Answered Prayer

We have a backup home for our foster cats while we are away! Good friends of ours from church, although they have a lot to learn about looking after cats (first question: "What if they have to go to the bathroom?"), have graciously offered to take care of business while we are away.

I will sleep better tonight. 

Oh Canada!

We headed over to Ottawa to celebrate Canada Day on Parliament hill. It was a beautiful day and we had a great time, thanks to our new Ottawa friends. Here are a few highlights from our day...

The buskers: 

I just love watching them at these kinds of events.  They have so much talent!

The entertainment on Parliament Hill: 

Overall, it was pretty good, but of course our favorite was Paul Brandt! 

The incredible crowds! 

The fireworks!

Happy 141 Canada! (Happy 400th Quebec City!) 

Random Updates

I know, it's suppose to be Wordless Wednesday (and I have a fantastic picture for it too!), but I think you guys are going to getting sick of seeing our ugly mugs every time you log on here. So I thought I'd give you a break and provide some random updates instead;

• 2 days ago I went outside to get some sun so I wouldn't be so prone to burning when we get to Costa Rica, and now I'm sunburned.


• Our new/old air conditioner rocks, and it only cost 50 bucks and a few slices to Tom's hands.

• We still have a house full of cats and are finding them to be fantastic. They need to go back soon. On a happier note, we may have a wonderful couple that will pick them up if 'that' call comes while we are down south.


• Speaking of down south, my trip has been extended (still preliminary) 'til the end of August. :) Tom will still be returning at the beginning of August. :(


• I'm applying to transfer into the applied masters program (from the thesis option). A long story, but once I come to terms with it I might blog about it. Might.

• One of our readers finally had the heart to tell us that it is a melon baller - not a lemon baller! (Shopping trip post.) Thanks to the rest of you who just laughed at us and left it!
  

• One of the can openers was not a can opener at all but some kind of useless kitchen gadget that looks a lot like a can opener. Do I need to mention that the 'second' can opener is totally rusty? Didn't think so.
  

• One of my bestest girlfriends is getting married in less than 100 days. The trip to Winnipeg for the wedding is going to be amazingly short. My dress is going to amazingly great. Now, if it would only arrive one of these days...
  

• For all of you who are still wondering about our shopping trip that Tom posted about. Our favorite store is Value Village. C'mon, how come no one got that one?
  

• For those of you who are wondering if Tiffany is right about a cricket in the "The Bug" story, she was wrong. It was defintely a June Bug. And June Bugs are scary.
  

No Longer Hot in Here!

Pitt?

When I went and picked up Goober Brother #1 & Goober Brother #2 from the SPCA this afternoon, I brought Pete with me so he could be seen by a vet.

[Now, in order to 'get' this story, you must remember
that we are nearly the only monolingual citizens in Montreal, and many people's first language is not English.]

While in line, the vet assistant, whose first language was definitely French, filled out some paperwork with me. I had to answered the standard questions; age, colour, foster, adoption, helath problem, eating concerns, ect. When she asked his name, I tolled her it was "Pete". She repeated back "Pete?" (be sure to read her lines with a thick French accent). Me, "Yes, Pete." She smiled, awkwardly, and said, "Cute." Then I proceeded to give the credit to the previous foster family who actually named him.

After Pete and I left the vet with our eye-cream in hand, the receptionist (another francophone) asked..."Is that Pete?" I said yup. And she replied, laughing "Oh, I was looking for a dog!! Hahaha.."


Ok then.


When I got home and was reading the instructions for the eyeball cream, I noticed that it was prescribed for "Pitt."

Have a Great Trip!

Just a little shout out to two of our most favoritist people;
Candice and Nat.

They are heading out tonight for a two week road trip from Winnipeg to the East coast. (Not to mention a stop over in Montreal on the way home!) We can't express how excited and honoured we are to have you as guests in our home.

Good luck, safe travels, and we'll see you soon!

Cat Lady

Alright, so before heading out to Winnipeg, we returned our beloved Thelmo and Louis to the SPCA. When we returned and learned that these two little tykes passed inspection and made it into the adoption room (with a great cage location, to boot), we welcomed Pete into our apartment to heal up an eyeball (hoping we would have a cat-free apartment for our guests arriving within the next two weeks). But then we received a dreadful message on our answering machine this morning that went something like this...

"Hello Mr. & Mrs. Scatliff, we regret to inform you that the two kittens you returned two weeks ago have fallen ill again. Unfortunately the SPCA is beyond its max capacity and we are unable to care for these animals. Please let us know by 8:00 tonight if you are able to take them. If you are, I will place a DO NOT DESTROY card on their cage."

Do not destroy?!? Oh my goodness, do not destroy!!!

It was an emotional afternoon, and a bit of a stressful entrance back into our apartment considering the additional roommate. To complicate things, they (meaning the Goober Brothers being one, and Pete being another) have different health concerns and therefore have to remain separated. Thank goodness for the french doors to the living room and the kitchen.

So, yes, I am the cat lady of the building. There are now 5 of us in this two bedroom apartment. And our guests will still be arriving in the next two weeks.

Wordless Wednesday

What a Trip

THE BUG

Tiffany's horrific spider story reminds me of a little *friend* that visited my apartment a few years back.


It was late in the evening, and as I packed my lunch for the following day, I saw silly innocent Sam (the cat that Sonya was to accompany, remember?) intriguingly looking under my apartment freezer. So what is the most logical and safe thing to do? Yup, get down on my knees, bend over, and stick my head down there too. This CREATURE comes LAUNCHING out towards us, and I scream and jump on the counter. Sam, my guard kitty, tries to get away from the monster so fast that his legs frantically run but he doesn't go anywhere due to lack of grip on the kitchen floor.

So much for the guard cat.

SO, what's a single girl to do in her apartment all alone, late at night, with a scardy-cat and a massive critter slowly tap-dancing its way across her kitchen floor and proceeds to go behind the refrigerator?




Make a long-distance call to her mother of course.




After waking mama Baker from her slumber and telling her the horrific situation, her wise, calm mother shouts, still half dreaming,"For Pete's sake Candice, get your boots on and smash it with a shoe!"

Great idea!!

Now, have you ever heard or read in the news about a stabbing that took place and the victim was stabbed like, 33 times or something crazy like that? Well, I knew it was me or him, so when I wound up and started, there was just no stopping me.. SMASH SMASH SMASH SMASH SMASH....!!!

Then, as the creature lay lifeless on the floor and I pant and continue to shake in my boots (still holding the murder weapon), Sam proceeds to walk over and bat the creature around to show it who's boss.

Umm, a little too late there Sammy!

Shopping Trip

We went to our favourite store today, to get a can opener for me; I need something to open my Chef Boyardee when I'm eating lunch at work... The can opener I have (from the Dollar Store, our other favourite store), wasn't cutting it (no pun intended).

I found this crazy plastic bag full of stuff, marked $3.99. We left behind some contents of the bag, including a lemon baller, and cake icing device, super-fancy wine cork, and some other silly stuff. Check out what we kept from the bag:



Okay:
1. It doesn't look as impressive as I feel it was.
2. The toaster oven and expresso machine didn't come in the bag.
3. Neither did the electric beater, although we did score that from the same store on the same trip for six bucks.
4. Yes, that is my finger in the top left corner of the picture.

But I did get TWO awesome can openers -- one from "Tupperware", and one from "J.A. Henckels". Way better than the good Chef and his Alphaghetti deserve. Also included was a grater thingy and a peeler thingy, a purse mirror (which is an essential item for every kitchen), and four glass coasters that say "HOT". Candice says we'll use them for candles, which I think is a sensible proposition given that they already have the required warning labels for that application.

I was just really happy about it, and figured I'd share it with anybody who was willing to listen.

[Correction 28 june 2008 : Apparently, we kept the lemon baller, too.]

Plank in the Eye

Does anyone else out there suffer from plank-in-the-eye syndrome? There is a verse in the bible, in the book of Mathew (7:3-5) that reads something as follows:

Why do you look at the speck in someone else's eye and try to remove it, but not notice or try to remove the plank in your own eye?

This verse is referring to our tendency to notice the faults of others and want to help correct them, but we tend to fail at addressing our own faults. However, I must contrast this verse with one in the book of James (5:20), which roughly goes something like this:

As a Christian, it is in your best interest, and the best interest of God and the church as a whole, to help right the errors of the sinful ways of a fellow Christian.

These two verses draw such a fine, fine line that I often find myself left wondering what side of the line I am on.

No man needs a holiday...

A slighty misleading title, perhaps, because I needed one...

In fact we just got back from a little trip, and I'm reminded of the saying: "No man needs a vacation so much as the man who has just had one." [Elbert Hubbard.] I'm back at work, and trying to remind myself that I just can't up and go to the lake, or that either my wife or I will have to cook tonight. Or that I can't sleep in (too much).

Which gets me thinking about a spin on Mr. Hubbard's quote, "No man needs a nap like so much as the man who had just had one." After sleeping for almost half a day Monday night, you can guess what I'm thinking about right now...

Backyard Picnic

This afternoon we took a stroll in our backyard -- the beautiful town of St-Anne-de-Bellevue. Although its name isn't fun to spell on the phone (S-T-E-Dash-A-N-N-E-Dash-D-E-dash....), its a gorgeous place. St-Anne's (as the locals call it) is right on the canal to Ottawa from the Ste-Lawrence sea way. Ships, yachts, sea-doos, and fishing boats travel through our locks to bypass the rougher waters of the river. More about the locks in an upcoming post...
Here are a few pictures from our excursion.

(He's pointing to our apartment in the top left.)



This is the start of the canal's board walk,which is about 100 meters from our apartment.












Here is the bench we were on when Pepe Le Pew stopped by the other night.



That still makes Tom angry.

30 degrees!

Yup, today we hit 30 (suppose to be 32). We decided it was time to set up the fan in the living room.

This heat is almost like we are in training for something...

Reality check, anyone?

A year ago, we just recently returned from our Cambodia mission trip. 

So many things have happened in our lives since Cambodia. And it is a real effort to remember how life was there, for the Cambodians and for us as guests. One thing that has really been on my mind recently is the medical facilities. Here in Canada, within the last 2 months, I have had:

• 3 medical doctors
• 2 neurologists
• multiple blood tests, a cat scan, spinal tap, and all sorts of exams and assessments
• lets not forget about the multitude of upcoming appointments
  
  If you get sick in Cambodia, this is what you get..
  
  

The health care is free, but you have to pay for the food served (approx $2.50/day). This means many, many ill citizens cannot afford to go to the hospital. Think about that. You can't go to the hospital because you cannot afford their food at $2.50/day.

Last week Tom and I went out for dinner: $36 (plus a tip, of course).

Reality check. It's time for us to really take a hard look at what we have here. We complain about long line ups and wait times for our heath care. But we have to realize we live in a safe, comfortable, cared for world, in Canada that is. I think it is our responsibility to share those blessings with others. As humans, we have the responsibility of taking care of one another.

More food for thought? This Cambodian well, which can supply fresh, clean, drinkable water to many families is $200.

Our laptop I'm using to write you this (which is super cute with its red cover and all!) took about 6 wells out of our bank account. Count 'em, 6. And it didn't even have Word on it yet....

I'm sure you are really dieing to hear another...

While in Cambodia, I had the opportunity to visit the slums in Phen Pen, the capital city. Families of about 8 or so, would all eat, live, sleep, stay, study, cook, relax, work, sew, nurse, play, grow up, and grow (not so) old in an area that is smaller than my office. I am not exaggerating.  And, I'll have you know, my office is smaller than our bedroom. You see, what I really like about our bedroom is that it is very roomy and we only put a few pieces of furniture in there to ensure we keep the clean, 'uncluttered' look.

People, it's time to look around in our lives and appreciate what we have and get an 'appreciation' for how much of it is a waste of resources. It's also time to start thinking about how we can share our blessings and make huge differences in people's lives.  No, of course it isn't realistic for all of us to shed everything we have. We live in a completely different culture, one in which laptops are everywhere and eating out is a common occurrence. But if we all shared, just a little, lives could be transformed. Lives. Human lives.  It's easy to just turn off the TV when those World Vision ads come on, but eventually we need a reality check. 

They grow up so fast.

When I was flying solo, I had a cat named Sam. He was awesome. We went through some tough times together and I'll always be thankful for him. But this post isn't about Sam, it's about Sonya. You see, at one point I was getting super busy and wasn't home a whole lot. Sam filed a complaint and asked for more company. So I got him Sonya. Sam wasn't very good at getting along with other cats, so I was told I need to get him a kitty. This is who I brought him:


Since then, I have met my match (I mean like relationship wise): Tom. Big changes had to take place over the last year and my two cats had to head out to the farm. Yes, these two poor cats had to be relocated from their small city apartment with no hope of outside air, to a place with birds, mice, and endless places to explore. These two hard-to-do kitties even had to decide when they wanted to be let in the house and wanted to be let outside. Poor things.

Anyways, as you can see Sonya is a bit bigger now. And she is probably the laziest hunter I have ever heard of.

Yes, that's my parents' bird feeder.

What a wonderful weekend...

This past weekend was great. It was one of those "That was fun!" weekends. What did we do, you ask? Well, we didn't do anything, by conventional standards. To be honest, we had huge plans for the weekend, but had to scrap them come Thursday night. So really, productivity-wise and entertainment-wise, we didn't do anything spectacular.

We enjoyed some good home-cooked meals, practiced Spanish, went grocery shopping, worked on my scrapbook, developed software, did homework. The best part, we just basked in marriage. Yup, sounds lame. I know. You see, we are just wrapping up a 8-week marriage course. Don't be concerned! The first thing people do when they hear "marriage class" is think; "Oh no, they have marriage problems!! It's only been 7.2 months, and it's gone sour already!" Relax! It is not like that at all. Tom and I are just so set on getting this marriage thing as close to the best-it-could-possibly-be as we can. So we decided to join 5 other couples seeking the same thing and attend a marriage course. We really want to start our marriage off right, and we learned sooo much during our marriage prep course that we thought a marriage class would be just as eye-opening, tough, healthy, and rewarding. And we were right. And it has been fantastic. Absolutely fantastic.

So, yeah. We had a wonderful weekend. That's all. We didn't do anything super fantastic, but just basked in this glorious thing called marriage. This wasn't 'the plan' for the weekend, it's just how things are happening now. On a daily basis. Oh sure, it still takes work, but we are just so much more equipped. We are so much more aware. We are so thankful to God that He brought us together.

What a wonderful weekend.

It's gittin' warm in here!

We live on the top floor of an apartment building, and although the whole heat-rising phenonemon was a fantastic bonus in the winter (especially because we pay for heat), I think this is going to work against us in the summer.

The windows in both the bedroom and office face the east. Although the oven-sensation helps with getting up in the morning, it doesn't help with staying awake while working during the day. And, did I mention its only 23 degrees outside?

I'm going to go get more coffee.

Big man, little BBQ

Put together, they make an awesome burger. 

What a Woman!

To maintain confidentiality, and to get around asking if I can publish this, the name of the subject of this post has been changed.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of hanging out with Grace.  Before yesterday, I didn't really know her that well, all I really knew is that she is that she is Christian, a mother, a wife, and a kind, soft-spoken individuals. Also, that she is an amazing cook. Who won't share her recipes. 

I asked her if she would like to hang out sometime.  I was kinda looking for a strong Christian woman (wife) to spend time with and learn from.  So I asked this lovely lady if we could do something girly sometime. (I figured we would at least have that in common, considering I am far from soft-spoken amazing cook.) And we did, which brings us back to yesterday. 

These are a few things I learned, and maybe wasn't exactly expecting:

- She grew up in Ghana.

- She moved to England in her late teenage years.

- She completed a degree in Civil Engineering from Oxford University. 

- Got married and had a baby

- She headed back to school and started a masters in Structural Civil Engineering, but then became interested in law...

- She started a masters degree in secretarial law, and finished it. 

- Had another baby.

- Raised 2 children whiled married and working

- Had a third baby, then moved her family to Montreal a few months later for her husband's career.

- Set up a beautiful home, established her kids in a new continent, supported her husband at his job.

- Now that everyone is settled, she is studying for an entrance exam to McGill's MBA program. 

- All this while she has been a strong Christian women

- And, she knows of a fantastic place to get a pedicure. 

Ok, has anyone read Proverbs 31 lately?

Yes, lots to learn. I think another pedicure is in our future. Or maybe skydiving, who knows. 

Thelmo and Louis

Well, originally they were "Thelma and Louise", but after taking a closer look once we got home, we had to rename them "Thelmo and Louis". These two tykes do a lot together...

They fax things together...


They study Spanish together...

They take naps together...

Oh, heck, they even yawn together!!!!

Where are these Waldo's????

No, your eyes do not deceive you...

That's me, changing the tires. 

Pepé Le Pew, Date Killer

SO... You're on a date with your best girl, and you sit down at a park bench overlooking the water. You share a romantic moment, with some Reese's Pieces and a 2 litre of Diet Pepsi to put it over the top.

The nosey raccoon that is walking along the shoreline gives you a wide berth, no worries. But, a couple of minutes later, you turn your head to see a skunk, 15 feet away, with its tail straight up!

"Okay, Pepé, you win... It's your bench... Here, have my Reese's!" And the date ends with you both high-tailing it outta there...

Happy (6 month) Anniversary!

**Mush Warning**

If you can believe, we have now been married for 6 months!
And, if you can believe, we spent our 'anniversary' in Vermont!

Yes, as of last Sunday we have been married for only 6 months. It seems longer than that! I mean that in the best way possible. I experience things in life more fully now, because I am now whole. (I warned you about the mush!) It seems that the experiences I had before I was married were only partially experienced. But now, life is whole.

Does this make any sense to you marrieds out there?


Oh yeah, back to our 'anniversary'...

We went to Vermont!
I was having a relatively 'good' day, in regard to health issues so we decided to pump me full of meds and celebrate this occasion by getting out of the apartment, and outta the country! After church on Sunday morning, Tom packed me, over night essentials (in case me or the car got too sick to make it back home that night), and transmission fluid into the car and headed to Burlington, which is in the state of Vermont!

[This actually sounds more extravagant than it was - it's only about 2 hours away.]

I was surprised to find that the state and the city are both very beautiful. The drive was mostly through farmland with rolling mountains, a huge lake, rivers, cattle, dairy farms, etc. The city is situated on the lake, with a beautiful view of the mountains on the other side of it (which would be the state of New York). We borrowed a wheelchair from customer service at the mall and Tom pushed me around for a few hours! We rummaged through the sale racks, and with the dollar near par, we did quite well! (You just need to see how cute my new flip-flops are!)

We went out for dinner on a pedestrian-only street, lined with patios, pubs, and shops. It was a wonderful, wonderful day. We ended it with a beautiful drive home, a short line through customs, and a sleep over in our guest house.

The day was completely exhausting (I'm sure for Tom as well - carrying all of our stuff, doing all the driving - including driving the chair in the mall!), but I didn't care. We felt closer to our normal life again! Such a celebration.

Happy anniversary, Tom!
Here is to so many more. I hope you know how much more complete my life is, because of you.