May 24, 2007
May 24, 2007
Spring and the black flies have arrived at last! Gardening currently requires one hand held over the mouth and nose to keep the black flies out while the other hand operates the hoe or watering can. Besides the arrival of the gardening weather, the running weather is back. Jen and I completed our second half-marathon last week, and Meghan completed her first race ever! Jen and I probably could have run in better time (race results) than we did, but we spent the first 17km deep in conversation, catching up as brothers and sisters should! Thanks Jen.
The lake is still iced over, but for how much longer? The warm weather last week, followed by the -10C these last few days, have made for some great skating on McQuaby Lake. It has been a rather short-ish winter for us cryophiles, as we were only just getting started with the cross-country skiing in January. We were delighted to discover a slew of trails criss-crossing the hardwood bush behind the cottage, and we took full advantage of them most days. Skiing beneath snowy boughs on a bright sunny day, and the cold nose just seems to fit right in to the perfect winter picture! Kennedy loves the snow, pelting helter-skelter off the trails chasing imagined scents and who-knows-what-else!
September 1, 2006
Meghan and I are happily installed at the cottage on McQuaby Lake, near North Bay, Ontario. It's been a great summer, including a reunion with Kennedy, a canoe trip on the French River, Chris and Kathy's wedding, and being able to visit many of our good friends whom we hadn't seen in a year! We both have jobs close to where we are living. Meghan's teaching math at West Ferris Secondary School in North Bay. I'll be working at a small animal clinic in Callander, just south of North Bay. It will be interesting to consider myself a small animal vet... I guess I won't miss those cold nights in the barn stitching up horses or delivering calves.... No, I will miss those a bit! Ah well, let's see how I do at small animal work for the time being.
On a more serious note, Justin has put me on to this website, www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net.
It is alarming to say the least, and should give me/us a kick in the ass to get down to business with
reducing our energy consumption. Using that Blue Box isn't enough!!! Let me know what you think of the site.
June 2, 2006
Our time in Trinidad is coming to a close. We still have a short list of waterfalls and remote beaches we would like to visit before leaving, so our weekends are getting booked up with trip plans. I am no longer employed with Tenderheart Veterinary Hospital, so now I am back supply teaching at Maple Leaf. Hmmm.... and my first day was teaching sex ed to teenagers! Not exactly what I thought I was signed up for!!! See y'all soon.
February 9, 2006
Uh, hmmm, well now.... (shuffling of feet) .... Time has passed. Life is good. I guess we are really getting into this Caribbean sense of time! I suppose if you want to get the real deal on what we've been up to, you should check out the photo section and the summaries I've provided to accompany each album. If you aren't interested in stunning beaches and tropical wildlife, read on!
Meghan's work at Maple Leaf International School continues, and most of our more memorable adventures have involved our new friends through school. I gave up looking for work in September or October and contented myself with a bit of volunteering here and there. Well, the good life does eventually come to an end as work finally found me in November. I've been working at a small animal clinic about 25 kms away -- the motor bike is proving its worth in getting me through some horrendous traffic every morning and afternoon! My hours are from 8 am to 1 pm, so I am able to drop Meghan off and pick her up again around 2:30pm. I've also been doing some work with a very interesting organization in our area, the Wildlife Orphanage and Rehabilitation Center (W.O.R.C.). I've been hanging out with Detta, the director, and realizing how much time and energy is required to attend to the various birds of prey and mammals that find their way into her capable hands. I've been their volunteer webmaster for this year, so have a look: www.worctrinidad.org (I didn't design the webpage, I've just been posting content and finishing up some of the pages).
So, yes, life is sunny and relaxing and busy sometimes, and always interesting. Come visit and see for yourself!September 3, 2005
I've
updated the website with some photos and information about our new life here
in Trinidad. We are fully immersed in a grand adventure under the tropical sun,
and enjoying every minute of it! Check it out.
August 21, 2005
We're off to tropical climes for the next year! Meghan is working for Maple Leaf International School in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad. I, being the faithful husband, am following her to keep house and work on my surfing skills. Alas, I am unemployed as of yet, but I'm hopeful something will turn up shortly. Stay tuned for updates! Photos of Trinidad will be posted here shortly.
January 30, 2005
Ah, the sunny delights of Mexico... Meghan and I had a wonderful
vacation down in Monterrey, Mexico, exploring the mountains, the desert, and the city. Thanks Amey and Michelle
for being such great hosts - we really enjoyed our time with you! Check out our photos here.
Some of you might be interested to know that Greyhound offers a GoAnywhere Fare (for any 2 points in North America), so.... technically you could bus from Orangeville to Laredo, Texas (at the Mexican border) for only $100 return! How fantastic is that?! Make sure you allot between 50 and 70 hours travelling time (based on personal experience) and pack your deoderant!
October 6, 2004
We made our inaugral foray
into the adventure racing world last weekend near Peterborough.
Vince, Brad, Matt, and I endured
the elements on Saturday, placing 6th out of 16 teams of four. We mountain biked
35kms, jogged 9 kms, and canoed between 2 to 3 kms. The rain pounded down for
quite a while and I finished the race with some serious teeth chattering. Click
here for race results.
On Sunday we entered
two teams of 2, Meghan and myself raced together, and Brad and Angela raced
as a team. The weather could not have been better, and I constantly craned my
head back to drink in the beautiful combination of towering pines, blue skies,
and light clouds. The winds were quiet, allowing for the full canoe loop of
8 kms, then we jumped on our bikes, then jogging, then biking again. We biked
approximately 25 kms and ran 5 kms. We all survived and the smiles on our faces
at the finish line were less muddy than the day before!
August 9, 2004
Hurray for us!
July 23, 2004
May 22, 2004
Arthur
and Amanda pulled off a perfect weekend for a wedding in Ottawa, despite dire
predictions of rain. The entire day was a blast, and it was an honour to stand
up with Art on his wedding day. Of course, it was also an honour to hack with
Art and the boys (here's the warm-up movie) in our spiffy tuxes, but Meghan probably doesn't want me to go
into that!
May 9, 2004
After less than a month, the Buie Family has again dispersed one of its agents. My little big brother, Rob, has flown the coop... in a big way! Best of luck with the next chapter in your flying career, Rob. First finding work in the sky up in the Northwest Territories, Rob is now flying in the Maldive Islands, south of India. Click here and visit his fan site.
April 15, 2004
My little sister, Jen, has returned from South Korea after over 6 months of teaching English to some young rambunctious students. It is great to have Jen back in our happy clutches after such a long absence from Canada. I think we've convinced her to hang out in Orangeville with us for a few days before she returns to Manitoulin Island.
Welcome back, Jen!
March 10, 2004
We fool-heartedly signed up for a winter adventure race in Ottawa last weekend. Vince assured us we'd be fine given that we've been cross-country skiing daily on our trails here in Orangeville. Amey and Brad were our co-conspirators for Team Knickerbocker. Vince, Margo, Laura and Randi, friends from university, were Team I Think I Can, and the only team we were hoping to have a chance of beating.
Although the snow had largely
disappeared around here, Gatineau Park was still under snow. Rain on Friday made the trails very slick and the
downhill sections (each one steeper and twistier and flanked by more and more
ominous looking trees!) were fast and dangerous. One competitor broke his hand and another gashed open his face.
We fared better, but that was likely due to our tempered speed. We really had a lot of fun, and although we weren't
competitive with the other teams, we weren't last either. Here's the race synopsis...
Zone3Sports. As you can see, the makers of duct tape were our official sponsors
and helped Amey get through the race!
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Today's date is Monday, 06-Feb-2012 17:14:58 EST