Cat News!

I can't believe the cat came back after a week and a half! Apparently she spent the last few days in the neighbours camper trailer.

B.

Open House Today!

Open house today! Cross your fingers!

Living room has been painted (by me). Surely that's all it could possibly take to tip the balance in our favour.

B.

Stuff that reminds me of Mom: Philips Turntable

Happily, I have a number of memories of Mom that involve records and music. Neither of us were hardcore fans of any particular music (although I came close in my devotion to U2). But, we both liked a number of different types of music and she was always willing to listen to whatever I suggested and played for her.
Last week, I collected a number of cassettes to which I knew Dad would never lsiten. He recntly bought a turntable with a recordable CD drive on it. We tried copying a one record so far and results have been mixed. I'll write more about the cassettes in a future post.
My dad's biggest objective of the last few months has been to get the basement cleared out of stuff that he will not need and which are not pricless family heirlooms. I help when I'm able and last week I decided to tackle our 1970-ish vintage Philips "portable" turntable. Its an item with which I associate a lot of good memories, including at least one birthday party. Here it is.

And, then there's the other stuff (House & Cat)

So, these two things in no way compare to yesterday's events, but-

1) The two families that were interested in buying our house are no longer interested (or possibly couldn't get mortgage approval). We're having another open house on Sunday, July 18th.

2) Peggy is missing. She's been "out" since Thursday. The longer she's gone, the less likely it is that she'll be returning to us.

B.

A Trying (but really GREAT) Friday

Yesterday was eventful. Action Girl (age 9) was finishing at the summer camp she had been at since last Sunday. In a unrelated happening, I took Super Mom's car top have some brake work done. Our plan had been for her to leave home and pick me up and to drive to pick up A-G at her camp.

At about 2:35PM, about a kilometre from our home a car crossed the centre line and struck them close to the driver's side front wheel. They are fine, at least by today.

The local fire department, police, and two ambulances were called. The other driver and Super Girl (age 6) were taken by ambulance to the hospital. Happily, Super Girl was there and gone in about two hours and she and Super Mom are bruised and stiff but otherwise okay.

Our car, the 2004 Santa Fe is pretty heavily damaged. It now has three wheels, which I suspect may turn out to be a problem. All that really matters is that they are fine. That makes it a really successful day.

B.

Terrifying police raid wakens couple at 4 a.m. - thestar.com

I'm generally pretty supportive of the police. One of the great pluses of the last 14 years as a social worker has been getting to know a number of police officers and working quite closely with them , at times.

Stories like the one below trouble me, though.

Terrifying police raid wakens couple at 4 a.m. - thestar.com

Mistakes happen. Mistakes that almost get people killed are harder to excuse.

B.

Maybe we're actually pretty good at this...

So, it sounds like there are actually two families who are very interested in our house! Neither has yet made an actual offer, but things are progressing. We had an agent showing one of them our house on Saturday and they told their agent that of the four houses they had seen, our house was their first choice.

Admittedly, all of this could mean nothing, but its hard not to be optimistic. :-)

B.

Last Day of Grade Three

From our "things that have me feeling OLD" department: in seven minutes time, I'm leaving to pick up our eldest daughter from her last day of Grade Three! Where has the time gone?

B.

It may soon be time to get excited....

I'm at home today with an under-the-weather Super Girl (age 6). She's recovering nicely.

Our real estate agent just called and she expects an offer within a couple of days! Its important not to assume this is 100%, but I'm beginning to get really optimistic. The house that's our number 1 choice is still available, so things could start to happen soon. The family that's interested in our house is waiting to hear back on mortgage approval.

Fingers crossed,
B.

CBC News - British Columbia - B.C. rebuffs children's watchdog

If I'm ever published, it will (probably) be for writing an article on kinship foster care. The theme of relatives caring for kids in state care holds far greater promise than other forms of care, with a host of expected and unexpected risks and challenges.
B.

Click on the link below:

CBC News - British Columbia - B.C. rebuffs children's watchdog

Open House Outcome

This post's title may be a little premature. Our agent said that there were about 10 people through the house and that one family in particular seemed serious ( the dad left and he and the mom returned and spent about 45 minutes). We're optimistic but not getting our hopes up too much.

B.

Pretty Balanced and Very Busy

The only reason I have time to write this entry this morning is because Super Girl (age 6) is home with a sore tummy.  This weekend we have our second open house and we are (I think) still enjoying the challenge of trying to sell our house that now, yen years on, seems so small.

 

The girls have been even busier than usual.  Here’s a quick run-down:

Super Girl (age 6):

• Graduates from kindergarten next week.
• Had her Grade One Orientation morning (went well).
• Has started her sport for the summer: baseball!  She liked it so much she made a baseball diamond diorama as soon as she got home from last week’s practice.
• Is on the verge of riding her bike with no training wheels (I’ll keep you posted).
• Has her first loose tooth.
• Is greatly enjoying our read-aloud of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.
• Danced last week in the provincial dance competition.  Her group clogged to “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” as interpreted by Hannah Montana.

Action Girl (age 9):

• Is winding down Grade Three.
• Has started her SIXTH year of soccer.  She missed the second night (last night) because of a bad tummy but should have a great year.
• Continues to enjoy a wonderful and complex social life with a number of close friends (including a best friend).
• Has “wrapped” Super Mario Brothers on her Nintendo DSi.
• Is currently reading Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire on her own.
• Is going to camp for six days in early July with her best friend.  Every camper gets to pick an area of speciality.  Hers?  “Rock Climbing” for the second year in a row.

More soon,

B.

Meet Samuel, Lost’s Man In Black

Post-Lost Finale Info:

Jacob's brother's name was... Samuel!!!!!

Meet Samuel, <i>Lost</i>&#8217;s Man In Black

CBC News - World - Malawi gay couple get 14 years in prison

I am very angry at the government of Malawi. Please add that body to my &*%$^ list...

I hope that years from now, moves like this are seen for the blatant they so clearly are.

CBC News - World - Malawi gay couple get 14 years in prison

Open House in Two Weeks?

Our realtor is going to have an open house at our place in two weeks! How exciting- how terrifying!

Actually, I think we should be really ready for it by then.

More later,

B.

Work Mumblings...

Not a great day at work...

Am thinking a change maybe in order, but the same old question arises. Should I be the happy new fish in a new pond or an old, unhappy fish with aquatic seniority?

This is how it felt...

The Uncharted Territroy of Mother's Day

Last night I wrote in an e-mail that Mother's Day this hadn't been awful. With mom gone, it seemed more strange than anything else. Odd, maybe... Out of place and wrong...

I took a couple of baskets of flowers and put them on mom's grave. It was the first time I've been there since her funeral in November. Had it been any later in the year (or any other winter, we might not have been able to have her internment until now (or a few weeks ago). We also have yet to pick out her grave stone. Dad's decided that my sister (who died right after birth in 1972) Mom, and he will all have their names on one headstone. Right now my sister is buried about an hour away- we had decided right after mom dies to have her moved so she could be with mom and dad in the community they've called home for the past 30 years.

B.

My New Ride: Its Here!

On Monday, I was able to sell my 1998 Corolla and buy my 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe. The last couple of days spent driving it have been a blast. I really, really like it and so do the girls (and my other family and colleagues).

The Great:

1. The driving position. Its super comfortable, probably the best I’ve ever driven. Its high and visibility is great.
2. The room. It goes on for miles.
3. The options, it may not sound like much, but I‘ve wanted to have remote locks and air conditioning for some time. We have both in the other car (a very nice ‘09 Corolla).
4. The ride: its more comfortable than I expected. Very smooth!

The Things to Get Used to/Change:

1. Gas mileage. Yep. It takes more gas. Stay tuned as I start to assess the actual mileage. Today I filled it up for the first time and just off the top of my head I think it was $63.50 or about 55 Litres.
2. It only has winter tires. Mind you they are great (and new) winter tires. I need to get all-season tires on it as soon as possible.
3. Parking. Its not that hard but I still need some practice.

B.

And, here it is:

I'm picking it up the first of next week.