11 posts tagged “friday the 13”

We've been having those days - the ones where it starts out all sunshiney, then gets hot, then windy and when you go to the park, you feel like you're just walking in a hair dryer.

It's looking like rain.  Or lightning.   This means more fires in our parched forests.  Well, that, along with the asinine behaviour of campers who don't put out their campfires, will likely mean Chris being at the office during the weekend again. 

All this is a meaningless preamble to my thirteen things, because that is what I do if I feel like it on Fridays.

1. I made a matchbox.
2. I have fulfilled a wish for my sister.
3. I've enjoyed watching my daughter crawl in and out of her fort repeatedly.
4. I hosted friends for an overnight visit.
5. I've wished we made more time to visit people ourselves.
6. I've returned books.
7. I ate ice cream.
8. I've done laundry.
9. I took a tour of a fire hall.
10. I've cuddled a two year old.  In this case, it was my own.
11. I've discovered that my patience of my political representatives is running very, very low.
12. I was a confidante.
13. I missing someone who hasn't even left yet.

Remember - only YOU can prevent forest fires.

Last week we planted our garden.  I use the term "we" loosely. This year Chris and Gus were the ones who actually put the seeds in the ground, though I did a lot of seed roundup.  I'm excited, once again, for our garden.  It's not what our old one was - the soil is a dark and rich and we have some drainage issues here - but it's a start.  I'm becoming more and more convinced that eating better is not only better for me and my family, but also the environment and getting more out of our garden is part of that.

This year, we have our old standbys, but we also have some heirloom seeds and I'm looking forward to seeing how that goes.  For my Friday 13, here's what's growing this year:

1. Red Velvet lettuce.
2. Dragon-tongue beans
3. Carrots - nantes and purple haze.
4. Tomatoes - cherry, beefstake and we'll get some golden boy seedlings later.
5. Snap peas.
6. Beets.
7. White icicle radishes.
8. Kohlrabi.
9. Cucumbers.
10. Hubbard squash.
11. Watermelon.
12. Peppers.
13. Onions.

What's in your garden?

1. Starting a 10 (or 13 or 20, whatever) week running program.

2. BC - STV referendum coming up.  I actually have a lawn sign out front during an election.  So, so weird for me.  But it's not for a candidate or party, but, as I see it, for democracy.

3. Making more envelopes.  Pretty ones, strange ones.  Want me to send you something in one?  PM me your address. :)

4. Calling a couple girlfriends and setting about another scrabble night.  Thankfully, they've beaten me to it! :)

5. Realizing, once again, that I spend way too much time worrying about what people think.

6. Realizing that I want to keep in touch with people, so I need to spend more time doing it.

7. Being joyful.

8. Planting my garden: both my flower patch out front and the veggie garden on the side.  Turns out our raspberries are multiplying as we've been hoping.

9. Investing in canning supplies for our summer garden haul.  But will I actually use it?

10. God is a mystery, and I'm okay with that.  In fact, lately I've been feeling more and more comfortable with not understanding the minutia of theology.  I remember one author once referring to something called "sacred ambiguity" and I'm appreciating it more and more.  I don't have to understand all, just be.  My God is bigger than my (mis)understandings.

11. What's with that pimple on Peaches eyelid?

12. Making hummous.

13. Not eating sugary sweets for Lent was good for me in a couple of ways.  Will I just crash back in to old habits?

What are you thinking about today?

1. I'm getting better at making sure we have more veggies on our plate.  Last night's dinner included coleslaw, steamed cauliflower and zucchini, sliced cukes and a farmer sausage.
2. Always wash baby clothes before putting them back into storage.  Otherwise, you end up with stains from previously invisible drool and spit up.  I've learned the lesson the hard way.
3. Our kids have so many clothes.  I just went through and got rid of a large bagful again.
4. I'm thankful that we've had to buy very few clothes for our kids.  People are generous.
5. I'm going to learn about saving seeds at a workshop this weekend. 
   
6. But I won't be planting seeds for awhile still.  Old Man Winter is still got a hold on things here.  It's looking like local sports groups will have to postpone their seasons because city workers still can't get started prepping the fields that are still covered in snow and ice.
7. I took an Abs and Buns class yesterday.  I think I'll go back next week, even though the leader says that makes me a masochist.  (Though she readily admits that returning to teach makes her a sadist ;)
8. Only one more week before we take another road trip.  That last month went by fast.
   

   Early Morning

   3 comments
9. Peaches still isn't interested in solids.  We'll wait another week and try again.
10. Gus woke up crying about 5 times between bedtime and midnight last night.  Sometimes he just cried.  Twice he asked for water.  Once he started crying and telling me "I don't like my bed, I don't like my bed."  Then he said "I need a hug."  I happened to hug him twice. "No, not another hug."  Another time he started crying "Look at my ears.  Look at my ears."  And I thought, Aha!  Maybe he has an ear infection which explains all this.  So I turned on the light.  A negative response to whether or not they hurt and he just turned his head back and forth so I could see them.  Then he stopped crying and curled up to sleep again.
11. "Look at my ears!"  What the heck?!?
12. This week, I've really appreciated my husband.  He gets me, and that feels good.
    
13. I have this song in my head.  It's a good one.
    Song in My Head
     

In no particular order, these are all things for which I have collected a wage

1. Babysitting.  I started when I was 10.  I thought I was 11 going on 12.  My mom had to correct me a few years back.
2. Grass mower.
3. Ice Cream Girl (what else should I call it?) at a local take out place.  The employer provided dinner from the menu of pizza and burgers and we could eat all the soft serve ice cream we wanted.  That was the same summer I worked as a sandwhich maker at a sub shop so it's amazing I didn't gain more weight that summer.
   
4. Clerk at a Sporting Goods store.    Actually, I started by helping with the filing - it was my grandpa's store and he had me come in from time to time.  Then one day the summer I turned 15, he told me to go down and learn how to use the till after I had finished the stack of accounts payable.  There I learned how to find and order parts for small engines, sold ammo and hunting licenses, fishing lures and hockey sticks, fuel filters and chain saws.
5. Clerk - at a gift shop at a national historic site.
   
6. School Program Coordinator - you know, the program for all the little kiddies at aforementioned Historic Site.
7. Office Assistant - answered phones, opened mail, did scheduling and receivables at a irrigation install and maintenance company.
8. Learning Assistant at an independent Christian high school.  It was only for a few months but I'm so glad I worked there:  I learned that not all Christian education is bent on cloistering our kids from the "big, bad world", which was, sadly, my only experience with it up to that point.
   
9. French Teacher at aforementioned school.  (This was before I had my certification, but they were in a jam so I took one French 8 class for a few months before I started my program.  This also gave them time to find a replacement.  I spent so. much. time. preparing for and marking for that one class.  It was worse than my English 12 classes.)
10. Resident Park Manager at two different provincial campgrouds.  I got to live on site, clean pit toilets, pick up litter, haul firewood, tell men twice my age they couldn't drink in public, or rowdy young people to shut up.  But the sunsets were gorgeous.  And I'll never forget the night I went out to do my last round at about 10pm and stayed up for an hour watching the Northern Lights dance all over the sky as I sat on the sand at the water's edge.  Beautiful.
11. Teaching On Call.  More commonly known as a sub.
12. Student Research Assistant - this was a job I managed to snap during my third year of university.  Lots of time on the computer doing all manner of tasks for the Cultural Resource Managment program.  Having worked at a national historic site helped me get that one. 
13. English Teacher.  My first, best (employment) destiny.
    

Last Friday we left home and this Friday we're still away from home.  Here's a list of thirteen things about my last week, in no particular order.

1. I became an AUNTIE!  James was born last Friday.  We were passing through town and planned on stopping in to see my sister who was being induced.  Turns out he was born while we were sitting in the parking lot while I nursed Peaches.  All is well with everyone.  We'll be staying with them in a couple of days!

2. I took 2 ferry rides.

3. I ate lavender shortbread and drank red wine (not necessarily together).

4. I spent very little time on the computer.  We had limited dial-up so I all I really did was check email.  As a result, I found I missed inter-web-land.

5. I enjoyed visits with old friends that were entirely too short and didn't manage to connect with some others.

6. I watched several float plans land and take off - the joys of staying right on the Harbour.  Gus learned to say 'plane float on water' and watching them was his favourite thing to do, after playing cars with Grandpa.  Here's a shout-out to my f.i.l. for hours of car-playing, goldbug-searching, plane-watching, dinner-making, grocery-getting, wine-pouring, and baby-carrying.  My thanks.  (And for those of you who know me in rl, my m.i.l. was in India at the time - now en route home- and, sadly, missed all that car-playing.)

7. I also watched a passenger train pass us by twice a day.

8. I wandered Chinatown and other cool shops sans Gus while Peaches slept in her wrap.  In particular I perused cool baby/kid stores with beautiful things like handmade organic cotton sleepers for $70.  I found myself wishing I could do the wandering thing more, but things like feedings and naps and life got in the way.
 
9.Since we've been gone, we know of three babies who have been born.  Since Thanksgiving the total is up to 6, mostly boys: Daniel, Liza, Matthew, James, Lucas, & Maerk.
 
10. We took a little ride just out of town to see the salmon run.  The air was cool, the ground wet, the smell of rotting fish was strong, the gulls were gorging.  I am amazed at the strength of those fish as they swim up stream, or flop about finding more water if they find themselves in shallows.  Gus spent much of his time there saying "[Gus] see planes."  Guess what he and Grandpa did when they got home? 

11. Peaches continues to have periods of 5-6 hours of sleep.  One night, she even did 7 hours, though that was preceded by a day of about 3 hours of cumulative sleep.  She's a terrible day sleeper.

12. Both Chris and Gus had sore throats and strained voices.  This was especially unfortunate for Chris since the whole purpose of our trip was work-related for him - he had to spend his days teaching his course!  Surprisingly, I haven't succumbed to this round of colds.  Yet.

13.  There's still more trip to enjoy and since the work portion is finished, it's just all friends and all family all the time!
 

Thirteen Places I Would Like to Visit.  Soon.

1. Alberta: Particularly Calgary, Edmonton and Lloydminster (yes, the Alberta side) because we have many family and friends there.  But while we're at it, I'd love to see the badlands and the Royal Tyrell Museum again.

2. Vancouver Island: Again, there are friends and family to be seen from Courtney down to Victoria.  And of course there's all the beautiful beaches in between.

3. Vancouver.  More family.  More friends.  So little time.  Oh, and there's rollerblading the seawall, Main Street and Granville Island.

4. San Francisco.  More family.  It was the destination of big family road trips growing up.  It's been 7 years and I'd love to return.

5. Hawaii.

6. Peru.  Chris has friends who live there, a couple he worked with in Germany who are now working at a mission established by her parents. 

7. Madeira.  I watched "A Love Affair" years ago (the 1939 version).  Madeira was a stop-over where the two love-birds connected and for some reason it captured my fancy.  I doubt I'll ever get there, but still, I can dream.

8.  Quebec.  Especially Quebec City - the oldest (only?) walled city north of Mexico.  I'd also like to drop by Capernwray Quebec.  I have some old friends from my Bible school days who now work there.

9. France.  To continue this linguistic theme.  I've spent 6 hours in Strasbourg.  I'd like to spend much longer there or anywhere in that counrty... Besides, how else am I going to reach my life goal of becoming bilingual?

10. Charlotte, NC,

11. Germany and

12. Norway. - More friends.  New places.

and finally

13.  The Fort.  My first home sweet home.  Maybe you can't go home again, but you can try. 

1. Fed my daughter through the night: 4 times in 6 hours... She'd better be going through a growth spurt!

2. At yogurt and grapes for breakfast.  Began drinking my coffee.  Finished it 5 hours later, thanks to the technology in microwaves.

3. Got Gus to his swimming lessons on time. 

4. Got a new Y membership card.  (They now want your picture on it.  And now that picture is part of a database that is managed by a company in the US.  Which means it is subject to US law.  Which means my private information can be accessed by another county.  Not likely, but still.)

5. Began filling in my new address book.  No more random slips of paper with location information floating around the house for me!

6. Bought warm bretzels from the Swiss Pastry Shop (they only make them on Fridays) and ate one, after giving one to Chris and one to Gus.   

7. Quality time with Gus.  I drew him a train.  He coloured it.

8. Learned 2 new wrap styles with my Moby!  Yes, there is a learning curve, but we're getting there.  In fact, Peaches is sleeping on my chest right now and has been for almost 2 hours, which is about the longest stretch she's done today.  So far, this is a good investment.

9. Made dinner.  I even prepped it ahead of time this afternoon.  Weird.

10. Made a new homemade envelope with origami paper.  Gotta swap next week.

11. Felt overwhelmed and depressed at the state of things - tired of a babe who won't sleep much, tired of a sore back all the time (from walking the babe who won't sleep much) and feeling like I have no time to work on exercising said back.

12. Felt better.

13.  Walked to the store to get some chocolate mint and enjoyed that, some apple cider and the Daily Show (which I think is my number one source of information regarding the US financial crisis) with Chris.  Yep, date night in front of our computer.  So romantic.

What did you do today?

With books still on the brain, my list this week are 13 books I own and love and don't plan on letting go of anytime soon.  In no particular order:

1. The Power of One

A powerful narrative that Courtenay maintains for the expanse of the whole novel.  The movie is so loosely related, there almost different animals altogether.  Read this.

2. Soft Geography

For this Friday's 13: A list of books on my shelf that I fully intend to read.  It would be even cooler if I could set myself a time line of sorts, like say, for the duration of my maternity leave (one year) but I have a feeling reading books with 2 kidlets around will be different than it was with just the one.

1. Sophie's Garden (J. Gaarder)
2. Atonement (I.McEwan)
3. The Covenant (J. Michener)
4. The Curve of Time (M.W. Blanchett)
5. Empire Falls (R. Russo)
6. A Recipe For Bees (G. Anderson-Dargatz)
7. Understanding Ken (P. McCormack)
8. Anil`s Ghost (M. Onjaatje)
9. The Defiant Imagination (M. Wyman)
10. Cartography and Walking (A. Dickinson)
11. The Ordering of Love (M. L'Engle)
12. The Genesis Trilogy (M. L'Engle)
13. Celebration of Discipline (R. Foster)

Yep, some poetry, some books of 300+ pages, a crash course in philosophy, ... some light reading, to be sure.  The ones that'll really fly are the ones I can read while breastfeeding in the middle of the night!

Any more recommendations?  Any cautions? ;)