FreeLearningMama

Country Party 2016

The weather forecast was bleak. We sipped our coffees while watching the rain pour down, hemming and hawing over whether or not to cancel. I went on Facebook and boldly declared that we would carry on as planned. We anticipated that there'd be a smaller turnout and it certainly looked that way at first. The rain did stop but it was chilly, windy, and the skies were grey. A few families who'd planned on camping out in our field decided to stay home (understandably). But in the end people came anyway - in fact, the next day I went over my list of invitees and counted 73 people - 13 more than last year (this time adults outnumbered kids) and we had such a blast! There was the requisite soccer-game-that-never-ends, hide and seek in the woods (apparently someone got lost...but then found), a huge variety of salads and goodies brought by guests, new faces came and connections made, and overall fun.  Thanks to everyone who came, and a special shout out to Sonya and Doug who provided lyrics for our campfire songs, Eric for his musical abilities (and patience), and Ker, Kathleen, Danny, and Dan for singing along with me into the wee hours of the night. 

I can't take credit for any of these photos:

 

kittens!

Last Friday the boys and I were downtown in Montreal when we got 'the' call. Danny had entered our bedroom and discovered a very wet little kitten, right in the middle of our hardwood floor, still attached to its placenta. In the doorway stood our cat, looking more than a little confused. He coaxed her back to her little one and sure enough, once she began to smell and lick her kitten, all her other mothering instincts kicked in. In the meantime, the boys and I made a beeline for our car, eager to get back home in time to see something (ok, to be honest I really wanted to bear witness to the birthing part of the event...the kids were just interested in the kittens). By the time we got home about an hour and fifteen minutes later, four kittens had been born (we'd read that with a first litter, we could expect 2 or 3). As we discussed whether or not it would be wise to interfere by transferring her to a bigger box (the one she'd chosen in our closet was so small that it appeared to us that she was crushing her babies), I watched her body bear down ever so slightly and a fifth kitten slid out, just like that. We made an executive decision to move them all, very carefully, and then we gave her some space while she dutifully licked them clean. 

One of them didn't make it. We buried him/her next to Ginny by our rock wall and plucked some daffodils to mark the spot.

Luna (named after Luna Lovegood from Harry Potter, not to be confused with Danny's company, Luna Cables... I know it's confusing)... anyway, Luna is an incredible mother. She knows just what to do. She nurses pretty much all the time and when she's not doing that she's licking their bums to trigger their reflex to pee and poo (then she eats it...puts all that diaper changing into perspective, doesn't it?). She leaves her babies only to get a quick snack or drink of water and then promptly returns.  Two days ago the baby-daddy showed up again, sauntered right up onto our front porch as she watched from the window. I could just imagine her thinking, 'you bastard - frolicking in the warm sun, catching flies while I take care of your babies and eat their shit all day'. Later that afternoon I may have gone out and bought her some fancy tuna fish. I have never been one to pamper my cats, but it was definitely an appropriate purchase. 

 

travel

I had the opportunity to visit my sister and her girls in British Columbia for 10 days in April. She had some travelling to do for work, so she pulled the girls out of school and we all tagged along. I had the chance to explore Victoria for the first time, and got to see for myself why everyone says it's one of the most beautiful cities to live in. On the way back we stopped in Vancouver for a night. My mom was there for a weekend training session (she's a public health nurse and does 6 week stints in remote First Nations communities, and is working towards become certified as a nurse practitioner). She didn't even know I was in BC so we had the pleasure of surprising her. The rest of the time I got to hang out and relax with my sister, nieces, and brother-in-law at their cozy home in Sechelt, which is located on the Sunshine Coast. For my birthday they got a babysitter and took me out to dinner on their boat.

Before heading back to Montreal my nieces and I followed her to one more work-related destination...Whistler. I'd driven by it before, back when my mom was living in Pemberton, but I'd never had a chance to stop and check it out. We stayed there for two full days, and while it is a bit too touristy for my liking, I definitely see the appeal. While we were there we went for a short hike and ran into a pile of huge, very fresh bear shit. I didn't like that very much at all.

I wasn't sure if I could pull it off but thanks to my sister (and thanks to the girls for their patience, as the car ride was long enough already), we stopped in Granville Island during the busiest time on a Saturday to pick up a ridiculous amount of frozen maple-candied dried salmon for my boys. It's the only request they had and I was determined to make it happen. By the time I got home and unzipped my suitcase it had defrosted to the perfect temperature and each bite melted in our mouths. I would move to that part of the world for the candied salmon alone, never mind the snow-capped mountains and bowing porpoises. 

When I got home Danny and the boys surprised me by presenting me with my old laptop...which they had revitalized by replacing the hard drive with an SSD card (all files and programs were backed up first, thank god). I'd been bracing myself for this old MacBook Pro to die at any time. Although the boys now each have their own computer, Danny and I have no desktop or iPods, so it's been working pretty hard for 6+ years. Each time it would do something 'weird' I would hold my breath, reminded that I was pushing my luck. But Noah did a fair amount of research and discovered that this particular model is worth holding on to (I can't remember why, nor would I be able to explain it). I couldn't believe what a difference their tinkering has made. It runs just like new again (for less than $200!). If you're not sure what an SSD card is, Noah had just written this short piece in the latest edition of 'The Scoop', Communidée's Newspaper (his comprehension of all-things-computer far exceeds his enthusiasm to care enough to include a proper introduction and conclusion...maybe the Montessori school will have better luck getting through to him!). I'm glad I wasn't around when they opened up the laptop and took it apart, I probably would have been a nervous wreck. But I'm ever so grateful that they did.

Two days after I got home Danny took off to Munich! He and his business partner wanted to be part of the action in this year's annual high-end audio trade show, the most important show in that industry. I'm so excited for him!

In other news, my mother-in-law just bought a house 15 minutes from us! It's part of a domaine and therefore includes access to a private beach on a non-motorized lake, so you can bet we'll be doing a lot of canoeing this summer. We're thrilled to have them closer!

Coming up soon.... an update on our furry, and very pregnant feline friend. Ever seen the infamous pregnant waddle on a cat? It's pretty adorable. We're crossing our fingers that Danny gets home in time to see the magic happen.

 

 

 

Dr. Jane Goodall

When I heard that Jane Goodall was going to be in Ottawa I booked 4 tickets without even deliberating over the cost, time away from work, travel, hotels, meals, etc. The woman just turned 82 years old; this may have been our last chance to experience her in the flesh. I wasn't about to let any of those details get in our way.

I am so very glad we went.  Such a wise, compassionate, lovely human being. Jane travels more than 300 days of the year to raise awareness, hope, and money for the institute and has this to say: "When you're 80 everyone tells you to slow down - but I've got to speed up!" I know it sounds like such a cliché but she truly is an inspiration.

Also, isn't she quite beautiful? I hope I look half that good when I'm in my 80's.

Check out the Jane Goodall Institute if you haven't already, particularly the Roots & Shoots program if there are kids or youth in your world.  

climbing Mount-Royal

I wasn't there to see it myself but apparently there was rock climbing, fence-jumping, and ice-traipsing (against the better judgement of the Mount Royal police who cautioned that they may get wet. They did indeed get wet). Needless to say much fun was had on this small mountain during a most perfect Spring afternoon.

Photos taken by Julie P. from Love it, Learn it, Make it.

a forest stroll

This time of year in the woods the air smells like moist, cold dirt...and moss. I love it.

 

Maple-ing, 2016

This is our 4th Spring here, and for the first time we will not be making syrup.  I'm a bit sad about it, but it's an intense process that requires many hours of work; with Danny starting two new companies it just wouldn't be any fun, nor would it be smart. Knowing that this is not meant to be a good year for syrup made the decision a little easier... it very well could have been a whole lot of work for very little return.

But we did manage to steal a bit of maple-ing time while up north visiting my in-laws. It was nice to have a little taste of the experience, both figuratively and literally.

Big changes

I haven't given up on blogging. I just needed to step away from it for a little while and although it's not something that takes up a whole lot of my time, it's one of those 'other things' that I just needed to let slide for a bit. 

We have some big news!

Danny quit his job to focus on not one, but two new projects. It's been a long time in the making, which is partly why we've been so busy, making sure all our ducks were in a row before he pulled the plug on a stable job he'd held for 10 years. As the main breadwinner of the family, this definitely took courage and there were moments we asked ourselves if we'd lost our minds. But every time we'd sit down to talk about it there'd be a feeling of yes...yes...yes! 

And now it's official! For the last few weeks Dan's been working for himself, and from home. This weekend is the official launch of Luna Cables and Phonographe, at the annual Montreal Audio Show. I'm so proud of him!

There's more news: we registered the kids for school next September!

I have always said that we would continue to homeschool as long as it was working. For the last couple of years things have been feeling a little... wobbly (I can't think of a better word at the moment). We've been relying on our trips to Montreal for connections with friends, and that's just not sustainable. As they're growing older, the need for challenging experiences and opportunities is becoming greater than what we can provide on our own, and there is no network of homeschoolers out here that can help provide that. For the last couple of years we've been compensating by bringing 'schooly' work into the home, and that's not working either; I never wanted to do 'school at home', and yet...here we are. So, despite some little changes and adjustments we've tried, it's becoming more and more clear that it's not working anymore, for any of us. Happily, when Dan and I sat the boys down to tell them all about the Montessori school we'll be sending them to in September, they ultimately agreed it was for the best. There was some sadness too, of course, but mostly because of what it means for their Montreal friendships. They are excited about the school itself, which Danny and I feel reflects so many of the values that we hold dear and which led us to homeschooling in the first place: individualized learning, a respect for the learner's pace and methods, immersion of nature, exercise, peace, and a healthy amount of freedom. The classes are small, the ages are mixed, abilities varied, differences celebrated. Another very important factor for us is that they learn French in earnest, and as this is a French school full of francophone families, they will be fully immersed. After Danny and I visited during school hours and talked with the director it was clear that this school was a perfect fit for our family. It just so happens that the elementary and high schools both share the same building, which is a 12 minute drive from our home. 

I will be eternally grateful for the years we homeschooled and I'm proud that it gave them what they needed to face this new journey with the courage, confidence, and excitement that they've expressed since we told them about the change. There's some trepidation too, for sure... but I'm looking forward to watching them take the bull by the horns in September. As for me, well, at that point it will have been 14 years of being 'on' as a mum pretty much 24/7. I'm going to give myself a chance to catch my breath. I'll take on doula clients as they come, continue my prenatal classes, and work one day a week for the LDWC as I have been, but I'm going to allow myself a grace period before I dive deeper into anything else, as I'm sure that itch will come soon enough.

November blur

This month has gone by so quickly. My work has had me busier than usual, with several appointments and meetings each week, in addition to my regular schedule and the homeschooling that needs to get done. I also hosted a gathering of friends at the beginning of the month and a book club last weekend. Next week we are being treated by Danny's father to a week in Cuba! Then we return and brace ourselves for all the busy-ness and excitement of Christmas (with 2 clients due to give birth sometime during the Holidays!). I love all this work and homeschooling action but am very much looking forward to lying on the beach in a few days....

(a gathering of old high school friends... all together for the first time in many years!)

(my stepmother's art show at the Galerie d'Art Outremont)

(Massawippi North, hiking trail... trying to keep up with our weekly Wednesday hikes and feeling so grateful that we have this respite in our week)

(taken from our back yard, Owl's Head is just outside the left of this frame)

last warm days

Autumn is always so busy here, tying up lose ends, scrambling to get all the outdoor chores out of the way before the ground freezes. It's all weather-dependent and if it ends up raining (or snowing!) on the only day of the week we'd put aside to do all that, well.... you get the idea. That's what our life is like this time of year. 

Last weekend we celebrated Danny's grandfather's 90th birthday, along with his many aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, and nephews (that man had twelve children!). We were a couple of hours north of Toronto in the beautiful countryside. It was loads of fun, I stayed up until 4am and then slept in a tent in the freezing cold. I woke up the next day feeling like I'm way too old for this shit - but equally glad I'd done it. Danny's mother comes from such an amazing family, filled with wonderful people, some who I'd never met before. Believe it or not this is the only photo from the night that has surfaced... I'd brought my camera but never pulled it out because of all the rain.

(there may have been a wee bit of alcohol involved)

On Tuesday the skies cleared, the weather warmed, and some homeschooling families from the city came up to do some fishing. The idea was to eat them fresh after cooking them over an open fire. But no fish were nibbling that day so we settled on hot dogs instead. 

Today we put 'schooly' work aside and busted our butts wrapping up our final 'farming' chores. It was chilly but so lovely to be outside and feeling productive.

(beefing up the soil with lime, manure, and compost)

(I planted a lot more garlic this year)

(it's hard work to stay warm all winter!)

The weather forecast predicts a few more warm and sunny days next week!