bulletin.

Bulletin: It pays to be a NURSE in Dauphin, Manitoba

 Receive Up to 20,000 (which with the exchange rate is about half that with this economy)

If you are a BN and would like to relocate to a country setting with a city lifestyle (city lifestyle? really?! last time i checked, no movie theatre, no high speed, not a single franchised clothing store and roughly 9,000 people did not constitute a city lifestyle... but they got the country setting bit right!), think of Dauphin, MB.

Dauphins offers affordable living and was named One of Canada's Top 10 Adventure Towns by Explore Magazine (yes! it sure is an adventure trying to drive icy roads in the winter, winter being 10 months out of the year. It is an adventure making it out of the grocery store in less than an hour without stopping in every isle to talk to someone you know. And my, the adrenaline rush I get from going for coffee trying to think of something to talk about other than people...)

I died laughing when I received this clipping in the mail from Grams today! I adore Dauphin and all it has to offer in small increments throughout the years but relocate there? ... your sense of humor is killing me, Grams. =)

countryfest.

The one adventure in Dauphin I am definitely looking forward to is the 20 year anniversary of Country Fest next summer!! Counting down the days to be double fisting paralyzers with my favorite Canadians again .... the line up is looking pretty spectacular!

off the beaten path.

On a recent attempt to the explore the great outdoors, Matty and I set out to hike a 9.6K trail around Moon Lake. Soons pretty fabulous... until you arrive ready to follow a cleared path and discover that the trail hasn't been kept up with in what appears to be years. Twenty minutes in, we contemplated turning around but decided since we managed to find motivation (see art of relaxation post) to drive all the way up to the lake, we were going to finish the trail. We weren't about to quit. Well, our estimated one and a half hour leisure walk simply trying to connect with nature while enjoying the company of an old friend turned into a three hour, tretrerous climb over fallen trees, not to mention wading through mud pools and balancing on loose stones in cold streams, all while fighting off nettles and killer mosquitoes. Throughout the hike I kept wishing I had paid less attention to rugged, shirtless six pack of Bear Grylls and more attention to the survival tips he talked about (so eloquently in his English accent, distraction #2) on man vs. wild.

life's a beach.

Moon Lake

parkaholic.

suntan toes.

i heart the lac.

mid summer
mid winter

Hat Trick, circa 1984.

It's a tradition that every year when Kara and I came home we would try on my mum's wedding gown. Tumbling over the incessant amounts of fabric, it used to hang off of us like an itchy, oversized, table clothesque, confetti-clad antic bearing a shape that had no semblance of the form of a dress. This year it was a perfect fit, and because Mum was four months prego when she got hitched, I did not find this amusing. So instead, I leave you with the ultra-chic hat Mum insisted on wearing, circa 1984.

scramble.

Happy Birthday, Colette!

group shot.

Lily Nook

jolly, green giant.

manitoba sky.

You must understand the whole of life, not just one little part of it. That is why you must read, that is why you must look at the skies, that is why you must sing, and dance, and write poems, and suffer, and understand, for all that is life.

horseback.

cowboys.

mounted.

The Green Goblin

Yesterday, we set out on a short road trip to visit my cousin (Kevin) who is currently drilling about two and a half hours from here, here being Dauphin, MB (my current place of residence). Kev told us "you can't miss it, you won't need directions" so when we arrived to the edge of town we simply starting looking for his truck in the town of Melville. There appeared to be a fence between us and what looked like a camp site with a black Ford F150 (how many of those exist?) that could possibly be his parked outside. So we followed the little road we were on entirely around the small town to enter from the other side before looping back through a provincial baseball tournament only to end up back where we started from but this time on the right side of the fence. My cousin is currently working the night shift on the rig so we were instructed to come at 5:00 ("and don't come at 4:30!") for supper so upon our arrival ( at 4:57) we woke him up from his deep sleep where he quickly made us feel right at home. He gave us a grand tour of The Green Goblin- his $850 purchase that he has made into a home for the next four months. We even got the royal treatment when he uncovered the tarp on his living room and set out 2 recliners and a couch for us to visit on, around his camp fire of course. Because of the baseball tournament, the campgrounds were packed and Kevin had lots of little neighbors that kept running through his living room. With only beer, bologna and Gatorade we decided to go out to eat before visiting Champion 47- the rig that Kevin works on. It's quite an impressive set up.

Grams

I thought it would be a rather tough adjustment getting used to not seeing my roommates (or what I have considered my other 3/4s) everyday. After all, we have lived together for four incredible years and going on without them just didn't seem possible, let alone requitable. I mean where could I find someone that would be equally fabulous to live with (by putting up with my inevitable mess)? Who would I stay up late with ruminating about how to save the world (or at least conjure up a few bright ideas about what to in the immediate future with our lives)? Who would be there to advise me from an unjaded perception (by reassuring me that kissing a lot of frogs will eventually elicit the revelation of a prince!)? Who would accompany me on all my wild adventures (carpeing the sh*t out of all our days, as my roommates and i would say!)? Who would be willing to drive long distances to reach a decent mall (I'm so glad I'm moving to a city that has adequate shopping!)? Who would I have dance parties with (*Caution: They leave scars!)?... Somehow I managed to find someone who just might reciprocate the fabulousness of all three combined... Grams! Pictured here chipping and chatting at the same time, (this photog was not staged!) Grams and I have been thoroughly enjoying her retirement. There is no place like home and returning to the cabin one last summer before I start my career has been nothing but fabulous! Reminded of a youth filled with catching frogs and kick-the-can games, nothing makes me happier than days by the lake golfing, getting lost in books, playing incessant amounts of games and staying up all night talking about life.