Got the lumber and supplies...

Today I went and got the lumber and supplies - lumber's in the yard, and the supplies in the house. Tonight, my neighbour is going to show me how to use a power tool (anyone remember Father's Day "THE BOX"?), so I can cut the wood to the needed sizes.....

The sledgehammer is for hammering the spikes that you see in the previous post.

Cousins meet for the first time....

Nathanael and his cousin met for the first time this summer. Although we only had a week to visit, it only took one day for these two to get along. By the end of the visit, they were doing really well. We went for a family portrait, and the photographer mistook them for siblings!

I guess that's understandable, as they acted like it. They even smirked when the other was in trouble!

Orff Level Two

Well, I took the plunge this year and did my Orff Level II Certification. It was a lot of work, and I didn't get a lot of sleep, but it was a lot of fun, and definitely worth it! The picture here is of our movement to a poem called "Thistles" - Albert and I are supposed to be "little devils".

Fence - first step

First - I had to get rid of all the weeds and junk - as well as banging out the areas for the posts to go in. It's only about 10 feet of fence I'm doing - I'm adding it onto existing fence and deck. The bamboo sticks are where the posts are going to go. These pictures show where the fence is going - view is from the yard and from the path between the two houses. We share a common access with the neighbour - so the gate is going beside thier gate.

Rhubarb!

I finally got a rhubarb plant!

A friend of ours who live a block away gave us part of her rhubarb root, and I have planted it in the backyard. I have been missing having rhubarb.... and the bonus was, that she also gave me a bag full of stalks.

I ahve since found a website devoted to all thing Rhubarb: The Rhubarb Compendium - You name it, it's there. Found some great recipies, and made jam tonight.

Oooooo can hardly wait!

cycling and gas

Was purusing the net this morning and found this...

mirrors my sentiments exactly.

The Apology

It's 11:30 at night, and I am watching a re-broadcast of today's apology for the residential school policy of the Canadian Government.

What has impressed me the most is the calls for reconciliation and moving forward together that has come out from every leader so far. If even a portion of all the words said so far are realized in action, we will be much better off as a country.

Ever since my aunt passed on information providing us with the heritage of my Grandfather (her dad), I have become more and more interested in reading about the Metis and the Cree of the Manitoba woodlands. Inside the package she gave us was a copy of a script signed by our Great-Great Grandmother in the Red River settlement. Grandpa was Metis.

I don't know if he ever went to residential school. He always told us that he was adopted, so I am not sure that he did attend such a school. I do know that he kept that part of his heritage private - he always told us to put down French in the census results.

Getting back to the apology - I'm glad that the First Nation, Metis and Inuit leaders were invited to be present on the floor, and that they were able to respond on the floor of the House of Commons. Having thier words to listen to, and to have them in the Hansard is important. All MP's needed to hear what they had to say.

Since I have begun working in the inner city of Winnipeg at an elementary school I have found this topic very compelling to me. Likely it is because of the Seven Teachings that the school division expects us to pass on to the students. I have found these to be profound, and to fit within my personal Christian beliefs without conflict.

So I watched today's ceremony with interest, and with pride and hope. I know that this is the beginning of a journey - not just for those who reside on reserves or who are considered First Nations, but also for all Canadians. We have to build a new relationship together.

I QUIT

Oh yes...

After "toughing it out" for a couple of weeks, I gave my notice at my second job. The amount of time it would take for me to fulfill the job, and the amount of work it would take, wasn't worth the return. I'll look for something else, and Suz is doing the same. The loss of income will be missed, but not the hassle of getting out there.... I'm actually looking forward to having Saturdays at home....

WBC done, plans for next year.

Well, the WBC had the year end concert at the end of April. Grandma and Grandpa B came out to watch, and I think they enjoyed the concert. Nathanael thought he sang well, and really liked having the extra family members present to listen. The whole choir did a great job, and we had guest artists from the U of M who did some wondering Jazz Music for us at the end.

Next year, there will be a lot of stuff for the boys to sing - plans are for concerts throughout the year, as well as the two the choir puts on themselves. Should be a fun season.

May News

Wow.... been a while...

You would think that with the amount of time I spend on computers, I would have time to spend on writing something in here, but alas, that is not the case.

What it has come down to is that I am doing other things with this machine, and not spending time on the browser as much. Likely not a bad thing, but....

I've got 5 things in the head right now, so I'll enter them as separate posts....