Playdate

We're always guaranteed to have fun at the Children's Museum.  We can go to outerspace, pretend to work in a restaurant, play with words, and teach in a turn-of-the-century classroom - all in one morning.  Soon there will be a new Arctic gallery, and well, that tickles us pink.  I hope there's ice fishing!

Here's to the weekend!
N

High Winds

Fun times are being had in these parts.  The Bumblebee is writing a book about a monster with smelly feet, and that there drawing is a town meeting to brainstorm some solutions 'cause all the 'sunlight' super power flowers are wilting from the toxic fumes.  We've come up with an ending, but each page she writes takes us farther from that predetermined destination.   Needless to say, it's going to take more time than I thought to wrap this ditty up.

Thankfully the girls and I have the next two days to hang out and enjoy each other's company.  I plan to wear lots of sweats, knit up a storm, drink pots of tea, and do a little early spring tidying.  What I am really looking forward to is an event on Tuesday morning that I am co-organizing for work with Glen Pearson's office.  Senator Art Eggleton will be presenting his report In from the Margins: A Call to Action on Poverty, Housing and Homelessness at the Wolf Performance Hall.  Doors open at 8:30 a.m., it's free, and there's no registration required to attend.  I'm stoked because this is exactly what I was seeking in my resolution-making - getting involved and building a caring community.   I just hope that I keep it together and don't cry.  When I get passionate about anything, I get really blubbery and unintelligible.  Everyone deserves a roof over their head, enough food to eat, and respect.  We live in a country that is incredibly rich with resources.  If one person is in need, we are all diminished.  If only this was as easy as solving some freaky malodorous toe jam.

N

Peppermint Deodorant

I was drooling and clicking on etsy last Saturday, and a Valentine's Day appropriate lip balm, a grapefruit patchouli facial soap, and a stick of peppermint deodorant made their way into my cart, and within six hours they were in my mailbox in a homemade cotton bag!  Jamie lives in London, and she was out doing deliveries (FREE) door-to-door.  It didn't take that much longer for the deodorant to make its way into my pit. :)  I'm loving the deodorant.  It's so minty that my armpits tingle when I roll it under my arms.  The most brilliant part is that as I move around all day, the scent makes its way up my shirt and into my nose.  I get high off of it.  I swear!!  It wakes me up.  My co-workers have been doing a lot of eye-rolling as I shriek and exclaim the wonders of my deodorant.  Can they not smell the peppermint??

The lip balm will be a Valentine's Day gift to the littlest who loves cinnamon and needs lip balm.  I feel as if I'm constantly reminding that sweet child to apply some chapstick.  The dry, cracked, bloody lips don't seem to phase her one bit.  I, on the other hand, have to look at them.

I have yet to try out the facial soap.  I'll probably test it out on the teen first, and then assess her skin over time.  If she doesn't break out from it, I will be buying it in bulk.  Wow, that kinda comes off as if she's my guinea pig.  I'll make her sign a consent form. :)

N

PS. This is not a paid endorsement.  This is how excited I honestly get by small stuff.  I did however have the table beside Jamie at the Handmade Festival last year, and we exchanged smiles and some small chit chat, and I just know that she is a lovely girl who is local, makes natural products, and delivers right to my door under six hours.  And that alone was blog-worthy.  Well, and my minty pits.

Little House on the Conservation Area

I found my paradise in the form of a pioneer village.   We learned about printing presses, really tiny fonts, making ink from soot, carding and drafting wool, singing God Save the Queen, churning and molding butter, and living in a one-room homestead.  It was awesome.  We only saw half of the village, so I'm eager to return and visit the rest.  I'm packing a bag.  Wonder if it would get wi-fi.  Hmmm. 

N

PS. The littlest and I are reading The Little House on the Prairie every night before bed, and I'm amazed that I've made it this far in life without reading this series.  We've just finished chapter 9 in which Pa has built a fireplace for their new house on the prairie.  I was super relieved last night/chapter 8 when Laura helped Pa build a door to replace the ol' quilt that hung over the doorway.  I barely slept a wink after chapter 7 in which a giant pack of 50 or so of the biggest wolves that Pa had ever seen surrounded the house howling at the moon.  I honestly don't think that Pa and his gun and Jack the scruffy dog would have been a match had the wolves stormed the quilt-covered opening to the house.  Evidently I am quite consumed by this book.  I'm going to freak out when they have to move house again.  Just saying.

Some Fun on a Monday

Yesterday we had some 'work' to do.  While the eldest volunteered at a craft station, the littlest and I took pictures.   Well, I snapped away while she played.  I admit I did some colouring too.  We had a lot of fun despite the Bee having a crick in her neck.  When we got home, I heated up one of the ol' rice socks, and she wore it around her neck to bed.  I felt so badly for her, but she didn't once complain.   And that outfit?   Oh boy, does she ever get lots of remarks, but she's got a 14-year old sister!  We've been noticing a trend around here of some slight copying with a little 8-year old jazz sprinkled throughout.   And we are big advocates of allowing our children to choose their own clothes except when they're 14 dressed like they're 18.  Besides, I'm nowhere near her at school, so it's not bothering me if she wears short over leggings with several different stripes. :)   And she loves scarves - this one in particular is made more special because it is El's scarf that was kindly lent to her for just the evening.   The Bee also does her own hair.  I love that she packs her fashion design book in her school knapsack because she's always thinking up new styles, and you never know when inspiration will strike.  Y'all best keep your eye out for this one!  I'm seeing snowflake tank tops and skirts made of streamers in the near future.

N

Loose Ends

These socks have been sitting in my knitting pile for a while now.  In fact I've probably only had to knit the toe on the second sock for two weeks.  Wednesday night while at Ignite London, I finished the toe, but I set aside the grafting until I was safely at home.  Well I got home, and they were set aside again until Saturday morning.  They fit the oldest perfectly.  Those are size 9 feet, my friends!   I shall not feel too guilty when I send her off at an ungodly hour each morning to the bus stop.  Her feet will be toasty.   Of course she can not wear this pair every day, so I will have to get moving on another pair.  If she's especially nice, I will lend her my size 8 socks in between. :)

The pattern is Wildflower by Fawn Pea, and they were very simple and mindless.  Really.  That one stitch is just purling 3 stitches together, leaving them on the left hand needle, bringing the yarn over, and purling the same 3 stitches together again.  Oh Nelly, it was easy.  I used up some unnaturally green Knit Picks Palette fingering-weight wool.  The wool was super cheap, but it is not superwash nor does it have a wee bit o' nylon.  Ack, it's what we get for $3 (I only used a ball and a half).   Oh but they will be warm, and that's all that matters at this point.  I really don't mind handwashing socks.  Really.

Happy Sunday.

N

Acts of Kindness

For the second year in a row, my city has challenged itself to perform a great number of acts of kindness in the month of October.  For the second year in a row, my organization for which I work is participating.  In fact, I am on the Kindness Committee.  Think of me as a Kindness Leader.  Without the shiny cape.  A very simple project that we are doing (and anyone can do this!) is keeping a Kindness journal in our staff room.  Each morning I pop into the staff room, and I jot one kind act that I performed the day before.  It only takes a minute or two, and I am back on my way to my desk.  While eating my lunch, I read about all the acts that my co-workers are doing.  I know I work with some great people, but this project really makes them shine!  Today the Kindness journal pen dried up.  I had a real situation on my hands, but thankfully I managed to scrounge up an old green Holiday Inn pen off the receptionist's desk.  It felt oddly unkind to be stealing a pen, but tomorrow I plan to return her 'stylo' and replace it with some new pens I ordered.  I'm coo' like that.

But that's not all we're doing.  I contacted the Boys and Girls Club, and I asked if we could be another drop-off point for children's winter coats and accessories for the Koats for Kids program.  I've already cleaned out our closets and winter hat/mitten/scarf stashes, and I've filled up two boxes!  This is another easy and rewarding act that anyone can do.  At the end of the month, I'll drive all the stuff we collected down the street to the Boys and Girls Club.  Easy peasy.

The neat thing about being kind is it's what you're doing already.  So far it hasn't cost me a dime, maybe a few minutes here and there, and the rewards are karmic. :)   If you're a Londoner, go and register!  It's not too late.  And if you're not local, do some random acts of kindness.  Pay it forward.

Cheers!
N

Country Fair

We woke up silly early this morning, and despite the family moaning and the rain pouring down, we went to our first ever country fair.   On the way, we stopped for rainboots and umbrellas as only we would do. We sat on bleachers and watched a sheep show that was out of this world, paraded through deep and muddy puddles squealing, oohed and ahhed over the handcrafted exhibits, petted handspun alpaca, ate black bean brownies, admired pumpkin twins and award-winning indian corn, and laughed at crazy clowns zooming around on motorcycles.  Country fairs are where it's at.  Even when it's raining cats and dogs.

I returned home itching to bake and knit and search local farms for sale.  Never hurts to dream my Amish dream a little. :)

N

Doors Open

How can moths - our archnemeses - be so pretty?  The Canadian Agricultural Research Centre was very educational, and it took all afternoon to tour it.  I was astounded by all the work that is being done to control infestations, soil amendments and genetic weaknesses.  For a moment, I imagined being a scientist hunched over a microscope dressed in a white lab coat and scribbling notes on a chart.  It was quite spectacular.

The next day we took in the Museum of Archaeology, and we got to see a real pow wow! 

I totally would have danced had I not been lugging around a heavy soapstone carving kit and a bajillion flyers and my camera.  I was the juggling act! :)

Really.

N

Souvenir Shopping

I couldn't be in the vicinity of so many wonderful yarn shops and not pop in to a single one.  My three family members understood this and sat at a nearby coffee shop to sip on hot chocolate and scarf down a mountain of cookies while I browsed the Mother Ship.  After all the neon florescent knitting I've been working on lately, I chose a few skeins of muted pastels which were much easier on my eyes.  The two skeins at the top are Romni Angora Silk in a pretty pale pink - just enough for a small shawlette, and the bottom two skeins are Fleece Artist Big Merino for a couple cowls or hats - whatever floats my boat I guess. :)

I think I was quite restrained especially after missing the biggest knitting fair of the year last weekend in favour of attending Photocamp.   This decision was to save me from spending lots of money as the conference was free, and I would probably have dropped a load on wool plus meals and transportation expenses.  As it turns out, I am now dreaming of spending hundreds of dollars on lenses.  I can't seem to win.

Speaking of free events, Doors Open London is on this weekend.  I'm itching to check out the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada  research centre.  I'll take my camera and report back!

Happy Saturday.
N

Promise Kept

The Bumblebee was as sad as she can be (which isn't very sad at all) when her end-of-year school trip was cancelled in June.  I pinky-swore that I would set aside one day this summer to take her myself.   She didn't let me forget for a moment!   So with the summer coming to an end, I took a day off work, and we spent the day at one of her favourite places.  We packed a picnic and her swimming suit, and she ran around excitedly for five hours.  Then we came home and flopped down and rested a bit.  Good times.

I love that she held on to Humpty Dumpty's hand.   It did occur to me while I followed her around and snapped pictures, that this little one is growing quickly, and sooner than I'd like to think about it, it will be me dragging her along rather than her dragging me along on adventures.  Oh dear.  That broke my heart a little.  I'd like her to stay this age forever.  Her birthday is a week away.  Maybe she'll forget.

N

Lavender Blue Farm

I found myself with four kids on the weekend, and so we went on a little adventure to the nearby lavender farm.  It was a bit drizzle-y and overcast - perfect for taking pictures and smelling lavender.

I bought a bag of dried lavender to sew sachets for my wool stashes and a vial of lavender essential oil to make my own linen spray.   I could have fallen asleep right in that field - except four kids will keep you alert.  Just saying.

N

Local Community Initiatives

I've not always been a huge fan of living in London.  It took me a long time to call it home.  I moved here sixteen years ago from a small town less than an hour away.  It was a bit exciting and new at the time to live in a big city, but over time, it became clear that there weren't many reasons to stay here.  If I had a nickel for every person who has moved away, I'd have a mountain of nickels! (I'm looking at you, Mr. & Mrs. T!)  And then along came the internets to the rescue!    I've found that my most successful method of finding out all the cool stuff happening in my community is via twitter.  I'm not a very active twitter user - meaning I don't have much to add, but I have gotten so much out of it.   Here are a few projects that I've stumbled upon while stalking local tweets:

ecoLIVINGLondon is a new website that developed out of the London chapter of GreenDrinks, a monthly gathering of people concerned about the environment.  I plan on using this site for tips and ideas for green living as well as identifying local businesses that are offering green products and services.  The event listing alone is reason to keep this site on your radar.

Another really cool initiative is the idea of a Parking Day.  Know what that is?  I didn't, but now I do, and you should too.  It's super cool.  I'm not surprised because Kevin Van Lierop is always thinking and DOING up really cool stuff.   This guy needs to run for City Council some day - this was suggested on twitter, and I couldn't stop thinking about it.  It's true.  If London is an awesome place to live, it will be a direct result of what he's started.

Most recently I attended the first Ignite London event, and it was ten kinds of awesome.  You can watch the presentations on youtube here.  Registration for the next Ignite London on October 12 opened a few days ago, and it is beyond full, and it's still two months away.  Regardless registration is still open, so if you're reading this, for the love of Todd, go register now.  It's FREE!   And I almost won a pitcher of beer for building the highest spaghetti noodle structure to hold up a marshmallow.  What do you do on Tuesday nights?

As for knitting?  I've finished two EZ snail hats, and I've cast on for a third.  I'm addicted.   Pictures to come!

Happy Winds-day, my friends!

N

Blueberries for Bee

The littlest and I took a little drive out to the country, and we spent an hour and a half in a sunny field of blueberries as wide and far as the eye could see.  She hummed little tunes and entertained me with silly stories.  We laughed and made a pretty good team.  We paid a pittance for our two big buckets of blueberries, and I haven't got a clue how I'm going to use up all of them because we must consume them quickly as I want to take her and my hundred closest friends next weekend - everyone should have that much fun.  Ever have those wonderfully blissful days you want to relive over and over again?

N