Hurricane Bitter

Its been a weird year, our family has been going through illnesses and diseases like hurricanes through the alphabet. And just like hurricane season is not over yet for another 5 weeks, neither is 2005 and I am already wishing for 2006!

The real hurricanes make me curious, I want to know as much as I can about them. I am not sure what the draw to them is, but I have always felt overpowered by Mother Nature. Back in Holland or most of England you dont get to see the true beauty of this planet. I have been very fortunate to witness a lot of that beauty so far in my life.The other side of all that beauty is the natural destruction processes....In Holland we (luckily) don't get earthquakes, tsunami's or hurricanes. It's hard to understand what it must be like, except very freightening. And also the horrible consequences of these forces. So much death & destruction, paradises turned into nightmares. Sometimes boring old England is not so bad I guess.

The fictional hurricanes do happen in Holland, or wherever I have family and friends. They always sting, and mess up your feelings and strengths. (Random order)An aging grandmother, an ill friend, parents with heart problems, a terminally ill uncle, a dog with a serious infection, or a friend in need. It makes you think about them, the times spend, the future, when will you see eachother again, and how lost you feel without them. Its been bothering me a lot the last few months. I guess being away from most of my family, friends and my dogs makes me realize what I keep on a distance every time I am abroad. It's hard to really be there for people. But on the other hand I know that there is a world out there, with a place for me. Somewhere to call my own home. Where I can put all my things on the wall and dont have to live out of a suitcase.Where I can live without feeling like I need another holiday......

Donna died today. Known for her excited wagging of her tail targetting plenty of glasses on the surface. She was a mix of golden retriever and labrador, but fierce and alert as a shepherd. For the last week she was not doing well, vet couldnt pinpoint it but it seems a tumor near her liver was doing the damage. It was my sister in law Ingrid, my brother Caspar and their son Patrick's dog.

Visiting Canada - Autumn colours

I sneaked in a last minute visit for my friend Amanda's Birthday and Canadian Thanksgiving. I managed to get a week off of work, I finished all the Half Year Closing work and Audit requirements. It was so good to be back in Ontario. She and her dad picked me up from the airport, we did a few trail walks with her dog Makawe, which was a good replacement for the gym.


I tried to watch my food, but her dad really makes the best burgers and I have a Taco Bell addiction.... And in order to enjoy every moment, and staying awake talking I had to raise my Coca Cola consumption. Only the last night we were able to say goodnight before 2AM. The trails near where she lives are really great, and all was in Autumn mode. Beautiful colours.



For Thanksgiving some family members came over, and we enjoyed a nice meal and an AirHockey tournament!! I even got muscle ache from it!!

We watched a few DVD's just to give our voice a rest! The Notebook was a beautiful movie,I forget the name of the other movie. I also watched Indian Summer and Alexander. I thought it was a great movie, and will be mindful of believing critics reviews in the future.

On Friday we crossed the border and went shopping in Niagara Falls USA Outlet stores. They have quite a good choice in those shops, I got some GAP stuff, and a suitcase,.. maybe the days of back pack are really over?? And a CSI game for my landlady who loves that show. We are planning some CSI night now! Also some small give aways for friends... Which I cant reveal yet! We stayed near Buffalo NY for the night and then went shopping again the next day. I usually am NOT like this at all, but in North America are so much cheaper compared to UK and Holland. VAT is only 7% (?) in NY state. We got back Saturday afternoon. Sunday we went for our final walk and lunch (burgers my her dad) and drove to Toronto. The flight back was ok, but I was very tempted to add on a few days...Sometimes life feels very simple when you have a close friend near.


Makawe & Me