Family Day

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Ontario had a new holiday today: Family Day. Andrew had the day off but for the rest of us the only change to our normal routine was an extra hour of sleeping in. It is a bit sad that we spent our Family Day this way but we have had a few interruptions to our schedule lately so I deemed it necessary that school continue.

Last week was far from normal as the girls were at the NAC for a day and a half performing with Stellae Boreales in concerts for schools. They thoroughly enjoyed the experience of being back stage, eating with the orchestra members in the Green Room and performing in five concerts to large audiences. B7 and I went to one of the performances where we sat in one of the boxes, giving us an excellent view of the stage.

Yesterday we celebrated Andrew’s birthday with pancakes for breakfast, a morning at church and an afternoon watching the Ottawa Junior Youth Orchestra in concert. Laura is a second violin in this orchestra and it was great to see them perform their varied and challenging program. While we were enjoying the concert freezing rain was falling outside, turning the carpark into a skating rink. We arrived home without incident but heard this morning that a 737 slid right off the runway into a snowbank.

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.

Two soups

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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

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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!

First lesson

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When Andrew brought the children home from their various activities on Saturday afternoon, I was greeted by a very excited B7. He entered the house carrying his new half-size classical guitar. The arrival of this guitar has been long anticipated. It was not the one Andrew had ordered months ago but we did not want to wait any longer. B7 proudly and carefully took it out of its case and showed me. He strummed and picked for a while and then put it away, only to get it out again a bit later to do the same thing. Sunday and Monday the same thing happened as he waited for his first lesson.

Andrew gave him his first lesson last night so now he has a little more knowledge about his instrument and some exercises to do each day during his “guitar practice”. He did mention to me that he thought playing the guitar would be easy but he is finding it’s not! Today I supervised a practice and he happily demonstrated what he has learnt so far. Soon the house will once again ring with the sound of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.

Gingerbread winners

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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…

Much Ado

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Group of Four is engaging in some Shakespeare again, this time it is Much Ado about Nothing. At our house we began by reading through the Charles and Mary Lamb version of the story to give everyone an idea of what to expect when we watched. B7 and A11 sketched the characters as I read to help keep the relationships in order. When Group of Four met last week we watched the movie version directed by Kenneth Branagh and starring both Branagh as Benedick and Emma Thompson as Beatrice. It is a very enjoyable version which amused and inspired the young actors.

Earlier this week, the group participated in a workshop run by the Company of Fools for a group of thirty or so homeschooled students. The workshop ran all day and covered many aspects of acting, zeroing in on Much Ado about Nothing for several of the activities. The workshop was run by two of the “fools”, one an actor, the other a designer. I was very impressed by the way they worked with the children and the activities which kept everyone engaged all day.

They started with warm ups for voice, body and imagination. Following this they were taught a technique for learning lines by giving every word an action. Every word, not just the big words or the “easy to think of an action” words. Using this method they all learnt a section from Titus Andronicus. In pairs they then used the same method to learn and present a line from Much Ado.

Getting into character was the next focus and time was spent on facial expressions, body movements, walking styles and a little dialogue. The only costumes used all day were hats and the group spent time looking at a large collection of hats, working out why a particular one suited a particular character from Much Ado. Then of course they wore the hats and became the characters. After lunch the activities were a little longer as the children used scenes from Much Ado to create tableaux, posters and skits.

At Group of Four next week all the children will be acting in one or more scenes which the moms have cut and pasted together. We have chosen those scenes which really amused or impressed the children or classic scenes which just must be done. Our house will be filled with Shakespearean language once again as lines are practised and inserted into all sorts of conversations.

2008 so far

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Before 2008 even started we had one sick girl, but as she had done nothing but rest for two days straight and was feeling a lot better, we all attended a New Year’s Day dinner at a friend’s house. By the end of the night I was not feeling at all well and headed straight for bed, where I stayed for days. One child, then another, became sick, slept beside me during the day and then after a day or so was well enough to be up and about. I was not. After a week had gone by I was not recovering and L13 had relapsed so we visited the doctor, who prescribed more rest and some medication for me.

Two weeks into 2008 I am now up and about but still taking things slowly. L13 is still recovering. She was up on Saturday for a rehearsal and played on Sunday at two Seniors homes before playing her solo at our studio recital. Both girls played their solos beautifully, making us particularly proud as they had both battled sickness over the previous two weeks. I think the effort required to play on Sunday took a lot out of L13, so it will be a little longer before she is at full strength again.

All the while my cousin has been coming and going, showing herself around the city when Andrew (the well one) wasn’t available to accompany her. She did get a bit sick herself, but found a cheap flight to Florida for a few days which warmed her up and took her out of our plague ridden house for a while. She is off to Toronto and Niagara today, so hopefully by the time she returns we will all be able to do something together.

As you can imagine my school preparations did not get done but we are easing into school work again, beginning with the basics. For years now Friday afternoons in January and February have been spent cross-country skiing. Hopefully we can do that again this year. While I was lying in bed I did read an excellent book, which I hope to review soon. I also searched through The Book Tree for books to add to the children’s reading lists for this year. So life is getting back to normal and I have been told by several people, especially my husband that pneumonia can take a while to recover from, so I will try not to be impatient.

’tis the season

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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.