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Hi there! My name is Christine, but those closest to me call me Didi (pronounced "DeeDee"). I was born in May 1954 in Toronto, Ontario. I have an Addiction Counsellor Diploma, but my field placements were in the Mental Health field. I have been married three times. My first marriage was in 1971 only months before I turned 17. It was a very unstable, abusive relationship. We separated after five and a half years in 1976, although we didn't actually divorce until 1992 only weeks before my second marriage. There were two children from my first marriage - my daughter, Tina (born in 1971) and my son, Joseph (born in 1972). In 1986 I met my second husband, Terry. It took him six years to convince me that marriage could be a wonderful thing, and we married in August of 1992 when I was 38 and he was 42. We did not have any children together, but my children looked upon him as their Dad - and I know my daughter does to this day. Less than three years after we married, we took in my son's daughter, Alexis. It was supposed to be a temporary situation, but circumstances arose that we ended up raising her as our own. In July, 2002 Terry was diagnosed with gastric cancer at the age of 52. We celebrated our 10th anniversary on August 8 2002 and 8 days later, after 6+ gruelling hours of surgery, we learned that his cancer was both inoperable and incurable. In fact, he was given 2 to 6 weeks to live. Terry fought a difficult and painful battle for 5 months with me as his primary caregiver. He passed away in my arms at home on January 19, 2003. He remains a very special part of my life and I will always love him and hold him close to my heart. In August, 2005 I "met" Neil online. He and I became fast friends - sharing stories of our loved one's who passed away from cancer and the impact it had upon our lives, tales of being workaholics when we were young, etc. We also both love to write. Over time we became closer and dearer to one another. We shared a deep friendship of deep mutual respect and love... not the romantic love (at least not at first)... but the kind of love that two people who share a lot of experiences, interests, values and beliefs can feel for one another. As time went on, it became apparent that our feelings towards each other were growing beyond friendship. Eventually we became engaged, and we were married on August 25, 2007 - two years to the day after we began our online friendship. In August, 2009 we purchased a home in rural Nova Scotia and I moved here from near Orangeville, Ontario in October, 2009. I presently live here with 2 large dogs (a 125 lb. Bernese Mountain Dog & a 65 lb. Chocolate Lab), 3 indoor cats, a HUGE turtle (red-eared slider), a nasty little 'love' bird and several cages full of canaries. I found good homes for our chickens and my grandchildren inherited tankfuls of tropical fish. I have worked as a vet assistant and been a foster mom with several animal rescues through the years, so it is not unusual to find more animals in and around our home. In the past, one of my dogs - my BEST friend ever: Sam (who is now deceased) was a Therapy Dog with St. John's Ambulance. We are presently seeking a female Golden Retriever to complete our family. Hopefully all my dogs will find a place as Therapy dogs. Besides animals, my passions are photography and writing, I especially enjoy photographing animals, nature & children. I can take over 100 photos in 30 minutes just hoping for that ?perfect shot?. I also enjoy creating graphics with my photos and images. I can stay up into the wee hours of the morning playing with graphics. As a result, most of the photos and graphics on our site are for sale. Some web sets are available as link ware. Most of my writing is poetry, however I also write prose and short stories. In fact, I am presently working on a book about my experiences with the caring for and loss of my previous husband to cancer. I belong to a couple of writing-focused groups on the internet to keep me motivated and to help the creative juices flow in those dry times. I also love music. I can strum a guitar fairly well, & love to fool around on a piano, organ, drums and/or a banjo. I have had many guitars over the years, but my favourite is my 1972 Fender 12 string. I LOVE to sing! Unfortunately, I wasn't gifted with a very good singing voice. I liken myself to a female Johnny Cash (heh-heh!), but the pets don't usually mind. :) I own a huge variety of music in various forms from record albums, 8-track and cassette tapes, CD's and MP3's. I like to go to music concerts and I pretty much enjoy any kind of music. My favourite performers to see would be Burton Cummings and Bryan Adams. My favourite sport is auto racing, specifically NASCAR. I'd have a difficult time choosing just one favourite driver but since Dale Earnhardt died my top favourites are Jimmy Johnson, Tony Stewart & Michael Waltrip. I also enjoy going to baseball & hockey games as well as playing baseball and swimming for fun. I coached t-ball & rookie ball for years & did a short stint of volunteer work with a local kid's soccer group. I enjoy bowling (I am terrible at it) but I have a great handicap! I am a Parent Consultant & Educational Advocate for exceptional and special needs kids. As stated above I have a diploma and experience in Addictions & Mental Health counselling and also have a strong background in animal behavioural & health care, grooming & many facets of pet training. Until I moved here I owned & managed 2 online support groups - "Grandma's Hugs" (established in 2002 for Canadian grandparents raising/seeking access to their grandchildren) & "GRAND-Kids!" (a secure online group established in 2001 for Canadian grandkids being raised by their grandparents). I am also a member of Ask Me Help Desk where I use my knowledge, experience & educational background to provide people with advice & answers to their questions on a variety of subjects. I left the work force in 1995 to raise my son's daughter who suffers from RAD (Reactive Attachment Disorder). She is no longer living at home so I am presently starting my own work from home business. My husband Neil (you will read more about him on his own page) still lives in Connecticut, USA. Sadly, this is the way it must be until he retires. We recently set his retirement date as May 4, 2010. I can't wait!!! :) In the meantime we have a long-distance marriage. Fortunately, until I moved here we did get to spend a fair amount of time together and the worse is almost over! The craziest thing I have done is go skydiving (& I have a fear of heights!); the most awesome thing I have ever done is perform a caesarean on a cow. I believe that I have experienced more than most people in life, and draw on all of those experiences to relate to and help others. I have a great sense of humour, but I have a deeply serious side. I am pretty laid back now, though, because the one thing I learned most when Terry died was that life is waaaay too short. All said, in a nutshell, I love to create, whether that be with my photography, oil paints, wood, the written word, dried flowers, graphics, or food. I also love to listen to music of all kinds, sing to myself, go for long walks in the woods, swim, and refinish furniture. Well, that's MORE than enough about me, but sure will give you a good idea of who I am. *smile* I hope you enjoy your visit here and if you have any questions, please feel free to email us at the link below.
Hugs,
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