This one is about my only daughter.

  We were not planning on having another child SO very close in age to Daniel.  However, Aimee was a Surprise un-planned blessings.  You know, one of those deployment Uh-Oh's.  Aimee is our Egypt baby.  The reason.....We found our I was expecting her about 8 weeks after Eric got back from a Egypt Deployment.

Daniel was only 9 months old.  They are exactly 18 months and 2 days apart.  A lot of people ask us if they are twins because they are SO close in height to each other.  And you can tell they are brother and sister.

Aimee was born on her grandfathers birthday.  She loves that. (Matter of fact she will be having her 10th birthday soon.)  And one day before her Aunt Leslie's birthday. 

Aimee also stands approx 5 feet tall.  She has brown/Auburn Hair and the prettiest blue/grey eyes you have ever seen. She is in the 5th grade.  She is very eclectic.  Some of her favorite items of clothing is her BRIGHT crocheted Winter cap that is done in RAINBOW colors.  She also has a Rainbow matching headband and Rainbow toe sock.  you know they are the socks that fit like gloves.  And a Bright rainbow scarf to match.

When Aimee was 5 years old.  On Christmas Day, she was VERY ill.  She couldn't even open up her gifts.  She opened up a few and Eric opened up the rest for her.  Needless to say, it was not a good Christmas for her.  The next morning, she was running 105.5 fever.  Eric Took her to the E.R.  She stayed there for 7 straight days.  She was really sick.  She was dehydrated and had moderate to severe Pneumonia. 

This is were Aimee's life goals originated from.  She wants to be a TraumaDoctor.  She wants to be a trauma doctor so bad that she had her Aunt Shawna send her a stethoscope.  Not just any...a REAL one.  And she loves it.  She even has kid doctor scrubs. And her hospital stay was in Germany.  She did SO well.  The trouble was.  I was not permitted to go and see her.  I was pregnant with David at the time.  And, the Doctors figured better safe than sorry. 

Aimee is very school oriented.  She gets Straight A's.  In Spelling her average last year was 105!  For the whole year.  Through out the whole school year she only missed 3 words on all spelling tests combine.  And she has good common sense.

In The third grade at the beginning of the year. Her teacher had them perform a play.  Aimee loved it.  Her teacher love it.  Her teachers always praise her.  Makes me so proud that she is my daughter.  Next year, she has a chance to take a drama class and she is so excited about that.

Aimee loves to sing, Dance, play with her friends. She also loves to make Jewelry.  She has made some gorgeous necklaces.  She loves putting puzzles together.  Not easy puzzles either.  She doesn't have just one friend.  She has a group of friends 7 in all.  She believes that all girls are princesses.  And her favorite colors are Pink and Purple.

Aimee has actions and writes a lot like my sister.  I see my sister in her every time she sits down to do her homework.  Or writes in her Journal. 

For Christmas she wants a real pink Guitar.  She wants to learn how to play.  Guess, I am going to have to get my Uncle David (her great-Uncle of course) down here to teach her.  She also wants to learn how to play piano.  We have to get her electric piano a stand.  I can teach her the basics and a little beyond in piano.  However, I would like someone else to teach her the more advanced piano.

She loves eating together as a family for dinner.  If we happen to let them eat in the play room or somewhere else it most often irritates Aimee to no end.  That is their time to connect with us.  And we love it.  We always strive to eat Dinner at the table.  It really is a fun time.

She LOVES ART.  Anything with Art.  She loves to paint.  She loves to make crafty things.  Just anything.  We think it is sort of funny because her initials spell Art.

We have always told Aimee that she is our Work of Art.  Aimee LOVES to go to church.  She love to learn about Jesus.  She is also saved and Baptized.  This girl can pray like she is 40 years old.

Aimee just loves to get involved with just about everything she can.  However, She doesn't want to do Cheerleading.  I don't understand that.  I participated in several years of cheerleading.

We figure she has the right mind set to actually become her dream of being a Trauma Doctor because she is so fun, smart witted, has a great since of humor and is very eclectic.  Something, I think every E.R./Trauma Doctor needs and I have seen some fun, wacky trauma doctors.  And I think that sometimes helps ease patients.  Although, I could be WAY off there.  Because, I am just a mom.

One thing about Aimee. She does get annoyed With her brothers.  My goodness, I think I would to if I had a older brother and two younger brothers and no sister.  There are times that she has gotten upset with us for not giving her a sister.  But now, she is over that.    She has a lot in common with my mom.  My mom was the only girl out of 8 kids.  Can you imagine having 7 brothers and being the only girl?

My mom always tells the story of her brother Freddie (I believe it is Freddie) and how he took apart on of her dolls.  I believe it was a chatty Cathy.  Mom will correct me on that if I am wrong.  Aimee's brother's have done anything like that.......YET!  Just give'm time.

Here is a picture of my beautiful Daughter.  Again, We are so blessed that God chose her for us.  She has made such an impact on us and our family.  She evens everything out.

I forgot to mention that Aimee LOVES to watch Fox News Network.  Her favorite Host on Fox News is Brian.  She actually watches the news for about an hour before having to catch the bus.  And it has to be on Fox News.  No other will do.  She is keeping up with the election.  And she is so very concerned about the little girl Caylee missing in Florida.

In actuality, this was not the first vehicle I ever owned.  In one of his rare attempts to be worthy of a more glowing nickname, Dead Beat Dad, procured a car for me which he delivered to me a scant few days before the start of my Senior Year in High School.  I was participating in a school program that enabled me to skip my last two hours of class in favor of having a job, but I needed transportation in order to make that work.

Dead Beat Dad, had made a commitment at the end of my Junior year to make sure I'd have a vehicle to drive when Senior Year started.  This was before I learned not to rely on the commitments of Dead Beat Dad.  Things got kinda sticky as the summer progressed and there was still no sign of this mysterious vehicle.  Finally he arrived with my first vehicle, that which shall not be named...  Except for right now.  The vehicle he procured for me was a 1980 Plymouth Champ.  It was a five speed manual transmission (which I did not know how to drive) with major rust spots and a broken mirror.  It was an ugly piece of shit for which he'd paid a mere $400.00 but I didn't care 'cause I finally had wheels.

The car lived about four months and then it went to the big parking lot in the sky.

It's possible that I may have contributed to the demise of this vehicle a little bit. 

On one particular evening, I was out with some friends (Bernardine and Aimee) and we stopped at the grocery store behind my house.  There was a shopping cart sitting out in the side lot of this store where there were no other cars.  The cart was straddling the short line between two parking spots.  I raced through the parking lot to that space and slammed on my breaks, effectively stopping in the parking space and sending the cart rolling to the opposite end of the lot in a shot.  Bernardine (Bernie) screamed and Aimee (ever the goody-goody) reacted with shock and disdain.  You know, the kind that is a thin veil for the amusement that really existed, despite her fear of letting it show.

I was emboldened.  Later that evening we went to a movie and when the movie was over, I drove us around to the backside of the movie theater.  This theater was on the end of a long shopping center that included, among other things a grocery store.  The area behind the grocery store had a large open lot to allow room for the delivery semi-trucks to maneuver.  There was also a section that was slanted fairly steeply toward a drain. 

I had long since learned that this slanted area made an excellent ramp.  I decided I was going to freak out my friends, so I drove around to the back of the shopping center and punched it.  It was dark and there was a set of head-lights coming the other direction but there was plenty of room to avoid a collision so I went for it.

Forty-five miles per hour behind a shopping center, up and over the ramp and down with a crash!  Bernie screamed, "Woo hoooo!" and laughed.  Aimee gasped and then allowed herself a chuckle. 

And then the lights.  There was red and blue flashing off the building on one side and field on the other.  I was just so surprised I couldn't even get it together to be scared.  I stopped the car and rolled down the window to wait.  The officer walked up to my window with an ear to ear grin on his face.

Officer Shiflet:  How're we doing tonight?

Me: (red faced and probably glowing in the dark.)  Ok, sir.

Officer Shiflet:  I noticed your little stunt back there.  What was that all about?

Me: Well, um...  I was just, uh... showing off... a little...  f-for my friends.  (I was sure I was going up the river)

Office Shiflet:  (Grin growing slightly)  Why would you do that with me coming the other way?

Me:  Well... I mean, um... I saw headlights and all, but um...  Well.  (And then I blurted it out.)  I didn't know you were a cop!

Officer Shiflet doubled over in laughter.  With tears streaming down his face he said, "Let's slow it down a bit shall we.  Now get outta here, you crazy kids!"

Read all their radio briefs here; read the Them Days one here.

Good luck with your studies in Fredericton and I will hold you to your promise to visit!  :)

(The "On the Labrador" photo exhibit by Arnold Zageris is nearing the end of its run at the Interpretation Centre, so if you haven't yet seen his amazing photography, get out there this week!)

We managed to get three interviews completed yesterday, and we had many other names passed on to us as good subjects for future interviews.  If you know anybody who might be interested in sharing their knowledge and history with us, as always, let us know!  Even if they don't live in the Goose Bay area, it's good to know who to speak with when travelling around Labrador!

Night was falling swiftly upon the small valley. Dusk settled around, daylight clinging until there was nothing left but darkness to swallow it whole. Had there not been a half moon in the sky, it would have been terrible conditions for going out in the night. Yet the moonbeams created a bit of light and the florescent glow from the lights stationed on the front yard of the grand mansion helped show the path towards the dwelling. The lights upstairs were already snuffed out, the mistress of the house already curled up in bed. Yet she listened carefully, taking soft, shallow breaths as she tried to discern the voices that bled through from the downstairs below her. Aimee knew she shouldn't have been listening in on the private affairs of the men down below but she just couldn't help herself. She strained her ears, closing her eyes, and letting out a long breath as the voices became a little clearer to her sleepy mind.

"Brothers, we meet at last," It was her husband who spoke first. Evan had a darker tone, though it remained even as he greeted the two men whom Aimee had let into their home only a few hours ago. Robin Loxley and Jeremiah Gantz were seated at her table (well, her husband's table), each with a glass of wine, and each ready to speak on the matters of their move to Vestan Ridge.

Two of the most powerful families had come along with she and her husband. Two families to keep this place safe, to protect them and help lead their sons into this magical world in which they existed. While Aimee had long been a skeptic of this, it was clear the skepticism was rooted in jealousy. Her husband and these men had what she could have wanted: magic and a means of such power! Instead of being like them, she was simply a human. How could she be special? Yet Evan had told her, time and time again, that it was the fact that she didn't have magic, that she relied on simply living without the burden of the power, that drew him to her.

She fought sleep as long as she could but the voices soon blurred into simply noise as she drifted off into sleep. She didn't hear the chairs scraping against the wood, nor the farewells given before the door was closed and the house was silent again. Yet she did stir as she felt weight on the bed shift. Evan slid beneath the covers and a peek over her shoulder proved to her his utter exhaustion as he heaved a sigh. His body pressed against hers, an arm wrapping around her waist. Her fingers intertwined with his.

"How'd it go?" She murmured sleepily, eyes closing once again as she fought off sleep long enough to hear his answer.

"We have a lot of work ahead of us."

• Windows Logo: Start menu
• Windows Logo+R: Run dialog box
• Windows Logo+M: Minimize all
• SHIFT+Windows Logo+M: Undo minimize all
• Windows Logo+F1: Help
• Windows Logo+E: Windows Explorer
• Windows Logo+F: Find files or folders
• Windows Logo+D: Minimizes all open windows and displays the desktop
• CTRL+Windows Logo+F: Find computer
• CTRL+Windows Logo+TAB: Moves focus from Start, to the Quick Launch toolbar, to the system tray (use RIGHT ARROW or LEFT ARROW to move focus to items on the Quick Launch toolbar and the system tray)
• Windows Logo+TAB: Cycle through taskbar buttons
• Windows Logo+Break: System Properties dialog box
• Application key: Displays a shortcut menu for the selected item

Aimee
"Aim for Windows"

Aimee
"Aim for Music" 

I've mostly been working on the Them Days calendar and Christmas cards; Margaret did the majority of the work before she headed to Cartwright.  Now I've been going over things with the printers, sending it off to them, that sort of thing.  It doesn't sound like much, but the details will keep one busy for hours.

Since starting these projects, I've also been thinking of other things we could add to our inventory.  What do you wish the Them Days office sold (in addition to what we currently sell)?  I've got a couple ideas myself but I would love to hear what you have to suggest!  Sometimes when people come into the office, I get the feeling they're looking to buy an elusive something else but I have no idea what that might be.

Margaret, if you're reading from Cartwright, I hope you're having a good time out there!  I'd love to visit there sometime because that's where my grandmother is from.  I can't wait to see the pictures you'll come back with.  See you on Tuesday!

And to anybody from Cartwright reading this:  be sure to say hello to Margaret if you see her!  I know she was hoping to get some interviews done while she was in town, so help her out if you can - I think she's leaving soon.

-Aimee

As we only had official duties in the evening, we let Aimee pick the activities for the afternoon.  We went to a very strange movie theater where we saw 'Wall-E' and then had lunch at Panera Bread.

As we were eating our lunch, we got word that Grandma B and Papa Kevin had arrived, so we met them at the hotel and made our plans to attend the Akron Aeros game, another official duty of a Soapbox Derby Champ.  All of the kids were gathered together to walk from center field to the third baseline and were announced as a whole to all attendees.

Once her duties at the game ended, Abby was ready to call it a night.  Tired, hungry and anxious to see more family, we left the game before it even started.

We went to a really good mexican restaurant just in front of our hotel called Salsita's with B and Papa.  Grandma Janice, Papa John, Alex and Anna arrived just in time to see the wait staff sing 'Happy Birthday' in Spanish to Aimee and give her some fried ice cream.  Aimee thoroughly enjoyed the attention, not to mention that she got to wear a really cool sombero!

• Apple Support-Downloads  (new window)

I think it's great that most software companies now automatically detect our computer's settings so they can serve and auto install our machines with the appropriate version of their software.  

However, there are times when some of us need a specific version for a particular reason, for instance, to help a friend who can't download it.  Thank you Apple for this useful source.

Was this useful? Why don't you leave me a comment.

Aimee
"Aim for Aimee's Links"

vol. I issue 2

We managed to get a nice little assembly line going, with Margaret and I looking through the issues first.

Then, Josie and our Volunteer Margaret put each copy in an envelope for our subscribers (along with any required renewal notices) and got them ready for their journeys around the world.  Thank you very much for your help, Margaret - we wouldn't have gotten the magazines out so quickly without you!

(Yes, we had two Margarets in the office on Thursday!)

The magazines were put in the mail on Friday, and if you're looking for them in the stores around town, you should start seeing them today!

Hope you enjoy the issue!

-Aimee

For a selected object:
• F2: Rename object
• F3: Find all files
• CTRL+X: Cut
• CTRL+C: Copy
• CTRL+V: Paste
• SHIFT+DELETE: Delete selection immediately, without moving the item to the Recycle Bin
• ALT+ENTER: Open the properties for the selected object

To copy a file:
Press and hold down the CTRL key while you drag the file to another folder.

To create a shortcut:
Press and hold down CTRL+SHIFT while you drag a file to the desktop or a folder.

Aimee
"Aim for Windows"

• F1: Help
• CTRL+ESC: Open Start menu
• ALT+TAB: Switch between open programs
• ALT+F4: Quit program
• SHIFT+DELETE: Delete item permanently

Windows program key combinations:

• CTRL+C: Copy
• CTRL+X: Cut
• CTRL+V: Paste
• CTRL+Z: Undo
• CTRL+B: Bold
• CTRL+U: Underline
• CTRL+I: Italic

Mouse click/keyboard modifier combinations:

• SHIFT+right click: Displays a shortcut menu containing alternative commands
• SHIFT+double click: Runs the alternate default command (the second item on the menu)
• ALT+double click: Displays properties
• SHIFT+DELETE: Deletes an item immediately without placing it in the Recycle Bin

Aimee
"Aim for Windows"

Aimee
"Aim for the Useful"

vol. I issue I

According to the printers, our latest issue of Them Days is in Deer Lake, awaiting transportation to Goose Bay. Hopefully we will have it by tomorrow, at which point Margaret, Josie and I (and hopefully a volunteer) will be busy checking each copy before stuffing envelopes with subscribers' issues and putting together the packages destined for retailers! Keep your fingers crossed that it arrives tomorrow!

Apple: Mac OS X Keyboard Shortcuts/Commands for START UP

Aimee Geek
"Aim for Mac" 

Keystroke

Description

Force Mac OS X startup

Press Option-Command-Shift-Delete

during startup

Bypass primary startup volume and seek a different startup volume (such as a CD or external disk)

Press C during startup

Start up from a CD that has a system folder

Press N during startup

Attempt to start up from a compatible network server (NetBoot)

Press T during startup

Start up in FireWire Target Disk mode

Press Shift during startup

start up in Safe Boot mode and temporarily disable login items and non-essential kernel extension files (Mac OS X 10.2 and later)

Press Command-V during startup

Start up in Verbose mode.

Press Command-S during startup

Start up in Single-User mode

Aimee
"Aim for Macs"

I arrived there on Monday afternoon, just in time for the conference meet and greet.  Thank you to Provincial Airlines/Innu Mikun for their assistance in getting me to Nain.  Without their help, I wouldn't have been able to go.  We at Them Days appreciate it very, very much.

Them Days is planning a special issue dedicated to language, so it was with that in mind that I went to the Sivuppialautta ("Let's Move Forward") Inuttitut language conference.  I also brought along photos from the archive that needed identifying information, and I planned to gather stories about language (or anything else anybody wanted to tell me about).

Many people identified friends and family (and even themselves!) in the collection of photos I brought to Nain, and the display was a hit.  Unfortunately, I did not manage to conduct any interviews with elders at the conference, about language or otherwise.  I am disappointed that I was unable to fulfill all the tasks I had set out for myself, especially because I can't get out to the coast very much.

Listening to the stories of our elders is (I think) the most important part of my job.  Without their stories, their history and wisdom, what we know about the history of Labrador lacks the personal side that we hear through interviews.   If you know of somebody who would like to share their stories, please let me know.  I want to speak to an assortment of Labradorians, which is why it's so important for me to get stories from everybody, not just people who live in the Happy Valley-Goose Bay area.  If you have a relative visiting Happy Valley-Goose Bay from any part of Labrador, or if you yourself have a story to share with Them Days, I urge you to visit the office and introduce yourself!  We welcome stories in Inuttitut and Innu-aimun in addition to English.

Now that I have met many people in Nain and from other communities on the coast, I hope that next time I go, I will be able to speak with many of them! Next time I won't be just another stranger with a camera and a voice recorder.

Anyway, back on the topic of Nain - I can't say enough good things about it.  I've wanted to visit for a long time, and I'm glad to have visited for such an important conference.  I was especially glad for the opportunity to refresh my Inuttitut knowledge, as rusty as it is.  I can't wait to start working on the special issue!

Thank you to the community of Nain for your hospitality, and to Toni White, Carolynn Gosselin and Catheryn Andersen of Torngasok Cultural Centre for the invitation to Sivuppialautta, and for putting my interview sessions in the conference schedule.  Special thanks go to Jessie Ford and family, Angus Andersen, Fran Williams and Ben Ponniuk for their support, suggestions and friendly faces.  (And thanks to all those who I'm surely forgetting to name at the moment.) Thank you to everybody who helped me with my uncaptioned photos.  Your assistance was invaluable.  Nakumek!

I truly wish that I had been able to stay in Nain longer so I could enjoy the community even more.  I will be back someday!

It took us three and a half hours to get up there, but it was completely worth it. The moment we drove in I knew I was going to have an awesome time. While driving to New Fro, we were greeted by screaming T.S.Ters in togas. Weird, I know. Then we got to a group who gave us tags for our luggage. Since we were early, we had to wait a while for them to open registration. Our guy's name was Willie. He was trying to entertain us, but only knew one joke, which everyone who knows Willie knows his joke. Why can't you keep secrets in a cornfield? Because there are too many ears. Ha, ha. Anyways we went through registration and all the boring stuff. Then we got on a tram to my cabin (Lothlorien Celeborn). And we were greeted by Lacey, my drama counselor. We were the first ones there and I didn't get my luggage yet, so we decided to explore. We hopped back on the tram and went to the zipline. You know, the big tall tower that you get harnessed up to some wires and run off the edge to the world below, but your  harness keeps you from falling and you ride all the way down? Yeah, that thing. Only everyone was too chicken to run off, so we walked. Then it was time to say our goodbyes when we got back to our cabin (almost everyone was there now). It was tearful, but you know, same ol' same ol' when it comes to my family. Then we unpacked, introduced ourselves, then went to dinner. The mess hall is a huge building with about 5+ buffet tables scattered around with suprise, suprise, food and about a billion and one small circular tables. At dinner I met up with three other counselors, Sam, Audrey, and Ashley. Sam is our all around counselor, but Audrey works in crafts almost all day and Ashley works in mail and the lost and found. At dinner we always get mail. All the girls around me got mail from their parents already and I got nothing:-( but that's because all their parents filled out postcards while they were still at the camp. You know the "we miss you, too bad we're still here" kind of thing. After dinner we went to club, which is in the auditorium. We sang worship songs with the band "The Sidewalk Prophets", and watched skits about Roman Bible stories, and stuff like that. This years theme was ancient Rome (which explained the togas) and the majors were divided into two teams 'titans' and 'arganauts', and I was a titan. After that we had campfire where we roasted marshmallows and sang camp songs, then had a little heart-to-heart with a director of the camp, Krista. After campfire, we walked a long way back to our cabin in the dark and got into our pajamas. Then we went to the bathhouse to brush our teeth and stuff. THe bathhouse is ususally very crowded becasuse we have to share it with many other cabins. There are only three sinks, three bathroom stalls, and three showers shared by 68-85+ girls is chaos. Literally while brushing your teeth, to get to a sink you have to shove through the crowd shouting "I gotta spit!" Pleasant, really. It's lights out at 11:15, which never seems like enough time, and the then on to the next morning.

The next couple of days were the best in the morning we'd wake up and get ready and go to breakfast. Then we'd go back to the cabin and have solo time which is a devotional, pretty much. Then we'd go to drama and play improv games from "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" That was always the best part of my day. Then we'd do an activity like the following; the blob, zipline, crafts, mountain biking, the gusher, and stuff like that. Awesome, I know. And after we did anything, we'd gather in a circle and talk about how what we did related to our lives back home and our relationship with God. And then we'd have lunch, and then focus (which is just like club, but more skits) and then small group. Small group is when we'd go back to the cabin and divide into two groups (one with Sam, one with Lacey) and we'd talk about things we struggle with and our lives and how we could improve and nothing leaves the circle, so don't ask me. And we could say anything, because after we'd said it it was done with and no one would repeat anything. So it was good to vent on some stuff. After that we'd go to the Trading Post (TP) which is the camp store where we could but snacks and stuff. After that was shower time we'd go to the bathhouse in our swimsuits and took "Springhill" Showers. We'd go into a shower with two to three people and take a two minute shower. Sounds fun.  After that we'd do dinner and club. And then we'd go and have some free time or we'd do something with the whole camp like the Decathalon, which is a mix of the show "The AmazingRace" and field day you'd do games like field day only more fun (like crowd surfing) but you have to do them fast and complete them all and run to the flagpole and which ever major comes in first wins. Or crud wars which was the best. You get into your bathing suit and clothes you couldn't care less about and you go into the field below the zipline and there is this fire truck. It shoots out water from it's hose into the sky a bagillion feet and comes down to make the field a big pond, and you get all dirty in that then the two teams (titans on the left) divide and each person gets two water balloons, then they charge at each other while the hose sprays down on you and then after a minute you have to retreat and get shaving cream, then flour, then horsefeed mixed with water. Yum. I got that in my mouth. After crud wars you have to run to the bathhouse as quick as you can to get a spot in the showers. It was already crowded when we got there.

After 5 days I was reluctant to leave, but glad to go home with my parents who cried when I saw them. We then did a skit we came up with and a closing ceremony where I got the "Good- Natured" Award. It was hard to say good bye to the people I had bonded with for the past 5 days, but it was great to be with the ones I had bonded with the other bagillion years of my life (oh yeah, I can be deep). Overall I had a good time, made lots of new friends, who hopefully I can keep in touch with every now and again.

The end.

I'm certainly jealous as they'll both be celebrating with the relatives on the beaches of Tofino, BC, the gorgeous West Coast of Vancouver Island.

A couple years back we celebrated dad's 50th with tons of friends and family, and - I wish them both the very best of birthdays this year!

Thursday night we collectively celebrated 60% of the (immediate) family's Birthdays.

A dinner out at a fantastic restaurant.  Amazing food, great location, and... they're environmentally friendly?  That was news.

It started as an over-all good day including some shopping and lounging in the sun with Matthew, the youngest sibling.  We then biked from James Bay, past Thetis Lake, and as far as Colwood/the Hwy #14 crossing of the Galloping Goose trail.  A quick 13km or so trek, Matthew's first time on that part of the trail- and he did superbly!

We dined at My Chosen Café.  A rustic, homey little spot located in Metchosin.  Dinner was highly enjoyable.  The whole family, including (cousin and good friends) Aimee & Dylan, all there for some good laughs.  And as it turns out- the restaurant is keen on keeping things green.

My Chosen Café is taking part in one of the CRD's composting pilot projects.  These projects were first introduced, so far with much success, in the residential areas of Oak Bay and View Royal.  It was extended after a year when it saw over 400 tonnes of waste diverted from the landfill.  Domestic food waste is picked up from residential areas- and now restaurants, apparently- and transported to a composting facility.  Simple as that, they even supply you with the free compostable bags.  The restaurant has it's weekly pick-up, and our waitress explained that this time a couple of years ago they were letting cans, bottles, paper, and all pile up in multiple trash bags.  My, how things have changed.

Cheers to Ryan & dad- Happy Birthdays!

]]> http://promisetangeman.wordpress.com/?p=54 Sat, 12 Jul 2008 00:39:03 +0000 promise http://promisetangeman.wordpress.com/?p=54 Brian and i drove over to Ca for the 4th of July weekend and had an amazing time. i got to see my sister at forrest home and her boyfriend troy. it was soo relaxing and amazing. it was so needed. sun, games, laughing, sun burn, hot dogs. the perfect 4th of july weekend. here is a little clip of all the fun.

Im not sure what it is, but something about being it the car with someone, when they start talking about things I dont want to, I feel trapped, and its not really a good thing. Its another problem area of mine...something I havent put to much effort into, because well...Ive had enough to work on. But tonight, things didnt go so well. Two problems, same time...not good.

She started off posing the all to familiar question of "When are you getting married", as if it was an "In thing" or something. I should have changed the subject then, when I could have, but since I was flying so high, I shot back with my common reply that Im not. I started thinking about something else, but apparently she hadnt, because she brought it up, and carried it out the whole way in, which by the time she got out, I was, not only ready to explode, I was ready to quit again.

She thinks, like most people, that since Im now getting the kids back, that I should, atleast get a girlfriend, and start trying to make what they refer to as a "Normal family". Im not sure just how normal they think it would be, considering that they arent even my real kids, and that I really dont want to get married. But to each his own. She went on to say that she couldnt support me and my "Ideas" unless I was atleast going to put some effort into trying to make it right. She continued on with saying that it wasnt right to bring these kids into a "dysfunctional home" and try to raise them "Correctly" her words, The " " ones, were the ones she really emphasized.

I remained mostly calm, Ive heard this before...been through these things before, dealt with them, really...just another conversation. No. Big. Deal. But then she went off on the sprout that I should "Give up the idea that my wife is coming back already" again, her words. It took me a few minutes of processing to try and understand what she was saying, and honestly, Im still not to sure what she was trying to get at. I never said I was waiting for her to come back. I know that shes not coming back, because...well...shes been gone for almost six years. She continued on with "I mean...its not like she...just...left or anything, I mean, she did die, right?"

I could have said, or done a few things right there. But I didnt, and she continued on like this the rest of the way into town. Now, had it been anyone else, besides my mom, I most likely would have pulled over and kicked her to the side of the road. Or, like Ive done before, wound up in a fist fight. But I didnt. I remained mostly civil until I dropped her off. Then I let loose. I dropped from the spot in the sky where Ive been flying so high for the past week, and went straight down to earth. I guess it should teach me to stop flying so high, but damn...its nice sometimes.

But its back to reality for me. I know its been almost six years, I know I should get remarried, and whatever. But....while Ive accepted a lot of things? While Ive learned to deal with things, and have learned to live without certain things, or, rather, people? There is still one thing (among others) that I struggle with, and thats loosing Aimee. While Ive accepted Emmys gone, and that shes most likely better off, and that I can move on, and still have her memory, I cant seem to quite grasp that with Aimee, and yes, its been longer. Yes, I should be over it. Yes I know all that. While Ive went through the "appropriate steps" and even cleared her things out right along side everyone elses, there is still that...one thing...that hasnt been ready to let go, and accept it. I can continue on with my life, I can even have a good time, but I havent let go, and I havent accepted that. I have, however, accepted that I havent...if that makes any sense at all.

Ive accepted that Im single, Ive accepted that I live, and miss her, and will continue until the day I die. I have accepted that I will never be completely ok with the fact that shes gone. Ive accepted that, its been much different living without her, than it has been living without Emmy. Ive also come to accept that while Ive come to accept how I am, and will be, most people havent. Ive accepted that most people will continue to try and get me to move along at their pace, and do things their way. Ive also accepted that Im not like other people, nor, would I want to be.

But while Ive accepted all these things, I havent been able to accept that shes....gone...and has been for this long.

Or, that I should get remarried...because to me? That just seems...insane.

A little off (or a lot) off the beaten path, but it is what it is.