Happy New Year 2013!

Christmas Time!

Festive Dinner-table at Penny & James'

Pumpkin Pie

Elves!

Our Tree

The Bird!

Visit to the City of Lights

Deb's 47th Birthday with Janie, Mernie

Van Dusen Gardens Festival of Lights

Christmas Baking

Candycane Shortbread

Cinnamon Buns

Merry Cookies!

Girls' Tree Trimming Party!

Adrienne, Theo, Aurora, Sarah Jo, Miranda, and Ainslie

Uncle Andy

Nana Lorna's brother Andy visited us from Halifax, Nova Scotia--here he is at the house with Steve!

Couch Surfin'

The calm before the storm (flu season)...

My Girls

Steve's photo

Remembrance Day

 Art by Miranda...


"Impossible Shadows"

Halloween 2012

Aurora, Ainslie, Theo, Ailsa, Miranda, and Sarah-Jo
--Photo by Penny Naldrett!

Punkin Time!

Guess what the girls are going to be this Hallowe'en?  And not just my girls!  The usual suspects--you may recall that they were bumble bees last year (including Ailsa, Theo, and Ainslie)--will suit up for trick or treating.  Rory was lucky enough to score the loan of friend Sam's old costume, but the bigger girls are getting bespoke outfits tailored by moms.  Of course, some moms are handier than others:  some worked tirelessly at the sewing machine, others knitted beautiful orange wool hats, others fashioned a gazillion finicky little green leaves, and others (not to mention any names) hacked out some pattern pieces and then settled in to drink mimosas and eat homemade scones.  Gotta love those work parties!  But the real fun will come ten days hence... Boo!

Building the Nest

Roof is on, just in time for the autumn rains to set in... Just need to cover that back porch upstairs with waterproof material, as part of it is over living space.  Fabulous progress!  Can't believe we lucked out this season with the driest summer on record in BC since eighteen-fifty-something!!!!

Thanksgiving, Hardy Island Style

No pumpkins in this pic, but we had a punkinesque weekend:  pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin butter, pumpkin loaf, pumpkin soup, pumpkin stew, pumpkin fudge...And everything tastes twice as good when you're camping!  I think we soaked up the last of the sunshine on the Sunshine Coast....Mmmmm, good! 

Smiles and Well Wishes

Miranda, Ainslie and Ailsa posed at home with their stuffed animal collection to commemorate their school's annual "Photo Day"... Let's hope the school photographer does a better job than the staff here!!!  The apartment is feeling rather empty these days as Nana Lorna is in Lionsgate hospital with pneumonia, unfortunately.  Wishing her a speedy recovery:  Miranda and her chums miss having their "resident Nanny" around!

Raven of Raven's Nest

Thought this (ferry ticket from a few days ago) might be an appropriate talisman to post on the blog...Three days a week commuting to town aint so bad:  Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays.  Ok, the Saturdays are a little harsh.  Weekends just aren't the same anymore!  But it's only for a few months, right?  And someone's gotta be an Adult Raven (Lunatic). The great thing about an academic semester is that it's a time-limited proposition!  Meanwhile, the kids get some extra time with their Dad, so it's all good. Gotta fly now!

Artiste as a Young Baby

Rory's fall schedule:
Mondays all day at her new daycare
Tuesdays at playcare then babysitter's
Wednesdays same as Mondays
Thursdays at Monica's then babysitter's
Fridays same as Tuesdays
Saturdays with Daddy and Sisty
Sundays = Crazy Mommy Days!!!!!

Back 2 School

Miranda and Ainslie are delighted to be in the same class for grade two--and with the same beloved teacher as last year as well!  Other fall activities on the weekly roster include drama class, soccer, and (starting in October) swimming.  Our family fall routine is so complex that we have it all itemized and colour-coded on google calendar.  Yet despite all the hustle and bustle of their busy lives, these best friends still have lots of time and energy for after-school playdates. How time flies:  seems like just yesterday they had nothing better to do than hang around waiting for their next meal--oh, wait a second--...snack time!

August Moment

Goodnight, summer nights; welcome September morn!

At the Jobsite

Here we are!

Summer Daze

Our August schedule:  leaving home early in the morning to get kids off to activities while we head off to our respective commitments, house-building and academia!, returning in time to pick up the girls while the sun is still high enough in the sky to permit a picnic at the job site or the beach, etc.  Rory continues to enjoy her time with Debbie (that's her "other mother Debbie"), warming up for "school," i.e. Bowen Children's Centre Daycare, which Miranda attended in her far-distant youth.  Mom-and-tot swimming lessons gave Aurora and me a good foundation for enjoying the sea together.  Meanwhile, Miranda's summer has been a very full one indeed.  She began with a full week sans parents up at Hardy Island with best friend Ainslie and family (we all went up for a long weekend and left her there at her request!)...Back on Bowen, Mandy did a week of "Mystery" theme day-camp, swimming lessons every day for two weeks (culminating in a Level 1 badge!), the "Wet Feet" sailing program for beginners, more day camp, tennis lessons, theatre ("Wind in the Willows," her debut as part of the chorus), and library club (50 novels, no less!) It turned out to be a full summer, that's for sure... But we've also had our fair share of time to relax and enjoy the sunshine, thank goodness, with a real sense of a holiday before the hustle and bustle of September sets in!

Beach Fun!

Photo by Kristin Jarvis

Gals and Dolls

Rory loves playing dolls with the big girls (Ainslie, Miranda, and Ailsa).

Nannie Carol's Trip

Well, we had a fabulous, fun-filled week with Nannie C--including a belated birthday celebration forAurora--before Carol's femur gave out!  She's been in Lionsgate Hospital in North Vancouver ever since, slowly but surely on the mend.  Get well soon, Nannie Carol!  On the "plus" side (glass half full? actually, the wineglass--we now purchase pinots noir and grigio by the box--is perpetually full at the end of the day), we've been able to co-ordinate taking Nannie Lorna to speech therapy on the fifth floor of the hospital with visiting Nannie Carol on the sixth floor osteo ward.  Breakin'/ bad!

Some Cool Summer Art by Miranda

Red Dragon

Waterfall

Artistes al fresco

What fun!  This photo was taken in Crippen Park, near the beach/ marina.  Among Nannie Carol's gifts for the girls were some fabulous art supplies including acrylics... So here are Penny, Ainslie, Ailsa, Miranda, and Rory painting up a storm on a sunny day, presided over by Nannie C.  Our idyllic afternoon also included ice cream and a walk through the village and market.  (At the height of summer, our small community has blossomed into a thriving tourist hub with bustling crowds.)  I'm at UBC two evenings a week, taking the water taxi home at midnight on Tuesdays and Thursdays--a new experience for me--but my days are free to spend time with friends and family, enjoying the beautiful weather and maybe even getting a bit creative from time to time.  Who am I kidding?  I can't even paint my fingernails!  But Carol brought me a package of L'Oreal Excellence Light Ash Blonde, so I'll be attempting some artistry--of a sort!

Rock On Live

Live on the Rock:  Our dear friend and architect, James (far right)--or "Dames," as Aurora calls him--with "The Walk-On Band" (so named because two of the band members "walk on" the ferry to get to their gigs on Bowen Island) performed as part of the festivities commemorating Steamship Days, celebrating the Island's history as a popular tourist destination in a bygone era.  Musically, James is such a major afficionado (hope I got that right--spellcheck doesn't seem to like it--actually spellcheck doesn't seem to like the word "spellcheck" either!!!) of The Grateful Dead that, as we were saying, his band are changing their name to "The Walk-On (or perhaps Walkin'?) Dead"... In any case, they managed to liven up a grey day in the Cove, and even had folks dancin' in in the rain.  Turns out Aurora is a born dancer with a sense of rhythm and movement that the rest of us can only hope to emulate!  The other day, Rory was going on and on about "Penny and Dames," and we asked her if she had a little crush on Penny.  "No," she replied firmly:  "Dames." Rock on, baby!

Photographers from Abroad!

This great family photo was taken during a wonderful visit from Cousins Milton and Leonie Runcie from the UK!

Summer's Here

Here at last, here at last--Summertime is here at last!

Limbo

Miranda (representing "team yellow") does the limbo at sports day.  Individual competition is frowned upon these days at educational institutions for children, and even the fact that the yellow team got the most points was downplayed at our local community school.  I tried to explain to her that when I was her age, "Track and Field" was a competitive event where someone got first place, someone got second, and someone got third.  No one else got a ribbon.  "But Mom," she said, "that would mean that only the biggest, strongest, and fastest kids won!"  Crazy, huh?  How low can you go?

Father's Day Art by Miranda

Happy Father's Day 2012 to a wonderful husband and father, Steve "Daddy" Forster!

Puppies

I'm so happy when they play together, even if it brings out their animal nature...The girls are pretending to be puppy dogs as they slurp (pretend!) water from a bowl atop their teddy-bear footstool on the living-room floor.  I try to teach them good manners, but there's only so much a mother can do!  You should hear them yelping when they don't get their way!  At least one of them is housetrained... Isn't it nice to think that the older one is serving as a role model for the little one?  The truth is they both can't wait to get a pet pup when we move back to our "real" house and property someday. Woof!

Happy Birthday # 2!

Hold the phone! Guess who's 2?  Little miss chatterbox in her "Winnie the Poop" pajamas, that's who!  She's chatting here with Nanny Carol, who's promised to come and visit us in July.  We had a cake and a "present" (a word Aurora currently pronounces as "pennis") on the day, but will wait until both Nannies are in attendance (Nanny Lorna's been away in hospital recovering from a stroke) to have a real party.  Meanwhile, every day is a celebration--and a challenge.  The terrible twos have begun--although, as they say, whoever made up that expression obviously didn't know too many three-year-olds!

Tree Spirits

Is it just me, or do you see the spirit of an Emily-Carr-esque totem lurking in this tree?  Something about this seems evocative of the matriarchal totems she represented from her long-ago journey to Kitwancool. Maybe I am just hankering to revisit our family pilgrimage to the Queen Charlotte Islands, where Steve spent much of his youth (until he was a little older than Miranda is now).  Our original journey was when Miranda was three:  next year, Aurora will be three, and Miranda will be eight (the age Steve was when he left Haida Gwaii):  could be a good time to rediscover those roots!

Round Saltspring 2012

This seaworthy vessel is one of Miranda's creations, riding the waves of an air mattress... The real deal was our friend Jonathan's 35' C&C, which circumnavigated Saltspring Island for the annual race there (we attended last year as well, with Steve)--the event coincides with our wedding anniversary, so he really has no choice but to include the whole family!  We gals stayed safely on shore at a B&B on beautiful St. Mary's Lake, and spent the race day exploring Saltspring's vibrant and charming village life.  Miranda wants to do sailing school next summer, so who knows what future years may bring?

Happy Mom's Day!

To all the moms and their kids out there:  you deserve a special celebration, today and every day! I've learned so much about myself and the world around me since 2005...I can't put it all into words (or even pictures), although I've tried to some extent over the past several years on this blog (and elsewhere, such as in cheesy photo albums that I've narrated in my own inimitable [thank God, you say] style).  My girls are the centre of my life, and I love them desperately, in spite of--and sometimes because of--our daily challenges, ups and downs. I wouldn't trade this experience for anything (not that I've had any offers).  Happy Mom's Day to all!