Year: 2012
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Sushi salad
New favourite thing at our place. Keeps better than sushi, and it’s much easier to make. Sushi Salad 2 cups uncooked rice1 English cucumber, sliced and quartered3 medium carrots, thinly sliced1/2 red onion, thinly sliced and chopped3 Tbsp. chopped pickled ginger3/4 cup rice wine vinegar2 Tbsp. vegetable oil4 Tbsp. sugar2 tsp. salt Cook the rice […]
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NYO Redux
If ever ever wondered whether we were doing the right thing sending Erin off to live on her own in a big faraway city while still a high schooler, her experience at NYO is providing some resounding reassurance. Last summer, before she moved away, she participated in Canada’s National Youth Orchestra. She did well. She […]
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Mountain bike camp
Finally the cold rainy spell broke. We had rainfall totals for June that were almost twice the previous record. There were two weeks of mountain bike camp and luckily we chose the second one: the first week of July was still suffering from temperatures barely in the teens and torrential downpours. This week, though … […]
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Shibori
I’ve decided that the time has come to make a quilt. I made quilts for each of my children, around the time they graduated to big beds of their own. Erin got my first quilt ever: appliquéd jungle animals in the main squares. Noah was given a community quilt by a host of my friends, […]
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Artisanal day trip
I had to go pick the van up. With our family shrinking, and the monthly trips to Calgary no longer happening, my desire for a more winter-worthy minivan is no longer a pressing need. We decided to put some work into the Sienna. I took it in to get the catalytic converter replaced to fix […]
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Civics as it should be taught
This spring Fiona and I have been attending a series of workshops led by a lawyer and homeschooling dad focused on exploring the principles of law and government. They’re free. They’re held largely out of doors, but with occasional use of indoor spaces where helpful. There are about twenty-five kids ranging in age from 4 […]
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Grad Photos
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The gymnast
She loves gymnastics, and it loves her back. Today Fiona finished her first term in the recreational program in Nelson. We found a class that fit perfectly into the time of the Corazón rehearsal, but it took us almost 8 months to grab an opening during that popular time-slot. She was the new kid in […]
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Corazón
Corazón, how we love thee! For parents this youth vocal ensemble is like an insurance plan for the souls of their teenagers. Priceless.
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Graduating
We have Erin home for almost four days. She made the trip back from Montreal for her high school graduation weekend. While she’s been living there this year studying violin and playing in an orchestra, she’s officially still been a student within our local school district, earning credit towards her graduation diploma through independent study […]
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Dandelion syrup
About 6-8 cups of dandelion flowers yielded about 1 cup of packed yellow petals. We mixed this with 2 cups of sugar and 2 cups of water, brought to a simmer and allowed to cook for an hour or so, gradually reducing in volume to a syrupy consistency. Then we added the juice of one […]
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Art class
One of the main advantages of being part of a Distributed Learning (i.e. homeschool support) program through our local school is being able to ask for specific perks and opportunities and have responsive can-do people on the receiving end who make our wishes come true. Last spring the DL program’s principal asked me if I […]
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First marathon
It’s been 10 days, and thanks to Elastoplast’s moist wound-healing SOS Plaster System, my blister has almost completely healed. Which, if you’d peeked at it on May 6, in all its wretched meaty bloody glory, would amaze you. It was a great run, and blister was really the only regrettable part of it. The day […]
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Fiona reads
The Arts & Writers School and Community Coffee House was last night. It’s the culmination of a week of electives and workshops held at the school with a variety of local and guest artists. In the gallery space was the artwork the kids had produced throughout the week in classrooms, on the lakeshore, in canoes. […]
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My working parent day
Today I felt like a working parent. I packed all three kids off to school, went to work, picked them up in time to start juggling the after-school activities and homework. Yes, all three are at school this week. Fiona is busy finishing up the series art workshops that have been offered to homeschooled students […]
