New Year Resolutions

It's that time of year again when we reflect on our past year(s) and think about our future. We celebrate the turning of the calendar leaf in all different kinds of ways and with a variety of people. Resolutions of all kinds will be made, some will be seen through to the end, and many will be broken.

For me it is a time when I again realize how quickly time is running out for me for attaining my goals. For this reason, I hate new years. Will I ever reach these goals? I hope so, but who can say for sure. I try, but it seems there are obstacles on each road I travel, mountains to climb, and hurtles to jump. These things will certainly make me appreciate the goals that much more when and if I do reach them, but I wish the journeys were not so difficult all the time. That gets tiresome and makes me want to throw in the towel and say "why bother?" The answer I get in response each time: because it is what you really want with all your heart and it will be well worth it.

The roads that we all walk in life are difficult to walk, even when they are paved with gold. Life is like that, and we have to accept as much. What we all need to do is to realize that we do not have to walk them alone. There is a second set of footsteps walking beside us, whether it is someone we can reach out and touch or someone we can't see and can only feel the presence of.

This New Year's Eve when you make your resolutions, make them from your heart. Our brains can turn things inside out and upside down and find all kinds of excuses, but when we look with our hearts, we can see clearly what we need and want for our lives. Let it be your guide for 2006.

Have a safe and happy new year everyone!! All the best for the coming year!

It's Christmas Day!

I hope everyone is enjoying their Christmas day. Don't eat too much turkey, although I'm sure I will.

Merry Christmas , and God bless you everyone!!!!

It's Almost Here...

The blessed day is almost here. That day that we celebrate the birthday of Jesus. I know that December 25 is not the real day that he was born, but it has become the accepted day for that. It seems that April is closer to the actual date of his birth.

We are all busy buying, cooking, baking, wrapping gifts, decorating, and cleaning, preparing for that day. When the day gets here, it will come and go so quickly that we will wonder what all the fuss was for. However, the whole season is meant to be a season of love and for preparation of that day. As they say, prepare ye the way of the Lord...

Christmas is going to be a little different for me this year. I am fully expecting the coming year, too, to continue to be full of many changes, transitions, benefits, and challenges. So now I ask, Lord, prepare the way for me...

Dear Santa

Dear Santa,

I've been a really good girl this year. I've worked hard, I've attended church, and I've been a good friend, too. I loved my kids, and worked through many challenges this year, including two moves and a house purchase. So, Santa, here is my Christmas wish list.

This year, Santa, I will again hang a 5' stocking. Can you please, please, put in it an incredibly handsome 6' foot piece of flesh of the male persuasion. I promise to love him deeply, respect him, always be supportive of him, treat him like a prince, and try never to take him for granted. I want him to love me deeply in return, and offer me the same level of respect, support, and appreciation.

Santa, I am far from perfect, and I don't expect perfection in anyone else either. That would be boring anyway. Can you make sure, Santa, that he knows that I know how to say four simple 3-word phrases: I was wrong, I am sorry, please forgive me, I love you. These are the most important phrases in the English language.

Santa, I know that he is out there. I also know that you know where to find him. If you will put him in my Christmas stocking and tie a red ribbon around him, in various places, I will unwrap him lovingly (maybe just using my teeth to do so).

You see, Santa, although all the other gifts would be wonderful, too, the only thing I really want for Christmas is love—true and deep. When a person has that in their life, everything else in the world can shine like a beacon and everything in life is a miracle or contains one. Mountains are easier to climb when you have someone walking along beside you. Love conquers all!!!

So, Santa, although my list is short, it is a big one. Please, can you bring this to me?

Sincerely,

Miz D

What a Day!

Holy toledo, what I day I had today. It was one of those Murphy's Law Days or something. My day started, as usual, at 5 a.m., despite being awake since 4:20. That is too early even for birds to get up, so what the hell am I doing getting up that time of the morning?

Getting ready for work went as usual, and I caught the bus at 6:50 a.m. We only got a couple miles from home when the bus lost it's air pressure so we couldn't move. The driver got us to a stop where he knew we could connect with a larger bus heading in the same connection. God bless him, on such a cold day. The bus had enough room to hold our full standing capacity load and left only one person standing.

I get off the bus in Halifax and head into work. I take the elevator I usually take to the parkade and get off then realize the pedway is closed for repair. So I decide to walk up to the next level, where I can access it. The stairs didn't take me there. The ramps were too slippery to walk up, so back down a few levels I go in the elevator to another level of the parkade with access to outside. I cross the street and come in the side door of the building. I am now officially late for work.

I get in and get stopped by a co-worker on the way to my desk. We talk for a few minutes. I get to my cubicle and am taking off my boots when another co-worker comes to me with an urgent job she needs done and is having difficulty. Off I go to help her sort that out. By the time I get back to my desk, it is nearly 1/2 hour into my work day. I go to put my shoes on and realize I had put my daughter's memory stick in my shoe so I wouldn't lose it. I need to print some things for her today. Oh no ... where is that stick? I know I put it in here. Finally I find it caught in the toe of my shoe.

I put the memory stick into my monitor and open the files and send them downstairs to print. They call me back. These pages are printing right on the edge of the paper and are just beyond the print area. Can I please move them into the centre of the page. OK, easy enough ... or so I thought. I don't know this program really well, and ran into a snafoo. I called our printing technician to help me. We sort it out and I send to print again ... or so I thought. Now they are stuck on printing to envelope size paper, despite my choosing the print set up and page size as letter. Urgghh ... I am supposed to be doing my own work. I have priorities to attend to before my holidays start. Now what? So I create PDFs of these and send them down again. Another phone call. One of the PDFs is wrong. I fix it and send it yet again. By this time I am ticked at the time it is taking me to do when I need to do my own work.

The rest of the day is very busy, taking only 10 minutes to eat lunch and no other breaks. Then I go home on the bus, and had a bit of an uncomfortable conversation with a friend. Glad to get off the bus today. I rush to prepare supper so a friend can pick me up for groceries. She got stuck in traffic and was late getting home. Then when she came to pick me up, she got caught in traffic on my street for 10 minutes because of a school concert. I must be jinxed. Off we go to the grocery store. We go to the big one down the road that I haven't been to in ages. It is all changed around, and I feel like a little kid in a candy store, but I don't have time to really check it out tonight. However, it took me longer than usual to get what I need because I can't find anything. Then I picked up a few extra things that I can't find at the store I shop in. This is cool. Can I come back here?

Off we go home with my groceries in the back seat, hers in the trunk. We pull into my driveway and it hits me ... I forgot my keys. I didn't need them to lock up because someone was home, so I forgot to take them. Guess what? No one was home when I got here. Now what? I picked up my cell phone and called inside in case someone was in their room or downstairs. No answer. I called my son's cell phone. "Where are you?" I asked. His reply? "Halifax." Great!!! Now I call my daughter's cell phone. I ask the same question. Her reply? "Just about to get on the bus." "Don't get on it!!" I tell her. "I locked myself out, we will be there to pick you up in a second." So down the street we go to meet her and her friend at the bus stop. They had been waiting 1/2 hour in the freezing cold because she misread the bus schedule, and now I made her tell the bus driver to leave without them. We pull over and put my groceries in the trunk as well so that they can get in the back seat. We use her keys to get me in the house, bring in my groceries, then she drops them off for me at their destination.

What a friggin' day!!! The two good things about today were that I heard from a friend I care about very much and my new friend was very patient with me when I forgot my keys. She was great. A real Godsend. Both of these friends made my day.

I think I will head to bed now. I sure hope my dreams aren't as busy and screwed up as my day was. I need a good sleep. Good night all!!

The Goose Is Getting Fat

Christmas is coming ... the goose is getting fat ... please put a penny in the old man's hat.

Well, that's the way the song goes anyway. Wish they would put more than a few pennies in my hat. I have turkey for Christmas not goose, but I like goose too. Those turduckens sound pretty interesting, but they are really expensive.

Yes, Christmas is coming, and I am getting a little excited. It will be the first Christmas in my new home, and the first one with both my children here with me since 3 years ago. It may possibly be the last one too, but that's OK because I know that life evolves and they grow up. Someday I will probably have grandchildren to spend it with too to make it fun.

This year I also get to have an additional person here with me. My son's girlfriend wants to experience a "fun" Christmas for the first time in her life. She grew up very differently from what we did. She is excited to be spending Christmas with us. I will do the best I can to show her what Christmas can be like. I hope she enjoys it. Christmas should be full of spirit, and I will be my best.

The Monkey Trial: The Debate Continues

The old debate of evolution vs. creationism is not dead. In a Pennsylvania school late this fall a superintendent of schools walked into a classroom and read a statement to students mandated by the school board that read, in part:

Because Darwin's theory is a theory, it is still being tested as new evidence is discovered. The theory is not a fact. Gaps in the theory exist for which there is no evidence ... Intelligent design is an explanation of the origin of life that differs from Darwin's view. The reference book Of Pandas and People is available for students to see if they would like to explore this view ... As is true with any theory, students are encouraged to keep an open mind.

That is quite a step, encouraging students to keep an open mind. Yes, every theory is full of holes. Until something is proved beyond a shadow of a doubt, any theory is full of holes. Can we prove evolution? No, we can't. Some of the make-up of the human body is so precise (so say scientists) that it seems impossible to have been a mutation that has evolved. Was woman made from the rib of a man or from the dust of the Earth? Who knows for sure? Men and women have the same number of ribs. Perhaps the truth is a combination of both.

I believe the whole universe is ruled by a power greater than ourselves. A power we cannot see, yet we can feel it, and we can see the results. Can we see the wind? No, but we know it is there. We can feel it and see the power it has.

Perhaps this step in Pennsylvania is the first step in allowing God back into the classrooms. We allow guns and other weapons in the classroom. We teach children about safe sex in the classroom. So why can't we teach them that there are many different religions in the world and that we must respect each other's beliefs? I believe we can without instilling our personal values on children. Those should come from home.

We may live in Canada, a multicultural nation, but God is being torn from our majority Christian practices. We are told that we now must celebrate a "holiday" season and not "Christmas." To that I say, "You call it what you like, but I will tell you if you offend me by calling it a simple holiday and not Christmas." No one will take the Christ out of Christmas for me. After all ... that is what Christmas is—a mass celebrating the birth of Christ, our saviour.

That's the way I see it...

Why Women Are Crabby

We started to "bud" in our blouses at 9 or 10 years old only to find that anything that came in contact with those tender, blooming buds hurt so bad it brought us to tears. So came the ridiculously uncomfortable training bra contraption that the boys in school would snap until we had calluses on our backs.

Next, we get our periods in our early to mid-teens (or sooner). Along with those budding boobs, we bloated, we cramped, we got the hormone crankies, had to wear little mattresses between our legs or insert tubular, packed cotton rods in places we didn't even know we had.

Our next little rite of passage (premarital or not) was having sex for the first time which was about as much fun as having a ramrod push your uterus through your nostrils (IF he did it right and didn't end up with his little cart before his horse), leaving us to wonder what all the fuss was about.

Then it' was off to Motherhood where we learned to live on dry crackers and water for a few months so we didn't spend the entire day leaning over Brother John. Of course, amazing creatures that we are (and we are), we learned to live with the growing little angels inside us steadily kicking our innards night and day making us wonder if we were preparing to have Rosemary's Baby.

Our once flat bellies looked like we swallowed a watermelon whole and we pee'd our pants every time we sneezed. When the big moment arrived, the dam in our blessed Nether Regions invariably burst right in the middle of the mall and we had to waddle, with our big cartoon feet, moaning in pain all the way to the ER.

Then it was huff and puff and beg to die while the OB says, "Please stop screaming, Mrs. Hearmeroar. Calm down and push. Just one more good push (more like 10)," warranting a strong, well-deserved impulse to punch the %*#!* (and hubby) square in the nose for making us cram a wiggling, mushroom-headed 10lb bowling ball through a keyhole.

After that, it was time to raise those angels only to find that when all that "cute" wears off, the beautiful little darlings morphed into walking, jabbering, wet, gooey, snot-blowing, life-sucking little poop machines.

Then come their "Teen Years." Need I say more?

When the kids are almost grown, we women hit our voracious sexual prime in our early 40's - while hubby had his somewhere around his 18th birthday.

So we progress into the grand finale: "The Menopause," the Grandmother of all womanhood. It's either take HRT and chance cancer in those now seasoned "buds" or the aforementioned Nether Regions, or, sweat like a hog in July, wash your sheets and pillowcases daily and bite the head off anything that moves.

Now, you ask WHY women seem to be more spiteful than men, when men get off so easy, INCLUDING the icing on life's cake: Being able to pee in the woods without soaking their socks...

So, while I love being a woman, "Womanhood" would make the Great Gandhi a tad crabby. Women are the "weaker sex"? Yeah right. Bite me.

[teehee ... I'm so glad I'm not like most women. I'm not actually crabby most of the time.]

Cars

Over at Sam's Place he is talking about cars and whether or not they are American. I sum it up like this:

A car has 4 wheels and an engine as well as many working parts that can break down. No one ever knows who makes those parts, but they don't last forever regardless of who does. It will be "the cheapest bid wins."

A car transports you from point A to point B in whatever level of comfort you choose to put your money into for the brand you want.

Personally ... I would love to simply have a car. So Keyboard ... you are lucky no matter what you choose.

It Figures

Yesterday, all provincial government employees received an e-mail from the Premier about a new award, the "Premier's Award of Excellence" meant to be awarded to any provincial employee who shows outstanding leadership, service, etc. My first thought was, "yeah, here come more rewards for management and the little guys will still not be recognized."

It wasn't 1/2 hour later when our division received an e-mail from middle management suggesting that we nominate the Director. How typical!!!! For once, I would like to see the little guy be appreciated. Maybe I am just sensitive because there are several things happening in my life at the moment that make me feel unappreciated, but I see it all too often when the support people have the great ideas, put them to work, and then management takes all the credit and accolades. Personally, I believe we should all be humble and take reward in a job well done, one that helps those who know nothing about you.

It figures, doesn't it????

Defining Frustration

This is how I define frustration lately:

• Wanting to cut the grass, but the blade has not been attached and needs to be sharpened. I have no file to do so, and have lost patience with the unco-operative weather and getting someone to do it for me.
• Wanting to hang blinds and not having a drill to drill into the wood frames because I am not strong enough to screw them in without drilling. I also don't know how to use a drill, don't have one, don't have a ladder/stepstool to reach the window, and am having difficulty getting someone to help.
• Wanting to cut low-hanging branches off trees that are in the way and not having big, heavy shears to cut them or a saw.
• Wanting to move firewood back under the newly-renovated deck and having a wheelbarrow with a flat tire. It requires a compressor or an inner tube to fix it, neither of which I have.
• Needing to replace a piece of chimney and not being able to light a fire until it is fixed.
• Needing to rip up a piece of carpet that is glued down and not having a pair of vice-grips to pull it up with.
• Needing to buy a lot of things and having trouble finding a way to get them home when you can't carry them on the bus.

These are just some of things that are frustrating me at the present time. It makes me shake my head and ask myself why the hell I wanted to buy a house on my own when I don't have a car either. Some days it feels too restrictive for many reasons. I'm trying hard to keep positive that this is where God wants me to be. This is not a step backwards, it is a step towards a wonderful future, one that is waiting just around the corner for me. I certainly hope it is just around the corner anyway. I don't know how long my patience will hold out like this. Life will be good, right? Life will be good.

Remarkable Obituary

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Mr. Common Sense.

Mr. Sense had been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such value lessons as knowing when to come in out of the rain, why the early bird gets the worm and that life isn't always fair. Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you earn) and reliable parenting strategies (adults, not kids, are in charge). His health began to rapidly deteriorate when well intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place.

• Reports of a six-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate
• teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch
• a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student

These things only worsened his condition. Mr. Sense declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer aspirin to a student but could not inform the parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion. Finally, Common Sense lost the will to live as the Ten Commandments became contraband, churches became businesses, and criminals received better treatment than their victims. Common Sense finally gave up the ghost after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot, she spilled a bit in her lap, and was awarded a huge financial settlement.

Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust; his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason. He is survived by two stepbrothers; My Rights and Ima Whiner. Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.

Do you remember him?

Junk Mail

I think we all get a lot of spam and junk e-mail, but the junk snail mail is still in full force too.

I have moved three times in the past three years, and somehow my junk mail seems to follow me around, and I didn't even give them a forwarding address!!!!!!!

Today, I received the same magazine twice from two of my former addresses, but none at the current one. I can hardly wait until that address catches up with me too so that I get three copies of a magazine that I don't want. They even supplied their website address. However, I can't access their site without signing up. If I do that, they will have my current address. I DON"T THINK SO, TIM!!!

Sheesh. I guess I just have to keep contributing to the "save a tree" campaign, and stick them in the recycling bag. And to think a tree had to die just so I could throw out the paper!!!

Adjusting to Change

Adjusting to change is challenging for everyone, no matter who you are. We are all creatures of habit. Some people can embrace change and thrive on it, while others will dig their heels in and refuse to budge for the a very long time.

I took a course in change management last year that defined how different people adjust and adapt to change. I guess it has been timely because I have had a tremendous amount of change in my life this year. I knew on January 1 that this was to be a year of transition for me. This past week has been the most challenging of them all.

I moved into a new house. This house is mine. The first on my own. I have full responsibility for it all and all the expenses that come with it. Am is scared? Yeah, I'm scared sh**less!! The worst part was moving in at a time when fall is pressing upon us and having outdoor things that MUST be attended to at the same time as you are trying to unpack and organize. That was difficult enough. Then for the first time in 3 years, I have both my children living with me at the same time. They don't always get along very well. This was a lot of adjustment all at once, and was completely overwhelming. Not having a partner in my life made it more difficult because I couldn't share any of the responsibilities and had to shoulder them all. My faith went completely out the door, and I was reduced to tears on a few occasions. I'm coming down from that now ... way down ... and that is a good thing. I have the plans in place for the major work to be done. The furniture is set up, maybe not where it will stay, but set up nonetheless. Now I can pick away at the rest over time.

Yes, adjusting to change is hard, and I don't mind change, however this was a lot of it all at once so I got a little overwhelmed. I think if I hadn't needed to deal with the new roof, new deck, cracked foundation, and painting and caulking the windows within the next few weeks, I would have handled this much better I am sure. Now I have calmed down, but am still busy. I've just learned to pace myself.

My son told me, "Mom, I don't like to see you this way. You don't have to do everything all at once. You're killing yourself. Slow down." Another friend told me the same thing. They were right. Sometimes we can take wise advice from those younger than us and those who stand on the outside looking in. They see a different perspective. I thank them both and love them both.

I am sure that my year of transition has not yet ended ... stay tuned for more to come. I have other irons in the fire as well.

I HATE Moving!!!!!

This last move was the biggest one I've had yet, and so many headaches. I am too stressed about it all. Finally this evening I am beginning to relax a little, from sheer exhaustion if nothing else. This is what happened:

• 1/2 hour before pre-close inspection we ran into a legal problem that had not been resolved. The seller was gone, their lawyer was out of town, and their realtor was away as well. It took a lot of "urgent" work on my lawyer's part, but we had it resolved by early afternoon.
• On inspection, we found a crack in the foundation that had been hidden by stuff in the pre-purchase inspection. Now mine to pay for. Permacrete comes tomorrow for the estimate.
  
• Immediately following that, my appliances arrive. It took 3.5 hours to get them in after having to remove the screen door, the steel door and the the fridge door. They managed to put a little dent in the top far corner. I'll live with that so I could have cold food.
• Next day it took 3 hours to load and unload the two trucks. I was flabbergasted at that, but everything was put everywhere and without a lot of care. I got many scratched pieces of furniture and dents and scratches in walls.
• I discovered that there are only 4 phone jacks here and only 3 that actually work. One of them should have been a wallmount phone jack, but isn't. Aliant comes on Thursday to fix and install more.
• Now, I thought I had room for everything, but it appears that I don't or have to put a lot more thought into how to arrange things so that it will. More headaches.
• Now there are curtain rods and curtains to buy since they took them all but one or two. They were supposed to leave them all but two sets.
• The security system is all set up and activated. Hopefully we won't set that off accidentally.

I have questioned myself several times in the past few days as to why it was I wanted to do this. How foolish of me to think that this would be a good thing. I don't like doing this alone. It's too overwhelming, at least at the moment. I hope it will all die down shortly. Right now it is chaos and insanity. I should have moved into an institution instead!!!!

Who Says Size Doesn't Matter?

Last week I went with my daughter to a local camera store to buy her a 35 mm camera she needed for her courses at school. She had gone in previously and looked at a couple and chose which one she wanted. I met her there to purchase it.

When we finally got to speak to the sales manager that she had been dealing with, he showed me the camera. I said OK, and off he went to get one from the stock. He came back with two—one model a little different from the other. I asked him what the price difference was. One was about $80 cheaper than the one he had first shown us. I asked what was different in the way of features. He took the one we originally looked at out of the box and showed me the numbered settings on the lens. (There was an additional setting on the more expensive model, but I hadn't noticed it to this point.) He turned the dial to the second last setting on the adjustments, then said to me, as he turned the dial from the second last setting to the last one, "The difference is between this and this." The lens popped out about another 1/4".

I started to chuckle. I turned away from the counter and looked at my daughter. She didn't know what I was laughing at, then I said to her, "I'm not even going to tell you what I'm thinking." Then she understood. She shook her head, giggled, and said to me, "Mom, I can't take you anywhere!"

At this point I was laughing out loud. I couldn't restrain myself any longer. I turned back to the sales manager who had a smile on his face, laughed, and said, "I think I like you." Then I started to laugh out loud again. It was a great laugh on an otherwise busy and stressful day.

Would you have paid an extra $80 for another 1/4"? I did, and it was worth it!!!!!!!!

Open Wide ...

Tonight I had my 6-month check-up and cleaning at the dentist. This is one task I absolutely hate. I don't like dental work at all.

Dentists tell you not to pick your teeth with sharp objects, and then they start scraping them and nearly pulling them out of your head with this sharp metal hook. What's with that?

They say not to put foreign objects into your mouth, then they proceed to put their fingers, a mirror, a pick, and a stream of water or air in there all at the same time. First thing you know, they ask you a question and expect you to answer with all these things in there. Like they could understand what you answered anyway!!!!!

I have a really wonderful gag reflex, which I curse for more reasons than one. It is annoying. I even had them mark it on my chart so they can keep their grubby little fingers and utensils away from the back of my tongue and my palate. I've gotten pretty good at retracting my tongue to keep it out of the way and also for the doctor and those damn tongue depressors.

Oh well ... I got through it, and have no cavities. Next appt. — March.

Getting Older

Today is also my son's birthday. He is my youngest, and has just turned 20. I have no more children in their teens. That makes me feel old. I don't like that part. I have to say, though, that the past year has made a huge difference in him. He has matured more in a wonderful way. I really like what I see in him. As for me ... I just got older ... and maybe a little wiser. At least we can hope I am wiser. Here's hoping the two of us (and my daughter, too, of course) see several other 20-year periods. It's a long time in some ways, and goes quickly in others. Life is just too damn short for some things.

That'll Cost You ...

I am discovering how expensive it is to move—twice at that. This is what I was told:

• Yes, you can rent this truck and it will cost you $__ for the day and $__ per kilometre.
  
• As a courtesy, I will feed lunch to the people who are volunteering their time to help me move. That will cost me $__. This is a small cost because I appreciate the help so much.
  
• We will disconnect your phone and Internet from your current location and reconnect at the new one and it will cost you $__ for this service.
  
• We will install your satellite service for free, but it will cost you a 2-year contract. If you wish to terminate the contract before the end of the term, it will cost you $300.
• The post office will redirect my mail again, but it will cost $__ to do so.
  
• We will connect you with water service, but it will cost you $____ to connect.
  
• Your power can be connected and based on budget, but you will have to pay the budget amount of the previous owners. That will cost you $100 more per month than what you are paying now.

It is unbelievable how much it costs. I don't think I will want to move again any time soon after this. I think I will be too poor to do that.

It's Getting Closer

Just 20 more sleeps and I will be in my own home. It has been a busy time, and I'm starting preparations for the move now. Any volunteers to help?

I may not be posting much while I am preparing for the move. Much to do. So ... if I don't talk to you for a bit, don't forget about me. I'll still be thinking of you.

Awesome!!!

This weekend, I saw some of the most awesome sights in nature. I spent the weekend at the Ovens National Park in Lunenburg. I had often heard about them, but had never been there. I was not prepared for how awesome they really were.

The campsite overlooked the ocean. When there is nothing but ocean for as far as the eye can see, it seems so incredible that there is that much water actually on the Earth. It spanned for miles and miles. The sun and moon shining on it all that distance just made it seem even more expansive. The Bluenose even sailed into the bay.

Then there was the Ovens themselves. We went for a walk on the nature trails. The view from the top of the cliffs was spectacular. I almost felt as though I was looking at the Grand Canyon. The cliffs were sheer rock that had been just gouged away by glaciers, exposing thousands of layers of rock, many of which were different colours. The ovens were deep caves gouged even further into these cliffs. When the water comes up into them and the waves roll in and out, it sounds like thunder. It was awesome!

When we took a walk all along the different portions of the beach, the sights were amazing. (Yes, I have actually seen a beach before.) All of the rocks on the beach were either completely round and smooth from years of water washing over them or they were jagged, very large hunks of jagged rock in many layers.

There was also a few farm animals that I went to see. There were two pigs (Pork and Ham; that really is their names) , five rabbits, and two goats. The goats and pigs loved to have their heads scratched. They are cute. I got some nice pics too.

I think the most awesome sight I saw, though, was the lovers going hand-in-hand and arm-in-arm. Love is the most awesome thing on Earth, and I was envious!!!