Sorry folks. I've lost interest in this blog. Maybe one day I'll resurrect it.

Have I told you about my granddaughter?

She's always looking for fun.She's goofy.
Yes. She smiles. Alot.
And she loves the boys and men in her life.

She's a great big sister too. Photos of little Julia will be coming soon!

What did you learn in school today?

This morning, students were paired up and were told to make small talk on a given topic. We do this most mornings with the EAL students and it gives them a great opportunity to get to know each other a little better and to practise their English. Topics include work, family, shopping, cooking, marriage, children-all the things that many of us chat about.

I was eavesdropping on the marriage conversation between 2 African women today and they were talking about dowries. More specifically, the cows that their husband's families had to give to their fathers. I half jokingly asked how many cows their husbands had to pay for them and one woman said that her husband had to give her father 5 or 6 hundred cows.

That is a lot of cows. Then the other woman said that she was worth 1,000 cows because she had a university education.

This is big business! The women told me that there were negotiations between the 2 families and if an agreement could be made, the marriage would take place. In addition to cows there was gold and other gifts that were given to the bride or her family.

I wonder how many cows Wes' dad would pay for Wes to marry me.

Actually, I'd rather not know.

Travelling

It seems that many of those nearest and dearest to me have been or are currently travelling somewhere interesting.

I'm ready to do the same. So, last night, when Wes and I were out for dinner, we decided that the next trip for us will be this fall, to Croatia. We have friends who are Croatian and Val talks about his beautiful home country, often with tears in his eyes. It's right on the Mediterranean, the weather is mild and there are lots of things to see and do. We'll probably do a biking tour-much like the one we did in Italy 5 years ago and then we'll decide where else we might like to go.

I think we'll try to do some couch surfing while we're there too.

The planning truly is almost as much fun as the actual trip. Any suggestions as to what we should do?

First time out biking today. Oooooooh. It felt so good!

Dragon Bowl

There is a amazing little vegan restaurant in Winnipeg called Mondragon. It's in a funky area of town-the Exchange district. A few weeks ago, one of the chefs came to IFC (the place where Michele works) to demonstrate how to make a popular dish of theirs, the Dragon Bowl. Not only did he demonstrate, he gave us the recipe.

I just had a delicious dragon bowl for lunch today. Yum Yum. I will not post the recipe here as that would be unfair to the people at Mondragon but boy oh boy, am I glad I have it!

I was at Mondragon for lunch one day a few years ago and asked about a recipe. Rather than explain to me what was in the dish, they actually gave me their stained recipe binder and told me that I could copy any recipe I wanted. What a great place! It's not just about the food but it's about the way they live and share in their community.

Yet another reason to love Winnipeg.

Jed's pack is away for a few days. I must confess I was a little worried. The last time they were gone, he didn't eat for 2 days-and if you know Jed, that's pretty unusual. A few weeks ago he did something with some carpet that was for him, very out of the ordinary. I wasn't sure what to expect.

Right now, he's found a patch of sunlight on the (heated) kitchen floor and is behaving in his usual, lazy way.

So, if any of his pack is reading this, don't worry. We're doing just fine.

Having recently finished a TESL course, I am now on the hunt for a job. It won't be too easy because I want part-time, days and those jobs are hard to come by.

For the time being, I volunteer twice a week in a program for immigrant and refugee moms with preschoolers. Teaching these women is a pleasure. Despite the hardships that all of them have experienced in their lives, they are the most positive group of people I have ever worked with.

Spoke with a woman today who told me that her husband was a pharmacist in his homeland and now works at a meat packing plant. I don't understand how Canada encourages skilled people to immigrate and then doesn't allow them to work in their professions. The woman's husband inquired about working as a pharmacist and he was told that he needed to take his schooling all over again. Beginning with the first year.

This same woman (Leke) told me about a time she was at a local hospital, visiting her sister-in-law. Someone was trying to put an IV into her sil's hand and after trying 3 times, the sister-in-law who was in pain and fed up with her nurse asked if Leke could do it. After assuring the nurse that she was well qualified, Leke poked the needle into her sil's hand successfully, first time.

I'm sure administrators and head nurses don't know about this but I think, if I ever find myself in a hospital bed needing an IV, I'd take my chances with Lete.

Enjoy the planning

We have a wedding celebration to plan this summer. Kristen's getting married to the love of her life, Andy.

The best advice I got just after I was engaged some 30+ years ago was from a friend/cousin who was married a year before my engagement. She said, "Enjoy this time of planning." Good advice because wedding planning can be all-consuming. You want everything just right-the dresses, the venue, the flowers, photos. And everything just can't be perfect. And brides especially, can get pretty stressed out about that stuff.

Weddings have become a huge industry. The amount of time and money that can be spent on them is outrageous. And I'm worried about the cheap, judgemental, scroogey (is that a word?) side of me coming out today at the wedding show.

But I will remember the advice Joyce gave to me so many years ago. I will enjoy all the lovely things I see. I will enjoy the fact that my daughter actually wants me to join her and her girlfriends at the show. I will learn, I will get some great ideas and I will enjoy this time. I will ooh and aah at the dresses. I will admire the pots and pans and other kitchen gadgets that I don't need but love to look at.

Maybe I'll even write another post, after the show, to let you know how it went. That would be a record. Two back to back posts.