A Long Overdue Update

At some obscure moment this week, I realized that I had not posted an update on us recently and though nothing much new has transpired, it's always nice to let those you know and love that you're around and not getting into too much mischief.

The move to Fredericton has proved a good one and we seem to have settled in enough to call this city home. To boot, we even have some folks who we seem to like us (they haven't chased us out with torches and pitchforks yet so that a good sign) and want to hang out with us too. Jeff still drives for the same company...he's been with them now for about a year and a half...but he's having a tough time maintaining his gusto about the job. He really just wants to be home. We need the income his job creates to meet the goals we've laid out for ourselves, primarily getting me back to school.

Speaking of school, I have applied and been accepted into nursing school for Sept. 2010 and we are excited! To a measure, it is still slightly surreal but that will change as it gets closer to my school start date. In the meantime, I have not been sitting idle but I've also not been working as crazily as I was this time last year. I have to say, I am really enjoying not having to work a lot of hours a week. In some of my spare time, I have decided to take swimming lessons at the local indoor pool and have been thoroughly loving that! It's helping me to realize that how if I choose to think that I can learn new things, even though I'm not as young as I was yesterday, I really can learn new things. I was surprised at how quickly I think I caught on to the swimming concepts we were being taught but there still is plenty of room for improvement and practice.

We have discovered that we are big fans of IKEA and the products they sell. I suppose you could say that's an upside (with a catch) for Jeff when he's in areas where there is an IKEA store. It's great for us because we can buy the things we like and could use (smallish things...he has to be able to fit it in his truck) but he also gets to "test drive", if you will, the product before buying. The catch with being able to stop in at IKEA usually means that he's been held up somewhere due to scheduling issues with his load to be picked up or dropped off or he could be just plain ol' stuck with no load. Getting lost in IKEA is a pretty good alternative. There are many IKEA fans in our small body of believers and they all get a dreamy look in their eyes after they ask where he is and find he's in or been to IKEA. They keep threatening to pool their resources and take a road trip up to the nearest IKEA to us but so far, no concrete plans have been made.

Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving in October while Americans have theirs in November. As a tribute to Jeff's American heritage, we hosted an American Thanksgiving dinner at our house. Jeff did the inviting of the guests and before we knew it, we had 20+ people on the list. Our rental house is plenty big enough for the two of us and our two kitties but certainly not in any danger of becoming "large group gathering" central. Up to that point, we had only had 6 people in at any one time. It took some creative maneuvering and a re-arrangement of the living room but we made it work. The folks who came said that they didn't feel cramped but we were definitely full. The whole meal went over with smashing success...loads of food and laughter...an overall good time. It was nice to host a gathering like that...it's been a long time since we've had that many people in our house at one time.

This post has been brought to you today by the letters X and F and the number 5. Thanks for reading! B-bye!

H1N1 aka Swine Flu

I'm not typically a current events blogger but this is getting so ridiculous, I'm gonna bust if I don't get it off my chest.

I'm a pretty patient person when it comes to the mass hysteria and general hype about whatever the latest thing the media seems to hype and usually, I can overlook or avoid the subject on the internet when I check my email or on the news when I'm trying to catch a weather report or even in general conversations. But this...the H1N1 scare has been buzzing around my head like a pesky fly...and I can never find the fly swatter when I need it.

Just to be clear; I am not for the H1N1 vaccine and have no intentions of obtaining it but I'm not going to sway others who feel it necessary to get it. The people who can make a decision to or not to get the vaccine I can respect. You've made a stand, drawn a line and committed to your decision. It's the other ones who ask everyone they meet for an opinion so that they can make a decision but they're so undecided about making a decision; they just keep this cycle of insanity going until some mild mannered reporter pops them right in the pie hole just to shut them up. Or those others who make a decision but because it's the latest "in" thing to talk about, it's ALL they talk about. I work with a girl who falls into the latter. For two weeks straight, she has been on this subject. The first week was the information grabbing to make a decision whether to get the vaccine; now, it's just regurgitating the same information the media is pimping.

What I don't understand is how seemingly intelligent people with a brain between their ears can get so caught up in this media frenzy. History repeats itself...take a look back. Remember SARS? That was only a few years ago but the hype! Disappeared as fast as it rolled in. What about the West Nile Virus? Also only a few years ago and now most don't even remember. So what is all this hype and hysteria accomplishing? A lot of early onset heart attacks and added stress that we don't need just so the pharmaceutical companies can make a quick buck at the expense of the general populous.

As Forrest Gump would say, "That's all I have to say about that."

A Series of Firsts

Typically, when we think of firsts in our lives, it's the big ones like first step, your first bike, your first day of school. But in this blog, I have a few firsts that are more ordinary; every-day firsts.

First Overnight House Guests
I do actually mean real people, friends of ours from our previous area of residence. They were making a long trip to visit family and though we aren't really even close to being half way on their trip, they did cut a few hours off the first leg of the trip by stopping in on their way through. We've had lots of friends from around here come by for supper or just to visit but since they all live around here, there's not really much need for overnight stays. It was fun have to them and great to visit. It also made me appreciate the space we have so that we are able to host overnight guests.

First Snowflakes
I wish I could say it was our first snow storm but that would be a fib. We had a few flurries and overnight, a few managed to land and stay on the ground until the sun came up and melted it. The weather experts were calling for a lot more than we got but it was nice to see the beginnings of the winter weather starting. It would have been nice to have a substantial amount of snow but if this year's snows are anything like last year's were, we'll have plenty enough! I'm sure I will be wishing for less given that I will have to shovel it.

First License Plates
We have lived in 3 of the four Maritime provinces at one point or another but I lived here when I went to college. I did not, however, have a vehicle then. It always seems to make a move more real once you're changed over all that technical stuff to the province or state you're now living in. I feel like I live here now and call this place home. Maybe it's just me and maybe I'm just being silly.

First Swimming Lessons since I was a Kid
Yup...I've decided to take swimming lessons and this week is my first class. I had swimming lessons as a kid but that was a long time ago and I've lost a lot of my technique due to the fact that I just haven't gone swimming much. (Kinda helps to have a bathing suit...most pools don't like it when you swim in your birthday suit...something about it making the other people swimming uncomfortable.) I did buy a new bathing suit this year and figured that since I have the time available in my schedule to take lessons, the question becomes why not? I'm looking forward to it. Should be fun!

First God Re-Discovery
This first is probably my favorite one of this list. This past Sunday at worship, I had a moment with God. I had known about God for many years but knowing God has been a longer, slower process. My worship times have yielded some pretty cool things but mostly just a re-discovery of who God is and how He interacts with his people. This week, it was like I had entered Narnia and discovered a world I have known about for some time but never ventured past the fur coats to see what behind. It's pretty cool on this side of the proverbial wall. Of course, learning about the character of God is a life long journey. I can't wait to see what I'll discover next!

Thanksgiving -- Canadian Style

I heard a theory this week on why Canadian Thanksgiving is in October rather than November like our southern counterparts...

It's too cold in November here so the pilgrims were smart and moved their feast to a warmer month. But honestly if they had any sense they'd've moved it to July. That's about the only month when we can definitely say that it's warm here. :0)

Ah...it's not so bad, as long you're dressed appropriately for the weather. We have been having much cooler temperatures lately so it definitely feels like winter weather is not long in coming. There have been reports of some snow in the areas around us but not here...yet. Soon enough, soon enough.

We feasted on turkey and all kinds of other goodies with several friends. Each brought a component of the meal so the burden of fixing the entire meal did not fall on one person/family. It was fun! Desserts were assigned to me so we made our oh-so-yummy Southern inspired Sour Cream Apple pie and introduced our friends to Sweet Potato pie. I was amazed at how many had never heard of sweet potato pie, let alone tried it. Since we're half American, we've decided that we'll host Thanksgiving dinner in November. Should be fun!

Good food, good friends....priceless.

My confession

Hi, my name is Patty and I have been a bad blogger.

But honestly, there are so few people out there who are really good at it. I have to admit, we were reluctant to venture into the world of blogs since there was the definite potential of not keeping up with it. The things we like about it can be achieved by maintaining a website but we don't really have time for that either. Besides, that's more Jeff's department than mine. A blog is easier for me since I don't have to learn how to build a web page; I can just use this template and voila!

I suppose it's not such a bad thing that I haven't blogged in a while. It means that we have a life again and I have a part time job. Many of our friends and folks in our church community live within walking distance of our place. So the move has been good. We have settled into our place; a very cute little mill house duplex and we found right away, after having more social time in the first couple of days of being here that this was the right move. Being closer to Jeff's work has also been a benefit and gives him more flexibility to come home for a day if work is slow. It would be great if he could find something that allowed him to be home every night but thus far, nothing with comparable pay has come available. We're still on the look out for that since he will be wanting to be home in the evenings this time next year when I start back to school.

The church we are going to is small and their focus is community. It has been wonderful to have people around who just love hanging out. One of the benefits of hanging out with this bunch is that many are very much into organic and health food and one couple are small time organic farmers. They primarily go to the local farmer's market to sell their goods but they are also very generous beyond that and have shared many yummy garden goodies with us. They grow many veggies that I've never heard of or never had like tuscan kale. It has been a fun taste adventure!

The area that we live in is called Marysville and it claims to be Canada's oldest in tact mill village. For your viewing pleasure, here are some pics of our new place.

This is the front of our place...

and the back.

Georges Island

Our blog today will entail a little bit of a history lesson as it is a historical place that we went to visit.

Georges Island is an island in the middle of the Halifax harbour and is part of the city's defense system. I was telling my mom about this little excursion we took on our anniversary weekend. Halifax has a lot of history and one of the key attractions of the city is Citadel Hill which is the main point of defense for the city. As it's name suggests, the Citadel is situated on top of a hill that provides a view of the whole city and harbour thus making Halifax a very well defended city. It is a point of interest that the none of the cannons in Halifax have ever been fired in combat. Back in the day, Halifax harbour was defended by 5 separate forts that formed various triangles making it virtually impenetrable. And if you happen to get by all the forts and dozens of artillery cannons, then you had an entire armada of warships greeting you in the bay. Needless to say, no attack was ever even attempted. However, in 1917, the Halifax Explosion leveled about 1/3 of the city when two ships collided in the harbour, one loaded to the gills will sensitive explosives and gasoline, killing about 2000 people. If you're not familiar with the story, it's staggering. There is an excellent movie (if you're able to find it) called Shattered City about the event.

Georges Island is a very steep island also making it great for seeing ships as they come into the harbour and they would have to get past Georges Island before they could even think about getting near the city. But that little island was so well defended itself, an enemy ship would have a hard time getting past all the artillery.

Here are some pictures from our visit:

There is a steep ditch between where this picture was taken and the walls themselves.


In the ditch between the interior walls.


One of the underground ammunition and defense tunnels. The windows are peep holes into the huge ditches for riflemen so even if the steep banks and thick outer walls were breached, they'd be met with close range gun fire from all sides while trying to scale the 30 feet wall into the fort's interior.


Inside one of the cannon rooms. This is part of the lower battery cannons.These monsters lobbed a 400 lb shot over 2 miles, and could accurately hit a target of only 16 sq. feet, making any ship an easy target. There are 8 of these large cannons and 8 smaller ones. In case you happen to get past the first 16 guns, the back of the island had 8 more smaller cannons and a Martello tower facing the city side.


The previous picture shows the size of the cannon with relation to people. This one shows a bit of the track they needed to help move it into firing position. There were usually 17 men stationed at each of the cannon rooms.


The massive door leading into the cannon room.


As with any maritime fortress, a lighthouse was necessary. The last lighthouse keeper and his family lived here up until the 1970's when they switched to an automated system.


Looking over to the Halifax side of the harbour. The green, grassy hill area you can see in the background behind that ugly tall building is Citadel Hill.


One of several historical reinactors. The bridge pictured behind him is one of 2 bridges joining Halifax to Dartmouth.

They usually only open the island to visitors once a year as much of it is crumbling. Many of the tunnels we weren't able to go into as they just are not safe. There were also other buildings (like the jail) we couldn't go into due the growth of some very dangerous fungi and spores. I had read in the paper later in the week that due to the great success of that weekend's turnout, they had decided to open George's Island more frequently and maybe restore some it too.

Life is like a book...

"Life is like a box of chocolates." That simple phrase has become among one of the most quoted lines from a movie. (For those who may not know which movie that is, it's Forest Gump)

Though it is a neat metaphor for never knowing what life will hand you, just like a variety box of chocolates, I'd prefer to think of life as a book. Your life comprising of a series of chapters that becomes your "book" and as with any real book, there are wonderful chapters and sad chapters and so-so chapters and adventurous chapters but each one builds on the other thus compiling what you know as your life.

We are in the process of ending one chapter and starting a new one. At the end of this month, we will be moving. This is not news to you...we've been talking about it for months. For me particularly, I don't process the idea until it is actually happening. I know that I'm moving and finishing up at my jobs and my class is now complete and there are a lot of loose ends that are being tied up so it is now becoming a reality for me that I will have a new home and a new chapter in my book. It really hit me this past weekend when we were up that way to visit and hang out with family and also venture to the city we will very soon call home to find a place to live. We were hanging out with some folks who in a very short amount of time have come to think that we're pretty neat and that always makes you feel welcome when there's people around who like you! Even the last couple of days, Jeff has pointed out several times when he'd have been able to come home for the night or evening; just the way his loads were running or not running would have given him that flexibility if we had been living in Fredericton. Not too much longer now!

Not to mention that we are super stoked about the place we found to rent! For a change, it's not an apartment in a multi-unit complex but rather a very cute, turn of the century style red brick mill house. There are only 2 units per building (technically they're duplexes, though they are not ugly like the vast majority of the duplexes that come to mind in the Maritimes). The area in which we will be living, Marysville (suburb of Fredericton, NB), had a cotton mill and all around is a large neighborhood of the houses where the workers would have lived. I'm most excited about having a small deck to put a BBQ grill on and washer/dryer hook-ups in the basement so I won't have to use the coin operated ones anymore. No more lost money down the machine's hungry gullet. I know...they seem like silly things to be excited about but I am. Once we get moved, we'll post some pics of the new place so y'all can "see" it too.

South Africa

This past May marks 20 years since I and my family emigrated from South Africa.

Hard to believe that it has been that long. Perhaps it was my dad and brother's recent trip to South Africa that has prompted this quest to know the country of my birth but that would not be entirely true. I have been desiring to know more about South Africa for a couple of years now. I have felt gypped since I moved from there before I really understood the complexities of the country's history but I have also felt gypped here in Canada and the lack of knowledge I possess about this country's history. My quest is to get to know the country of my birth and the country I now call home.

My dad and brother's recent trip to SA (South Africa will be abbreviated for the rest of this post) sparked a small measure of jealously but a whole lot of admiration as my brother, though he was born there, was too young when we left to remember much. I was glad for him to be able to experience a trip back to the "homeland" with my dad but it also continues to wind the mysterious tale of the man and his exodus from his country that is my dad. Though it continues to be a mystery to me, as I read and explore and discover more about the complicated and conflicted history, SA is still the land of my birth and I know so little about it. I am finding that the rumors I have heard about it's not so glamorous history might actually be true.

I was very young in age and in mind when we left and I have asked the question, "Why didn't I know? Why didn't I understand?" Looking back on the scenario now, I doubt that my 11 year old mind would have been able to grasp the magnitude of the events going on around me. I knew that there were differences between white people and black people...I went to a segregated school, whites only. I knew that I was confused by what I was being taught in school and the efforts my parents were making to try and teach us to treat everyone, no matter the color of their skin, with respect. I remember being fascinated with language and when it came time to learn the local tribal language, Zulu, in school, I was thrilled. But I also can remember hearing either from my teacher or my classmates that we were learning the black's language simply to be able to insult them further, in their own language no less as if insulting them in our own language and actions was not enough.

A while ago, my dad loaned me a book, an autobiography of a young black man who grew up in some the worst living conditions in SA. I started reading this book with the naive anticipation of learning more about my birth country from another perspective. Another perspective is certainly what I got! I am both deeply disturbed and intrigued at this young man's story. The more I read, the more I realize that the experiences he recounts where basically happening right in my back yard but I knew nothing about it. What would I have done, at 11 years old, with knowledge of such deplorable conditions?! Perhaps my innocent ignorance saved my sanity.

The Tails of Katie & Seamus

Aha! See? Look, Seamus...I figured out how to make it work!

Katie, are you sure you know how to use that thing?

No...but it's not making any crazy noises...I'm just having fun chasing the things on the screen! Ooooh, almost got that one....almost got that one too...

Won't Girl-People be mad and spray us with the waterbottle?

Oh, Seamus, live a little...besides you get sprayed every other day for something.

I do not...okay...maybe I do...but I can't help that she doesn't get up when she's supposed to. We have to be fed when we're ready to be fed, ya know?

Very true...and you do such a good job of getting her up. How do you do it?

Well, I start by jumping up on the bed and walk all the way up until I reach her head...

Yes? Then what?

Then I start nudging under her chin like I want to be petted...we cats can never have too much loving. She usually pushes me away (I think my whiskers might tickle her nose) and says something about it's not time for breakfast or it's not time for her to get up. But I just keep coming back until she gets up.

Who does she think she is?! The boss of the house? She should know by now that we rule the house.

I know. She's a good girl-people but hasn't yet figured out that we make the rules. Anyway, if she doesn't get up right away when I want her to, then I start climbing up on the window ledge in the bedroom and knock the lamp over while I'm at it (that usually makes her spray me with water).

But sometimes, she still doesn't get up. Then what?

Then I go back to the nudging and meowing and she will keep pushing me away and usually has sprayed me a few times by then. Eventually, she gets up but I wait by the foot of the bed to make sure she's actually getting up.

Doesn't she step on you?

Sometimes she trips over me but it's worth it because once she's up, we get fed!

Mmmm....food....I'm hungry...when Girl-People getting home anyway? Oh, wait...I think I hear...something outside the door...maybe it's...oooop! Gotta go! She's home! Food!

Life Imitates Art

When life imitates art, sometimes it makes you wonder what art people are imitating.

I saw a guy strolling through our neighbourhood who was decked out in a top hat with bright green hair and a loud burgundy suit. If his sole goal was to be noticed, he surely achieved that! I remember seeing that same guy coming into the coffee shop where I work and he was wearing the same wildly crazy outfit. He's been sighted at various bus stops wearing his top hat but a fairly normal suit to go with it. Really makes you wonder what goes through people's heads when they buy such outfits and really seem to think they look good. It's a bit on par with the talent shows on TV these days where contestants are shocked when they are rejected after their embarrassingly bad audition, "But my friends all say I'm a great singer/dancer/whatever-the-talent-might-be! You don't know talent when you see it!" And they almost always storm off in tears or the waterworks start shortly after leaving the stage. There is something to be said for friends who are able to be honest and tell you that you look ridiculous when you try to leave the house with bright green hair, wearing a top hat and a burgundy suit. If I ever try to do anything that crazy, I probably need to be institutionalized. "Okay, it's time for you to go and see the nice people in white suits. They'll give you an I-hug-me jacket and you'll have a padded room to play in. Everything's going to be just fine. Then, when you're feeling better, they're going to show you a better style with no top hats and loud hair and suits that clash." I can understand eclectic or retro or hippie styles; I'm not trying to squelch this man's expression of his personality through his clothing but in our culture, some things are weird and I'm afraid, that is just plain weird. In the words of Undercover Brother... "I'm a firm believer that everyone should do their own thing, but that boy should never do his own thing!"

An Update on Us

On a recent home time trip over to PEI, I realized as we caught up with some folks that I have not been giving much in the way of updates on our happenings nor have I sent out some email reminders. My bad and my apologies. :( So here it is.

We have been considering for a long time about making a move to Fredericton. [For those not from or living in Canada, Fredericton is still on the east coast of Canada but about 6-7 hours from where we are currently living.] "Why move again? Can't you stay in one place for a while?" Well, we thought we might be here for a bit longer than this but the reasons for moving just haven't worked out as well as we had hoped. We moved here primarily for me to go to nursing school but alas! I am still on the waiting list for that. The church we tried to be apart of had a hard time working us into their mix and our effort to become part of that community became an effort at trying to enter through a locked door without a key. As well, Jeff's terminal for his job is based in New Brunswick so getting home for his days off are a real challenge and become a 5 day plan. On his travels through NB (New Brunswick), he had caught up with some old friends that we knew lived in Fredericton but they had slipped off our radar for a while. He decided to call them up one day and stop in for a visit. We then began to wonder if maybe moving to Fredericton might be an option since nothing else is really tying us to the Halifax area. After weighing all the options and realizing that school here would be a longer wait than we had originally anticipated, why not move?

Over the last few months, we have been full-steam ahead. Currently, we are in process of finding accomodations, exploring both buying a house or renting if a house purchase is too far out of reach at this point. I have put an application in to NBCC for their Practical Nursing program and was accepted but due to a mix up in addresses, I received the acceptance letter after the confirmation date so I missed the opportunity for this coming fall. I am, however, wondering if I ought not pursue the BScRN at UNB and be able to work as an RN right out of university. It may be worth the extra time and money as most nursing positions here are requiring BScRN's these days in spite of the nursing shortage.

Fredericton would also offer us a church that focuses on relationship and building community; two things we value and have not had since moving from SC. An added bonus is that we would be geographically closer to Jeff's terminal and that would make his ability to get home for his days off a lot easier and it might even allow him to make it home on days when he's just camped out at the terminal.

On this rare day off from both jobs, I figured I would take this opportunity to finish this update and get it posted. Check back periodically and I will try to remember to send out an email update when I post something new.

Skin has sprung...

Today was the first really warm day. By Southern US standards, it's warm enough to play outside but not so hot you're dripping in sweat from the humidity. By Canadian standards, it's the first day that all the girls of all sizes start letting out their lily white skin to be kissed by the sun like a Sunkist orange.

I'm guilty of reaching for the capris this morning too but those by definition, expose mid-calf down. Scandalous, I know. It always amazes me, this time of year, just how much skin some women are willing to let hang out. And some hang more than others. I had stopped in to a grocery store this afternoon and needed to hit the bathroom first. I walked in to a bathroom full of tweens all of whom had grabbed their underwear to pass as shorts. One gal had her cut offs rolled up so high, I thought she might cut off circulation to her legs! After watching them spend a good 15 minutes primping and preening to show off for all those tween boys who frequent the local grocery store as their prime spot to "check out the hot girls", I had to chuckle. How grown up they try to look and little idea they have of what being grown up is all about. Their idea of being grown up is gained from their "music" heroes who flaunt and flash their goods on stage and screen to make a few more dollars than working at McDonalds. They are educated in all the immoral ideals of our society but don't have a sweet clue about self-respect. If they really were as grown up as they think, they'd take a big dose of modesty and realize you can dress nicely without essentially walking around naked. In other cultures, clothing is not a cultural precedent but we don't live in the rainforest. Clothing is required in our culture and there are plenty nice clothes out there that cover up all the "naughty bits". Besides, if you let your thong hang out, you might get a sunburn on your plumber's crack.

Friends: Fluffy, furry and otherwise

I can't say that I have come up with any new and profound thoughts about friends/friendship that hasn't already likely been thought or said but I have been thinking about the role that friends: fluffy, furry or otherwise have had in my life over the last little while.

What sparked the whole thought process was when I had caught up with a really close friend of mine online one night and we chatted for a bit and then she got the brilliant idea of chatting in person on the phone. That whole occurrence is a rather rare one in my world. I am quite capable of picking up the phone and calling any of my friends as they are of picking up the phone and calling me. The reality is that we don't as often as we should and that's okay. It's nice to have friends far away whom I can call and chat with and listen to the cadence of their mild Southern drawl. It would be far better if I had friends here that I could call on and hang out with and share life with. Not for lack of trying but more for lack of hitting my head up against a brick wall. One thing I have learned in my short years on this planet is you can't make someone be your friend that doesn't want to be your friend. It could be any number of reasons but I have discovered that most of the time the root issue is selfishness. I have been on the "I don't really want to befriend you" side of the equation too and that was my motivation. Pure selfishness.


So if your people friends are few, who else will be your friend? Enter the fluffy and furry varieties of friends. We adopted our first cat just a week or so before Jeff started back on the road with the company he is currently driving for. Seamus (pronounced "Shay-mus") has been a joy to have around and has provided endless hours of entertainment. As with a person-friend, it took some time to get to know him; his quirks (he doesn't like salmon), his cutenesses (his favorite way to lie on the floor is splayed out on his back with his feet curled at the toes), and his annoying habits (beating around in his litter box for far longer than necessary seemingly trying to find that infamous route to China). Seamus has been a very loyal furry friend but he is just a cat. He adds an element to life that is different from the people friendships. Funny thing, the relationship is different for him. He was becoming lonely, even though I'm his people friend. He didn't have another furry friend to play with. It was heart-wrenching to listen to him sitting in the window on a balmy summer's night meowing his heart out to the stray and neighbor cats, yearning for the attention and affection from another cat. In December, we adopted our second cat, Katie. She has turned out to be the perfect match and addition to our little furry family. She is a very nurturing girl and loves to gives kisses in the form of licks and rubbing noses. She and Seamus, though the initial meeting was hostile, have grown to love each other as friends and they play quite happily together and are quite content to sit next to each other and wait for me to walk through the door at the end of my work day. Now I wonder what Seamus meows about when he sits up in the window. Maybe he's telling the other cats tales of his new playmate. ;0)

Our furry friends have been more constant companions for me since they live in our apartment and I am here the most. Jeff relies on the fluffy variety of friend for most of his companionship. If you have seen the movie Castaway, the character of Wilson will give you a better understanding of Jeff's life on the road. Wilson is a volleyball that Tom Hanks' character finds while he's stranded on his remote island. This volleyball, an inanimate object, becomes a very real friend for him and when he loses Wilson while making his final escape attempt, we are witness to his mourning over the loss of his "friend". Your initial reaction might be, "that's just crazy!" or "only children keep toys around and call them friends". Maybe so but if it helps you get through the tougher times in life, how crazy can it really be? Think how different that movie would have been without the character of Wilson. Dare I say it would have been rather boring. In Jeff's case, he has created personalities for his stuffed toys; a fat little sheep named Gouda and my old monkey hand puppet from when I was a child, named Mutebi, 'Tebi for short. The personalities and adventures he has created for them help him deal with the endless hours of solitude while on the road are the stuff kid's books are made of. Don't get me wrong, he loves driving a truck but he is a type A personality and he thrives on social activity to stimulate and revive him. When he can't get that in the form of people, he creates it for his fluffy friends. Imagination is so underrated these days.

I'm not trying to make an argument in favour of being able to survive in this world without people friends, not at all. I am very much a believer that we were created to be part of a community of believers and have other people around to be friends to and to receive friendship from. But in the absence of the people variety of friends, I believe God allows us to befriend the furry variety and the fluffy variety to broaden our circle of friends.

A comment about comments

Thank you to all who emailed and let me know that the "post a comment" button wasn't working.I have rectified the problem...I hope. Please let me know if it is still not working.

I have not been working on the blog as consistently as I'd like and Jeff has been kept running over the last few weeks so he hasn't been able to keep up with the blog either. But he has been working on some articles and what he's shared with me about them, they should make for an interesting read. I really need to make sure the comments link works as we'd love to read the comments y'all will have and want to share. It is surprising that Jeff being such a social person would even want to take on such a job as trucking and though he very much dislikes the fact that he is out on the road more than he is home and is not able to hang out with friends and family at his leisure, the many hours of solitude give him plenty of opportunity for his other passion...thinking, analyzing what he hears on talk radio and other teachings he can get his hands on. He's got several articles that he's working on and whenever he can get internet access (which is few and far between) he will post them as he is able.

A work in progress...

Hi! Here we are...online. We're still working out the kinks on the layout and getting it just the way we'd like it to be so please bear with us.

We're hoping that the blog medium will help us keep in touch with y'all a bit more consistently and make it easier for our overseas friends to keep in touch with our happenings without having large emails to open up. It will also give us a way to share some of the things that we think about...primarily Jeff's domain. He has posted some articles already and hopes to add to that as he's able given his internet access is limited at best on the road.

As you know, we love a good laugh and love to share funny items when they've been shared with us. You'll find in the right sidebar a links to four very clean and very funny voice over videos to some very old Jesus movies. Take a look and enjoy the humor! For more humor and to share in Jeff's 2 minutes of fame, check out a local comic duo named Luke & Jock. You can look them up on youtube or if you have us on your Facebook page, the link is on our main post page.

Well, that's all for now! Love to hear from you!