We've gotten a lot of those glowing Christmas letters where families lives are perfect.
Our life is ... well, it is just quirky.
Our older kids have gotten in to a bad habit of coming in for late night chats around 11:30 - just as we are falling asleep. This happened last night - and the teenager left around 12:30.
Then I woke up at 6 a.m. - against my will. The eczema on my hands was killing me - I must have ate something that is verbotten yesterday. I could feel my cold was now in full force and my sensitive stomach was being sensitive. (I'll let you read into that). I had to get some routine blood tests done so got up & did it. I was very fortunate not to slip on black ice. I then went to the post office & faxed something to Revenue Canada they asked for in November. I also had to courier a form to our insurance company that is due tomorrow - batting my eyelashes at the postman to RUSH it.
By 10 a.m. I was exhausted. I read the Bible to the boys & asked them to do some printing work - realizing this was necessary when Matt signed his name on his health card as Matt Adardanel. Hmm. Should I mention that he is 12 this month? I went to register them for swimming lessons which I thought started in two weeks but actually start this week. The class I wanted was full. I then went to lie in my bed when Sam called me.
He was in his bed crying, complaining that he couldn't print. He was holding up a sign that said,
"I don't deserve to live."
It was VERY neatly printed.
Lest you feel sorry for me I anticipated the full force of the cold & cooked all day yesterday. I think I can get through the next few days heating up things in the microwave.
Hurrah. Life isn't really that bad.
Monday, January 04, 2010
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Two dollars
Sam has been a little obsessive about computer games lately. I've been down this road before. There was the infamous incident when I took the kids hiking and suddenly Dan (age 8) was gone. It was getting dark & I was feeling panicked, searching all over the dense forest. I walked home with the other kids, ready to call the police. I found Dan - he had walked HOME and was playing this addictive computer game.
So this morning before 7 a.m. Sam started up about the same computer game - Runescape. He desperately wanted to play it. In fact Dan had told him about the game and told him that when his character had died when he was 9, he had cried himself to sleep. OK. Back to Sam. I threw out a challenge. I explained to Sam that no matter what he wasn't going to get to use the computer for the next 5 days. But if he didn't mention the computer in any way on those days I would pay him $2 per day.
Sam: "Can I ask questions?"
Marsha: "Yes, for the next 5 minutes you can ask questions and then the challenge starts."
Sam: "Can I use the $2 to buy computer time?"
This just sent me into fits of laughter. At 7 a.m.
Sam sat around looking pathetic, crying uncontrollably and loudly - temper tantrum style - etc.
By 10 a.m. he had 3 strikes from saying things like, "I am so bored because I can't ... well you know ..."/ "Mom, it doesn't count when I talk to OTHER people about the computer, does it?" and "Since I cannot mention this, I guess I'm just not going to mention it."
It could be a very long day.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Sevta visits
Last weekend Ron's mom Noga came to visit. The kids were excited to see her & looked forward to what she always brings - kumradine. Basically apricot fruit leather - but much stickier and sweeter. It comes in a flat sheet - probably 9" X 30". They eat it for breakfast, lunch & supper.
She taught the kids to make Baklava. Kate was bit horrified by the fat content and made it a second time with much less fat but still delicious. It is very simple - phyllo pastry, walnuts, cardammon, a sugar syrup & butter.
I took her swimming - a shared passion she has with our kids. I looked over and saw her wearing a full scuba mask & snorkel. I knew about this but just wasn't emotionally prepared. Ron's sister had told me about it - and that one of her friends calls Noga "Sevterrian" (Sevta is grandma in Hebrew - the rest you can figure out.)
We went for Arabic food - falafels, hummous, foule, shwarma, etc. Absolutely delicious. Kate said afterwards she was over sushi - her new favourite food is Arabic.
We invited Holly & Cam over for dinner. The kids were very excited to have Noga tell them of life in the Kibbutz. Her (Jewish) family was deported from Iraq when she was 12 - and sent to refugee camps in Israel in 1949, a year after Israel became a nation. Noga's dad was out of the country at the time - seeking medical help because he was going blind. So Noga's mom flew in a overcrowded cargo plane with 5 kids to a refugee camp in Israel. They lived in tents. People came around asking if kids wanted to go to live in a kibbutz. Noga was too young but told us she took a hissy fit so they took her - at age 12. I'm sure it must have killed her mom to let her go. There was school in the kibbutz. Noga had an Arabic name (Nadre) - so the first order of business was to change it to a Hebrew name. A girl in her class suggested Noga - so that's what they changed it to. They also had chores - Noga mostly milked cows.
But this isn't the exciting part. They were being trained (from age 13!) for the army. They taught them how to scale down tall buildings. They learned to commando crawl. They were taught to navigate using the stars, were dropped off alone in the forest in the middle of the night & had to find their own way back to the kibbutz. The kids asked her if she learned to use semi-automatic weapons. (Our kids were joking around.) Noga doesn't get teasing. She answered seriously. "No. They taught that to the kids after I left. But they did teach us to use shotguns."
Holly & Cam sat there with their jaws on the ground. Kate & Dan sat there smugly thinking, "I am the only kid I know with a grandma who was a child soldier."
Noga's father came back after 5 years - blind. He found out that Noga was in a kibbutz & pulled her out at age 15. He was afraid a guy would try to have sex with her. We think this is funny - not the sex - but considering all her child soldier training, we feel sure she could fight off some guys advances.
Ron amused himself all weekend pretending Noga was an Israeli Massad agent. (She says she isn't but would a Massad agent tell you?). She called her cousin in Israel, spoke in Hebrew, and when she got off the phone Ron said, "where is the hit, Noga?" She looked at him blankly (as I mentioned she doesn't get joking around). She said, "I didn't call in a hit. I called my cousin to ask her what it means when people say in Arabic, "two bald me go out to plant onions together." Hmm... a likely story.
She taught the kids to make Baklava. Kate was bit horrified by the fat content and made it a second time with much less fat but still delicious. It is very simple - phyllo pastry, walnuts, cardammon, a sugar syrup & butter.
I took her swimming - a shared passion she has with our kids. I looked over and saw her wearing a full scuba mask & snorkel. I knew about this but just wasn't emotionally prepared. Ron's sister had told me about it - and that one of her friends calls Noga "Sevterrian" (Sevta is grandma in Hebrew - the rest you can figure out.)
We went for Arabic food - falafels, hummous, foule, shwarma, etc. Absolutely delicious. Kate said afterwards she was over sushi - her new favourite food is Arabic.
We invited Holly & Cam over for dinner. The kids were very excited to have Noga tell them of life in the Kibbutz. Her (Jewish) family was deported from Iraq when she was 12 - and sent to refugee camps in Israel in 1949, a year after Israel became a nation. Noga's dad was out of the country at the time - seeking medical help because he was going blind. So Noga's mom flew in a overcrowded cargo plane with 5 kids to a refugee camp in Israel. They lived in tents. People came around asking if kids wanted to go to live in a kibbutz. Noga was too young but told us she took a hissy fit so they took her - at age 12. I'm sure it must have killed her mom to let her go. There was school in the kibbutz. Noga had an Arabic name (Nadre) - so the first order of business was to change it to a Hebrew name. A girl in her class suggested Noga - so that's what they changed it to. They also had chores - Noga mostly milked cows.
But this isn't the exciting part. They were being trained (from age 13!) for the army. They taught them how to scale down tall buildings. They learned to commando crawl. They were taught to navigate using the stars, were dropped off alone in the forest in the middle of the night & had to find their own way back to the kibbutz. The kids asked her if she learned to use semi-automatic weapons. (Our kids were joking around.) Noga doesn't get teasing. She answered seriously. "No. They taught that to the kids after I left. But they did teach us to use shotguns."
Holly & Cam sat there with their jaws on the ground. Kate & Dan sat there smugly thinking, "I am the only kid I know with a grandma who was a child soldier."
Noga's father came back after 5 years - blind. He found out that Noga was in a kibbutz & pulled her out at age 15. He was afraid a guy would try to have sex with her. We think this is funny - not the sex - but considering all her child soldier training, we feel sure she could fight off some guys advances.
Ron amused himself all weekend pretending Noga was an Israeli Massad agent. (She says she isn't but would a Massad agent tell you?). She called her cousin in Israel, spoke in Hebrew, and when she got off the phone Ron said, "where is the hit, Noga?" She looked at him blankly (as I mentioned she doesn't get joking around). She said, "I didn't call in a hit. I called my cousin to ask her what it means when people say in Arabic, "two bald me go out to plant onions together." Hmm... a likely story.
The Magical Visit
We got a call from my friend Paul from university. He lives in Conneticuit but was in Halifax on his way to a meeting. He was free for the next 30 minutes. Could we meet. YES! We haven't seen each other for about 18 years (though we've kept in touch). Ron drove over from the university. I told the kids to get in the van. They went outside and said, "mom the van isn't here". Shoot! The van was in the shop. I called a taxi. The kids climbed into the back & were thrilled - they had never been in a taxi before. Paul looks exactly the same - just a little bit of grey. It was GREAT to see him. We went for lunch at the hotel dining room. They set things up so that Paul, Ron & I were at one end & the kids were at the other. We had the most amazing waiter ever - big shout out to Jose. He treated the kids like royalty. Matt couldn't decide between a caesar salad & fish and chips. Jose said they could have both - caesar instead of fries. When he brought them their food he put an order of grilled cheese and fries on the able too (I think the kitchen made it for someone by mistake). Our kids eyes widened in delight. He asked them about drinks. They said they would like Shirley Temples. Later on he asked them if they wanted another drink, assuring me "when I make the shirley temples I used just a little bit of pop. They are very healthy."
Our visit was over too soon. But it was a beautiful day. We walked a few blocks to the bus. And we got a bendy bus home! The kids love to sit in that middle part that moves, yelling with glee every time the bus goes around the corner. This brought a few smiles from bus passengers.
Our visit was over too soon. But it was a beautiful day. We walked a few blocks to the bus. And we got a bendy bus home! The kids love to sit in that middle part that moves, yelling with glee every time the bus goes around the corner. This brought a few smiles from bus passengers.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
So much to say
September has been full. We had our friends Jeremy (Dad) and Nikki (daughter) with us for a few days. Nikki is 25 & I've known her since she was 18 months. Jeremy & his wife Mary mentored me at university & later Ron & me when we got married. It was lovely to relate to Nikki as an adult - a great adult - who now spends her time in Ecuador working in a squatter community doing advocacy work - finding sponsors in Canada so kids can go to school, helping the poor and uneducated get the health care they need in a very corrupt health care system.
Isn't it a rich blessing when you've known someone for 23 years?
Dan started high school. He has an amazing work ethic. He is incredulous that the teacher assigns work & students don't do it! His teachers are mostly different than Kate's but he is getting along very well. Wednesdays we have a weekly Bible Study & feed the students night - he decided he couldn't go because he had too much homework! Kate was shocked!
Kate started university. She wasn't too impressed the first day. But, after 5 days of classes she likes it. She noted, "I don't think I'll be able to knit in class. You actually have to take NOTES in university. It is much better than high school." She was pleasantly surprised that in her French class she can make some of those "French" sounds - she & Ron think it is because Ron spoke to her in French a little over the years. She is starting to make friends - she especially enjoys the smaller classes/tutorials where you have the opportunity to meet people.
Sarah, Matt & Sam are into homeschooling full swing. We have a little morning routine that is working quite well. I have been reading through the Little House books and also through the Bible each day. I pointed out that the Little House books are pure as snow - but the Bible on the other hand is full of sex, swindling and seduction - and lots of mentions of penises to keep things spicey. You don't believe me? Read Genesis! Amazing how they avoid those stories in Sunday School.
We also had visitors from Manitoba - Henry & Anna are Mennonite friends originally from Paraguay. I was very nervous to cook for Anna - her daughter Susanna is my cooking mentor. But she was gracious and even complemented me on the chicken/red lentil/squash soup I made for Sunday lunch - little did she know it didn't turn out anything like what I wanted!
We have also been doing a lot of "Meet and Greet" things for new students. We did 3 BBQs in two days. Ron wreaked of BBQ. We don't care if we don't see another burger for a long time.
That's it. I'm off to Frenchies as the kids are looking for Hallowe'en costumes.
Sending love to all our faithful readers.
~Marsha
Isn't it a rich blessing when you've known someone for 23 years?
Dan started high school. He has an amazing work ethic. He is incredulous that the teacher assigns work & students don't do it! His teachers are mostly different than Kate's but he is getting along very well. Wednesdays we have a weekly Bible Study & feed the students night - he decided he couldn't go because he had too much homework! Kate was shocked!
Kate started university. She wasn't too impressed the first day. But, after 5 days of classes she likes it. She noted, "I don't think I'll be able to knit in class. You actually have to take NOTES in university. It is much better than high school." She was pleasantly surprised that in her French class she can make some of those "French" sounds - she & Ron think it is because Ron spoke to her in French a little over the years. She is starting to make friends - she especially enjoys the smaller classes/tutorials where you have the opportunity to meet people.
Sarah, Matt & Sam are into homeschooling full swing. We have a little morning routine that is working quite well. I have been reading through the Little House books and also through the Bible each day. I pointed out that the Little House books are pure as snow - but the Bible on the other hand is full of sex, swindling and seduction - and lots of mentions of penises to keep things spicey. You don't believe me? Read Genesis! Amazing how they avoid those stories in Sunday School.
We also had visitors from Manitoba - Henry & Anna are Mennonite friends originally from Paraguay. I was very nervous to cook for Anna - her daughter Susanna is my cooking mentor. But she was gracious and even complemented me on the chicken/red lentil/squash soup I made for Sunday lunch - little did she know it didn't turn out anything like what I wanted!
We have also been doing a lot of "Meet and Greet" things for new students. We did 3 BBQs in two days. Ron wreaked of BBQ. We don't care if we don't see another burger for a long time.
That's it. I'm off to Frenchies as the kids are looking for Hallowe'en costumes.
Sending love to all our faithful readers.
~Marsha
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Typing
recently my mom set us up with a typing program called dance mat typing, do i like it? sort of.
its good for starting typing, i would recommend it.
you have to do stuff like "all work no play makes jack a dull boy" & learn the home row.
so, here's the link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/typing/.
...umm well i have to type, so here is a story.
the story starts in a bank
people where doing there own business, suddenly, three men burst in "boy, it is cold out there" said the first one, 'you sure got that right' said the clerk, then a robber come in, "sorry were broke" said the clerk, "oh" said the robber.
after the police left, the power went off, "ZOMBIE ATTACK!" screamed someone
to be continued
its good for starting typing, i would recommend it.
you have to do stuff like "all work no play makes jack a dull boy" & learn the home row.
so, here's the link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/typing/.
...umm well i have to type, so here is a story.
the story starts in a bank
people where doing there own business, suddenly, three men burst in "boy, it is cold out there" said the first one, 'you sure got that right' said the clerk, then a robber come in, "sorry were broke" said the clerk, "oh" said the robber.
after the police left, the power went off, "ZOMBIE ATTACK!" screamed someone
to be continued
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Ready for Hurricane Bill
We have been to the grocery store to buy water & canned goods for Hurricane Bill. We have lawnchairs & our barbeque in our small kitchen. This morning as I was squeezed in beside the barbeque to eat breakfast I told the kids, "there is a barbeque in the kitchen ... it is the elephant in the room."
At soccer I overheard Matt telling soccer parents, "oh yeah ... we are ready for Hurricane Bill ... we have an Armageddon cupboard and it is stocked full of stuff." I pretended not to know him. The truth is that when cans and non-perishable food comes on sale I buy lots because it doesn't take long to go through food in our house. It is stored in a cupboard in the basement ... which Dan teases me by calling the "Armageddon cupboard".
But now everybody at soccer thinks I am weird. Oh well.
At soccer I overheard Matt telling soccer parents, "oh yeah ... we are ready for Hurricane Bill ... we have an Armageddon cupboard and it is stocked full of stuff." I pretended not to know him. The truth is that when cans and non-perishable food comes on sale I buy lots because it doesn't take long to go through food in our house. It is stored in a cupboard in the basement ... which Dan teases me by calling the "Armageddon cupboard".
But now everybody at soccer thinks I am weird. Oh well.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Life and Times in Halifax
Hi Folks,
We have had a very busy two weeks. Our company had a staff conference in Halifax. We did not experience the WORST of it - because we work for a non-profit organization, things are always done on the cheap. While Ron & I slept in our cozy bed all the other staff were sleeping in university residence beds and eating residence cafeteria food.
The BEST of it was seeing all kinds of old friends. There was never enough time to completely catch up but whatever we got was nice. The conference speakers were encouraging us to incorporate into our work some sort of social justice initiatives. They pointed out that you can't read the New Testament and skip over the verses that talk about the poor, oppressed, widows and orphans. Their work is mainly among vulnerable and marginalized women in Eastern Europe - they help them set up microenterprises to support their families. They also work in Africa and were kind enough to speak to us over dinner about what they've learned. Some of the things that we are starting to do in Uganda are similar to what they are doing in Kenya & Ethiopia - mainly helping women to start small businesses to provide for their families - right now in Uganda it is making needlepoint crafts to sell to the tourist market. We are just at the beginning and have much to learn! The speakers said that the best bang for your buck was educating women with a trade. That really got the wheels turning for me. I will be doing some reading on international development this year.
We even got to go on a cruise on a tall ship - which our kids loved. We had to dress up as pirates (costume parties are not our finest hour - but we did it). Then after the conference ended the kids begged us to go to the Buskers Festival. We saw two bad acts & one excellent one called the "English Gents" - amazing acrobats.
After so much rain and cold we been having 30C weather - pretty unheard of in Halifax. We have been going to the beach alot. Today Dan's friend Cam wanted to take us to a new place - a secluded lake with cliffs that you can jump off of. I will go again, but will insist that Matt and Sam wear lifejackets! It was one of those situations that felt a little dangerous - diving off cliffs far from shore and with no cell phone. Fortunately no one got hurt.
Yesterday Ron took the kids to a lifeguarded beach & there was a near drowning. The lifeguard saw a 5 year old floating face down, rescued him and a physician on the beach rescuitated him (he was unconscious). VERY VERY SCARY.
We have had a very busy two weeks. Our company had a staff conference in Halifax. We did not experience the WORST of it - because we work for a non-profit organization, things are always done on the cheap. While Ron & I slept in our cozy bed all the other staff were sleeping in university residence beds and eating residence cafeteria food.
The BEST of it was seeing all kinds of old friends. There was never enough time to completely catch up but whatever we got was nice. The conference speakers were encouraging us to incorporate into our work some sort of social justice initiatives. They pointed out that you can't read the New Testament and skip over the verses that talk about the poor, oppressed, widows and orphans. Their work is mainly among vulnerable and marginalized women in Eastern Europe - they help them set up microenterprises to support their families. They also work in Africa and were kind enough to speak to us over dinner about what they've learned. Some of the things that we are starting to do in Uganda are similar to what they are doing in Kenya & Ethiopia - mainly helping women to start small businesses to provide for their families - right now in Uganda it is making needlepoint crafts to sell to the tourist market. We are just at the beginning and have much to learn! The speakers said that the best bang for your buck was educating women with a trade. That really got the wheels turning for me. I will be doing some reading on international development this year.
We even got to go on a cruise on a tall ship - which our kids loved. We had to dress up as pirates (costume parties are not our finest hour - but we did it). Then after the conference ended the kids begged us to go to the Buskers Festival. We saw two bad acts & one excellent one called the "English Gents" - amazing acrobats.
After so much rain and cold we been having 30C weather - pretty unheard of in Halifax. We have been going to the beach alot. Today Dan's friend Cam wanted to take us to a new place - a secluded lake with cliffs that you can jump off of. I will go again, but will insist that Matt and Sam wear lifejackets! It was one of those situations that felt a little dangerous - diving off cliffs far from shore and with no cell phone. Fortunately no one got hurt.
Yesterday Ron took the kids to a lifeguarded beach & there was a near drowning. The lifeguard saw a 5 year old floating face down, rescued him and a physician on the beach rescuitated him (he was unconscious). VERY VERY SCARY.
Sunday, August 02, 2009
My summer so far.
Well so far July was good,
sailing,
rockclimbing,
day camp (i made a game)!
saw the natal day fireworks,
saw my cousins,
learned a knot (reef knot).
sailing was great, very thrilling when you almost flip. i got to sail solo, it rained all week so when i came in, i soaked to the skin and freezing, after we got hot cocolate. i rigged a opti in 20 minutes (if you think thats lame try it) .
day camp was Very Very fun, claymation/legomation, game making,
the fireworks were good, here's a pic
Matt
PS for my game email me at Mattabarbanel@hotmail.com
sailing,
rockclimbing,
day camp (i made a game)!
saw the natal day fireworks,
saw my cousins,
learned a knot (reef knot).
sailing was great, very thrilling when you almost flip. i got to sail solo, it rained all week so when i came in, i soaked to the skin and freezing, after we got hot cocolate. i rigged a opti in 20 minutes (if you think thats lame try it) .
day camp was Very Very fun, claymation/legomation, game making,
the fireworks were good, here's a pic
Matt
PS for my game email me at Mattabarbanel@hotmail.com
Friday, July 31, 2009
The rest of our summer
Since returning to Halifax we've had - you guessed it - rain. Halifax has had 4 days of sun the entire summer. Kate is working as a nanny and loves it - loves the kids. Dan is volunteering at the city boat club - they run recreation programs to learn boating. So Dan is the teacher & Sarah was his student. She said he acted very mature and professional. Matt learned to sail in a sailboat just big enough for one person. He came home each day saying things like, "tomorrow I'm going solo" "I was tacking but then I got the irons" "the boom hit me but I didn't fall in" Of course it rained & they would come home just soaked. At the end of the week I noticed that Matt had worn the same clothes the entire time (soaked through with poopy ocean water every day, let them dry, wore them to bed & then to sailing class the next morning).
And that's it. We're trying to be very "stiff upper lip" about the rainy summer. We've watched a lot of discovery channel shows while looking outside at the rain.
And that's it. We're trying to be very "stiff upper lip" about the rainy summer. We've watched a lot of discovery channel shows while looking outside at the rain.
It has been too long - or what we've been up to
We went on vacation ... then we came back and forgot to blog. Here is the scoop.
Katelyn graduated - we sat through a long, hot afternoon of speeches and awards, tapping our toes impatiently because right after graduation we were going on vacation! If we had known that it was going to be the last hot afternoon we would see for the entire summer we might have savoured it.
We came home, packed up the house & drove to Quebec to see Ron's family. It WAS sunny the first day - so sunny that both Sarah and Matt got incredible sunburns. Then, for the rest of our vacation it was rainy and cold. But we were thrilled to see all our aunts, uncles and nieces and nephews and of course Grandma. Our nieces and nephews are adorable and we enjoyed spoiling them.
Highlights of our trip:
-Dan and Sam having to share a bed & hearing Sam's nervous laughter when Dan asked if Sam minded if he slept naked. (He didn't and wasn't going to - he only said it to bug Sam.)
-Seeing a black bear running across the road. We have never seen one in our lives.
-Uncle Gil teaching Dan to windsurf.
-Many hours in the water, often in the rain, jumping off the dock, paddling in a canoe, etc.
-introducing our nieces and nephews to Home Alone & the Princess Bride.
-fireworks (legal in Quebec!)
-pie. Way too much pie.
-on day 13 of rain, visiting a taxidermy shop.
-learning a very bad swear word in Arabic from Ron's mom (She grew up in Bagdhad - Arabic is her first language.) When I told this swear word to one of our Arabic students he said that people get killed for using that word and begged me never to use it in front of anyone Arabic. (No problem - not really interested in offending anyone, let alone being killed for saying something that I don't actually understand).
-our kids met some teenage lifeguards at a community pool. They were kind enough to teach our kids the subtleties of the French language - Quebec style - that is - how to say the "f" word in French.
-All the kids spoke some French when interacting with store clerks. They were richly rewarded with smiles and encouragement for their efforts. We love this new generation of Quebecois - they are just very lovely people.
Katelyn graduated - we sat through a long, hot afternoon of speeches and awards, tapping our toes impatiently because right after graduation we were going on vacation! If we had known that it was going to be the last hot afternoon we would see for the entire summer we might have savoured it.
We came home, packed up the house & drove to Quebec to see Ron's family. It WAS sunny the first day - so sunny that both Sarah and Matt got incredible sunburns. Then, for the rest of our vacation it was rainy and cold. But we were thrilled to see all our aunts, uncles and nieces and nephews and of course Grandma. Our nieces and nephews are adorable and we enjoyed spoiling them.
Highlights of our trip:
-Dan and Sam having to share a bed & hearing Sam's nervous laughter when Dan asked if Sam minded if he slept naked. (He didn't and wasn't going to - he only said it to bug Sam.)
-Seeing a black bear running across the road. We have never seen one in our lives.
-Uncle Gil teaching Dan to windsurf.
-Many hours in the water, often in the rain, jumping off the dock, paddling in a canoe, etc.
-introducing our nieces and nephews to Home Alone & the Princess Bride.
-fireworks (legal in Quebec!)
-pie. Way too much pie.
-on day 13 of rain, visiting a taxidermy shop.
-learning a very bad swear word in Arabic from Ron's mom (She grew up in Bagdhad - Arabic is her first language.) When I told this swear word to one of our Arabic students he said that people get killed for using that word and begged me never to use it in front of anyone Arabic. (No problem - not really interested in offending anyone, let alone being killed for saying something that I don't actually understand).
-our kids met some teenage lifeguards at a community pool. They were kind enough to teach our kids the subtleties of the French language - Quebec style - that is - how to say the "f" word in French.
-All the kids spoke some French when interacting with store clerks. They were richly rewarded with smiles and encouragement for their efforts. We love this new generation of Quebecois - they are just very lovely people.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Life and Times at Abarba-house
Hi y'all,
Katelyn got her 4 wisdom teeth out a week ago ... she is a lot better but not fully recovered. They do something called "conscience sedation" which is like a deep drunkeness but done with "medicine". When I walked into the recovery room she was having a conversation with this guy who seemed fully alert. She didn't realize that her mouth had gauze the size of two washcloths in it - she thought she was talking normal. She is a sleepy, quiet drunk, not a chatty one. After sleeping the rest of the day she couldn't sleep at night & so was MSN chatting with our friend Fadi G. in Europe. She is a little afraid of what she said. But Fadi G. will have a good laugh about it and be very gracious.
Sam now has a splint instead of a cast. It is a very tired & dirty looking thing & I doubt it is doing any good. But he claims that he cannot possibly peel potatoes with it on. We would like to take it off but his cousins are coming to visit & he wants to keep it on so he can tell them all about his fall.
It has rained here for - oh I've lost count of the days but it will continue to rain. I'm very chipper up to 3 days of rain, but after that the house gets a little skanky smelling from all that humidity & the behaviour of the kids gets a little skanky too. This is wreaking havoc with our soccer season. I think one of the moms has never had her kid in soccer before. She called tonight to ask why I cancelled the game when it wasn't raining exactly when we were supposed to play. I explained that the CITY cancels the game because cleats will tear up wet grass. Then she wanted to know when the games would be re-scheduled. I feel her pain - I don't like the idea that I paid for soccer that isn't actually taking place. On the other hand I don't think she understands that I am a lowly volunteer.
We had a couple visiting who are thinking about coming to work with us. Karen grew up in a U.S. military family & was telling us about all the places she lived. She said, "In San Antonio there are 5 military bases". Without skipping a beat Matt said, "they are there to protect the salsa."
Katelyn has been blogging about her Uganda experience at:
http://www.katelynuganda.blogspot.com/
Enjoy.
Katelyn got her 4 wisdom teeth out a week ago ... she is a lot better but not fully recovered. They do something called "conscience sedation" which is like a deep drunkeness but done with "medicine". When I walked into the recovery room she was having a conversation with this guy who seemed fully alert. She didn't realize that her mouth had gauze the size of two washcloths in it - she thought she was talking normal. She is a sleepy, quiet drunk, not a chatty one. After sleeping the rest of the day she couldn't sleep at night & so was MSN chatting with our friend Fadi G. in Europe. She is a little afraid of what she said. But Fadi G. will have a good laugh about it and be very gracious.
Sam now has a splint instead of a cast. It is a very tired & dirty looking thing & I doubt it is doing any good. But he claims that he cannot possibly peel potatoes with it on. We would like to take it off but his cousins are coming to visit & he wants to keep it on so he can tell them all about his fall.
It has rained here for - oh I've lost count of the days but it will continue to rain. I'm very chipper up to 3 days of rain, but after that the house gets a little skanky smelling from all that humidity & the behaviour of the kids gets a little skanky too. This is wreaking havoc with our soccer season. I think one of the moms has never had her kid in soccer before. She called tonight to ask why I cancelled the game when it wasn't raining exactly when we were supposed to play. I explained that the CITY cancels the game because cleats will tear up wet grass. Then she wanted to know when the games would be re-scheduled. I feel her pain - I don't like the idea that I paid for soccer that isn't actually taking place. On the other hand I don't think she understands that I am a lowly volunteer.
We had a couple visiting who are thinking about coming to work with us. Karen grew up in a U.S. military family & was telling us about all the places she lived. She said, "In San Antonio there are 5 military bases". Without skipping a beat Matt said, "they are there to protect the salsa."
Katelyn has been blogging about her Uganda experience at:
http://www.katelynuganda.blogspot.com/
Enjoy.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Life and Times at Abarba-house
1. Katelyn was on T.V.! A camera appeared in her face outside Perks coffee shop about what she thought about Halifax's 3 million dollar failed attempt to stop dumping sewage into our harbour. Lots and lots (millions) of people saw her on T.V. and she has been a celebrity ever since. She said, "I guess we won't be able to go swimming in the ocean this summer." Then they asked her whether she thought Halifax had wasted 3 million with the faulty system. She hesitated - the system was only 6 months old when it malfunctioned, dumping sewage on all the equipment - but we figure there must be some insurance & they'll figure out a way to fix it. Since she didn't give the soundbyte they were looking for, they edited out her answer to the second question. We are just very thankful we didn't have to clean up the equipment room. I see enough sewage when our boys forget to flush the toilet, thank you very much.
2. Sam gets his cast off tomorrow - if everything looks good. The cast has become a sad, sad, affair. There were hairline cracks in four places so Ron re-inforced it with duct tape. Then it became limp and soft & wasn't holding his wrist in place, so Ron added re-inforcement using popsicle sticks & still more duct tape. I hate to hear what they are going to say about his super-cast tomorrow..
3. Our family doctor was very frank about Ron's numbness. In her typical, brusque, Czech way she said, "ven you sit on a plane for 22 hours, and you don't move, everything starts to hurt. I suggest you don't go on 22 hour plane rides anymore. It isn't healthy." He didn't tell her that he slept on a 3" piece of foam in Uganda for 3 weeks. She also said he is doing the wrong kind of exercise. No more elliptical or running. She wants him to switch to Yoga and pilates. Ron ran screaming from the last yoga class I dragged him to - partly because his lack of hip mobility made the moves impossible.
4. Today I taught my last pre-school Sunday School class of the year. One of the kids playfully mashed playdough all over the back of my shirt, to the giggles of all the other kids. I smiled and said, "not every Sunday School teacher would let you mash playdough into their shirt." Then friends of Sam & Matt's were over this afternoon & I was wrestling the 6 year old. I was telling him I know he loves to snuggle, he loves hugs & he giggled & squirmed. Then he clenched his fist & said, "stop or I'll punch you in the nose & give you a bloody nose." Then he punched me hard square on my glasses. I was pretty sure he broke them but they seem OK. I let him go then. It was a good day.
2. Sam gets his cast off tomorrow - if everything looks good. The cast has become a sad, sad, affair. There were hairline cracks in four places so Ron re-inforced it with duct tape. Then it became limp and soft & wasn't holding his wrist in place, so Ron added re-inforcement using popsicle sticks & still more duct tape. I hate to hear what they are going to say about his super-cast tomorrow..
3. Our family doctor was very frank about Ron's numbness. In her typical, brusque, Czech way she said, "ven you sit on a plane for 22 hours, and you don't move, everything starts to hurt. I suggest you don't go on 22 hour plane rides anymore. It isn't healthy." He didn't tell her that he slept on a 3" piece of foam in Uganda for 3 weeks. She also said he is doing the wrong kind of exercise. No more elliptical or running. She wants him to switch to Yoga and pilates. Ron ran screaming from the last yoga class I dragged him to - partly because his lack of hip mobility made the moves impossible.
4. Today I taught my last pre-school Sunday School class of the year. One of the kids playfully mashed playdough all over the back of my shirt, to the giggles of all the other kids. I smiled and said, "not every Sunday School teacher would let you mash playdough into their shirt." Then friends of Sam & Matt's were over this afternoon & I was wrestling the 6 year old. I was telling him I know he loves to snuggle, he loves hugs & he giggled & squirmed. Then he clenched his fist & said, "stop or I'll punch you in the nose & give you a bloody nose." Then he punched me hard square on my glasses. I was pretty sure he broke them but they seem OK. I let him go then. It was a good day.
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
View from my window
1. Katelyn had her final flute concert. She played beautifully and so did many of her classmates. Secretly, having heard her play that same song for quite a few months, I am relieved the concert is over. I'm ready for a new song. I remember when I did my Grade 8 piano (shocking, I know, since I have no musical talent), my mom refused to let me play a Bartok piece - it was a horribly discordant thing & I think now I understand why.
2. We have spent a lot of time arguing lately over such things as:
-would Japan have surrendered without the atomic bomb being dropped? This was after we watched a fascinating documentary about Robert Oppenheimer - who was the lead physicist on the atomic bomb. It is a little known fact that the Allies were firebombing Japan every night for a few months before the Atomic bomb - killing equal numbers to those they killed with the atomic bomb
-did the divorce rate increase in 1968 when the divorce laws were changed. I argued very strenuously that any statistical change was due to people who were living apart already finally being able to legalize their divorce. But some people had to come home & check that. I thought I should be trusted since I wrote my undergrad thesis on the topic. We decided we really need a blackberry to settle these arguments - but don't count on a blackberry any time soon. We're too cheap.
-does aid help or hurt Africa. We didn't really argue this but we did talk about it alot after we watched a debate about it. (Munk debate - very thoughtful). We in Abarba-land all agreed that we have to balance what the "expert" economists are saying on a macro level with what Jesus teaches us about helping the poor, sharing with those in need, etc.
The weather has been sunny. We've been soaking it in - because we are now expecting yet another week of rain.
And oh yes. We had a provincial election today. Ron got booted out of the polling booth because he got a call on his cell-phone just as he was about to cast his ballot. My neighbour & I mused about what the cell phone call could be about - a last minute bribe on how to vote? We'll never know - Ron's call was completelyn unrelated to the election. The NDP won - meaning we have the dubious honour of living through another NDP regime - first one was in Ontario. I really hope this government has all the good stuff the NDP stands for without putting our province into crippling debt like the Ontario NDP did.
2. We have spent a lot of time arguing lately over such things as:
-would Japan have surrendered without the atomic bomb being dropped? This was after we watched a fascinating documentary about Robert Oppenheimer - who was the lead physicist on the atomic bomb. It is a little known fact that the Allies were firebombing Japan every night for a few months before the Atomic bomb - killing equal numbers to those they killed with the atomic bomb
-did the divorce rate increase in 1968 when the divorce laws were changed. I argued very strenuously that any statistical change was due to people who were living apart already finally being able to legalize their divorce. But some people had to come home & check that. I thought I should be trusted since I wrote my undergrad thesis on the topic. We decided we really need a blackberry to settle these arguments - but don't count on a blackberry any time soon. We're too cheap.
-does aid help or hurt Africa. We didn't really argue this but we did talk about it alot after we watched a debate about it. (Munk debate - very thoughtful). We in Abarba-land all agreed that we have to balance what the "expert" economists are saying on a macro level with what Jesus teaches us about helping the poor, sharing with those in need, etc.
The weather has been sunny. We've been soaking it in - because we are now expecting yet another week of rain.
And oh yes. We had a provincial election today. Ron got booted out of the polling booth because he got a call on his cell-phone just as he was about to cast his ballot. My neighbour & I mused about what the cell phone call could be about - a last minute bribe on how to vote? We'll never know - Ron's call was completelyn unrelated to the election. The NDP won - meaning we have the dubious honour of living through another NDP regime - first one was in Ontario. I really hope this government has all the good stuff the NDP stands for without putting our province into crippling debt like the Ontario NDP did.
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
Hospital
Where to begin...
First of all I guess I should apologize for not blogging for a very long time... I have no excuse. My bad.
On a day not long ago, I was playing a soccer game against Halifax County. As County doesn't have a Tier 1 (highest league) team, their Tier 1 players moved down to Tier 2a and all their Tier 2a players moved down to the league we play, Tier 2b. Because all the players were a league ahead of us, the game was considerably difficult. Had our goalie not been extremely good, we would have lost by a long shot. Instead however, we lost by a short shot. They scored a goal, then we came back when I put one in their net with my head (:O), but just before the final whistle they managed to squeeze one in. We weren't too surprised because we had had only one 45 min practice and one game as a team. We were even a little happy with the outcome. They had 8 extra players for subs and we had 2 or 3 so we ended up more than a little tired and sore by the end of the game. Plus we were 15 minutes from home so we had to cram our now much bigger bodies into the van and stay still for the duration of the trip previously mentioned. By the time we got home my legs were so sore that it was all I could to get into the house and plunk myself down on the hard wood floor to try and stretch it out.
It then came up that Dad had to go to the ER because of persistent numbness in his right arm and leg plus back pain. I asked if I could tag along only expecting to be there for a couple of hours. Dad consented. We drove down and entered. They spent a while checking him in triage at which time I had to stay in the waiting room. After a half hour Dad finally called me in and said that the nurse said she would notify if it was going to be a while. The nurse didn't notify and it was a while; we were waiting for an hour or so before the Doctor came in to examine Dad. He ordered a few X-Rays for which I could not be a part of which left me dumbly sitting alone behind a closed curtain for 10 minutes or so. They brought him back and took blood, which I did get to see. Never did I think I would be so fascinated by a red liquid leaking out of a human into a tube. It made be think about how many people we see every day, but never pause to think about what goes on inside every person, let alone every animal, every plant, every cell. The trip and the wait was worth it right there. We eventually got our own room and another long wait before the X-rays came back with nothing. A neurologist then showed up and examined Dad, checking for brain damage an' all that. He left and came back a half hour later to tell Dad that it would probably be a good idea to admit him for a day. They took him to a stretcher and gave him morphine which he didn't react well to, but it took the edge off. Then they carted him upstairs to a room to sleep for the night. I got to sit in the bedside chair. It was so uncomfortable that I couldn't get any sleep. Finally at six in the morning I found myself finally nodding off and finally at 7:00 managed to get asleep for about 30 minutes. Then the nurse came and I woke up again. Mom finally came to pick me up around nine. I got up and realizing that I had been more or less awake for 24 hours and sitting in a chair for 4 that a stretch was in order. I stretched, then promptly passed out and hit the floor. I came to, and then walked out with Mom. We didn't feel the need to alert anyone as we had a pretty concrete diagnosis already. Sleep deprivation. We got home and I fell into bed and slept till two in the afternoon. The diagnosis for Dad when he came home was a pinched nerve. Nothing too serious; we were very glad.
Signing Off,
Dan
First of all I guess I should apologize for not blogging for a very long time... I have no excuse. My bad.
On a day not long ago, I was playing a soccer game against Halifax County. As County doesn't have a Tier 1 (highest league) team, their Tier 1 players moved down to Tier 2a and all their Tier 2a players moved down to the league we play, Tier 2b. Because all the players were a league ahead of us, the game was considerably difficult. Had our goalie not been extremely good, we would have lost by a long shot. Instead however, we lost by a short shot. They scored a goal, then we came back when I put one in their net with my head (:O), but just before the final whistle they managed to squeeze one in. We weren't too surprised because we had had only one 45 min practice and one game as a team. We were even a little happy with the outcome. They had 8 extra players for subs and we had 2 or 3 so we ended up more than a little tired and sore by the end of the game. Plus we were 15 minutes from home so we had to cram our now much bigger bodies into the van and stay still for the duration of the trip previously mentioned. By the time we got home my legs were so sore that it was all I could to get into the house and plunk myself down on the hard wood floor to try and stretch it out.
It then came up that Dad had to go to the ER because of persistent numbness in his right arm and leg plus back pain. I asked if I could tag along only expecting to be there for a couple of hours. Dad consented. We drove down and entered. They spent a while checking him in triage at which time I had to stay in the waiting room. After a half hour Dad finally called me in and said that the nurse said she would notify if it was going to be a while. The nurse didn't notify and it was a while; we were waiting for an hour or so before the Doctor came in to examine Dad. He ordered a few X-Rays for which I could not be a part of which left me dumbly sitting alone behind a closed curtain for 10 minutes or so. They brought him back and took blood, which I did get to see. Never did I think I would be so fascinated by a red liquid leaking out of a human into a tube. It made be think about how many people we see every day, but never pause to think about what goes on inside every person, let alone every animal, every plant, every cell. The trip and the wait was worth it right there. We eventually got our own room and another long wait before the X-rays came back with nothing. A neurologist then showed up and examined Dad, checking for brain damage an' all that. He left and came back a half hour later to tell Dad that it would probably be a good idea to admit him for a day. They took him to a stretcher and gave him morphine which he didn't react well to, but it took the edge off. Then they carted him upstairs to a room to sleep for the night. I got to sit in the bedside chair. It was so uncomfortable that I couldn't get any sleep. Finally at six in the morning I found myself finally nodding off and finally at 7:00 managed to get asleep for about 30 minutes. Then the nurse came and I woke up again. Mom finally came to pick me up around nine. I got up and realizing that I had been more or less awake for 24 hours and sitting in a chair for 4 that a stretch was in order. I stretched, then promptly passed out and hit the floor. I came to, and then walked out with Mom. We didn't feel the need to alert anyone as we had a pretty concrete diagnosis already. Sleep deprivation. We got home and I fell into bed and slept till two in the afternoon. The diagnosis for Dad when he came home was a pinched nerve. Nothing too serious; we were very glad.
Signing Off,
Dan
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Oh I wish I had a picture
Matt came in white as a ghost.
"Sam fell off Andy & Kellie's deck. He needs help."
I ran fast. There lay Sam on his back. He couldn't really talk. I wondered if his neck or back was broken. Turns out he had been climbing up their deck (which is off the 2nd floor of their house) when Matt called him for dinner. He fell 10 feet onto grass. He had the forethought to realize he was falling & stuck out his arm - doing a belly flop onto the grass. When I found him he had rolled over because he was winded. It took him 3 or 4 minutes to feel well enough to stand up.
I took him to emerg - his wrist was pretty swollen. His question to the triage nurse was, "can we see the x-ray?". And they did. The x-ray tech let him see it, the doctor explained the break. (His wrist is broken on his right-hand - but he is left handed.) After looking at Sam's x-ray Matt asked, "could we see an x-ray where the break is more clearly defined?" Yep. They showed them that, too. We even had the added excitement of a med student casting his wrist, doing it too tightly, having to get it sawed off & have it re-casted by the emerg doc. Sam's break is a #1 on a scale of 1-5, with #1 being the least serious. The break is actually in the growth plate - and should heal in 3 weeks. Phew. A summer of no swimming for Sam sounds pretty awful.
His cast signatures say things like,
"I told you that you couldn't fly."
"I said "break a leg"
"get cracking" (and his cast is cracked after a kid tripped him in soccer - as per the hospital's instruction, I duct taped it back together since it didn't crack all the way through).
My cast signature said, "I told you not to climb on Andy & Kellie's deck."
"Sam fell off Andy & Kellie's deck. He needs help."
I ran fast. There lay Sam on his back. He couldn't really talk. I wondered if his neck or back was broken. Turns out he had been climbing up their deck (which is off the 2nd floor of their house) when Matt called him for dinner. He fell 10 feet onto grass. He had the forethought to realize he was falling & stuck out his arm - doing a belly flop onto the grass. When I found him he had rolled over because he was winded. It took him 3 or 4 minutes to feel well enough to stand up.
I took him to emerg - his wrist was pretty swollen. His question to the triage nurse was, "can we see the x-ray?". And they did. The x-ray tech let him see it, the doctor explained the break. (His wrist is broken on his right-hand - but he is left handed.) After looking at Sam's x-ray Matt asked, "could we see an x-ray where the break is more clearly defined?" Yep. They showed them that, too. We even had the added excitement of a med student casting his wrist, doing it too tightly, having to get it sawed off & have it re-casted by the emerg doc. Sam's break is a #1 on a scale of 1-5, with #1 being the least serious. The break is actually in the growth plate - and should heal in 3 weeks. Phew. A summer of no swimming for Sam sounds pretty awful.
His cast signatures say things like,
"I told you that you couldn't fly."
"I said "break a leg"
"get cracking" (and his cast is cracked after a kid tripped him in soccer - as per the hospital's instruction, I duct taped it back together since it didn't crack all the way through).
My cast signature said, "I told you not to climb on Andy & Kellie's deck."
Marsha & Ron's new volunteer job
Dan is playing recreational soccer this summer ... and when I heard they needed a manager I volunteered. I have now dragged Ron into it - I do the admin side of things, he does the sitting on the bench, recording goals & going deaf from listening the coach yell helpful coaching tips like "pass the ball" throughout the game. Today I got an e-mail to "call up" a goalie (called keeper in the biz) because we don't have one. I got a lead on a guy & called. The conversation went something like this.
Me: "Hi this is Marsha from the Under 16 boys. I heard you might be interested in playing with us?"
The Keeper: "Yes, my parents mentioned that you might call me."
Me: "Yeah. So we have a game tonight at 7:30. Would that work for you?"
The Keeper: "I'm not sure if I will be able to make it tonight. I have to get new cleats."
Me: "What size are your feet? I might have an extra pair you can wear."
The Keeper: "Size 10. But I'll have to ask my parents if I can come."
Me: "OK. You can call me back. If you need a ride or anything, just let us know."
The conversation was a lot of more licking ankles/Junior High romance-ish than it sounds. Me begging for a keeper. Him unsure if he wanted to commit. It also reminded me of head hunting: "what is it going to take for you to take this job? A company car? Two extra weeks vacation? Stock options? Name your price."
In the end he DID show up. He played a great game. He is a really nice kid. Katelyn said, "that keeper is a keeper."
Me: "Hi this is Marsha from the Under 16 boys. I heard you might be interested in playing with us?"
The Keeper: "Yes, my parents mentioned that you might call me."
Me: "Yeah. So we have a game tonight at 7:30. Would that work for you?"
The Keeper: "I'm not sure if I will be able to make it tonight. I have to get new cleats."
Me: "What size are your feet? I might have an extra pair you can wear."
The Keeper: "Size 10. But I'll have to ask my parents if I can come."
Me: "OK. You can call me back. If you need a ride or anything, just let us know."
The conversation was a lot of more licking ankles/Junior High romance-ish than it sounds. Me begging for a keeper. Him unsure if he wanted to commit. It also reminded me of head hunting: "what is it going to take for you to take this job? A company car? Two extra weeks vacation? Stock options? Name your price."
In the end he DID show up. He played a great game. He is a really nice kid. Katelyn said, "that keeper is a keeper."
Friday, May 22, 2009
Fun With Radar
http://www.weatheroffice.gc.ca/radar/index_e.html Its Really Cool, It shows weather all over canada.
Instructions are on the upper right.
Matt ~
Monday, May 18, 2009
Rainy Days & Friends
We got an emergency call from Dan's friend Cam. Could he come over to get help with math because he was just in Washington, D.C. Sure! Can you think of anything better to do on a Saturday night? We can't - yes, yes, we are a weird family.
Cam had been visiting family in D.C. and came back bearing presents. He brought Dan the declaration of Independance - a very good copy of it anyway. This was a bit of an inside joke - four or 5 years ago we watched "National Treasure" - the movie starring Nicholas Cage where the declaration of Independance was stolen. Dan woke up - sleepwalking in the middle of the night. He was dazed and confused - and kept repeating, "I can't find it. I've looked everywhere but can't see it." We asked what he couldn't find. He said, "The Declaration of Independance". So Ron wrote Declaration of Independance on an envelope and handed it to Dan. He went back to bed but got a lot of teasing the next morning when we showed it to him. Now he has a real one, thanks to Cam.
Cam also went to Quantico - where all FBI nubes get trained & a place we knew about because we watch a detective show called NCIS (Naval Criminal Investigation Services) - they are always going to Quantico. He brought back some unpoliced brass he found at the shooting range. (That is what you call shell casings after you discharge your gun. A professional killer would always "police their brass" (pick up their shell casings) so as to avoid being caught. Who said T.V. isn't educational?
Cam said,
"We got pictures of us with an Uzzi, an AK-47, a Tommy,,," Each time he mentioned a gun, Matt oohed and awed with delight - he is a military historian after all.
THIS rainy day (yes, yes lately all days in Halifax are rainy - we call rain "liquid sunshine" to make ourselves feel better.) THIS rainy day our sweet friends Dominic & Reilly are over - neighborhood friends of Matt & Sam's. After checkers and dominoes, Dan is now teaching them to play poker. Dominic & Reilly both have Wii - Dan was thinking of inviting himself over to challenge them. We suggested that his parents might be a little suspicious of a 15 year old hanging out with a bunch of 8 year olds. Imagine the scene.
Cam had been visiting family in D.C. and came back bearing presents. He brought Dan the declaration of Independance - a very good copy of it anyway. This was a bit of an inside joke - four or 5 years ago we watched "National Treasure" - the movie starring Nicholas Cage where the declaration of Independance was stolen. Dan woke up - sleepwalking in the middle of the night. He was dazed and confused - and kept repeating, "I can't find it. I've looked everywhere but can't see it." We asked what he couldn't find. He said, "The Declaration of Independance". So Ron wrote Declaration of Independance on an envelope and handed it to Dan. He went back to bed but got a lot of teasing the next morning when we showed it to him. Now he has a real one, thanks to Cam.
Cam also went to Quantico - where all FBI nubes get trained & a place we knew about because we watch a detective show called NCIS (Naval Criminal Investigation Services) - they are always going to Quantico. He brought back some unpoliced brass he found at the shooting range. (That is what you call shell casings after you discharge your gun. A professional killer would always "police their brass" (pick up their shell casings) so as to avoid being caught. Who said T.V. isn't educational?
Cam said,
"We got pictures of us with an Uzzi, an AK-47, a Tommy,,," Each time he mentioned a gun, Matt oohed and awed with delight - he is a military historian after all.
THIS rainy day (yes, yes lately all days in Halifax are rainy - we call rain "liquid sunshine" to make ourselves feel better.) THIS rainy day our sweet friends Dominic & Reilly are over - neighborhood friends of Matt & Sam's. After checkers and dominoes, Dan is now teaching them to play poker. Dominic & Reilly both have Wii - Dan was thinking of inviting himself over to challenge them. We suggested that his parents might be a little suspicious of a 15 year old hanging out with a bunch of 8 year olds. Imagine the scene.
Rainy day Sunday afternoon visit to Ardmore
The kids have wanted forever to go to the Ardmore. It is a very old diner that is very popular - a place that serves burgers, fries, shakes, pie & rice pudding.
So enter a rainy Sunday & no line up at the Ardmore. We ordered a plate of fries, a plate of onion rings & 2 strawberry milkshakes. They were all delicious in their heart-attack inducing goodness. After we finished Matt spoke up to the waitress.
"Excuse me, what is your name?" Our waitress was Sarah.
"O.K. Sarah. In the summer I am going to be taking sailing lessons at the boat club." (a great city parks & rec place where all our kids "boat".)
"I was thinking that I will come and eat breakfast at the Ardmore. Will you be open?" Sarah assured him that they would be open - at 5 a.m.
Matt said, "Sarah, could you recommend something that would be good for breakfast at the Ardmore before a morning of sailing?"
So enter a rainy Sunday & no line up at the Ardmore. We ordered a plate of fries, a plate of onion rings & 2 strawberry milkshakes. They were all delicious in their heart-attack inducing goodness. After we finished Matt spoke up to the waitress.
"Excuse me, what is your name?" Our waitress was Sarah.
"O.K. Sarah. In the summer I am going to be taking sailing lessons at the boat club." (a great city parks & rec place where all our kids "boat".)
"I was thinking that I will come and eat breakfast at the Ardmore. Will you be open?" Sarah assured him that they would be open - at 5 a.m.
Matt said, "Sarah, could you recommend something that would be good for breakfast at the Ardmore before a morning of sailing?"
Itsy bitsy teeney weeney red speedo
At dinner last night the kids were talking and I said, “I’m sorry, I didn’t hear what you were saying. I was thinking about the guy in the red speedo.” We went to Dalplex (big pool with high diving boards) and this guy was there doing National Lifeguard training. Dan said, “even I noticed how buff he was.” He was very buff but the problem, which Sarah & I both noticed was his red speedo – definitely 2 sizes too small. Let’s just say we could see the outline of his entire personality. I was just there trying to read but in my peripheral vision I could see the red speedo – I didn’t want to. Then he got excited about something and his butt was facing me – he started dancing - & in my peripheral vision all I could see was that dancing butt in that teeny tiny itsy bitsy speedo. I wasn't interested. I didn't want to see it. But there it was. I can understand that if he was Michael Phelps he would need to wear a speedo – though in fact Michael Phelps wears much larger swimming atire. But this was just lifeguard training. I think I just got a glimpse of how distracting it is for guys to go to the beach where women are running around in itsy bitsy bikinis.
IF YOU OWN A SPEEDO, PLEASE GO GET IT OUT OF YOUR CLOSET AND BURN IT. It will help all of us women breathe a little easier.
IF YOU OWN A SPEEDO, PLEASE GO GET IT OUT OF YOUR CLOSET AND BURN IT. It will help all of us women breathe a little easier.
After the Fire
Our kids were sitting at the front of church for the Children's Moment. The woman leading it said, "what did God send to put out the fires?"
Sam said, "Helicopters".
The answer she was looking for was "rain", but yes, helipcopters is also a fair answer.
Sam said, "Helicopters".
The answer she was looking for was "rain", but yes, helipcopters is also a fair answer.
Saturday, May 02, 2009
Halifax on Fire
Hi Everybody,
We have an exciting last few days as a major fire was burning in the forest right next to our neighborhood. You can read about it here.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090501.wfire0501/BNStory/National/home
When you watch the video you can see where we live - they interview a firefighter in our mall parking lot! They interviewed a lady who said her neighbours stayed in their home in the parking lot of our library and community centre!
We spend a lot of time where the fire happened. Our very dear friends Colin and Sandra live right there - we have not heard the extent of the damage to their home yet but feel terribly for them. This is an area where our kids played soccer for years (Colin coached them for five years). We hiked there along the ocean. There is also a National Historic Site there. I took my mother-in-law there last year - she was very reluctant when I said we were going to a 19th Century military installment (I guess that doesn't sound very exciting now that I think about it!) - but when she got to the top of the hill and saw the view of the ocean she gasped at the beauty. It is the most beautiful area in all of Halifax. I kind of am afraid to go back, but we will in the next few days.
We were on evacuation alert - the fire was 2 km from our house and we didn't need reports to tell us it was out of control. The entire neighborhood was on the street watching. What do you pack when you might have to flee a fire? We packed a change of clothes and Sam brought me his beloved teddy bear "Griff" and asked for it to go in his bag. Dan said, "I looked around and realized there wasn't that much stuff that I truly valued." He packed his school books! We heard kids on the radio saying, "my brother and I grabbed our game systems". Many of those who lost their homes escaped with only their lives. Amazingly no one died & only five people were treated for smoke inhalation - they are fine now. The fire moved so fast that emergency workers were not able to get to people to warn them. They saw flames and ran. AND the fire would burn down one house, skip one house & burn down the next. Very bizarre.
So we are safe and sound and very thankful today.
Monday, April 13, 2009
The Tale of the Hockey Net
"Mom, do you think it would be OK if we used some of Dad's scrap wood to make a hockey net?" I thought it would be really OK - especially since it was the first warm day in many months and the kids had VOLUNTEERED to be outside. For hours I heard nails being banged. I looked out & saw a neighbour giving much needed engineering advice. Then another neighbour donated a piece of burlap for a net. Our kids played for hours, and then all the pre-schoolers on the street came out to join in. Then another neighbor drove past & said, "my cousins have a hockey net that they never use. Would like it?"
Score!
Score!
Matt & Sam become domestic gods
"Mom, I've cleaned 80 % of the house" Sam enthused as I watched him pick up dirt off the stairs. He had made beds, put dishes in the dishwasher, swept floors and more.
"Mom, can I make myself a snack?" yelled Matt. Before I could answer Sam replied in a tired, frustrated voice, "No, Matt. I just finished cleaning up the kitchen."
Later Matt complained that I had never taught him how to cook. I had him chop onions and garlic for dinner (with goggles on, of course) and stir the pot of soup. During dinner Sam whined, "Mom, I've told you, I don't like this soup." Matt turned to him and said, "I don't like it when you insult my cooking."
"Mom, can I make myself a snack?" yelled Matt. Before I could answer Sam replied in a tired, frustrated voice, "No, Matt. I just finished cleaning up the kitchen."
Later Matt complained that I had never taught him how to cook. I had him chop onions and garlic for dinner (with goggles on, of course) and stir the pot of soup. During dinner Sam whined, "Mom, I've told you, I don't like this soup." Matt turned to him and said, "I don't like it when you insult my cooking."
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Matt & Sam and the Grocery Budget
I told Matt & Sam that we were having Peanut Butter & Jam sandwiches for lunch - I had bought some big tubs of peanut butter on sale and didn't realize that they actually have a best before date coming up soon. This was only one PB& J lunch but with the expiry date looming, there were more to come. Matt & Sam whined. They complained. They said I made bad lunches. They wanted eggs - which is fine except we were out of them. So I came up with a plan.
I made a list of all our suppers and how much they cost. I sat them down with it & told them to come up with a list of 28 meals for $500. Sam was really into it. He had subs from subway down 3X (@$30 per time) and salmon, rice & carrots down 2X (@$40 per time). Then he got down to the last 5 meals & he was pretty well out of money. So he put down eggs @$7 per time for five meals. Since we often eat eggs for lunch & for breakfast on Saturdays, I thought this was pretty funny.
Matt put down about 15 meals & then said, "OK, Mom. You can decide what we eat for dinner."
I made a list of all our suppers and how much they cost. I sat them down with it & told them to come up with a list of 28 meals for $500. Sam was really into it. He had subs from subway down 3X (@$30 per time) and salmon, rice & carrots down 2X (@$40 per time). Then he got down to the last 5 meals & he was pretty well out of money. So he put down eggs @$7 per time for five meals. Since we often eat eggs for lunch & for breakfast on Saturdays, I thought this was pretty funny.
Matt put down about 15 meals & then said, "OK, Mom. You can decide what we eat for dinner."
Bits and Bites
One of my friends pointed out something even funnier about my "dress pants gate". She said, "imagine the look on Ron's face when he put on one pair of pants that were 2" too short - then quickly changed to the other pair of pants that were 2" too long." Sheesh. That makes the story even funnier. Maybe I will try it for April Fools Day.
At Saint Mary's University we have a mascot that is a Husky. He is always at sports games doing his thing & the kids love to shake his hand, give him five, etc. Well, Dan asked our friend Fadi, who is a Vice President at SMU who the Husky was. Fadi said nobody knows. Dan decided that Fadi himself was the Husky. So the next time we were at a hockey game he said, "Hey Fadi" to the Husky. The Husky put both hands on his head and indicated he was crying. Dan said, "I suddenly realized that it WASN'T Fadi (pronounced Fatty) and the Husky thought I was saying that he was a fat."
Dan & I went to see the high school guidance counsellor today about his courses for next year. He was very mature, shook her hand, was respectful, etc. The teacher asked what his interests were. Dan said, "well I've come in with a list of the courses I want." Ms. F. talked a lot but in the end decided that the classes he picked were perfect. Katelyn came from her yearbook office to consult on the matter. And I realized something: the school LOVES Katelyn. Ms. F. said, "Katelyn, you have been such an asset to our school. Ms. R just asked, "I wonder if there are any more children in that family that will come to our school." Hurrah for Katelyn!
Sam has a huge crush on Kate's friend Holly. He wanted me to invite her and her brother for dinner - and he asked me if I had done it every 5 minutes for the entire morning. Finally I picked up the phone & dialed Holly's number. He was then too shy to come to the phone but we did manage to invite her for dinner. After we hung up the kids were teasing him that he was in love with Holly. Sam said,
"Yes, but if I ask her to marry me she will say no."
At Saint Mary's University we have a mascot that is a Husky. He is always at sports games doing his thing & the kids love to shake his hand, give him five, etc. Well, Dan asked our friend Fadi, who is a Vice President at SMU who the Husky was. Fadi said nobody knows. Dan decided that Fadi himself was the Husky. So the next time we were at a hockey game he said, "Hey Fadi" to the Husky. The Husky put both hands on his head and indicated he was crying. Dan said, "I suddenly realized that it WASN'T Fadi (pronounced Fatty) and the Husky thought I was saying that he was a fat."
Dan & I went to see the high school guidance counsellor today about his courses for next year. He was very mature, shook her hand, was respectful, etc. The teacher asked what his interests were. Dan said, "well I've come in with a list of the courses I want." Ms. F. talked a lot but in the end decided that the classes he picked were perfect. Katelyn came from her yearbook office to consult on the matter. And I realized something: the school LOVES Katelyn. Ms. F. said, "Katelyn, you have been such an asset to our school. Ms. R just asked, "I wonder if there are any more children in that family that will come to our school." Hurrah for Katelyn!
Sam has a huge crush on Kate's friend Holly. He wanted me to invite her and her brother for dinner - and he asked me if I had done it every 5 minutes for the entire morning. Finally I picked up the phone & dialed Holly's number. He was then too shy to come to the phone but we did manage to invite her for dinner. After we hung up the kids were teasing him that he was in love with Holly. Sam said,
"Yes, but if I ask her to marry me she will say no."
Monday, March 23, 2009
Ron's dress pants
I bought Ron a great pair of Docker dress pants this week at Value Village. They were too long. No problem! With the sewing machine Ron's mom bought for the kids I could hem them. I have been doing this thing called a Euro hem on jeans - it maintains the original hemline & creates an invisible tuck. So I did this on Ron's dress pants. Then I though it would be nice to make them look more finished by top stitching a hem like they had originally- so I made a very careful line of top stitches. I am a very novice sewer & because I don't see in 3-D (because I lost the sight in my left eye as a child), Sarah kept having to thread the needle. It was a long and labourious process filled with angst on whether I would do a good job. When I finished they looked beautiful - professional - like something a tailor would do. I was thinking to myself, "I am a domestic goddess".
Until I went upstairs & found the dress pants I had bought from Value Village. I HEMMED THE WRONG PAIR OF PANTS - ones that were already the perfect length. I thought this was very very funny. I explained it to Ron & the kids & they didn't laugh much. But all I could imagine was Ron having 5 minutes to get dressed for a hockey game (the only place he wears dress pants) & pulling on a pair of flood dress pants and the puzzlement & bewilderment that would cause.
It took me a long time to rip out those careful stitches and THEN hem the correct pair of pants.
Ron, Sam, Matt & Sarah learned to use a Wii tonight, thanks to Kate & Dan's friends bringing theirs over. Sam said it was the most fun he had ever had. He said, "we need to have Holly & Cam over more - maybe in the summer when we can play video games for the entire day."
Until I went upstairs & found the dress pants I had bought from Value Village. I HEMMED THE WRONG PAIR OF PANTS - ones that were already the perfect length. I thought this was very very funny. I explained it to Ron & the kids & they didn't laugh much. But all I could imagine was Ron having 5 minutes to get dressed for a hockey game (the only place he wears dress pants) & pulling on a pair of flood dress pants and the puzzlement & bewilderment that would cause.
It took me a long time to rip out those careful stitches and THEN hem the correct pair of pants.
Ron, Sam, Matt & Sarah learned to use a Wii tonight, thanks to Kate & Dan's friends bringing theirs over. Sam said it was the most fun he had ever had. He said, "we need to have Holly & Cam over more - maybe in the summer when we can play video games for the entire day."
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Strip Poker
I know this is a family blog, but I can't pass up the opportunity to tell you what is going on in my living room as I sit here watching in stunned silence.
My kids are playing STRIP POKER!!
Sam is sockless. Sarah is wearing a Rabbit skin hat which is covering a pink head band, 3 scarves, a coat and mittens. Matt is wearing a toque and missing a sock. Dan is in command at this point, having only lost his watch.
I wonder at what point they will stop. Sam just lost his shirt and he refuses to take it off. Dan is taunting him. Now he is trying to get Dan to play a different game. Finally Sam gives in and off comes his shirt. Now Matt has also lost his shirt. Now he has taken Sarah's head band and covered his pecks. Yes, it fits, but very tightly! Dan has just lost a sock. Sarah takes off her bracelet, keeping on all the other stuff. Matt has not lost, but is taking off his ... oh wait ... they're back on. Dan is now sockless ... next it is going to be his shirt.
If you were me, what would you do? Put a stop to it? Let it go on? I wonder.
If Matt or Sam lose once more they lose their pants. Dan has to lose his shirt before his pants. Sarah is pretty safe except that she may die of heat exhaustion.
Ok, Matt lost his pants and I put an end to it.
Now they are playing strip Dominos.
These kids come from another planet.
My kids are playing STRIP POKER!!
Sam is sockless. Sarah is wearing a Rabbit skin hat which is covering a pink head band, 3 scarves, a coat and mittens. Matt is wearing a toque and missing a sock. Dan is in command at this point, having only lost his watch.
I wonder at what point they will stop. Sam just lost his shirt and he refuses to take it off. Dan is taunting him. Now he is trying to get Dan to play a different game. Finally Sam gives in and off comes his shirt. Now Matt has also lost his shirt. Now he has taken Sarah's head band and covered his pecks. Yes, it fits, but very tightly! Dan has just lost a sock. Sarah takes off her bracelet, keeping on all the other stuff. Matt has not lost, but is taking off his ... oh wait ... they're back on. Dan is now sockless ... next it is going to be his shirt.
If you were me, what would you do? Put a stop to it? Let it go on? I wonder.
If Matt or Sam lose once more they lose their pants. Dan has to lose his shirt before his pants. Sarah is pretty safe except that she may die of heat exhaustion.
Ok, Matt lost his pants and I put an end to it.
Now they are playing strip Dominos.
These kids come from another planet.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Marvellous Matt
Matt was sitting in the dentist chair when he shared this story.
Matt: I had a dream last night that Sam & I went on Metro Transit to watch a Habs game at the Metro Centre.
Dr. B: Really, what happened? (Dr. B. is a big hockey fan).
Matt: The Habs scored in the first second of play.
Dr. B: Wow. In the first second? Did they win the game?
Matt: I don't know. We left before the end of the game so that we could get home before our parents noticed we were missing.
We are incredibly grateful that Matt is concerned about being obedient even in his dreams.
When I asked for more details Matt said he and Sam got lost on the way home. So they thought that they would go to the bus terminal & ask the bus driver to give them a ride home. But when they got to the terminal, our house was right beside it. When they came into the house, we were really angry because they had snuck out after curfew and we had sent out a Search & Rescue Team.
This all comes out of a sign that Ron posted on the fridge - a reaction to frequent trips to the bathroom by Matt & Sam.
Matt & Sam's Curfew
8:30 -8:40 Brush teeth & go pee
8:40-8:41 Get in Bed
8:40 to midnight Go pee once
After mindnight Go pee as much as you want.
This has led to some interesting conversations. Sam told the dental hygenist, "well, I'm not allowed to go to the bathroom until midnight. So I had to stay awake until midnight so that I could go pee."
We seem to be such cruel parents.
We hope spring will come soon to these here parts & on a recent warm day, to our shame, I had the 3 youngest shovelling snow off the side of the road onto the middle of the road. That is pretty common in our neighbourhood .. our way of helping Spring along.
But we had a snowstorm yesterday. I was driving with all the kids to our weekly "feed the starving students and Bible study night." I was going very slow & applied the brakes. They just didn't work. I was sliding. It all seemed like very slow-motion & I realized I was going to hit the car in front of me. I swerved so that I would go up on the sidewalk instead. Somehow our big bruiser of a van fit right beside the car. I was looking at him, he was looking at me. I said what I always say in these awkward moments: "Hi, how are ya'?" He moved on, the car behind me was gracious enough to let me go, since I was obviously a crazy driver that could not be trusted.
Matt: I had a dream last night that Sam & I went on Metro Transit to watch a Habs game at the Metro Centre.
Dr. B: Really, what happened? (Dr. B. is a big hockey fan).
Matt: The Habs scored in the first second of play.
Dr. B: Wow. In the first second? Did they win the game?
Matt: I don't know. We left before the end of the game so that we could get home before our parents noticed we were missing.
We are incredibly grateful that Matt is concerned about being obedient even in his dreams.
When I asked for more details Matt said he and Sam got lost on the way home. So they thought that they would go to the bus terminal & ask the bus driver to give them a ride home. But when they got to the terminal, our house was right beside it. When they came into the house, we were really angry because they had snuck out after curfew and we had sent out a Search & Rescue Team.
This all comes out of a sign that Ron posted on the fridge - a reaction to frequent trips to the bathroom by Matt & Sam.
Matt & Sam's Curfew
8:30 -8:40 Brush teeth & go pee
8:40-8:41 Get in Bed
8:40 to midnight Go pee once
After mindnight Go pee as much as you want.
This has led to some interesting conversations. Sam told the dental hygenist, "well, I'm not allowed to go to the bathroom until midnight. So I had to stay awake until midnight so that I could go pee."
We seem to be such cruel parents.
We hope spring will come soon to these here parts & on a recent warm day, to our shame, I had the 3 youngest shovelling snow off the side of the road onto the middle of the road. That is pretty common in our neighbourhood .. our way of helping Spring along.
But we had a snowstorm yesterday. I was driving with all the kids to our weekly "feed the starving students and Bible study night." I was going very slow & applied the brakes. They just didn't work. I was sliding. It all seemed like very slow-motion & I realized I was going to hit the car in front of me. I swerved so that I would go up on the sidewalk instead. Somehow our big bruiser of a van fit right beside the car. I was looking at him, he was looking at me. I said what I always say in these awkward moments: "Hi, how are ya'?" He moved on, the car behind me was gracious enough to let me go, since I was obviously a crazy driver that could not be trusted.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Cooking with Marsha - my brief affair with Rachel Ray
Confessions:
I LOVE food.
I cook a lot - like every day, three times.
I read recipe books a lot.
The sharing of food with family & friends is extremely important to me. I consider it an opportunity to bless people, to express warmth and love. Now this is a funny aside. Kate & Dan had their sibling friends Holly & Cam over. Holly & Cam had taught Kate & Dan how to make sushi - so when they came over we decided to return the favour. It was a lot of fun. But kind of mayhem. We hadn't counted on the fact that not everyone can make it at the same time, that we would run out of smoked salmon & have to run to the store, etc, etc. When I made it, I put so much stuff on that it couldn't be rolled up & I had to eat sushi salad after being politely giggled at for my lack of sushi making-prowess.
But here is the good part - at the end of the evening after sushi, lentil soup, Scandinavian Rice Pudding, because our guests were Scandinavian - I was making tea. I asked Cam if he would like some - or coffee. He asked very politely, "could I have something cold - like maybe some water?" I REALIZED I HAD NOT SERVED THEM ANYTHING TO DRINK THE ENTIRE NIGHT. Oh well. They were incredibly gracious.
So back from the sushi aside. I thought I had found the perfect cookbook author - Rachel Ray because I read one of her cookbooks & really liked it. So I ordered all her cookbooks from the library because that is the kind of obsessive-compulsive cookbook reading kind of gal I am. Hmm. Should have stuck with the first one.
It isn't really Rachel Ray's fault. We have the following limitations in our family because of health/allergies/trying to feed 7 people, three of whom are teenagers.
1. No milk products.
2. No red meat.
3. No acidic fruits or veggies (there seems to be tomatoes in every recipe ever written by anyone!)
4. No big chunk of meat - usually 1.25 pounds of ground turkey for all of us. This rule came to me via a woman who raised nine children. Her kid, who is my friend said, "yes, we ate meat - a little meat & a lot of vegetables". This rule is blatantly broken by Ron and Dan when they cook or on Christmas, Thanksgiving or birthdays.
5. No gluten (rice pasta instead)
6. No processed foods such as canned soups or mayo.
Yes. I can see that you feel my pain now.
I LOVE food.
I cook a lot - like every day, three times.
I read recipe books a lot.
The sharing of food with family & friends is extremely important to me. I consider it an opportunity to bless people, to express warmth and love. Now this is a funny aside. Kate & Dan had their sibling friends Holly & Cam over. Holly & Cam had taught Kate & Dan how to make sushi - so when they came over we decided to return the favour. It was a lot of fun. But kind of mayhem. We hadn't counted on the fact that not everyone can make it at the same time, that we would run out of smoked salmon & have to run to the store, etc, etc. When I made it, I put so much stuff on that it couldn't be rolled up & I had to eat sushi salad after being politely giggled at for my lack of sushi making-prowess.
But here is the good part - at the end of the evening after sushi, lentil soup, Scandinavian Rice Pudding, because our guests were Scandinavian - I was making tea. I asked Cam if he would like some - or coffee. He asked very politely, "could I have something cold - like maybe some water?" I REALIZED I HAD NOT SERVED THEM ANYTHING TO DRINK THE ENTIRE NIGHT. Oh well. They were incredibly gracious.
So back from the sushi aside. I thought I had found the perfect cookbook author - Rachel Ray because I read one of her cookbooks & really liked it. So I ordered all her cookbooks from the library because that is the kind of obsessive-compulsive cookbook reading kind of gal I am. Hmm. Should have stuck with the first one.
It isn't really Rachel Ray's fault. We have the following limitations in our family because of health/allergies/trying to feed 7 people, three of whom are teenagers.
1. No milk products.
2. No red meat.
3. No acidic fruits or veggies (there seems to be tomatoes in every recipe ever written by anyone!)
4. No big chunk of meat - usually 1.25 pounds of ground turkey for all of us. This rule came to me via a woman who raised nine children. Her kid, who is my friend said, "yes, we ate meat - a little meat & a lot of vegetables". This rule is blatantly broken by Ron and Dan when they cook or on Christmas, Thanksgiving or birthdays.
5. No gluten (rice pasta instead)
6. No processed foods such as canned soups or mayo.
Yes. I can see that you feel my pain now.
Sunday, March 01, 2009
Unusual happenings at Abarba-house
Lots of exciting things happening at Abarba-house.
Well, this is not exciting. Sam has had his worst migraine ever. He got it yesterday, was out for the entire day. Late in the evening he decided that to feel better he really needed an orange. I said I would go get him one but he said he felt well enough to come with me. He liked the fresh air. And the orange was good. This morning he woke up very happy & energetic. It is Matt & Sam's favourite day of the month - our churches' monthly potluck. This is personally not my favourite day of the month since I always forget to make something. But he enjoyed his potluck. He spent the afternoon sitting quietly in front of the heater. Dan felt so bad for him that he bought him a carton of orange juice. He went to bed at 6 p.m. From watching House, M.D. we are a little afraid that it might LOOK like a simple migraine but might actually be Sarcoidosis or Lupus or Rheumatoid Arthritis or Scleroderma.
Today after church we dropped into Planet Organic. As we walked in the door I heard, "its the Abarbanels" in a booming, jolly voice. I looked over to see who it was. I did not recognize the person saying hi to us. But, acting like a politician, I smiled & gave the strange man a hearty handshake. It turns out it was Fleming - Katelyn's friend Holly's father. Hopefully next time I will recognize him or I will never be able to run for political office.
Then we were off to - dare I admit it? Wal-Mart. The shop I love to hate. Sarah needed something for tonight. We had to try it on. I sent the boys to the yarn department - next door to the women's clothing department. Sam didn't want to look at yarn so I offered to pay him to babysit Matt. I told them they could come back to women's clothing when they were finished. The next thing I know I hear, "if there is a Marsha in the store can you please come and pick up your kids ... " I started running. I didn't know where I was running to because I hadn't heard where to pick them up. I went first to the yarn department. No kids. Then to the front of the store. The kids were not lovingly being cared for by grandma-like Wal-Mart employees ... they were wandering around STILL looking for me.
Matt was tearful. "You said you wold be in the women's clothing department but we went there & you weren't there." We explained that we were in the change room & I apologized. I later let him use the computer all afternoon as a way of paying penance for lack of good parenting. I asked Sam, "so who did the talking to the Wal-mart lady?" Sam said, "I did. I was the babysitter."
Well, this is not exciting. Sam has had his worst migraine ever. He got it yesterday, was out for the entire day. Late in the evening he decided that to feel better he really needed an orange. I said I would go get him one but he said he felt well enough to come with me. He liked the fresh air. And the orange was good. This morning he woke up very happy & energetic. It is Matt & Sam's favourite day of the month - our churches' monthly potluck. This is personally not my favourite day of the month since I always forget to make something. But he enjoyed his potluck. He spent the afternoon sitting quietly in front of the heater. Dan felt so bad for him that he bought him a carton of orange juice. He went to bed at 6 p.m. From watching House, M.D. we are a little afraid that it might LOOK like a simple migraine but might actually be Sarcoidosis or Lupus or Rheumatoid Arthritis or Scleroderma.
Today after church we dropped into Planet Organic. As we walked in the door I heard, "its the Abarbanels" in a booming, jolly voice. I looked over to see who it was. I did not recognize the person saying hi to us. But, acting like a politician, I smiled & gave the strange man a hearty handshake. It turns out it was Fleming - Katelyn's friend Holly's father. Hopefully next time I will recognize him or I will never be able to run for political office.
Then we were off to - dare I admit it? Wal-Mart. The shop I love to hate. Sarah needed something for tonight. We had to try it on. I sent the boys to the yarn department - next door to the women's clothing department. Sam didn't want to look at yarn so I offered to pay him to babysit Matt. I told them they could come back to women's clothing when they were finished. The next thing I know I hear, "if there is a Marsha in the store can you please come and pick up your kids ... " I started running. I didn't know where I was running to because I hadn't heard where to pick them up. I went first to the yarn department. No kids. Then to the front of the store. The kids were not lovingly being cared for by grandma-like Wal-Mart employees ... they were wandering around STILL looking for me.
Matt was tearful. "You said you wold be in the women's clothing department but we went there & you weren't there." We explained that we were in the change room & I apologized. I later let him use the computer all afternoon as a way of paying penance for lack of good parenting. I asked Sam, "so who did the talking to the Wal-mart lady?" Sam said, "I did. I was the babysitter."
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Will winter never end? A blog post with attitude.
I have had a rough time with winter ... I think I might have mild S.A.D. - I started taking 2000 I.U. of Vit D. I am not sure if it is just a placebo effect or not but I feel better. In the last 10 days we have finally seen the sun once or twice ... no sun since November. We have had just tons of ice ... many ice storms. It has gotten to the point where I am talking to strangers & one of us says, "it is has been a tough winter" ... then we look at each other meaningfully and launch into a war story of icy driveways, falling on our butt, etc.
Dan & Katelyn have coped in their own way with winter. I was making supper when Dan said, "we are going over to Holly's house to lose our Wii virginity". My head snapped up and I asked, "WHAT?" as I had only been half paying attention. Apparently Dan is quite good at Wii and as a bonus has made friends with Holly's brother. Kate was telling this kid at the daycare where she works that she was going to try Wii for the first time. The kid, who is 5, said, "Katewyn, you could come over to my house and I could twain you. I'm a weally gweat twainer."
I had to have a filling replaced last week & now my jaw hurts. I went back, thinking they needed to file down the filling a little. But the filling is good. They think my tooth might be disturbed from so much action ... I'm supposed to take ibuprofen & call if it isn't better in two weeks. It has calmed down a little. I have heard from a few people since that they had trouble with white fillings. This is not to be negative about my dentist ... she is the best. If you are looking for a dentist, I'll introduce you.
Sarah is now taking Tech Ed. at Junior High ... presently making a wooden car using woodworking equipment. Dan is making a clock with a background of the periodic table (his choice & got him called a nerd by a few boys. At the same time he is Mr. Cool, uber popular, constantly getting added to facebook by virtual strangers.) Showing up once a week for a class when you are guy in Junior High just seems so cool & mysterious.
Matt & Sam have entered the brave new world of adding & subtracting involving carrying/borrowing. When I tried to explain it to them, they cried. Once again I had to get Ron to do it. Should I really be allowed to teach my kids?
We are reading two excellent books:
http://www.amazon.ca/Material-World-Global-Family-Portrait/dp/0871564300/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1235511023&sr=8-1
http://www.amazon.ca/Hungry-Planet-Peter-Menzel/dp/1580088694/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_b?ie=UTF8&qid=1235511023&sr=8-1
And we watched an excellent documentary on intellecutal freedom & intelligent design (it is thoughtful & funny & political even though it sounds boring.)
http://www.amazon.ca/Expelled-Intelligence-Allowed-Nathan-Frankowski/dp/B001BYLFFS/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1235511159&sr=8-1
Dan & Katelyn have coped in their own way with winter. I was making supper when Dan said, "we are going over to Holly's house to lose our Wii virginity". My head snapped up and I asked, "WHAT?" as I had only been half paying attention. Apparently Dan is quite good at Wii and as a bonus has made friends with Holly's brother. Kate was telling this kid at the daycare where she works that she was going to try Wii for the first time. The kid, who is 5, said, "Katewyn, you could come over to my house and I could twain you. I'm a weally gweat twainer."
I had to have a filling replaced last week & now my jaw hurts. I went back, thinking they needed to file down the filling a little. But the filling is good. They think my tooth might be disturbed from so much action ... I'm supposed to take ibuprofen & call if it isn't better in two weeks. It has calmed down a little. I have heard from a few people since that they had trouble with white fillings. This is not to be negative about my dentist ... she is the best. If you are looking for a dentist, I'll introduce you.
Sarah is now taking Tech Ed. at Junior High ... presently making a wooden car using woodworking equipment. Dan is making a clock with a background of the periodic table (his choice & got him called a nerd by a few boys. At the same time he is Mr. Cool, uber popular, constantly getting added to facebook by virtual strangers.) Showing up once a week for a class when you are guy in Junior High just seems so cool & mysterious.
Matt & Sam have entered the brave new world of adding & subtracting involving carrying/borrowing. When I tried to explain it to them, they cried. Once again I had to get Ron to do it. Should I really be allowed to teach my kids?
We are reading two excellent books:
http://www.amazon.ca/Material-World-Global-Family-Portrait/dp/0871564300/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1235511023&sr=8-1
http://www.amazon.ca/Hungry-Planet-Peter-Menzel/dp/1580088694/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_b?ie=UTF8&qid=1235511023&sr=8-1
And we watched an excellent documentary on intellecutal freedom & intelligent design (it is thoughtful & funny & political even though it sounds boring.)
http://www.amazon.ca/Expelled-Intelligence-Allowed-Nathan-Frankowski/dp/B001BYLFFS/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1235511159&sr=8-1
Friday, February 13, 2009
Readers deserve a BLOG post
It has been very cold here this winter, very icy. It has killed my motivation to do anything that isn't necessary. I have even being feeling like I have S.A.D. - the vitamin lady at the health food store suggested increasing my Vitamin D intake to 2000 i.u. a day - it makes me feel better knowing that this might help. The literature on S.A.D. says to go outside even if it is cloudy - which it has been constantly since October. The problem is when it is -29C, going outside is not very attractive. We have also had this weird weather - snow, then rain, then sudden temperature drops. This has equaled ice. One morning it took me 2.5 hours just to clear the ice wall the snow plow had put at the bottom of our small driveway!
But on to more pleasant topics. Our house takes a while to warm up when it is really cold outside. So we started doing "Mom's bed homeschooling" - which has worked surprisingly well. ( I turn on the heat in our bedroom, close the door & it gets toasty warm quickly.) Matt, Sam & I set ourselves up with lots pillows along the long side of the bed. We do some Bible and some math. We are also reading "The Sky is Falling" - a historical fiction novel about Canada's war guests - children from England that were sent to Canada for safekeeping during World War Two.
As a little writing project I have the boys making lists each day. Here is a sample from Sam. The idea for this particular list came about when Sam was angry with me & said that I lied. I had decided to read another chapter in the "Sky is Falling" book - he didn't want to. So I wanted him to think not about my "lies" but about the good things of my character.
Good things about Mom:
Good at Math (obviously the child is delusional)
Lets us use the computer all the time (this is a pure attempt at manipulation)
Hugs
Kisses
Sings to me at bedtime.
Bites (a classic game where I pretend his arm is a corn cob, and I nibble at it. He screams "No I don't want a corn cob, but really he does.)
Wrestles (another classic game, first used on Dan many years ago where they call out "Fast Mode or Slow Mode" - and I wrestle them at the appropriate speed, never knowing when they are going to call out the different mode. Sometimes I have to wrestle Matt & Sam at the SAME TIME. You might have to see this one to understand.)
Good things about Dad
He works.
He loves me.
He tells us stories.
He plays games with us.
He fixes stuff.
He watches movies with us.
He reads to us.
Last night we had a visit from a legend - T.J. - a former student who is just this larger than life character - kind of quirky - always wears dress shoes, is named T.J. even though he is an adult, has travelled across Canada, sleeping outside at night and hitch hiking. I decided to serve a classic homecooked diner-style meal, much to the kids' delight: Meatloaf, rice, salsa, peas and carrots & a corn/blackbean/carrot salad that is one of the Abarba-house specials. I had bought cookies for dessert which we ate after supper. But after we played a game called PIT
http://www.boardgames.ca/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=855
everyone was hungry. I didn't have anything fancy left to eat. So we made tea and toast - a round of toast with honey, then raspberry jam, then cinnamon & sugar (a first for TJ). Ron came home, the kids went to bed & Ron, TJ & I talked into the wee hours of the morning. It was a fun day.
But on to more pleasant topics. Our house takes a while to warm up when it is really cold outside. So we started doing "Mom's bed homeschooling" - which has worked surprisingly well. ( I turn on the heat in our bedroom, close the door & it gets toasty warm quickly.) Matt, Sam & I set ourselves up with lots pillows along the long side of the bed. We do some Bible and some math. We are also reading "The Sky is Falling" - a historical fiction novel about Canada's war guests - children from England that were sent to Canada for safekeeping during World War Two.
As a little writing project I have the boys making lists each day. Here is a sample from Sam. The idea for this particular list came about when Sam was angry with me & said that I lied. I had decided to read another chapter in the "Sky is Falling" book - he didn't want to. So I wanted him to think not about my "lies" but about the good things of my character.
Good things about Mom:
Good at Math (obviously the child is delusional)
Lets us use the computer all the time (this is a pure attempt at manipulation)
Hugs
Kisses
Sings to me at bedtime.
Bites (a classic game where I pretend his arm is a corn cob, and I nibble at it. He screams "No I don't want a corn cob, but really he does.)
Wrestles (another classic game, first used on Dan many years ago where they call out "Fast Mode or Slow Mode" - and I wrestle them at the appropriate speed, never knowing when they are going to call out the different mode. Sometimes I have to wrestle Matt & Sam at the SAME TIME. You might have to see this one to understand.)
Good things about Dad
He works.
He loves me.
He tells us stories.
He plays games with us.
He fixes stuff.
He watches movies with us.
He reads to us.
Last night we had a visit from a legend - T.J. - a former student who is just this larger than life character - kind of quirky - always wears dress shoes, is named T.J. even though he is an adult, has travelled across Canada, sleeping outside at night and hitch hiking. I decided to serve a classic homecooked diner-style meal, much to the kids' delight: Meatloaf, rice, salsa, peas and carrots & a corn/blackbean/carrot salad that is one of the Abarba-house specials. I had bought cookies for dessert which we ate after supper. But after we played a game called PIT
http://www.boardgames.ca/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=855
everyone was hungry. I didn't have anything fancy left to eat. So we made tea and toast - a round of toast with honey, then raspberry jam, then cinnamon & sugar (a first for TJ). Ron came home, the kids went to bed & Ron, TJ & I talked into the wee hours of the morning. It was a fun day.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Katelyn mile stones
Monday: Katelyn got laid off for the first time in her life. She was working at an after-school daycare that is losing money. They will close the end of February. She wondered outloud if she could collect E.I. Dan commented that Kate was the first person he knew who had lost their job because of the recession.
Tuesday: Katelyn finished high school. She wrote her last exam - a two part English exam with lunch & bathroom breaks. She is "officially" finished but still plans to help out with the yearbook & go to a weekly music class & take private flute lessons that the school is paying for through an Arts Council Grant.
Tuesday after school: Katelyn is promoted at her job (the one she is being laid off from). This means regular hours & a pay raise. We laughed at the irony of it all.
Wednesday: Katelyn did NOT sleep in now that she is done high school ... instead she had an 8:40 dental hygiene appointment. Afterwards she is going to write her "beginners" test for her driver's license.
Tuesday: Katelyn finished high school. She wrote her last exam - a two part English exam with lunch & bathroom breaks. She is "officially" finished but still plans to help out with the yearbook & go to a weekly music class & take private flute lessons that the school is paying for through an Arts Council Grant.
Tuesday after school: Katelyn is promoted at her job (the one she is being laid off from). This means regular hours & a pay raise. We laughed at the irony of it all.
Wednesday: Katelyn did NOT sleep in now that she is done high school ... instead she had an 8:40 dental hygiene appointment. Afterwards she is going to write her "beginners" test for her driver's license.
Ron's horrible no good very bad & awful day
I got a call at 6:30 am. It was Ron. His car broke down & he needed to be rescued. He told me he was at "Layton" - a street I had never heard of. I "sleep drove" & found him - inside a PetroCanada gas station. He had called a tow truck - which took 2.5 hours to get there. He had to shoo away two police officers that wanted to ticket his car for parking in the middle of the street. (Really quite fair - but they chose not to kick a man with a dead car while he was down.)
So Ron missed his early morning workout & his early morning Death class. When he finally got to SMU, the parking lot was full. He had to drive around & was late meeting his 10:30 appointment! He told someone his woes & it turns out the gym had a bomb threat & was closed anyway.
In the winter, with -30 temperatures, it is hard to stay motivated when everything goes RIGHT. The car is OK - there were some belts that had broken & needed to be replaced. A cool $300 & we were ready to go again.
So Ron missed his early morning workout & his early morning Death class. When he finally got to SMU, the parking lot was full. He had to drive around & was late meeting his 10:30 appointment! He told someone his woes & it turns out the gym had a bomb threat & was closed anyway.
In the winter, with -30 temperatures, it is hard to stay motivated when everything goes RIGHT. The car is OK - there were some belts that had broken & needed to be replaced. A cool $300 & we were ready to go again.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Sam & division
I made Matt & Sam a deal. If they did what was written on my list they could use the computers. Everything was going fine until Sam found out that he had to 50 division problems - not long division but things like: 48/6, etc.
He cried, he whined, he pleaded, he begged. He even crumpled up his paper & threw it in the garbage. He complained that they were too hard, that he was just a little boy. It went on for 1.5 hours - his most effective technique was crying right beside me while I tried to do some computer work. The other kids & I were laughing, which made Sam rage all the more. Dan even filmed him & played it back to him - only increasing his rage. He finally did them ... getting much less time on the computer because of it. Mom - 1, Sam - 0.
We were talking to Grandma afterwards - she was having a similar problem with our nephew Noah.
Grandma: "Sam, when I take Noah to the grocery store, he wants me to buy things for him. I tell him no, but he persists. He keeps at me for a long time & won't take NO for an answer. What should I do?"
Sam: "What kinds of things, Grandma?"
Grandma: "Well he wanted a ball - a softball".
Sam: "How much did it cost?"
Grandma: "$5"
Sam: "That's too much. Tell him no."
He cried, he whined, he pleaded, he begged. He even crumpled up his paper & threw it in the garbage. He complained that they were too hard, that he was just a little boy. It went on for 1.5 hours - his most effective technique was crying right beside me while I tried to do some computer work. The other kids & I were laughing, which made Sam rage all the more. Dan even filmed him & played it back to him - only increasing his rage. He finally did them ... getting much less time on the computer because of it. Mom - 1, Sam - 0.
We were talking to Grandma afterwards - she was having a similar problem with our nephew Noah.
Grandma: "Sam, when I take Noah to the grocery store, he wants me to buy things for him. I tell him no, but he persists. He keeps at me for a long time & won't take NO for an answer. What should I do?"
Sam: "What kinds of things, Grandma?"
Grandma: "Well he wanted a ball - a softball".
Sam: "How much did it cost?"
Grandma: "$5"
Sam: "That's too much. Tell him no."
Sunday, January 18, 2009
View from my Window
1. It is birthday month! Matt turned 11 last Monday & Dan turns 15 tomorrow (Jan 19th). They chose the same meal: curried chicken thighs, rice, and greek salad. Dan wants Greek roasted potatoes too. Matt had a missile-shaped chocolate cake. Dan is having a carrot cake with cream cheese icing. Carrot cake is one of the things I miss on my gluten-free, milk free diet. It has been 11 carrot cake free years!
2. I got this DVD from the library called Jillian Michaels 30 day shred. She is on a show I've never seen called the Biggest Loser (as in, lose weight). Her exercise DVD killed me - really killed me. It is all jumping jacks & high impact moves. I could barely walk the next day. Sarah said, "don't worry, mom, it gets better. Just keep doing it every day." It is very nice for me that Sarah can do the DVD & I can't. I'll stick with my low-impact moves - my knees prefer low-impact moves.
3. And speaking of knees ... Ron woke up one day with his knee so swollen he couldn't walk. He got into a physiotherapist right away (because he works with the hockey team & was wearing his hockey jacket). They have no idea WHY, but he is receiving intense help, including T.E.N.S. & acupuncture. He can walk now. It is a very odd injury & they think it might be related to his back. Ron & his back! It causes him all kinds of problems.
4. It has been very very cold here. I'm sure most of you reading can relate. We've resorted to multiple layers of clothes, climbing under the covers in my bed & reading "Farmer Boy". I always like reading "The Long Winter" at this time of year ... remember? the year the trains couldn't get through & they had very little food to eat & it kept storming and they had to stay inside because people were getting lost in the storm if they went outside. And Almonzo went on a very dangerous mission and bought seed wheat from this guy many miles away so that the townspeople wouldn't starve to death. Man, I love that book.
2. I got this DVD from the library called Jillian Michaels 30 day shred. She is on a show I've never seen called the Biggest Loser (as in, lose weight). Her exercise DVD killed me - really killed me. It is all jumping jacks & high impact moves. I could barely walk the next day. Sarah said, "don't worry, mom, it gets better. Just keep doing it every day." It is very nice for me that Sarah can do the DVD & I can't. I'll stick with my low-impact moves - my knees prefer low-impact moves.
3. And speaking of knees ... Ron woke up one day with his knee so swollen he couldn't walk. He got into a physiotherapist right away (because he works with the hockey team & was wearing his hockey jacket). They have no idea WHY, but he is receiving intense help, including T.E.N.S. & acupuncture. He can walk now. It is a very odd injury & they think it might be related to his back. Ron & his back! It causes him all kinds of problems.
4. It has been very very cold here. I'm sure most of you reading can relate. We've resorted to multiple layers of clothes, climbing under the covers in my bed & reading "Farmer Boy". I always like reading "The Long Winter" at this time of year ... remember? the year the trains couldn't get through & they had very little food to eat & it kept storming and they had to stay inside because people were getting lost in the storm if they went outside. And Almonzo went on a very dangerous mission and bought seed wheat from this guy many miles away so that the townspeople wouldn't starve to death. Man, I love that book.
Monday, January 05, 2009
Sam's Bad Day
Sam has had a very bad day. A rotten day. A terrible day. A day when he had to cry, have temper tantrums, whine, fuss and complain. Here is why, according to Sam.
1. A boy at church was chasing him, kicking and punching. I (Marsha) can verify that this is true. We left church because of it. That set him up for a bad day today.
2. People have been taunting him all day. They've said things like: "Sam, can you say that a little louder?" while Sam is crying.
3. There is nothing to entertain him. Mom kept suggesting he read books, but that wouldn't entertain him.
4. He wasn't allowed to use the computer. THAT would have entertained him.
He is also a little itchy from being in a chlorine pool. Sarah died his hair green and blue but THAT didn't entertain him for long. Our neighbour came over and played but Sam didn't really get entertained by that. The ONLY thing that would entertain him would be playing on the computer.
Signed,
bored, angry, frustrated, un-entertained Sam
1. A boy at church was chasing him, kicking and punching. I (Marsha) can verify that this is true. We left church because of it. That set him up for a bad day today.
2. People have been taunting him all day. They've said things like: "Sam, can you say that a little louder?" while Sam is crying.
3. There is nothing to entertain him. Mom kept suggesting he read books, but that wouldn't entertain him.
4. He wasn't allowed to use the computer. THAT would have entertained him.
He is also a little itchy from being in a chlorine pool. Sarah died his hair green and blue but THAT didn't entertain him for long. Our neighbour came over and played but Sam didn't really get entertained by that. The ONLY thing that would entertain him would be playing on the computer.
Signed,
bored, angry, frustrated, un-entertained Sam
Monday, December 29, 2008
Christmas time in Abarbaland
This is a picture of Ron & I on Boxing Day. We were meeting a friend for coffee on the waterfront ... but hadn't figured on all the coffee shops being closed. We are inside the Ferry Terminal, which was open. It was COLD.
This is Katelyn doing a little modeling today ... modeling her mittens which she made over Christmas. She is submitting them to a knitting magazine for publication. We are at Sandwich Point, overlooking the Atlantic.
Dan & Sarah at Sandwich point ... on top of a Memorial to the "Herring Cove Rowers" who beat the Boston rowers in a competition in the 1800's. The Memorial looks deceivingly like a rock pile suitable for kids to climb on.
Ah ... this CD caused a lot of arguments. On Christmas Day we started a discussion on the greatest band of all time. Dan claimed it was a thrasher band called "Billy Talent" - very emo, very smash your guitars on stage while not wearing a shirt. Ron claimed it was the Eagles - whose greatest hits CD he received for Christmas. He made the kids listen to the Eagles, even claiming that one of their songs was prophetic. This morphed into a lively discussion on the best guitarist of all time, the best drummer of all time, etc. Our Christmas guest Kenny who is normally very quiet had quite strong opinions about this. We watched Youtube videos of the "contestants" and debated it until midnight on Christmas Day.
This is our good friend John, the coffee date on Boxing Day. We've known John since 1997 & really adore him. If you are single & looking for a great guy ... e-mail me. In real life he doesn't have the gigantic shadow on his face.
This is Kenny, our Christmas guest. He's from Bahamas, where they eat macaroni & ham for Christmas. He said, "at home (Bahamas) its winter right now, man - only 29C." He brought a Bahamian Christmas dessert - kind of like a pancake studded with starfruit & served with a plum pudding sauce.
Over Christmas Sarah taught Sam how to breakdance. This is Sam doing a move called "Baby Freeze" Sarah got DVD called "Breakdancing step by step" for Christmas which has been well used.Melanie came over & Sarah taught HER how to break dance too. Melanie was a quick learner.
This is a picture of Ron with a goatee ... he bet Susana that a postcard she sent from Uganda at a kind of "unofficial" post office wouldn't get to Canada. If Ron won, Susana would have to move here to work with us again (I was cheering for Ron). If Susana won (and the postcard arrived), Ron would have to grow some facial hair. He kept it long enough to get his picture taken, then shaved. When he grows a full beard, he looks exactly like a terrorist. I'm absolutely serious.
This is a picture of Ron with a goatee ... he bet Susana that a postcard she sent from Uganda at a kind of "unofficial" post office wouldn't get to Canada. If Ron won, Susana would have to move here to work with us again (I was cheering for Ron). If Susana won (and the postcard arrived), Ron would have to grow some facial hair. He kept it long enough to get his picture taken, then shaved. When he grows a full beard, he looks exactly like a terrorist. I'm absolutely serious.
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