Far, Far Too Long

I can't believe it has been this long since I've posted.  Our lives have been... hectic.  Things have been bad, but not so bad.  We can see the light at the end of the tunnel, and having my loving spouse at my side has made things eminently more bearable.

That's right, I can say spouse now.  What else have you been missing while I've been gone?

Well, Yves and I are not just engaged, we're now officially commonlaw.  Soon we get to fill out papers to that effect and everything (apparently it's called a "life change" form!).  Then I'll be able to afford to get my teeth cleaned and fun things like that, because my big strong provider man also has benefits! Whoo hoo!

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(photo: Sophie devours her ill gotten gains!)

Sophie is still the joy of our lives, and has almost completely eaten through my computer cord now (one chew is all it takes apparently!) but she has also learned that playtime only happens if she behaves, so she's much better behaved.  Or much better at being naughty secretly, we're not sure which yet.  We have just purchased her a cat litter box, because she informed us a few months ago that she hated the ferret litterbox and refused to use it any more.  She loves it, and does the most adorable balancing act on the side, like a chinchilla tightrope walker! :)

Yves has finally adjusted to the new degus, as the girls are much quieter and calmer than the boys, but he still refuses to hug me when I'm holding them for fear they'll jump on him.  (A well-founded fear, as new people are their favourite thing to explore!).  Sadly, Tanuki -the older girl- has diabetes, and has started to go blind now, so we are thinking of downgrading their cage to reduce her number of falls.  They do operate like chinchillas normally, mapping a space mentally and calculating jumps etc on the fly, but sadly Tanuki is a bit too silly for this, and has a tendency to jump right into things instead :(  Bella, however, shows no signs of diabetes yet, so we are hopeful she will live a long and full life.

(photo: Bella -front- inquires about the bright lights we keep flashing in her eyes while Tanuki -back- scratches an itch.  The bare patch on Tanuki was from over grooming, and has now healed nicely.  For more pics and stories, check out chirlababies.blogspot.com)

We are still apartment searching, though we have applied at a glorious, huge, bright, AND cheap 2 bedroom downtown.  Cross all your fingers and toes for us, this is the dream apartment!  Sooooooo much nicer than this falling down house (no offense, Jerry, I'm sure it will be lovely when you're done repairs).  We both very excited for OUR first place - that is, a home which belongs equally to both of us.  Though, to be honest, I'm more excited about being able to establish homes for everything instead of the constant "where does this go?" battles we now have.  Luckily, the apartment also has tonnes of storage, so we're hopeful everything will go much smoother once we've moved.

On top of the usual Rick drama (he is now gone from our house, and from our lives, permanently), the job search (working temporarily at Terry's studio again, and training up the lovely Melissa Carriere to replace me!), and constant illness (Yves - more sinus infections and a 10 day stomach flu.  Me - three billion lung infections.... this is starting to get old), there has also been a more serious reason for my recent scatterbrained ways.

Sadly, my cousin Erin passed away after a motor vehicle accident a few weeks ago.  She was technically my father's cousin, due to the joys of our massive family, but she was only a few years older than me and we were practically inseperable until puberty.  When my grandfather remarried, she and her family (her son, Tyson, and then-husband, Pete) moved in with me at the northside family home.  She was a wild and troubled person, beautiful and vivacious, the kind of crazy friend you wanted to party with but wouldn't trust with your keys.  She taught me how to see the world as an adventure, brought me out of my shy girl shell and made me the bold and loud person you all know me as now, and I will always miss her.

During the time we lived together, I kidnapped her for a photoshoot.  While almost all of my images from NAIT were stolen during my move to Victoria, somehow this session managed to survive intact, buried on a backup drive.  I was happy to be able to share the images with my family when her ex-husband requested them, and honored when they chose one of the images for the memorial pamphlet.  I am making this image the photo of the month in her honor.  If you knew Erin, please visit the R.I.P Erin group on Facebook.

Much love, cousin.  You will be missed.

(photo: Erin Huggan, 2005.  She passed away this April, only a few weeks after her 29th birthday.)

Due to this tragedy on top of every other nightmare in our lives the past few months, I have postponed any new shoots and have been delayed completing the editing of those already shot.  However, I am hoping that with new plans in the works I will be feeling a little more functional soon and will be able to post new work in the coming weeks.

Take this opportunity to sit for a moment and appreciate all you have.  Tell the ones you love how you feel.  It is wrong that we only appreciate what we have when it is gone - I ask you, dear friends and readers, to go out and love while you have it.  Live your lives for today.  See the world as an adventure, and appreciate every moment, the way my sweet cousin did.