chocolate milk. Monday we bummed around in the morning and in the afternoon we got together with almost all our cousins and Ome Klaas and Tante Willy and went bowling! I didn't even think they had bowling alleys there but low and behold, i was bowled over!! Heehee! and afterwards we went out for lovely Chinese buffet with everyone. Heerlijk! We super enjoyed that.

In the picture are all our cousins, from the left, Hette, Jantine, Josha, Christine, Linda (plus a little one to come!), Lauren, Martijn and me. See everyone, we do have cousins! We just only get to see them once every five years or so.

We then spent a couple of days in Smilde, the town where my mom was born and raised and it was wonderful to spook around the haunts we used to have, a random plethora of memories

- walking on the schoolplein where we biked as kids and watched the meteor shower and sat on the carriers on the back of the bikes.

- visiting the deer and goat park in the centre of town and remembering coming here with Oma when we were young - i still can picture in my mind the coat she wore and that we were allowed to have some old bread to feed the ducks.

- visiting the cemetary where Oma and Opa are buried - an oasis of calm in a busy life - a restful, quiet place, all the memories of them come bubbling to the surface and it's difficult to be there but good. I miss them a lot.

- learning all about Smilde's history from Ome Klaas who is a big history buff and seeing pictures of a great-uncle of ours whom we never met because he was killed during WWII.

- eating yummy bread, eating yummy bread, eating yummy bread - i was in Fortinos here at home yesterday but nothing even came close to the warme bakker... i think i will have to import a warme bakker to Hamilton... i'll single handedly keep him in business

wandering in the fields on my uncles' farm

Then we headed on the train to Woubrugge - the abode of Ome Johan and Tante Tineke. We spent two days with them lapping up some other good aspects of Dutch life - yummy bread, walks along the fields with Aline and Joury, long heart to hearts on the beach at Katwijk and very yummy meals eaten with relish and a little more wine than we're used to ("i feel a little dizzy!"). Just spending time with family, getting to know them again (cause it feels we need to start over again each time) was wonderful - we miss family so much - enjoy your family if they are around! And both Tanan and Tante Tineke have so much resemblance to mom, it makes me do a double take sometimes - all three sisters are very different yet so much the same in mannerisms, facial expressions and character. We love our family!!

Apparently, we've taken a wrong turn at the canal and ended up in Australia, for what is that strange beast i see in the hertekamp? It appears to be a wallaby! Oddness truly.
And lieve Tante Tineke with Lauren and I op strand. We truly are blessed to have family who loves us and accepts us for who we are and are always happy and welcoming to us. We love you all right back!!!

So ends my epic tale of Hollandish things... we are back to life, back to reality, but the memories life on.

Groeten van de moederland

Groeten voor allemaal van de land van kaas en klompen, van windmolen en kanaals, van speculaas en all sorts of other yummy goodies...
We are now safely in the bosom of our family in the Netherlands after traipsing all over England and visiting the City of Lights. We muchly enjoyed our time in the British Isles having seen so much and having no idea that it was such a fascinating country with so much diversity and variety. I truly loved the countryside and the people and the history... oooh the history. I love knowing about the past and where we have come from as people and maybe giving us clues as to where we're going and what we would be like when history repeats itself as it does inevitably. Oh, boy, i'm now rambling which isn't so great cause i'm not sure where these thoughts will go. I'll stick a few pics in here from random things that we saw or did, in no particular order or style.

Lauren enjoying bangers and mash

Mr. Darcy (no further explanation required)

La Tour Eiffel said with a most appropriate french accent!

Okay, i'll stop with the pictures now... you'll most likely see some when we arrive home in just under a week... time has flown by but has also been good. I haven't missed home uproariously since i've had "home"with me for the last three weeks in the personage of my sister. It's been great to travel with her and share so many things with her and see her enjoying the whole travel experience. We've gotten along well (for the most part, she does like to hog the bed at night, a propensity i knew about from Quebec City last year!) and i've enjoyed having her unique perspectives on things and we've shared a lot of stupid little jokes between us... she being the Alpha Pigeon and the subject of a random spontaneous rap song, me being able to speak "sheep" and other such inanities. It truly has been fun. So now we just slow down a little, turn the intensity gauge down to a lower gear and enjoy family time - it's so nice to know we have aunts and uncles and cousins here, and to renew their acquaintances. I'm always envious of those with large families around them. So for now, tot ziens, fijne daag en ook Hartelijk Gefeliciteerd to my parents who are celebrating their anniversary on this fine day. Greetings to you all.

Enjoying the sun in Lyme Regis

I,m gonna be an aunt!!!!!

Hello all:::typing on a french keyboard is definitely an adventure::: keys are all mixed up and i;m totally mixed up in my letters so please forgive any mistakes::: Anyways, now that my dear sistern and brother in law have at last broken their news and their silence; i am priveledged and excited to announce that i am going to be an AUNT!!!! Am i excited or what!!!! More details to follow once i reach the home shores!!! hope you are all well; we,re off to Holland tomorrow arvo!

In a big English townie...

Greetings all from the huge and bustling city of London... yep, it's true, we've made it all the way from Edinburgh, Scotland to the great town of London. We haven't managed to run anyone over... we haven't managed to break any rules or get any speeding tickets or to transgress any other laws or statutes (as far as we know!)
I apologize greatly for the lack of updates on this site... internet access has been scarce, one hostel says the computers are broken, then we have no time to use it, then someone else is using the computer and so forth... but such is life and here i am at long last... for all my faithful blog readers.
I'm gonna make this short and sweet since time is a ticking away and time costs pounds and pounds (whilst i would like dearly to shed some -a near impossibility on a steady english diet of bacon and pastries!) are expensive.
I think i'll just summarize the last few days.... they've been busy, but thoroughly enjoying for most parts....
hmmm... i forget when i last updates... possibly sometime last week... maybe friday....
- saturday we hiked from Bakewell to Chatsworth House - where the latest movie of Pride and Prejudice was filmed... quite a hike in the rain and muck... but well worth it...
- Sunday we went to church at a local Brethren of Christ church... the people were super welcoming and we enjoyed the service very much... we then drove to Stow on the Wold in the Cotswolds.... stopping here and there along he way for sites... and breaks...
- Monday we were also in Stow on the Wold... but we drove to Stratford and spent the mornign and early afternoon there... we took in the sites of the town... including Shakespeare's burial spot and then drove aroudn the Cotswolds int he afternoon... returning to Stratford at night for a play - King Lear with Sir Ian Mackellan in the lead role (aka Gandalf from LOTR!!!!) That was amazing and we were so glad we did that.
- Tuesday we left the Cotswolds behind us and headed for hhmmm... i seem to be having memory blanks... hmmm... maybe yes, i think so, we went to Bath for the day and looked aroudn there heading to AVebury at night spending the night in a B+B and wandering aroudn the ancient standing stones at night... kinda creepy but cool!!!
- Wednesday hmmm.... we headed for Glastonbury and saw the abbey there in ruins and spent the night in a bit of a dodgy hostel... with a streethlight outside our window, moldy showers, creaky bed and lots of hippies...
- thursday we headed for the coast and an area called Lyme REgis - i'd highly recommend that. It was amazing, check it out on the web somewhere... amazing coastlines, fossils, cute houses, narrow roads and a most wonderful B+B
- Friday we collected fossils int he morning and headed for Oxford in the afternoon - quite a long drive but we made it... but we stayed int he worst hostel ever... self proclaimed as funky, it was a disaster... two little girls staying in a dorm with six sloppy boys... crazy!!!
- saturday we shifted house to a better hostel and spent a much nicer night... we wandered all over the town seeing colleges and graduates in long robes and having a grand old time in the old town, particularly amusing to watch all the kids going out to party at night in their skimpy clothes and crazy shoes and we were safely ensconsed in a restaurant with a glass of apple juice, ever the party chicks.
- sunday, today, we worshippped in the Baptist Church in Oxford with a very welcoming crowd... then wandered through town to watch the rowing and then headed on the bus to London...
So a very full week... lots done and seen but enjoyed immensely...
we miss you all and hope you are all well
Until we meet again....
(all typed in a snooty english accent of course!!!)

In a wee English townie

In a wee English townie, there were two wee lassies... well, maybe not so wee, but truly bonnie... And these two lassies were on a grand adventure, traipsing around england in a little conveyance benamed a Kia Carena which was a very valiant steed. It brought our lassies near and far, up hill and dale and across moorland and fells. They thoroughly enjoyed Edinburgh town mingling with the local Scots and struggling to roll their r's and eat haggis and fend off the highland cows who tried to lick their faces. They went up to Loch Ness where sadly they did not spot the elusive Nessie... but did have fun in the rain. Rain, yes, rain, seemingly an ever-present phenomenon in the UK. But thankfully there have been no steady days of rain, mostly periods where it's sunny, then windy, then rainy, then sunny... so the lasses are prepared for all types of weather.
They are currently residing in the small town of Bakewell in Derbyshire in a little youth hostel. They are also super hungry as they haven't eaten for several hours.. and will shortly be going in search of sustenance for their weary bodies having traipsed over moorlands and seen amazing vistas and narrowly missed many other travellers on the narrow roads.
Where have they all been and done???
- passed over the English/Scottish borderlands.. amazing sweeping views and a yummy chicken burger.
- walked alongside Hadrian's Wall and stayed in a very cozy bed and breakfast near the Roman fort of Housesteads...they ran around the grounds quoting things to each other in Latin - veni, vidi, vici... and morituri te salutimi.... and such... perhaps the ghosts of the Roman soldiers were listening.
- spending the night in the Lake District at a place called Grasmere.. the most amazing youth hostel they had ever seen! Looked like a castle... trekked up in the hills, saw a waterfall and spoke some 'sheep'.
- drove over the Yorkshire Dales and James Herriot country... who knew England was ever so big!!
- spend two nights with friends of friends in Yeadon... they were so welcoming and friendly... the lasses thoroughly enjoyed their time there
- climbing something each day... hills, steps, church towers.
- going into a cave with Blue John mining and experiencing total darkness!!!!
- exploring the medieval town of York and attending Evensong in the York Minster
and so much more... hard to remember it all... it's been a dazzling near week and the lasses are indeed tired but very happy.... they send their love to everyone at home!!!

Och... we're in Edinburgh

Greetings from dearest old Edinburgh... Och, it's beautiful here. The weather was on and off cloudy today and sunny at times and we are both thoroughly exhausted. We enjoyed a wonderful luxury flight from Hamilton to Edinburgh via Globespan and were by some little fluke, bumped up to business class. Well, i could sure get used to that idea... we enjoyed real cutlery, ceramic dishes, gourmet food and our own blankets and pillows along with lots more seating room than normal... nothing to sneeze at. We were soon whisked off to Edinburgh and landed at 830 am and were immediately helped out by some friendly Scots who guided our poor lost travellers to their hostel via the bus. Yep, a double decker bus!!! We sat in the front and had near heart attacks at the tenacity and fierceness of our driver. We were sure we would run over some poor soul but somehow we managed to arrive safely. We checked our bags at the hostel and then spent the entire day walking!!!! We saw Edinburgh Castle, toured it and heard the gun being shot off and saw the prisons and such. We walked the Royal Mile, saw the church where jOHN knox preached and then promptly proceeded to climb a mountain, literally. Yep our two unfit ladies climbed the rock known as Arthur's seat. The views were simply amazing. And if that weren't enough, we climbed another mountain/mound thing in the centre of the town and then finally our energy flagged. We bought some groceries and partook of a delectable and welcome supper of buns, chicken, fresh juice and pineapple... all costing an arm and a leg to be sure. We are now just doing a little update before heading off for a very welcome shower and sleep... on to the Highlands tomorrow!

sad...

This morning i set out for my torture session of walk/running. The sky was blue and the ground was dry and the sun was shining. I was huffing and puffing away already only two minutes into the ordeal when my attention was caught by a rustling in the bushes. I paused in my exertions,only too glad to have an excuse to rest, and saw to my sadness, a little rabbit. He was lying on his side under a bush twitching and frantically jerking about as if his legs didn't work anymore. He seemed to be frantic and was breathing very quickly. I froze, not sure what to do... if i had been a few minutes later or earlier, i most likely wouldn't have seen him there but now, now, i had an onus to do something, didn't i? I wasn't sure what to do, so i stupidly stood there and watched... should i have done something? I remember coming across a little baby bird, too young to be out of the nest really yet, but he was alone on the forest floor and Carina and i stood there helplessly, caught in a dilemma, do we kill him or just let him go? What would be the cruel or the right thing to do? In the end, we let him run away convincing ourselves that he would survive and be all right, while in reality he most likely became lunch for a hungry fox. I suppose in the end, if we hadn't been there at that time, he would have gone on his way, or this rabbit would have died without anyone to see him.
So i stood by the path, and watched the rabbit for a long while; he eventually slowed down and stopped breathing, the poor little guy. I wondered what his family would think, and why such a little thing, whom i had never seen before, could affect me so... but I suppose seeing any of God's wonderful creatures suffering is always sad. Thankfully, there is the verse about God tending even to the sparrows and He knows about this little rabbit too...

All my bags are packed..

All my bags are packed, i'm ready to go... okay, so i'm not... but it will come... Only 4 more sleeps till Lauren and I head off to good old England and a fresh set of adventures... no denying that we're pretty stoked about this and i'm sure the days will fly by before we head off. Our plane leaves from Hamilton Airport at 8 pm on Friday evening.. provided GlobeSpan is operational... i believe we are amongst their first flights to Edinburgh from there so here's hoping! So lots of last minute running around, finishing things up and packing and unpacking and repacking and such, all part of the travel experience. Three night shifts lie between myself and Friday evening so i will have to have everything organized by tomorrow afternoon - so i'd better shuffle off and see what sort of organized system i can make out of the chaos on my floor!

April showers bring....

Once upon a time, there were four young ladies. And these four ladies were determined to give themselves exercise and improve their physical health. Consequently, they all arranged to meet at a specific time on a specific date at a specified location in order to facilitate this goal. As they travelled towards their meeting place, the heavens conspired against them and opened the clouds to allow some raindrops to patter through. Our erstwhile heroines decided that this would not stop them. As they parked their vehicles, the skies darkened and the wind howled and the pace of the raindrops quickened. But firmly determined that exercise would still be had, the ladies stepped out boldly on the path, nary an umbrella or a raincoat to be seen.
Perhaps, these things would not have even been enough to keep the wetness out - a full body suit of repellent material would have been more in order as the rain had a persistently nagging way of completely covering them with an ever darkening hue of wetness. Soon, the rain was so heavy that the path was nearly obscured, the gravel was spitting up onto their legs and their hair was so wet that it dripped onto their noses and made seeing very difficult. But exercise was vital so the walkers persisted... no one was going to give up!!!

The gales of wind lashed the rain at the foursome and caused them to shake with cold and draw their breaths in with a gasp. At long last, two of our heroines decided that pneumonia was not a good way to start off the spring season, so unfashionable and unhealthy and they boldly resolved to head back to their cars. Unfortunately, their two companions wanted to persist for a while longer... but soon common sense won out and the intrepid foursome were making their desparate way back down the path completely drenched and looking for all the world like a quartet of drowned rats (except for the exceptionally toned legs!! heehee!). As they separated and were ready to depart for home, to seek warmth and shelter, the sun began to peek through the storm clouds, the rains let up and the wind slowed down. Isn't there some law about that by a man named Murphy?? Well, all's well that ends well. Fortunately for our girls, they were, none of them, witches to melt in the rain such as Dorothy's nemesis in the Wizard of Oz and there was nothing a towel and a dryer couldn't fix. All in the name of fitness!!!