Tonight, I'm going to a concert at the West End Cultural Centre. The performer is Fred Eaglesmith, an old friend and classmate of mine.
Wes has a dinner engagement so he will be coming later and we were trying to decide how he could find me as it is rush seating.
I told him I'd be in the front, in the mosh pit. Wes found that comment to be uproariously funny.
One day I'll surprise him.
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Sunday, June 24, 2007
The Bike Trip
On Sunday, we biked for one and a half hours (25 km), up hills and down (Manitoba style hills).
Boy do I have a lot of training to do.
Boy do I have a lot of training to do.
Friday, June 22, 2007
The two high school students who live here have finished their exams and are livin' the easy life. In just over a week they will be heading back home-Mexico for Medardo and Brazil for Leo.
They are doing what teens do, sleeping in till 12:00 PM and then staying up till about 2:00 or 3:00 AM. Last night, they kept me up. The floors in this old house squeak and the doors make noise when they open and close so even if someone's being quiet, it can sound really noisy at 2:00 in the morning.
I guess I better talk to them today. They'd be horrified to know that they kept me up last night but I need more than 4 hours of sleep a night. I really don't want to be a stick in the mud but I'm gonna be a little cranky if tonight's the same.
By my calculations, there were about 4 years in my life as a parent when the kids didn't get me up or keep me up at night. The two youngest kids didn't sleep through the night until they were 8 or so and then a few years later, the oldest started going out at night and I would lie away until he got home.
And now, Medardo and Leo, enjoying their last week in Canada before heading off to their homes are keeping me up. They won't have the freedom with their families that they have here. One night, just for fun they went to Tim Hortons for coffee at midnight. I would have loved to do that as a teen and I don't think they'll be able to do something like that when they get home. So I want them to have fun, enjoy this last week together. They have become good friends and except for a planned visit by Medardo to Brazil next January, they won't see each other for a long time. I think they are creating memories and I don't want to stand in the way of that.
But I need my sleep so I think the memories will have to be created before midnight. They'll be fine with that and I will get a few more hours of sleep.
Yawn. I'm going to try to have a nap this afternoon.
They are doing what teens do, sleeping in till 12:00 PM and then staying up till about 2:00 or 3:00 AM. Last night, they kept me up. The floors in this old house squeak and the doors make noise when they open and close so even if someone's being quiet, it can sound really noisy at 2:00 in the morning.
I guess I better talk to them today. They'd be horrified to know that they kept me up last night but I need more than 4 hours of sleep a night. I really don't want to be a stick in the mud but I'm gonna be a little cranky if tonight's the same.
By my calculations, there were about 4 years in my life as a parent when the kids didn't get me up or keep me up at night. The two youngest kids didn't sleep through the night until they were 8 or so and then a few years later, the oldest started going out at night and I would lie away until he got home.
And now, Medardo and Leo, enjoying their last week in Canada before heading off to their homes are keeping me up. They won't have the freedom with their families that they have here. One night, just for fun they went to Tim Hortons for coffee at midnight. I would have loved to do that as a teen and I don't think they'll be able to do something like that when they get home. So I want them to have fun, enjoy this last week together. They have become good friends and except for a planned visit by Medardo to Brazil next January, they won't see each other for a long time. I think they are creating memories and I don't want to stand in the way of that.
But I need my sleep so I think the memories will have to be created before midnight. They'll be fine with that and I will get a few more hours of sleep.
Yawn. I'm going to try to have a nap this afternoon.
Friday, June 08, 2007
The Canoe
As mentioned in my last post, the canoe is one of the 7 wonders of Canada. That reminded me of a funny story.
We were camping one summer in Northern Ontario. We had a tent trailer, 4 children, enough bikes for all and on top of that, we also brought along a canoe. We are notorious for taking EVERYTHING along when we camp.
I'm not sure just where the canoe came from. I seem to remember that someone gave it to us. And no wonder. That thing weighed a ton! But it was a gift and we were camping in the great Canadian north so we had to take it along.
Tim and Kristen must have been 4 and 6 at the time and very excited about going in the canoe. In fact it was all they talked about as soon as they learned that they could "have a ride." They were none too patient as we set up camp and were disappointed that they would have to wait until the next day before their inaugural paddle.
There was no way all 6 of us could fit into the canoe so we asked some friends who were camping with us to watch our two older children while we prepared to take the 2 little ones out. First, we had to drag the thing (remember it weighed a ton) to the water's edge, all the while trying to keep Tim and Kristen in our sites at all times. If there were walls to bouce off of, they would have. They were beside themselves with anticipation. As a matter of fact, there were quite a few campers watching us; Wes and I grunting and groaning, Kristen running around us like the Tazmanian Devil and Tim bouncing along like Tigger. We made quite a spectacle.
We got to the water's edge, put the life jackets on and proceeded to enter the canoe. We had to remind the kids that they couldn't jump because if you've been in a canoe, you know they're pretty tippy. Wes held it steady while I helped Tim in and then Kristen. Then I hopped in.
That was when all hell broke lose. Kristen grabbed the sides of the canoe with a screech. When Wes let go of the canoe and hopped in, the screaming began in earnest. Both kids were terrified. "We're gonna tip! LET ME OUT OF THIS CANOE! I DON'T LIKE THIS DADDY. LET ME OUT! People left their campsites and rushed down to the riverbank to see what was going on, concerned that we were drowning our kids. We tried to shush them but there was no way they could stop. They were pretty hysterical and tried to climb over each other to get to me. Of course, that made the canoe even tippier and caused them to scream louder.
Wes managed to paddle about 4 metres or so before we headed back to shore, dragged the canoe onto the river bank and hiked back to the campsite. I seem to recall that the whole excursion lasted about 4 hours.
We left the canoe behind. Never even took it home.
We were camping one summer in Northern Ontario. We had a tent trailer, 4 children, enough bikes for all and on top of that, we also brought along a canoe. We are notorious for taking EVERYTHING along when we camp.
I'm not sure just where the canoe came from. I seem to remember that someone gave it to us. And no wonder. That thing weighed a ton! But it was a gift and we were camping in the great Canadian north so we had to take it along.
Tim and Kristen must have been 4 and 6 at the time and very excited about going in the canoe. In fact it was all they talked about as soon as they learned that they could "have a ride." They were none too patient as we set up camp and were disappointed that they would have to wait until the next day before their inaugural paddle.
There was no way all 6 of us could fit into the canoe so we asked some friends who were camping with us to watch our two older children while we prepared to take the 2 little ones out. First, we had to drag the thing (remember it weighed a ton) to the water's edge, all the while trying to keep Tim and Kristen in our sites at all times. If there were walls to bouce off of, they would have. They were beside themselves with anticipation. As a matter of fact, there were quite a few campers watching us; Wes and I grunting and groaning, Kristen running around us like the Tazmanian Devil and Tim bouncing along like Tigger. We made quite a spectacle.
We got to the water's edge, put the life jackets on and proceeded to enter the canoe. We had to remind the kids that they couldn't jump because if you've been in a canoe, you know they're pretty tippy. Wes held it steady while I helped Tim in and then Kristen. Then I hopped in.
That was when all hell broke lose. Kristen grabbed the sides of the canoe with a screech. When Wes let go of the canoe and hopped in, the screaming began in earnest. Both kids were terrified. "We're gonna tip! LET ME OUT OF THIS CANOE! I DON'T LIKE THIS DADDY. LET ME OUT! People left their campsites and rushed down to the riverbank to see what was going on, concerned that we were drowning our kids. We tried to shush them but there was no way they could stop. They were pretty hysterical and tried to climb over each other to get to me. Of course, that made the canoe even tippier and caused them to scream louder.
Wes managed to paddle about 4 metres or so before we headed back to shore, dragged the canoe onto the river bank and hiked back to the campsite. I seem to recall that the whole excursion lasted about 4 hours.
We left the canoe behind. Never even took it home.
Seven Wonders of Canada
If you are Canadian, you may have heard about the Seven Wonders of Canada contest that's been going on for several weeks here in our wonderful country. It has been a fascinating trip for me, through this great country of ours.
I think it all started as a fun little game, an opportunity for us to highlight some of the amazing sites and places in Canada. I'm sure the organizers never expected this little exercise would generate so much interest.
People, wrote, called and emailed with their own idea of what makes Canada wonderful. One million people sent in 25,000 submissions of what they thought should make the final list. I am glad that I was not a judge because every single suggestion is worthy to be a "Canadian Wonder." While I think the judges thought this would be a fun thing to be part of, it became clear that it was hard for them. How do you decide between The Cabot Trail, Bay of Fundy and Niagara Falls? How can you not include Drumheller or Head-Smashed-In-Buffalo Jump? Or the Winnipeg Folk Fest, or Churchill or the Red River Floodway?
In the end, the Seven Wonders of Canada are:
I think it all started as a fun little game, an opportunity for us to highlight some of the amazing sites and places in Canada. I'm sure the organizers never expected this little exercise would generate so much interest.
People, wrote, called and emailed with their own idea of what makes Canada wonderful. One million people sent in 25,000 submissions of what they thought should make the final list. I am glad that I was not a judge because every single suggestion is worthy to be a "Canadian Wonder." While I think the judges thought this would be a fun thing to be part of, it became clear that it was hard for them. How do you decide between The Cabot Trail, Bay of Fundy and Niagara Falls? How can you not include Drumheller or Head-Smashed-In-Buffalo Jump? Or the Winnipeg Folk Fest, or Churchill or the Red River Floodway?
In the end, the Seven Wonders of Canada are:
- The Canoe
- Niagara Falls
- Prairie Sky
- Pier 21
- The Rockies
- The Igloo
- Old Quebec City
I am so happy that the Priarie Sky was chosen. There is nothing like it and I am thrilled that I can experience it every day. Before I moved to the prairies, I had no idea the sky could be so big, so blue, so changing. It truly is a wonder of Canada.
I have had the honour to paddle a canoe, to visit Niagara Falls and ski the Rockies. I have not yet been to Quebec City but I expect that Wes and I will make it there before too long. And believe it or not, I have never seen a "real" igloo. Around here, people tend to build quinzhees, just for fun. The snow is a little more suited to building quinzhees.
This morning Shelagh Rogers was interviewing one of the people who nominated Pier 21 in Halifax and I thought of my dad who was one of the millions of immigrants who landed there. Pier 21 has been completely refurbished and now is a museum.
I decided that I must visit Pier 21 with my dad sometime soon. He hasn't talked too much about his trip across the ocean and the landing but I think that a visit to this historic place would give us a great opportunity to talk about his first impressions of Canada and his feelings when he first stepped on Canadian soil.
Dad's a rich man now and I'm sure he's looking for ways to spend his money. ;) I think he should buy a plane ticket to Halifax and I think his children (all of whom read this blog) need to buy tickets for themselves and accompany him.
This is our heritage, this is our history.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)