Then it was Friday... the last one in January 2011!

I don't know about you but I keep writing 2010 not 2011! Maybe because I am no longer in the day to day work world and I don't have to indoctrinate it into my psychy as quickly or maybe because 2010 was just such a big year for me! A quick recap of 2010:

January 2010: Learn I would NEVER own a house on Vancouver Island AND I lose my job
February 2010: Go to the Olympics with my best twinnies and my teen daughter
March 2010: My first trip ever to Atlantic Canada - looking for a new home
April 2010: Sale completion - I am once again a home owner
May 2010: Start garage sales galore - sell almost everything I own
June 2010: A month of saying good bye, farewell and See You Next Week!
July 2010: The trip across Canada - 3 weeks to the day and a lifetime of memories, most will be insane!
August 2010: A month to try to unpack, what we can, settle in and start to get the kids meeting people.
September 2010: School starts and work finally begins on the bedrooms
October 2010: Finally have all our firewood in and work basically ends on the bedrooms - for now
November 2010: Many anniversaries to remember, good and bad and to celebrate the girls birthdays and lives
December 2010: The year is already or finally, over! Our first quiet Christmas alone and thankful that we survived a hell of a year!

Now it is January again and it is almost over. A couple of more days. Rachel has finished her first semester at Canterbury High and Jess is settled into Grade 4 - with not TOO many calls from the teacher. We are all well and ready to move forward. Len and I have lots of great ideas on how to use our talents to earn money. I am in the midst of HOPEFULLY starting a new web design business with government support and things are looking positive with that. 

A week ago there was a raging Atlantic storm and a foot and a half of snow dumped on us. This past week we were in the -30c temperatures and wondering what we had done. This Friday, we sit in a cozy house and the temperature sits at a balmy 9c! Wow what a change! I can hear snow melting and dumping off my roof. Watch out for that falling icicle! It will impale you if you are not careful! I have been perusing the organic seed catalogue and look forward to tilling the ground in the spring! (I have decided since we can't plant until June that I shall start seedlings! Maybe in a greenhouse? We shall see!)

Now, I must run! I have posted Part 8 of our fictional princesses life on the OTHER blog which you will find a link at the right of this blog, to lead you too! Tomorrow I will post the whole story start to finish for those of you who don't like to read in pieces. I am about to put on a big pot of chili starring my home baked beans in the pot with it! To go with that I am going to make a new bread. Just a little something I found in the book "The Best of Bread" by Patricia Jacobs circa 1975! Fun, eh? Au revoir!

What is a Fireball Hot Chocolate?

Inquiring minds want to know, what IS a fireball hot chocolate? It's very good is what it is! You get Fireball Whiskey - it is kind of a cinnamon flavoured whiskey and SO good even if you don't like whiskey. Make yourself a hot chocolate and put an ounce of Fireball in it, ooh la la! That'll warm up the old insides let me tell you! 

Just to clarify, I don't drink much (not enough actually), I don't have a drinking problem (unless being an hour away from the liquor store is a problem) and as much as I am tempted to buy cheap American booze (much less than 1/2 the price across the border) I am just not willing to lose my Nexus card and be declined entrance to the USA to smuggle in a little wine. (I say cheap American booze since the beer is less than 1/2 the price but it is also 1/2 the alcohol too and doesn't taste great - give me my Alexander Keith from Halifax any day!) The wine however is the same stuff I buy here. A nice 750ml bottle of Australian Yellowtail wine is 17.50 a bottle in Canada and 7.97 in the good old US of A. I have to wonder what they pay in Australia... $4?

Anything wrong with this picture? Is the purpose to simply prevent us Canadians from having drinking problems and getting fat or to make money for the government coffers? I am thinking for the government coffers and I will tell you why! One day I called the Canadian Customs office to find out how much I would pay when I came back to Canada after being in the US for an hour to shop, if I purchased alcohol. The general gist was the beer was going to be almost double to buy and the wine would be about $10 more and spirits, well I didn't even ask. 

Len and I had his son, Ken coming to visit and we thought let's just buy American beer. Although the charges were fairly high it was still closer to our house (20 minutes away) and would ultimately work out to be about the same price. We bought an 18 pack beer, 12 pack beer and a litre of wine. It came to $37 in the US. We came to the border and declared it, since I thought we would only be paying about another $20 on it based on the quote I had earlier that day. The border guard looked at us and said ok come on in to pay the duty. Well, here's the rub! 1) you pay more to exchange the money to US in the first place 2) then you come to Canada and pay the duty, Oh and the tax, OH and apparently New Brunswick felt it was not getting enough of a kick back so the province added another 18% to the total. 

This left us with paying $39 Canadian on our $37 American booze that was watery and had less alcohol. Good deal? I should say NOT! Did we ever do it again? Nope! However, the three standard questions you are asked as you cross the border are: Did you purchase any alcohol? Tobacco? Or firearms today? So the border guard who served us and took our money that day, now looks at us and when we answer no, he always says "Guess you learned your lesson, eh?" Yup! Although I guess it depends on what the lesson was.... Don't buy American alcohol? Or don't claim it? 

Better go now, that Fireball is calling my name!

-40? What?

Well it is not actually -40 but close! It was -32 this morning and with the windchill factor OVER -40. Damn! That IS cold! Oh well, we are faring fine. Just keep the woodstove topped up and on high and keep those electric stoves plugged in, wear big socks and slippers and a long sleeved shirt! Drink lots of hot green tea and every now and then throw in a Fireball Hot Chocolate! MMM! 

The weather tells me I must get those blinds sewn to keep the heat IN my house. As I look at the six foot snow drifts outside my bedroom window I REALLY wish there had been room in the trailer for all of our down comforters! Oh well, I guess it is reassuring to know the crazies across the street are benefiting from them. 

We had a big storm on Friday that netted us a new 18" of snow... light and powdery so easy to shovel and apparently another nor'easter is on its way! Yay? Apparently it is too cold for the kids to even play outside. I remember at Brechin School in Nanaimo, when it was around 0c and we parents thought it was too cold for the kids to go out. The school has not actually had an in day yet and Jess was out playing in -18 (before wind chill factor) on Friday so that MIGHT be why she was home sick today. 

Not much to say at the moment. I have been concentrating on my story "If Happily Ever After... Wasn't" on the other blog! Check it out and I shall update this site with more of our adventures... soon! Take care! I have to go now, my toesies are cold and my nose is frosty so I guess it is time for that Fireball Hot Chocolate!

Now what Sarah? ...

I have decided to post my stories and poetry on a separate blog. You can access this blog at the site listed in this posting. I decided that my story of our life and journey does not mix well with poetry and short stories. Please join me on the new blog or don't! It is for you to decide!

However if you wish to read Part 2 of "If happily ever after... wasn't" then I suggest you click on:

http://sarah-sherman.blogspot.com/

This is Sarah Sherman, from SNOWY Fosterville, NB signing off for the night!

If Happily Ever After.... Wasn't.... Part 1 of a fictional tale

Over the next few days, I am going to post a story I wrote approximately five years ago. It is quite long, 4,000 words and is not finished yet.... I am looking for feedback on whether I should continue the story or not. Let me know what you think. I know that I am able to write fact, but how about fiction? Read for a couple of days and then tell me whether you want to know what happens? ... Does the story hold your interest? .... Or? 

Please note: All characters in the story ARE fictional and my children's names have been used to integrate them into the story. No live or real Princes or Princesses were hurt or damaged in the writing of this tale. 

Have a GREAT day and tune in tomorrow for Part 2!

            Have you ever wondered what happened to the princess after she met her prince? What exactly did “happily ever after mean?” Well, this is a story of “happily ever after” and it might not be what you expect!

            This is the tale of a beautiful princess and how her life changed after she met the handsome prince. Of course, they were very happy for a long time. She lived in the castle, which was a dream come true! She had every need or wish met and all   the servants waited on her day and night. She did find it odd to go from having so little, to having so much so quickly! The prince assured her that she would become used to it and learn to love their life together.

            The wedding of course had been a splendid affair with kings, queens, presidents, prime ministers and leaders from every country in attendance. Her dress had been made designed especially for her and was bejeweled with every imaginable ornament without being garish. Her friends attended her as bridesmaids and flower girls and she was thrilled to have them all be a part of such a glorious event! She was only sad that her parents were not alive to spend this time with her and see how truly happy she really was. The princess was so kind, that she had no hard feelings towards her evil stepmother or stepsisters and included them as much as possible in her new life.

            Of course after the wedding, all of the guests returned to their homelands and she and the prince went on their honeymoon. They traveled to every corner of the earth and she was sure to send postcards home from each city to let her friends know about her travels. She picked up trinkets and fabrics she knew they would enjoy when she returned home to see them again. She was so excited that she kept a journal where she wrote all that occurred, so she would not forget to tell her friends a thing! She and the prince traveled for a whole year and went to every civilized part of the world. Often they would pass small towns or villages where the people were poor and struggling but the prince always said there was no time to stop and help, as they had to be on their way. He assured her he would send a man back with food and gifts for the villagers so that this would ease their burden a bit.

            As princesses do, who are newly married, she was enthralled by everything the prince said and did and had no reason to doubt his word. She was certain that he would never harm a person or an animal and that he surely must send gifts to all the poor they passed. The princess was on her honeymoon after all she was living in a perfect world!

            After a year of travel, they made their way home. Many of the villagers came out to greet them and welcome the prince and princess back to their kingdom. Children waved and threw flowers to them, families smiled and wished them well with their future family and everywhere the princess looked she saw people.  Nowhere did she see her dear friends that she had sent postcards to.  She  wanted to visit with them and share her gifts and travels with them. Where could they be? She didn’t know, but she was rushed along to the castle with much to do and did not have long to think about it. She knew she would have time later to come and look for them.

            Upon arriving at the castle, the king and queen looked her over closely attempting to see any sign of future grandchildren, but they saw nothing that made them believe she might be with child. The king and queen immediately organized a welcome home celebration for the next day and urged the prince and princess to rest, as they must be weary from all of their travels. The princess was grateful to be at home at long last. 

Return for Part 2 ... tomorrow