Wednesday, May 30

Tribute to an Adored Pussums

A person can have a lot of pets during a lifetime, but only rarely will you find a creature to care for that you truly love.
I hope all of you have met my precious kitty Beebs at some point.
She's nothing special if you take her at face-value. She wasn't the most beautiful beast to look at, and wasn't very friendly to strangers.
She was an epileptic too, which was often the brunt of many jokes. The medication she took made her obese.
But Beebs was a very, very, very, special cat.
I remember I was so thrilled to FINALLY get a cat when I was 11. She was such a huge deal to me. I found the advertisment in the Buy & Sell and my mom and I went to look at three different cats. The first was too old and grumpy, the second had long hair (which was a no-no), and then there was this scrawny 9-month-old mommy cat sitting in a pile of clothes that purred so happily when we picked her up.
They called her Cindy, but her name was Beebs.
Mom and I went home and she told me to pray and ask God if this was the right cat for me.
I prayed. It was.
We went back and brought Beebs home for the first time. I made her a bed in a carboard box, and introduced her to our dog. Dad didn't like her, and said she was ugly (but she wormed her way into his heart later). We called her Pepper, but her name was Beebs.
When I woke up the next day she was sitting beside me on my bed, purring. We knew we were meant for each other.
I've always been one for nicknames, and soon I was calling her my little "Bebe", which eventually led to me discovering her true name: Beebs.
Its the only one she's ever responded to, that's how I know.
Beebs was a quirky little creature, with a love for catnip and her drugs. Often she would randomly race around the house growling, and other times sprawl out on a patch of sunlit carpet becoming one with the floor.
She loved my feather duvet, and on cold winter mornings would crawl underneath the covers and purr. She was playful and loved to be teased and wrestled with. We had lots of crazy games that we would play together.
She hated the outdoors, and yet loved the thrill of sneaking out. More than once she would give me a scare by going missing, and I would have to go and look around the yard where she would doubtless be mewing pitifully in a corner of the garden shed.
She was a sensitive cat too. The only time she would voluntarily cuddle with me was when I was upset or crying. She would bump her head against my arm, purr, and try and crawl onto my lap.
As sickeningly cheesy as it sounds, Beebs was not just a housepet to me, she was a friend. She had a very distinct personality, and kept me laughing all the time with her idiosyncrasies and quirks.
But life isn't always perfect.
Beebs medication for epilepsy was hard on her system, and she got sick and wasn't eating.
Yesterday she went to kitty heaven where she will get all the "Temptation" treats and warm duvet covers she deserves.
Beebs was truly one-of-a-kind and I will miss her soooo much. She was the best cat I could've ever had and I thank God for allowing me so many years to enjoy her. Its hard to know that she won't be waiting for me when I get home, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that God will have her waiting for me in heaven.

Monday, May 21

Unspoken Rule

There are certain things you just don't do.
Everyone knows those things are.
Everyone abides by the Unspoken Rule.
Well...almost everyone.
Every so often a rebel will rise up and casually disregard what is known to be right and fair.

This morning Maria picked extra raisins out of the bag for her Rasin Bran.

Naturally there was an intervention.

These kind of things can't be allowed to happen.

Thursday, May 17

A Real Weekend!

At last!
Tomorrow at noon, my first real weekend in a very, very, long time begins. I will be taking the 1:00 ferry to CR, and FINALLY visiting my dear friend Karissa who is actually moving back to Kamloops on SUNDAY. It would appear that we just can't stand to live in the same vicinity for very long. A theory that will be further confirmed when I come home in September and she leaves for PBC in Alberta! Sigh.
At least we'll get to spend Friday and Saturday together :)
Then apparently I will have Sunday off....and maybe Monday too! What a change from working for so long in a row.
Anyway, if I don't post this weekend now you know why.
I've got to go pack now.




Ps. Anyone who watches American Idol....how silly were yesterday's results??? OBVIOUSLY Melinda is better than Blake. Its such a popularity contest. Grrr.

Pss. Anyone who watches LOST....last week was probably the most amazing episode ever in time. I'm so excited to watch last night's tonight and get some answers!!! (yeah right)

Wednesday, May 16

Slightly Inappropriate

A brief snippet of our lunchtime conversation today.

Mike: So, how often do you poop?

Andrea: I pooped twice today.

Mike: Twice?! That's not healthy! Mekel, how often do you poop?

Jill: (aside) Mike just because you only poop once a week...

Matt: Sometimes I will poop twice a day.

Mike: But before lunch?!

Matt: Well that might be pushing it...

Jill: (snickering loudly) "Pushing" it!

Extremely immature giggling ensues.



Disclaimer: Mike and I both have Kostelyk blood running through our veins. Fascination with, and amusement from, the topic of poop is inevitable.

Tuesday, May 15

I'm Back!

I've been uber-busy lately....no time to blog.
And besides that, there hasn't been much exciting stuff to write about. Just the day-to-day camp doings and goings. But my fans on Todd Road have requested a post, so here I go...
I've moved from fruit platters and salad-concocting to unofficial baker! Basically I make all the desserts and mug-ups (just-before-bedtime snack). I find this a welcome change because I can pretty much do what I want and its fun to try and make them look all pretty and yummy. And everyone loves me for my creations....that's always a bonus!
So far I've made lots of cheesecakes, tarts, cookies, bars, and a wonderful, amazing, delectable, heart-attack-inducing pie! I was even going to take a picture of it for the blog, but it actually got eaten too fast. I'm not even exxagerating! It was sooo good.
This last week I started coming down with a cold, and was generally feeling pretty worn-down, so I slept a lot in my free time and now I'm feeling much better.
Today I gardened for a few hours. The little cottage that Mike and James have moved into has a really neat landscaped yard that had been neglected for a couple years. It was very overgrown and weedy, so we started working on it today. Very satisfying! I pulled weeds and transplanted flowers, and created little rock gardens. hee hee...
It looks a lot better now, but still has a long way to go.
Any hoo....that's about all that I've got to say for now. I miss you all :)

Ps. Hannah if you read this, I can no longer read your blog due to the fact that it is an MSN space and not a blogspot. I miss it and I am very sad. So comment on mine :D

Thursday, May 3

Another Boring Title

Sorry I haven't updated for so long!
The school group we have right now has been here since Monday, and leaves tomorrow- our first week-long group this spring. It's been very busy.
Things in the kitchen are going pretty well...better than at first, anyway! I am learning both to
1. speak up and voice my opinions, and
2. shut up and let things pass.
Its a fine balance, and I certainly haven't perfected it yet.
I've also discovered a love of soccer! Who would've thought. I started playing with the last two groups and have had soooo much fun with it. I've scored one goal, and had a few close shots. I seem to be better at defense though because I'm not very accurate at kicking, but I'm not afraid to "get in there".
This last week I've been waking up at around 5:30 AM every morning! I would lay in bed forever, paranoid about oversleeping, until I bought a box of Corn Pops and discovered the cheap little Tucan Sam alarm clock with the projecter light, inside. Now I can press the little button every five minutes and the time will light up on the wall.

*click*

5:30 AM

"OK, I'm fine...sleep."

*click*

5:35 AM

"Geez Jill, you're crazy its only been five minutes. Sleep!"

...

"Oh no! What time is it?!?!"

*click*

5:45 AM

"ARGH!"

And so it went for a very long time.
Finally I decided to do something about it.
I got up and went for a run/walk at 6 AM. I know Mom, aren't you proud?
Yesterday I made a record and slept in until 6:50 AM, so I went for my walk this afternoon. I'm hoping to cultivate a good excercise habit.

It has been called into question whether I am actually at Camp Homewood, and not hiding in my parent's basement, avoiding contact with friends and family. The fact that my visit to Karissa's didn't work out, and thus did not post pictures seems a little too convenient. Alas, you will all have to hold on a little longer for visual proof of my residence here. I'm bugging Mike to help me get my laptop connected to the internet, and then I promise I will post a picture if it kills me.

Anyway, this is a decent sized post, so none of you can complain! I'm off now.