Top 10 Things to do on Canada Day

Of all the summer holidays, Canada Day is definitely the one that's the most steeped in tradition at our house. There are certain things that just have to happen, or the celebration is not official! In no particular order, here are our top ten musts for today:

1. Pick a whole whack of strawberries at Lindley's farm (this year it was 24 quarts). Check.

2. Make a whole whack of jam with the strawberries (generally this is 3 batches, which still leaves us an obscene amount for freezing and eating). Check.

3. Watch the Joe Canadian commercial on YouTube. Check.

4. Read The Yarn Harlot's Canada Day blog post (this one will be taken care of as soon as I finish this post).

5. Watch the Blue Jays play in their spiffy red Canada Day uniforms. Check (nice game, boys - particularly the back-to-back homers by Adam Lind and Scott Roland).

6. Crank up the Canadian tunes. Check. So far we've worked our way through Blue Rodeo, Great Big Sea and 54-40.

7. Barbecue something. I haven't decided what yet :) but I'm guessing it's going to be a classic burgers-and-dogs feast this year.

8. Ingest as many strawberries as possible. Yes, strawberries are a big part of our Canada Day, as they rightfully deserve. Not only are they dressed for the party in their red (with subtle white) glory, they are also ready to pick on the big day. I think we are going to go all fancy with some Strawberry Daiquiris this year.

9. Adorn oneself with appropriate Canadian themed decorations (we are just breaking out the fake tattoos as I type, and my cute little socks with the Canadian flags are all ready to go for tonight).

10. Watch fireworks! The weather forecast is not in our favour right now, but we're busy praying to the weather gods and hoping the festivities won't get rained out tonight.

Happy Canada Day!!

Deck the Halls

We have been busy getting the house spruced up for Christmas this week. I'm amazed at how fast the boys set out all the decorations - they remembered exactly where we put each item and had most of it done before I knew what happened!

I had some fun rummaging through our Christmas Book Box (you can see it tucked in there behind the chair in the photo). All the standard seasonal favourites are in there (How the Grinch Stole Christmas, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, The Polar Express) along with some books that are more obscure but that have become our family favourites over the years.

Snuggling up together and reading our seasonal favourites in the glow of the Christmas tree is one of the things I cherish most about this time of year. If you're looking for some new books to add to your holiday collection, our family gives "two enthusiastic thumbs way up" to the following:

Rotten Ralph's Rotten Christmas by Jack Gantos - quite possibly the most-read Christmas book in our house!

Joel Schick's Christmas Present - a fanciful twist on the Twelve Days of Christmas featuring whimsical illustrations of dorkle bugs sneeds-a-slavering and many other very hungry critters.

Woodleigh Marx Hubbard's Twelve Days of Christmas - this one has the traditional verse along with playful and bright illustrations.

The Nativity, illustrated by Julie Vivas - our favourite version of the Christmas story, hands down. Beautifully illustrated, with some gentle humour.

I Spy Christmas - okay, this one can't really qualify as "obscure" but it's certainly provided many hours of holiday entertainment at our house.

Happy holiday reading, everyone!

Summer Fun & Festivities

[No, we still haven't replaced our digital camera - this photo's from last year, but Joe and Noah still look exactly the same!]

This week has been a busy one!

On Sunday, we attended It's Your Festival at Gage Park - the oldest and biggest Canada Day festival in the country! We hung out at the park's splash pad and playground for a while, then had a relaxed picnic dinner while we enjoyed live performances by The Spoons and April Wine.

[Cool fact: the Spoons' keyboardist, Scott MacDonald, happens to be my across-the-street neighbour's brother, and was visiting from China, where he's lived for a few years now. Scott's son was playing in my backyard the afternoon of the show!!]

Tuesday was Canada Day, and therefore two traditional activities were required: strawberry picking (at Lindley's Farm in Ancaster), and fireworks (at Bayfront Park). Joe and I managed to squeeze in solo bike rides as well - I rode 25 km and Joe squeezed out 45!

The Canada Day weather was perfect; sunny and mid-twenties (that's Celsius!) with very little humidity (nearly a miracle in July in southern Ontario). We picked 18 quarts of strawberries in about an hour. The kids got bored of picking after a while, so Noah started investigating the environment a bit more closely and noticed the irrigation pipes. He asked what they were, and we ended up having a rather interesting discussion on farm irrigation systems (we pointed out the farm's irrigation pond on the way back out). Nathan entertained us by making up a story of King Berry and his plot to take over the world (yep, the kid's watched a lot of Pinky and the Brain, LOL!)

We all rode our bikes along the Waterfront Trail to the fireworks display. I was in the lead keeping up with Nathan the speedster. Joe and Noah were quite a distance behind us, and were lucky enough to see one of our local beavers swimming in the Desjardins Canal!

Much of the rest of this week has been spent either wrestling with strawberries or loafing at the community pool (a mere 5 minute walk from our house). I now have 1 1/2 dozen jars of strawberry jam - with any luck these will last us until next year; I only had to buy 1 jar of storebought this year to get us through to the new season! I still have 6 quarts left to hull and freeze, which I should probably be doing right now instead of blogging....

This afternoon, the whole family went for a ride down to Pier 4 Park - we brought a couple of the boys' friends along for the ride, too! We were lucky enough to catch the end of the Dragon Boat Races as we'd been meaning to attend but the event had slipped my mind. The boys played at the splash pad and playground while Joe and I took a stroll around to soak up the Harbourfront atmosphere and relaxed on a bench by the water with our books.

And now, I believe it is time for me to go deal with those strawberries!

Happy Canada Day!

I've been far too busy picking (and eating) berries and riding my bike to think about doing a long and involved post, but here are a couple of my favourite Canadian things on the internet, in honour of our country's special day.

Oh Canada
No, this is not an incorrectly spelled link to our national anthem, it's the Yarn Harlot's traditional Canada Day post, devoted to all things Canadian (in a most amusing sort of manner). Take time to link through to previous year's posts if you haven't read them before (maybe even if you have) - they're all great!

I AM CANADIAN - the ultimate classic Molson commercial, required viewing every Canada Day!!



Wishing all my fellow Canucks a fabulous day!

We Know How to Rock in the Hammer!

One of the biggest shows ever hit our city Monday night - none other than Bruce Springsteen! We were fortunate enough to get tickets and man, were they worth every penny. This was our first time seeing The Boss, and I sure hope it wasn't our last!

Judging from the reviews of the show, this was one of his absolute best, rating right up there with the legendary Boston '99 show: "Badlands" has become the standard song before the encore break. Except the crowd wouldn't allow the break, even though the band was lined up taking bows. The hypnotic rolling roar of "whoa-whoa-whoa" continued, louder and louder, until Bruce started his guitar going again and motioned everyone back to their instruments. This so-called "Boston ending" coda, which began as Bruce's way to thank the legendary 1999 Boston crowds' vocal calisthenics, was earned this night by a crowd that would not have been out of place in Boston (still the gold standard for North American audiences) then or now." Springsteen decided to slip another song (Dancing in the Dark) into the encore set list to reward our enthusiasm. Another reviewer reports, "this was "possibly the best audience in North America for the Magic tour -- including Boston shows," one regular concertgoer reports. The sold-out 19,000 seater still had an intimate atmosphere, and in a chillingly perfect moment, Bruce stepped back as the whole place became a choir on the second line of 'The River.'"

All I know is that was one of the most incredible shows I've ever seen. Rock on!

A Birthday Visit with Paige

My friend Jenn's little girl turned one today! We were lucky enough to get to see her on her big day. She treated us by walking 4 steps for the first time ever at our house.

This was kind of a duel-purpose visit, as Noah's birthday is tomorrow. So we got to watch both of the birthday kids open their presents. Noah got a second dog dictionary - do you think he has a reputation as "dog boy" or anything?

Paige is more interested in the dog than her gift.

THE BIRTHDAY KIDS!!

Noah's 10th Birthday Party!

Last night was the big party! We had a large friends-and-family potluck dinner party, including the families of Noah's friends (could that sound more cryptic?) I'm not sure how many people that turned out to be, but our house was pretty full.

There were glow sticks and sparklers (a big hit with the kids!) and lots of good food. Noah also got some neat presents, including a dog breed encyclopedia and a foam-dart bow and arrow style thingy. Lots to keep him occupied for a while.

I think the kids and the adults alike enjoyed themselves. The birthday boy definitely had a great time! Noah is not "officially" 10 until tomorrow, and I'll post some more then about my sweet boy.

Harried Halloween Week

I know, I know, it's already 3 days after Halloween and I haven't yet posted the photos. What kind of blogger am I, anyway? The answer to that would be: a very busy one! The irony of blogging is that when life is most interesting you don't have enough time to post about it .

Not only was it Halloween, but Noah's 10th birthday party this week as well (yesterday). That's more than enough for me in one week, thanks! I love the actual celebrations but all that prep work is a bit much for this mama!

The boys were rather ghoulish again this year, this seems to be a several-years-running theme:

This was the first year that they went out trick-or-treating for a bit without either Joe or I. They went with an older friend along both sides of our block, then came back and got Joe for a second trip out further afield. When they returned home again, to my surprise they wanted to go out yet *again* with me! This is definitely the most trick-or-treating they've ever done (and they have the loot to prove it!)

The cutest trick-or-treater award goes to an adorable little Nemo-boy. He was so little that his fish tail-ensconced backside wiggled as he walked :) His mom said he was 17 months old. Too cute!

More details on Noah's party coming in the next post.

Nathan is EIGHT!!

Yesterday was Nathan's eight birthday. It's hard to believe the time has gone by so fast - and yet Nathan has always been one of those kids that is so much "larger than life" that it's also hard to believe he is only eight; he is so confident and self-assured. He is a kid who knows what he wants and is not afraid to go and get it! I am in awe of this incredible person who I have the honour of mothering. It's been a wild ride so far!

For his official birthday celebration, we headed up to Christie Lake (a local conservation area) with half a dozen boys for an afternoon of fun with some medieval weapons. This has been a big interest of Nathan's for the past few months. Using directions from The Art of the Catapult, Nathan helped his dad build a trebuchet and a couple of catapults (all kid-sized!) Nathan helped with drilling and sawing, and Joe figured out how to make it all work!

Here's Nathan getting ready to fire the trebuchet; the catapults are to the left.

Two of Nathan's best buddies give it a whirl. We had a few different sizes of projectile to experiment with. The projectiles hang from the trebuchet via a piece of string, and we discovered that the string length makes a difference as to how far the object will travel!

Some sword/lightsaber action rounds out the battle component of the afternoon!

A new Gamecube game!! I know what the birthday boy will be doing as soon as we get home...

The new lego sets needed to be built immediately!!

I think it's safe to say that a good time was had by all! I love all of Nathan's friends (most of whom we have known for years). It's been so much fun to watch all these boys grow up together and discover so many new passions together. We are so pleased that they were able to share in all the birthday festivities!

An Afternoon at the Farm

The Community Shared Agriculture farm we belong to (Plan B Organic Farm) has an annual "Farm Day" near the end of the season every year. Today was the day!! We had fabulous, warm sunny weather and enjoyed a menu of local organic foods: Sausages or burgers, salads (from farm produce of course!) and organic ice cream to die for (seriously, the best ice cream I've ever eaten - Mapleton's Organic).

The only bummer was that I forgot my camera. Waahh!! I missed some seriously good photo ops. The kids (and there were a lot of them!) piled bales of hay into various configurations - a fort, an "igloo", and eventually a tallish tower-like structure. This led to jumping off said tower into a loose pile of hay below. The kids were all just in heaven - literally radiating joy from their pores as they soared through the air into the hay pile below. The parents were all being totally cool and relaxed and just letting the kids revel in the whole farm experience.

We also got to take a tour of the farm, meet all the farm dogs (there were several - and yes, Noah was in his glory!), chase chickens and roosters, play with the farm cat, and pick a pumpkin to bring home. It's really amazing to have such a close connection with the people who are growing your food. I was walking by a field of salad greens, and realized I would be eating some of those very greens in a couple of weeks.

All in all, the perfect way to spend a fall afternoon.

Christmas Greetings!

I haven't posted here in a few weeks now -we've been far too busy enjoying all the fun of the Christmas season. Finally, here are our Christmas greetings!

Please join us in a friendly game of Christmas "I Spy", McLaughlin style. Use the clues below to learn all about what we did this year.

In the above picture, find the following:

2 soccer balls and 1 soccer trophy (Nathan played soccer again this year, and Joe coached Nathan's team as well as being the assistant equipment manager)

a pair of swimming goggles (we all did lots of swimming in pools and lakes throughout the year, Noah continued with swimming lessons)

a hockey glove (Nathan is playing "pond hockey" this winter, and there's lots of neighbourhood road hockey going on all year round!)

a baby blanket, a sleeping baby, 2 stuffed animals, and a large safety pin (no, we didn't expand our family this year; we welcomed our friends Jenn and Bruce's new daughter Paige into the world)

a flashlight, a lantern, and a water bottle (we took several camping trips this year, including a very cool trip to Watkins Glen with several other unschooling families)

2 dog biscuits and a large red dog toy (we added another pet to our ever-expanding menagerie; Marley, our lab-shepherd cross - who is still very playful even though he's 10 years old!)

the CN Tower (we spent a weekend in Toronto in May at the first ever Toronto Unschooling Conference, hanging out with friends and making new ones)

2 pinecone critters (the boys have been participating in a nature program at the Royal Botanical Gardens, learning about everything from insects to hibernation)

a Lego dog, a set of knitting needles, and a bead snake (we have all been busy creating and crafting a wide variety of projects all year long!)

That's it for our game of I Spy - hope you had as much fun playing as we did creating it.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

From Karen, Joe, Noah, Nathan, and "The Menagerie" - Jessie, Chloe, Marley and Spark.

A Ghoulish Halloween

A quick Halloween post to show off my two little ghouls. They definitely revelled in being very spooky, creepy and mysterious.












Here is our "Most Popular Pumpkin of the Year", the SpongeBob jack-o-lantern created by Joe. Almost every visitor to our door commented on it!

Happy Halloween!!!