Jingle Bells...

Yeah yeah, it's still November - but barely! *grin* ....





I was messing with the settings on my camera, trying to figure out what would take a good Christmas tree lights picture (the one above isn't very good either LOL ...I don't know what setting to use for that!) and was amused at this swirly looking image...



Of course, the tree attracts cats who like to hang out underneath....



....and chomp on the branches....



Silly cats! :-)

There aren't very many decorations on the tree yet, as the selection was pretty slim at the store we checked - so Cindy has set to work making some with supplies from her father's plastic canvas stuff...we're gonna pick up some feathers, beads, foam, and stuff like that later today so that other kinds can also be made...we'll prolly check a few other places for some cute ones too, but the homemade kind are the best anyway!

This is the first place we've lived in that has an outdoor electrical plug, so I can finally put up some outside lights without having to run an extension cord through a window or whatever (done that before) ...need to find some pretty rainbow outdoor lights!

We've also got a ...oh what do you call it - the kind of stair railing with round fancy stick things...anyway, whatever it's called, it's great for wrapping garland or such around - that's on the decoration list as well....

(Can you tell that I really like Christmas decorating?)

I never checked to see if the front door has a nail or hook thing - something we could hang a wreath on...have to take a peek later...

We discovered an outdoor rink the other day! It's just down the road here...wooden walls around it...the town floods the rink and it's free to use..it's not ready yet, but hopefully soon! There's more than one of them around, I was told...Right next to the rink is a school with a huge playground - the kids are anxious to go check that out, of course.

I haven't found one yet, but I suspect there ought to be a good sledding hill around here somewhere - considering the size of the hill we have to drive up to get to the housing area that we're in, there must be the equivalent minus the road *somewhere*...having lived her whole life on a flat island, Cindy is quite amazed at the hills out here....heh, wait until we take a drive down to Banff sometime and she gets to see the mountains! *grin*

We're here!

Kids, cats, and all the suitcases made it in one piece. Christopher says that planes are "too long!" and the cats may never forgive me :-P ...but we're all here and it's DONE. We ran waaay late getting to the airport (Dawn please don't clobber me - I'll email you later, but we ran into an awful mess of snow squalls going through the pass and were rushing and crazy by the time we got close to the airport!)but we made our flight and bounced across the country. I've found the kettle and found the coffee - this makes me a fairly happy girl this morning. If you knew how much sleep I did not have, you'd understand why the coffee is important. *grin* ....More of an update later, with a few pictures. Right now, I have a little guy awake who wants to "explore the new house" and learn where everything is.

A little bit of the white stuff..

Took that out our back door yesterday. Yeah, we got a little bit of snow. *grin*

Weather forecast looks pretty good for today - sun & cloud with some flurries, low winds over across (higher here, but the island is always windy and we're leaving it)...might run into a few snow squall type things with it blowing across the highway, but that's nothing new to us (yeah I just checked the weather warnings & road conditions - basically, blowing snow and not-so-great highways - typical after storm weather..)...I'm watching the departures on the airport website and they're mostly all looking fairly back to normal so far...

I'm not finished packing, of course. I've never been efficient and organised before - why start now? *grin*

It's nearly 5am here...Cindy & Diane are asleep upstairs, Christopher is listening to his music... I'm gonna start getting the rest of everything ready after I finish my coffee....

Here's hoping we pull this off with no problems - all I want is to get across the country with everyTHING and everyONE ...that would make me a very happy girl. :-)

Last full day on the island - we hope!

That picture is from a few years ago (yes it's me) - luckily, it doesn't look quite like *that* outside this morning....but it sure is snowing and blowing around. The weather forecast so far still says that tomorrow will be "a mix of sun and cloud" ...it's today that we have the storm on the go. We *need* to get on that flight tomorrow afternoon - it's the only right-on-through-flight for the week. Everything else involves an overnight stay in Toronto and I don't want to be lugging kids and cats and suitcases to hotel! (There's no way that we could anyhow - we'd never get the carriers and the six suitcases and us all into a cab to GET to a hotel!)

At some point today, the cable/etc guy is coming and unhooking our services - once he's been here (who knows when with the weather), I'll be internet-less until we get to Fort McMurray and I get a chance to mess with Norm's laptop again. Well - I have the ability to get on from my cell phone, but I don't quite know how to make that work well...power people don't unhook the place until Monday after we're (hopefully) already in Alberta..

Okay snow, leave! Or at least quit with the whole falling from the sky thing.


Edit: Okay, I just called in and asked if I could get my disconnect (internet/etc) delayed a few days because I realized that if they come out today (they may or may not with the storm) and unhook me, I have no way of watching the weather or checking flight status and such --- my mother, close by, doesn't have a computer, and Diane is gone across... so, they've changed the disconnect order to Wednesday - they'll unhook from the office and pick up the equipment (dvr and modem) from my Mom's place (I'll drop it there tomorrow).. Normally they won't do that, but the lovely lady is making an exception for our situation...she understood how I kinda NEED my internet access to keep tabs on things right now! :-)

Three days and counting...

Girl germs! :-P

Three days to go - and it snowed! Argh. I love winter - I really do - but I wanted it to wait just a few more days this year...just until after the weekend! It may still melt - which would make me happy...I don't want to drive to the city on sloppy snowy roads.

Today is Christopher's last day at his school - apparently they're having a surprise party for him. Very sweet of them... :-)

Yesterday, we were at the Audiology clinic for Christopher's hearing test - or rather, attempt at a hearing test. He doesn't like the big headphones they put on the kids and makes that dislike known to everyone rather quickly. They did get a bit of cooperation out of him, though not enough to make any determinations...once we get settled out west, we'll look for somewhere set up to test kids like Christopher (there are other methods that will work better for him) ...the ladies doing the test expressed some concern about his hearing in his right ear, though because of his lack of cooperation with the headphones, it wasn't possible for them to be certain - but I definitely want that looked into more. His ability to hear properly is *very* important, given that he can't see anything!

This morning - I have to shove things around, mop the floors, and stog some smelly things in the outlets.. the landlord is bringing some people 'round to have a peek through this place. Blech, I hate having people nosing around in my house!

Okay snow - melt!

Six days and counting...

^^ Toby, asleep on my lap yesterday.. that was taken with my phone; excuse the fuzziness.

Six days to go... and all things considered, I think we're doing well. The house is very empty - not quite empty *enough*, but compared to the amount of stuff in here three weeks ago, it's bare!

Claire - our oldest cat, the one who can't come and needs a "retirement home" has gone down to Diane's place (she took her last night) ...she'll be staying there while the search for her perfect home continues... Claire needs a quiet place with no other cats - she's needed that for a long time now...

Max, Toby, Angel, and Moly are getting used to the big airplane carriers - each day, I put them in their carriers (two and two) for a bit, closing the doors and letting them just hang out there and get used to them...after all, they'll be spending about 12 hours in them when we go... I'm creating some signs for the carriers that have their names and all of our contact info - Diane will laminate & hole punch those for me so that I can wire them to the carrier doors.

We're packing five suitcases - and taking along the big hockey bag just in case the suitcases are overweight (luggage allowance is six for everyone total) ...not really doing carry-ons, though we could have up to six there as well (two each) because I'd be stuck carrying them all and that will be awkward with helping Christopher. We'll just take one with snacks, books, etc... oh yes, I need to snag a cd walkman or MP3 player for Christopher so he has his tunes on the plane.

It'll be interesting to see what he thinks of this whole flying business.. I'm just hoping his ears don't bother him (Cindy's did, mine didn't) because the usual cure for that is gum chewing - but he can't chew gum. I suppose it's the act of chewing itself - so some animal cookies should work just as well... I'll make sure I have some in my pocket to give him during take-off...

In other news, my father & stepmother are coming for a visit today. They moved home to Nova Scotia this summer, from Germany, and they want to see us before we go..they'll land here around lunchtime or thereabouts... I don't see them very often - we have a peculiar relationship... this was "home" as a child, from 4-13, basically, before I ran away and wound up in foster care and such...it's only over the last few years that we've started building any kind of connections again...

It's kinda funny though...what is it they say about history and how it repeats? My father and my stepmother moved away from the island here..with two kids.. an older girl and a younger boy...to Alberta. Yep, that was my brother and I ...he and I were younger than Cindy and Christopher are right now, and the age difference between us is about a year more, but it's an eerily similar situation....more so in some of the extra details as well, but I don't want to get into those here at the moment..

Of course, a little bit before we leave - Cindy makes a new friend. Not just any new friend, but a new-to-the-island (from Alberta!) homeschooler! We've had none in our neighbourhood and Miss Cinders has always wished there were some...the timing is so goofy. I met the mom last night - very friendly lady who said I should come by for coffee this week and we can exchange homeschool info regarding each province...I'll definitely take her up on that if I have a chance. I told Cindy to get the daughter's email address so that they can stay in touch...they totally hit it off, too bad they didn't move here sooner!

A couple of music vids...

This is currently one of Cindy's favourite songs - I came across it accidentally on youtube the other day...I quite like it myself! There doesn't seem to be an original video for it, but this young fella did a lip sync video for it....

EDIT: aw rats, looks like he took his video down...you can still hear the song though - I found a slideshow using it..



Here's the lyrics:

I'm Not Cool - Scott Krippayne

Some people tell me that I look kind of funny
My nose is red and the braces didn't work at all
They say the clothes I wear are all out of fashion
I don't fit in and should be shopping at a different mall
I studied classical piano when I could've been playing guitar
I used to drive an El Camino and I'm not even sure it's a car

(chorus)
I'm not cool but that's okay
My God loves me anyway
I'm not cool but that's alright
I'm still precious in His sight
I'm not cool but I don't care
How I'm supposed to do my hair
I'm not cool but that's okay
My God loves me anyway

It doesn't matter if I know all the lingo
He doesn't mind if I'm not hanging with a certain crowd
Some people still believe in building image
But I am fine and that's a worry I can do without
I used to wish I was athletic but football was never my game
I met some friends in mathematics but no one can spell my last name

Chorus

He says that I am one of a kind
And I don't have to try to be somebody else
He believes in me and says I'm free to be myself
I can be myself

Chorus


This is another that she really likes - a little warning on this though...the song talks about teen suicide....again, there doesn't seem to be an original video - but some kids created a pretty cool video to go with it....



Here's the lyrics for that...

Hero - Superchick

No one sits with him, he doesn't fit in
But we feel like we do when we make fun of him
Cause you want to belong, do you go along?
Cause his pain is the price paid for you to belong
It's not like you hate him or want him to die
But maybe he goes home and thinks suicide
Or he comes back to school with a gun at his side
And a kindness from you might have saved his life
Heroes are made when you make a choice

[Chorus:]
You could be a hero - heroes do what's right
You could be a hero - you might save a life
You could be a hero- you could join the fight
For what's right, for what's right, for what's right

No one talks to her, she feels so alone
She's in too much pain to survive on her own
The hurt she can't handle overflows to a knife
She writes on her arm and wants to give up her life
Each day she goes on is a day that she's brave
Fighting the lie that giving up is the way
Each moment of courage her on life she saves
When she throws the pills out a hero is made
Heroes are made when you make a choice

[Chorus]

No one talks to him about how he lives
He thinks that the choices he makes are just his
Doesn't know he's the leader with the way he behaves
And others will follow the choices he's made
He lives on the edge, he's old enough to decide
His brother who wants to be him is just nine
He can do what he wants because it's his right
The choices he makes change a nine-year-old's life

[Chorus]

An Award! Coolness.

Linda from At Home On The Rock gave me this award a few days back - I'm a bit slow to catch these things sometimes. Thank you! *grin*

It's an award that's given to people in recognition of their efforts to transmit their own cultural, ethical, literary and personal values in their blogs....pretty cool!

Getting an award is fun - and so is passing it on to others. On that note - I'm gonna send this one to Ganeida, Dawn, and Mrs. Darling.

Enjoy!

Another year...

We've now got two kids in the double digits! Where oh where has the time gone....




Christopher turned 10 years old last week - he's laughing in the picture because we started singing "Happy Birthday" to him and HE started singing with us, to which Cindy said "Christopher! You don't sing too!!" --- he thought that was hilarious. :-)

We don't really do big parties here - birthdays usually mean that the birthday child chooses whatever they want for supper that night and we have Norm & Diane over (in this case, just Diane since Norm is out west) ...Christopher chose baked chicken, sweet potatoes, and peas for his birthday supper - this is definitely a kid who prefers "real food" over the typical kid-loved junky stuff like fast food. Yay! LOL

My mother gave him a new snowsuit for his birthday - something he'll definitely be needing out in northern Alberta! Diane took him out shopping with her and he chose some fuzzy pants and a cool two-in-one shirt thing...Cindy and I got him some new cds - one of which is playing right now on his cd player...songs about the times tables...and others that had various kids songs on them. Presents had to be fairly "packable" since we're reducing the whole house to six suitcases!


************************

Less than three weeks to go! You don't want to see how upside down my house looks right now. It's crazy - cutting the whole house down to six suitcases. Furniture has been going out the door left right & center - I've been giving it all away because most of it was given to us (or flea market finds) and I want to pass the 'giving' on....y'know, you don't realize just how much "stuff" you have until you have to actually get rid of it!

We're also short one cat. Cola - the stray black cat from posts a few months back - has gone to a new home... this wasn't really planned - I have one that can't come (if she doesn't have a retirement home before we go, Diane is taking her to stay with her and continue looking) because she's old & very high strung and would never make the trip, but Cola was going to be coming along with us...until my mother called me up and said that a lady she knew was wondering if we might possibly let Cola come to stay with her...turns out this lady had a fifteen year old cat that she had to euthanize a few months ago due to her (the cat) having a lot of incurable medical problems (comes with old age) and she knew that a) we were moving and b) we had a beautiful black male cat....exactly the kind of cat she really wanted to be a new member of her home.... I talked with Cindy about it and she said yes, let Cola go and live with this lady. He'll have a wonderful home there - she'll spoil him to bits, give him everything he ever wanted... They picked him up the other day and we exchanged emails so that she can send Cindy some pictures of Cola in his new home.

It's always hard to let a cat go - but we've done this before. Yes, our cats are family members - but at the same time, we often have WAY too many cats here because I have a terrible habit of attracting strays...so, in some ways it's a bit like a cat foster home. Cola wasn't "supposed" to be here - he was cat number six! - but he turned up here and we couldn't very well turn him away....I guess we were sorta his foster family for a few months - now he has a lovely "forever home" and he'll do great there!