Concerts

We have just returned from our fourth, and final, concert for this year.  One was a church concert, one was in a public school, one was in a private Christian school, and today's was performed by 3 and 4 year old nursery school children.  They differed in many ways -age of participants, time of day, theme (traditional or non-traditional), with or without food.  But they had many elements in common, the most important of which is that the concerts gave children opportunities to shine.  At each concert the excitement was almost tangible, the nervous energy front and foremost, and the performances flawless, at least in the eyes of those in the audiences.

I have viewed concerts from many perspectives.  Years ago I was a participant, then I became a teacher in charge of keeping bows on straight and making sure no one fell off the risers, then I was a parent so proud of my performing children I could hardly contain my tears, then back in schools supporting performances as a resource teacher and then as an administrator.  Now I view them from the enviable position of having no responsibilities at all.  My job as a grandparent is simply to show up and enjoy.  This is the best seat of all.

Are concerts worth the effort some ask?  Absolutely they are.  Where else do you see pure joy and enthusiasm than on the faces of children who have practised endlessly, and now have the chance to show off a bit?  Whether the message of the show includes "Christmas" or is more generic, the message to the children is "you are loved and we support you and what you do". Those of us who watch come away having shared in the joy and sense of accomplishment.  Before we had grandchildren I sought out a concert or two, just to have an opportunity to share those feelings.  It didn't matter if I knew the children or not.  And whether they knew it or not, they all made Christmas just a little more meaningful for me.  Thank you all- the parents, the teachers, the support staff, and most of all, the children who performed. You are all so special.

'Tis the season....

Christmas began early with the family get-together being held in November this year.  For two of the attendees, this was their first opportunity to celebrate with cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents and a great-grandmother.

One of the youngest slept through the first half.

The games and activities were organized by a professional, and appealed to the kids of all ages.  Merci,Jen.

The food was enjoyed by all. Here is a small portion of what arrived.  You can't see the meats, buns, pickled onions, scotch eggs, or all the desserts.

Two grandpas and their little girls.

It was a fun afternoon. Thanks to the hostess, Auntie Cathy.  

And on another day, a young lady visited Grandma and Grandpa, and made cookies, wearing the apron her mom wore about 29 years ago.

And on the same day, her little sister learned that she fits in the family high chair.  She may be the last to use this chair, which was bought at a yard sale for $8 many years ago.  It has turned out to be a true bargain, and could probably be used by a few more kiddos before it is finished.

Hopefully there will be another post about the holidays, but in case there isn't, Merry Christmas to all!

Be good for goodness' sake!

It's fall...and this is what has been happening.

It is fall, and after an adventurous summer, with more activity than we had intended on having, we were just settling down when circumstances led us to make a quick trip east.  We were privileged to be there as the Armstrong family said farewell to Bill.  His fight was valiant, his courage was immense, but in the end he had no fight left.  Farewell friend.  We will miss you.

The bonus in making this trip was that we were able to be there to celebrate the double digit birthday for this young lady.  How can she be ten years old already?  Seems impossible.

To celebrate, and to give everyone a change of scenery, we headed off to Legoland in Toronto.  This is probably one of the smaller Legolands in the world, but it is still quite amazing, especially the room with all the models.  Everything you see is made of Lego, millions of pieces of Lego.

Yes, Niagara Falls in Lego, complete with running water!

One evening we ended up having dinner out.  The restaurant had this vehicle couch at the entrance.  Does this look familiar Neil Gibbs?   We thought of you immediately.

Off to a corn maze, bouncing, pumpkin farm for an afternoon.  We did almost get lost!  Thank goodness Grandpa and Daddy are tall so they could see the direction we should go.

Back home and off to another Corn Maze / petting zoo, this time with different families.

Everyone is enjoying beautiful fall weather.  The colours on the drive home from the east were spectacular, much more brilliant than we get here in the middle of the country.

The next update will be on the big birthday just celebrated around here.  I leave you with the next star - the karaoke queen! (another Legoland attraction)

Enjoy the weather.  Aren't we lucky to live where there are seasons?

Canadian,eh?

There have been a few times in my life that I have been exceptionally proud to be a Canadian and more specifically, to be from Winnipeg.  Today is one of those times.

I have the good fortune to have been selected to be one of the 300+volunteers for the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. (museumforhumanrights.ca). Today I was privileged to be there for the Opening Ceremonies, and to get my first glimpse of four of the eleven galleries.  My task today was easy-"Hello, Bonjour, welcome to level three, gallery four".  The visitors today were guests invited to attend the opening, primarily those who had contributed to make the museum a reality, so there were few criticisms.  Tomorrow and Sunday those attending will be those fortunate enough to have obtained the free tickets advertised a few weeks ago.  Their tours will be short, so my expectation is that the grandeur of the structure will be the topic of any comments.  It will be interesting to see, once the regular hours begin on the 27th, what the reactions will be.  It is a building and a subject meant to inspire both conversation and discussion. Already there are those who are critical and angry.  To me it would make sense to see what's there first and then comment, but there are always those who jump the gun.  In the end, does it really matter if what is depicted is what you think is most important? What's important is that the topic of human rights is being put on the table for discussion.  The discussion, and the actions arising from those discussions are what are important.

I am thrilled to have been there today, and to contribute in a very small way to the success of this project.  I have to believe that the structure itself will put Winnipeg on the map as a destination.  I believe that the fact that it exists will facilitate important conversations, and will bring about positive change in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada and the world. How can that be bad?

Introducing....

Yay! She's finally here!  Aubrey Norma Jean took her own sweet time joining the family, but when she decided to arrive, she did so in a rush on July 10, 2012.  She weighed in at 7 lb. 13 oz. and definitely belongs to this family, as she looks exactly like Colin and Addy did at that age.

But first...let's back up.  While we were all anxiously waiting out the ten days, the whole family did some exciting things to make the time pass (and hopefully to bring on labour!).  I was lucky enough to join them at Tinkertown on a glorious day.  The only complaint came from Addy, who loved each ride so much she didn't want to leave it to go to the next one.  Tinkertown is the perfect place for this age group.

And then, the big day came.  No one was sure it was the big day at all as Aubrey had teased before.  But after a quick trip to the hospital, she arrived in time for dinner.  Colin and Addy were delighted to meet her the next day, and have been loving older siblings ever since.  Aubrey has had many visitors, including her local cousins.  I am sure she will have many more!

Once again, we realize how blessed we are, and what a miracle we hold in our arms.  Welcome Aubrey.

We're movin' on

Yes, it is true.  We are moving.  After 33 happy years at this address, we are sorting, packing, and moving on to a bungalow condominium.

Reaction to our decision has been mixed.  Why are you doing this?  What are the advantages?  Don't you like your house any more?  There is no simple answer, other than to say that it is time to move on.  We both remember very well the day we moved into this house.  It was the perfect place for that time in our lives. Jeffrey was 4, Heather was 1 1/2, and Lee had yet to appear on the scene.  A four bedrooms on the main floor bungalow gave us the luxury of space, space which we have filled and refilled over the last 33 years.

This house has been absolutely perfect for us.  It has been the setting for countless celebrations, birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, good health events, and sadly, even a couple of gatherings before and after funerals.  It always seemed to expand to fit the number of people attending.  If we were starting again in this house, we might have liked to pop out the back to provide even more space, but that didn't happen and won't happen as long as we are the owners. Who knows what the next owners will do?  I hope they will do whatever they need to do to accomodate their celebrations.

It has been a joy to watch the evergreens in the backyard grow, to witness countless soccer games and tournaments, to visit the original playground with our children (and to picnic there with the Carrettes), and now to visit the new playground with our grandchildren.  We will probably come back to do that on occasion, if only to sneak over and take a peek at what was our backyard.  John's tree will continue to grow in the front yard, and may once again become the backdrop for first day of school pictures.  The rhubarb will flourish on the side of the house (I challenge anyone to try to get rid of it - not possible!), and will live on at our daughters' houses even if it disappears from the east side here.  We will come back and visit neighbours, or maybe they will come and visit us or join us eventually!

While some of our grandchildren are worried that some of the things they have come to associate with Grandma and Grandpa's house will make the move to the new place, we are not too worried about much. Yes, it is unsettling, especially until we find a buyer, and yes, it is a lot of work to move, but we both feel that having the freedom to travel without worrying about snow clearing, grass cutting,

etc is worth it at this moment.  There will be lots of room for our visitors, whether it is for overnight or longer, and we will even have a bathroom that can be dedicated just to them!  I will get an ensuite and a walkin closet, things that have been on my list for a while.

So today we put one last coat of paint on the siding, took the basketball hoop down (it will stay in the family), cut the grass, and generally tidied.  My wish is that there is a family out there who will love this house as much as we have, and will have as many occasions to hold celebrations here as has our family.  Family is not a place, it is the people, but having had a home like this one made everything concerning family just a little bit easier.

Snow, snow and more snow

Last night we moved our clocks one hour forward for Daylight Savings Time, a move which generally signals the beginning of Spring (spring forward, right?). However, as you will see from these pictures, spring has not quite arrived yet.

We have had a ton of snow this year, so much that we were concerned about the weight on our roof.  So, when an enterprising young man appeared on our doorstep offering to shovel the snow off the roof, we were willing to pay the price.  However, a clear roof means piles of snow a bit too close to the house for comfort, so today we went out and attempted to move some of it.  At least now we can get the doors open.  It is melting, and hopefully with the bit we moved it won't melt into the basement!

                                                Grandpa is king of the castle.

Some of us know how to enjoy the snow.