According to my counter stats, my previous entry on crossing the border from Cornwall, Ontario into Massena, New York has been found by people who are searching for more information about border requirements. 

I haven’t done a lot of research on the topic, but what I can tell you is that I crossed over again the other day.  This time, I brought a friend with me.  This friend does not yet have a Canadian passport.  The border guard was shown her birth certificate and her driver’s license instead.  He warned her, though, that as of June 1st, a passport will be necessary to cross the Canada/USA border.  Luckily, her passport application is in the mail.

This most recent crossing was much more straightforward than the previous one, with fewer questions fired my way.  In fact, the border guard was friendly and he even smiled and wished us a good day.

Maybe the previous guy was just having a bad day.

For approximate wait times at some of the major border crossing.

For details about the documentation needed to enter the US.

US Customs & Border Protection FAQs page.

I find myself alone in the house - a very rare occurence - thanks to my husband.  He took the kids out for a walk, leaving me to get on with hanging the laundry in peace.

The first thing I did was turn off Treehouse TV.  It was pure bliss to hit the button and have it followed by silence.  Then I hung the laundry out on the washing line, with the weather slightly improved from yesterday.  Coming back into the living room, I wondered what to do with this precious alone time.  And then it struck me…

Adult viewing.  And by that, I do not mean porn!  I mean that I was going to watch a movie on DVD meant for grown-ups like me.  Sex, violence, coarse language!  All of it!  There was only one answer:  Pulp Fiction.

Wow, what a great movie.  The soundtrack is awesome, as with every Tarantino movie.  The guy has an uncanny knack of finding all these classic tunes that fit so well into the scenes.  The cast list is unbelieveable.  I can only imagine that Tarantino has a lot of friends in Hollywood.  Either that, or he’s got endless money!

Having the movie on prompted me to write this post and sing it’s praises.  I must admit though that I’m watching the movie more than I’m typing, so I might as well give up one or the other, right?

Bye.  :)

If I had my way, I’d be working as a midwife right now.  The problem is that I only realized by passion and fascination for midwifery a few years ago, when I went through my own pregnancies.  I am now 36 (37 later this year), I have 2 young children and I live in a country where midwives are fairly uncommon.  Had I still been living in the UK, I’d had undoubtedly started the schooling by now and would hopefully be well on my way to caring for mothers and babies.

My son was born in England, where women are delivered by midwives.  Just over two years ago, my daughter was born in Canada.  Right here in Cornwall, in fact.  In Canada, it is very rare for a woman to use a midwife over an OB/GYN.  When deciding who to seek out for my prenatal care, I had no hesitation in contacting a midwife, having experienced midwife care for my first pregnancy.  Lucky for me, midwife care is covered by our provincial health coverage here in Ontario.

In Cornwall, I found a small group of midwives called St-Lawrence Valley Midwives.  They were fabulous.  I had an hour for every appointment, so I never felt rushed out.  I could call with questions, reschedule appointments and I pretty much felt like they were a part of my life throughout my pregnancy and during the weeks after her birth.  They were professional, knowledgeable and very attentive.  Truly, I cannot recommend them enough. 

When I’d tell Canadian women that I was seeing a midwife, I was always confronted with shock.  Horror, sometimes.  But what if something goes wrong, they’d ask.  Midwives are highly trained, specializing in pregnancy and birth.  If further assistance is needed (ie. a c-section), they are trained to know when to seek it.  Exactly as an OB/GYN would.

So that brings me again to my desire to become a midwife.  It certainly is not impossible to do that in Canada, but there are very few schools that offer the course.  The closest one to us is in Toronto.  We would need to move and, having a child with a disbility, I must admit that I worry about how the move and the workload would affect our lives.  With money also a major issue, I know that this dream, although not a lifetime in the making, will surely remain just a dream.