Tina the Rug, and Teddy Bear to Be.

I've decided to make a puppy-teddy for Frances. Not that she can really appreciate one yet, but fuzzy teddys are always a good idea. Originally it was to be a Christmas gift, but I'm already halfway finished, so I might end up giving it to her in July when I see them at the wedding. We shall see. I'll post a picture once I'm done. Right now it just looks like a small, pink, fleecy, heart printed animal skin rug. Creepy. Hopefully when it's completed it won't give her nightmares.

I'm thinking 'Tina' would be a good name. Easy for toddlers to say. And if it turns out deformed, it could be 'Tina, Teddy of Terror!'

Everything is better with alliteration.

Insta - Chauffeur! Just Shake and Spray!

So, you might be wondering what I've been up to the last couple of days. Or you might not care. But I'm going to tell you regardless, haha.

The pox are coming and going in waves. It's milder than the case I had when I was a kid, although still very uncomfortable at times. Getting better slowly though.

It was my parents' 25th wedding anniversary on Tuesday. They went out for dinner. The day before my dad kept bugging me, asking if I would 'chauffeur' them to and from the restaurant. I did my best impression of a whiny teenager before I finally agreed. Then the night of, while they were getting ready, I very sneakily dressed up in my old uniform blouse, my black slack, my brother's black tie and my back vest. Voila! Instant chauffeur's uniform.

Now, you might think this is a little over the top. But at the end of the night I was tipped handsomely. Ten bucks and change to look a silly while driving a car. So I stick firm to my belief that costumes are pretty much always a good idea.

Happy International Day of Blah.

It's confirmed. Chicken pox. I'm not supposed to go anywhere near pregnant women until the last of the spots are gone and I'm no longer contagious. Since few establishments refuse entrance to pregnant women, I'm pretty much under house arrest. Yay.


We rented 'The Book of Eli'. I didn't like it very much, although Geoff did.

I made M&M cookies. I started with 21. Before my family even got to them, this number was reduced to 19. Not my fault. I was brainwashed by Cookie Monster and the subliminal messaging of Sesame Street as a child. At least, that's my excuse.

A pox on . . .well . . . me.

It seems I may have chicken pox. I think I caught it from the little rug rats on Tancook. Children. So cute. So contagious. ;)

In other news, it is horrible. I itch and hurt and I have a terrible headache. Until this evening I thought I just got a lot of bug bites, since it started on my legs. But apparently not. I even had it when I was three or four, but I guess you can get it more than once if you're exceptionally unlucky.

I'm sitting downstairs with Geoffrey so he can keep an eye on me and make sure I don't scratch. He's finding it very difficult because I am very sneaky. Seriously though, if it doesn't get better soon I am going to have to wear socks on my hands. And I don't have any sock puppets so they will just be sad, boring socks.

Oh dear. I think the fever is addling my brain. Toodles.

Get in line kid, I've been waiting 11 years for Toy Story Three!

Tomorrow I'm going to see Toy Story Three with CC, AC and NM. In 3D. It should be glorious. I'll let you know, haha.
It's also A's 18th birthday! Yay!
And then I have to drive to some truck stop and pick up Geoffrey on his way home from P.E.I. My parents are going to be at my cousin's graduation in Antigonish, so unless the dog gets her licence tomorrow and grows some thumbs, I'm his only hope. Bah, he can hitch-hike, right? What could go wrong?
Actually, it'll be nice to have him home. All this being-able-to-use-the-TV-without-wrestleing-the-remote-away-from-him is going to my head.

My Grandmother's Ring.

As you may know if you have been reading my previous posts, my grandmother died not long ago. Among the things she left for me was a small gold ring with a cluster of three tiny diamonds on either side of the main stone. This had originally been a lab-created emerald, little more than coloured glass I am told. Unfortunately, at some point the emerald fell out of its setting and was chipped, rendered unuseable. She had taped it to a piece of cardboard and left it in her jewelery box.

It was important to her, a gift from my gradfather who died when I was 10 or 11. She was very sad that it couldn't be repaired.

My parents decided that, as a graduation gift, they would get the ring re-set for me with the stone of my choice (within reason of course). We went today to have it done.
I really struggled with the choice of stone. My grandmother had loved it as an emerald, but I knew that would limit how much I would be able to wear it.

I ended up choosing Tanzanite, one of my personal favourites. The ring still reminds me of my grandmother, but it has a little of my personality as well.

They still have it at the moment, I will put up a picture once I get it back tomorrow. But it is supposed to look something like this:

Getting Ready for the Centennial.

It was wonderful to be back on Tancook again. I've been visiting since I was 4, and lived there for three entire summers. It really feels like home to me. Sure, not all the people are great. Some are downright creepy. And I miss being around kids my own age. But at times I feel like I belong there more than anywhere else in the world.
Hopefully someday I will be able to have my very own little cottage there, on the sea shore. I would build a boat slip and sail every day!
Oh well. Maybe when I retire in like fifty years.

My grandmother and I decided that their shitzu-sheltie mix, Gabbie, needed a costume for the Naval Centennial Celebration this summer. So this is what we came up with. Honestly, she is just like a living teddy bear. So cute!

Big Tancook Photo Collection.

~ On the beach with a view of an abandoned house in the distance.




~ Seagulls at dusk. Also, if you look closely at the water, you can see a porpose's fin just breaking the surface.




~ Flotsem in the water. Again, if you look very closely, you can see thin pieces of shale or slate which have broken off the rocky shore and are now floating on the water's surface. Very neat.




~ Gabbie headed towards the beach just off my grandparent's property. We went beach combing together.




~ Fishing boat out at dusk. I think they were just out looking for some mackerel. Not sure who exactly it belongs to, someone on the island for sure.




~ This was the view off the deck the moment I arrived. I love the sun through the clouds.

Shipping Out.

Literally. Tomorrow I'm headed to Big Tancook Island just off of Chester Nova Scotia. I'll be staying with my grandparents for a day or two. They run the only bed and breakfast currently on the island, but they don't have any guests at the moment.

It should be fun. The house is right on the ocean, and they have a salt-water pool as well. On the island there are hiking trails, an art gallery a museum. Not to mention lots of wicked people who I havn't seen since last summer. Sorry to sound like a tourism brochure, it comes with helping occasionally run the business out there.

In the summer, there's only one kid my age on the entire island, and I'm not sure he's even there yet, but still, I'm looking forward to it. Unfortunately they only have dial-up internet connection. If I'm too lazy to wait for it too hook up, you might not hear from me until Wednesday or Thursday. So don't panic. ;)

Thunder and Lightning Aren't So Frightening.

Nothing is quite so cleansing as a well-timed thunder shower, at least in my opinion. I sat out on our deck for the last hour in the dark, watching and listening to the first really good storm of the summer. Mostly just flash-lightening, lots of wind and rain, but near the end there was one truely spectacular fork. My favourite part though is waiting for that last big crash, the one that shakes the ground and feels like it lasts forever. Love!

I remember when I was little (we're talking two or three here), whenever there was a thunder shower, my Dad and I had a particular tradition. We would both put on our bathing suits and run around in the rain until we were shivering from the cold. We would laugh and laugh, and he would put me on his shoulders and dance. I remember Mom watching from the doorway holding baby Geoffrey. She always refused to join us, but it made her laugh too, seeing us act so crazy. I guess that's why I was never afraid of storms.