Happy Holidays

From Sackville, New Brunswick!

Aldon & Marsha X-mas Tree Hunting 2019

I feel like I’ve lost touch with so many people since leaving Facebook and Alberta, so I thought I’d try something a bit different this year. A sort of shout-out to the annual family Christmas letters that I remember from my younger days!

Aldon and I have so much to be grateful for from 2019.

We’re very cozy (+1 for wood stove in the winter!) in our little rental house in the lovely town of Sackville.

We got to enjoy countless walks through the wondrous Waterfowl Park, in all seasons. I especially enjoyed spring and summer, watching the geese and ducks raise their adorable goslings and ducklings so close to home.

They’re no match for Baby Yoda, but it sure was fun to watch them grow day by day.

But nothing is cuter than this:

Work has been challenging for both of us. Aldon is still with Cannabis NB, although he decided to take a step down from his TL (team lead) position and is enjoying his role as CER (customer experience representative) much more. He’s currently commuting to work in Moncton (about 30 minutes away), but we hope he’ll able to return to the Sackville location in the new year.

I finally took the leap and launched my own business this year! I have started building and maintaining websites for small businesses in the maritimes. It’s awesome, exciting and terrifying all at the same time. I love working from home, but I also found the Sackville Commons, a co-working space in town. I started volunteering as a host last winter, and then joined the Board of Directors this fall! I make an effort to get out of the house and work there at least once a week.

Marsha, Stacey, Paul & Aldon at the Dartmouth Ferry Terminal.

We’ve made new friends here too: Paul & Stacey Merrigan are awesome.

We have a lot in common and enjoy a lot of the same things. We’ve had many D&D sessions with them, board game nights, dinners, drinks, hikes, yard sailin’ and a trip to Halifax for the Fringe festival this fall!

There may even be exciting artistic collaborations to report on in 2020. 

I didn’t necessarily expect to get involved with theatre here, but when I saw a poster for open auditions for a community play commemorating the 150th anniversary of the arrival of the Intercolonial Railway in Sackville this fall, I couldn’t resist.

It was a lot of fun and a great way to meet more people in town.

We got out to a few gigs this past year: Danny Michel in Halifax, Hawksley Workman in Dorchester, Joel Plaskett played with his dad at the old school movie theatre here in Sackville & The Great Lake Swimmers with Colleen Brown at the local bar/venue in town. We also caught The Confusionaires in Stony Plain during our visit this summer!

Inspired by my dear friend Wade Kelly, who keeps in touch from Melbourne, Australia, I took up the ukulele this year.

It is so much fun! I love strumming and singing along with my little uke. We also brought home one of Gar’s guitars from Stony Plain this summer, so I think next year I’m going to put some effort into learning that too. It will make it easier for me to jam with my dad, Murray, who has become quite the guitar player himself. My mom doesn’t play, but she’s still kicking up her heels teaching line dancing classes!

We did our fair share of travelling this year as well. My bestie Renate had a baby in January and so I went to meet baby Maya and visit Renate, Jake and Mrs. Pennington (the dowager Sheltie) for Mothers’ Day in Ottawa.

Marsha, Renate & Maya in Ottawa

And then they graced us with their presence here in the fall, staying with us for a few days before making a 10-day road trip through the maritimes, leaving Mrs. Pennington in our care before returning to spend time with us before heading back to Ontario.

Jake & Maya, wearing the hat Auntie Marsha knit!

Speaking of special guests, we also hosted Elsie & Ava this summer! Elsie flew down to pick Ava up from the States and brought her up to New Brunswick. We kept her busy during her short visit, with a fish feast hosted by the Jones brothers (my dad and uncles) at their camp with most of the family (in the rain), a full day of driving the Fundy coastline (in the rain), a trip out to Hopewell Rocks and a few other excursions. Once Elsie headed back to Alberta we had a more relaxing holiday with Ava, staying close to home, enjoying the quiet and each other’s company.

Ava, Aldon & Elsie at Hopewell Rocks

Murray, Ava, Aldon & Marsha at the camp

Then it was off to Edmonton and Stony Plain for a quick visit. We didn’t get much time in the city as our priority was to spend time with the family. Before we knew it we had to return to the maritimes. Summer always goes by so fast!

Marsha & Aldon in the MG

Aldon and I got in a little NB getaway, driving up to Bathurst, Miramichi and spending a couple of nights at the beautiful Kouchibouguac National Park. They’ve got a spectacular beach and lots of hiking trails. 

We were really excited to have Elsie make a second trip out this year, joined by Aldon’s Aunt Gayle who lives in Arizona! They came for a week at Thanksgiving and we had a lovely visit. We made it back to Kouchibouguac while the autumn leaves were in full splendor, and took a Nova Scotia road trip to visit Lunenburg and Halifax.

Gayle & Elsie at Hopewell Rocks

So, I guess those are the highlights from 2019. If you made it this far, congratulations!

Best wishes from both of us to you and yours for this holiday season and the new year!

I’d love to hear from you too, you can send me an email or leave a comment below.

Marsha & Aldon