Low Ceiling

 

St. John River valley big sky. (Click on the picture to enlarge)

Sometimes the sky is freedom, other times it presses like a heavy load.

Either way, you can’t go wrong with the view from the old Dryer Road.

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Let There Be Light-ning

Hartland, New Brunswick, July 2016 –

We had a blast taking the footage. We talked. We laughed. And every once in a while, we just stopped everything in order to exclaim, Wow! Ahhh! Incredible! OOOOHHHHH! Did you see that!?!? And other sounds that often sound something like words.

Lightning Pics from Hartland, NB

This gallery contains 23 photos.

These are still pictures taken from video. These pictures were taken in, and around, Hartland, New Brunswick, Canada. July 2016. My cousin, his girlfriend, and I, spent a couple of hours venturing out in to the warm evening along the … Continue reading →

Thank You Woodstock

Mt. Katahdin, on the way to NB.

Thank you to my Mom, my aunts and my cousins for a wonderful visit, and overnight in Woodstock, New Brunswick. It was a short visit, but enjoyable. Thank you. 

Last Trip to Canada

I was going through some documents I had on my Google Drive and I came across one that I had put together last June. I did this in planning a trip to New Brunswick, Canada to take my Mom, and Dad, up to her hometown, where she grew up. But the visual planning was done more for my Dad so he would know what to expect, and feel comfortable knowing that we were making several stops so he could stretch, get coffee, or whatever.

In recent weeks, Dad had talked with my Mom about how he could not wait to take (I would drive them) Mom back to Canada again this year. Then, on April 14, 2016, God intervened, and took Dad to his eternal home. As it turned out, this trip I planned, which we did take, would be Dad’s last trip to Canada. Dad did not do well on that trip, he was not completely healthy at the time, and he struggled throughout. That being said, I choose to remember the dozens and dozens of trips Dad did make to Canada over the years, and how those trips remain as some of the most fond memories of my lifetime. Dad took Mom up to her home for more than 40 years, and he taught me well. I have taken Mom and Dad up to the old farm country in New Brunswick on nearly all of their trips over the last 4-5 years. Lord willing, I will be able to continue bringing Mom over the border to see her family for many years to come. I am thankful. I am blessed. I love my parents and would go to the ends of the earth for them. I miss my Dad.

Here’s how that simple agenda looked.

Planning for travel and stops to New Brunswick. June 26-29, 2015.

Mom, Dad, and Steve.

Leave Mom and Dad’s on Friday morning, June 26, 2015 by 7:15am.

Grab coffee at DD in the Irving Station at Exit 5 by 7:30am.

Drive out 101 East and get on 95N.

Cross into Maine by 8:30am.

 

Stop at Gray, Maine Service Plaza at exit 59 by 9:30am.

Back on the highway by 9:45am.

 

Stop at Exit 130 Tim Horton’s in Waterville, Maine by 11:00am.

Back on the highway by 11:15am.

 

Stop at Exit 193 in Orono, Maine by 12:30pm.

Back on the highway by 12:45pm.

 

Stop at Exit 302 in Houlton, Maine by 2:15pm.

Gas up, any snacks or drinks pick up, empty garbage, etc.

 

Get to the border by 2:40 pm.

 

Stop at Aunt Barbara’s house in Hartland, NB by 4:15pm (Atlantic).

 

Return home to Londonderry on Monday, June 29, 2015.

We will retrace these same stops on the way home.

Likely leaving the Woodstock, NB area by 11:30am (Atlantic Time).

 

This should get us to Londonderry by 6:00pm (Eastern).

Photos are (c) Google Maps and 1inawesomewonder.

Rideau Canal Skate – 3 Years Ago Today

Skating the Rideau Canal 3 years ago today. Wind chills were below zero, but we had to get a skate in before heading back to the US.

Honoring her December birthday

Well, it’s December 6th. Another December date that I remember a loved one on their birthday. I have so many friends and family with birthdays in December. This morning though, I remember my Aunt Janette. Below, I have shared a poem that I wrote in honor of my aunt. She was a beautiful person, inside and out. I was fortunate enough to have a relationship with her right from the time I was born. Last night when I looked at my calendar, and I let the date register with me, I stopped and I thought about my wonderful aunt. She is still very much missed and I cannot wait to see her again, one day, in heaven. This morning, I remember her, and I share this poem I wrote a few years ago.

I wrote this poem the morning after my Aunt Janette went to see our Lord. I woke up on Saturday morning and had these words in my mind, waiting to be written. So I sat and I wrote them.

Then on Thursday of this week, I decided to see if I could find the pictures we took at Uncle Lloyd and Aunt Janette’s farm last July. I opened the folder on my computer and I burst in to tears. Because, there she was, my beautiful Aunt Janette, right in front of me. Furthermore, there were pictures of her holding the child’s hand, pictures of her lifting the frail to new heights, and pictures of her happy, healthy, and completely at ease in her element. So I decided to pull a few pictures and put them into a post here including the poem. I took some of these pictures and my daughter Erin took some too.

Where’s that woman who used to embody farm?

She would work and still pull off that striking charm

 

There’s an empty spot in the garden over there

 A place vacated by the mother with golden hair

Aunt Janette leads Jacqueline up to see the calves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Can I walk for a while where she would tread?

O’er the grounds many visitors she had led

 

 

That child’s hand isn’t held walking next to us

It would’ve been by the girl who grew up in Texas

This is how I remember my Aunt Janette. Strong enough to walk alone, but always looking to see who else might benefit from a little help.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

May I enter her home and just sit for a while?

I can smell the bread and still see the smile

 

The room is full but something’s out-of-place

There’s a smile missing, absent, a friendly face

With a little boost from Aunt Janette, the frail could fly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Can I say a little something to remember her by?

How she’d reach for the frail and let them fly

 

There are stories shared, each must be told

Recalling the wife that never did look old

Always happy to see us, my Aunt Janette, and my two daughters, Jacqueline and Erin. 7-25-2012.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Is it just me or is there happiness found here?

“…there am I in the midst…”; He is near

 

Gathered there is strength, and even more love

Missing here, we need only smile and look above