Category: Family Matters

This year’s haul:
2 pairs cycling shorts;
2 cycling skorts;
1 round-trip ticket to Halifax to see Alison and her impending arrival;
a lovely tin of tea, complete with tea strainer and a ladybug teapot drip catcher;
several handmade cards, including one with an assortment of coloured feathers;
2, 539 dandelions, more or less.

Yesterday was another beautiful day, despite the dire predictions of thundershowers. I met Mum for lunch, then she and I met the kids at the bus, dropped off schoolbags and lunchboxes, and went down to the river for another walk along the bank.
When the kids and I were walking there last Sunday, we were a little dismayed at the build-up of garbage over the winter, and we said that next time, we would bring some bags and pick up some trash. So, this time, that’s what we did:

Colin, Mum and Robert (foreground), hard at work

Tada!
We each filled up one bag, and then Robert found a discarded shopping bag and filled that up, too. We found a garbage bin, dropped off our contribution, then continued our walk down to the playground, where Mum very kindly treated us to a reward:

Yesterday, Colin started writing a novel.
He read me the introduction, in which the narrator and his brother, Robert, encounter a half-woman, half-cat creature. He then announced that the book will have about thirteen chapters, with no more than one picture per chapter. Also, he’s decided he is going to be an author when he grows up (for those of you just joining us, Colin is 8 years old).
He told me that this ambition is why he loves to read: through reading, he can “learn the rhythm of books.”
“The rhythm of books” !!!
Naturally, I have to record these thoughts so they’re on record somewhere when biographers are looking for material in a few years.

I’ve just posted Colin’s first recipe to The Communal Kitchen, for “rice pudding and chocolate shake soup.”

We went to the Ecomuseum and saw many, many cuddly creatures. The otters were particularly playful, and were a large factor in our decision to buy a family pass for the coming year.

My sister has a blog.

Some of you may already know that Robert, our now-six-year-old, has been a little, well, confused, gender-wise, for some time. He likes girly toys, like mermaid dolls, he likes girly images, like unicorns, and he frequently pretends to be a girl, namely Vanessa the Fembot.
In an effort to be hip, modern, with-it parents, we have tried to be accommodating – we even got Santa to bring Robert a Barbie for Christmas (along with her beach buggy and a Ken doll (who now has real hair, by the way)). We have watched unicorn movies with him (although I draw the line at Angelina Ballerina, the cartoon about the white mouse who whines and cries incessantly).
Having said that, we were nonetheless thrilled that Robert expressed a strong desire for the scary Darth Vader voice-changing helmet. So last weekend, for Robert’s 6th birthday, we gave him the helmet.
Later that evening, a tiny yet terrifying heavy breather stomped up to Dr. T and said “Muahaha! Do you know who I am?” Dr. T, who’s not just a pretty face, said “You must be Darth Vader!”
To which the helmeted figure replied “No – I am Darth Vader’s wife!! Muahaha!”
Sigh.

Isabella may have something to say about this one. According to Robert, octopuses have eight “testicles.”

Robert was helping me unload the dishwasher yesterday, and I asked him to put away the cutlery. He looked at the contents of the dishwasher and said “that’s the furniture you use to eat, right?”

So Colin and I are both off this week – or rather, Colin is off, and I’m putting a lot of effort into my procrastination.
So far, our time has been spent riding the rails – Colin’s fascination with the Metro has not waned since last year, although now he’s added the Underground City to his list of must-have experiences. So we’ve walked the Underground City, we’ve shopped, we’ve been to the cinema (The Incredibles), and today – as per Colin’s request – we’re going to the museum of fine arts.
Colin says that he’s been once, but he didn’t get to see everything.
We also lunched with Dina and Bill, and Colin has already extracted a promise from me that we’ll do that again next year. I assume he wants to relive…
The Duck Jokes
1. A duck walks into a pharmacy and asks the pharmacist “Do you have any duck food?” The pharmacist says “No, sorry, no duck food.” The next day, the duck comes back, and asks “Do you have any duck food?” The pharmacist says “No, as I said yesterday, no duck food.” The next day, the duck comes back again, and asks “Do you have any duck food?” The pharmacist says “No, we have no duck food. I’m getting tired of you asking me for duck food everyday – if you do it again, I’ll nail your feet to the floor, buddy.” The next day, the duck comes back, and asks “Do you have any nails?” The pharmacist says “No, we don’t carry nails.” So the duck asks “Do you have any duck food?”
2. Different duck, different pharmacy – the ducks says to the pharmacist “Do you have any Chapstick?” The pharmacist says yes, so the duck says “Great – put it on my bill.”
3. A man walks into a doctor’s office. The man has a large duck perched on his head. The doctor says “What seems to be the problem, sir?” The duck says “Well, there’s a guy on my ass.”
4. (not a duck joke, but the one that made Colin laugh loudest) Two English muffins are in a toaster oven. The first muffin says “Wow, it’s hot in here.” The second muffin says “Oh my God! A talking muffin!”
Yes, I’d say the education of my son proceeds apace.