Prince Edward County

The Toronto Star is publishing a series on spectacular places in Ontario to view the fall colours. Prince Edward County is in the top five. The location cited: from Lake-on-the-Mountain, at the observation point, looking down to the ferry and Adolphus Long Reach, and over to the mainland at Adolphustown. We'll have to get over there with the camera today (haha, our schedule has been crazy; not likely going to happen!).

And continuing the emphasis on the County, rumour has it that we will be infiltrated by two more chains ... those "in the know" are predicting the arrival of a Wendy's as well as a Shopper's Drug Mart (perhaps this is why Pharmaplus is being completely renovated as we speak). A huge new Home Hardware is being built out at the corner of Loyalist Parkway and Scoharie Road. No Frills got approval for their big expansion. That will make four pharmacies and two fast-food burger joints in the County. I think there is room for all :-).

"The Saga of Kev's Jaw" and "Return of the Kitty-Meister" (aka "Relocation")

Starting with Kev's Jaw. Five or so weeks ago Kevin had a dentist appointment. He had a sore tooth, and it needed an old filling replaced. Just a routine, regular visit. Dentist put in a medicated temporary filling. After the visit, Kev's jaw started hurting ... extremely painful. Eventually he made his way back in, where the dentist discovered, with x-rays, that he had inadvertently dislocated Kev's jaw! Oops. Several weeks, and several bottles of Ibuprofen later, dentist makes plans to have him in this week to relocate his jaw under anaesthetic.

This past Tuesday, Kev and Iain were horsing around while Kev was on the recliner. "Somehow" Iain ended up kicking Kev in the jaw. It didn't seem like a really hard kick to those of us watching, but Kev was in agony (and not so thrilled with Iain!).

Fast forward to his last trip to the dentist. Dentist re-x-rays Kev's jaw, and comes back into the room holding the x-ray looking puzzled. "Kev, did anything happen to your jaw this week?"

Yup, one misplaced kick relocated Kev's jaw. Oops.

Now the kitty-meister story ... once little kitty was friendly enough, we relocated him to our neighbour's barn. She was hoping the two little kitties would stay and be barn cats. We left kitten (named Wisp by mom, Roger by Alison) there on Monday afternoon. His first sighting back with our chickens was yesterday (Thursday) and Alison took these photographs today. It really is remarkable, but I'm quite positive that this kitten, who was orphaned much too young, has decided that our chickens are his parents!

"But I'm already hatched!"



"Wanna play?"


Looking cute!


This one is incredible. It's not so clear here, but the hen is actually preening the kitten's fur!


Life is never dull here. Not. Ever.

A thought for today ...

We do not stop playing because we grow old. We grow old because we stop playing.
- Benjamin Franklin

Play hard today, folks, and have a good one!

Happy Thanksgiving to my Canadian friends! (and an interesting tidbit for all :-) ...)

http://www.kidzworld.com/article/2614-canadian-thanksgiving

So for years, I have thought (because I was TAUGHT) that the "first" Thanksgiving was the American one. I couldn't believe this link which my friend found. Our first Canadian Thanksgiving predated the Pilgrims by 43 years? Kewl.

Today ...

I am enjoying the last day of being at home alone. Actually, I'm really enjoying today because my husband has his Thanksgiving day off today and he is helping me organize the filing cabinet (woo hoo ...)

I am busily organizing because my life and daylight hours are about to become more complicated.

I am clinging to this verse in the Bible ...

• But He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. 2 Corinthians 12:9 NIV
  

Because ...

I am on the threshold of once again becoming a home educating mom.

Yes, next Tuesday we will have children in three different schools ... Sophiasburgh Central (Claire, grade 8), Prince Edward Collegiate (Alison, grade 9), and School of Home and Community (Iain, grade 6). Can you say "Crazy". However, circumstances prevail and Iain is very much looking forward to "coming home" for the remainder of the year. And once I am organized, I am looking forward to being (at least partially) a home-educating family once again!

BTW, this has been coming for quite some time ... not a sudden inspiration at all. But not so long ago I was dead set against the idea. My heart didn't change until my husband gave a sermon at church one Sunday morning entitled "Constrained by Love". The conviction I felt from that message ... just wow.

So pray for us! The first few weeks of de-schooling can be rocky at best, and I will be juggling my home job as well this time around. We'll keep you posted!

And a quick peak at what is living in our chicken coop, besides the chickens, that is! :-)

Apparently two kittens were dumped at a neighbour's farm a week ago, and the little boy kitty has managed to migrate to our chicken coop. The hens have been very gracious to share their space. He was painfully skinny when he first showed up here; four meals later he's looking much better. We'll have to get him to a cat rescue; such a shame that he'll be living in a crate in someone's house for 3 months until he's old enough to neuter. He's a really cute little guy. He has a sibling around as well, but we've only had one brief sighting of her/him.

I speak quite often of our home in NJ, and about how much I loved it ...

and I promised one of you that I'd find a photo. Here is our last home, in Ewing, NJ ... taken at a rather dismal time of the year, but what a great house this was! (Time dims the memory of the new furnace we needed almost immediately, the re-ducting that had to be done prior to adding a/c, and the English Ivy that was actually growing through the basement window frames :-) ...)


I LOVE houses built in the 1950's. So solid it was, and so much storage. The loft above the garage stretched across the breezeway, with a staircase to the top. A full, unfinished basement. Knee-wall storage along half the front of the top story, and almost all the way across the back. Three pantries in the kitchen (two closets, one built-in hutch). Cherry trees, holly trees, different varieties of maple trees, a mulberry bush (just like yours, Janna!). Oh, and poison ivy!! Yuck. The grass on the front is not dead, nor is it even grass, but a plant called zoysia grass that is extremely heat tolerant and stays green without water all summer. And although you can't see in this photograph, the entire left front of the house is covered with massive rhododendron bushes.

I was talking to the kids the other day though, and we realized that this house would likely feel quite small if we still lived there. The girls shared the masterbedroom, which was a good size, but the living areas were fairly poky and small. Still ... awesome memories.

I am going through the filing cabinet, and have come up with all sorts of gems in the process ... AND considerably slowing the whole process as I do :-).

Guess what Kev is doing in January???

Here are his travel plans:

Leave Toronto 23rd Jan @ 8:30 am

Via Narita/ Tokyo

arrive Bangkok 24th @ 10:50 pm

Have a day (2 nights) in Bangkok and fly to Chaing Rai on the 26th

Return Leg

Leave Bangkok on the 31st @ 8:35 am

Arrive, via Tokyo to Toronto at 6:25 pm

Kev is representing Canada at the International Marketing Manager's Meeting of UCB International in Ciang Rai, Thailand. Cool, huh? (It's spelled incorrectly above). Claire is beyond jealous, because she has a HUGE heart for Asia. She's planning to slip in to his suitcase :-).

Kev got an interesting phone call today ... (updated)

The receptionist called out to Kev, "Kevin, there's a Michael on the phone for you!"

Kev answered, and a polite Southern accent on the other end said "Hi Kevin, Michael Smith here."

Any guesses on who it was??? :-D

I'll await comments!


Janna got it ... BUT for those of you who don't know who Michael W. Smith is, here are some YouTube videos:

Michael's newest video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fk5K-eTTkfM

And a blast from the past, with apologies to Kev ;-) (not his favourite song)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbPKaIozS-c

Michael speaking about the slums in Kabera, Nairobi (Kenya) on behalf of Compassion International last year
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_12H7ISnLo

Please pray for us ;-)

Heaven help us all! I was hoping for saxophone. My vote didn't count. Tee hee.

Iain is definitely in the early stages of playing. He can do ... uh ... loud.

Occasionally, Kev will answer the phone "House of chaos, Kevin speaking." Only too true now.

For those of you who have never owned laying hens, a photo ... (Edited Oct. 7)

Here are the first 24 eggs laid by our new Plymouth Barred Rock hens. They are all same-age new layers (some newer than the others!). First eggs are very inconsistent. Check out the 6th egg on the 2nd row; that is definitely a first egg. It's about the size of a quail egg! Some of the larger eggs are likely double-yolkers which tend to occur more frequently when a hen first starts laying.

Update: This morning for breakfast, Iain and I ate two of the big eggs. They were indeed double yolkers :-). Yum!