Christmas 2008

This holiday season started with different levels of bad news and bad weather, but Christmas Eve as I was putting the finishing touches on the stockings and preparing the stuffing and home-made cranberry sauce and T made his fabulous pies from scratch to get a head start on the big Christmas meal, it promised to be a very pleasant day on Christmas.

You know with the weather being crappy and my work taking a little slow-down, I had more time to think about Christmas Day this year, and in my opinion it was a special one. I took time to bake this year, and I really wanted the dinner to be special, so I chose the ingredients carefully and prepped everything to the tightest details -- that is something I usually forget to do!

The weather was as good as we could expect and as the family trickled in for Christmas morning brunch the mood was actually pretty jovial. The kids had a great time opening the presents, somehow they seemed more reasonable this year, a better quality of gifts and less quantity. I think it was WAY better that way actually. The presents were not opened and put aside for the next one... they had to time to open and enjoy each and every gift.

After brunch and things had wound down for the afternoon, everyone went home to prepare for the big feast that would come later. The turkey was a huge free-range bird compliments of my father in law, and it was gorgeous! I prepped it with all the normal care and attention and popped it in the oven to be lovingly basted and checked on for the next several hours.
As the dinner guests trickled in, I had smoked salmon pate and hummus ready for dipping, and a nice selection of baked goodies for sampling.
Dinner was served at about 6:30.
The beautiful bird was done to perfection, (if I do say so myself). The careful attention and basting resulted in a lovely brown on the skin and a succulent, flavourful and moist meat! The sausage and cranberry stuffing was also moist and flavourful, the cranberry sauce was tart and sweet, the mashed potatoes a creamy dream, the yams I baked in a maplesyrup-brownsugar+butter sauce, each topped with a pecan (super yummy), and of course there were the brussel sprouts done tender and smothered in butter. The only less-than perfect thing was the gravy.... somehow it got a bit salty for my taste. All in all I was very proud of the results, the days of hard work paid off. And of course, T's pies were simply amazing! That man has a gift with making pies! This year it was apple and pumpkin, mmmmmmmm....

We went to bed too full to sleep, turkey lethargy combatting the taut tummy. It was a good Christmas day.

T's sister and family stayed at their home on Gabriola Island this Christmas (a first), so we offered to come see them Boxing Day on their home turf for a lunch. It gives the cousins a chance to play and exchange gifts. The weather was simply TERRIBLE! Much warmer than it has been in a while, but driving slushy snow blown hard against us the whole way. (The picture is us on the ferry, the poor dog was in the back of the truck suffering the blowing slush).


Thankfully, while we were there, the weather calmed down considerably! Tim's sister made a very tasty brunch and the cousins all played very nicely (no tears!). After we had eaten and the presents were revealed and played with, I noticed animals taking advantage of a break in the storm. There were tonnes of little chickadees making noise outside the windows, and a small herd of deer made their way across the feilds. (T's sister lives in a tiny little house on a huge waterfront farm. They are officially caretakers of the farm when the owner is away in the winter, but it is a really simple job as all the animals are wintered elsewhere. The house is really too small for a family of five, only 2 bedrooms, but the amazing property with the really-cheap rent has kept them there. )

The bad news that has been at the back of my mind this season has really just made me appreciate the blessings of the season all the more... I hope all of your Christmas's were bright and full of love too!

PS I forgot to mention my gifts! We all agreed to keep things simple for the grown ups, but I feel I was spoiled, as usual. (My husband has a real talent for making my stocking both entertaining and functional.) I actually got some toys this year, a hotwheels, a little horse stuffed beany baby, and a big squishy ball-critter (that I just love), along with a nice assortment of quality chocolate, cozy socks and practical kitchen gadgets. My "big" present was a garden composter, I have wanted one for a while, but didn't think I would get one as T thinks they are dumb.... he got it for me anyways that nice man!

More and More

What a crazy year for snow!

The picture with my hand is on top of the tent trailer..... untouched by shovel or child.

This pick-up truck is my father in law's 4x4 on the street in front of our house. That's just what came down yesterday afternoon, I know that because our road was plowed yesterday morning, and the picture was taken at around 4 pm!

The boys are in the front "lawn" right now having a great time.

Those big snow banks are what my street looks like right this minute! The whole street teamed up with shovels to dig trails in the snow so we could get down to the road. It looks really bad, but once you get off our street it is quite clear! All plowed nicely. It is much much warmer today, so I anticipate alot will melt during the daylight hours.

Colder and Deeper

This has to be the worst winter for snow and cold in over a decade!

Seriously, it's NEVER this cold! As illustrated above, sure the icicles outside my son's window are pretty but, I would rather see the pavement on the road while I drive.

My happy little valley got way more snow than the north end of town, and though the roads are plowed, shovelling the driveway is getting mightily annoying 2 - 4 times a day. It's snowed almost every day! And they have posted a weather warning for Sunday that is asking folks to stock up on food, lighting equipment, etc with a wind warning and heavy snow (they even said Blizzard conditions!), where are we?

This isn't the Arctic!

It's the warm west coast!

It's supposed to be rainy in December!

But life must go on... Christmas is still coming, preparations must be made.

Today we go out looking for a tree!

Today a bit of food shopping must be done for milk and eggs and dogfood.

Today Steve has to do his paper route through thisfrozen landscape..... BRRRR!!!!!

Here is the growth of the icicle outside my kitchen window:

#1: "Wow Mom! Look at How big that icicle is!"#2: "Mom, mom! Look it's even bigger this morning!"#3: "Mom, can I break it?" (It's about 3 ft long now and still growing!)

This and THAT

I've been tagged!!!!

RULE ONE, I have to grab one of the books closest to me, go to page 56, type the fifth line and the next two to five lines that follow.

RULE TWO, I have to pick five people who love books and who could receive the Bookworm award with honor.

MY QUOTE: "We don't know where he went."

"I know" said James.

"Look, Mother. I see Jet."

- Jan Palmer

from the May I Come In? Primary Reader.

(It was the closest book, Cammie is attempting to read to me these days!)

I will have to break rule 5, all of my blogging buddies total 4, and 3 of you are on the same list as Wolfgrrrrl! Tee, if you want to give it a shot!?

++++++++++++++++++++++++++

On a more serious note, the weather is bitterly cold and my temper was bitterly hot this morning.

The boys were up at 6:30 am this morning, (so it started off badly for me one hour before my alrm goes off). I tried to look at the bright side as more time to get ready, since I was told to make sure the truck had a good ten minutes to warm up this morning.

At 8:15 I asked the boys to get ready for a very very cold outside -- in fact this is the coldest it's been here in their entire lives! The procrastinated and avoided and farted around doing this that and the other until I LOST IT! I ranted at them like some rabid maniac over mittens and boots and lunch bags. The last straw was when Steve was putting his lunch into his bag and remembered that the zipper was broken on his backpack. He starts ordering me to find another bag for him! OMG! I exploded screaming about how he had the whole weekend to get another bag and why did he have to bring it up NOW right when we had to GO... so I gave him a plastic grocery bag and told him to deal with it when he got home from school. I went outside and managed to yank the frozen door on the truck open and start the very sluggish engine into life in time to have it warmed up for 10 minutes. Steve was looking forward to being the one to start the truck but he just did NOT have his crap together in time and I was fed up.

I had to scrape ice off the INSIDE of the windows even after the 10 minutes, I have never had to do that before.

As I was loading the kids out of the house the dog slipped out. He ran around in the snow ignoring my calls and even worse the boys ignored the whole thing too even as the dog ran around their legs, so it was entirely up to me to get the flippin' dog back in the house!!!! I went utterly freakazoid at that point stomping and flailing my arms, growling insanely until the rage passed. The kids loaded in the truck, I got them safely to school, told them to have a nice day and came home. Now I am ashamed, my throat is raw, my eyes hurt (I wouldn't be surprised if they had rolled back into my head at some point) and my neck muscles are seriously tight. What a crappy monday morning on an othewise breathtakingly beautiful bright morning.

My mom got out in time!

My mom came for a visit for a few days, it was nice to see her so close to Christmas and the kids enjoyed seeing her too. She left as the snow started falling for the first time this season Thursday morning. We got about 2 1/2 inches, and then it kind of turned to slush by afternoon. Yesterday the roads were clear so I went out to run a few errands and get milk, etc. Boy am I glad I did!

It looked like we might have been done with it for a while.... well the weatherman called for another inch, but so far it's over 18 inches of the white stuff in Cinnabar!!!!

It was shocking to see it in all it's glory this morning, but it was supposed to stop mid morning... it's still coming down strong

At least the kids are having a great time. They couldn't wait to get out there and spent 8am - noon (I called them in!) playing and romping with the dog. Since Steve is wearing MY boots I have a great excuse to stay in so far.

Mom might be home by now.... it takes a couple days to get from Vancouver Island to Prince Rupert and then across to the Queen Charlotte's...

My roses got it again! Silly roses, don't they know it's almost Christmas?

Education for the masses

I am so tired of having struggles in the school system.

"there is something wrong with your kid"....I've heard it before said in all sorts of tactful and not so tactful ways. The truth of it is there is something wrong with modern education!

Education for the masses had industrialized learning to the most common denominator and doesn't leave any room whatsoever for differences. No doubt, something to do with large class sizes and rigid curriculum's. I realize they can't change that just for the minority, but it doesn't make it any less depressing from my challenged position.

My poor boys have been pigeonholed as learning disabled without any real consideration to what makes them tick. Sitting in rows quietly listening to lectures does NOT make them tick... in fact it causes massive boredom and frustration. Writing things down does not make them learn either as these particular boys will go to any lengths to avoid putting pencil to paper even if they know the answer.... they would rather get the answer wrong than write it down!

KEEP IN MIND ---- I value education, I love reading and listening, and as a result I did just fine. I took it as a personal challenge to outwit the grading system and squeeze "A"s out of teachers. 90% of the time it's not how much you know, but knowing WHICH things the teacher wants, and how he or her prefers it delivered.... figure that out and school isn't too tough at all.

My boys can't do it the traditional way, and they are being condemned to the 13 years (including Kindergarten) of this mass produced drudgery with almost guaranteed low output. Where is the reward for them if they don't stand a chance to really succeed? Will they just have to put in their time until school is over and they can get a job that benefits from their strengths? How will they know what to look for in work when their experience has been so limited to mediocrity for the majority of their lives?

They NEEEEEED to know how to read, write, type and basic math in this country. And they pretty much NEED a high school education to find meaningful employment as adults too.

What are my options?

1. I know I am not of the temperament to homeschool, sad but true, their headstrong resistance to the education I know drives me as crazy as the teachers!


2. Private schools are prohibitively expensive, limited in selection and no guarantees we would have any more success.


3. The last option is to carry on with public school and try to make sure the other parts of their days are successful for them. They do have friends and that is valuable too!
   

We have conceded to the teachers requests in so many ways...

We've had Steve assessed by a Paediatrician, Psychiatrist and had an in depth Educational Analysis done.

Firstly, he has ADHD for which we have been BULLIED INTO medicating him at the school.
Also, all this testing revealed he is learning disabled in a rather rare category that makes his general knowledge and comprehension above average for his age, but his input skills (reading and writing) well below average, a toughie when you are tying to keep up with the class. I was relieved when the professionals gave us designation with a learning plan outlined in detail for how to teach Steve, I thought that would help him share what he is really learning!

But, the worst of it is, after all that, they have still disregarded most of the results and keep whining that he needs MORE MEDICATING without implementing the strategies recommended by the professionals. (The paediatrician is on our side, she faxed the school a letter today saying that his medication is doing what is is supposed to do for his ADHD and that they need to address his learning disability as outlined in his learning plan to help him reach his potential!!! Hooray for her!!!!) Indeed, they have been told year after year what is necessary in order for Steve to reach his full learning potential, but they are ignoring it because it's "too hard" with so many kids in the class. With a LD designation he is supposed to qualify for extra help, but it isn't in the budget, oh well....

Ugh.

I feel like I am standing in a Plexiglas booth, inches away from the solution but unable to reach it.

School Woes

Raising kids is the most challenging thing I could ever imagine. I don't know how I am going to cope with puberty when this stage is maxed me out already!

Report cards came home, and the news was not good. Not good at all.

Steve has consistently received decent marks in Math and Science up to now, but grade 6 seems to have broke him, and his poor organization skills and disabled fluency in the basics are biting him in the rear. Even though he has a learning disability designation, no changes have been made to his workload, so I guess this is a real gauge of how he does in a real world situation. He is passing, but just barely. At least all the teachers he has had up to now seem to like him and appreciate his contributions to the class. BUT the teachers won't even teach him unless he is on his medication, they say he is too disruptive and off task so they send him to the library to work. The meds are something that 'T' LOATHES, but has conceded to allow, for my sake.

Cam is a tough nut. The teacher he has now has accused him of being unable to maintain focus and feels that his skills are a grade below where they should be in almost all areas. Another batch of sour news on top of the reports of him getting detentions for talking during lessons and playing too rough last week. She taught Steve 4 years ago (they got on fine) and I think she has painted the younger brother with the same brush. And the worst part is I don't think the teacher even likes him. Cam can be exceptionally stubborn, his ears shut right off when he chooses not to participate. Honestly I think he just doesn't find school IMPORTANT and therefore doesn't pay attention. I'm not sure how to impress upon him that he is sabotaging himself!

So even though we do reading and homework every single freakin' night, both kids' reports ask for ME to work MORE with them on every aspect of academics at home. Cam needs to read more words, and count by 2s and 5s and 10s (Some 3 year olds can do that, but it's just not important to him). Steve needs to chose fiction chapterbooks to read, and needs more development in sentence structure and other more complicated things.... oh and learn to type this year too.

WHEN?!

Seriously how many hours a day do these poor boys have to work on these things that they don't like!? I realize at this age, school is their job, but they also need to have find to develop the things that they ARE good at! Time to explore their own personalities, grow friendships, get outside and get dirty! I want Steve to start to learn some cooking, and the boys should be helping with the chores occasionally too. I think these things may be far more important to hyper boys than the extra reading and discussion that they want (and will surely result in temper tantrums). Not to mention I am only one person, how am I supposed to coach and give extra time to TWO boys every night when I also need to keep my clients happy, prepare dinner and still get some "me" time in when everyone shuts off the lights at 9pm at this house?!?!?!

I am so flippin' frustrated with school right now! I want to cry.... couldn't I just have had ONE kids that understood how much easier life is with good listening skills... just ONE????

(It doesn't help that my sister's kids are SO well behaved -- yes I'm jealous and I'm not too proud to admit it)

Yummy Yumm

It was a really neat thing the other night! It was a culinary demonstration party put on by a French-trained, British chef that has been cooking and teaching cooking for almost 50 years. He retired from the local University a while back and has a cafe downtown, but him and his wife thought they would try this new idea of having the instructional dinner parties. They converted their garage into a cooking studio with a bank of stools set around the cooking and prep area.... really neat.

We were told to bring our own wine, and a minimum of eight participants.... So my sister's neighbour called all "the girls" together (and me) and we booked the date.

There were :
3 kinds of brushetta on his homemade bread (caramelized onion, cheese/feta & pesto, concasse tomato),
homemade hummus on homemade pita,
lox on tortilla crisps with a nice mustard sauce,
phyllo wrapped spanokapitas,
phyllo wrapped samosas (really tasty variation),
stuffed tiger prawns,
orange chicken satays,
garden rolls with peanut sauce,
pork dumplings with a hoisin drizzle,
.... and then he showed us how to make cream puffs (shoe buns) stuffed with whipcream and a chocolate ganache!

He demonstrated how to make all of it and then we each got some as they were done.... mmmmmmmm!

I was so full !!!!! I had a terrible, awful nasty sleep because I was uncomfortably stuffed and oniony..... and my clothes smelled of carmelized onions for many days afterwards, but it was worth it!

What a fun idea.

(picture)

A pleasant surprise

The day was clear and bright in a way only winter can show and I didn't even know it yet when I got the call...

"What are you doing today?" nothing

And it was settled in a wonderful way that my dear dear Tai would drive up island for a visit!!!

It was shaping up to be a spectacular day (and all I was going to do was clean the house)...

2 hours later one of my best friends on the planet was sitting in my kitchen and the warm fuzzy feeling I had wasn't just the gin.

We went out for lunch and the conversation was even better than the sushi, which was pretty darned tasty (especially without the kids tagging along)!

Afterwards we decided to take advantage of the sunshine and head out to the beautiful Pipers Lagoon for a stroll. What a treat! The air was crisp and a lovely mix of fallen leaves, woodsmoke, sunwarmed rocks and sea breeze. The light here is so different in the winter, something to do with that extra low angle to the sun... very nice for pictures in the early afternoon.

The walk was a bit too short even with the stopping for pictures every couple seconds, so after being wind-swept and sun-shone on the seashore we drove back downtown to stroll the lovely decor shops. And yes we came away with a couple treasures.... (thank you Tai for the lovely porcelain ball!)

It was such a nice day, thanks to my dear friend!

Crafty Cami

The little dude is lovin the crafts lately! Drawing (that's his brother and him in their Halloween costumes), foam balls and pipecleaners, play-clay, and painting little wooden nutcrackers (I did the mustache). He is having a great time!

When it rains, it pours....

Not just a figure of speech, our nextdoor neighbour's back yard was over-saturated from recent rainstorms and a HUGE rock let go from the cliff and shattered their back deck at an un-godly hour a couple nights ago! T jumped out of bed thinking the mezzanine in the garage had collapsed -- the noise was huge and terrifying. We were always surprised that that house got occupancy permit with that hill unrestrained, 9 years ago when our home was being built, our yard had to be held back with an engineered mesh with posts drilled and mortared 10 feet into the rock face! It was a huge expense incurred by the builder... but we weren't allowed to move in until it was passed by the geotech. So how come our neighboour was allowed to move in with the SAME rocks even closer to their house only a year ago? We were shocked, and just waiting for something to slide... the first wet week of the year was enough, not even an earthquake! Just Rain!! I feel sorry for them, I don't know if they can call on the offending permit issuer for damages.

So that is the neighbourhood news....

As for my life, my work is in unusually high demand this week, in fact I was swamped way past regular work hours all week. Good news is it will easily pay for Christmas, bad news is T is really annoyed at the dinner interruptions and weekend deadlines.

Hopefully the worst is over now and I can get back to a regular schedule.

Tomorrow night I get to go to a show that I designed the 44 page program for (I am taking my mother in law) it should be fun!

In two weeks I have a charity luncheon to attend, and I need to find someone to go to that with me.... (alas, T will be at work)... I have 2 seats to fill and only one bottom.

Its Over

And with a strange mix of regret and relief we collected back our deposit yesterday....

Funny, that whole house deal brought so many really strong emotions! Dark and light, each outcome had it's positives and negatives and each option had it's own set of stress and exciting opportunities!

I still think we could have been very happy for a very long time there, it had so much to offer to our lifestyles! BUT the work involved to make it comparable to our current home was a huge undertaking and may have easily turned into a bottomless money pit (and since we are not of bottomless wallets, it would have been painful and frustrating too).

I think it turned out for the best..... alas, those cherry trees, that nice big family room, the garage, shop, shed AND workshop... the big dining area are all let go rather reluctantly on my part.

So I turn back to look at my precious home. It is not so small, it is really warm and easy to care for, we fit here too! And I am thankful for what we have and once again have resolved NOT to look unless our fortunes change.... I am happy here.

Happy Halloweeeeeen!

(This year they carved their own jack-o-lanterns -- I'm so proud!)

Catching my Breath

Gulp, Sigh, WHEEEEZE!

We had a nice LONG chat with our mortgage broker today. In depth, thorough and looking at it from every angle.

IF our home could sell before the subject removal date, we would have NO problem at all.

IF our income was higher, we would have no problem financing the deal and taking our time selling our current home.

IF our current home had a tenant paying $1500/mth or more we would be in a good position to be landlords and keep both.

BUT since none of those scenerios is all together accurate in the timeframe we are looking at, then we cannot even qualify for the $2500+/mo payments required to operate both homes.

That leaves us with 3 unappealing options:

OPTION A: List our house aggressively, hoping for a stupidly quick offer with no subjects that can close before Nov 8th (That's 2 weeks, folks!) in this area's market that has 66 houses to choose from (without big cliffs in the backyard) in the same approximate price range.
Meanwhile pay to have the other house inspected as if everything were going on as planned.

Ya Right

OPTION B: Find a tenant, that we can trust, ready to agree NOW to move into our house with a 6 month lease guaranteed and willing to pay the required amount, AND able to move in on the day we get occupancy of the other place (Dec 8).

SUUUUURE......

OPTION C: Say "Hey, we gave it a shot, but the numbers aren't cozy" and BEG for our deposit to be released back to us as quickly as possible.

(Now it's the Realtor's turn to say "ya right").

T is pretty sure the seller will fight tooth and nail that we weren't trying hard enough to make it happen. And the Realtor is arguing that we should AT LEAST try to sell the house fast to get the "great deal" accepted on that house. My Realtor is a sweety to meet, but I think she may have a sleeping alpha-wolf inside (Actually she reminds me of you, Kimberrrr), and I am nervous.

After all that...

You know how I said I wasn't looking at houses anymore?
I'm not. In fact I was happy to stay put (I thought), then HUBBY starts talking about the trails behind the last place we saw.
We went for a second viewing, in full daylight and no time restrictions.... we poked and prodded and opened cupboards and turned faucets.
The windows are useless, the shop is sheeted in cardboard inside, and the flooring is simply ugly (imagine Shrek as a shag carpet), so what did we do? Why we put an offer in on it of course!
A safe $35,000 below asking price, about what we could sell ours for. Well wouldn't you know it, surprise of surprises they agreed to the price, and all but one of the conditions. They want to give us the keys Dec 8th.
HOLY CRAP!
I feel like vomiting from nerves.
SO much to do to sell this house that quickly! My lovely home! My precious hardwood floors! My comfortable gazebo and awesome office space! ALL to be someone else's very shortly!
Strangley T is very calm about it. In an attempt to untangle his bicyle from the mass of wheels in our garage he got a sprocket in teh top of his head.... I guess he is ready for more bicycle storage!
I feel that my kids are going to be angry, the new house is not far, but not within walking distance of their friends' either....
WHAT THE HECK HAVE WE DONE?!?!?!

Trip to Vic

Grandpa took me and the boys to Victoria on Sunday!
(Alas Tai said she wasn't going to be around.... very sad that I didn't get to see her while I was there...sniff)

The goal of the excursion? Why the Royal BC Museum of course!!!! I LOVE this place, and I am happy to say my boys seem to have caught the museum-bug too! So many interesting things, animal, vegetable and mineral from pre-historic times to present, I love it. Did I mention I love it?

Very nice view of the government buildings too...
By far the boys' favourite exhibit was the Ocean Station Exhibit . Fun, interactive and delightfully staged to feel like the inside of Jules Verne's Nautilus....

We all love the famous Mammoth! Steve pointed out to me that there is REAL ice on the walls! I had to touch it to believe him. (Cam is touching it in this terrible fuzzy picture)...

Steve had a face-off with a stuffed lynx....

My graphic's side loved the old packaging! The cannery exhibit had nice salmon tins....

And finally, this one reminded me of Kimberrrrs book! I had to get a photo. A sad portion of Canadian history was the plight of the Chinese worker. Not only were they paid a fraction of what white people were paid, they were forced to do the most dangerous jobs and were charged a "head tax" that was a fortune to them. Back home there was a bad famine and they were lured to our Western shores with the promise of the "Gold Mountain" for easy money to send to their families back home. To top it off they were actually imprisoned until their papers were approved, this picture is the exhibit of chunks of the prison walls... the writing is sad and beautiful outlining their regrets and hopes.

We left the museum many hours after we went in. Grandpa had had enough, but me and the boys hadn't! We all learned something about the world and it's history.... I think I could spend DAYS in there and not get bored.

PS My favourite part is the First Nations exhibit.... really amazing stuff. Oh! And the town! Oh! and all the stuffed animals and bones! Oh! and the rain forest...... you get the picture

This is so well done!

This is simply TERRIFIC!

Not only is it clever, it is really well done! I think everyone should see how these movies should have ended.... enjoy.

Sweet Surprise

awww shucks!

I was happy to help, indeed I LOVED being there and helping you move was just a convenient excuse to visit one of my best friends!!!! I know I don't do it enough, and it was small, small compensation to be there to load boxes off an elevator. And then you fed the crew too! And provided overnight accomodations!

So I certainly didn't expect the pretty little envelope in my mailbox today! (Nothing makes a person feel more appreciated these days than "real" mail). I let out a little squeak of glee when I recognized the tiny caps printing of your hand, and the pretty floral card with a note of thanks and more.... really, you didn't have to thank me, you didn't have to go through the trouble, but I do appreciate it!

PS, I am planning on going to Vic next weekend with the boys and Grandpa, whatcha up to?

I love my sister!

Happy Happy Joy Joy!

My sister bought 200 beautiful, wooden hangers to make her closet more coordinated... and bless her, she cleaned out some clothes at the same time. I helped with the hanger switching, and it was a major project! As payment for my help (it WAS a great time to visit and gossip anyways) she gave me first pick over her reject clothing and her old hangers... of which there were dozens of display-retail-grade hangers from the days when she had her own store. So I invited her to my house to do the same in my closet.

After all, I do have that strict one-in-one-out rule in my limited closet, so I needed to do some culling of my own while swapping out my cheesy plastic hangers for the skookum retail ones.

It went well. Apparently my taste in clothes isn't as bad as I thought my sister thought it was! In other words, as we swapped out the hangers I asked her to tell me if there was anything I had to get rid of, or was totally worn out or unflattering... she didn't say much! So to keep my rule I had to select some things that I "didn't like as much" as the new hand me downs. So I got a couple of very nicely tailored business suit pieces to circulate on days when I have meetings, and got some fashion advice for coordinating some things I wasn't sure about, with other things in my closet. In return I gave Sharon a few of my clothes that looked better on her longer frame.

It was actually really fun!

I am so behind

Maybe I have itchy feet because I feel like I am drowning? The dog (adorable and well-behaved as he is) adds SO MUCH GRIME to this already chaotic family home!!!!

Just piles and piles of hair and grit in every corner. And it just will NOT vacuum off the carpet, so I am forced to sit on the floor and brush and pick it off. I am not even talking neat-freak cleanliness here, it's just so it's clean enough that I don't feel totally disgusted. Even with sweeping and vacuuming every single day (a chore that used to be fine once a week). Frustration! I want to wash the floor, but it is too hairy and gritty to get wet, so I sweep and vacuum and chase the dust bunnies around until I have no interest in going farther with the cleaning... its rude really.

I am glad that Tim talked me into keeping the dog off the furniture!

It's not JUST the dog, I am drowning in the clutter, the dirt, the neglected chores! T works hard to do his part, and in all honesty he works harder at the cleaning than I do. I see it and I cringe, then I run to my computer as fast as I can to get away from it.

The only chores I seem to keep up with is the laundry and the cooking. We eat well and all have clean clothes. Just don't look closely for dust, and for GOD'S SAKE don't eat anything that has touched the floor!!!!!

The kids have no interest in keeping the toothpaste off every surface of the bathroom, and the toilet "overspray" may be getting better, or (shudder) I may be getting used to it. How old is old enough to start making THEM clean the bathroom? When am I going to have the time to teach them to do it correctly? They have homework, their rooms to clean and Stevie has his paper route 3 days a week. The poor lads need time to play too!

Okay, I am procrastinating again. Maybe I should go wash the kitchen floor or something.

...at least I HAVE a roof over my head to worry about cleaning! there is that, right?

No more itchy feet.

Tai's move went very smooth, even with a terrible rainstorm trying to wreck everything!
We went and saw those houses, and one was a definite contender for me, not so much for T, I have decided to STOP looking (not easy for me, trust me on that!!!). I have decided to dig in for a bit and see what happens, and this is why:

My favourite blogs have been posting about "worst-case scenarios" lately. They are talking about the financial kind, if the market keeps plummeting, if creditors call in their loans to you (did you know lines of credit, and credit card balance can be demanded by the lender at any time?) and if jobs start disappearing like in the 30s, etc...

So, after reading these tales of potential disaster, how do I feel exactly?

Having -- through diligence -- no balances on credit (except the mortgage) I am not too worried about them calling for money, BUT having a bit of money in the market via RRSPs, I AM worried about the market. All of the educated powers (even the pessimists) say that as long as you don't need to SELL right now then its okay. In fact it may even be good news if you buy these stocks cheaply and hang on for 5 years or so. ALL of these people that I follow say that a worst-case market dip would be 5 years. (But then again, the experts thought the first world war was going to only be a few months too). But where did panic this all come from? Sub-prime mortgages, high oil prices, consumer credit gone out of control???? Let me do a bit of speculatory observations here for a bit....

The power of the US market is really awe inspiring. It is a super-power not just in military force, but also world consumption. I don't think there are many exporting countries in the world that don't trade with the US at a significant level. Hey, I could be way off base with that.

Do you remember the cold war? USSR was a super power and the USA was nervous enough to spy and compete on so many levels to make sure they were on top.
What is it now?
A fragmented cluster of warring independent nations. Russia went through a very painful period of adjustment when capitalism took off (I was reading an article in National Geographic about a once bustling hospital that had only 3 light bulbs to move from room to room and the one doctor was paid in live chickens and manure for his garden!) And on the other end of the scale, the Russian mafia profiting grossly on a huge black market trade for coke and bluejeans. Nuclear subs were abandoned in the arctic ocean (to rust and leak for lack of money to maintain them), highways and railways left to disintegrate and severe lack of law enforcement in the northern, rural lands with endangered animals poached to the black market fur trade to feed families and other environmental crimes committed in the name of day to day survival. It is better now according to the papers, and they are feeling the same pain as us with the markets, governments bailing out the banks, etc. (They were a SUPER POWER, swollen with leading technology and a unified force!)

I hear that the entire European economy is taking a hit now too, and no one is surprised. And, of course, the Canadian markets are seeing some "interesting" directions too. The stories of China's growth and scary economic strength are taking a break as all the focus in the news has directed to the world banks and stock markets.

Honestly, I have always found it very bizarre how so many tiny numbers going up and down could have any impact whatsoever on our day to day lives. (Poisoned wheat going into dog food, lead in our plastics, child labour, WAR, and ice caps melting, these things seem more real to me.)

Speaking of wheat... The price of wheat and corn has skyrocketed (which makes the cost of meat go up too of course). Do you know why? The FOOD crops are being replaced with BIOFUEL crops!!!! That's right, the message we are sending to our famers, through demand on the market is that we would rather have FUEL than FOOD!!!!!!!! I heard the other day that the rain forests of South America, and other struggling areas, are being cut down faster than ever these days! Mowed down (again for BIOFUEL crops) so we can keep dumping green house gases into the atmosphere. The terrible irony of that makes me want to weep.

What can I do?

I can shelter myself best I can from the market dive by watching pennies and limiting use of credit (I am already well practiced at that thankfully). I can take each day with care and try to raise my children as thoughtful consumers for the future... (maybe help them see the global impact of each purchase they make). I can boycott ethanol when I chose my gas stations. I can chose to walk more. I can buy local foods and I can maybe even grow some of my own this Spring. I have the whole fall and winter to prepare some land (easier said than done given my STEEP lot)..... not mowing down any trees. Um..... scratch that last idea --unless the situation gets desperate.

Another List

I have itchy feet again... must be the fact that Tai is moving.... my sister is talking of upgrading, and my neighbour feels WAY too close these days.

I have an appointment to look at 2 homes this evening... one is much smaller than our current home, but the land is lovely, in a great location for the kids and there is a detached shop. The second also is on a bigger lot with mature fruit trees, backing on to resource land and also with a detached shop but an old house (not old enought to have character though, it's big enough, just UGLY) just outside our school's catchment area (meaning I would HAVE to drive them everyday)

Anyways with the excitement at the prospect of someplace new to live, there is the DREAD of the thought of selling this house. Not as easy as giving your notice and start packing, oh no, not that easy at all! There is a whole helluva lot of money to change hands with, lenders, lawyers, inspectors, surveyors, realtors, prospective buyers that will all have an opinion about what the house is worth before an offer is even made, and all the preparation to get it to that point! Hence the list.

rent a storage unit:
pack away one china cabinet
plethora of family knick knacks and photos
a bizzillion books
seasonal storage items
about 1/2 the garage
a 100 or so DVDs and videos
remove and store the second TV and DVD player
depersonalize ALL the bedrooms
one of my dressers and about 1/2 my clothes
the inversion table and extra table in the laundryroom
about 2/3 of the kids' toys
1/2 my computers and gizmos that go with them
clear off the top of the kitchen cabinets
find a new home for the chest freezer
catbox and dog crate disguised somehow
fresh paint where it needs it
keep things fastidiously clean & tidy!
all horizontal surfaces clean and clear
outside kept CLEAN
find a different yard for the boat and tent trailer

Am I panicky? Yes
Will I like bail out of the idea? More than likely

Tonight's viewings will tell, and we will have the whole weekend to dwell on the idea anyways. I can't beleive how often I moved as a kid, my parents were nuts I guess.

Creating Balance

I am a list writer!
I love writing down goals (from long term life to the purpose of each room in my house),
hopes (for the planet, for my family, for myself....)
impossible plans (just for fun),
and
to-do lists (for the sheer joy of crossing things off)
These lists take up coil books all over the house, accompanied with magazine pictures and little doodles.

It JUST now occured to me that I could do some of my lists here on the blog, silly silly me.

My summer list was miserably neglected, (that is more important than my new year's resolution list honestly) and as usual the summer whipped by so fast!

Some of the things I have carried over from that list include:

• I STILL want to get my Italy trip journal written, it has been so long now, I think I may need to read Spider's notes!!!!!!
  
• Along those same lines, I wanted to make the kids each a book for the Disneyland trip that they can keep as their own....
  
• Fix my webpage! My freelance business has a domain, but the webpage is really out of date and broken in spots.... I need to hire help with this task. Meanwhile my bandaid is the http://jennesoncreatives.blogspot.com/ where I post my work as it happens...
  
• Gut out the laundryroom. OMG the clutter!!!!!
  Part of the problem is I am not sure what the room SHOULD be! It is too big to just be a laundryroom, and full of so many other functions at the moment.... craft room, play room, catch-all dumping ground....There are lovely crafting materials in there that date back to 1992! I'm not joking! (Imagination Market materials in bins: I had hopes that my kids would like crafting, alas they are not as fond of it as I would have hoped and T abhores the mess that these "creations" make.) Honestly I need to keep a SMALL box of my faves and give the rest to the Kindergarten class or Boys and Girls Club or something.
  MY toys are still in there too. I still have my cabbage patch doll. I still love her in a weird cozy sort of way, AND my favourite barbie stuff, and the little ponies and little carebears. I was hoping to have a daughter I guess. Hey Kimber, would Zoe like some vintage ponies and carebears for Christmas?!There are bins and bins and bins of other miscellanious crap taking up loads of space.
  In my own defence, I do chip away at this black hole of clutter very regulary. Almost every weekend I have more to send to charity, but it never seems to shrink, it's the great rotating circle of crap, like the circle of life, only dustier.
  This house has TONNES of storage, but it is all exposed and part of the house. There is no cawlspace, nor attic to hide the seasonal things like Christmas decorations, Halloween (my favourite) stuff, camping paraphenilia, electric fans, air conditioner, skates, and the like. It is all out there all year long and it is stifling!
  obviously this laundryroom is a big thing on my list!
• Walk the dog 1/2 hour or more DAILY. Nice in theory, but I am not fond of it in practice.Also I want to use my treadmill, I have it, it's a good one, I even enjoy it once I am on it.... having it in the familyroom has increased it's use already... I have used it twice since I put it in there! Now I have seen the Dog Whisperer use treadmills for the dogs he is rehabilitating, but our puppy is terrified of the thing-- I don't know how Cesar does it!
• Clean the bathrooms daily. I am happy to avoid that chore. And the longer I put it off, the more I really don't want to.
• Do more with my friends!!!! I am very very busy with family, household and business stuff all the time, but I miss my friends.

That's all the list I can handle for one day....

sigh.... back to work.

Impulse Buy

The colour is richer than the photo portrays and it is VERY comfortable both in texture and plushness and the fact that TWO can lay on it together -- if they are friendly. It is one of those pieces of furniture that I have ALWAYS wanted (It's no overstuffed chair-and-a-half, but it will do).

The fact that I spotted it at my favourite thrift store just had me gobsmacked. SO out of context among the loud floral couches and orange tweed loveseats. I walked all the way around looking for the flaws it MUST possess.... but I couldn't see any. So I dared SNIFF it, that must be whay it is here, some malodorous malady? NOPE, it actually smelled pretty GOOD, not a hint of pet, not smoke, nor mustiness.

So I sat in it. Or, I should say, LOUNGED UPON IT....

PURE HEAVEN on its four carved, wooden legs.

As I sat seriously contimplating what was going to have to go for this to fit in my home, and elderly couple walked by and inspected it, top and bottom while I sat there. The gentleman explained, "Excuse me, I used to be an upolsterer, this may even have been one that I did." And his wife went on an on about the yardage and quality of the upolstry fabric (A deep rich stitch in paisely embroidered velour, and the proper method for cleaning it to retain the subtle nap, etc, etc...."

I was simple caught by this comfy thing and bought it on the spot. The fact that it was only $80 didn't hurt either. The stock boy said he could TELL that I was going to get it the second he saw me first look at it, and the cashier was blubbering and cuffing the young man "How come you didn't TELL me about this one?! I would have bought it" she said.

I took it home in my truck, gazing in the rear view mirror at how BIG it is.... then had to find a spot for it. No room in the living room. No room in the family room unless I discard our couch (which I would have happily done if that wasn't the only seating available in there), no bedroom big enough and there is NO WAY it's going in the laundryroom to get thrashed!) AHA! I will take the treadmill out of my office and put the chaise in there, if only it will fit.

Brilliantly it does fit, ONLY BARELY. And me and my boys sat on it for hours last night looking at the many books nearby and me reading Kimberrrrr's latest writings on my old Mac.

It truthfully is too big for the space, but it is very, very comfy and nice to have beside the library for sure.


AND my cat looks good on it too!

Spa delight!

My sister KNOWS how to spend a gift certificate! Oh Ya momma!

She went for booking the Hydropath and an overnight stay with a 3 course dinner and Sunday brunch. OMG!!! In a word -- WOW.

The room was simple and clean and well-appointed -- with a stunning view of the meticulous gardens and the ocean beyond:

We arrived at 12:45 and checked in getting changed into our bathingsuits and robes for our 1:15 Hydropath appointment. Sis carefully scheduled the spa appointment to NOT be around other groups, so it was like we had the whole place to ourselves (she is so smart). I love it when something is done RIGHT. The decor was very sandstone-grotto-esque and had an intimate and pampering feeling. The water was EXACTLY the right temperature in the 6-showerhead shower cave, AND the massaging pool, AND the crazy-aggressive waterfall niches.

At every step our guide offered fresh water with a wedge of lemon -- nice touch.

The steam room had the fantastic accent of eucalyptus (which I love) and just when I thought my lungs would be steamed for good, we were told to hop into the "Glacial waterfall" NOT A CHANCE! I just splashed my face before entering the warm and cool massaging rivers. Then the bubbly mineral pool (with gentle rainfall) and finally these funny little pods that we got into to scrub with abrasive algae mush and seaweed cloths. Then after a quick rinse in the last showers..... ("use as many towels as you like" she said!) we got to go upstairs, lather ourselves in moisturizer and rest in our robes in the lounge chairs of the room with the 270 degree ocean views..... Sis and I sat there for a long time, reminiscing about growing up in this neighbourhood and having a lovely time. .... Eventually, soggy bathing suits motivated us to go back to our room.

We got dressed for slogging on the beach and went for a hike down to the end of Gartley Beach Road.... it is astonishing how many of the house numbers have the same names more than 20 years later! We even crossed over "the slough" to "snake island" and sat where we used to sit among the no-no bushes with out feet dangling over the embankment. The beef farm is still there (I wonder if he still shoots at kids).

We walked back to our favourite stretch of beach, and Kimber's house has been replaced by a lovely structure (I'd wager over $1.5 million now). It's original charm and wild-ness is completely gone, but the new thing is very nice too. We took our time walking back to the resort... we saw hundreds if not thousands of little crabs, the likes of which USED to send me screaming in terror:

Oh look, a jelly fish....

OH! LOOK! A JELLY FISH! (we saw a few of these monsters)

Some poor bedraggled and limping mammal climbed off the beach and up someones path, I think it was an otter:

This seagull didn't much like the looks of us.

We arrived back at out room in plenty of time to get ready for our dinner reservations.

The view from our table was gorgeous, and our waiter was attentive and funny and helpful with our questions, and we ate a really AMAZING meal. I had a Pinot Noir to compliment my meal of curried mussels appetiser, a beef tenderloin entree and finished with a blackberry dessert confection that was to die for!!! I was so full that I was ready to burst, but it was too good to leave anything on my plate. Sis had a tuna maki for starters, the 8oz sirloin entree and the citrus goat cheese cheesecake. She complimented this with a minty mohito drink and finished with a decaf coffee.

OH WE WERE FULL!

Thought of maybe going in the hottub was not so appealing with an alarmingly full tummy.

We made it back to the room and did the "satin hands" treatment that I had packed, and a clay facemask, and peppermint foot rubs... hey why not!? Then we popped the girly-movie "27 dresses" in the DVD player, watching into the wee hours and each taking over our own queen sized bed..... ah, what a luxury!

Next morning, my internal clock insisted I get up at the regular time, sorry sis.

So I snuck off to have a very long shower at 7:30 am.

Sis woke soon too and we actually got ready in record time, seeing no reason to put it off, we checked out pretty early and headed into Courtenay for the memory-lane tour of the valley. We drove by NEARLY every house we lived in, and oogled at the lovely character homes. We gasped at what had changed, and what was the same and just enjoyed the whole thing. Then we went to Winners and did a bit of shopping, (I had that birthday party to go to later). We made it back to the Resort for brunch.

Let me just stop right here and say I have never seen anything like it!!!!!!

Anything you could imagine for breakfast and then some! I wish I had the nerve to take a picture! I tried only about 1/3 of what was there (and only tiny bits of each too) and I was SO FULL that it made the night before look like a snack! I did get a picture of the chocolate mousse that I simply could not leave behind... I stared at it for a very very very long while before getting the courage to try to fit it inside my mouth.

Sis and I were laughing for the silliness of it... but everything was so GOOD.

We had to walk the grounds for a bit after that, and then lie on the lawn looking at the flowers for a bit before we could feel comfortable enough to go anywhere.

The drive home was easy, and then I went to T's sister's B-day dinner (I didn't eat much, I can tell you that)

*Spa pictures from the Kingfisher Inn website.