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!

Carmen, Miranda

Carmen Miranda was a Portuguese-born Brazilian samba singer, Broadway actress and Hollywood film star popular in the 1940s and 1950s.  But this is a picture of Carmen AND Miranda taken earlier this spring--just happened to come across it in an email from Carmen's mom.  The young ladies are enjoying a wee cup of tea with their dollies:  Carmen looks characteristically ebullient, and I can only attribute Miranda's strange expression to her possible consideration of which finger to extend in order to appear most elegantly British (it's the pinky, dear!)... Aye, caramba!