All About Me

Hello!  I am so happy you found my page.  It's always nice to make a new friend and I love to hear from my old friends.   How does that old saying go??

Make new friends, but keep the old.  One is silver, the other gold.

There are no strangers here, only friends who haven't met.  So pull up a chair and set yourself down.   It's time to get to know me!

I'm a sixty-five year old woman.  (How did that happen???) I moved over here to this Big Island in the year 2000 from Nova Scotia, Canada, and will soon be returning to its beautiful shores. I was a stay at home mom for the whole time my children were growing up pretty much.  I did work for a short time, but I wasn't really happy with that.  I wanted my children to have a mother in the home, and so I tried hard to be just that.  Unfortunately that didn't prepare me very well for the divorce which occurred later in life as I found myself basically middled aged and with no skills, or at least what I thought were no skills.




One thing I had always loved to do though was cook, and I was pretty good at it,  and so I went back to school and got my Chef's papers.  While I was at it I also got my Medical Secretarial course, which I thought might come in handy.  You can never have too many strings to your bow.  I was able to work as a personal chef for a family over here in the UK for a number of years before retiring  and now I basically just work from my home, writing, painting, cooking.  It is what makes me happy.

I joined the Church of Jesus Christ in 1999 and my faith is very important to me.  I have always been a person of faith, but the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints sings the song of my heart.  From the first day I entered one of their chapels I felt as if I had found the spiritual home I had been seeking all of my life.   God, the Saviour and my family are my whole life, so if you don't like reading about these things, you probably won't like being here.  But if you have an open mind and enjoy simple pleasures, this is the place for you!

  I was able to serve Mission with my church a few years ago.  Thankfully  I was able to serve from my own home, which was great!  I finished my Mission in December of 2016.

On here I hope that you will find  lots of love and inspiration, food for the eyes and soul, sometimes silly, sometimes not . . .  and hopefully often interesting and life enriching things.    I hope you'll stick around for a while and that you enjoy your stay.

CAST OF CHARACTERS
 


This is Mitzie, a Blue Roan English Cocker Spaniel.  She was a vibrant force in my life and brought me more joy and love than I could ever have hoped for.  She more than filled the hole that was left when we lost our Jess.  




I got her as a puppy for my birthday when she was only 8 weeks old.  She was so precious.  Such a sweet, sweet dog.



Laid back.  Crazy.  Loving.  It broke my heart when I had to leave her behind when I returned to Canada in 2020. She was just a bit too old to make the trip.  I was quite appreciative to find her a very good home to go to where she is very much beloved and enjoying a very happy retirement.

This is Cinnamon (left) and Nutmeg (right). They are brother and sister and came to live with me here in Canada when they were 8 weeks old.  They are both gingers and the light of my life.  Cinnamon is considered a regular tabby and Nutmeg is considered a mackerel tabby. They were born on the eve of my late mother's birthday so I believe this was meant to be.

Cinnamon is pretty laid back and Nutmeg is a bit cheeky, both are incredibly sweet and loving. I am twice blessed.



This is my mom.   She was a very special lady, the matriarch of the family.   She was a breast and lung cancer survivor, and miracle experiencer, one of which was that her lung cancer was healed mysteriously, after prayer and a Priesthood blessing, and a LOT of faith on her part and those who were praying for her.  She had one portion of her left lung removed in a major operation, but when the tests came back from the samples that had been sent away for testing,  they showed cancer free.  This was a miracle as only a few weeks before a biopsy had shown she definitely had cancer.   Her surgeon said to her at her follow up appointment several months later . . . "Do you believe in Divine intervention?"  He said her body had magically healed itself, something which he had only ever seen one other time in his whole career as a thoracic surgeon.  Unfortunately she suffered from a heart attack after her her first operation,  and a thrombosis a few days after that.  It was touch and go for a few days but she seemed to snap back. Sadly she suffered from Vascular Dementia for the last years of her life and was in a lot of pain from her feet and legs.  She was like the Ever Ready Bunny though and kept going and going for quite a while. We were all very grateful for that.  We loved her to bits.  Her strength, tenacity and faith were always an example to us all.

Sadly we lost mom on January 21st, 2019.  We all miss her dreadfully and our hearts are forever broken.

This is my dad.  He is 87 now, and was my mother's toy boy (haha.)  He was an electrician in the Canadian Armed Forces for many years. Although he and my mom were divorced, and had been for many years,  they remained the best of friends.  They had lived together in the same house off and on through the years. My mother's door was always open to him.  

This made it so much easier and nicer for us as their children. We felt no need to take sides and were always free to love them both with abandon. Its too bad this wasn't the case for everyone.   

It's from him that I inherited my love of music, reading and easy going nature.   He calls me the "Apple of his eye."  He probably calls my sister and brother that too, but it doesn't matter to me if he does.   When he says it to me, I feel like the "apple of his eye."  He's one of my biggest fans and that means the world to me.  He's very proud of all that I do.   That is precious to me.  Love my dad to bits too!



This is my younger sister Cindy.   She and her partner Dan moved back to Nova Scotia a number of years ago to help care for my mom who was recovering from cancer surgery at the time, and all the implications that had for an 80 something year old woman, and also to care for my dad.  She's  been my best friend for all of her life.  I hope she feels the same way about me!  She has four children (and two grandsons and one grand daughter) all of whom she left behind when she moved back to NS.  We are ever grateful for their sacrifice.   Prior to that she had not been home in 12 years due to financial and time constraints. To just pick up and go when she was needed was a wonderful gift to us all. These years have been a special gift for both her and our parents, a chance for them to enjoy the same closeness that I have taken for granted all these years, but never will again.  I Love my sister and am very grateful for her presence in my life.



 This is my younger brother David with his dog Betty.  He says she is not his dog.  She moved in with them about 4 or 5 years ago now, but I think that after her having been there for this long . . . she's his dog, and they do say a picture speaks a thousand words!  She definitely looks comfortable! And so does he!  He was my rock when I was home that year with my mom and we were going through all the turmoil of her operations, heart attack etc.   I don't know what I would have done without him being there with us.  It was also a fabulous opportunity for us to grow closer than we had been in years.  He is my friend.  I love him and am glad he is my brother too.  He is married to Christine and they have four lovely girls, and he has his Glider's Pilot license.  He is proof positive that life after 55 is only just beginning!

 

This is my oldest son Anthony and his wife Anne on their wedding day.  They were high school sweethearts.  Anthony is a bit of a jack of all trades, and a fabulous comedic talent,  and Anne is a stay at home mom for now, although she does have a degree in Archaeology.  They have two delightful little boys . . .



From left to right, Gabriel (10)(now 15) and Luke (6) (now 11)).  Two little lights in my life.



This is our Special Olympian, Eileen, my eldest daughter with her husband Tim.   They got married a couple of years ago now.   That was a special day!  They waited a long time to make their dreams come true.  Eileen has competed nationally and internationally, representing Canada in the Special Olympic Winter Games, bringing home two gold medals and a bronze.  We are very proud of her!



This is my youngest daughter Amanda and her husband Tom.  She is a Registered Nurse Practitioner, and he is a Physiotherapist.   They are the proud parents of these two little minions . . .




Cameron on the right (3 years) (now 8) and Maryn on the left (5 years) (now 10)
Love my grand babies, all seven of them!



 This is my middle son Doug and his wife Kayla on their wedding day.  They live on a very small island where Doug is a trained Heating and Refrigeration Technician who works at Staples,  and  where they are both busy bringing up these three little joys . . .

 

 Our three J's, from left to right, Joshua (7) (now 12) , Jonathan (9)(now 15)  and Jacob (5) (now 11).
Three sweet little boys that I don't get to see nearly often enough, although facetime on the ipad makes it a lot easier these days.



This is my youngest son Bruce, his wife Sarah and their fur babies Baxter, the Dachshund and Lucy the Springer Spaniel. 



Bruce is in the Canadian Airforce.   Sarah is an RCMP Officer,  and Baxter and Lucy are both personality and energy  plus.




Bruce and Sara got married three years ago now, in 2016, and are busy living their happily ever after.

They had their first child almost 2 years ago now. Little Liam. 




And there you have it in a nutshell, that's the lot of us minus some nieces and nephews!