12 weeks today!

That's how long I've been in the lovely town of Fisherville. It's hard to believe! So much has happened since I last wrote that I hardly know what to say first. And I know that no matter how much I write, I am still going to forget things I so wish that I could share. Guess I'll just do my best...
Fisherville may be a small town, but as I've been hearing from more and more people as the weeks go by, that I've done and seen more cool things than a lot of people who have been living here their entire lives. Guess the newcomer's eyes just see differently...
So here are a few things I've been up to in the recent weeks:

Making bread -- a wonderful lady from church had me over a few weeks ago, and instilled a love for fresh bread in me, along with the skills to make my own! I've been making it every Monday (my glorious day off) since then.

I flew a plane -- a middle aged man from church has a little 2 seater plane in a hanger (storage spot) about 45 minutes from Fisherville. When I learned this, I mentioned that if he ever needed a passenger, he knew who to call! He took me flying a couple of weekends later. Last Saturday, actually. We headed out early in the morning, and flew north to Collingwood, which is on a southern bay of Lake Huron, and had brunch there. I have never seen such beautiful fall colours in my entire life. Looking down, with the sky so clear and blue, the sun seemed to set fire to the patches of trees between the fields in their spectacular yellows, oranges and reds. Lake Huron was so clear and greeny blue, it could have easily been a tropical ocean. But perhaps the best part of it all, was that Terri (the pilot) let me fly the plane. I had complete control for a solid half an hour during the return trip. There are few things I've experienced in my life cooler than the feeling of controlling an aircraft. I can't even describe how awesome that was.

I drove a combine-- That's what you use for harvesting crops, in case you didn't know. It's a mammoth machine. And it was awesome. A few people were a little jealous when they found out. But the opportunity came up, so I went for it. It was kind of like mowing a huge lawn. Of soybeans.

I learned to make grape juice -- that was actually the evening after I got back from flying with Terri. The pastor's wife had me over, and we made juice...and jelly, actually, but the juice was th exciting part for me...from a bunch of concord grapes from a local market. It takes 6 weeks for the juice to be ready, so I've got a bunch of jars juicing away in my cupboard as we speak!

I went to a guernsey banquet -- what on earth is that, you ask? Well. My good friend, Amy, is the president of the Young Farmers...which is a national organization...of young farmers, I suppose. Anyway, she was involved in hosting this banquet for the guernsey club that includes our county and the surrounding ones. This club, as best as I could figure, participates in shows throughout the year on various regional and national levels, with their guernsey cows. So yes, the banquet was attended by Amy's family, a whole slew (like 5) families of guernsey farmers, a bunch of elderly people who came to support the club...and perhaps because there was a phenomonal turkey dinner served, and an adorable country band that provided waltzing and square dancing tunes following the meal....and there was me. It was definitely an interesting experience. It kind of reminded me of a family reunion in some ways. The dancing especially. It was pretty old school. But it was great. I did get to waltz a couple of times with some people who knew Amy's family...none of the younger people really danced. Probably didn't know the steps. Well I certainly didn't either, and I'm sure the old people who were watching got their week's amusement watching me realize that what they called a "waltz" was pretty far off anything I've ever been taught as having that name. Again, though, it was truly a lot of fun. Not something you see in the city, that's for sure!

So there are a few things I've been up to. I know there are more. So you'll hear from me again I'm sure. If I don't write for a while, I welcome you to email me and ask me to put something up! I don't have a clue how many people even read this. But there you have it. And I fear I must now end this post. I'm due to meet my lovely tennis partner at the courts in about 12 minutes. And they are 10 minutes away. Until next time! :)

Little thing: Sat outside on the lawn and read in the warm sunshine. How often can you say that at the end of October??

Storytime with Kaitlyn

Once upon a time, in the lovely town of Fisherville, Ontario, a certain pastor and DPS intern were to attend a winkle (circuit meeting of pastors & church workers) in Beamsville. Though a shortage of maps in the car there certainly were not, the refusal to make use of said maps (*cough* by the one who wasn't driving, who, by the way, was not the dps intern) resulted in the pair of them gallovanting through absolutely spectacular landscape along the escarpment and after nearly 2.5 hours finding themselves in St. Catherines...mere blocks from the seminary, in fact. While one of them was perhaps tempted to crash a seminary class, the lateness of the hour (in combination with better judgment) sadly prevented such shinnanigans. Eventually, however, they came upon the legendary 406 and hightailed it back to Beamsville. Happily, they made it well in time for the pizza lunch. And they may or may not have gotten turned around heading home again, but that, my friends, is another story for another time.

Farewell, sweet August

This evening marks the end of a most glorious summer. In my mind at least. Though I've technically been doing school-ish stuff for a month already, the end of August still brings a sadness to my heart, knowing that the fall is truly upon us.
As I sat on my side porch the other night, peanut butter and banana in hand, gazing up into the amazingly beautiful Fisherville sky, it dawned on me that it is four weeks ago tonight that I drove into Fisherville for the first time, exhausted from a cross country adventure and rejuvenated by an awesome young adults retreat weekend. It is hard to believe that the four week point has come already. Partly because I still feel like I just got here. And on the other end of the spectrum, I feel like I've been here so much longer than that already.
It is interesting how quickly something that you are around constantly becomes normal. Maybe that sounds kind of strange, but really think about it. Something that you've never before experienced in your life is all of a sudden consistently present. And before you know it, you feel strange when it's not there. Perhaps I'm being too vague. What I'm referring to mainly is my whole living in what some might call "the middle of nowhere" and all that this entails. This style of life is fast becoming normal for me. And I find myself thinking of things I was missing out on before now. (though I miss a great many things and people from life before now as well)
The quiet of the country really spoils you. That night when I was sitting out under the stars with my peanut butter and banana, I got slightly annoyed at 3 cars in a row driving in front of my house because of their noisy and bright interruption of my serene moment. There was a baseball game going on at the Fisherville diamond. I really should have expected it...it's not like I can't see the lights and hear the cheering from across town (yep, it's small alright).
Ooh and last night I saw a live possum for the first time. They're kind of dumb, I'm not gonna lie. We had it cornered in my neighbours' garage, and it just kind of sat there. Then again, their dog wasn't overly keen on tearing it apart, and I'm not so sure we had the means of killing it either. But it ended up being a good hider, always slipping through our desperate clutches, so after a while we gave up the hunt.
And today I biked down to Lake Erie. It was a lovely, sunny day, only moderately warm, and the perfect day for a bike ride. It was a good 10km to the lake down the country road, past rolling fields covered in hay bails, and other fields full of Queen Anne's lace among the sea of various blue and yellow wildflowers. The lake was like glass; a far cry from my first encounter with it, where the gusting winds brought rather large waves crashing into the shore, and the stormy sky made it look less than appealing to swim in or bike along. Today, however, the sun danced on the shimmering water, and the scattered beaches that appeared as I rounded point after point along the lakeside drive made me feel like I was at some tropical vacation spot. The lakeside homes were so quaint and pretty. I found a patch of grass along the lake and sat under a tree for a while, taking in the view, marvelling at the fact that I live so close to such beauty. Fisherville and the surrounding country truly is beautiful, but I definitely have a weakness for lakes. Or oceans or streams or rivers...I just really like water, I guess.
Oh, one more random thing. So random. Anyway, Saturday, so 2 days ago, I was awoken by the sound of a spraying hose. I had forgotten that I'd told the church trustees that they could clean my eavestrophs that morning, and they were hard at work at 9am. I had plans to go out that morning, so it was no problem. After getting ready, I was a few minutes early, and decided to head out to see what they were up to out there. Long story short, I climbed the ladder onto the roof and hung out on the top of the house for a bit. Eventually I came down and went on about my day, thinking little of what I'd done. WELL. Sunday morning rolls around, and I'm always there early to greet people on the way in (great time to learn and reinforce names of people!)...and I get, no joke, 12 people in a row, come up to me and say "Good morning, Kaitlyn, I hear you enjoy climbing roofs!"
What the heck! I was so confused how everyone could know about this. I find out later, my neighbour, whom I've never met, saw me up on the roof and told a few people, who in turn told a few more people...and that's how the story goes. Ooooooh small towns. Apparently this neighbour was wondering if I was up there because I missed the mountains in BC! Hahaha. I have never met him! But apparently everyone here knows a good amount about me, whether I've ever heard of them or not. I feel like I understand in a very small way what it'd be like to be famous. I'm not so sure I like it. But anyway, most people weren't too horrified that their DPS intern was found gallovanting on rooftops. In fact, one older lady said "Why, that's okay dear, all it means is that you're adventurous!"
Anyway, I have absolutely no idea how any of this relates to the fact that it's the last day of August. But alas, that fact remains true, and I thought I would finish off the month with a blog update. I am happy here in Fisherville. God has blessed me with a wonderful church family here and every day I see glimpses of his goodness.

little thing: was introduced to raspberries in milk, and the board game "candyland" tonight. according to my fair neighbours, I haven't lived till now

Fisherville!!!

Wowee so I don't even know where to begin. It feels like so much has happened since I got here...it's hard to believe it hasn't even been 2 weeks.

First, I feel as though I should relay to you some of my first impressions of Fisherville.
I absolutely love all of the farms. It kind of felt like we were driving into the middle of nowhere, and then bam, there's fisherville in all the glory of its one and only intersection. But honestly, there's just something about this place. It's got a charm all its own.

The sunsets are soo beautiful; nearly every night the sky is at least somewhat clear, and the sun peaks through in gorgeous pinks, oranges and yellows. And looking at that with a view of green, gently rolling fields with hay bails catching the sunset light and a line of dark green lush trees in the background. Truly breathtaking.
The sky gets so dark at night and the stars are so clear and there are sooo many more of them!
The crickets are actually the loudest thing you hear at night. They seem almost obnoxiously loud. It's unreal.
My dear friend and travel buddy Nicole will tell you that I cannot say enough about the brick houses. I'm sure she's wanted to slap me on several occasions for my constant "oooing" and "ahhing." But honestly, the houses here are so beautiful. There are a TON of older brick houses that just remind me so much of Europe; they're so quaint and pretty. And the best part is, I live in one of them!!! It was built in the 20s and it definitely has its quirks...but I don't think I could be happier (unless I had friends and family to come and fill up the 3 spare rooms on occasion..wink wink :p)

So here's a quick list of some of the super awesome things I've been up to in my free time in Fisherville so far:

Adventuring through soy bean fields, during which I was swallowed past my ankles by a rather stealthy puddle of mud

Shooting clay pigeons over a corn field....by the way, I've decided I'd like a 12 gauge for my birthday...

Living with and learning about the adventures of water cisterns...

Climbing my internet tower to clean the gutters of my house

Sitting in the parking lot drinking milk following a strenuous gym workout (this wasn't even my idea!! it's actually a well established tradition with certain folks in these parts :D)

Picking beans and tomatoes from a friend's garden in the pitch black...we decided it was like experiencing how a blind gardener did things...I definitely got a few green tomatoes...but couldn't wait to go home and fry them. They actually weren't bad.

Running to the end of a concession (country road :D)...they're supposed to only be a mile long. Yeah, this one was more than 2. But dang it, I couldn't give up. And I had to make it all the way back. And it was muggy. Which made it feel like I was running a flipping marathon in a sticky shower room. Siiiiick.

Took in several excellent wind/thunder/lightning storms. Apparently a tornado touched down in Cheapside (great name, eh?), which is about 20 minutes west of us. You can see the lightning forever because there are no mountains in the way of the sky!

Saw a meteor shower.

Yesterday: Driving to a city I've never been to, visiting an elderly man I've never met in a hospital I've never been to (I only mention this because even the hospitals I've been to multiple times, I still always feel like I'm lost in them). Oh, and this man has pneumonia and Alzheimers, so he had no clue who I was either. I was definitely nervous. But it was great and God is so good and the man, Vic, was a total sweetheart. Why do I always worry?

Today: Adventured in the Niagara Valley. Seriously, parts of this province look completely topical!! There are palm tree looking things and we were in a gorge with a rocky path and huge boulders and trees overhanging and we climbed waaay down to the water and saw a huge whirlpool thingy on the niagara river and went down the side of the escartment (like a huge cliff that goes for miles...it's actually on a fault line, and is what niagara falls runs off of...in case that's new news for you like it was for me, I thought I'd explain). Anyway, this place looked like what I thought a South American rainforest would look like. It was gorgeous. Then we went to see the falls themselves more inside the city of Niagara on the Lake, and to see the fireworks show!

So these have been my fun adventures. Tomorrow night we're having a bbq bonfire thingy and I'll get to meet some more young adults from around here. I'm pretty stoked for that. And I'll also be visiting Port Dover because apparently they have an "art in the park" thing going on. So yeah, that'll be something to check out.

I'm having such fun here so far. God's grace is amazing, thank you so much to all of you who have been praying. Of course I miss you all, but despite that, God's given me such joy and excitement for the year ahead.
The job is definitely a lot of work and some moments I think my brain can't hold all of the information I need to know, and that I'm just not qualified for all of it. But then the next moment I hear my Father saying that the task ahead is a huge adventure, and something in which all the credit for success should go to him, and it's good that i know that from the start! Praise God for being so amazing! Yeah, I can't do this on my own, but I'm not expected to!

Alright, I believe I've jabbered a sufficient amount for now. I'm off to bed at long last...

Greetings and hugs and God's blessings from the bonny bonny land of Fisherville, Ontario!!!

Kaitlyn :)

Little thing: a dear friend picked me blueberries and brought them to me at work

Surrey to Edmonton

I have successfully completed the longest non-stop drive of my entire life. Today I drove 12.5 hours from Surrey to Edmonton. And I went alone. I know, lots of people have done it, but it was a big thing to me. I'd never driven more than 4 hours straight until today! And I feel that I've learned a few valuable things today that might be beneficial/amusing to know about long solo road trips:

There are awesome leg stretches you can do while driving.
You'll eventually talk to yourself. And it's actually kind of comforting.
You start to feel really sorry for the bugs hitting your windshield (and categorizing the sizes of the "splats" as they happen)
Calculating your average speed per hour is ridiculously addictive. And if you're anything like me, you end up working out goals to beat (ex. to average 110 km per hour by 3:oopm) or taking VERY short rest stops so as not to mess up your timings too badly...and so you don't get to far behind all those slow cars you just spent the last hour trying to pass, and who now will be in front of you again...drat.
It becomes entertaining to open the window while you're driving and try to see what kind of effect sticking different lengths of your arm out the window at different angles has on the aerodynamicy of your vehicle.

That's all, really. The day was actually quite entertaining. The Rockies are so beautiful; every time I see them, they blow me away. God truly is an artist. Seeing the sun hitting the peaks of those mountains and the beautiful lakes and trees just screams his name. So cool.
But I am very happy that my driving is done for the day.

Little thing: my dad made me breakfast for the road... at 5am

Blogging eh?

So I've begun a blog. Obviously you've figured that out by now, as you've found it. I was really just sort of reminding myself. I had always thought I wouldn't start one because a) i thought that bloggers spent too much time updating and writing and b) the blogs of people I would possibly enjoy keeping up with are never updated. Perhaps that's because they are actually out living. I know it is an overly cynical opinion. But I see a blog now as a great way to keep family and friends even if only somewhat in the loop of what's going on in my life, particularly with this moving across the country thing. That, and I'm not really one for mass email updates.

Having let my past cynicism about blogs come out already, I now feel truly hypocritical saying that I am not sure I will be much more committed to blogging than those whose bi-annually updated blogs that caused my irritation. I guess life just happens, despite our best intentions.

Tomorrow is my LAST DAY in beautiful British Columbia. Early Thursday morning, I'll hop in the van with a good amount of my earthly belongings, and begin the nearly 2 week adventure across our fair country, starting off the trip hanging out with my bestie in Edmonton for a few days :) It's like heading off to university again...just more foreign. For the first time since I was 5, September does not mean the start of school. I can't even really imagine it...

Another chapter is about to begin. Corny line, I know. But I tend to write what comes to mind, and very rarely erase it. I figure, it'd come out if I were talking to you, I might as well just let the words out as they come.

I really am so excited to see what God's got up his sleeve for me this year. I have that familiar feeling in the pit of my stomach. The one that makes me feel nauseous at what's approaching, but which I have also traced back throughout my life and noticed a pattern. This feeling surfaces when I realize I'm in over my head. And it's been in those times that God's done truly amazing things when I quit trying to pretend I know everything. At this point, what's going through my head is 'yep I'm scared, sweet, that means it's gonna be awesome.'


little thing: played frisbee in the backyard with my opa