tuesday

Hello, we're still here! The weather is rainy, but nice. It's dark, January-esque, but the temperature is always above zero and sometimes, maybe once a week, we can almost see a bit of sun break through the clouds and fog.

The children are growing. Smootch is still herself, only more so. She's begun drawing. Drawing all sorts of things, almost any thing that she can think of. A month ago, if she was asked to draw a dog, she would say that she could not, as she did not know how. But one day she got this idea in her head to draw a dog, for example, even if she really did not know how, and since then she's drawn pretty much everything there is to draw. Our home is covered in bits of paper with a hardly a white bit showing through, with doodles of everything. Castles, trees, the Butchart Gardens, the ocean, boats, fish, our family, presents, sword, hearts, flowers.... We always have to make sure that there is a piece a paper by her, otherwise she'll draw on the table, walls, or herself. Like she can not help herself, she must draw.


Birdie talks. Mostly Birdie says, 'No.' Or rather, 'No! No! NOOOOooooooo!!!' like he's confronting a chain saw murderer. He's got a hideous new pair of boots, two sizes too big, handed over to us from our neighbors. They are really, really orange. Birdie will wear nothing else. He even wears them in the house. He is a child who knows what he likes.


We are plodding away here. Smootch has her classes, Birdie has his toys and his outdoors (he loves being outside), The Man just bought a guitar, and I am doing my thing, but now I also do it on roller skates. Mostly we are waiting out the winter and hoping for some drier days. Even when it's not raining, it's actually misty enough to get us a bit wet. Lighting a fire every day or two is more about keeping out the damp then heating our home.

Hope you all are keeping dry and warm.

xoxo

monday

Birdie is learning to ride a tricycle. I keep telling him that his brain isn't prepared to pedal yet, not to mention that he can't even reach the silly things, but he doesn't care. He crawls right up up on the tricycle and gives 'er.


I've been doing a bit of sewing for Smootch lately - she has been oddly neglected in that realm of late. Going through my fabric choices tonight, I asked The Man's opinion (I know you can already tell it's a mistake) and he suggested that maybe I should sew her something neutral to maybe balance out her wardrobe.

Balance? I believe Smootch's wardrobe is very balanced: Nothing goes with everything. What's the problem?

Happy Birthday Grandpa!

Happy Birthday to The Man's Old Man - I hope you had great day!


Don't ask me why Smootch is topless - that's just the way she lives lately.

ps, me going to roller derby, though admittedly laughable, is not a joke. I've even got a new blog going here. I am a blogaholic. On wheels.

derby sit in

Last night Smootch and I sat in on roller derby practice with the Harbour City Roller Derby in Nanaimo. HCRD are just starting up as a league, only a dozen-ish members thus far, so I'm in an unexpected position of being able to join without having know what I'm doing.

This next Sunday, I am to become Fresh Meat, which is a technical term for 'woman who will be knocked on her ass'. This is slightly different than a more experienced derby girl, who is a woman who will be knocked on her knees, having learned how to fall without breaking too much or getting your fingers crushed under someone's wheels on the track.

You are wondering why a decidedly sedentary woman in her (gasp) mid-thirties who divides her time between sewing and taking care of her small children, one who is still actually nursing, and who's favorite activity is reading in a prone position while eating bon bons, is interested in joining a contact sport on wheels?

Well, mostly because a woman in her mid-thirties with small children and eats too many bon bons is a woman who really needs to smack somebody and there are few opportunities for such a woman to do so legally or with good conscience. Also, it seems like good fun, there is a possibility of legwarmers (something is child of the '80s has a strange weakness for), and I'd really like to meet some girls, now that I've gone and move 1200 km away from home.

Right now I'm waiting for it to stop raining so I can get outside and practice. I could use some (alot) of practice, though I'm sure that I will be learning quickly, having seen some of the drills at practice. I'm a bit freaked out about being out of control on skates at the same time as learning a high speed contact sport. Not to mention I'm a bit timid (oh excuse me, ignore me, I'll get out of your way, just give me a push if I'm in the road). I'm going to have to cultivate a derby personality, one that has a bit more, umm, balls?

Smootch loved watching the practice, although she was pretty upset that she didn't bring her skates. I won't be bringing her along to practice for the next while, it is mama's thing after all, but we will be skating together often. While the ladies were doing sliding drills (where they throw themselves down on their knees to stop), Smootch was giggling and cheering like the maniac she is. One skater managed to slide herself into the exit door and halfway out into the parking lot. Smootch thought that was brilliant. I started to wonder about the quality of my second hand tired looking knee pads.

I'll keep you posted on my derby progress. In the meanwhile, if there is anyone in the Parksville area also interested in derby and wanting to carpool, let me know. This 30 minute commute in the dark, along which yesterday there was a bald eagle sitting in the grassy bit between the two highways eating something sinewy, could end up being a bit lonely.