A Day At The Fair

8/10/2013

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The Northern Maine Fair in Presque Isle, ME to be more exact. It was a wet day, but there were some moments of sunshine. I think everyone had fun.
The kids going on their last ride of the day before the rain started pouring, and we went off to supper at Pizza Hut and to the movies to see The Smurfs 2. It was a fantastic day!
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Meet The Cats

8/2/2013

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Since we will probably share a lot about the cats in our lives, I thought it would be nice to take some time to introduce to you all of the cats that have played a role in helping us become so fond of them. Actually, having these cats has helped me just become much more appreciative of all animals in general. We have no kids of our own, but our cats sure are like our babies. We only have two that actually live with us, but there are some more that we love as well.

Caramel

She can be all at once cranky, and the biggest suck up you've ever seen. She loves to lay on top of either Derek or I when we are sleeping. She also seems to enjoy being held like a little baby to sleep. She's precious, but not very kind towards strange animals. She does not welcome newbies into the home, and half the time these days even takes swats at her own baby, Jingles. We both love her dearly, but we really say that she's Derek's cat, while Jingles is more mine. Caramel is also somewhat like a dog, in that whenever we are eating, she will sit and beg for us to share.

Jingles

This cat. He is mine... and I am his. He is special. He craves attention, but then when it is given to him, he shies away from you. At night he whines and whines until we finally give in and go to bed. He likes it more when I go to bed on my own and he can curl up under the covers with me. He is not social with strangers. Only now, after being back home for so long, is he actually becoming accustomed to my sister's family. We all just enjoy him so much.
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'Yeah, so?' Sometimes he finds the strangest places to lay.

Chumley

Chums came to live with us via a co-worker. His family had gotten Chums for their little four year-old, but the little boy and his new kitty did not get along, and so Chums needed a new home. We felt bad for little Chums, and decided to take him in. He was precious, snugly, curious, a little bit crazy, and over all we just loved him dearly. Caramel and Jingles, on the other hand, did not. In the end, Chums has gone to live with my sister and her family, and he is happy there, since he loves being outside, and he has more of an opportunity to be outside at her home.
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Isn't he precious?

Kirby

He's my pastor's cat, but we love him. We sometimes have the pleasure of checking in on him while they are away, and it's always nice. He usually tries to suck up really well in the hopes that we will let him out. He used to be able to go out when they were away, until the time he did not come home for three weeks, and so now they're just more comfortable with him staying inside, awaiting their return. Compared to our cats, Kirby is HUGE! But, that just makes him all the more adorable.

Missy

Missy is another cat that we have the privilege of cat-sitting. She started out rather un-sociable, and un-interested in us, but warmed up to us and even spent her nights sleeping in the room with me.

The Landlord's Cat

This was the chattiest cat I've ever seen. She would plop down in the driveway and refuse to move until she was given some attention. My mother called her that demon cat, but I think she just wanted some lovin'. And, she's beautiful. She has since gone on to live in a different home.
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She has assumed the 'belly rub' position.

A Few Honorable Mentions - The Dogs

Lady runs the home in which my parents live. She's precious, and although mother complains about her, I don't think she'd know what to do without her. Mom & Dad rescued her from a previous co-worker who was moving and was going to put her down. It was the best decision they could have made.
Miley is the dog that my niece, Keira, waited her entire life for. My sister says she's a great dog, her only downfall is her love of food, but once they learned to stop leaving food of any sort out on the table or counters, all was well. This is also where Chumley now resides, and the two, although not best friends, do get a long better than the Caramel and Jingles did with Chums.
Abby lives with our friends, Joan & Lionel, and she's just precious. We always enjoy her company when we go to visit.
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Family Gathering At Lake George

7/30/2013

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We used to do it all the time. When my maternal grandmother was alive, the family would get together at least once a month, sometimes two or three times a month. We would all bring lots of food to share, and the kids would usually be pretty busy finding things to do, be it swimming, chasing each other around, or just hanging out with each other, and the adults. Even at Christmas, all of my mom's family, and my dad's family were invited to come together in one place to share a meal, and a few holiday related activities and such. It was always fun.

Lately, though, we have not all gotten together. It's been quite sometime. This last weekend, we finally got together with my mom's older sister and her family. Our Aunt Diane was the one who organized it, and set it up. Her two oldest boys work at the same place, and for once in a very long time, this was their first weekend off together, so it became the perfect time for a get together. We all got together at Lake George in New Brunswick, where the kids and many of the adults enjoyed the late for swimming. It was a lovely day, not too hot, not too chilly, just right. The rain held off for us, and we all had a great time, with promises to get together again sooner rather than later.

Since we were all together, I took the time to get some lovely family photos.
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The lovely husband and I.
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My brother and his beautiful girls.
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Aunt Diane, Adam, Lorne, Grant, Justin, Sarah & April. The fun Rediker family... We missed you Cody & Tasha!
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The Prosser family and friends... Joyce, Steven, Justin, Mike, Cookie, Sarah, Joe & Zachary.
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I love these two.. and even the silly dog. Mom & Dad, looking as fantastic as ever!
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Big lake.. and even bigger sky!
Awesome day, with superb family... we shall be sure to do it again. Thank you for joining us through this post!
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A Day Spent With Mr. Hanson

7/11/2013

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In March of this year I began a new job. I went from a job of working with my mother and my husband to working a completely opposite shift of both of them, and not seeing too much of either of them, most certainly not enough. I miss my daily conversations with my mother, but at least she's a texter, and we can usually stay in touch via messages. My husband, though, is not really much of a texter, or a phone conversationalist, so I really do miss him.

God has been good to us, though. Over the course of the last month or so, Derek has been getting about one day off each week, and it usually tends to be the same day that I have off. It's been really nice. We have been able to spend some special time together, whether just relaxing, or going grocery shopping together.

Yesterday was another day that we both had off together. I had lots of ideas for what I was going to do. I wanted to go to the gym, and to hang out with Kirby, our pastor's lovely fat cat. I might have even considered doing some housework, and may have cooked a nice supper. Derek had another suggestion, though.

He wanted to go visit his hometown. This was new. Even though it's only about 30 - 40 minutes away, he is usually very reluctant to go there. So, the fact that he was interested in going was not something I wanted to argue with. I jumped on it right away, and off we went.

We first went to JR's Takeout. Derek has fond memories of that place, and how could he not? They have a Class of '98 burger on their menu, and that's the year Derek graduated, so it must have been a good year for the takeout. After lunch, we drove around town, and then spent some time at the local drug store. We needed to get some bug spray, for our plan to walk around the lake.

The lake. Yes, it's a nice place. We tried to walk around that lake about six years ago, but gave up because of the swarms of bugs and black flies, and mosquitoes that were driving us nuts. So, yes, bug spray was super important.
We sat at the picnic table for a little bit just enjoying the peace and quiet. I kept thinking that it sure looked like a very long walk around to the other side of the lake. It didn't matter, though, we weren't in any hurry.
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There were many stumps like this with big rocks piled on top of them. I'm not entirely sure why the rocks were on them, but I found them quite interesting. Then, we came across this other one.
We were going to take the red 2KM trail, but missed the turn, and so we ended up just going around the Village Walking Trail. It was nice, though, and I really enjoyed it. We both did.

After that walk, we went to Derek's old home, where he grew up. We don't go there often, but we need to soon go back and pack somethings up, before they get ruined, some old family heirlooms and things. As you can see, the grass and weeds and things are all growing up quite a bit.
There were even raspberries in the yard.

After we left there, we went to visit Derek's aunt really quickly. Aunt Mary is awesome, and it's always nice to visit with her. We had been told previously about Derek's Uncle Leonard, and that he was quite ill, but after talking with Mary, we decided to go visit him and his family, as well as Derek's other uncle and aunt who are visiting from BC. It was nice to meet more of Derek's relatives, and I found out that some people I went to school with are cousins of his. It sure is a small world. I haven't had an update on Uncle Leonard today, but if you think of him, please pray for him and his family. I believe Uncle Leonard is a man of faith, and this may make the loss less painful for the family when it comes, but regardless, a loss is a loss, and it's never easy.

After visiting with family, Derek and I went to Subway and had supper, courtesy of a gift card from his Mom. That was good, as always. Then, it was time for the drive home. I did finally find a canola field to take a photo of on the way home, though.
Canola fields are lovely this time of year. Actually, this country we live in is just beautiful all year round! The trees, the green, the potato fields, the big blue sky, lupines on the side of the road, wild flowers, it's just all amazing! I am truly blessed on my drive to work each day.

We ended our day with a quick visit with Kirby, making sure he was well fed, and although Derek told me it was going to rain, I still asked him to water the plants, and garden. He's such a good man, that husband of mine.

I'm not sure how much longer it will be before I get to working on a day shift and am able to spend more time with my Derek, but until then, I will try to enjoy these few days here and there that we get to spend together.
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