SSSSSummertime...

Ssssssseee the ssssssnake ssssslithering along the ssssseashore?....

Little boxes, little boxes...

Here's my entire office contents, reduced to ten boxes in preparation for recarpeting at work.  It took me three and a half hours (not including transit to and from Richmond) and a Tim Horton's IceCap to pack up all those books and files, even though I went into the task with the time-honoured mantra immortalized by Danny Kaye in The Court Jester (Miranda's favourite vintage film):

"I'd like to get in, get on with it, get it over with, and get out of there. Get it? Got it. Good!"

Radiant Floors!

Upstairs, downstairs...

Plastic pipes soon to be covered with cement!

Book Launch

Can fame and fortune be far behind???

Summer Solstice

Poolside at Tunstall Bay...

Happy Father's Day

Photos from Steve's garden!

Sandcastles

The girls' latest creation at the beach!

[3]

Aurora's third birthday...

Run, Run as Fast as You Can...

You can't catch me, I'm the Gingerbread Man!

2 - 4 ...

May 20, 1989, we tied the knot:  Happy Anniversary!

Happy Mother's Day!

Steve snapped this one at the Taphouse, on the way home from visiting Nana Lorna.

                     

First Swim of the Season

Earliest non-polarbear swim ever, as I recall!

Paperwork!

"I'd rather have a picture than a thousand words..."

A Happy Trio

Recent photo of Steve and the girls

Cherry Blossoms

@ Horseshoe Bay Ferry Terminal

Happy BDay Mandy!!!

15 girls + a few brave parents + Auntie Jane and Uncle Merlyn= a wonderful 8th birthday party!

Happy Easter 2013

Happy Birthday to the Best Dad in the World

With Love on Your 51st from Monkeyface and Her Majesty the Queen

Lorna's Birthday

Happy 74th Birthday, Nana Lorna!

Happy St Pat's

This jolly shamrock (originally Nana Lorna's) graces our windowsill.

Artistes @ work

Aurora & best friend Mischa: painting up a storm to celebrate Spring.

Blue Skies

Could it be? Spring is here...

Family Tree

Mirandaurora, al fresco

Loving Memory

Miranda's Keepsake Folder for Valentines

Nanny Carol Leaves the Frame...

Carol Anne, beloved matriarch of the Forster clan, passed away at age 73.  Her life was a journey:  where to start? Carol's childhood was shaped by the tragedy of an alcoholic father who abandoned his wife and children, and a despotic grandfather who sent one of Carol's sisters away to be raised by others.  This sister later committed suicide as a young woman.  Carol married a tragically brilliant adventurer, lived in remote areas from Newfoundland in the east to the Queen Charlotte Islands in the west.  When her fourth child was still a toddler and her eldest was eleven, her husband took his own life in those remote woods, echoing the action his father had taken in the home the young family shared with him some years earlier.  Carol returned to Ottawa with the children, where she faced  challenges financially and otherwise, chronic health issues and weight problems; she fell in love with a younger man who broke her heart; went back to school to become a social worker and worked in her field until she had to go on disability; she struggled to feel worthy of her own family.  All four of her children attended university, at Queen's in Kingston.  In later years, remarried, she supported her youngest son through mental illness.  Carol was always:  ready with a smile, a wink, a story, and a laugh; beautifully dressed and impeccably groomed; a friend to all she met; ready to give beyond her means; a wonderful grandmother six times over; a devout believer in the benevolence of God and humanity.  Lived life to the fullest, generous to a fault, larger than life, talked your ear off: these well-wrought sayings go some way towards Carol, but words could never do her justice.  Now, we can't believe she's gone. 

Nana Lorna and Girls

Steve took this photo at Cedarview Lodge

A Movie Star, 2 Travelers, and a Leopard

Dress-up time!

Skating at Karen Magnussen Rec Centre

Someone needs help!

Cool midriff...

Independence!

The Caged Bird Sings

Here is Aurora at her favourite venue, our friendly neighbour Monica's in Deep Bay, where there's always something fun to do--even when big sister Mandy is busy playing with Monica's daughter, Lenya--like building a giant cage and pretending to be a sweetly singing little birdie!  Tweet!

Surrounded

January:  the start of a new term, with a new schedule and some positive changes... Our big news is that Nana Lorna has been accepted into Cedarview Lodge, a wonderful care home in North Vancouver.  She is settling into a new routine, with a friendly staff and lots of social (and even musical) events on site.  She's now able to enjoy regular meals in the dining room with the other residents there, and--which is nice for us and the kids for our weekly trips to North Van to see her--the Lodge is close to a recreation centre with excellent facilities.  Miranda's still in the local theatre group, but will take a break from swimming (having passed her latest badge before Christmas); Aurora has less daycare time and more mommy time (better schedule this term); Steve is proceeding with house construction with a second mortgage on the horizon... we're surrounded by great prospects for the new year!