Pengelly Pastimes

First light

2011-12-21T07:39:00.001-08:00

We may have found Dad's favourite eatery

2011-12-13T13:03:00.001-08:00

We're at The Library. Quiet. Ornately decorated. Good food. Great service!

Not sure about the girlies. ..... But Daddy likes 'em!

Why we bored our puppy……………

2011-12-07T20:54:00.001-08:00

We traded in our Pontiac g6 for a new car this week!!

There were problems with it in its current use so we thought best do it while it still has good trade in value.

The problems were 3 fold.

1. The trunk opening was about 3/4 of an inch too tight for Dad’s folding wheelchair/walker leaving me struggling with a 38 pound weight that keeps unfolding whilst I am trying to get it folded just right and shove it in there.

Picture Laurel and Hardy – without Hardy and a short recalcitrant ladder or alternatively a cackling ferret viewing the trunk as a paper bag it doesn’t want to go in.

Either way that was me you heard swearing.

2. Dad has difficulty getting in and out of the G6 due to seat shape and door slope. The seat has a bit of lip on it and because it’s a coupe the opening is teardrop shaped. Making it hard to get his bum in without hitting his noggin. And even harder to get out of.

3. It was sucking back 3 extra tanks of gas per month thanks to the increased driving I’m doing now that M&D are here with me.

We could hear the dinosaurs groaning.

So …………

We got a Hyundai Accent 2012.

It’s small.

Really small.

Claims to have GrEaT mileage. Fingers crossed on that.

Hatchback for the wheelchair. I tested it and it was easy peasy plus I had room for my box of winter stuff(cables, first aid kit, emergency blanket etc) and even a bag of groceries.

Ok I admit you can’t feed two teenaged boyz on 1 bag of groceries but there is a back seat for the other 40 6 bags.

The passenger entry is more straight forward, no lip on the seat, and there’s a handle above the door for Dad to grab on the way out. Haven’t tested it with Dad yet but again all fingers are crossed.

So we know it will fit Dad & his paraphernalia.

Thanks to the 60/40 split bench in the back it will also fit 2 snowboards, 1 pair of skis, 3 people, the requisite boots and lunch……. which coincidentally is exactly the number of items/people I need to ferry to W2O on powder days!

They call the colour Mocha Bronze. Read brown. Like a mink.

Fab warrantee. 5 years/100000 Km bumper to bumper with road side assistance no Km limit.

Say goodbye BCAA!

We take delivery Saturday. Pix to follow!

Mommy & Daddy are buying a car

2011-12-06T12:29:00.001-08:00

And I'm bored

Hanukkah comes to Mountain Lake Seniors Community

2011-12-04T17:40:00.001-08:00

In A World Where Pizza Is Recognized As A Vegetable…

2011-11-29T10:59:00.001-08:00

this makes perfect sense

I’m talking to you American Congress!

Who says men don't love to be pampered?

2011-11-17T13:48:00.001-08:00

Oops.....

2011-11-12T21:33:00.001-08:00

Mommy put my cone on upside down. Dinner anyone?

Darn, she fixed it!

Blogging from my iPhone

2011-11-11T15:18:00.001-08:00

Poor baby!

Hello Woody?

2011-10-26T11:47:00.000-07:00

Ok I know it’s fuzzy but I was trying to hang to Hiro’s leash, focus my iphone and not scare off the biggest woodpecker I have ever seen!

Belated Thanksgiving notes

2011-10-17T17:15:00.001-07:00

I managed to get my 92 year old father into my home last week. First thing we noticed was the lack of railings on the basement stairs as well as the main floor landing. The Mench installed them on Thanksgiving

Hiro was very interested in the proceedings

Lucky for the puppy he wasn’t opening up the wall eh?

Making The Move To Nelson

2011-08-24T09:10:00.001-07:00

THANKS SASKATCHEWAN!

2011-08-20T15:12:00.001-07:00

Made My Day!

2011-05-08T14:35:00.001-07:00

SNOW ON APRIL 17??? What the …………..

2011-04-17T20:59:00.001-07:00

Oh right …

The Mench put on my summer tires this morning.

‘Nuf said!

Wh2O’s last day

2011-04-10T11:17:00.001-07:00

Wh2O Celebrations

2011-04-04T12:56:00.001-07:00

So this is the Kootenays………….where celebrations are just a bit different.

This my friend Barbara the first to successfully bridge the gap!

A feat not everyone could accomplish

Oscar gave it a Trojan try

But for my money this guy was the hands down winner!

We rounded out the day with the Downhills for Dummies race

Here’s the before

And after!

Winter Fun

2011-03-26T12:48:00.001-07:00

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Should have done this yesterday………….

2011-03-21T10:30:00.001-07:00

Yesterday there were a lot of posts on foodie blogs about Hamantashen dough being difficult to make.

‘My’ recipe for Hamantashen dough was given to me by an elderly convert I met when I moved to the back of the beyond where (I thought) there were no other Jews. (Yeah yeah I know yer all laughin’ at with me – but y’all thought the same when you came here too)

This dough rolls and rerolls endlessly making lovely hamantashen.

My problem isn’t the dough. It’s the fillings. I always end up with too much - have to make more cookie dough - then I don't have enough filling - so I have to make more filling - resulting in an ~~almost~~ endless loop.

so with gratitude to Thelma of blessed memory – her recipes and instructions…..

Dough:

4 eggs
1 C oil
3/4 c sugar
1 orange, juice & rind
1 tsp almond extract/or vanilla
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp sour cream
4 C flour (she used whole wheat, I use 1/2 & 1/2)

Makes a very moist dough. I make a ball out of it. Then I pull off a lump to make a smaller ball. This I roll out 1/4" thick with plenty of flour on my board. It will stick if you don't use enough flour. After I cut out the rounds I scoop up the between bits add some fresh dough,re-flour the board and roll out again.

Filling:

1/2 lb raisins

1 lb prunes

1/4 lb dates

poppyseeds

1/4 c honey

nuts

lemon juice or cardamum for bite

To her notes I would add:

As I cut out the rounds I get my kids to do the stuffing and origami work.

Rolling it out thin is important. Too thick and dough get tough when cooked.

And don't overfill or they open up when they cook.

1 recipe makes about 95 small hamantachen.

Which really ought to be plenty but as I said matching the filling recipe to the dough recipe isn’t my forte.

I usually end up with 300 or more!

Mind you every last one of ‘em gets et!

Knitting a Secret, together

2011-02-20T17:09:00.000-08:00

For The Mench’s b’day on January 23 I decided to make him a sweater. Oh sure I’ve taught knitting to grade schoolers but truth be known I’ve never knit anything more complex than a striped sock. Socks are a bit complex it’s true. But they are small. At least mine are.

I bought the wool on December 1. My friend Gez promised to mentor me. I thought I had plenty of time….. she wasn’t so sure. But more about time later.

In early December I had the most amazing visit with my Mom. But I couldn’t post about it……………because ………… my mommy knitted near on two rows of my secret sweater.

When I took the knitting out of my bag a shy smile crossed her face. In a moment she asked if she could try. What an amazing thing to see that though her mind is foggy and confused her hands were sure and knowing with the needles.

Over the next five days we passed my knitting back and forth over and over again. While my heart soared.

Somewhere along the way I made a mistake in the colour pattern. By the time I noticed we were several rows past the problem. I had to repeat that mistake in all the other pieces – no way was I pulling out a single stitch knitted by Mom. I’m calling it a design element now.

Did I make the deadline? Well yes. Just 15 minutes before we took The Mench out for dinner. And only because Hair One sewed in all my ends whilst Gez blocked the final finished section while I sewed the arms on. And the two of us feverishly sewed the remaining seams together – one on each side!

And so with special thanks to Gez and Hair One I present……

Happy 55th Boychik

Hi loves you!

And her Mommy does too!

Hi Rides

2011-02-05T21:03:00.001-08:00

Got off the lift twice accompanied but unassisted And stayed on her feet. Result!

Mom Paints!

2011-01-03T13:03:00.001-08:00

How fabulous is that?

…BUT WHO’S COUNTING????

2010-12-29T00:28:00.001-08:00

Gingerbread Tardis!

2010-12-28T18:15:00.001-08:00

Hell must have frozen over………….

2010-12-26T18:12:00.001-08:00

What she said

2010-12-16T19:51:00.001-08:00

Here

True

Teenaged Hairs Cats…..

2010-12-11T22:44:00.002-08:00

I’m just sayin……………. sounds familiar to me……….

NGIP This one’s for you!

2010-12-01T13:40:00.001-08:00

My Second NGIP Moment

2010-11-29T18:03:00.001-08:00

And me with no camera.

Me, whose hand bag is really just a repository for small electronic devices – phones, ipods, cameras etc etc.

I feverishly dug through said purse and found nada not even a sketch book.

Margaret, I’m so sorry to have let you down. You’ll have to settle for a word picture.

Last Friday I drove down Nelson’s main street which we perversely call Baker St.

Outside The Royal, which is a bar not a hospital for the Brits who read me, at 8:45 am someone had a goat tied to a parking meter.

Seriously!

Who thinks I’m heading into town for a breakfast beer I think I’ll take my goat???

I phoned the local paper so you never know I may be able to furnish a visual at some point.

Doppleganger……

2010-11-21T14:39:00.001-08:00

A tangible double of a living person that typically represents evil.

So isn’t this guy really

just this guy with floppy ears and better clothes?

And isn’t this thing just an octagonal version of …….

Hello Precious?

THANKS DADDY

2010-11-11T12:51:00.001-08:00

For the freedom you fought for yesterday

that I enjoy today.

Nov 11, 2010

A Change Is As Good As A Rest

2010-11-07T20:00:00.001-08:00

We needed to get the carpets cleaned so the living rooms – up & down – had to be emptied. Now when you empty a room there is always the question of whether or not all that left the room should in fact return.

Downstairs much has changed as the ~~boys~~ ~~young men~~ Hairs updated their space to reflect their ~~grown up~~ teenaged selves. See if you can guess who did what???

Old:

New:

Whilst upstairs the Mensch & (h)I did a little rearranging of our own!

Thanks to the addition of this little bundle of energy

the wicker sculpture Hair Two gave me had be relocated to ~~the dungeon~~ my studio where nary a soul could see it. But thank goodness for high school woodshop.

I was presented by the self same Hair with a shelf upon which to safely – and out of reach - display said sculpture just last week.

Old:

New:

I miss Yu(l)

2010-11-03T19:16:00.001-07:00

So the other day on FB I saw this photo

of I know not who that made me think of Yu(l)

and suddenly I am filled with nostalgia.

So I google Yu(l)

and come up with more yummy I know not who

Breathtaking isn’t he? The credits say his name is Djimon Hounsou which is hard to pronounce when yer drooling.

A country ode to The Mench

2010-10-19T10:30:00.001-07:00

Ok so I always knew the naysayers were cracked but the rest of this song is

to use a 70's term

RIGHT ON!

Love you baby....

Furry Friday with Audio

2010-10-15T10:50:00.000-07:00

The Colour Purple

2010-10-03T16:55:00.001-07:00

Took the pressure bandage off today. Eeeeuuuuuwww……

This bruising is on the back and way above the knee…. What’s up with that

And check out the IV site!

Can you spell B-O-R-E-D!

2010-09-30T14:05:00.001-07:00

Sitting like this….

Thanks to this….

And here we have

The Planets of the Knee….

g’head interpret that…..

I dare ya!

Ok Alberta what’s up with this????

2010-09-20T17:57:00.001-07:00

I drove to Calgary for Yom Kippur…

on September 16th….

Love Everlasting

2010-09-13T17:58:00.001-07:00

Ok I’m just having toooooo much fun with this new smiley box….

חג שמח

2010-09-09T13:05:00.000-07:00

Edward Who???

2010-09-01T21:34:00.001-07:00

Just spent 88 minutes trying to decide which Team Jacob to belong to….

Taylor Lautnor

or the steamy new parody guy…..

from Vampires Suck!

It’s all about the boy….

2010-08-20T18:00:00.001-07:00

This picture collage personalized with Smilebox

Felicitations & Jubilations

2010-08-09T16:38:00.000-07:00

Create a free digital greeting card

First Try with Smilebox

2010-08-07T12:06:00.001-07:00

This collage personalized with Smilebox

For those subscribed via RSS or Atom I apologize for the duplicate post. I decided to upgrade to the premium version to see what difference there really is before I buy into a subscription…… oh and I replace the very grainy picture of little Quinn with a great one Nath sent of Betty ……. and since premium lets me use my own music library I decided to have our own Laurence provide the soundtrack.

Top five reasons to give your son a driving lesson

2010-08-03T17:29:00.001-07:00

or questions I’ve heard since he got home from work today:

5. Are we out of milk? I could drive you down to buy some.

4. If I eat all the pickles now we’ll need more before tomorrow. I could drive you down to buy some.

3. Maybe one of your friends who lives downtown needs help. Perhaps I could give you a ride there?

2. If I wash my hands can I have a driving lesson?

1. If you are going to blog about me you should give me a lesson so you can blog about the experience.

and a fabulous time was had by all……

2010-07-24T15:57:00.001-07:00

This year we decided to meet our friends


Pierre	& Louise

for our summer holiday.

We’re in BC and they live just outside Montreal so we thought we’d meet half way.

Which as it turns out is

No offense to ~~Thunderbayans~~ ~~Thunderbayites~~ Thunderbytes but that’s spittin’ distance to Toronto where The Mench hails from so we decided to ~~descend on family~~ meet there.

Of course we stopped in Calgary for a visit with M&D

Where I finally got to see

the new Skype set up

that Josh put in for us

in Dad’s room.

Found this

great shot taken

of Mom on an

outing with her caregiver

And got another keeper of her with my men folk.

Then it was on to the Big City

View Full Album

Did you know that even in this huge city you can find wildlife?

And nervous nephew’s-in-law?

(Sorry Kev – this picture is to good not to share)

All to soon it was time to fly back to Calgary

Where this little fellow was waiting to greet us

So tell us Nath – what be he?

What I didn’t get a shot of was the huge jackrabbit that was watching me take this shot. But if I had he would have looked just like this guy cause he was exactly this close!

Back in Calgary I managed a shot of Dad.

And then we moved on to Fernie for our last night away. Their French school has one of the nicest playgrounds we’ve seen so we stopped to check that out.

Before we headed off for dinner

Where sat in our own little room

With our own little stack of Japanese plates

Not!

And that, my friends, was that!

Licensed to Learn

2010-07-02T12:41:00.001-07:00

Congratulations Hair One!

Furry Friday – who’s cutest

2010-06-18T15:23:00.000-07:00

You decide

Hair Two Goes CLippety CLop

2010-06-15T21:52:00.001-07:00

Are we there yet?????

Yup.'

Cue country bang and twang

Just turn me loose, let me straddle my old saddle
Underneath the western skies
On my cayuse, let me wander over yonder
Till I see the mountains rise

The girls stayed in these cute little cabins

The boyz??? Not so much

Church basement sleepover on the way home

Check out the chaperones!!!!

Motivational Device

2010-05-31T21:10:00.001-07:00

On long trips the family ~~sherpas~~ ~~parents~~ drivers have often wished for another ~~licensed driver~~ muggins.

Now that Hair One is SIXTEEN

We think we’ve spotted one…...

Meet the $250 Road Warrior…………….

Break out the books boy, you need a learner’s license now!

16 Candles………….

2010-05-29T18:50:00.000-07:00

is such a nice song………………but not Hair One’s style

Love YOU!

Furry Friday Returns

2010-05-21T16:47:00.000-07:00

Decisions Decisions

2010-05-17T10:13:00.001-07:00

A local hotel does a Mother’s Day brunch with complimentary photo.

This year’s photographer Bobbi Barbarich sat me on really high stool so my head would be closer to the Hair’s and the Mench’s who all out height me by too many inches for good portraiture at this point.

So there I was with me wee feet flappin’ in the breeze.

What can you do but giggle?

And then snap a really great shot when no one’s looking!

followed by a lovely ‘who the heck are those composed people’ shot!

I have to choose one these to be my freebie and one to be my suitable for framing shot.

Vote for your favourite in the comments. Maybe that’ll help me decide!

PS thanks to Bobbi for avoiding the chicken neck shot I was dreading

Things that piss me off

2010-05-10T19:34:00.001-07:00

That’ll teach Sparx to give me license to rant. Instant ~~gratification~~ swearing.

Ok this my #1 pet peeve

“See honey your brain only needs protection when you are a kid. Once you are an adult it’s too late to prevent terminal stupidity”.

When I see bareheaded parents riding with little ones like this I want to slap them upside the head! And yes Bradley I do mean you!

Running a close second is this guy

I was looking for a photo of an ~~cyclist~~ idiot with his helmet dangling from his handlebars so I could caption it thusly “Wait …freeze frame…….we pause the accident in progress for helmet donning” but I guess I’ll have to text it to this buffoon!

I’m supposed to come up with 7 of these but this has already spiked my blood pressure and Gah knows if my blood pressure is going to be spiked I can think of much better reasons for it than gong on and on about things that piss me off.

For example:

I’m supposed to pass this meme on blah blah blah but I think I’ll just pour a glass of wine and contemplate my boy Lance instead.

Whose helmet faux pas is completely forgiven in consideration of splendid ………. nope nothing else needs to be said… just splendid!

Talk amongst yourselves.

Chicken Sales Are Over!

2010-04-30T00:10:00.001-07:00

<a href="http://zefrank.bandcamp.com/track/chillout">chillout by zefrank</a>

Fundraising – A Waldorf Parent’s Ritual

2010-04-22T22:07:00.001-07:00

Every year starting in Class 3 Waldorf kids go on a trip. The first one is usually a close to home camping trip. They escalate every year after that. Our Class 4 goes to Fort Steele, BC to reenact pioneer life for a few days. Class 5 meet with other Class 5’s from several schools to hold Greek style Olympics. Class 6 goes on a 3 day bike trip. Class 7 does the ropes course and big camping trip. It all culminates in Class 8 with a really special trip (like this one), graduation, yearbook etc etc.

Common thread here?

Ka ching!

So we fundraise. A common one is selling bags of free run chickens or turkeys. My kids are only one grade apart. Consequently I am on my fourth round of birds.

Meet our mascot – Goose

And this is how far we’ve gotten to date.

Sparx’d again

2010-04-12T20:50:00.001-07:00

Nostalgia often happens when Sparx posts. Recently she posted her Spud’s Sunday morning pastime………….the ubiquitous ~~eurorail~~ Brio.

Long about now y’all are assuming I’m going to wax on about Hair’s One and Two and their ~~obsessive compulsive disorders~~ love affairs with small wooden objects.

So while this rant could have been about Brio

Or the oft enjoyed - and still used to this day! - Kapla blocks

It is, in fact, about neither and both --- in an oblique sort of way.

‘Cause this post harks back to the days when this 4 pound pussy was Queen ~~Of All She Surveyed~~ our house.

Back then the Brio and the Kapla lived in early American milk crates in the corner of our living room. (I know, I know retro chic - sigh). A friend asked us if we would ~~baby~~ kitty sit the youngest of her four cats whilst she went away for a litter free weekend. Well why not eh?

Where Not is spelled P-i-x-i-e.

She took one look at the interloper and sauntered over to the milk crates. Climbing aboard she delicately placed her paws on the edges and squatted. Pausing to catch my eye she stared pointedly at the kitten; shifted her gaze to me and finally – dramatically - back to the kitten

just before she

PEED all over my children’s favourite toys.

Her point, as they say, was taken.

In a shade under one hour the toys were enjoying a tour of the inside of the dishwasher and the kitten had been driven to another friend for the duration.

1 in 500 now lives here

2010-04-05T09:00:00.000-07:00

Y’all know how I yapped on an on about the redecorating being about this stone wall or maybe those new curtains

Well actually it had a lot more to do with a gift.

A remarkably generous gift.

An Angelika Werth!

Who is Angelika Werth you may well ask. Well she be the felting diva whose work graced this call for submissions.

Angelika lives right here in ~~River City~~ Nelson BC and I have been fortunate enough to visit her works regularly at a local gallery. And even more fortunate to have her mentor my work in many ways from setting an example to giving sage advice and heartfelt encouragement.

Anyway back to the gift. My dear friend Anat decided to gift me with:

Birds on a Wire

A stunning piece that demands pride of place.

But which I was sure I heard crying softly when it was held up to said yellow walls with a view to choosing just such a location.

It needed to be out of direct sunlight.

It’s a big piece; long and narrow.

Like a fine southern lady it’s a piece that makes an entrance.

No really I mean it makes ~~the~~ an entrance.

And even better, thanks to the living room’s window cut out, this is my view from the couch

I am so blessed!

GOGGY BED OK BUT SERIOUSLY LACKS ELEGANCE AND DISPLAY OPTIONS

2010-04-04T20:39:00.000-07:00

Broken…. what’s broken??

2010-04-03T20:31:00.001-07:00

What are you on about??????? Nothing’s broken here!

Quite typically when we finished painting the front room the foyer looked rather ~~neglected~~ yellow. So a new colour was chosen and a very very very tall ladder was borrowed.

So tall in fact that I chickened out and sent Hair Two up it instead. Are there laws about child labour in this country? Maybe but not in my foyer right?

And a remarkably fine job he did too! Except for the part where his head came into contact with the lamp shade.

I’ve never really liked that lamp.

Less so now.

Good thing he made that basketry sculpture at school though eh!

Waaayy cheaper than buying a new lamp!

Cat’s are soooooooo…….

2010-03-26T20:13:00.000-07:00

~~laid back~~ dramatic!

Sorry Bossy – Poverty Rules…..

2010-03-23T23:11:00.001-07:00

Remember this little idea we had for saving money over the holidays?

Occasioning the need for new curtains…………….

purchased on sale of course.

Do those new curtains look happy with the yellow walls to you?

I’m thinking not so much

At least paint’s cheap!

We’ve the borrow of a dog for a few weeks

2010-03-03T23:34:00.001-08:00

Meet Malika

who like most dogs came complete with collar, lead and of course

~~cat~~ ~~dog~~ cat bed

Slinky’s not sure about the goggy but the bed can stay!

Pengelly Wildlife Park

2010-02-13T09:33:00.001-08:00

Saturday Feb 13 at 9 am

I made it off the chair lift….

2010-01-18T21:01:00.001-08:00

by the skin of my thighy thigh thigh

CAN YOU SPELL OUCH

A Simpler Winter Holiday – NOT

2010-01-13T19:16:00.001-08:00

This year the Mench and Hairs and (h)I decided to simplify the holidays.

“Let’s get one big family gift” we reasoned “instead of lot of little stuff we don’t really need or want.”

One thing that would meet the needs of all of us.

Where needs are defined as something really ~~useful and meaningful~~ superfluous and shallow.

Meet “The Needs”.

Which necessitated a complete restructuring of the ~~family room~~ movie studio.

and

new curtains.

Hello….privacy!

Goodbye…..bank account!

Talk About Yer Legs In The Air!!!!

2010-01-13T12:23:00.001-08:00

Flower Floozie!

This New Year I Resolve

2010-01-06T19:44:00.001-08:00

To make no resolutions what so ever. There I said it. I do not wish to improve my Self in any fashion what so ever. Anyway I quit smoking 20 years ago and I’m still dining out on that success.

However In a surprise turn of events this New Year’s Eve I unexpectedly took up ~~skiing~~ snowboarding. Like on snow, on a mountain. This one to be precise:

Despite the joys of the ~~rack~~ rope tow on the ~~death defying incline~~ bunny hill I think I kind of like it.

Admittedly I spent more time on my keester than I did on my feet but I’m goin’ again.

HEY MIKIE!!!

Tiki Hanukiah in our yard

2009-12-17T22:25:00.001-08:00

What A Difference A Day (or two) Makes

2009-10-26T11:06:00.001-07:00

dinah washington - what a difference a day make songs
Free Music | free Mp3

Saturday

Today

A Dragon Comes Full Circle!

2009-10-12T16:02:00.001-07:00

At Waldorf schools around the world performing the story of St. George and the The Dragon is an annual tradition. At our school Classes One, Two, Three and Four form the main cast with Class Eight being The Dragon. Kindergartens, the other classes and parents are the audience.

When Hair One was in his second year of Kindergarten I went up with my then 5 year old Hair Two to see the play. Hair Two was really enjoying the play and all was well until he saw The Dragon. He was convinced The Dragon was real! I had to take him off behind the main building until the play finished. Later he saw the Dragon’s ‘skin’ laying on the ground and got even more upset. No amount of explanation would console him.

For week’s afterwards I had to park on the school driveway instead of in the parking lot because Hair Two would not go up to the school in case the Dragon was home. When the snow flew we managed to convince him that dragons hibernate and regular service to the parking lot resumed. The following year as a young kindergartener himself he bravely sat through the whole play…. though not without some trepidation.

This year Hair Two was the Head of the Dragon!

Mary Mary

2009-10-12T15:20:00.001-07:00

where you goin’ to???

Could it be the karaoke bar……………..

to celebrate your 23 34 43 ?? b’day!

Mary, Mary can I go too???

(Lucky for you there is no audio to go with these shots!)

And we leave you with this little ditty

……..

PS I apologize for the unsteady, hootin’ n hollerin’ camera jockey – what can I say it took a little lubricating to get me up on that stage!

My first NGIP Moment Happened In Olympia

2009-09-25T14:55:00.000-07:00

This one’s for you Margaret!

This woolly moment brought to you by…

2009-09-22T14:26:00.000-07:00

Faith (the person not the attribute) in Tonino

and Patience (the attribute not the person) in Olympia

The Mench & the Hairs went off to discover nature on their own whilst I created a lovely new shawl mentored by Faith Hagenhofer.

Port Townsend: A vacationer’s cornucopia

2009-09-21T14:03:00.001-07:00

Every shop had banners out to welcome the tourists.

The aquarium had hands on (and occasionally in) exhibits.

The beaches came with complete with bull kelp skipping
ropes to play with and para-surfers to watch.

We looked at local fauna and they looked at us.

We even went kayaking but you’ll have to imagine that photo because we lost the camera we used that day.

‘nuf said……

2009-09-03T19:17:00.000-07:00

After narrowly missing the toll booth

2009-09-03T18:48:00.000-07:00

We watched the sunset from deck of the ferry from Whidbey Island to Port Townsend

How do you spell picturesque??

2009-09-02T18:13:00.000-07:00

C-0-U-P-V-I-L-L-E on Whidbey Island

Some like it hot…

2009-09-01T18:09:00.001-07:00

If you think Canada has no deserts think again…..

Osoyoos, BC was a blistering 38 C. and packs the cacti to prove it!

Tent trailer??? No way…………

2009-09-01T10:15:00.001-07:00

It’s the posh life for us now!!!

Our first stop was in Manning Park where we stayed in the biggest hotel room we’d ever seen with two enormous open plan rooms.

until that is we saw this one in Port Townsend at the Water Street Hotel which turned out to be a veritable apartment!

	Each boy had a space of his own with a big comfy couch bed.
There was a full kitchen with all mod cons including my personal favourite; a gas stove.
	We had a huge bedroom of our own with a couch, tv, two closets and best of all…….. a door.
And a washroom twice the size of the one at home.

Gotta love that internet research for trip planning.

Oh and did I mention that both rooms were under $160 Cdn/night.

So Long, Farewell……

2009-08-30T20:43:00.001-07:00

Unfortunately not a reprise of this little ditty featuring Bossy’s daughter

Instead it’s bon voyage to our old faithful tent trailer

which took us to all these wonderful places…………

I hope her new family enjoys her as much as we did.

Gone But Not Forgotten

2009-08-08T12:03:00.001-07:00

We recently returned Smitten Kitten to the SPCA because he had taken to pooping ….. well really anywhere but the litter box. We had hoped that with the spring he would learn to go out of doors. But no such luck. Instead he raced indoors whenever nature(?)called.

After months of trying every method the vet could think of to retrain him we bowed to the inevitable…….. so long as he lived in our house he would only use the box if confined to a very small room. That’s no life. We are hoping that after retraining he will do better in a new placement.

Fizgig has also left us. Though we know not where or why.
But our best guess would be that a coyote got her.

Here are the last shots we had of them.


Smitten	Fizgig

How was your day at work??

2009-08-06T20:44:00.001-07:00

Mine was a little of this……

and a little of that……

We’re Havin’ a Heat Wave, A Tropical Heat Wave…..

2009-08-01T17:35:00.001-07:00

You know it’s hot in Canada

when the wildlife heads to the ~~beach~~ pool

On Wednesday evening Metro Vancouver reached

33.8/92.84 F

beating the August 9, 1960 record of 33.3 C/91.94 F.

Comox was a tinder dry

35.2 C/95.36 F

breaking the previous record of 34.4 C/93.92 F set on July 11, 1961.

The Fraser Valley topped out at

38 C/100.4 F

smashing the July 11, 2007 record temperature of 37.9 C/100.22 F.

And Bella Coola reached a scorching

41.2 C/106.16 F

obliterating the August 7 1930 record of 37.8 C/100.04 F
by……. well you do the math!

20 Years Ago Yesterday……………

2009-07-24T19:50:00.001-07:00

The Mench got Hi(tched)

So of course he gave her

And in the proper anniversarial tradition
gifts were exchanged

He gave her a green shirt
	And she gave him a green shirt

followed by a romantic dinner out

and a show

But not this version
	nor yet this one

rather it was the live (summer camp) version

right here in ~~River City~~ at home

Ah Love’s ~~young~~ middle-aged dream

Blessings & Good Cheer

Employed At Last, Employed at Last

2009-07-21T11:38:00.001-07:00

Great

~~God Almighty Absolute Being, All Knowing, All Powerful, Allah, Almighty, Creator, Divine Being, Holy Spirit, Infinite Spirit, prime mover, soul, spirit, totem, universal life force, world spirit~~

Deity of your Choice

employed at last!

I'm doing secretarial for Kris Witt, an accountant with a home office.

Nice office. Nice people. Nice clients.

Comes complete with great perennial gardens to walk in at lunch time and two free cats!

Blessings & Good Cheer

Oh Canada La, la, la, la, la, la……………..

2009-07-21T01:51:00.001-07:00

Or in fact this………………

EH! men

Poxification #3

2009-07-05T09:48:00.001-07:00

Katherine’s all about eye candy over on The Last Visible Dog
ecturshi - the view of KC's butt in the minds eye.

Did I say Road Trip

2009-07-04T16:17:00.001-07:00

I could just as easily have said

Bike Trip

Besides our luggage we were carrying 2 of Hair Two’s 3 bikes – road & mountain. We left the trick bike at home.

On our second day in Calgary the plan for the day included biking. We set off to a nearby jump park after breakfast.

It had rained during the night but Hair Two was determined. The clay mud stuck to every part of the bike. He spent more time pulling wads of muck off the bike than jumping.

Back at the house he hosed it down. When he was finished cleaning it he found that the rear wheel was wobbly.

It was a sad and sorry moment.

Tuesday we headed out to Canada Olympic Park where Hair Two

	Jumped
Rode Flat Logs
	Rode Bumpy Logs

Flew Off Logs
	And Jumped Some More

We had to rent him a bike because it turned out he had broken the axle on his in all that mud.

He rode the skills park at the bottom for about an hour and then used his lift ticket to get up to the big trails/jumps.

Thankfully mommies can’t see that bit.

After we repaired him………

he crash landed the last jump of the day ……..

the road rash looks worse than it actually is .……………

He lived to ride the bike that ~~Jack built~~ Uncle Paul repaired another day.

Calgary: Yet Another Road Trip

2009-07-04T15:33:00.001-07:00

The ~~skinny~~ verbose version.

My Big Sis went on a much needed respite retreat so I went to Calgary to visit The Grands whilst she was away. Hair Two came with me…. fer company and fer to lift and carry.

We arrived on a Sunday and went directly to M&D’s for a visit. They were surprised and pleased to see us. Mom couldn’t connect our labels at all but she knew us. Hair Two received the first of many requests to cut his hair. All of which he received with grace.

Mom wasn’t alone in her desire for him to have a more manly hair style. Albertans, it seems…… from waiters to gas jockeys………..took him to be a girl.

I can’t see it myself but whenever he spoke the (new) low tones of his voice raised eyebrows………….and erased all doubt!

For our first three days we stayed with the ~~Anonymous’s~~ ~~Anonymousi~~ Anonymouses of Sparx. A state in which they wish to remain so no photos. Well just the one.

Hair Two fell in love with Sandy and she with him.

Wedding Announcements
To Follow

To the astonishment of Hair Two Sir Anonymous is possessed of a Wii. He can’t get over the idea of a grandfather who not only owns a gaming console but actually plays with it! He waxed said anonymous at baseball but got his comeuppance later in bowling. Or maybe it was the other way around. No matter…. they had fun.

(B&H -- thanks again for the great stay!!! Also to T&B for the next two days and Uncle Paul for the last night!)

On Wednesday I finally met Dad’s doc. He said Dad seems to be settling better these last few weeks exhibiting less anxiety about Mom’s ‘brain cancer’. He got out the chart to show me that Dad has been gaining weight slowly but steadily for months now. Which the doc takes as a very good sign.

I didn’t meet Mom’s doc but I did meet the head nurse, Natty who said she hasn’t had to see Mom for skin problems in weeks, another good sign. Mom’s pressure leggings were on everyday we were there and she is taking her meds now quite willingly.

Dad complained a lot that he’s “gone stone deaf”. They had syringed his ears on Monday already and Natty did it again on Wednesday. There was some improvement but he does indeed seem quite hard of hearing.

Mind you Hair Two thinks some of the hearing loss is selective. He noticed that Dad had a harder time hearing me if I was saying something he didn’t want to hear – like “no we’re not going out today” whereas “do you want chocolate?” was heard every time!

Thursday we arrived to find Dad asleep… but dressed to go out. We left him to nap and went to get Mom.

As I legged off down the hallway to get her I walked right past her…………

and she called out; “Helen?”

It was the first and only time she used my name.

I felt like a million bucks!

We took her downstairs to sit in the sun in the courtyard. We sat in the sun for almost an hour until I began to worry she’d get a sunburn. When Dad awoke we took him out to mall for a haircut. We got him home just in time for dinner so we left the two of them to talk about their day.

On Friday we took them both down to the courtyard. We enjoyed the sun, the squirrels and the birds for almost 2 hours in the shade provided by the gazebo. After which we took them upstairs for supper. We left them to it and went to get some sweet treats. Hair Two chose two sorts of cake and we returned with those. They loved the special cakes. We finally left around 7:30. On the way out we met another friend on his way in……..with a challah to share with M&D for Shabbos.

On Saturday we kept the visit short because we were leaving, spending most of it with Mom. Dad wasn’t up yet and didn’t want to know. He hates goodbyes.

Me too.

Positively Dizzifying

2009-06-15T19:51:00.001-07:00

Hair One graduated from Class 8 at our Waldorf School on Friday last.

His final ~~class trip~~ hurrah with the class was a sailing trip aboard

The Adventuress

One of the opportunities offered to the kids was the chance to do this:

Character building stuff that!

NOT!

2009-06-11T09:56:00.001-07:00

It's not broken!

Wooohooo.

The second xray showed no signs of healing....which means it wasn't broken.
The hindsight diagnosis is that it was a severe sprain. The treatment for a such a sprain is 10 days in a splint!

Hair Two would never have left it in a splint for 10 whole days if it were not for the 'it might be broken' card I got to play every time he begged to take it off.

So all is Shakespearean here................

Are We Having Fun Yet?

2009-05-28T16:38:00.001-07:00

Not so much..…

My dad who lives in an old age home is throwing wobblies. He thinks my sister & I have been withholding information about our mother having ‘brain cancer’.

She has dementia.

So does he.

I haven’t managed a conversation with my mom since Mother’s day – when she didn’t know who I was.

My sister has been too ill herself to visit them, making it all worse

Still fundraising like mad for Hair One’s class trip, yearbook, grad etc etc not to mention helping with the planning and doing of those events.

Just taken over the treasurer position for Hair Two’s class. More fundraising & planning.

Planning for Hair One’s 15th b’day tomorrow and our first teen party on Saturday (yikes!)

Still unemployed but who has time to work!

and then there’s Hair Two’s broken wrist.

Or maybe not. X-ray’s were inconclusive. The bones don’t show a break but the growth plate is suspiciously sensitive. Apparently fractures to the growth plate sometimes do not show at first. So it’s splinted for the next 10 days and the next x-ray will tell us. So the doctor says.

His fingers are lovely (very) pale lavender – though that could be less about bruising than how still he is holding them.

And yes just in case you are counting - because Lord knows I am -- this would be my fourth trip to the ER in just over a year and the second time for the same wrist!

If you have ‘happy families’ story to tell I could sure use one right now! Leave me a comment.

Blessing & Good Cheer

Helen + ilana = Hi

Who is trying to ignore the slightly sore sensation in her nose and throat because……….meh!

Weekly Poxification 2

2009-05-10T11:14:00.001-07:00

Left at The Minx’s door:
ranea - the collective name for all the female aliens loved by James T.

Sparx’ing more memories

moist - which is what my eyes were as memories of long nights spent bathing my boys in oatmeal and long days spent getting the resulting porridge out of the tub passed through my thoughts!

Mom de Plume is talkin’ kid talk
tzationf - on the green line of the MTA

If it's 11 this must be Kansas........NOT

2009-05-04T21:10:00.005-07:00

We’re just so darn proud…..

2009-05-03T19:19:00.001-07:00

Meet ~~Hair One~~ Holly…. The Tin Woodsman’s Girlfriend

(film at 11 when I get a round to it)

Pondering The Bigger Question

2009-04-24T16:26:00.000-07:00

Poxification

2009-04-23T18:56:00.001-07:00

A viral blogger disorder characterised by the need to define Word Verifications when posting comments on blogs. This disorder was first discovered by Dr. Me. Bad enough that this was going on in private (where private = right out there in front of God and everybody on the internets) the disorder has now progressed to the omagoditis stage of becoming a post of its own.

Worse yet a serial post.

Yup weekly I will now share with you ~~carefully chosen~~ random selection and the posts to which they connect. When I remember to connect them.

As follows

encysi A new drama about hall monitors in grade schools.

ingushem Encouraging the effusive display of affection in others (can’t remember where I left this one…. feel free to claim it)

nitiven the drug you should recommend to people who accost you on the street to hiss at you..

orstable where you keep the ‘orses silly!

uperi What you are when you buy nicer chocolate than the Jones.

zednelar n. Where the ZZZZZZ's go when yer finished with 'em

erver the exact moment in time when my son will lose his ____________ (fill in the blank) and claim the labelmaker stole it.

And finally we have

Insans...........oh c'mon yer kidding me........... no really it's
Insans which is what you are after your kid puts on a performance like this one!!!

Around the world in 80 days

2009-04-21T21:27:00.001-07:00

The Five Reasons I Love Being A Mom

Meme

Reason One


Then	Now

Need a magic wand? A journal to write in? A new computer game? An actor? A wizard? Hair One is yer man!

Reason Two


Then	Now

Hair Two is the very definition of joie de vivre. No really he is. Read it for yourself if you don’t believe me. All summer wheels are involved and so is he. A beautifully waxed snow board is his ride of choice in winter. He’s funny, loyal, kind and (oh MOM) sweet.

Reason Three because they keep me young. Tired. But young.

Reason Four because my heart would never have grown so full or my spirit so joyful without their presence.

Reason Five because they can reach things down from high shelves for me.

Sparx tagged me and here are the rules I had to follow:

.
I had to write a post of my own about the 5 things that I love about being a mom. Since that let out plagiarism I had to make do with sentimental tripe.

Lord only knows what the five of you are going to do:

from the good ol’ US of A

KatyDidNot

from the pointy bit of the UK

The Inner Minx

from deep in southern suburbia

My Name Is Cat

from down under the Grand viewpoint of

Jaruleeli

and finally from Mars

(‘cause that’s where the men are from remember)

Backpacking Dad

So you caught that right? You have to pick five other ~~saps~~ ~~friends~~ bloggers to link to and tag - someone from your own country, if you like, but definitely someone from another country (Google is a good resource if you don't know any; google any country name and 'mom' in their blog search function) (be sure to let them know that you've tagged them!) - and link back here and also at HBM where it all began.

Leave a comment here, there and everywhere.

Okay go………..

Can you feel the breeze???

2009-04-17T20:46:00.001-07:00

Why yes actually I can!

This would explain why three cats have spent the entire winter with their noses pressed up against the seam of the deck doors.

Oh Crap…………..

wonder how much this’s gonna cost!