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Upper Canada in 1866

Published June 14, 2008 Family , Friends , Homeschooling 3 Comments

Miss A11 has just returned from the schoolhouse, you can see her copybook in her hand. Her behaviour was more than adequate while in class, she even received a merit award for penmanship. As is entirely proper she is keeping her hat on while outside and behaving like the well mannered, demure young lady you all know her to be.

Her younger brother A7 was also in class with her but seated on the other side of the one room schoolhouse with all the other young gentlemen. Being the youngest student in the school it was up to him to lead the male scholars into the school at the beginning of the day. Just previous to the ringing of the school bell all the boys were to be found behind the building gathered around the rain barrel.

The young ladies and gentlemen did not spend all their time at their studies, there was time for playing and dancing also. It was delightful indeed to see each one put their best foot forward to master a Scottish Reel and then dance it again, along with other dances, as part of their evening recreation.

Check back later for more glimpses of our trip back to 1866.

A job well done

Published April 13, 2008 Family , Friends , Music 3 Comments

Our family is now home after a very busy, but very satisfying day. This afternoon Stellae Boreales had their second fundraising concert for the China tour. It was a wonderful concert, the musicians played to an almost full auditorium, which was very encouraging for them. Our family felt blessed to look around the room and see many of our friends. The group has been practising very hard to master some new repetoire for today’s concert, the most interesting piece being an arrangement of part of the Butterfly Concerto, a Chinese piece.

In the lead up to the concert, the girls have put in hours of practice. Andrew has been working hard keeping the website updated and preparing the program. This morning I was able to finish work on a scrapbook I am making which includes all the performances of the 2007-2008 season so far. I will keep on adding to it as they complete their Ottawa performances and then fill it with China photos and memorabilia when we return. All the families involved with the group worked very hard to make today a success. For weeks people have been procuring donations of goods and services for the auction which followed the concert.

After the last auction item was collected and the remains of the desserts cleared away, we packed up and headed to a Chinese restaurant for dinner, tired but very pleased with the day. Needless to say Andrew and I were very proud of our girls and very impressed with the group’s performance. Andrew recorded the concert, and it is playing as I write this. L13 and A11 have been sitting listening, commenting on the little things they noted as each piece was performed and reliving the whole experience.

Privilege, pride and prejudice

Published March 22, 2008 Books and Films , Family , Friends 1 Comment

Last weekend I was having trouble using both my blogs. Loading either the publishing pages or the public site was a very slow process. It took several days before everything was back to normal and then more days before I managed to get back to the post I started below, so this news is a week old now.

My friend N and I were privileged to have a night away with our older girls, L13 and P13. We had been hoping to do this for a while, but Saturday music commitments made it hard to find the time. Last Friday afternoon Andrew was off work and on Saturday there was not a single rehearsal so we booked a B & B and off we went. N and I had a bit of trouble finding a suitable destination; there are many Bed & Breakfasts, but not all are affordable. And more importantly not all have tv and dvd provided. The one we settled on an hour out of Ottawa and was a two room suite complete with large tv and dvd player. I know many people choose to go away and enjoy life without the distraction of tv, but our part of our plan in going away together was to introduce the girls to the classic BBC version of Pride and Prejudice, all five hours of it!

About half way to our destination we stopped in an attractive little town and wandered in and out of the interesting shops. The most intriguing by far was the vintage clothing store. I could not believe the huge range of clothing in the store. It was amusing that none of us liked the same things. I found a beautiful dress from the fifties, a deep blue and green tartan silk organza over a shot silk underskirt. Unfortunately the pleated skirt was beginning to split on the folds and would probably have fallen apart the first time I tried to wear it. We browsed in a couple more shops, had a bite to eat and then drove on to the B & B.

Our hosts were very welcoming and suggested we take the snow shoes and go for a short hike through the woods and down to the river, which was running, not frozen over. As they pointed out the route we looked across to the river and saw a deer walking along the waters’ edge. When we approached the river the deer was long gone, but on the bank opposite us was a huge beaver nibbling a stick. We stayed and watched for quite a while, taking pictures, which unfortunately do not do him justice. On returning to our rooms we pulled out our vast array of snacks and prepared to begin the marathon.

N and I felt it was almost a rite of passage for our girls to be watching Elizabeth Bennett and Mr Darcy for the first time. And we thoroughly enjoyed watching it with them. L13 had read it late last year. P13, who has not read the book yet, was not even sure she would like it. We all assured her she would love it and were very pleased to see her enjoy it as much as the rest of us. Mr Collins made our skin crawl, Lydia made us angry, and of course Mrs Bennett disgusted us and made us laugh at the same time.

We had arranged with our hosts to have breakfast at about 9:30am, which was just as well after finishing P & P at 1:30am. We were served fruit smoothies, a fruit platter, eggs benedict and coffee, which were all delicious. L and P decided, after breakfast, to totally change the tone of viewing by squeezing in a Mr Bean before we set off again. On the way home we were able to chat about our favourite scenes and lines from the night before. It was interesting to hear the girls’ impressions and listen to them repeating bits of dialogue which had long been favourite passages of mine. We were all commenting on the very proper and polite way everyone spoke to each other even when they were in violent disagreement. We thought it would be a very good habit to cultivate.

Fun and games

Published March 8, 2008 Family , Friends , Memories 0 Comments

Due to March break and the weather there were no rehearsals today. We did not leave the premises. It was a nice change to be muddling around at home all day. Granted there was shoveling that had to be done on and off all day, but everyone lent a hand to do that. Everyone has sore muscles as a result, I think, because the snowbanks are now taller than Andrew. It takes effort to throw snow that high!

Before they had even had breakfast the children all gathered in the bedroom downstairs where L13 and her friend P13 had slept last night. When I looked in they had drawing books open in front of them and sketch books on their laps and all were drawing. After breakfast they decided to have some fun with A11’s latest online discovery: sound effects and voice generating sites. Using a children’s book about Moses and the children of Israel they recorded the whole story with appropriate crackling fire and crashing waves sounds as well as carefully chosen voices for God and Pharaoh.

In the afternoon the line between shoveling and fort building blurred a little, as is to be expected. When they came back inside soaked and rosy cheeked, we had a couple of games of Clue. I remember playing this when I was a child, I recall it being Cluedo, but it is the same game. I loved it then. It was fun this afternoon too, but not quite as enthralling as I remembered. “I think it was Professor Plum in the Billiard room with the candlestick.” More entertaining than the game itself was the banter about the suspects and their methods.

The evening finished with a couple of episodes of the Cosby Show and a couple of last looks out the window at…tomorrow’s task.

Snow days

Published February 13, 2008 Friends , Homeschooling , Sport 2 Comments

As I have mentioned we have loads of snow this year. This has meant quite a few snow days for the school kids but our children don’t seem to get snow days. We do have days in the snow, however. Ottawa is in the middle of Winterlude, the winter festival held in February each year. One of the attractions is the giant snow slides. So group of four headed to the snow slides last week.

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Last Friday afternoon we tried a new location for skiing. It was a wooded area not far from here. Wind had not dislodged the fresh snow from the trees so every tree was still and laden with white. The children skied along discussing how it looked just like the snow scenes from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. (now why doesn’t that surprise me?)

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We did not head down this hill on our X-country skis, by the way.

Two soups

Published February 9, 2008 Food , Friends , Hand made 0 Comments

I have two soup recipes to share with you. The first, I made and the other I enjoyed at a friend’s house.

Beef and Barley Soup with Mushrooms

½oz(14g) package dried wild mushrooms such as porcini
1 cup boiling water
1 tbs vegetable oil
8oz(250g) stewing beef, cut into ¼” dice
2 onions, finely chopped
2 stalks celery, peeled and thinly sliced
2 carrots, peeled and diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp salt
½ tsp cracked black peppercorns
½ tsp dried thyme leaves
1 bay leaf
½ cup pearl barley, rinsed
2 tbs tomato paste
6 cups beef broth
sour cream
finely chopped dill

  1. In a heatproof bowl, soak dried mushrooms in boiling water for 30 minutes, then strain through a fine sieve, reserving liquid. Chop mushrooms finely and set aside.
  2. In a skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add beef and cook, stirring, until lightly browned. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to slow cooker stoneware.
  3. Add onions, celery and carrots to pan and cook, stirring, until softened. Add garlic, salt, peppercorns, thyme, and bay leaves and cook, stirring , for one minute. Add barley and stir until coated. Stir in tomato paste, chopped mushrooms, beef broth and reserved mushroom liquid and bring to a boil. Transfer to slow cooker.
  4. Cover and cook on Low for 6 to 8 hours or on High for 3-4 hours. Discard bay leaf. Ladle into individual bowls, top with a dollop of sour cream and garnish with dill.

taken from Delicious and Dependable Slow Cooker Recipes Judith Finlayson.

Orange Squash Soup

1 butternut or buttercup squash
1 tbs butter
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 tbs ginger, finely chopped
½ tsp cumin
1 small carrot, thinly sliced
¼ cup orange juice concentrate
4½ cup chicken broth
¼ tsp nutmeg
pinch cayenne
salt and pepper
sour cream

  1. Cook squash. Heat butter and add onion, ginger, cumin and cook about 3 minutes.
  2. Add carrot, orange juice, broth and squash. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes until carrots and tender
  3. Blend in blender and puree until smooth.
  4. Add spices, return to heat and serve with dollop of sour cream.

Wintry conditions

Published February 2, 2008 Family , Friends , Music , Sport 1 Comment

A snow storm blew in mid morning yesterday and continued for the rest of the day leaving us with a foot or more of snow to deal with. We were out most of the day for our history lesson, followed by cross country skiing. Skiing in amongst the trees kept us from the bearing the brunt of the blowing snow but by the time we finished my hair was two big white clumps of snow. Our homeward trip was a little slippery in places; by this time a lot of snow had fallen and the van had trouble getting going again after it stopped at stop signs.

This morning we woke to bright sunshine but a white, white world. Four of us did some tag team shoveling in order to get out to music lessons and orchestra. Although we live very close to a main road, our own street is often not plowed until well after the surrounding streets. Once out of the driveway I immediately became stuck in the street. Andrew and a couple of neighbours helped push me into the “ruts” so I could drive fifty metres and get stuck again where our street joins the main road! They pushed me out again and we were fine until I attempted to return in the afternoon.

On entering our street I was happy to see the plow had been by, but as I turned the corner I realised the plow was only a few houses ahead of me and the cleared space in the road was only one car wide. I reversed out again, ran an errand, giving the plow time to finish and Andrew time to clear the entry to our driveway. All this detail may seem quite unnecessary to those to live in this city too, but I am still amazed by the whole “snow removal routine” which must be put into practice every time a storm hits. So it is for those who are have never experienced what is now a familiar part of my winter.

After rehearsal were over we met up with a group of people Andrew works with to skate on the canal. It has been open for just over a week and was full of people. The weather was great for skating not too cold and not too warm, just around -4°C. As it was a family skate, I did not feel too bad about my shaky style, there was a 5 year old with the same technique. We spent an hour skating before enjoying a potluck dinner and heading home. The night was not over for the girls who are playing at the Viennese Ball tonight. Stellae Boreales has two time slots finishing at midnight!

Gingerbread winners

Published January 28, 2008 Family , Food , Friends 4 Comments

Yesterday we attended the award ceremony at the museum where the children entered the Gingerbread house competition. L13 and P13 were very pleased to be awarded first place for “Children’s Group - Original Design” and A11, H10 and B7 proudly accepted second place in the same category. The local newspaper had a photographer there so we will wait and see if they end up in the paper. The houses are to stay intact for a few more days so Group of Four can see them. After that some people want to try eating the two month old gingerbread…

’tis the season

Published December 30, 2007 Family , Food , Friends 1 Comment

For us as for many people Christmas time is a time to spend with family and friends. Usually the “family” is the five of us, the rest living far, far away over the ocean. This year we have been very happy to have one of my Melbourne cousins here for Christmas. She arrived on Christmas Eve from New York but had already spent a few weeks visiting warmer parts of north and central America.

On Christmas Eve she and I did a few last minute errands and while we were out she was delighted that it started to snow, really snow. After supper we all went to the carol service at our church. The next morning we had a leisurely start poking in our stockings, eating pancakes and then opening the gifts from under the tree. We headed off mid afternoon to spend the rest of the day with some friends who made us feel part of their family. We finished the evening doing Karaoke, all of us, not something that happens every day. In fact it only happens with these particular friends.

Then next few days were also spent visiting friends and enjoying conversation, food and fun. The children have tobogganed, seen a play, watched Oliver (A11’s Christmas gift) and made snowmen. We all spent one day in Montreal, visiting the Biodome and wandering in and out of shops on Rue St Denis. We left my cousin there for a couple of days and had a quiet day yesterday, sorting and putting away the debris of our merriment and gift giving.

Gingerbread houses completed

Published December 2, 2007 Food , Friends , Hand made 5 Comments

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Here is the finished lighthouse made by A11, H10 and B7. There was quite the negotiation session at the end in order to make a decision about adding the colour to the roof, but I think everyone was happy with the finished product.

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L13 and P12 were very happy with the “Little House” when they finished. You can’t see it very well in this picture but there is a chimney which is made from chocolate rocks held together with brown icing mortar.

Entries close tomorrow and judging is next weekend. I’ll let you know how they go.

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