Brandon to Fredericton: MB to NB: Our Epic Road Trip

Since I'll be moving the 3500km from Brandon, Manitoba to Fredericton, New Brunswick at the end of this month, Cowboy Tex (formerly known as Farmer Joe) and I planned our holidays around taking a road trip there so that I could get a feel for the place! It was lovely and I'll try my best to create a mostly-pictures-few-words blog post all about it.

I've always known Canada is a beautiful country. I've driven all the way to the West Coast and taken the ferry to Vancouver Island, but I hadn't, until this trip, driven East. (Manitoba is in the centre - kind of - of the country, for those not up to snuff on their Canadian geography).

Northern Ontario is majestic, almost as much so as Western Alberta and British Columbia. It makes up the southern portion of the Canadian Shield and it is wonderously rocky and full of coniferous forests covering rolling hills and valleys.

Lake Superior, living up to its name.

Quebec is a bit more like the prairies that I am familiar with, very much an agricultural province. Quebec intimated the heck out of me because its official language is French. Despite the fact that I wish, more than many things, that I spoke French, I do not. I feel very guilty about that. Perhaps after I complete my Master's, learning French will be the next thing on my list.

I spent a lovely, albeit swelteringly hot, day and two nights
in Montreal with a dear friend of mine. 

The city is brilliant in its historic nature and vibrant culture.

I've been told by many people that I would love Montreal and they were not wrong! 

It would have been wonderful to have taken
actual engagement photos here, but it was so
hot that I just couldn't bring myself to change
into something engagement-photo worthy.

New Brunswick was breath-taking! After a rather flat Quebec, our most eastern destination presented us with rolling hills and vibrant greenery. The St. John River runs right through Fredericton creating a consistently cool breeze to blow throughout the city. 

Fredericton, as a city, is wonderful. It is a small city (60,000 people). It is a city full of art and culture. It is a city with a strong government and military presence.

It is an old city.

It is a city with a strong university presence. 

 I felt at home there. 

Celebrate the Small Things (Aug 2 - a couple days late)

One of these days I'll actually post my weekly celebrations for VikLit's blog hop hosted over at Scribblings of an Aspiring Author on time...

On Monday I handed in my completed creative writing thesis! I am celebrating No More Edits! This coming Friday is my defence. I am excited and terrified - a very strange feeling.

This is actually a chicken egg,
but just imagine a more intricate
design on a much larger egg!

I had lunch and played catch-up with my best friend on Wednesday and got the invitations to her Bachelorette Party sent out on Thursday. Another check mark on my To-Do List!

Friday, I headed out for one more visit with my Baba before I head out East at the end of this month. During that visit she approved of the ostrich eggs I ordered on eBay which means that I can order more for her to decorate to serve as centre pieces for my wedding. She has two years to do 15...hopefully!

While I have your attention, I'd also like to add the beginning of Blogust, an initiative by Shot@Life, a United Nations Foundation. Every day in August a designated blogger posts as part of Blogust and for every comment on his or her blog a donation is made to purchase a life-saving vaccine for children around the world. Last year I visited and commented every day and this year I am doing the same. I hope you'll consider joining me!

Let's Play Catch Up - Awards Theme

Eons ago, June 4 to be exact, M.J. over at M.J. Joachim's Writing Tips passed on a beautiful award to me, Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award! Lovely, right?! M.J. runs all kinds of cool blog challenges and then showcases the winners on her Blog Hopper Marathon Wall of Fame. You should really check her out. I've won two "events" and they've been super fun! M.J. is one of five sisters - wow - and so she passed this award on to five blogging sisters. I only have one sister, a younger sister, but since I've always been the older sister, I am going to take this opportunity to pass this award along to my older sister in the blogging world, Zoe from rewritten. She's brilliant. She's zany. She's everything I could want in a real flesh and blood older sister. Lucky for me, I at least get to have an e-relationship with her!

Speaking of Zoe, she nominated me for a different award on June 12 (yes, eons ago as well), Best Moment Award. All you have to do for this award is write or record and post an acceptance speech and then pass it along to someone(s) that you feel worthy of the award. I was going to make my first attempt at a vlog for this one, but I just have to admit that I can't bring myself to make the time. So without further ado, here is my very short acceptance "speech" - Zoe, you are a beautiful soul and I love you. I hope some day we will grace each others presences in person. Thank you for this award! Some of my best blog moments come when I read your comments. Now, I am passing this along to Me from Scribblings, another beautiful soul that brightens my blog world.

Finally, there is Deanie from Thoughts and Ideas from Deanie Humphrys-Dunne who recently (yes, July 25 is recently) awarded me with a Wonderful Team Member Readership Award. Recipients are supposed to name 14 nominees over 7 days or all at once. I really haven't been blogging much of late so I think for this one, I will just go through and list the last 14 bloggers who commented on (a.k.a read and acknowledged) my blog.
T. Drecker from Kidbits
Zoe Byrd from rewritten
Viklit from Scribblings of an Aspiring Author
Rebeccah Giltrow from Rebeccah Writes
Lara Lacombe
Kate Larkindale from Fiction and Film
Me from Scribblings
Suzanne Lucas from Times Squared
Nancy LaRonda Johnson from Writer's Mark
Mei from Diary of a Fair Weather Diver
A month of....Blog
Diana Wilder from ...about myself, by myself
Sandy from Traveling Suitcase
Vidya Sury from Coffee With Mi
Thank you all for reading my blog!