Wonderings from the Wack

We had a blast yesterday up Hemlock mountain with Bav's mom and dad. They are a hoot! I think G has to meet my dad. They would get along famously I'm sure.

It started snowing in the afternoon and we took the kids out sledding. There is a smallish hill near their house suitable for kids. It was also suitable for my kamikaze husband to nearly wind up at the very bottom in the creek. Those plastic saucer things can go really fast and Toni got some pretty good air time over the bump. Today he is moaning about being sore. The kids had a great time until Kyle got too tired and cold. Kyra kept going for ages, and she is totally fearless.

Big thanks to Grampa and Gramma R. from Kyra and Kyle. We are definitely going to come back. You've been warned.......

I mean as in not partying and visiting. That starts up again tomorrow. We are going to Bav's mom's place up at Hemlock mountain. Time for some snow fun! The kids have been psyched since yesterday. Right now there is a huge pile of coats and stuff sitting here on the den floor beside me.

I am playing with my new toy that I got from DH, a Sony walkman. He did me up a random rock/metal MP3 disc and right now Metallica is screaming away in my ear. "Exit light, enter night..."

Whew! Peace reigns at last. My mom and dad just left and now we are back to routine, including a mountain of dishes and laundry.

We've had a fun and busy 3 days. The kids have been so cute and so excited with having their grandparents around. My cousins and aunt and uncle came over for Boxing Day yesterday and the kids all had fun together. My kids, my sister's son, and our cousins' kids are all around the same age

Off to do chores, and read everyone else's blog!

...and to all a good night!
( I may post again on Boxing Day, but more likely Monday )

I came home after a nice time visiting Bertha to find some punks ripped off a bunch of our Christmas lights! All the low stuff, whatever they could reach.

I should have left them on in hopes that one of them electrocuted themselves.

Oh the joys of being a home owner!

I have struggled to think of something to say for the last few days and have come up dry each time, so I am taking a break for a while.

I am stressed out about Christmas for once. This year I'm not as organized as usual. DH hasn't got his bonus yet which isn't helping. For those people whose husbands don't get bonuses, I am not bragging. It is a statement of fact.

I forgot to wrap SIL and BIL present so now 2 boxes have gone on Greyhound to Summerland. Okay I am stupid too right now I guess.

Had to get a new coffee maker yesterday at Sears ( yay Super Saturday extended sale ) because the pot to our old one got a big crack in it.



So thanks for letting me vent. I try not to do it very often. See you all after Christmas when I am not in a bad mood anymore.


PS-Bav call me about the friggin' mountain would ya?

I helped 20 Grade Ones in Kyra's class cut out gingerbread people this morning. Mrs. Cochrane had the dough made, we just had to roll it and cut out the cookies.

The kids are so cute! They came down to the kitchen in small groups and helped me warm up the dough balls. Then I rolled it out and they cut out the shapes themselves. I helped lay out the cutters and they pressed them down. It was so cute to see their little earnest faces carefully pressing down through the dough. Of course some of them were more interested in playing with the rolling pin, but I think they all had fun.

I went back to the class when I was done and Mrs. C. had them all chorusing, "Thank you Kyra's mom for helping us!" How adorable is that!

You are Sir Bedevere! Wise and creative, you are
able to counsel others as well as come up with
some really ingenious plans of attack...sort
of.

Which Monty Python & the Holy Grail Character are you REALLY?



"I fart in your general direction!"

// posted by Kelley @ 10:04 p.m. 0 comments

- Niagara falls from auntie flo, how fun is that?
-Got gifts wrapped for the gang in Summerland. They all fit in a toaster box, yeah me!
-Kyra had a play date this afternoon with Talia.
-Kyle is having a huge nap. Must be growing time again.
-Toni is making shortbread tonight.
-Home made shake 'n bake chicken for dinner. Hope I have enough corn flakes to crush up.

Today is my husband's 35th birthday. Now he is the same age as me, until March 19th, 2005, when I turn 36. Happy Birthday Honey, I love you!

This morning we went for brunch, and this afternoon we put up the tree. So far just the lights are on. After it gets a bit darker it will be easier to tell if we need to move the light strands. Then we put the ornaments on. The kids are all psyched about it.

Now it feels more like Christmas to me. Once we have the tree up I get more into it. Funny how the mind works, isn't it?

In keeping with the theme of my post from this morning..... ( this result is bang on for me! )

You scored as Gluttony. Gluttony 75% Sloth 75% Envy 44% Pride 38% Lust 31% Wrath 19% Greed 19% Seven deadly sins created with QuizFarm. I dare Andrea to NOT come up with Lust!

Those of you that know me in real life know very well that I am a superficial kinda gal most of the time. However, after a very interesting discussion at Timmy's last night, I am inspired to float my ideas into blog land. Thanks to Bertha and Monique!

We had a chat about religion and politics, often 2 big no-nos, but the 3 of us can disagree and still be civilized and friends after. Hmmm, image that. But then I don't hate people who believe different stuff than I do. So here is the Coles' notes version ( see, I am irreverent even when I am trying to be serious! ):

Politics- all politicians are idiotic pathological liers. I do not differentiate between party or even between country. I don't believe in anarchy though so I guess I am stuck with them. I do not trust any of them to wipe their own butt though.

Religion- I am spiritual I guess. I believe that most religions have some validity but I don't follow any particular one. I never really thought about religion though until I started taking history in school and realized how hypocritical most major religions are. What disgusted me most was war "in the name of God" ( or Allah or whatever ) Excuse #1 - "But those people don't believe in the same God I do! It is okay to take over their country, kill their children and rape their women." Excuse #2 ( even worse in my book ) - "Those people believe in the same God as I do, but they worship him differently." Since I have Irish heritage that one REALLY gets my back up.


Now before you all start flaming away, please scroll back up to the second paragraph. If you follow some kind of organized religion, I do NOT disrepect you for it. I admire people that believe in something. It's just not for me. Too cynical I guess.

I honestly do not think about either of these 2 topics on a regular basis. Way down my priority list when I am just trying to deal with my immediate concerns of children, family, friends, etc. You can blame Tim Horton's coffee and 2 of my friends for my philosophical turn.

Next post, back to my superficial self!

We got some of the white stuff in the wee hours of this moring and it is still coming down pretty good. So far there is maybe an inch. The forecast was for 5 cm ( 2inches ) which is sort of an average snowfall for around here. If we get a foot or more everyone gets excited! The moment the flakes are fairly thick and are starting to stick.

The kids at school thought it was great, even though there was hardly any to play in. That might be different after school! It's also not that cold, -2 maybe? I just wore one extra pair of gloves this morning. I found just wearing my leather gloves yesterday a bit too chilly.

Check out Glenda's blog for more details but she reminds us that today is the 87th anniversary of the Halifax Explosion. I read a fascinating book in the summer about one of the families affected by the explosion. Almost the entire family was wiped out. The book is called "Too Many to Mourn, One Family's Tragedy in the Halifax Explosion." The author is the son of one of the women who survived. She lost her husband and all of her 10 children. She later remarried and gave birth to the author.

Today is also the 15th anniversary of the Montreal Massacre. The news article explains in more detail. There are also other links about this story at www.cbc.ca.


Not a very happy day for Canada.

1) Which stone is your birthstone? Do you like it?

Aquamarine for March and yes I do like it. I have an aquamarine ring on the 3rd finger of my right hand that Toni got me the year after we got married.



2) Do you prefer silver or gold?

Gold definitely, though I am learning appreciate silver more.


3) Name the jewelry that you wear whenever you leave the house.

Just my 4 rings - wedding band and engagement ring, family ring on the middle finger of my left hand ( the ring has a row of 4 stones, my aquamarine and Toni's blue topaz on the outside and Kyra and Kyle's sapphire and amethyst in the middle ) and the above-mentioned ring in question one.

4) What is your most precious and valuable item of jewelry.

The cross that belonged to my grandmother.

5) Do you carry insurance on any of your jewelry and if not, why not?

No but I probably should.

Good grief! My son can find poo that no one else can. In the last few weeks we have cleaned his shoes several times. Kyra was scooping up Angus' offerings in the back yard and naturally Kyle found the one she missed. A few days later he stepped in some at Bertha's place.

This morning we were at the Christmas tree farm with Bertha, Bav and their families. Total number of children - 7. Total acreage - at least 2. The kid who finds the dog doo with his boot - you guessed it! Daddy naturally does not take off the offending boot to put it in the back of the truck with the Christmas tree. Noooo, he lets Kyle wear it all the way home so we get to have the full smell experience!

Oh well, at least we got a nice Christmas tree.

As some of you know I am the head honcho for Canada Division. I was the Western Co-Ordinator up until this summer, when I took over the east for Lorrie Ramsay.

I got 2 big boxes of stuff from her a couple of weeks ago. At the time I was having an "Oh my God I have no time for that right now" moment and promptly shoved them into the guest room where there are plenty of other unpacked boxes.

This morning I went through them and sorted out what was there. I now have to put all of Lorrie's Eastern info ( stitchers and finishers names and addresses, and addresses and names of hospital contact people ) into my Works file. She also gave me a huge bag of DMC and some aida for the stitchers. There is one finished quilt, several stitched panels that need to be made into quilts, and some stuff for a craft sale. I also have her master copies of the charts. I will definitely be doing one, I just don't know when.

For those of you reading this blog who would like more info about the project, I will give you a link instead of a long-winded explanation.

I guess at some point I will have to register us as a charity? I'm not sure what that entails exactly. I will be doing some research obviously, but if anyone has done this please feel free to educate me!