Quick "what's going on" kind of post :)

We are very busy. I figured I should post a quick update. The kids are settling in nicely at school. Both girls are running in the regional (county) cross-country event today. It is held at Sandbanks Provincial Park, on Lake Ontario. Alison was grateful that it rained overnight and was hoping this morning that it also rained at the park; rain turns the sand slightly hard-pack and makes it easier to run on. The girls are both playing the clarinet and band starts next week. The band will travel to Canada's Wonderland in the spring to play in some big Ontario-wide band function, and the girls are committed to catching up to the level required so they can attend. They are also both assisting in the running of the library, and Alison is on the recycling team. And Claire in particular is looking forward to the bi-annual school musical, which is on for this year. I'm thankful they are getting quite involved, since otherwise there would be a definite boredom problem; they are somewhat ... hmmm ... over-prepared for the academic level at the school. They all love the school bus (nice that they're not old and jaded on this :) ..) and all three have Really. Fabulous. Teachers. Seriously, the teachers at this school are some of the best I've known.

Kevin continues to settle in at UCB. Every day it is more and more apparent that they needed him desperately :). Or at least his very good organizational skills :D. On many levels his presence there is a good thing. For anybody trying to tune in online, they are updating their band width shortly, although still only to a level allowing 200 online listeners which is not enough. But of course, it's a cost thing. We've already been the beneficiary of the first perk ... glasses coverage for Kevin! He is sporting new, somewhat trendy semi-rimless specs. And we are eagerly awaiting "life with benefits" which will start in early December. It's been a long, long while since we've had any sort of extended health benefits. They seem much more like a gift now, rather than an expectation.

I am juggling housework (wow, so much easier when people aren't living here 24/7!), decluttering and deepcleaning (there are areas in my house that hadn't been touched since we moved in :) ...), website design and other tasks for NLGH, planning for Junior Youth events this fall, getting the livestock ready for winter life (worming, moving pasture, etc.). I am very content.

Oh yes, and one photo ... Iain booting around a campground on a mini-ATV. I don't know whether you can the ear-to-ear grin on his face, but he was pumped. This occured at a friend's birthday party last night.

Photo of "our" pond ...

This quarry pond lies between our home and and the neighbouring road. It was blasted out in the 40's or 50's, and the gravel was used to build the road bed. Over time, it has been transformed into a lovely pond. It is owned by the county, not us (they get the liability!). But the whole neighbourhood benefits from it's presence.

We are truly grateful for this pond. This pond is home to red-winged blackbirds, painted turtles, mud turtles and snappers, various kinds of fish and 8 species of frogs, American Bitterns, Green Herons and Great Blue herons; all have been spotted here since we arrived on Forty Foot Road.This pond also ensures that our home insurance rates stay low; it is the rural equivalent of a hydrant on our lawn. Were our house to catch fire, the pumper would draw from here. We sit and contemplate life here; we skate here in the winter; we sail homemade toy boats on it in the spring.

The County has been experiencing drought all summer. I don't remember the last time we had rain ... oh yes, the Sunday of the Fall Fair, although our neighbourhood experienced very little accumulation (less than 1 mm). Yesterday we were thrilled when a heavy fog rolled in. It doesn't take much precipitation to excite us. Great for a vacation spot; not so great for residents and local farmers.

The water haulage trucks have been traversing our neighbourhood for weeks. I am aware of families that have had an unbelievable 5 loads of water delivered already this summer. My friend Arnold, up on MacHill, has run out twice in the last month (only for brief periods); his house is situated on underground rivers and his well was built on a spring. The last time he ran out of water was 30 years ago.

Our well is a dug well, and is about 21 feet deep. Dug well is a bit of a misnomer, as our house is situated on bedrock. Dynamite was used to blast the well out, which also fractures the bedrock resulting in fissures that the water percolates through. Apparently the pond is also about 21 feet at it's deepest point (it was blasted out about six years ago to act as a reservoir for a local dairy farm). Right now at least a dozen farmers are drawing out of the pond to water their cattle and other livestock.

So we are thankful. Thankful for this pond, whether it is feeding our well, or whether it's just an indicator of the health of our well ... it seems as long as it has water, so do we. Thankful that we are learning to live wisely, and not waste this valuable resource like we might in the city. Thankful for the huge number of birds and wildlife we see due to our proximity to the local watering hole. Thankful ... so I thought I'd photograph "our pond" to commemorate it on this beautiful fall day.

The "fruit" of our labours

I just brought home 114 pounds of fresh, home-grown county lamb and packed it in our freezer. What a sense of accomplishment!

According to Ted, it was a little over-finished (read fat!) and I could have shipped them up to two weeks earlier (he normally ends up with about 45 pounds per lamb whereas our two dressed out at 54 and 60 pounds!). I really appreciate his input; we'll do things a little differently next year.

Still ... it's a real feeling of accomplishment to see this through from beginning to end. And I'm once again in awe of this incredibly useful, adaptable animal; an animal that thrives on weeds , that can clear brush as well as a goat, that provides beautiful fleece (I'm spinning some moorit Shetland from one of our ewes right now!), that can be milked (there is a sheep and goat dairy that has just started up in Wapous), and that can provide a rack of lamb for Christmas dinner from the current year's lamb crop.

Just in case any of you are playing Sudoku here ...

I'm deleting the game at the bottom of the sidebar. If you want to play, click on "Game House Sudoku" under Links for Fun. It's a MUCH better game, and allows you to right-click the mouse for pencil marks.

"Picton is my Stars Hollow" (Some of you will understand the reference immediately!)

Those of you who watched Gilmore Girls, that is.

















Yes, this is the theme for our two families ... Picton is my Stars Hollow. Notice Picton's Regent Theatre at the bottom right. And if you check out the cast of Gilmore Girls, you will fine 10 extra people ... all of whom are quite addicted to Girlmore Girls on DVD.

I've tried to enlarge the photo but it might come out a bit blurry ... hmmm ...

"Where were you on September 11?"

has been the focus all week for the morning show at UCB Canada 102.3. Kevin and Dana have been interviewing people on the street, and taking in phone calls and e-mails and including them as part of a tribute. I e-mailed a blurb in, and include it here.

An apology to any of you who have tried to listen to UCB online in the last couple of weeks. Apparently it is a bandwidth issue; listenership during the morning show has gone up exponentially in the last few weeks and they don't have the bandwidth to support the numbers trying to listen. UCB is working on this at present, but it may take some time (which they have), and financial resources (which they may not yet have :) ..).

* * * * *

From my perspective ... as a mom of young children ...

We were homeschooling in NJ. The day was incredibly, indescribably beautiful, and we were out for phys ed doing gymnastics on the front lawn. My neighbour came over and urged me to get inside and turn the TV on.

I had already noticed a unusual lack of airflight, and within a few minutes air force planes started over head. We put the TV on, and history became the lesson for the day. My kiddoes watched it all ... we cried, and prayed for people, and gave thanks to God that Daddy's regular meeting at the World Trade Centre had been cancelled that day. (Edited to add: Kev had canceled his regular Tuesday meeting at the World Trade Center on Monday). We prayed for several church members who were were missing for the better part of 36 hours, although were accounted for later. We talked about good ... and evil, and God's place in it all. Dad came home from work (his office was right around the corner), got on the computer, and began receiving e-mail after devastating e-mail with news of friends' and clients' deaths.

Another hard part for me was hearing from other parents later. The teachers, who all knew what was happening, were not allowed to say anything in the schools. The students could hear their hushed discussions and cracking voices, and were not allowed to know what was going on. Even when parents starting arriving in tears to pick up their own children ... the ones left behind had no idea. It was a truly terrifying experience for the kids in school, and a very difficult time for their teachers who did the best they could. Later on our NJ church gifted every elementary school teacher in three counties with a bookstore gift certificate, along with a letter of thanks for the challenges they faced that day.

That day had a permanently sobering impact on me. We really never will know when it will be our time to go. So while we can, we need to "choose life"!.

Copy of an industry mag mention of Kev's new job :)

The County Fall Fair, 2007 in Review (Shameless bragging inside)

The Fair is over. I am incredibly proud of the kids. They did well.

(Insert once again bragging apologies; but grandparents need to know these things :) ! I will add photographs later in the week, but Kev has the camera for the next couple of days.

All the kids entered one or two things in the youth exhibit area. Iain entered for the first time this year in the Fair Advertising category, and his poster won! He worked very hard on it.

Claire wrote her traditional, illustrated poem .. she just loves poetry. It was very cute. She placed second (her emphasis was on poem, not illustration, and the judges were definitely looking at illustration this year since the winning poem was a little acrostic).

Alison entered a Monet-type painting she had done as part of school last year, and a purse she felted. The painting took prize, and the felted purse won the knit category. Not only that, but the purse won a special (and an extra $5), and was the article from this year;s fair to be chosen to get sent as a demonstration to convention in Toronto in February. Alison was slightly miffed since she knit the purse to use this fall, and now she has to keep it in good shape until February :).

The 4H Goat Club Achievement Day was held at the Fairgrounds Sunday morning. In the Pouring Rain. Thank goodness for the two-year old covered pavilion or it would have been a soggy nightmare! The order of events was meat goat classes, then showmanship, then costume classes. For some unknown reason, they decided to put the costume class first. (I believe the judge may have been slightly late to arrive). However, Alison dressed she and her goat up as clowns, COMPLETE with face makeup, before I could warn her that she may not be able to remove it before the rest of the show. Oops. Luckily, the judge was understanding and ignored the garish remaining streaks across her face. Claire's outfit was very creative ... she dressed up as a chef, complete with big container of curry, a meat fork, a knife, a chef's hat and apron ... it was very effective since her pygmy goat was being ornery and wouldn't enter the ring. Dusty planted her feet and bleated and yelled, looking very much like a reluctant main course!

In the pygmy conformation class, Alison's goat won. This class was no biggie for the kids because they used borrowed goats. But in the Junior Showmanship class, Alison took first place and Claire took second, which was AMAZING and I was thrilled for both of them. Although they didn't work extensively with the goats this year, the experience they've gained with our sheep has paid off. The top two from the Junior and Senior classes squared off, and Alison finally won her Grand Championship Showmanship Ribbon (red, white and blue ... she's made it to reserve twice and taken home the purple ribbon). So she was pretty happy. It was very close, and only a subtle mistake made by the winning Senior tipped the balance in her favour.

The girls spent about 3 hours selling milkshakes in the 4H Milkshake booth, and I once again went through my annual ritual of lamenting that I didn't submit anything for judging. Every year I say I will ... well, maybe next year ...

The best part of the Fair for me, though, is the people. Our whole family went on Saturday to do rides etc., and at one point I waved back at yet another acquaintance and Kevin turned to me and said, "I can't believe how many people you know!!" (Chip off the old block, Mom???) Keep in mind that Kev spent part of his growing up years here.

The rides are mostly for smaller kids, and the midway would probably be laughed at by teens from out of town. But what I love about a small town fair is the transition the kids make. Yes, the rides are fun when they are small (and there are still a few that my girls enjoy). But it becomes less about entertainment as they get older, and more about being a part of something bigger and volunteerism and networking with all ages and serving their community. Small towns build leadership and community involvement in our kids. I saw the results of this in my rural friends when I attended University of Guelph, and now I see it again as it plays out in my children.

Long live the rural fair!

(Will be adding photographs later in the week)

Not your average first-ride-on-a-schoolbus photo :)

Yes, no little preschoolers toddling down the lane with backpacks as big as themselves :).

Vignettes from the first day of school:

Iain: Couldn't stop talking. Had (mostly) a wonderful time. Was taken under the combined wings of Emily and Danielle and give a tour of the playground during recess. Emily made sure he would sit with her on the bus :). He's pretty sure he aced all his pop quizzes and spelling test, and is feeling quite pumped about the whole school thing :).

Claire: Loves her teacher, and is excited about music and other classes. Didn't connect with anyone specific yesterday (please pray that she finds herself a buddy), and was shocked more than she imagined she would be by the swearing and boy crazies. Claire is an auditory learner, processes everything she hears and does not "tune out" like us visual types. She was looking most forward to school, and was a little disappointed. However, we pointed out that she hasn't met everyone in the class yet :).

Alison: "There are three groups of girls in the grade 8 class. The cool kids, who are all chasing after A.J. The not-cool kids, who are all chasing after Taylor. And the last group is Bobby Jo and I, who are watching and snickering at them all."

Yup, Alison's commentary on the day. Also surprised by the boy-obsessiveness of the other girls ..."Mom, the girls don't talk about anything else!", she was able to immediately find someone else who was like-minded, loving animals and involved with 4H. However she is completely disheartened by the level of academics at the school. They read only one book in grade 8 (can that be true????) and it is a book she studied last year in grade 7. Scarily enough, the one subject that I did a lousy job teaching and was quite concerned about (French) ... has turned out to be fine for her. This doesn't encourage me; she really should be behind.

And in an ironic twist for the girls of grade 8, she is the only eighth grade girl on heart-throb A.J.'s bus, and was chosen to be his study partner :D.

So, an interesting start to the school year. We shall be watching how the academic stuff plays out, and whether there will be any support for our kids, who although are not gifted in any sense of the word, do love to learn.

* * * * *

And on a different and more somber note: my friend Tricia brought her truck round today and we took the cull ewe and two meat lambs in to the abbatoir. I didn't blubber (although did tear up once: Stew was such a kind ram), and I will be thankful once we pick up the legs of lamb and shoulder roasts etc. But it was certainly not easy to do. I did, however, leave the abbatoir confident that these animals had good, happy, spoiled lives, were loved and cared for properly, and were put down instantly and humanely at the end.

Something to think about next time we pick up that shrink-wrapped package of something on a styrofoam tray at the grocery store.

Our "Last Day Before School" Day

We accomplished a great deal today! Although a holiday for most, a radio announcer never gets to sleep in and Kev was gone by 4:30 a.m. for his first show co-hosting with Dana. We finished cleaning rooms, and getting school things ready. I did our laundry. We emptied the entire garage and reorganized, piling things for the dump into the car. We scrubbed out the sheep waterers and refilled them. I made peach crisp to use up peaches that Kev had picked up and were "on the edge". The kids and I then decided the best way to spend the afternoon would be to go hiking. Here are some pics from our hike at Macaulay Mountain, just east of Picton.

At one point I looked back to see this :) ...


It turns out that Alison had brought along her current favourite book, a copy of "Norton's Anthology of English Literature" that she had picked up from the library sale room. I swear it weighs a good five pounds, and she had stuck it in her book bag to go hiking. Crazy girl :). She was completely mesmerized by the poem "Beowulf".


We arrived home to find Kevin had made applesauce, and was also in the process of making "breakfast for dinner" (scrambled eggs, hash browns, toast, sliced tomatoes).

Now I'm here at the computer, and the other four are relaxing in front of "The Incredibles" until bedtime. I can hardly believe the bus will stop here tomorrow. I have very mixed feelings since my last conversation with the principal :(. However their teachers are awesome, and a lot of the other kids are great, and I'm sure it will be a good experience.

New Link under "Links for Fun": For Better or For Worse Strip Fix

This month marks another ending; one that makes much of our family sad. Lynn Johnston, the creator and cartoonist of the long running strip "For Better or For Worse", is winding down her comic strip.

This comic strip, if you have not read it previously, is a gem. Lynn got her start drawing cartoons on the ceiling of the maternity ward/ob clinics at McMaster University. It is known for it's "aging"; the characters have grown and changed. Early strips featured Elly and John and their two young children; most recently their children are almost all grown and they have grandchildren. Lynn is now 65 and attempting to retire, although I understand there will still be occasional new material.

BUt for the most part, the aging will wind down, and be completely finished by early next year. The strip will continue on from the perspective of the eldest son sharing his growing up years with his dd.

My children have grown up reading about the adventures of John, Elly, Michael, Elizabeth and April; as have I :). We will miss them!