Happy Birthday Tracey!

My oldest sister Tracey is celebrating her birthday today. I wish I were able to celebrate with her today, or this weekend when she was able to be home, but it's a bit far, so she'll have to be ok with a note or two and some singing!

I love you Tracey! I hope you have a wonderful day. God's blessings to you!

And now- a photo for the birthday girl:

I know what you're looking for

You're expecting wedding photos, and lots of them. I may not fulfill your every wish in that department, but I do hope to be able to provide you with almost a lot.

I'm blogging after an extended absence. Again. It seems to happen more often now, doesn't it? Maybe life is busier (read: naomi drove to Ontario and back, moved/ran around NB then to NS and did a big test) lately, or maybe I don't have as much winding down time as I ought. Sigh. I'm looking forward to this next little while, because although work could be crazy, I know I'm not super on the run otherwise. Except maybe traveling to Calgary this weekend. That might count towards busy.A birthday "party" photo with me and Master A.

There are a couple new guys in my life, thanks to Terra. Marcus, a glass-licking cat in a photo/card who stares creepily at me every time I'm on the computer, and Flynn, the turtle who lives on my quillo on my bed and smiles at me from his perch. (Can turtles actually smile?)

I've promised you more photos from the summer fun too. I will get to those. At some point. There are some really nice ones, which I have yet to edit. That's pretty much what the hold up is. Oh, and also, I'm feeling lazy!

Some fun from the "bachelorette" which involved going to Stratford for an Oscar Wilde play: "The Importance of Being Ernest" and eating supper at Timmies.
So here we have Adrian running off with mom and dad's Australian flag
A few Bec and Adrian shots
A few getting ready for the rehearsal pics
A few rehearsal and dinner pics
A few getting ready for the wedding pics
A few wedding pics
A few reception pics

A few Thanksgiving Sunday pics
That's about all you'll get tonight. Sorry there aren't more. I mean, there are a lot here but I have more, lots more, but as I didn't resize them, they might tax out your computers in loading them if I put on more. You guys let me know!

Two Days!

Or rather, less than that, until Rebecca and Adrian's wedding. Tomorrow our family will all be in the same place at the same time- first time in ~1 1/2 years. We're going to have fun setting things up tomorrow.

Lately I've been hanging out with Australians. They're decent folk, or rather Sheilas and Blokes.

I plan on loaning out my camera out so that I get a bunch of interesting photos from the wedding.

Other than that- hmm...I drove a LONG way two weekends ago. I get to drive a little less far next week, but in the reverse direction.

Looking forward to seeing family and friends. More posting later, but likely not this weekend. We're going to be busy!

Some pictures from August

And a bit of a description to go with them!

I know. I spent so much time with the long weekend at the beginning of August, you thought I'd never get around to my puttering around in Miramichi or my trip to Ontario. Well. Here it is! At least the first part. I didn't get through all of the photos yet (Anna- some of you in the next set!).

Ok! Well. I visited the river here, The Miramichi river. It's quite pretty. There are some fun, rickety stairs you can take down to the shore not far from here.

Then just up the road is the French Fort Cove. It's quite pretty. I had an enjoyable time hiking around the cove. I hope to do it again before I leave here.

Then some not so great photos of where I'm staying while I'm here. It's not a bad set up! (I don't use the second bedroom/bath).

I traveled home in August. Had some fun with Effie's girls, stayed at Tracey's and visited Kevin in London, visited Kirk, Pol and girls in Chatham, then traveled to Windsor to have fun at Shar's place. No, I cannot post all of those photos here. Shar would hunt me down.

I got together with the girls and we picked up dresses. You guys will see those soon enough. Minimal photos of that section of the trip.

On the day the Tornados traveled near Toronto, Durham and home, I was on the road too. I was close to some of the storm, though I didn't see it first hand. I got some fun pictures of clouds, but they'll wait for another day. I went to Toronto to visit with Anusha and Anh. I miss you girls!!

I think that's all this one's gonna be about tonight. I have to pack and get ready for the seminars I have to go to in Digby for the last few days of the week.

Also- a belated shout out to all those with birthday's this month: Uncle Steve, Phil, Shar, little R, and everyone else I'm forgetting- oops.

Ok...so maybe I need the fat lady to sing or something!

Long weekend (part 5)- It ain't over 'til the fat lady sings*.

Some more of Peter's photos from our trip to Cape Breton. I will have fewer words, more photos for this one. Then hopefully next post will bring us closer to where we are currently. (i.e. I will do an update of all the fun that has happened SINCE the first weekend of August!)

Louisbourg Fortress and surrounding area make up this first set of photos. There were a bunch of individuals acting like townspeople wandering the town.

Des Roches House

M. Des Roches
In town:


The goose in the corner bit the cook...doesn't look so feisty now!Just beyond this garden was a dig.This means war!
Naomi: a tourist lost in yesteryear.

A "portrait" of Alexander Graham Bell.
This one is for Rebecca & Adrian- let me know if you can't read what it says!
Look familiar?!
A bird crossed our path.
Dust kicked up as we drove in to see Mary Ann Falls.Mary Ann Falls
A sign for a special person.
The Lone Shieling again.
A fun umbrella for the woods!MacIntosh Brook waterfall.
A hummingbird joined us for our brunch.
Misty mountains.The road home...
*"It ain't over 'til the fat lady sings" description is courtesy of Wikipedia : The proverb refers to Richard Wagner opera suite Der Ring des Nibelungen and its last part, Götterdämmerung. The "fat lady" is Valkyrie Brünhilde, who is traditionally presented as a very buxom lady with horned helmet, spear and round shield. Her aria lasts almost ten minutes and marks the end of the opera.

Long weekend- Pictures courtesy of Peter!

You'll notice I posted a few of my photos. Now you get to see some from Peter. He sent me a whole bunch. Once you've seen these ones, you'll not want to go back to the boring old Naomi-taken photos. Peter does a very good job, puts my little camera to shame.

I will give you pointers as to what's going on in some of the photos- the others, you'll have to decide for yourself! Wooden man- with a wooden axe. Not sure how well that will work for him! (Also- I'm in the picture). This is a 3D photo. Don't ask me how, ask Peter. The blacksmith, hard at work. (BANG!) Work in progress...a little warm. This one is for Alex- what font is it? Picture taken at the printing press. Fun and interesting bottles at the apothecary's. A great general store. The safe at the store. The peacock...check out that detail. And then- I'm tired of waiting on the internet- more of Peter's photos to come. These ones were the most important- as they go along with part one, when my camera was playing hide-and-go-seek with me, and I lost. (I do like to drag out that long weekend, don't I?)

Long weekend (finale)

Hi!

Wow...it took some time to get through my photos...you know, editing them down to size. It's nice to have that review of the trip. It has reminded me of all the stuff I didn't get the chance to take photos of...ah well!

Where were we?

Ah yes. We drove the Cabot Trail over North Mountain, and stopped to take photos. Then we found a couple of short trails to hike, one took us to a Scottish Crofter's hut, the next to a couple of pretty waterfalls. It was nice to get out of the car, even if my tummy grumbled as it waited for food!

In Pleasant Bay we stopped for brunch. We were amused by hummingbirds feeding just outside the restaurant, by sitting in a booth by a feeder. There were some beautiful ruby throated ones, but my camera was in the car. Peter got a good few shots of them though! We brunched on lobster and crab and then got back on the road.

We stopped near French Mountain to take some photos. We had driven through a lot more fog on a lot of curvy roads, but there were moments of breathtaking scenery!

We stopped in Cheticamp for gas and hit the road- the plan being to get to Peter's place in time for supper.

We made good time, and decided to rent a movie on the way back to Peter's place. Over the rest of the long weekend we played games, walked in and around town (catching some of the low in the sky fireworks on Saturday evening even though we weren't expecting any!) and went to Church. It was a fun weekend. I think I would travel the Cabot trail again- though as Peter and I agreed there were a few things we'd do differently.
1. Go in the fall. There are a lot of trees there which would colour beautifully!
2. Bring breakfasty-type foods to have in case of quiet little towns who don't open til noon!
3. Try and find a less moisture-full weekend!
4. Spend more time on some more trails

The hills were fun, I enjoyed twisting and turning, and so, I think, did Atreyu.

This weekend finds me back in Ontario. I will likely post at some point while I'm there, but don't hold your breath!

Finally- pictures:
Peter in Lone Shieling
InfoMacIntosh Brook waterfall
More misty mountains- I think this one is part of French MountainPeter, near French Mountain