Category Archives: Friends

Wrapping up her birthday

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A12 turned twelve during our trip to China, but the party happened just a week ago.  Our children have birthday parties every second year if they wish.  Even while we were in China we were thinking about the party.  While shopping in Shanghai A12 picked up a few things to give to her guests.  Originally the party was to have a China theme but it became an Olympic party instead.

The guests were asked to pick a country and come with some representation like a mascot or flag or maybe dress in the country’s sporting colours.  Australia, Canada, Italy, USA, Great Britain, Botswana, Mexico, Israel and Argentina were represented.  The games were not all athletic, which was just as well, as it turned out to be a grey rainy day.  We had an obstacle course, balloon volleyball, an “eatathlon”, 1-100 sprint, ball toss, card relay, and a triathlon including horseriding, weight lifting and hurdles!

In most events gold, silver and bronze stickers where given out to be stuck on the medal tally chart.  I was very happy to see that every country placed in several events!  All competitors received a chocolate medal during the closing ceremony.  The athletes ate chicken, chips and salad together before consuming birthday cake made by L14 and decorated with the Olympic rings.

Campaign Close-up

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Friends of ours and fellow members of Group of Four welcomed an important visitor into their home this morning. The Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, was given a short cello lesson by B7’s friend J8. Mr Harper then used his new skills to accompany E12 as he played a fiddle tune. E, J and their brother M were able to chat to Mr Harper about their interests and music lessons. 

We were also able to experience an aspect of the current election campaign at very close range today when we were invited to the Conservative Headquarters to attend a policy announcement.  Mr Harper, announced three new initiatives to help Canadian families. One of those initiatives is to establish a tax credit on fees for children taking music, art or drama lessons.

We were present for the whole announcement and the question time which followed. The children listened to the Prime Minister outline the policy, which involved more than just the tax credit, and heard him field questions on a range of topics relating to the election. After the announcement he took a few minutes to meet each member of the three families invited. When talking to the children he asked them about their involvement with music and told them a little about his own piano learning as a young person. He also chatted to them about the instruments his son and daughter like to play.

It was great to be behind the scenes and see the large media contingent in action.  We were briefed before the announcement by one of the PM’s staff about what to expect and appropriate behaviour.  We were also warned that the strong lighting can get very hot and just last week someone fainted during a press release.    We had stood for twenty minutes or so and were just listening to Mr Harper answering the last question when I realised A12 was swaying beside me, I whispered to her but received no reply.  Not a moment too soon I put my arms out to steady her and maneuvered away to the side of the room, where someone picked her up and carried her to a chair.  As soon as she could walk we went off to a back room where she recovered.  That is why you cannot see either of us in the photos here.  Mr Harper did come back to the room with the rest of the families where A12 and I were able to speak briefly with him.

You can read the press release here or watch it here

Summer Daze

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Today is the last day of the summer holidays, but it is definitely not the last day of summer. I keep telling people that summer could last another month or so yet. Wishful thinking, I know. I don’t know where all the summer days have gone. Even though we were only in China two weeks, it seemed to affect my whole summer. The weather also threw me out, it rained almost everyday through July and half of August. After the extreme heat of China the mild days here were pleasant but not the summer days we are used to.

On returning from China A12 and L14 threw themselves into studying for their music theory exams. For four weeks they spent large chunks of every day working, L14 did Grade 2 and A12 Grade 1. I think B7 found this a bit tough as he had already missed their company for two weeks only to find them always working on cadences, scales and Italian terms. They did take a break on the August long weekend, which included L14’s birthday, and we all visited our friends at their cottage in the Laurentians.

After the exams were finally over they both breathed sighs of relief and then realised there were only three weeks of holidays left. B7 and A12 went to a soccer camp run by SU at our church which they thoroughly enjoyed. Both came home each day hot, sunburnt and happy. L14 and I fitted in several games of tennis, some swimming and a little shopping. Throughout these weeks of theory and sport I steadily sorted and cleaned through many rooms of the house. I also spent hours planning for the coming school year.

As has been our custom since we came to Canada we went out for an “End of School Dinner”. We had not eaten out together since I was diagnosed with celiac disease so we decided to try one of the restaurants recommended by the Ottawa Celiace Association. It was Indian and the food was delicious. We all chose something to share and I was able to eat just about everything. I had prepared certificates for the children as I have in past years. The awards can be for excellent results, considerable improvement or consistent effort. I also had movie gift certificates for them each this year and they bought a cd for Andrew and I. As in past years it was a very enjoyable night.

We returned to our friends’ cottage for a week of swimming, kayaking, card games and more school planning (the mums of course, not the kids!) It was very relaxing, as it always is; the days were sunny and warm, the nights crisp and the company refreshing. Both families returned to celebrate H’s birthday, which was a fancy dress party. L14 made alterations to a “Queen Guinevere” dress I had made years ago and turned it into one of the Princess Bride’s costumes. A12 created an Arabian nights style costume to be Aravis from “The Horse and His Boy”. (I’ll try and post a photo tomorrow)

This past week has disappeared as I have tried to get the house to rights, attended several planning meetings and worked on details for the upcoming Stellae Boreales retreat. Tomorrow we begin a new year and according the levels here in Canada we have a highschooler, a junior highschooler and an elementary school student. I think everyone is looking forward to the year’s challenges, the first one being getting out of bed at a reasonable time tomorrow morning!

Back in 1866

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Our time in 1866 was made all the more pleasant on account of the company we had.  Twelve young ladies and eight young gentlemen along with some of their worthy mothers and even one fine father spent a day and a night together at Upper Canada Village.

The weather was sunny and pleasant, making it bearable to be fixing meals and doing chores in a few more layers than we are used to wearing.  The clothes truly transformed us all.   It was as though everyone had donned a layer of gentility with their dresses or vests.

Young ladies were to be found in the kitchen baking Grandmother’s sugar cookies over an open fire. Others were engaged in the essential task of sewing, each making for herself a reticule.

While the young ladies were thus engaged the gentlemen were applying themselves to tinsmithing and blacksmithing.  Each one fashioned a candle holder such as no 1866 family would want to be without.

It was indeed a very enjoyable experience, history came alive as the children walked through the “living museum” and were taught by the residents of the village.  Old friendships were renewed as we spent a couple of days with families we first met at co-op years ago.  New friendships were formed as children traveled back in time together.

Upper Canada in 1866

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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.