Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Cotton Tail

One more teaching day until a four day rest...
looking forward to more time with this character...
hurts my heart...

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

To Turn a Heel



Oh dear. I think my new hat is a little too big. Good thing it's actually a purse. I just thought I was quite hilarious when I put it on my head with my knitting girls. Of course, I had to milk "my funny" so I decided to put it on my blog. Anyway, it's going to be a lovely little purse--I'm just finishing the strap tonight.


Now that our play is over, I can get back to my knitting projects. What a great run it was--and I'm sad it's over, but my knitting projects have been neglected...






And then there's these socks. A little boy is eagerly awaiting them. I'm reminded of a pair of socks I started for a bigger boy many years ago--I stopped just before the heel. I can't abandon these ones. My status as "the best mommy in the world" depends on it. So now, I'm ready for some heel-turning. Party on.

Monday, March 29, 2010

Rise Up Singing


Okay...as a struggling singer...I love this book. It contains lyrics to over 1200 songs. The music isn't included so you need to know the tune--however, it's amazing how many hundreds of songs we can all actually sing when provided with lyrics. I flip through and find songs to sing with my son at bedtime. It also solves that horrible dilemma of having just a few lines stuck in one's head. My favourites include Yellow Submarine, Big Yellow Taxi, Blowin' in the Wind, Froggie Went a Courtin', and Farewell to Nova Scotia. Thanks Peter Blood and Annie Patterson for creating this collection.
And the illustrations by Kore Loy McWhirter...stunning...

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Roots for Shoots


I'm just about done with root vegetables and apples...and all the food I preserved. Everything was lovely, even up to a month ago, but now, I just want some FRESH greens (not the ones shipped in from California). Oh, and asparagus. I so want asparagus from Clover Gardens. Soon.
I haven't ordered from Wendy's for a few weeks now because I wanted to work my way through our freezer, jars, and squash stock pile. There is one sorry-looking squash left and a few wizened potatoes. And, while I'm complaining, I'm not sure who I thought would eat the massses of PESTO I made. I love it, but I was a little overzealous.
So...now that things have settled down with our play (sigh)...I'm going to direct some energy towards cleaning out my pantry. Food is much less heart-wrenching than the arts. Feeling a bit like Eeyore.
Any ideas on what to do with all this pesto? Any non-traditional uses for it?

Friday, March 26, 2010

Raising a Mother

It was the night before Sears Drama Festival. I always love this time of year with its culmination of all our hard work, with the excitement of taking a show to a new venue. The night before the festival, Kieran woke up at 2:00am with raspy breathing. I didn't sleep for the rest of the night, planning out the next day, worried about what would happen.

Croup. He woke up with croup. Murphy's Law! Luckily all sorts of people stepped up to make sure the play would happen. It was a crazy morning, but our caregiver, my colleagues, Mike, and friends all made sure the kids got to have their experience.

It takes a village to raise a mother.

I stayed home to take Kieran to the doctor. By late afternoon, he was better so I still made it to see the show. It was their best performance yet. So moving.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Bumps and Bruises

Yesterday, my boy was busy twirling when he tripped and smacked his head on his toy box. It was a bone-chilling noise especially since I'm a 'little' nervous about head bumps. And so, the goose egg formed. And then the bruising came. And boy-oh-boy was he snarly.

Once I decided not to flee to the emergency, I pulled out the ice pack and the arnica gel. Again, I'm pretty new at homeopathy but I know that arnica is good for bruising. Well, given the bump he had, he hardly has any bruising today. I used the gel from Borion--it's available at Superstore. What a great thing.

He's also sick. Of course, he's sick. My annual (yes, just ONCE a year) drama festival is tomorrow. He's been sick every year for the past three festivals. Over the years, we've come to have a great respect for herbal medicine in speeding up healing and building immunity. St. Francis Herb Farm has a wonderful children's echinechea and a new immune support combination. I got ours at Tara's Natural Foods in Kingston. Thank you!

Then there's the most important thing of all: Bear Feels Sick by Karma Wilson.

Monday, March 22, 2010

New Play

Lots of good things going on. Since Christmas, I've been working with a group of students to create a one-act play. I wrote the play and one of my students composed the music. So, it's truly a home-grown production. It's been wonderful to write these words and then see where the students take the story. So rewarding.

Set in post-war Ontario, Stranger is a memory play exploring the murder of a thirteen year old girl. The play examines the crime, trial, and punishment for Penny Nelson's death.

We will perform our play at the Sears Ontario Drama Festival in Kingston. Our show is scheduled for 7:00pm on March 24th at KCVI (just behind Stouffer Library off Queen's campus).

That's probably why I just noticed that I haven't updated my blog in EIGHTEEN days.

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Green Shelving


I would never really describe my husband as "green." Nor is he overly vocal about protecting the environment. However, he is frugal. I'd say that's what makes him a master of the second R- reuse. When we replaced the wood core doors in our upstairs, Mike used the old doors to make some much-needed shelving in our basement. I thought it was quite clever of him...and inadvertently green.
I also like the way he looks like a superhero in this photo. The Green Wolverine. Sorry.


Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Play Dough Chaos


Mixing play dough colours used to freak me out--just like I wouldn't let my peas touch my potatoes. But things have changed. Now, instead of separating the colours into separate tubs, I stuff this rainbow blob into the containers.



Tuesday, March 2, 2010

In Like a Lamb

Sunday, just before the hockey game, we went hiking. The sun shone, puddles glistened, and melting snow dripped. Ahhhh...

And, of course, what's a hike without a boy with stick.



boy with stick

newly knitted blue hat

boy with stick, again