Katie's "New" Room

Katie has been asking me to move the furniture in her room for several days. She finally got her wish today. The deal was that she had to tidy her room first before the furniture could be moved. Somehow the extra motivation caused an impressive display of room cleaning! So, the room above is the post-furniture-moving result! Katie was so excited about her "new room" that when it was time for bed, she arranged tomorrow's school clothes on the floor!

Jack-o-lanterns, oh my!

Well, Columbus Day...aka Canadian Thanksgiving...aka an excuse to stay home and make pumpkins...aka an excuse to make a turkey dinner...aka fun with pumpkin seeds...

We had a lovely day home (the three of us, since Dad had to work) and spent several hours cooking turkey, carving pumpkins, roasting seeds, and (of course) eating turkey, yum. Well, Bret got to eat some turkey for supper too! The kids thought the raw turkey was gross, but took some time to touch it and check it out inside and out! (Followed by some serious handwashing!) We baked two pumpkins and scooped out the soft flesh for pie. We smelled the baking turkey and seeds! It was a lovely day!

Piano Lessons!

Katie and August have started piano lessons for the first time this fall. They are playing such songs as "London Bridge is Falling Down," "The Wheels on the Bus," "Yankee Doodle," "The Muffin Man," etc.. In the picture Katie is showing Grandma and Grandpa what she can remember of her songs at their place. We are still practicing on a large keyboard at our house, but are hoping to get a used piano soon! The thing for me about the kids playing piano, especially when they started practicing scales and arpeggios, was that I was transported back in time to days gone by... Listening to my brothers playing the same songs over and over again. I wonder suddenly what I've gotten myself into...

Friends and Cider

We've been busy hosting friends and family during the last several weeks. It was fun to see Dane (Bret's cousin) and Lindy and their kids--our first time meeting the new baby! We've also recently had friends from church (our small group) and some friends the kids made through school. Tonight, after a little exercise at Safety Town, we had Bret's parents over for a traditional "faspa" (light supper). They helped the kids study for tests they have tomorrow. August is studying American history (the Revolutionary War). The entire fourth grade is being unfairly taxed (losing their feathers--reward system--randomly and they are not happy about it!) Queen Georgina (the principal) comes in and collects the taxes and does not allow the students a voice in the decision making! (Taxation without representation...and August is rather pissed off about the whole thing!) Katie is learning some interesting facts about Illinois (she can identify the state tree--Oak, state flower--Violet, and find Illinois on a map).

Bret had an adventure today in cider-making! Some time ago, he found a (really big) cider press at an auction and got it for a song. I thought he was crazy at the time and had been hoping he would come back with a new lawn mower instead...but today all his efforts were rewarded!!! I was wrong!!! (I write this for his benefit :-) ) We have some new friends who shared some pears from their harvest, so Bret tried out the press for the first time! It was REALLY Good!!! I've never had pear cider before, but it tastes surprisingly like apple cider. We are loaning the press to our friends for use with their pears. Looking forward to making more cider when our apple trees begin producing more apples!

Weekend news!

Well, I spent this weekend at Camp Friedenswald in Michigan at a Women's Retreat. It rained all weekend, seemingly without stopping, although there were a few short reprieves. But, nonetheless I had a great weekend. I was able to get together with some friends from our church in Markham whom I haven't seen in a while. It felt like a family reunion.
I took the opportunity (because of the rain) to start knitting a new sweater. I made one for Katie last spring and decided it was time to knit one for August. Next will be me and then Bret. I guess I'll be looking forward to more rainy days!

I can do anything!

You must all be wondering...what has happened with the washing machine...surely Angela won't survive a whole week without one! And you're right I probably couldn't but I didn't need to! My handy hubby was able to diagnose the problem--the mechanism that registers when the door is closed was broken. So, I went to a nearby repair place and bought the appropriate part. Remarkably it stated on the bag, "easy to install." I thought to myself, "I'm a relatively intelligent person. I should be able to figure this out!" I read the instructions, examined the placement of the old part, and installed it myself!!! Words can't begin to tell you the joy that comes from fixing your own washing machine! Okay this may sound a little crazy to some of you. But I've gotten used to letting my handy hubby fix stuff like this! Anyway the washer is good as before and I am now certain that I can do anything I set my mind to!

Life as Usual...

Well, piano lessons are underway, school has been in session for a couple of weeks and the routine of "life as usual" is back in swing. Today I was startled out of my usual laundry day (everyday seems to be laundry day) humdrum routine by the realization that my washing machine was not spinning out the water. HMM... That was not part of my plan for the day. Tonight I spent some time wringing out my clothes by hand and emptying the water out. I guess we'll have to figure out whether we can fix it or have to replace it. We've had it for about 8 years now, so I guess with daily wear and tear or wash and wring...it's done its duty. We'll see...