Mamas and Cowboys and Friends and Family

We celebrated this long Victoria Day weekend with family and friends. To be more precise, family who are friends. Brother Enos dropped by on Saturday after hearing that Paul's cousin Robert, his partner Amy and their three awesome girls were coming by. The day was beautiful, the barbecue was tasty and we ended our fabulous day by the campfire, roasting marshmallows and wienies. As dusk fell the acoustic 6- and 12-strings came out and the best names in country music dropped by...Neil Young, Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson, Tom Petty (okay, there was more than country) and, of course, Willie and Waylon. And somewhere in there, Angus and Malcolm treated us to 'Big Balls'. Hmmm, perhaps I should work on the wording of that sentence. 

For those of you in these parts, Happy Victoria Day. Hope your day is as beautiful as it is here. I leave you with a snippet by the fire...

Okay, so apparently I can't rotate videos like I can pictures. So just pretend the flames are shooting up, not sideways. Mental note: hold the camera normally next time. Hey, who knew?
 

Happy Thanksgiving!

(Yep, that's shorts they're wearing! Beauty weather!!)

Scenes From A Canada Day Long Weekend

Thursday night Lakers lacrosse game against Brooklin - Lakers won 14-7

Canada Day Parade

We were a bit early for the parade. But look! Water!  'Nuff said.

'Cause what's a parade without a snowmobile...even in July

Canada Day Fireworks

Millbrook Old Car Show

Paul's cousin, Robert - probably bugging Cammy about being a Habs fan

And Last But Not Least...

... look who learned to ride a bike,

all by himself - Nolan! Wa-hoo!

The Maple Leaf Forever

This morning I slept in. It was beautiful. No alarm. No school lunches to pack. And of course, no work. Today we're home with few plans other than to celebrate the 144th birthday of this beautiful country. Happy birthday Canada!

A fine start to a beautiful Canada Day

Christmas Morn

The kids had been given strict instructions upon going to bed that they were not to get up before 7. Like that would happen. I remember squinting at my clock around 3, turning over in bed and going back to sleep. Moments later Nolan yelled, "Mum! Can we get up now?!"

"No," I shouted in reply, "it's too early!"

Silence. And then Paul said, "Uh, Liz, it's after seven."

No way. Time to greet the day...

Attention! Army gear and cap guns for Christmas.

Check out the new jammies. And the face - she's such a goof.

Cammy symbolically adopted a frog...thanks to Uncle Gooey.

It's Christmas Time In the Country

Ring-a-ling...

We've had a busy, wonderful, smiley Christmas so far and there's no sign that that's gonna change anytime soon. Christmas Eve, Dad and Elizabeth came out and joined brother Enos and our brood for an evening filled with great anticipation. Would we have the pleasure of seeing the jolly old elf himself as we have in Christmases past? Well, brother Enos hung around as long as he could and then called it a night and set out. Darn it all, not long after, we spotted movement in the driveway. The dogs across the road serenaded the shadowy figure as he trudged through the snow and then, there he was. Santa Claus. 

The kids flew down the stairs - well, the older two kids; Nolie was fast asleep at this point - and we all hung out in the doorway. Watching. I ran upstairs and shook Nolan awake. "Santa's here," I whispered. His eyes grew wide and, as he processed the information, a smile crept across his sleepy face. We quickly joined the others on the porch. And watched.

Santa removed three packages from his sack, chatting to us all the while. (So much for the classic tale of A Night Before Christmas - "he said not a word but went straight to his work" - apparently Father Christmas has grown chattier as the years have gone by.) The white-bearded elf singled Dad out as being a relatively good boy this year. Dad looked kind of proud.

The next thing you knew, Père Noël was waving farewell, and heading south, cross country, towards the neighbours. We all wished him well and the kids yelled their thank yous as he walked out of sight. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

But wait, I'm not done yet. In a flash, Cammy had his boots on and was running out to the driveway to gather up the packages that Santa had left in the snow. Paul grabbed Nolan and, while not as quick as Cameron, they were down the path in almost a flash. In we all came and the gifts were ripped open. Pajamas! Not that anyone was surprised, as Santa's kind enough to deliver some every year. But, oh, those mischievous elves. What game would they play this year? 

The jammies were all mixed up. Ri's top with Cammy's bottoms and so on. But this year, they outdid themselves. Parts were inside out and turned in on each other. Bottoms were stuck down inside-out-sleeves. Oh, those playful elves. I like them. Even though we're polar opposites in the height department, they're my kind of people.

And then it was time for bed. A second time. The kids, clad in sorted-out new jammies, traipsed up the stairs to bed. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.

Tracking Santa

Throughout the day today, we'll be tracking Santa's whereabouts, as he makes his way around the globe. You can find him through Norad, here. We just checked, and he's arrived in New Delhi. Won't be long now!

School's Out For...Christmas

The kids were rife with melancholy this evening. Poor dears. You see, school finished up today and now my grief-stricken children must go without for two whole weeks. No long bus rides. No lurnin'. No homework. It pains me to see them so downtrodden. Unaware of my presence, I snapped this heartbreaking photo...

School's out

Oh, hey! What do you think of the tree? I came up with the idea of the dark stripe through the middle all by myself. That's right; I meant for it to be like that. Ya. I think it gives it a rather festive air of, um, je ne sais quoi, don't you?

Oh ya, the kids. I think, in time, their grief will pass. The poor souls went outside for a few runs down the snow-covered hill tonight. They assured me they'd be okay.

School's out!

I do hope so.

Look Who Dropped By

It's a heckuva long journey across that body of water we call the Atlantic Ocean, but good old Sinterklaas and his buddy Black Peter were kind enough to make the trip. This morning, the kids awoke to find chocolate letters in their shoes and an assortment of sweets about the hearth. Rumour has it that Oma, Opa and Sinterklaas know each other from way back and each year they put in a good word. Upon hearing their dear friend had dropped by, they grinned widely. 

Peppermunt ballen, Vruchtenhartjes and Ri's favourite, Speculaas

'Tis The Season

Saturday's don't come much busier than yesterday. As is typical for the weekend, everyone beat me out of bed and that's quite fine by me. After a quick shower and breakfast, I thumbed through my binder full of recipes 'til I found the directions for Apple Betty and Blueberry Buckle. Once the ingredients were gathered and the kids were shooed away, each with a bowl of mostly frozen blueberries, I set to work creating my masterpieces. Alright. I know. The word 'masterpiece' might be a titch strong but I'll bet, if you asked brother Enos what he thinks of apple betty, that word would be right up there. Hmm, where was I? Right. Measuring and mixing. In the midst of all this baking chaos, the boys wrote their cards and we wrapped the gifts that would accompany them to their friends' birthday parties. Paul took Nolan into town first for his buddy Ben's big day. He came home by way of the dump (still no garbage pickup in these parts) and settled in for a wee bit. The masterpieces came out of the oven, we gathered up warm sweaters, extra socks and mitts, toques, snowpants and anything else we could think of to ward off the chill on the streets of Peterborough after sun set. Then we loaded up the van and headed out.

Cameron's pal Nate was also having a birthday party at a rock climbing place in town. We dropped him off there and then made our way to my work for our annual Christmas potluck. After another wee bit, Paul went back out, picked up Nolan, and Cameron and then we spent the afternoon with my coworkers and their families, feasting, chatting, opening gifts and, as always, laughing with our beloved friend Santa. There weren't near as many political jokes as previous years - Santa's a Tory, while our boss is NDP - but the jolly old elf led us in a rousing rendition of Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer (we really can't sing) and was as jovial and fun as ever. The biggest joke is that I won Leaf tickets for the second year in a row. And no, they're not playing the Flames that night. But, Cammy's never been to an NHL game so he and Paul will be taking the train into the big smoke in early February to watch the Leafs lose to Carolina. Cammy's excited. And he thinks it's kind of cool that he'll get to see Eric Staal who used to play with the Petes. Guess who he'll be cheering for.

Once the festivities ended, we packed up again, drove over towards downtown, parked, bundled up and wandered over to our usual spot where we found brother Enos and his friend Sean and gang. The Santa Claus parade had just found its way down George Street to where we were standing. You'd think we'd planned it but, we're not that organized. The boys made their way up front, Enos handed out the still-warm coffee and we settled in to enjoy the lights and show. Lots of smiles all around.
 

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

What do you give thanks for?

Celebrating Good Times

Dad turns the big 8-0 next month. We originally had planned to completely ignore the day 'cause that's the kind of good-fer-nuthin' kids he raised. Brother Enos especially. But, after some thought, and for fear of pay-back, we planned a celebration. We discussed things with Elizabeth and decided on a party fit for a king...or, at least, for the king of bad jokes.

Sunday, we all met up at the Legion in Oshawa where we had rented the lounge for the afternoon. Shortly after 1, friends and family began arriving. All brought best wishes and many, as we'd requested, delivered their worst jokes. The best jokes of the day came from Cammy, who took three hours to work up his nerve to step in front of that microphone and deliver these beauts...

What do a hockey player and a magician have in common?
~ They both do hat tricks.

What's the messiest sport in Canada?
~ Basketball, because kids dribble all over the floor.

And then Cammy's profound wish to his Grandpa - "Happy birthday you old fart." Hee hee. Couldn't have said it better myself.

Nolan and his old Grandpa

Our Highway

Fifteen years ago at a little church just north of Oshawa, in front of the best friends and family anyone could ever imagine, a dude and his bride said "I do." After the bubbles were blown, the pictures posed for and the supper enjoyed, the newly married couple were entertained by the groom's parents and his six brothers and sisters, all wearing Florida Gators shirts and each with two balloons placed just so. His father wore alligator slippers and a papier-maché gator head and marched around the hall, bunny-hop-style, to AC/DC's Big Balls. I'll share the story of how this came about another time. Suffice it to say, alcohol was involved.

Today, all these years later, in another house in a different town and with three fabulous little munchkins (and various other critters), I want to say - Happy Anniversary Darlin'. Wouldn't change a bit of it. And this song still rocks as much as it did on our wedding day.

Celebrating Home

What a beautiful day! An absolutely perfect day to celebrate this glorious land we call home. Paul had to work today but the kids and I were here. We started off with a leisurely breakfast while playing Uno. Then the boys went outside to play hockey, Ri hit the computer and I cleaned up.  The laundry fluttered outside under a big blue sky with marshmallow clouds. The house, with windows flung open, soaked up the freshest scents of the day. And the sun shone down, showing off our tiny corner of Canadian countryside in all its glory while the maple leaf flew proudly in the breeze.

This afternoon Dad, Elizabeth, brother Enos and Ri's friend Kaitlin joined us for a barbecue. And Enos's friend Sean dropped by for a beer too. Around 9 o'clock we packed up the lawn chairs and a blanket and headed over to the park for the fireworks. The kids played at the playground and, just before dark, the show began.

Happy Canada Day!

Proud To Be Canadian

One hundred and forty three years old and we're still looking pretty damn good. Happy Birthday Canada!

Rice Lake Sunset

Around 4 o'clock Sunday, the phone rang. I picked it up and found Paul's brother Brian at the other end. After promising to talk dirty to me ;-), he asked if we'd like to come down for supper, a campfire and fireworks. Hmmm, I'd have to think about that one...for about a second. Their two youngest are my kids' all-time favourite cousins. Would they want to hang out with them? In a heartbeat. Not to mention that Brian and Cheryl are fun to be around and we'd get to have a little visit with Paul's sister Marian who lives nearby. We finished a few things up and then headed down to the Landing.

Paul met us there a short while after we arrived and we sat down to a supper of cabbage rolls, pierogies and sausage. At dusk we retired to the waterfront where the kids roasted wienies and marshmallows in the firepit and Brian set up the sand pail for the firecrackers. And then, shortly after the sun set, the show began. We were treated to a spectacular display as fireworks went off near us and around the lake. The kids had great fun taking turns holding the flashlight for Uncle Brian while the dogs shook in fear with each bang. Hunting dogs they are not. We had a great time. The perfect way to celebrate a long summer weekend.

Cammy throwing sticks for the dogs at sunset.

Parties and Roadtrips

The boys' had their birthday party on Friday. We tried a combined one this year as they both wanted to go to Play Street and neither wanted to invite all that many kids. I think, total, including mine, there were eleven kids. Oh, wait, brother Enos would make it twelve. He did seem to be having a pretty darn good time.


Today, Dorito came up...and it was really freaking early for a Saturday. She informed me that she even went out and did her grocery shopping before she headed out. She was at our place about 8:30. The woman needs help. After a coffee (that I so desperately needed), we loaded up the boys and went up to Enos' place. There, we gave Kokanee and Willie big pets and scratches behind the ears. (Kokanee's been living with Enos since shortly after Waylon died. Kokie and Willie are brother and sister and are good company for each other so we figured this was best.) Next we took the backroads into Lindsay where we found a little restaurant for breakfast. Or, if you're Nolan, fries. Breakfast of champions, I'm sure. Then, with bellies full, we continued westward to check out the Kawartha auction barn in Woodville. As we drove, the sky became darker and the clouds opened up. It rained pretty good. Once there, we checked out the poultry and rabbits and then wandered to the sale ring where they were auctioning off sheep. By the time we left we were pretty wet. It was kind of fun, though.

Gold Medal Celebration

What a great game! Lots of screaming and cheering. Lots of tense moments. And all of us with shorter nails by the end of the game. Brother Enos and Ri's friend, Kaitlin, joined us for the day-to-remember. In the end, it was Sid the Kid, on a pass from my man, Iggy, who put the game away in overtime. And a roar went up across the nation. Enos brought over a celebratory bottle of sparkling wine, just in case. Out came Paul's old Petro Canada 1988 Calgary Olympic wine glasses, popped the cork and we celebrated. (Don't worry - the kids had cider.) It was an amazing end to a fabulous Olympics. Woo!

Thanksgiving at the Landing

Sunday was cool and windy but the sun still shone and there was no rain. I'll take that over grey and drizzly. I spent the early part of the afternoon baking muffins, as well as an apple betty and pumpkin pie to take with us. Nolan asked about every six and a half minutes, "How many more minutes 'til we go to Jakey-Jake's?" Shame he never gets excited about these things.

Around 3:30 we packed up and headed down to the Landing for dinner at Brian and Cheryl's. Paul's Mum and Dad were there, as were Marian, Ian and his Mum, and the cousins. We all visited for a bit and then sat down to a wonderful turkey dinner with all the fixin's.

Here's Jakey-Jake. He's a big Flames fan.
Okay, not really. He's a Leaf fan. Sad, isn't it?

After supper, Nolie asked if we could come back the next holiday. We're not talking Christmas here, we're talking Saturday.


Then, about 8:30 we all loaded back up in the van, took Paul's Mum and Dad home to Oshawa and then home we went. With very full tummies, we all hit the hay and slept like babies.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Things to Do On A Beautiful Fall Day

It's Thanksgiving weekend and life is good. Three glorious days at home and we're making the most of it. Saturday, we did something we've never done before and visited the Norwood Fair. What a fabulous fair! The midway's smaller than Lindsay, but it has a nice small-town feel to it. The show rings are outside and as we wandered around, we'd stop to check out the riders on horseback or the cattle or whatever was in the ring at the time. At noon, we stopped for the parade - this years theme was potatoes and spuds. You gotta love a parade with a bunch of potato heads walking around.


Dad and Elizabeth met up with us and we grabbed a little something to eat. Then back to the midway. Not sure who has more fun on the bumper cars, the big kids or the little kids but, one thing I do know, is there's always lots of big goofy smiles.



Around 4 we headed home to a simmering crockpot full of backward chicken and carrots. Rounded out with spuds from the backward garden, homemade pickles, peas from who-knows-where (still not over the pea-raids by Bambi and her evil friends), corn and pumpkin pie and we had a fine meal.

Today, we head down to Gore's Landing to break bread with Paul's family. The kids are pumped to see their cousins. Nolan even told his teacher he was going to be visiting Jakey-Jake this weekend. This is big stuff. We've lots of reasons to give thanks.