Sisters in the late afternoon autumn sunshine. My golden girls :)
Monday, October 16, 2006
Yum!!! Apple Fritters!!!
This is a staple of the Ball's Falls Thanksgiving Weekend Festival. Hot apple fritters deep fried right there in a big old cast iron cauldron and dusted with confection sugar, ooooooooh that's goooood! I like how the girls making the fritters are dressed in pioneer dresses and the boys in denim overalls, cute!
Niki and I are presenting the sign, yes we are very silly people, lol! oh well! Peter is gallantly braving the mega huge line to get us those hot tasty treats. I swear I go to this festival for the apple fritters and to see the fiddlers 3. I just seem to coincidently get to the festival in time to see the fiddlers every year, even though I haven't checked the festival schedule. Just my luck because I love watching this group, they seem to enjoy what they do.
Other great things about this festival;
- the gourmet food tent with lots of samples, yum!
- the arts and crafts vendors
- the historic buildings including a working grist mill
- the beautiful mature maple trees in all their autumn glory
Autumn Walk in the Woods
We began our Thanksgiving weekend with a visit with our friends Vickie, Kris and their lovely family. After the kids were settled in for the night we had a great evening of wine and hot tub and food! This time it was cold enough outside to really appreciate the outdoor hot tub. It was very comfy and relaxing!
The next morning we went for a walk in the woods behind their house. It was an absolutely fantastic perfect autumn day. It felt like the whole universe was bursting in yellow, orange and red. It was nice to finally have a day where there was not a cloud in the sky after so many endless gray and rainy ones.
We left for home early in the afternoon. It is a 3-4 hour drive (depending on traffic and constuction) but it was fun seeing all the colours along the way.
Our visit ended much too soon. We have been having such a wonderful time with Vickie and Kris. I am so glad that they are here in Ontario. I just love them!
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Waterloo Royal Medieval Faire
We took the kids to another amazing festival this weekend. It was a medieval faire! We will definately have to make this an annual event for our family - it was so much fun! So much to see and do!
When we arrived a wonderful celtic band was playing at the bandshell. I was happy to see a maypole, even if it was the wrong time of year for it, lol! There were many people dressed up in full costumes, loads of vendors selling, fairy wings, armour, swords and so much more.
It was a very interactive event. Children could play 'seige the castle' games using medieval weapons such as miniture trebuchets, battering rams and those big wicked crossbow things that shoot arrows the size of spears.
We watched a small skirmish amongst the knights. We saw the King and Queen and we even saw a dragon, hee-hee! And of course there were the countless fairies.
I wish there were more re enactment type of events close to us. I can't wait until next year!
Here's a few pictures from the Faire. Huzzah!
When we arrived a wonderful celtic band was playing at the bandshell. I was happy to see a maypole, even if it was the wrong time of year for it, lol! There were many people dressed up in full costumes, loads of vendors selling, fairy wings, armour, swords and so much more.
It was a very interactive event. Children could play 'seige the castle' games using medieval weapons such as miniture trebuchets, battering rams and those big wicked crossbow things that shoot arrows the size of spears.
We watched a small skirmish amongst the knights. We saw the King and Queen and we even saw a dragon, hee-hee! And of course there were the countless fairies.
I wish there were more re enactment type of events close to us. I can't wait until next year!
Here's a few pictures from the Faire. Huzzah!
Thursday, September 21, 2006
Willow's First Day of Playgroup
So yesterday I took Willow to her first day of playgroup of the year. The playgroup is a distant reincarnation of a group I attended with Josi and Niki years ago. It's very different. The toys are fancier, the location is bigger and it's entirely free to attend - no membership fees! Also there are 2 full time ECE workers ready to help at anytime.
Willow seemed to have a good time. She is pretty bashful with strangers, but I could tell she was very pleased too! At circle time at the end Willow squirmed until she was right in the centre of the circle in front of the ECE reading the story, then she lay down right in the middle of the circle and played footsies with another little girl. It was very sweet. I think this will be a weekly outing for us.
I was kind of glad that they are in a new location now. I tried to go last year, (it was the new program, but at our old location)and had a hard time adjusting to all the differences. I kept comparing this new group with my old group. So much had changed. For one thing it is entirely government funded now. There were no ECE's in the old days like there are now. The Early Childhood Educators cater to the parents and children, whereas we had to work pretty hard at times to keep the group going. I know the new group sounds wonderful, but let me tell you why my old group was so special.
When Josi and Niki were little I attended a playgroup right here in my little rural neighborhood. It was a fun experience for us all. One thing that is so common amongst new mothers is the isolation of staying at home all day with babies and preschool children. Playgroup saved me from that lonliness.
It's funny to think how much I loved that experience. I'm a pretty introverted type of person and to a point I really love my privacy and quiet time, but apparently I really needed some kind of social outlet at that time. Getting to know these mothers was tough at first for me. I wasn't sure I had very much in common with these ladies. Motherhood is what we had in common. Trying to find community was another similarity. And that was all that was needed to form friendships.
Our community playgroup was unique in that it was formed and run by the mothers who attended. We applied each year for a very small government grant, about $7,000, enough to pay the rent of our space at the community hall. Any other money needed for supplies, toys, trips, parties was raised through a small membership fee and fundraisers.
We organized all of this through an elected commitee. Holding a place on the commitee meant really digging your hands into the management of our group. We held monthly meetings, most of which were open to all members. Every member was encouraged to express their ideas. This was our group and we wanted everyone to feel ownership.
All members were expected to help out with cleaning up, serving snacks, leading circle times. We did allow some people to escape duties if it really wasn't their bag. We set a seperate, slightly more pricey membership fee for those who wanted to escape duties. Most people preferred to help out. I like to think that it was because they wanted to be involved.
I've always stayed out of the spotlight in groups an organizations. Being an introvert means I've always dreaded any focus on myself. Still I got so involved with this group I served 3 years on the committee. I was the newsletter editor for two years and was chairperson for one year.
For my older kids, they have sweet memories of trips to the pumpkin farm, halloween parties with Wanda the Witch (the kids were terrified of her!) making her balloon animals and our annual year end picnic.
For myself I have memories of drinking coffee and talking, sharing advice, seeing families grow, pregnancies, new babies, even some sad times, times of loss. Sharing with mamas who although were very different than me, shared that one thread of commonality : Motherhood
I still see those mother's in the hallways of my kids' school. We don't really get together these days, but we catch up when we pick up our kids, volunteer at the school or watch the school's yearly halloween parade. These mothers, who worked so hard to make our group work almost entirely outside of a goverment organized sytem are the same ones who work hard to keep the school going despite the lack of funding threatening to end anything extra curricular.
They taught me what community is. They are what community is.
So the new group may be very different. I can't really imagine feeling that level of involvment, but I do hope to make connections with my community. Mamahood is our bond!
Willow seemed to have a good time. She is pretty bashful with strangers, but I could tell she was very pleased too! At circle time at the end Willow squirmed until she was right in the centre of the circle in front of the ECE reading the story, then she lay down right in the middle of the circle and played footsies with another little girl. It was very sweet. I think this will be a weekly outing for us.
I was kind of glad that they are in a new location now. I tried to go last year, (it was the new program, but at our old location)and had a hard time adjusting to all the differences. I kept comparing this new group with my old group. So much had changed. For one thing it is entirely government funded now. There were no ECE's in the old days like there are now. The Early Childhood Educators cater to the parents and children, whereas we had to work pretty hard at times to keep the group going. I know the new group sounds wonderful, but let me tell you why my old group was so special.
When Josi and Niki were little I attended a playgroup right here in my little rural neighborhood. It was a fun experience for us all. One thing that is so common amongst new mothers is the isolation of staying at home all day with babies and preschool children. Playgroup saved me from that lonliness.
It's funny to think how much I loved that experience. I'm a pretty introverted type of person and to a point I really love my privacy and quiet time, but apparently I really needed some kind of social outlet at that time. Getting to know these mothers was tough at first for me. I wasn't sure I had very much in common with these ladies. Motherhood is what we had in common. Trying to find community was another similarity. And that was all that was needed to form friendships.
Our community playgroup was unique in that it was formed and run by the mothers who attended. We applied each year for a very small government grant, about $7,000, enough to pay the rent of our space at the community hall. Any other money needed for supplies, toys, trips, parties was raised through a small membership fee and fundraisers.
We organized all of this through an elected commitee. Holding a place on the commitee meant really digging your hands into the management of our group. We held monthly meetings, most of which were open to all members. Every member was encouraged to express their ideas. This was our group and we wanted everyone to feel ownership.
All members were expected to help out with cleaning up, serving snacks, leading circle times. We did allow some people to escape duties if it really wasn't their bag. We set a seperate, slightly more pricey membership fee for those who wanted to escape duties. Most people preferred to help out. I like to think that it was because they wanted to be involved.
I've always stayed out of the spotlight in groups an organizations. Being an introvert means I've always dreaded any focus on myself. Still I got so involved with this group I served 3 years on the committee. I was the newsletter editor for two years and was chairperson for one year.
For my older kids, they have sweet memories of trips to the pumpkin farm, halloween parties with Wanda the Witch (the kids were terrified of her!) making her balloon animals and our annual year end picnic.
For myself I have memories of drinking coffee and talking, sharing advice, seeing families grow, pregnancies, new babies, even some sad times, times of loss. Sharing with mamas who although were very different than me, shared that one thread of commonality : Motherhood
I still see those mother's in the hallways of my kids' school. We don't really get together these days, but we catch up when we pick up our kids, volunteer at the school or watch the school's yearly halloween parade. These mothers, who worked so hard to make our group work almost entirely outside of a goverment organized sytem are the same ones who work hard to keep the school going despite the lack of funding threatening to end anything extra curricular.
They taught me what community is. They are what community is.
So the new group may be very different. I can't really imagine feeling that level of involvment, but I do hope to make connections with my community. Mamahood is our bond!
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Pagan Pride Day
This weekend was Hamilton's Annual Pagan Pride Day festival. It was the 4th year for this event and was held at Gage Park. Wow, it was so much fun! We didn't get to spend too much time there since I had to get Josi to a sleep over party by 4:00pm, we missed opening and closing circle, but we had a great time browsing through all the cool stuff in the vendors area and doing lots of people watching. It was great to be amongst such beautiful and colourful folks of all ages.
I just wish I had some pictures to share! I will add a link to Hamilton's Pagan Pride Day website and Hamilton's Wiccan Temple site as well.
Niki found it totally boring as he has a bit of trouble grasping matters of spirituality. He likes the ideas of reincarnation and understands maybe a teensy bit about karma. He would have liked it better if there had of been a jump 'n' bounce or a ferris wheel, hee-hee!
Josi on the other hand is VERY interested in spirituality. She has been very interested in Buddhism and has recently shown more of an interest in feminine divinity and the ecological aspects so commonly found in paganism. It's very cool to watch her explore such non mainstream ideals (well, buddhism isn't exactly alternative, but in our prodominatly white christain community, I think it is a little rare).
Willow was just happy to run around the park, lol!
I can't wait to see how big the festival will be next year! The number of vendors must have doubled since the previous year and there were many more people as well.
I just wish I had some pictures to share! I will add a link to Hamilton's Pagan Pride Day website and Hamilton's Wiccan Temple site as well.
Niki found it totally boring as he has a bit of trouble grasping matters of spirituality. He likes the ideas of reincarnation and understands maybe a teensy bit about karma. He would have liked it better if there had of been a jump 'n' bounce or a ferris wheel, hee-hee!
Josi on the other hand is VERY interested in spirituality. She has been very interested in Buddhism and has recently shown more of an interest in feminine divinity and the ecological aspects so commonly found in paganism. It's very cool to watch her explore such non mainstream ideals (well, buddhism isn't exactly alternative, but in our prodominatly white christain community, I think it is a little rare).
Willow was just happy to run around the park, lol!
I can't wait to see how big the festival will be next year! The number of vendors must have doubled since the previous year and there were many more people as well.
Monday, September 18, 2006
My Girl turns 12!
Josi is now 12 years old! She turned 12 on September 11. How did it happen? Where did the time go? Since the day Josi was born, time seemed to speed up. Peter and I were parents and everything changed. The changes were incredible, fulfilling, intense and bitteresweet at times.
It all began on September 11, 1994.
There are times when I just want to freeze time and hold onto her at this moment, just a little longer. But watching her grow into the person she is becoming is too amazing to put a stop to. How could I? She has so much ahead of her. If I really could stop time it wouldn't be fair to keep her from experiencing life. Her life.
But on her birthday I love to remember my first little baby. And the memories are beautiful! Her birth was also my own birth. The birth of a mother.
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
Back to School
Yesterday, Josi and Niki started their new school year. I have such mixed feelings when it comes to school. I am a huge supporter of homeschooling. I feel that children learn best in the real world and that institional learning is not ideal. School is a great place to be bullied or be a bully. It's a great place to learn materialism. It's the right place to be if you want to learn how to wear what everyone else is wearing, do what everyone else is doing and say what everyone else is saying.
But . . .
I have met some wonderful parents and wonderful teachers (ALMOST all of them, but there is one that will never teach another child of mine) at Josi's and Niki's school. Most of them do care and have something worthwhile to share with these kids.
I'm happy with the teachers they have this year. Niki has a new educational assistant (Niki has some minor developemental delays) and I think she is going to be good for him. I like how she connected with Niki on his first day.
Josi's teacher is very pleasant and I have heard all good things about him. I loved seeing Josi back with her friends. She is friends with two sisters who seem very sweet and kind. And Niki was back with his best bud too.
Still, every September I wonder if I am doing the right thing. I wonder if we could be doing things differently. In some ways it is very hard to go against the mainstream especially when it involves the lives of people other then yourself. What I decide now has an effect on the rest of their lives. Talk about pressure!
So I will do what I do every year. I will see how it goes. If things go well, then to school they will go and if my children are unhappy we can go back to homeschooling.
ps - I'm pretty sure I worry too much, lol!
But . . .
I have met some wonderful parents and wonderful teachers (ALMOST all of them, but there is one that will never teach another child of mine) at Josi's and Niki's school. Most of them do care and have something worthwhile to share with these kids.
I'm happy with the teachers they have this year. Niki has a new educational assistant (Niki has some minor developemental delays) and I think she is going to be good for him. I like how she connected with Niki on his first day.
Josi's teacher is very pleasant and I have heard all good things about him. I loved seeing Josi back with her friends. She is friends with two sisters who seem very sweet and kind. And Niki was back with his best bud too.
Still, every September I wonder if I am doing the right thing. I wonder if we could be doing things differently. In some ways it is very hard to go against the mainstream especially when it involves the lives of people other then yourself. What I decide now has an effect on the rest of their lives. Talk about pressure!
So I will do what I do every year. I will see how it goes. If things go well, then to school they will go and if my children are unhappy we can go back to homeschooling.
ps - I'm pretty sure I worry too much, lol!
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