Wish I could pick some cranberries!

The only thing you can pick around here is dog poop and pop can tabs! I think I'll have to plan a trip to the Horse next pickin season. In the meantime, save me a bottle of that cranberry liqueur! Well, I am going apple picking with the girls again this weekend. So I can make some strudel. Yumm!

I have the names of Angela's new twin girls: Cassie Lee and Cayley May. They're fraternal (not identical).

When do we find out your new boy's name Nicole???

Luv ya,
Pean

Midnight and all is calm

Just got back from driving Nick to Craigen's. Andrew and Nick are off on their big hunting adventure bright and early tomorrow morning. Gail, the sweetheart, is getting up at 6:00am to make them waffles then Mike and his sister Mo are driving them to Johnson's Crossing where the boys will put their boat in on the Teslin and head down to Carmacks. Nick is flying high as you can well imagine. Dad is fast asleep already as he had a big day with Marlene installing our bathroom vanities. They do look good. The cupboards in the laundry room and upstairs bathroom are going to provide good storage for linens and what not. I was in town all day doing laundry and taking Copper to the vet. An overheard conversation in the laundromat today "Hey man, what's up, I'm in a bind, I just got out of jail and I need a ride." One can meet such interesting folk in a laundromat, don't you think? Bears, bears, everywhere. Lloyd ran into a black bear this morning on the power line trail and Nick saw one by the dump road on his way from Craigen's. There are fresh tracks in the snow and one has to be careful not to step in bear poop. But snow and bears will not keep this gal and her friend Gail from seeking out the ultimate cranberry patch. I've got my cranberry liqueur bottled ready to go for Christmas and I made up another big batch of cranberry sauce. I still need to make my cranberry marmalade...yummy. Gail and I sampled the liqueur last night and it passed the test with flying colours. Gail is coming over tomorrow for another cranberry picking date. Must sign off and get some shut eye. Talk to you all soon. Love, love, love, as Jaime would say. Mom

2 girls!

Yep, Ange delivered by c-section 2 baby girls, only about 4 pounds each! In all the mayhem, nobody found out if they're identical or not!

I gather everybody is fine, but one is on oxygen and they're in little incubators. Ange is still out of it, but ok.

Can't wait to see pictures!
Pean

babies poppin out everywhere... well, not here though

but he's head down and in position, ready for the big day!!
I can't believe it about Ange. God help them (the parents I mean) not just twins, but premees!!! yikes! 30 weeks is tiny! poor little spider monkeys!
Michelle - bring your scissors! Noé needs a "fixit" hair cut and I need a pre-post partum depression trim. Otherwise you will be doing a post partum head shave in December.

Ange is having her babies... right now!

This is hot of the presses news... Just heard from Booboo that Angela's water broke and the babies are coming! She's only just past 30 weeks so it's early but manageable. I think that she's having a c-section as we speak.
Keep your fingers crossed for her and the little buggers, and I'll keep you posted about anything new.
Pean

Nick arrives

Hi Kids

Nick flew in today at lunch time! He & Andrew entertained us with hunting preparation stories while Jude served-up a wonderful moose steak supper for the four of us. Andrew said it was most important to get Nick properly primed for his "Moose expedition, to the Yukon, 2010 edition" so a big feed of moosemeat right off the bat was in order. Needless to mention it was served with the appropriate ale, fresh from Yukon Brewery (Nick's first stop of course, after the airport)

Love to all... Ole Dad

Adult acne. Lovin' my life.

The room looks awesome Nicole!!!! J-L is the man!

K- I think I need zinc. I have all those problems. Especially the breakouts. The other day one of Stacy's kids asked me, "What's on your face?" I reply, "Oh that ugly thing sweetheart, that's a pimple!" ...has anyone seen that hilarious skin flap commercial?... something similar to that situation. (Thanks you little shithead...thanks a lot.)

So who all needs haircuts this visit?? Or do you want to wait until December?

New pictures!

New baby's room!

Noé

such a little bugger

Friday - gearing up for toddlers weekend!

Perhaps not as exciting as a girls night out, but energetic nonetheless. That's crazy about Ange - keep us updated via Booboo. Tell her to keep her legs crossed. Hopefully, she'll be comfortable in Edmonton, cause it sounds like it may be a long time. I'm at 32-33 weeks and I think she was about the same as me. Still a little early, but a couple more weeks would do it!
Only 5 more weeks of work and counting down - GET ME OUTTA HERE!!
I spoke with my breastfeeding godmother today, (sounds so much better in french). Maybe I'll call her my boobie fairy godmother instead. She's going to keep in touch with me as I make a second attempt at the boob feeding with this next guy. Surely, things will go smoother this time round! She's kept statistics on me from Noé, so it's good for their organization (promote breastfeeding, ect) She was super excited to hear that Noé was still boob feeding until 22 months. She would have loved Gail! They really try to encourage boob feeding as long as possible and to let the kid decide when they've had enough. Although, I don't know that the decision needs to be made at 18. "Should I move out and get my own apartment, or stay home with the boob?"

Ladies weekend

Hey Family,
It's Friday so I'm gearing up for the weekend. J is going off to the cottage solo to do some "board and batton" so I'm having a ladies weekend! Too bad I couldn't send J out to Marsh Lake. He'd have that flooring down in no time! Well... maybe given the fact that it's been 35 years and his cottage still isnt done is a bad sign. Yeah, I'll keep J here I think. But mom it could be worse, you think dad takes a long time to get stuff done? Imagine if it took him 35 years!
I'm going to a taping of RMR tonight. Rick Mercer! A Canadian treasure! I'll try to say hi to him. Maybe I'll try to old, "hey I'm from the Yukon! You like the Yukon, right Rick?!"
Then it's party on Saturday night in the hood, and bridal shower on Sunday. Good times!
Hey, I saw a naturopath and I have gotten to the bottom of all of my health woes. Guess what causes all of the following: chronic fatigue, metal taste in mouth, mental confusion, irregular periods, bad acne.... It's zinc deficiency! Wierd eh? So I'm on a million supplements to get back to normal. I'm really hoping that my energy level will come back up. I was beginning to worry about feeling so Blah.
Did you all hear about Ange? She had to be medivaced (medivak?, med-evak!) to Edmonton because she went into early labour. She's fine now, they gave her stuff to make her "hold it" and so she's holding at 1 cm dilated. But now she'll have to stay in Edmonton for at least 2 months because the babes will likely be put in incubators. They hope that with bed rest she'll last another week until they're born.
Well, that's all the news that's fit to print. Nice to hear the updates. (You hormonal ladies gotta get it together!)
Luv ya,
Pean

3 am and cleaning out the basement

Glad you are feeling better Danielle. I don't think things are as bad as you think - just keep working at getting into a better situation - apartment, job, boys... (writing to Troy ain't gonna help you with any of the above!!)
So, I'm up again in the middle of the night. Maybe Mom can relate. Hormones... I sleep in 3-4 hour shifts, I guess this is some stupid way of preparing me for when the babe arrives. Great - begin sleep deprivation now. We have a couple little decoration stuff to do, then we will be able to take pictures of the finished room. The clean sweep of the basement is coming along. So far, I have managed to keep JL out of certain bins and from looking under the bed. Last night I gave him specific instructions on what to move and what to not touch. We did a good job! 3 garbage bags for Good Will, 1 giant bag of recycling, and a huge HUGE pile for garbage. Mom - you will have a beautiful and clean suite to stay in while you are here. Michelle and Danielle too, I guess. Danielle - I have some blankets and throws that you might like for your apartment. One of them, I used as a wall hanging once - it has horoscope symbols all over it. Want me to keep them for you? Also have a couple of comfortors too. And a lamp. Actually, I also have this beautiful and expensive suit that doesn't fit me quite right. You should try it on when you come over next time. Are your shoulders wider than mine?
Anyhow, sounds like Mom and Danielle, you are both in the same place right now. Cleaning to keep things livable, feeling like you need out of your present dwellings and too broke to make it happen right away! No writing to any ex-boyfriends!!!!

Dear Diary,

Punkin' signing in... after a long drought of writing to y'all on here.  I have been monitoring the PB - (Prevost Blog) quite often, just haven't taken the moment to write.. until now.  Mom!  I cried when I read your post!! - "I just feel like shutting myself in a room and crying.  I want my house back (and my bed)!!! I'm sure looking forward to Michelle and Nick coming for a visit. I need some cheering up. Love you lots, Mom"  - Well, I can relate to how you feel... I have been pretty stressed out as of late... roommates are filthy (and use vaginal wipes in lieu of toilet paper, which consequentially leaves a grey film in my toilet bowl), $$ is depleting (huge tax return money is officially gone), job is demanding (put in 46 hours last week), not feeling healthy (got fat again), missing Troy (who, since the breakup, has bought a car AND a house, and is on his way to stardom with his music)... etc.. To sum it all up, I'm not where I want to be.  I had a little breakdown last night - you all know what I'm talking about... fell into one of those ever-present 'ruts' in my life... At my weakest, and when I'm at my weakest, I turn to Troy... (BAD idea.. I know).  But just as I was about to write an epic, "I miss you Troy" email, I got a little message from a good friend who, within moments had me smiling again.  He listened to me vent and whine, piss and moan, and pour my heart out... and he helped me see the lighter side.  (And NOT press send on the said 'epic' email to Troy).  Anyways, I am thankful for people like this.  I think I really thrive off knowing that people care about me.  I need to feel loved... and I feel really lonely and worthless when I don't feel loved... anyways.  This guy talked me outta my rut and I managed to get some sleep last night.  But I had the weirdest dream!  Mom, you came and visited me!  It was so vivid!  I was laying here in my bed, crying, and you came and snuggled with me like you used to when I was down and out.  You hugged and consoled me while we talked about everything.  I told you about the whole 'Troy situation' and how my friend had cheered me up... I woke up feeling much better.  

Anyways, 46 hours of work in one week sounds piddly, but when those long days are spent starring at not one, but TWO computer screens, with a headset telephone in your ear, it feels like an eternity of BackCheck.  (If any of you are curious, or have half a minute of your lives to waste, you can google 'BackCheck'... and that is my company... the site explains a lot about what I do and who I work for).  It's been alright... I am volunteering those extra hours I'm putting in.  I like the reference department better than the verifications department.  I'm finally getting my 'productive minutes per hour' up.  Really honing in on my ref taking flow!  haha!  But I was told today that I will be back on verifications soon, as the ref department is finally catching up.  That sucks!  They know how I feel about it... but they aren't going to be hiring any new ver people to replace me in that department anytime soon... so I have to make the adjustment back to ver again... bleck.  Making some good friends at work though!  (all in the ref department)... It's funny, I'm a unique 'half-breed' at BackCheck.  I'm one of the only people who knows how to do both verifications and references... the department head doesn't even have that experience!  haha!  But other than that, I spent tonight with a bottle of wine cleaning out my room.  Still trying to make it look like I actually live here.  I was very productive tonight in that regard!  : )  clean clean clean... that's what I do when I am at home.

Other than that, I have a lot to look forward to - Mertchul's visit in a couple weeks, JL's huge party, Mom getting here, Nicole's baby, and then we are pretty much at Christmas!  wow!  almost a year since I came back to Montreal from South America... weird.

Anyways, how's the varnishing and berry picking thing going??  - You find a reliable contractor yet, Dad?? Maybe you need me to do some 'pre-employment screening' of the next one before you hire... And thanks for the visit last night, Mom!  How is the pregnancy and party planning thing going?? - Thanks for the curtains, Nicole!  I love them! The toilet paper curtains weren't quite keeping the peeping Toms from across the street out.  How's the house hunting thing going?? - Jack tells me that he is taking over your apartment, Krista?? Sweet!  How's the ocean thing going?? - any swimming these days, Mert?? Can't WAIT for you to come here!  It's officially fall.  Beautiful Harvest moon tonight...  

Love you all very much and look forward to seeing you all soonish!! 

Dano    

This Shopper needs a good rest!

I'm looking forward to a real bed and a shower that has nothing to do with sailors. Picked more berries today and saw lots of fresh bear poop, went to town to have Dianne Bruce help me fill out my retirement papers, came home, walked the dogs and picked more berries, made supper, cleaned the berries then went out to the house and helped Dad verathane more pine boards for the eves. (Tony and Andrew get to work here one more day.) It is 12:45 am and I'm beat. Tomorrow I will have to continue to verathane more boards, begin to organize and stack 3 cords of wood we bought (Dad has no time to go and get wood himself), walk the dogs and pick more berries, make oatmeal cookies for dad, cook supper, etc,etc. And people ask me if I'm bored with my retirement. Goodnight or Goodmorning, I'm off to bed. Love you lots, Mom

This shopper is impressed

Just another hormonal hissy fit! (Nicole)

I just got after Jean-Louis (again) for trying to clean up and organize the basement. Gagdanit! Leave my stuff alone! He thinks I'm becoming a hoarder, just like my dad *gasp*! The thing is, all the decorations I bought for his party as well as the three big poster paper collages of his photos are hidden all throughout the bins, shelves, boxes and under the bed down here. I just know he's going to find it! Everytime he comes down here, I'm chasing after him to find out what he's doing and tell him not to touch anything. I have to go this week and buy the wine and champagne. There is absolutely no way I can store all those bottles here without him knowing. I'm going to have to bring the bottles to a friend's house.... perhaps with our muslim friends, that way I am sure to get it all back! Anyhow, I think Jean-Louis is nesting. He's out of control, trying to fix up the house so that he can be "mentally prepared" as he puts it. This weekend, he's taking care of Noé, and I promised I would clean out the basement. At least the "Shoppers" will have a beautifully decorated, clean and comfortable bedroom to stay in while they are away from their Shop! What do you think mom? Will it do, for the meantime?

No Comments.

Hi Kids

Nobody commented on the P.S. of my last missive? "new meaning to the term, Shoppers"

Answer... "People who live in a Shop."

I guess no one is amused. Especially Mom.

Ya, our carpenter, (Cory) has dropped us. He says he hasn't, but... he has. He is framing-up another place, wants to close it in before freeze-up so he has a winter project. He says he can't afford to turn-down the other job, the five months off from Christmas last year till this June was too long. I'm looking for someone else.

Love to all Ole Dad

No Comments.

Want My Autograph??

Since I have been rubbing shoulders with the rich and famous (well maybe not that rich) I thought you might want my autograph. There were 16 Canadian authors here for the elementary conference, one being Sheree Fitch (Michelle, it's your job to find out the scoop on her). Another equally famous author is Marie Louise Gay. I had an amazing time chauffeuring Barbara and her husband Ian around. The day we drove up to Haines Junction was a spectacular Yukon fall day, warm, beautiful sunshine, vivid fall colours. They were both suitably impressed. It was interesting listening to their observations, Barbara viewing the scenery with artist eyes and Ian with photographer eyes. They really wanted to see some animals but none cooperated. They are touring around for one more week, going to Dawson City then Skagway-Haines loop. They should see some animals next week. I lent them a cooler and put in some recently picked and freshly baked cranberry loaf, a taste of the Yukon for them to enjoy. I'm going to catch up to Barbara and Ian next Friday to get the cooler back and have my collection of Barbara Reid books signed. As far as the house is concerned, I am really bummed out as our contractor is ditching us, atleast for the next 2 weeks, maybe more. Dad can fill you in, I just feel like shutting myself in a room and crying. I doubt very much we will be in before Christmas, never mind before I leave for Montreal. I want my house back (and my bed)!!! Nice to hear from you Peanut. Make sure you continue to use your good judgement as far as purchasing a house. I'm sure looking forward to Michelle and Nick coming for a visit. I need some cheering up. Love you lots, Mom

Barbara Reid is a national treasure!

Nice one mom!
KP

Pean having a "sick" day.

Hello family!
Just been spending the past while getting all caught up on your posts. It's kinda fun letting it wait for a while, then getting a big cache of updates. I caught a bad cold... this is what you get from hangin with old folks all the time, so I stayed home today. I've been sorting out my situation, applied for a morgage pre-approval, and been cooking up a storm! My lastest favorite recipe: homemade soup stock. Fills the house with delicious smells.
There's been a twist regarding our house hunting. Our buddy Jack, who we were going to go in with on a large place, has been strongly advised by his "legal representation" not to buy until his divorce is finalized. As in, wait to see where the chips fall or she can take the house too! That could have turned out especially awful for J and I if things turned ugly. So it's back to just J and I looking. We'll have to broaden our search to Parkdale and The Junction (gasp!). Not quite as fancy as High Park, but you can't let the occasional run-in with a crack addict or an ugly prostitute wreck your day, can you? In the long run, I think this is a good thing.
Should be the last summer weekend at the cottage, and time to break out J's birthday present. His and her's matching Carhart work coveralls! I'm even getting our names embroidered on them. Guys love it when we dress like them, right?
Love the updates, can't wait to see the new little bugger Nicole.
Pean

Babies, we're amazed by you!

You guys amaze Mom & I more and more every day. For example, your clever captions.

"Georgie Porgie - stuck in his..."

Then we read "Sand, shells, crabs, moose, just another day."

Holy jumpin' I'm so pleased that this ongoing missive is self preserving.

We love ya.

Ma & Pa

p.s. We give whole new meaning to the term... "Shoppers"

Sand..seashells.. crabs... moose... you know... just another day at the beach.

Some folks scan the shoreline for shells or sea glass.... I on the other hand search for moose. I spotted the carcass on my way to a client's house near Peggy's Cove. Moose on mainland Nova Scotia have become scarce since being over-hunted in the 50's. (Most of the moose population thrive in Cape Breton) Moose sightings on the mainland are incredibly rare, so this lost soul has deemed quite a tragedy for some of the locals of the Cove....

...the only thing that crossed my mind was.. "well... looks as if Nick and I don't need to head all the way to the Yukon to get us a moose after all." Hm.

My best friend is getting married!!!!!! OMG!

MOM THAT IS SOOOOOO IMPRESSIVE!!!!! You get to hang with the famous Barbara Reid!!!! Alright, all sarcasm aside, I do really enjoy her plasticine illustrations. That is pretty cool, I think Noe' has one of her books?? You should get one signed for him! The kids will love seeing you back in school I bet!! How did you land that honour of chauffeuring Ms. Reid around anyway? Neat Mom! Will you take her berry picking as well?

I thought I'd add this photo for those of you who haven't seen it yet.

Soooooo roooomaaaatic!!!

xo Michelle

PS I will be making a brief stop in Montreal the first weekend of October to hang with my sisters and nephew and check out the Gorrillaz!!!!! (It's a concert Nicole, I'm not going to the zoo.)

Cranberry Mania Starting to set in !

Got another little bucket of berries today by select picking because they still need atleast one more good frost. Florence and I have a berry picking date tomorrow at 10:00am. We are going to do some scouting around, one place being the GT hill area. I'm not holding out much hope as people have discovered the spot and have beat me to the patch for the last 3 years (the buggers!) Dad is busy verithaning the pine boards for our ceiling. It's going to look fabulous. How did your house hunting go Peanut? What would we have gotten for our Riverdale house in Toronto? I am enjoying not having to go back to work and I think about that when I'm out in the woods picking berries on a weekday afternoon (my favourite place to be). So far no one has done their homework on finding our who Barbara Reid is. I want you guys to be suitably impressed. Thanks for your phone call on the weekend, Danielle. It sounded like you guys were really enjoying the camping with some help from liquid refreshments. Looking forward to seeing all of you in a couple of months. Keep this blog going, I like it. Love you lots, Mom

oh- hello Nicole again!

JL, Noé and I just got our tickets for next summer. June 4-26 in the Yukon! We'll be sure to bring the new baby along too.
JL is just finishing up the new baby room - very flashy! Once some furniture is in I will take pictures and post them. It will be good to get the room done and start organizing baby toys and clothes and stuff.
Noé and I spent the morning in the park. Walking along the trails, watching the ducks in the ponds and playing in the playground. On our way back, he was watching some ladies feeding the chickadees. He held up his hand to copy them. But a bird came and landed on his fingers. Scared him so bad!! It was really funny. Noé repeated all the way home: "Noé scared bird bobo" and rubbing his hand.
He's so much fun.

Oh Georgie porgie pudding 'n pie, stuck in his...

That's a crazy story about cousin Georgina! Gave me goosebumps! So Uncle George was the one that died in the war? What a story!
You can tell Barbara Reid that Noé loves her work! He especially loves the spider that sits down beside Little Miss Muffet. He points and screams "oh no! spider!" and tickles himself! He has overcome his fears of some bugs somewhat. We have an ant infestation on our kitchen floor. Noé picks them up and throws them in the garbage. "Bad bugs"! At least we are saving money on ant traps this year.

Hi Kids, Nice to be back at Marsh Lake although our weather isn't quite as warm as you guys have it down east. I'm anxiously waiting for a couple of frosts so the cranberries will be ripe for picking. I've got my patches already scoped out. I'm soooo excited that on Sept. 14th I will be driving around Barbara Reid and her hubby for all of her sessions at various schools, one of them being at CKES and another, Haines Junction. For those of you who do not know who she is google her so you can be impressed that she is coming to the Yukon. Nicole will know for sure. I want to see what you find out about her from your research. Thanks for your continued blogs, I do enjoy reading them and looking at the pictures. We had a good visit with Donna and her girls. Suzanne's hubby, Troy, seems like a good guy. It was fun connecting with Monique and her babe Gabrielle. She is not very excited to be moving back to Tasmania, but Scott has a job there and he is her husband. Monique is hoping it won't be a perminent move, but I know Scott wasn't happy in Canada. We also had a good visit with my Uncle Johnnie and Aunt Elsie in Ft. St. John. I found out that I have a new first cousin that everyone met for the first time at our family reunion. Grandma's oldest brother, my Uncle George, had some fun with a married lady way back when on one of his leaves during World War 2. (They were neighbors down the way.) She named her baby Georgina (get it?) Of course it was kept hush hush in those days, but I guess Uncle George told Uncle Pete before he died in the war, so Pete knew about Georgina all these years. Pete finally told other people and since Uncle George's wife and other people close to the situation who would have been hurt, have all passed away, Georgina and her family were invited to the reunion. They live on a FN reservation, Georgina being meti and married to a first nations man. Their 9 kids are definitely FN, a very nice looking family. Georgina's kids would be related to you the same as the Spicer girls. By the way, Georgina just found out who her dad was the same weekend, so you can imagine the shock she felt. So there's a bit of family news for you. Keep blogging, Love mom

Back Home

Hi Kids

Mom & I left Johnny & Elsie's at 9 this morning & got home at 11:30 tonight. We've picked up Copper, checked phone messages, unpacked our stuff had us a snack already. Of course we brought home chickens & honey from Fairview as well as peaches & tomatoes from B.C. market gardens. Yummm!

Good trip, (Fun Party for Suzanne & Troy) but we're both wiped!

Love ya Ole Dad

p.s. Some very good news from Mom's cousin Connie, she's been "clean" for one year.