A Change of Scenery

The developers who created our house have started work on the sub-division across the road and below us. An excavator was delivered a few weeks ago and this past mid-week it began moving dirt. A lot of it. The boys figured it must have been lonely by itself as another excavator and a front loader bulldozer (as I was unceremoniously reminded by three year old Middlest. "Mom! It's not a front loader. It's. A. BULLDOZER!!!". Well, how stunned am I? It's too bad they have to wait so long to run the world. Imagine what a a great job we'd be doing with world problems if we were doing it when we knew everything at ages five and below?!?) arrived this evening in preparation for the coming week.

I was a little concerned when the first excavator started digging because we were assured when we bought our house that our view would not be further interrupted than it already is by the two homes just across the road from us. And it seems to be true. What was previously indicated to be a road, is a road, and the incline is steep enough that the house roof tops, unless the houses are built higher than four stories, should only mean seeing the ocean and crashing waves over rooftops versus over the trees.

Though I knew this time was coming, I will miss those trees. I am in a bit in mourning about it. Every evening since the work began, we have gone for a walk along the new road to 'oooh' and 'aaah' over the excavator and to check out the changes to the land. The first night showed us just how steep the incline is. I imagine they will check that incline a bit as they get the road finished in coming weeks. DH is looking forward to the road and cul-de-sac at the end for our boys to careen down on their bicycles. I am already in fear of gravel ground into scraped knees, elbows and hands.

This weekend was a glorious one for us (setting temperature records at 20 degrees today!) and DH and the bigger boys spent yesterday liberating a few three or four year old trees from the road/building site to our garden. Eldest was confused about that. He asked DH what he thought the Lorax would think of them moving the trees. When DH explained that the trees were in line for being bulldozed for either the road or a new house so were enroute to quick destruction anyways, Eldest happily conceded that the Lorax would probably approve of their actions. Eldest and Middlest really consider the Lorax's feelings when it comes to damaging any trees. It is heart warming.

Last evening after my nerves were strung out and raw from preparing for the supper routine and the demands whims (it is truly like working for three pint sized dictators with adult sized needs NOW, MOM!) of three overtired and over hungry boys, DH sent me out of the house for a walk. I decided to go down the new road and over the hill.

When the excavator stopped on Friday it left the most delicious mountain of fresh, gorgeous milk chocolate coloured dirt from centuries of rotting organic matter. The type of hill that kids can't resist climbing? Or their mother's? So, I followed my boys steps from the day before (Youngest and I were out collecting the last things we needed for another project that I was working on while the big boys worked outside), up the dirt mountain and enjoyed the view of the ocean from the top of the trees. I was pleased to see that there still seemed to be a lot of trees left from where the developers appear to be working and the ocean. I hope that buffer of trees remain.

After the heart pounding climb, I jumped in the soft dirt all the way down and walked over to the meadows and the cliffs. We have been in this house for almost 3.5 years and this was the first walk I have taken where I was able to enjoy the sea, cliffs and birds All. By. Myself. I was able to find a comfortable spot to sit and watch the gulls float around the cliffs and in and out of the cracks in the cliff faces where they live. I enjoyed the very light breeze that let me smell the salt tang of the air and the guano of the birds and then whip it away before it became over powering. I enjoyed the sunlight making diamonds sparkle on the water and the water being so clear and clean that, where there were not crashing foamy waves, I could see balls of kelp (sea weed) washing against the rocks.

Then I walked down to the river (one of our family's favourite after meal destinations) and climbed up on the cliff on the left side so that I could view the small cove and the crashing waves that ride into it from a completely different perspective than from down below.

It is amazing to me that all of this beauty is so, so close to us and our home yet it has taken me so, so long to go and find it. I feel more connected with the source of the booming we hear daily and especially nightly when I am working in my office or craft room in the basement and the house is quiet.

I think I am finally starting to settle in and the changes in front of our front window are threatening that contented feeling just a bit. So, every night that I can, we are going to walk down the new road to comment on the changes and to explore. To let the kids be kids in the dirt and trees and close to the heavy machinery and to assess and reconcile the changes that have been made to what I have come to regard as 'ours.'

Note: These pictures were taken this past week when it was still very cold but sunny. I did not bring my camera on my solo walk. Those sights are stored in my heart.

Blizzard 2013

After 30 hours without electricity caused by the best blizzard DH and my little family have seen since we moved back to the beautiful province of Newfoundland and Labrador,  I learned a little that I thought I'd share:

• I love electricity. LURVE. It. Love it so much that I want to build a shrine to Benjamin Franklin and those who were before and after him in their exploration of making electricity the useful energy it is today. The queue starts behind me, people.

When a storm is brewing, we always park in the upper
driveway because the blowing winds always cause
the bottom driveway to drift over.

• Two weeks camping with no electricity and three children is nothing compared to housing, feeding and entertaining the same three children during a blizzard and power outage in the winter. For starters, we chose to go camping.
• 14 degrees Celsius in the summer in the sun is a reasonably comfortable temperature. 14 degrees Celsius in your living room with your wool hat and sweater on is not.

Can you see the drift up the neighbour's front door?

• If the wind outside your house is strong enough, your gutter can be peeled back and stripped away like tin foil. True story.

Tin foil gutter. Sigh.

• It turns out that I have held romanticized visions of what it would be like to have the power out for awhile. Meals by candlelight. The opportunity to sit and knit/crochet/read because what the heck else are you going to do? It turns out that if you put me in a blizzard with the power out I am too darn worried to sit and do anything useful for very long.
• The television does not work during a power outage. Yes, I knew that. You knew that. The next time the power goes out, would you please let my three year old know that for the forty-fifth time?

• For some strange reason the only craft I had any burning interest in during the power outage was sewing with my sewing machine. Weird.
• Having the power out before we had children is completely different than having the power go out now that we have children. Heck, we lost the power at least once a week when we living in Goose Bay, summer or winter. No worries. Break out the candles and flashlights and it would be on again soon. Having the power out here with children was a bit of a nightmare. Not only did it get cold and not only did DH have to go outside and use our Coleman camp stove to cook but using candles when it started to get dark at 4:00 PM? Nightmare. Finn can reach up and practically touch anything from Any. Spot. In. The. House. So much for warm and peaceful ambient light.
• Candles do not provide ambient heat. If you are from a warmer climate and would like to argue this point with me, go ahead. You are wrong. The idea that heat comes from a candle is all in your head. Join me for our next blizzard and power outage and I will prove it to you.

• A power outage which still allows you to have running water is a very, very good thing. My SIL (eight months and counting pregnant no less) and niece live just up the road from us but are on their own well with an electric pump = no water. We rescued them and brought them to our house as soon as we could get our drive way snow blowed after the storm. We were cold but at least we could provide facilities which are very important when you have to pee every fifteen minutes because you have a baby bouncing on your bladder.

Though it's hard to see through the blowing snow,
you can see the white storm surge on the ocean
just under the power lines.

• Yes! The toilet seat in your house CAN be as cold as that of a toilet seat in an outhouse in winter! Just so you know.

• Being in a power outage and maintaining any semblance of a menu dedicated to healthy, wholesome eating is impossible. Cravings include sugar, fat and crunchy substances such as nuts and chips. And alcohol. I rarely, rarely drink alcoholic beverages but I craved alcohol in copious amounts during the power outage. And cigarettes. I've never even taken a draw on a cigarette before but I was craving them. My subconscious may have just been looking for a heat source though... Or it had something to do with the three children jumping on my head. For the record, I stayed out of the liquor cupboard and didn't find any cigarettes to start a new habit.

In front of the garage door before shovelling.

• Living through a power outage can be uncomfortable. Living through one that lasts 30 hours can be even more uncomfortable. Living through a power outage whilst suffering through one of the worse colds you've had in several years including the aches and pains that usually accompany a fever (though I didn't get a fever) SUCKS!

In front of the garage door after shovelling.

• Once your power comes back on, the house warms up, the cupboards and closets have been opened enough times to allow the air inside to warm up and not give you a blast of cold air each time you go near one is just a memory, you might feel just a weeny bit that your house let you down. It didn't. It kept you warm(er) than outside, dry and protected from gale force winds. And the temperature gauge read 14 degrees Celsius when the power returned which is a long way to 0 degrees and busted, frozen pipes.

• I. Am. A Wimp.

Remember what I said above about the
lower drive way drifting in?

• DH is not.

The End.

Christmas 2012

We have had a lovely family holiday season here. The boys are now at an age where they are uber excited about Christmas and taking them to holiday events is very satisfying.

We didn't make it to the St. John's Santa Claus parade this year. Luckily the Town of Torbay puts one on and our boys were present and accounted for. My favourite part? The free hot chocolate (from Tim Hortons and given out by volunteers). That and the excitement created by the idea of a parade for my small boys!

Naughty Mommy forgot Finn's mittens so she shall have no pie...

Waiting impatiently for the parade to start.

Love the fire trucks but the boys thought they were TOO LOUD!

And Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without Christmas cookies.

Serious business.

Very serious business. They were working so hard.

Supervising from the floor. I'm not patient enough to let him into
the cookie dough yet.

Naturally there was other baking to do. Homemade jam jams (a perennial Newfoundland and Labrador favourite). I made them too big so they were more like jam jam sandwiches than cookies.

None of us minded that the cookies were too big.

I managed to get some baking done for Iain's school Christmas party. This is a Pampered Chef recipe/idea and I love it. After finishing four full Christmas trees I realized I was going to run out of icing before I had enough cupcakes decorated and I was out of the ingredients to make more icing. So I got creative. DH said he liked the designs I came up with better.

This year, the boys went out into our backyard and cut down a Christmas tree from the little clearing where the playhouse will be built. They all loved going on that adventure but I do believe DH enjoyed it the most. Historically we have bought trees or used an artificial tree. There is no going back to either of those options now.

You will have to believe me - our tree is gorgeous but
I have yet to take a good picture of it!

DH brought the big boys into work on Christmas Eve. They had a great time and the fact that Daddy works in a hanger that is currently servicing water bombers is a big bonus. I always think of my boys as getting so big but they look pretty small next to a water bomber's tires.

Christmas morning was a riot. Iain didn't get us up until 6:15 AM which I thought was pretty civilized compared to the times my siblings and I used to try to wake up our parents. Iain was tearing around the house and Aidan slept through until almost 7:00!

Iain opening his stocking in his room.

Aidan oblivious to anything.

Mr. A and his stocking. He is holding a package of 'Snoman Soup' from
Groovy Bird. Love that lady!

Iain started bringing presents into his bedroom so that Finn could open
something. I love the way Finn quats down sometimes like this. I wish
I had the same thigh and knee control! 

For one of the boys Christmas presents, I asked Veronica over at OCD Crochet to make three monkey hats. Amazing job and they look gorgeous in them. I still have to catch Finn wearing his before he rips it off his head. Not so much into hats yet is Finlay.

Finn laying back and relaxing on Daddy's lap.

I was wondering how Finlay was going to do with the tree this year. For the first three days he didn't even touch it. Once more and more interesting ornaments went on it (the decorating took a few days to complete), he became more interested. However, I have only hung the ornaments that can handle a fall/quick beating so it hasn't been too stressful having him near the tree. I am hoping to actually hang ALL of my Christmas ornaments on the tree in 2014.

Love babies in pyjamas with feet in them!

Happy New Year!

From my crazy house to yours, have a safe, healthy, happy and silly Happy New Year. Bring on 2013!

Greetings Humans!

Quick! Checkers! Check the door. Is she gone?

Yessss!! She's gone! I never thought we'd get that woman away from the keyboard in 2012 long enough for us to get a meow in edgewise.

As Checkers and I look back over 2012, we have noticed a serious discrepancy in these blog posts: a serious lack of four legged creature input (Editors note: a serious lack of Checkers pictures too. Best rectify that in 2013). We are putting a stop to that right now. But first, let me introduce myself. My name is Bella. I am the newest of the four legged creatures to grace the inside of a house owned by Patty and her DH (and their litter). I am a female calico cat now about three years old who came to this house to stay after having two litters on the streets of downtown St. John's and being rescued by a lovely friend of Patty's just days before having my third litter (and Patty complains about three children. Try eight!). There wasn't much of an issue getting my offspring to head out on their own to a variety of nice looking house mates but there seems to be a lack of people interested in taking adult cats. Luckily, Patty and her family were looking for one just like me (though I have overheard them talking sometimes about having a cat with a little less personality might have been nice...no idea what that means. After all a cat with less personality than I would be what? A doily?).

Once Checkers and I got over our initial introductions and my two weeks of forced confinement in what has become the kitten Finlay's bedroom, I began to make my mark on the house and its occupants. I provide great incentive to clean up dirty dishes as I will do the work all by myself if anything interesting is left on the plates (NO idea why I get shooed out of them. A licked plate is a clean plate as far as I'm concerned). I sincerely love the floor space underneath that kitten Finlay's chair. It is covered in ham (the humans call it back bacon. Whatever) most mornings and, if I'm particularly vocal, Finn just chucks pieces of meat to me! It is amazing how easy humans are to train at such a tender age.

I am quite the acrobat and the bannisters have the marks to prove it. If Patty can ever find the pictures she took of my walk down the railing (silly human!), she says she will post it for you to be amazed by my prowess. As you should be.

Keeping an eye on my humans and those pesky birds.

I love to watch the birds at the bird feeder outside this house. My only complaint is that my head gets sore from beating it off the patio door when I make a leap for a particularly tasty looking Blue Jay or Junco that is out on the deck. Patio doors are a cruel joke as far as I'm concerned. Then again, at this winter time of the year, I guess they do come in handy keeping that nasty white stuff outside where it belongs.

My sister Checkers seems to be a fine cat. She is the boss of the house (which means that she gets first priority on the master bed but I seem to be slowly infiltrating that space with my wily ways). We growled and hissed at each other for a few days when I first got out of solitary confinement but now only play fight at night. We love sneaking up and running at one another. Good fun I say! Checkers might be the boss of the bed but I don't think she was on the streets for too long. She is too gentle (except when it comes to that bed. No worries though. I have simply taken over the most recent chair purchase in the house. It. Is. Mine. ALL. MINE).

Bella hasn't just taken over the chairs...

Checkers is about six years old now. She is much better with the human kittens than I am. Her solution is avoidance but I am a more social cat. Unfortunately that means that my tail gets pulled a bit more often than hers. I have only had to discipline the kitten named Aidan a couple of times. I felt bad about it but what's a cat to do with a three year old human in her face or yanking on her tail? I think he's learned his lesson. I did the same thing with the kitten Finlay but got in trouble. I guess he is too young for my kind of discipline. I am slowly getting used to him tugging on my tail a bit before his mother comes running to save me. I suppose it is a small price to pay to live inside in the warmth with all the food and water that I need plus access to the lazer beam play thing that Patty's DH hauls out every night, to shut me up he says. I figure I've got him well trained too.

Just in case any of you remember, Patty and her family used to have a dog named Para. Apparently she passed away in September of 2011. Now, I didn't meet her but hear she was a fine dog. She lived to 16.5 years which is not too bad for the stupider species. Her family still misses her; the Aidan kitten still talks about her from time to time. Checkers really missed her too as her sister Tobi passed away in May 2011. It was a bad year for losing pets around here. Luckily, I arrived in the winter of 2012, a MUCH better year for surviving animals.

As you can see, Bella isn't at all happy in this house.

I must run. It's after dark and there are corners to explore and cat nip toys to pounce upon now that the human kittens are in bed. Besides, with the way my claws are clicking on the keyboard Patty might get the idea that they need a trim. They don't. Ever. And don't worry, we will be back.

What?!? Oh. Patty says to type 'Hi!' to M in Kingston. Meow!