Thursday

Wow. Only 5 days left. I know it sounds cliche but TIME FLEW!

Last night as Mom and I were busy in the basement we had some surprise company.

From the left: Cameron, Mom, Steven, Sydney, Erika and Charlotte.

We sat and chatted it up for awhile and then the kids went home with Steven to play Guitar Hero at his house. Colleen showed up a few minutes later and we went to the mall to try and find her something to wear (that wasnt white or brown). No luck. Afterwards we stopped at Jungle Jim's for a bite.

Tomorrow is my youngests 11th birthday. She'll be getting Guitar Hero for her DS, a watch, a vest she wanted and assorted other goodies. We're picking up her cake today.

With the big sale on Saturday I was worried that we wouldnt be able to finish sorting by then.  So this morning I cracked the whip and by 11 am we were done. I'm posting signs today and will start pricing stuff tonight.  Tomorrow we build tables and fix up the yard.  I may not get to post again till this weekend.

 

2sDay

Well, its Tuesday and cold and overcast. Bah.

On Sunday we visited Chester. The camp we stopped at was on a lake and owned by a friend of Moms. It was a perfect day and we enjoyed it for the most part.

In front of the Mammoth.

The Camp. Thank you Gail Short.

Avery swimming.

Mom in all her glory! I couldnt believe she actually let me take her picture in a bathing suit.

The girls.

I had a few pictures that they took of me but I wasnt happy with any of them so they get the authors veto. Hehe.

We didnt get back home until about 10 pm, what a friggin drive. Grueling.

My alumni party was on Sunday as well. Lets just say I only stayed for about 4 minutes.  Everyone there was from the 50's and 60's.......Gordon was right, I shouldnt have bothered. Oh well.

With only a week left, Mom is starting to panic.  She is already upset about the yard sale and I think the thought of us leaving soon after is making her crazy.

So today will be another indoor day because of the crappy weather. Oh joy of joys.

 

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Blurb.

Hi yall.  I havent gotten around to fixing up the pics from yesterdays outing. Sawwwy. Maybe tomorrow.

Today is ugly and its supposed to rain. The kids and i are heading to Moncton to just fart around. Thats about it really. I'll probably do a longer, more detailed post tomorrow.

 

Surprise Saturday

Yesterday afternoon @ Lions Park.

This morning we decided to do something (since we havent done ANYTHING fun in weeks) so I drove us out to Joggins.

The guy who does all the carvings in town lives in Joggins.  He has a few pieces in his yard.

When I used to visit the fossil cliffs of Joggins as a kid, I remember a steep dirt path down to the beach.  The wind was always crazy strong and it was foggy.  We used to be able to just root around in the cliffs and find fossils to take home (I have one large fossil at home, I think its in the garden). But now, big NO-NO. They have built a state-of-the-art museum next to the cliffs and absolutely no one can root for or take fossils anymore. We paid $20 for family of 3.

This glass plate freaked Avery out. We had to coax him onto it.

Looking to the right from the staircase.

To the left from stairs.

Looking up to the cliffs from the water.

On the way back to Amherst we stopped at a site they have to watch the Tidal Bore. We were there at the wrong time, it takes place 2 hours before high tide. Oh well.

We got home around 11 am and now are making our daily stop at the library. Exciting huh?!

I'm not sure if we're still going to Chester tomorrow. I'm at the mercy of the dog sitter unfortunately.

 

 

Welcome to Friday

Hello. And welcome to another day in Nova Scotia. Yesterday was a fairly boring day that I wont even bother to write about. Although I will note that yesterday was the first really hot day we've had in weeks. Which is fine if you're sitting outside, sipping on the blue juice, not so good if you're confined to a very small house with 4 other people. I slept fitfully because of the heat and also the recurring nightmares I'm having. I wont go into those right now though.

I noticed this morning that the carving of the 4 Fathers is done, he must have stained it yesterday.

Today is another very hot day so the kids and I will be outside the rest of the day.

I had a chance to go out last night with Colleen but I must say, I'm still feeling on the depressed side, so I begged out of it. She showed up half an hour later with a jug of homemade "blue juice", which is very good by the way. I really like Colleen, I wish she lived in Virginia. ( You did say you were sick of Amherst.....I'm just sayin)

This morning Mum and I delved into the basement. We worked for almost 2 hours and I wasnt surprised that we hardly made a dent. I was amazed at how much junk/crap/redundant stuff she had.  The problem is, she wants to give me the background on every single thing. I dont need to hear why you have 15 sets of shower curtain rings. really. i dont. Give me a "yes" or "no" answer when I hold something up to you. please. yes or no. really. thats all I need. I cant imagine that we're going to be able to finish the whole basement at this rate. Now if it was up to me (grrrrrr, it isnt) we would just bag whole sections without even looking through them. I mean, you've managed to live this long without it, what makes you think you need it now? But thats just me, I'm an extreme minimalist.

Ok, so thats about it for now. I may not get around to posting again until next Monday. I'll take lots of pictures, promise.

I'm so tired and mentally drained, I think I need a vacation....oh wait................

 

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Rothesay Trip

You definately can not revisit those old high school visions.

I'll start at the end and go backwards.  How do I feel as we pull away, down that long hill, the school becoming tiny in my rearview mirror?  Mostly depressed and alittle angry.  Like I bought a diamond off of the internet and when it arrived, it was plastic and fake.  The school I remember no longer exists. Even the buildings that havent been replaced or refurbished look alien. In most cases, if the placards werent on the buildings I wouldnt know which was which. Except for Mackay House (the older boys dorm, where I spent ALOT of time).

When we first arrived we wandered haphazardly until we found the office.  I met Judy, whom I had e-mailed several times, and she asked if we wanted a "tour". I balked. A tour? I know this place like the back of my....well, you get the idea.  So off we went.

Quinn House (the girls dorm, and brand new in 1985) is where I had lived for 2 years. I was alittle taken back by how run down and old it looked. Who am I kidding? 23 years will do that, wont it.  After taking in most of the buildings we headed for the back path, which I preyed was still there. It was the only place I really wanted to see. Itt was called Goldings Path now, has a little sign posted and everything. It was just THe Back Path to us.  The kids DIDNT want me to drag them down. "Where does this go???" "Mawm, theres too much bugs!!!" "My new shoes are getting WET!" And on and on. Friggin kids. Ruining my whole experience. I have so many memories of this section of the woods, I spent a huge amount of time here.The original path had a deviation in it but it reached the brook (the little wooden bridge was still there!) and then it petered out.  We looked for the continuation of the path to the old Netherwood campus but it was gone. 23 years of overgrowth will do that I guess.  Once we got back to the campus I had a real urge to just get out of there.

Beyond the school, everything was new. Only a few landmarks remained from 20 years ago. Shadow Lawn, an abandon Irving station that we used to buy cigarettes at, and a small park in the middle of town.

Why did I go back? Was I hoping that it would inspire me? I do feel a transition coming in my life but I didnt connect it with anything happening here. I dunno. Anyway, I can say I've been back, even if it was only brief.

Thats enough for today, the melancholy is setting in.

 

 

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Tuesday....wow, time flies!

Its like being held captive. Damn library WiFi. Snort. Grrrrrrr.

Anyway, last you heard from me we were off to Silver lake, which is also known as Lafayette Park. Its small and "oh boy" right on the road so that every hillbilly that drives by can gawk at you. The kids had a good time and played in the frigid water while I sat in all my swim-suited glory, watching.

The deepest spot, out by the ropes, is 7 feet so I had the other kids keep an eye on Avery so as his ass wouldnt drown...and such.

We stayed until about 3, when everyone decided they were bored. Uh-huh. Lets go!

That was Friday and my last day watching Meagan and Marcus. The rest of the day was same-ole.

Mom managed to get 3 days off so on Saturday we drove out to the Rotary Camp trying to catch up with Aunt Lillian. That place is like the friggin Mayan Catacombs and within a few minutes we were hopelessly lost. If it hadnt been for my superior sense of direction (ahem...thank you Garmin) and staying calm and in control we could have died slowly, trapped in the bug-infested woods. Seriously.....holy shit, the bugs were surrounding the car, trying to find weak spots....eyeballing us.....I swear I saw them licking their little buggy lips. Eeerie. Anyway, we finally found the cottage and they werent home so we left a note (picture me running full-bore, ducking and weaving, to the cottage door) So, what now?! Well, Port Elgin of course! *crickets* Yes, folks, the bustling city (?) burg (?) uh, stain (?)...hehe. As we passed through......ooops, that was fast.....ok, we do a U-turn and revisit the.....crap, gone again. I stop at the Irving and everyone dismounts for over-priced ice cream. Horrahh. (cept me of course....boo hoo)

Yee-Haw! We mounted back up and really this was the highlight of the day. Cousin Steven dropped by with Cameron for a visit.

 

Same ole nighttime routine. Yawn.

So here comes Sunday, full of sunshine.....disguised as friggin storm clouds. Today is the Magic Mountain water park trip. I managed to talk Mom into going with us.....she really dont wanna, really. We meet the other people in the Kent parking lot, a few of the men folk take a real liking to my chest and after awhile I feel like I may have those rotating hypnosis circles attached to my nipples. Damn! I hate when I leave the house with those on. Men are pigs.

I cant effectively tell the story of finding the park with enough emphasis to really get across the absolute rage that I felt. Maybe I overreacted (hey, it happens). There are no signs. NONE. Not one sign that says "Magic Mountain". Isnt that fucking hysterical? Oh yeah baby, the girl sitting at the entrance to "magnetic hill" thought so. She chuckled saying "Oh yeah, I get that all the time." ALL the time??? Really??? And no one has thought to fix it? I'm sorry, I'm officially never living in Canada. Pffffth.

I'm a dirty, fat, lazy American. Thats the consensus.....not out-loud but I know ya'll are thinking it. I dunno, when I spend that much money, I expect a minimum. A minimum of cleanliness, of entertainment, of services. Call me crazy. Maybe I've just been spoiled.  This place was aweful in so many aspects, I'm at a loss. Lets just say, we aint going back...ever. And we all had a bleach bath once we got home. Wait, wait, wait....I must say, Sydney had a very good time. She rode everything (mostly on her own) and definately got her monies worth.

"Mawm, there's like a billionty band-aids floating in the wave pool. I aint going in there!"

*Blue and Red slide. Enemas anyone?

Yes, that is me in a bikini. Sort of a celebration of 1 year of success. (Ewww, my thighs look massive.)

Nanny and the kids. She was so cold that she turned purple, whichis why she's wearing my shirt.

She fagged out in the sun and regained some color. We stayed until around 4 and that was enough.

Later that night, once we were cleansed of the water park water, Sydney and I went over to Steven's so she could hang with cameron for abit. They got along well, playing Guitar hero and jumping on the trampoline untilt hey were both dripping with sweat.

Yesterday (Monday) was Moms last day off so we just hung at the house. I forced her to start cleaning out her closets for the Yard sale. Painful at best. We made some headway but need boxes. Some of Moms friends dropped by after dinner.

Barb, Mom and Bev.

Colleen called me and asked if I wanted to go to a movie later. Her and sarah picked me up and instead of a movie we went to Duncans which is like a bar/restaurant. We ate nachos and drank adult drinks and basically just shot the shit. It was nice, I got lightheaded. I hope to do it again, hehe.

I got home in time to watch an episode of Heros with Mom. ( She's getting addicted)

And that was it! Wasnt it exciting?! I'm sure this week holds more of the same so STAY TUNED! Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

 

 

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TGIF

It's Friday ya'll! Whoooopeeee. My Dad showed up this morning on his way back to Florida. He's tired and I know he cant wait to get back to his own house. Safe journey!

Yesterday we attempted the beach but found the water loaded with JELLIES! ARRRGGGHHH!

The kids poked at them and screamed but decided there were just too many and we ended up retreating to the picnic area.

They played some hide and seek and then we loaded up and headed to the park across the street. We had ice cream on the way home, where they played with squirt guns the rest of the afternoon.  It was hot and the interior of the house didnt cool down until about 8 pm.  We were all pooped.

So today is the last day I have the 2 extra kids. We had a great time, they are super kids. Next week they go with their father for 2 weeks. We're hoping they'll be back before we leave.

We're heading to Silver Lake this afternoon. Its a small swimming lake over in Sackville. I'll take pictures! Tata!

 

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