Category Archives: Family

Packing for Italy

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….busy cleaning up the library and last minute details for the big trip to Italy

I’ve been rather amiss with posting on a daily basis this last week. School is finally finished but I have to admit it’s been a rather stressful couple of weeks.

How stressful, you ask? Well enough to keep me from even getting this post finished. I started this post eight days ago and I’m already in Italy. We’ve been having some issues with Wifi here and I haven’t been able to get onto WordPress or Facebook until today. Presently we’re in Florence and we have a fantastic apartment but this morning we had a power failure. After a day of touring we discovered that we still didn’t have power. Luckily our landlord lives right next door and the problem was fixed with a flick of a switch from his place.

Now I have to figure out how to get my photos onto this device.image

This is a shot of our granddaughter on the flight to Italy which I took with this iPad. So far she’s been a great flier.

Hopefully I can figure out how to get some more photos on here to share with you. Otherwise you will have to wait till I return in ten days.

Ciao!

Share Your World 2016 – Week 25

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…..check out Cee’s Share Your World and join the fun

How many languages do you you speak?

Basically I speak two languages, English and German. German was my first language and I understand it very well but I am very hesitant to use it. Growing up I had to go to German school on Saturdays and I hated it. Whenever my parents or their friends spoke to me in German I would answer in English. When I turned 18 I sang in a German choir and did so for 27 years.

What are some words that just make you smile?

The first word that makes me smile is my granddaughter’s name – Winnie. I can’t help but smile when I think of her or hear someone utter her name. Come to think of it all the names of my loved ones make me smile. Other words that make me smile are love, art, summer vacation, cottage, puppy and party.

If you were the original architect of one existing building, which building would you select?

This is tough because there are lots of buildings that I would be proud to put my name on, even ones that have been somewhat controversial. I love old and new but I think the one that stands out for me at the moment is the AGO. It is a combination of old and new. Several years ago it underwent a renovation and I simply love the lines and all the wood on the inside. The architect is Frank Gehry.

Day 1
New addition: The Italian Gallery

Would you rather have telepathy or telekinesis? (Telepathy is the communication using your brain waves, telekinesis is channeling the energy onto physical objects to cause substantial, observable physical changes.)

I think I’d rather have telepathy. It would be neat to be able to send messages without opening my mouth.

Bonus question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?

I’m grateful for being able to check off more items from my to do list. As you know June is extremely busy for me at school. Every time I’m able to cross off another item it takes a huge weight off my shoulders.

Things that are done:

2 retirement parties- collected money and bought gift for one

Jump Rope for Heart – money collected and prizes distributed

Report cards written, proofread and printed

Timetables for next year organized

Father’s Day gift bought and BBQ with the family

Year end school concert

Rehearsals for grade five farewell

book club for June

finished paintings with the students for the stage

son’s wedding via the internet

city finals for girls’ soccer

taking 78 students to Jays’ baseball game to sing the national anthems

This week I’m looking forward to the grade 5 farewell assembly, play day, cleaning up my office in the library, the staff party and making final arrangements for our trip to Italy. Most of all I’m looking forward to getting on that plane next Saturday. Phew! I’m tired just thinking about it.

 

 

Thursday’s Special – Here and There

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….today’s theme is being in two places at the same time, Here and There

Today our son and his fiancé were married at the registrar’s office in London, England. Thanks to What’s App we kept in touch all day with messages and photographs.

While everyone in London was toasting the young couple with champagne and spirits, here at home we raised our cups of tea and coffee to celebrate this special day. It was still morning here and most of us were at work.

Four weeks from now we will be travelling to Italy to participate in part two of this wedding when all the families gather in Assisi to celebrate this union. Can’t wait.

 

 

 

Two Weekends With a Baby

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….part 3 of A Busy Three Days

Over the last two weekends  we had the pleasure of hosting our daughter and her baby. When they arrived the first time it was the Saturday that I was working at the Fun Fair at school. As soon as the Silent Auction ended I packed up my winnings and headed home. Our granddaughter greeted me with a big smile when I walked through the door.

There was a lot of passing the baby around while we cooked dinner. After the baby was born I acquired two pieces of baby equipment that I’ve never regretted owning. One is the high chair that I literally found on the street last summer and the other is an exer-saucer that I purchased second hand at Once Upon a Child. Apart from taking up a lot of space, these two items have come in handy on numerous occasions.

The plan was for Mom and the baby to spend the night with us because Dad was at a conference here in the city. Dad was going to drive back home, get a good night’s sleep and then drive back to the city for the second day of the conference.  Unfortunately the first weekend sleepover didn’t work out as planned. When it came time to put the baby down for the night she had other ideas. Our daughter admits that if she’d given it a bit more time the baby eventually would have fallen asleep but she was a bit stressed, called her husband and he picked both of them up.

The next day they returned early in the morning. Plans had been made to meet up with a girlfriend and her baby at the park a few blocks over from our house. It was fun putting Winnie on the swing and some of the colourful ‘bug’ seats in the park. I also learned that you have to watch her like a hawk because everything goes into her mouth. For a split second I took my eyes off her when my husband texted me about going shopping and I wrote back ‘okay’. In the time it took me to type that little word, Winnie had put a wood chip in her mouth. Luckily I got it out before she swallowed it.

The following weekend G’s husband had to go to Sudbury on a business trip so we tried the overnight experiment again. This time the two of them managed to stay overnight. I slept like a log but my daughter said she was up every two hours. In the morning Winnie was all smiles and her grandfather made her a special breakfast of pancakes.

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I’m feeling somewhat better about taking an eight month old baby to Italy. Her sleep patterns may be off for a few days until she adjusts to the time change but at least we know she likes pasta.

 

Share Your World 2016 – Week 23

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…..thanks Cee for hosting Share Your World

What was one of your first moneymaking jobs (other than babysitting or newspaper delivery)?

It seems to me that I’ve answered this question before so I will keep my answer short. When I was 14 I worked in my parent’s milk store. I did this till I was 16. That job ended after the night I was robbed. My parents gave up the business soon after.

What is your favorite month of the year?

I think my favourite month is October. It is still warm but the nights are getting cooler, the leaves are changing colour and the markets are bursting with the harvest.

What three things in nature do you find most beautiful?

I love being near water, trees in the fall and the first big snowfall.

List at least five of your favorite spices? (excluding salt and pepper)

• cinnamon

• cloves

• nutmeg

• curry

• cumin

Bonus question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?

I’m grateful for time spent with Winnie and her mom. On the weekend the two of them came to the house and stayed overnight while Dad drove to Sudbury on a business trip. They had also come over the weekend before but ended up going home Saturday night and coming back on Sunday. We’re trying to get Winnie used to sleeping away from home so that the the trip to Italy won’t be so traumatic. I thought she did really well but our daughter was a bit tired because she was up more often while she was here.

A trip to the mall with Oma and Mommy
Checking out the view from the Food Court
Enjoying pancakes for breakfast made by Papa

It looks like the plans for the wedding overseas are going well. The dress, wedding bands and  the suit and tie are purchased. The registry office in London is arranged and the pub for close friends has been booked. In Italy the rooms at the villa have been assigned, reservations for dinner in the town of Assisi the night before the wedding have been made and the meal for the actual wedding sounds yummy. Three and a half weeks before we fly to Venice.

Share Your World 2016 – Week 20

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….thanks to  Cee for hosting Share Your World

When do you feel most connected with others?

I feel most connected to people during those quiet one on one conversations over a cup of coffee or tea. I like that intimate personal time with people where you can really get to know them.

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Tea and Panettone

What daily habit would you like to introduce to your life?

I would like to do one creative activity every day. I paint and read sporadically  now but I’d like to be more consistent. I’d also like to do some volunteer work.

What one mini-little-adventure would you like to have in the coming week?

This week I’d like to visit the art gallery or the museum. It’s a long weekend here in Canada and sometimes it’s a good time to visit places in the city because so many people head north to open their cottages.

List things or events that changed your Life: It could be as simple as a book or meeting a certain person?

• meeting my husband 43 years agowedding photo

• the birth of my childrenIMG_8312

• graduating from university and becoming a teacher

• the death of my mother

• meeting my best friends AB in 1976 and LC in 1989

• learning to drive when I was in my 20s

• my first art class where I learned how to paint with watercolour

• building a cottage next to my good friend DM

• the birth of our first grandchildIMG_6535

Bonus question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?

I’m grateful for being able to continue on my weight loss journey and for the support of my husband and my friends at work. My husband has lost 26 pounds and I’m down 18. My new passport arrived this week and I can check off one more thing from my to do list before I go to Italy in July. I’m also grateful that my photo isn’t the worst passport photo that I’ve ever taken. I have to live with it for the next 10 years. IMG_8311

For the rest of the week I’m looking forward to our girls’ soccer tournament on Friday, visiting our daughter and her family in Hamilton on Saturday and seeing my older daughter on Sunday or Monday. Since it’s the long weekend here I’m also looking forward to planting some things in the garden and firing up the barbecue for a meal or two. It’s also suppose to be a spectacular weekend, weather wise.

Here are a few photos from this past week.

 

Share Your World 2016 – Week 19

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….thank you Cee  for some very unusual questions this week

You win a pet monkey but this isn’t just any old monkey. It can do one trick for you whenever you want from getting a pop out of the fridge to washing your hair. What would be the trick?

When I saw this question I couldn’t help but think about the Ikea monkey and all the grief the owner went through for owning a monkey. Washing my hair? Never! I’ll think I’ll pass on this question. I could never own a monkey regardless of the talent it may have.
What caring thing are you going to do for yourself today?

Today I went to see a chiropractor. In the last two weeks I’ve had chronic pain in my upper thigh and the side of my hip. It all started on the day that I walked 18 000 steps. I thought it would go away on it’s own but the pain persisted. I discovered that I have bursitis in my hip as a direct result of that long walk. I was tugged at, pushed and pulled. It hurt! The good news is that it felt better when I was done. My homework is to do some exercises, apply ice and not start any new exercise program. No running or long walks. With a few more visits my hip should be ‘all cleaned up’ before I go to Italy in July.
What color do you feel most comfortable wearing?

Believe it or not I love wearing bright colours like royal blue and red. I also like white, peach and periwinkle.
Complete this sentence: When I travel I love to….

….check out quaint little shops, markets and art galleries. I love outdoor cafes and restaurants that the locals eat at.
Bonus question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?

I’m grateful for a wonderful Mother’s Day weekend. I drove to the finish line for the Sporting Life 10k Run that my oldest daughter, her partner and her brother-in-law participated in. All three finished in great times.

We then drove to Hamilton where we met up with my husband and our youngest daughter and her little family. We had a great time playing with the baby and enjoyed a wonderful meal together.

It’s been a great week at school. The children did really well at the West Conference track and field meet and many of them are moving on to the city finals. All the plans for our Forest of Reading book club celebration are now in place and the silent auction contributions from the classes have been completed by the students and are ready to be fired. Here is the platter that my grade 3 class designed and painted. I did the black lines. I can’t wait to see what it looks like after it’s been fired. IMG_8139

The other thing that I’m grateful for was the amazing lunch that the parents put on for the staff for ‘Teacher Appreciation Day’. They really go all out. They used the library and came in the night before to set it up and decorate it. The food was over the top and there was so much left over that we had a second meal the next day. I also appreciated the fact that there were lots of things  that I could eat and still stay on my ‘diet’.

I’m looking forward to a great day on Friday when the students who earned their 12 reading credits come to our Forest of Reading Celebration. We have an author coming to talk to the students, a drama workshop and a hands on journal making workshop plus a pizza lunch for the successful students and the staff who participated as expert readers.

I’m also looking forward to creating more paintings. I’ll write more about that in another post in the next few days.

Cheers!

 

WPC – Admiration

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….this week’s photo theme is admiration

I admire my family. I admire the love, courage and commitment that our oldest daughter and the love of her love share. I admire the parenting skills of our youngest daughter and her husband and the love they surround their baby with. I admire my husband for his cooking skills, bravery through difficult times, and the love he showers upon me. I admire my son who after years of networking and perseverance has landed himself a job that allows him to travel, experience the world and meet some very interesting people. Finally I admire my future daughter-in-law who is working on her PhD and keeps my son grounded. Both my husband and I are extremely proud of all our children and their significant others and we admire them all.