Canadian OCHA's

I saw a few things in Canada that immediately made me think of IntenseGuy so I grabbed my camera and took a few pics before I got caught. I am not really sure what Canadian OCHA's are like, especially ones who are lined up trying to cross the border. They could have gone nutso on me for all I knew so I snapped fast but this is what I got. These are especially for you Iggy!

I saw these OCHA's trying to cross the border into the USA but the Canadian officials were having no part of that. They were lined up one by one for about a mile while the Canadian officials searched their belongings for proper Identification.








This one was happy to pose for a picture.



One good thing was the drug sniffing dogs that are usually all around the Inspection Station were all busy searching a non OCHA vehicle so they didn't have time to lift their legs on the OCHA's (although I think that would have been quite funny.)

The next pic is of an American OCHA sitting on the road in New Hampshire. He was also in a long line but didn't seem too upset about that.



The rest of his friends were all waiting for a moose sighting so they could tell their families all about it. It certainly would have made their trip up North well worth while!



This totally answers any questions about whether or not OCHA's reside in foreign countries. I am not really sure if they were trying to escape or just visiting. I guess that would be a good thing to investigate next trip into Canada. :-)

Early Morning Visitor

Ever since I moved up here to the Lakes Region from the Seacoast area, I've been hearing about all of the wildlife I will be seeing. We live in a very wooded area about 6 miles from Lake Winnisquam, and I always have my eyes opened, hoping to see something, anything. I've seen hummingbirds, blue jays and robins, cats, dogs and horses, but none of that was anything new for me. A few weeks ago I did see 13 deer grazing in a field a couple of miles down the road but unfortunately I didn't have a camera.
Yesterday, after stepping out onto the deck, this is what I saw. Mr. Bear was just coming out of the woods behind the deer target. My heart was thumping like mad but I grabbed my camera and got off a couple of shots before he went around to the front yard and then up the hill and across the road. Obviously he was taking an early morning stroll, perhaps looking for some breakfast.








We are really careful not to leave any garbage outside and we don't have any bird feeders out in the yard because we don't want to attract any bears. George has seen moose and bear tracks out in the woods behind the house and our neighbor has had moose in his driveway, so hopefully one day I will see a moose too. That would be really cool.

I have a few errands and chores to take care of today on my day off. We are leaving early tomorrow morning for Quebec City so I need to finish the laundry and pack for a couple of days. Then I have to get to the pharmacy and pick up a few things like panty hose, mouthwash and something else that escapes my mind at gthe moment.
Later this afternoon I am going to drop Hunter off at Eric and Jessie's house for the weekend. I hope he doesn't terrorize their cats too badly. LOL

Sunday we will be at the Basillica in Ste. Anne De Beaupre, Quebec, for the Ordination. George's cousin Gerald will be ordained one of the youngest Bishops in the world. The family is very proud and I am very excited to witness such an event.
I hope to have plenty of pictures next week.

For now I am off to finish laundry and take my shower.
Have a great day and enjoy the holiday weekend.

Today Is My Birthday, Today Is My Birthday!!

It's Monday, mid May, sunny and a little chilly this morning but should warm up a bit as the day goes along. It's also my birthday today...52 years ago I came into this world kicking and screaming at 1:45 AM. Birthdays aren't a big deal to most people but I don't care how old I am, I like birthdays!! It's not about presents, it's about C A K E!! LOL I think everyone should have a cake on their birthday.
Last week we celebrated several birthdays in our family. On Tuesday, Jon's new wife, Nikki, turned 23. On Friday, Nicole's husband, Matt, turned 31. Saturday we had a nice party out on the deck at Nicole's house. We had a fairly nice day and a lot of fun. I always enjoy being around George's kids and grandkids. But the one person I really enjoy is Matt's mother, Marsha. What a sweetheart! She always makes me feel welcomed and she's a lot of fun. We seem to have a lot in common and we are becoming fast friends.
The first time I met her was a year ago at Matt's birthday party and it was the first time I met most of the extended family and also the first time I was to see George's then soon to be ex wife in like 25 years. Of course the circumstances were quite different now and I was very nervous. My stomach was a mess and I could barely eat anything. Marsha must have sensed my nerves and discomfort and she took me under her wing, made me a stiff drink and talked with me for a good part of the afternoon. It helped, immensely. We formed a bond. LOL She knew exactly what I was going through because she had been in the same situation years ago. I will be forever grateful for her thoughtfulness.

The rest of the weekend was pretty good too. Saturday morning I got my car inspected and then George and I went groccery shopping. I bought all the things I needed to make my sauce for lasagna, which I made yesterday. It was really yummy. We also watched The Curious Case of Benjamin Button yesterday afternoon. Very different and good movie. I loved it! Last night was the Survivor finale, which was also quite good, although predictable. I was happy JT won...he deserved it.

So today, it is back to the grind. I am planning to skip out of work right on time today, no overtime. I am going to meet George at The Common Man restaurant after work and have a nice birthday dinner. I have no idea when I will hear from my kids but I know they won't forget my birthday. They better not!

I don't care what else happens today but there better be a cake involved. I prefer chocolate...but will settle for any type as long as there is frosting! :-)
I want you all to have a great day today...as your gift to me. And...have some cake!

Post Mother's Day Post

I had last Friday off work and hoped to finally post something worth reading but ditched my initial plans in the morning (lounging around the house drinking coffee and playing on the computer) since the weather was finally nice. I ended up getting up fairly early, got the laundry going and then took off to run errands. I made several stops, post office, gas station, library, Wal-mart and Town Hall to get my car registered. I was heading back home when I decided to turn right and go down to where George works and surprise him at his lunch break.

He sauntered out of the building and I heard the beep of his car door locks before I saw him. I parked right next to his car but he didn't notice me right away, probably because I drive the same kind of car he does. Yes even the color is the same, how weird is that? He spotted me and jumped a little, then a huge grin spread across his face. I know he had no clue I would be there so it was a nice surprise. We only has a half hour break so we drove over to McD's and he got a couple of cheeseburgers. I picked at his fries and got an iced mocha. (those damn things are delicious by the way) We chatted a bit, I showed him my loot from WalMart and then I took him back to work. It was a nice little break. He is the sweetest man I have ever met and I know he especially appreciates the little things in life, like a surprise visit in the middle of the day from his wife.
After that I went home, put my stuff away and watched the soaps. I never have a chance to do that since I am usually at work, but it was fun to catch up and see what's been going on in Pine Valley and Llanview. LOL

Saturday George and I, my Dad and Eric and Sara all met at my other house to do a final clean up. We borrowed Jon's truck and filled it with big items we haven't been able to move, like my mattress and box spring, my china hutch and a couple of tables. Sara is going to take the entertainment center and the couch and possibly the end tables. Eric and my dad cleaned out the attic and Eric took home boxes and boxes of baseball cards. I forgot just how many were up there. I found my rocking horse which made me very happy. There is a cool story about it and I will tell that in another entry with pics included. I also brought home my baby cradle that I had for both kids when they were born. I'm not giving that away.

The clean up took all day and no we aren't finished. Another Saturday, maybe two and we should be done. We cleaned up a little bit and Sara took me out for an early supper for Mother's Day. We went to Olive Garden, Soup, Salad and breadsticks...yummmmy! George tagged along and had steak...of course. We were all pretty tired and had long drives to our respective homes so we said goodbye in the parking lot and went home. We still had to drop off Jon's truck and pick up my car so we never got home until 7:00. What a long and exhausting day!

Yesterday was a quiet and relaxing day. George and I made breakfast and he took off to do the grocery shopping while I cleaned the bathroom and kitchen. After we got the groceries put away, I sat on my butt for an hour or so and read some of my book. I have about 70 pages left in the last book of the Twilight series which I should finish either tonight ot tomorrow. Eric called to wish me a Happy Mother's Day and let me know he was on his way to the Boston Burins hockey game in Boston. I have no idea if they won but I am sure Eric and Jessie had a good time.
I took Hunter for a short walk in the afternoon. It was a little chilly and windy, so we didn't stay out too long. There wasn't anything on television so I worked on a jigsaw puzzle for awhile.
George cooked supper on the grill...we remarked at how fast the damn weekend went by, then it was time to clean up and get ready for another work week.

I hope all you Mom's had a wonderful Mother's Day. Have a great day today too!

Quiet Weekend

It's been rather quiet in my world. Not a whole lot going on. I've been doing a lot of reading when I have free time. I am about 200 pages from the end of Breaking Dawn, the fourth book in the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyers. I really have enjoyed the whole series but this book isn't as exciting as the others. It's a bit predictable for me and I guess I am glad it is the last of the series because I really don't know where else it can go. A happily ever after, nonetheless.

Hunter is doing well. We've been taking him for a walk every evening after supper and he seems to really enjoy that a lot. Lot's to smell, lot's to hear. And he can use the exercise since he is pretty much asleep all day before we get home. I have to keep an eye on the ticks though since they are out in full force. I pulled three off of George last Sunday after he went for a walk out in the woods. So far, Hunter has escaped being bitten.

I am slow cooking some baby back ribs today. The house smells fantastic. We are going to finish them off on the grill in a bit. The meat should pretty much fall right off the bone. I also made some potato salad, which looks pretty darn good. George is outside mowing the lawn at the moment. He's been working a lot on the lawn and garden since he pretty much forgot about it all last summer. Things are starting to shape up though. As soon as I have something to photograph, I will post pics.

Friday night we met George's brother Ray and his wife Diane at Olive Garden and had a wonderful dinner. We have been promising them we would all get together and finally just set a date and did it. It was really nice, we had a good time and I am really enjoying having a 'sister'. Diane is also the only daughter in her family and she is the mother of 2 boys so she likes having some female companionship. I think we will be great friends as well. :-) She has a very rare form of Muscular Dystrophy so she is pretty much confined to a wheel chair but believe me, it doesn't stop her from doing anything she sets her mind to. She's got a wonderful sense of humor too...a bit sarcastic. Hmmm no wonder we get along so well.

Not a whole lot of news. The weather has been fairly good, a little rain here and there but no wash outs. Pretty nice spring for sure.

Work is ok. Just busy enough to keep me out of trouble. I am cutting back on the overtime for the summer because I really want to enjoy some of the daylight each day. It's bad enough I go to work and come home in the dark in the winter. Not gonna happen now that the weather is nice.

Hopefully you all are enjoying some of the sun. I think I'll go set out on the deck for a bit before I have to get busy in the kitchen again. Ciao for now!