Finally! Mehmet and I had time last weekend to get away and head to the countryside for a few days to spend some time at Dad and Carol’s. We both reeeeally needed the break!

Last spring and summer Mehmet and I had a lot of free time, but the weather was… well, unseasonal. This year it’s been fantastic!

A highlight: Baby Rachel!

Chubby cheeks!

Mehmet got put to work washing the family vehicles. But what refreshing work it was!

In the meantime, I was hard at work on the front porch – drinking coffee. It was rough.

Mehmet and I love to climb onto the roof and just drink in the surrounding scenery.

A field of corn behind the house

Dad and Carol have lots and lots of flowers!

And lots and lots of birdhouses!

More Rachel lovin’!

Later, my other brother Harley and my nephew Jayden came over for a bit.

Dutch much?

Monkey-in-the-middle

I don’t know how many times Harley threw the ball for Jayden for him to catch it or hit it, and how many dozens of times Jayden climbed right back out of the pool to do it again.  I wish I still had that energy!

Like father…

Like son!

Warm and cozy in the late afternoon sun.

More soccer

Sunday evening Cynthia’s family came over for awhile.

Rachel with her Mama, Aunt Joanne, and Grandma

If I was a baby-foot-eater… I’d eat those!

David had brought along his game of cornhole, which I’d never heard of before. It was fun!

David and Mehmet are on opposite teams – their partners are on the other side.

It’s harder than it looks! The aim is to get the bag into the hole. You get 3 points for each one that goes in, and 1 point for each bag left on the board. It’s fun!

Mmmm!

Just like last year, the mama killdeer (bird) laid her eggs on that path… camaflouged among the stones.

I just loved this hanging basket of Million Bells!

Barbecues, swimming, baby toes, family, games – such a great break from our daily routine in the city!

In a couple days we’re off to go camping! Yay!

I just love finding simple things to try in the kitchen. And when I saw this recommendation a couple weeks ago, I knew I had to try it.

Simple: Sprinkle a teaspoon of brown sugar on a grapefruit half. Put under the broiler for a few minutes, just until the top starts to brown. That’s it!

Mmmmm….

In the back of my head I have lots of craft and DIY projects that I would like to get to one day. Most of them require space, tools or other resources that we don’t have. But not all!

So when I was out on a walk in the neighbourhood the other day and saw this sitting on the curb on trash day, I immediately thought of Project # 5901 in my head, and knew this would get me going on it.

It’s not the painting I wanted. It was the frame. “This old thing?” asked Mehmet in disbelief.  He no longer rolls his eyes when I bring home rubbish… he just laughs. But he couldn’t imagine any value in this one.

But I had the vision in my head and it wouldn’t take long. First I threw out the painting and old backing, then sanded the frame. Sure, I could have gotten an inexpensive frame, even one at Value Village. But what’s the fun in that?

Next I put Mehmet to work and had him paint the frame – several coats over the next couple of days.

I bought 1.5 feet of this metal screening at the local hardware store, and we painted one side of it as well.

We cut it to the exact size of the frame and inserted it.

A bit of hot glue to keep it in place…

And then some hooks.

All done! So, do you have any idea what I was making?

It was a jewellery holder!

None of this is expensive jewellery, it’s just my colourful stuff that I wear every day.

What do you think?

In the meantime, I’ve started my next project. It involves this!

The other day at my sister Joan’s home, as we were all getting ready to head out, Joan took out her laptop and set it up on Baby Einstein or something like that to keep Lilith entertained until we were ready.

As I watched her, I felt this assurance that she and I would become really good buddies over time.

First of all, she’s pretty comical. I mean, of course she doesn’t speak yet, and hasn’t told her first joke… but I can just tell. Look at her expression. She’s going to be funny. And I love funny.

Look how enthralled she is with the laptop. I like how she is realizing at a very young age…

A girl has needs!

I think Lilith’s logging on to Facebook here … she obviously wants to just check in and catch up with her Auntie Brenda. Oh wait, I’m sitting right next to her. Well, she’s probably sending me a message of love for when I get back home.

But there’s something else that binds us together forever. It’s not blood. It’s not humour.

It’s not even the laptop.

It’s the belly!

Yep, I just know Lily and I are going to get along great.

Well, if nothing else, at least I will continue to post about the major holidays spent with family – these really are highlights of our time back in Canada so far.

We all gathered at my sister and her family’s home, a couple hours north-west of Toronto. What beautiful weather we were blessed with! Easter feels like a holiday that absolutely should be sunny and warm, and we were definitely not disappointed!

Like sap from a maple tree, spring brings forth the creative juices! My sister Eleanor made these cake pops. So beautiful!

I had been growing grass in eggshells on my windowsill in preparation for Easter! I meant to write about that process here in the blog, but well, yeah, you know.

Cynthia made these delicious bites called ‘Haman’s Ears’.  We did eat more than just sweets, but pictures of pork or mashed potatoes aren’t that interesting.

Can you believe it was 25 degrees that day? Ontario had lots of record-breaking temperatures that day. This is my brother Harley and his wife Nancy, along with my other sister-in-law Cynthia (closest to the camera).

You think these two are related?

You can imagine everyone wanted to hug the two baby girls. This is Rachel, who was born in December.

We sat on the deck and just soaked in that sunshine!

Two of my nephews, Bryce and Scott, and Scott’s mom, my sister El.

Mommy feeding Rachel

This is not a particularly great shot of Rachel (she didn’t like the bunny ears!) but it’s pretty funny because David’s in the background pressing up his bicep with his right hand, to make it look bigger for the picture. NICE TRY.

Although I catch glimpses of familiar features in her face, I can’t decide which side of the family they are from. Either way, genetics are pretty incredible!

Uncle Mehmet with Rachel

And the other star of the show was Lilith!

Here she is with Aunt Nancy. My sister Joan (Lilith’s mom) (are all these names getting confusing?) made the bunny ear hats for the babies.

Jayden. We sometimes call him ‘L’il G’ because he looks like my dad (Gerald) did when he was a little boy. He’s just as mischievous too!

Crayfish hunting!

Sophie likes to get right in there on the action with the boys.

Bryce kept trying to separate them. Me: Why are they attached? Him: They’re trying to kill each other. Me: Why? Him: They’re hungry! Me: Hmm…

“Hey guys, I’ve got the granddaddys!”

It seems everyone’s interested!

Such a beautiful day to be outside! Can’t wait till it’s all green…

Hey baby! Somebody noted that Mehmet was the only guy not in shorts. I think both Mehmet and I braced ourselves so seriously for the long winter, that spring has hit us without warning! I need to dig out my warm-weather clothes too!

David and Mehmet went for a canoe ride. I also can’t wait to do more of this in the summer.

This is Gypsy, Joan and Matt’s dog.

My sister Joan, and sisters-in-law Cynthia and Nancy. With baby L of course! Beautiful girls!

Cuddles with Grandma!

Jared sometimes babysits his cousin Lilith – he’s so good with younger kids!

The family’s getting bigger and bigger, and yet, we were all able to fit for dinner.

My cheesecake! I was on ‘dessert duty’ for Easter dinner, and spent hours researching cheesecake tips and tricks before I made this. It’s a Martha Stewart recipe.

And my rainbow jello! I had to restart twice, and finally got it to work. I would prefer to never discuss this again. But that’s what my sister said about her cake pops (first picture) too!

And then,  it was time for… no, not peeing in the bushes. Rather, hiding the eggs!

They were plastic eggs, half of them covered with dirt to help with the camoflage. Dad’s been doing this for decades and he’s good at finding great hiding spaces!

The clothesline itself is a source of good hiding spots. From the clothespin box to the pulley…

They even hid one in a sock!

David and my brother-in-law Matt.

Of course finding them is the huge challenge.

Scott eventually spotted the one in the tree.

The babies are growing so fast,

… and I’m glad that I’m around (in Canada I mean) to watch this round of cuties grow up!

My goodness… it’s been too long since I’ve written. I notice there are a number of comments throughout past blog entries from new guests, including some friends and acquaintances from overseas who happened upon my blog. Welcome! I really enjoy reading the comments; it’s what keeps me writing.

You know, it was not that long ago that I was able to write about exotic adventures and my ultra-interesting neighbourhoods overseas. Even my daily walk to work was interesting when I lived in another culture and country. Last year (2009) things were quite new for us here in Canada. We were getting used to life here, and there were numerous adjustments that were not easy. It’s a daily temptation for both of us to long for life overseas, where things were so much simpler and exciting.

So now that we’ve settled in a bit, and things are not so ‘new’ anymore, it’s hard to maintain that underlying feeling of excitement that I got used to after so many years of that lifestyle.

But we have chosen to be here, and there are lots of good things! We’re looking forward to spring, so we can go biking and exploring the city again!

In the meantime, I’ve kept myself busy through the last weeks of winter. One of the activities I missed most while living overseas was doing crafts and DIY projects.  Now that I feel more settled, and have access to the materials I am familiar with, it’s all gung-ho!

Mehmet is getting used to me coming home with ‘treasures’ like this. People on our street regularly put out boxes of books, toys, clothes, and furniture (often broken or old) that they don’t want anymore. It’s almost always gone by the end of the day! I sometimes come home with stuff:

Mehmet doesn’t see the beauty in an old scruffy lamp or a broken, seatless chair that’s half painted.

But when I communicate my vision, he always gets on board!

In this case, being on board involves sanding and painting…

That was the fun part. Recovering the lampshade was brutal.

In fact, I never want to talk about it again.

I kind of wanted the shade to be a brighter yellow, and maybe one day I’ll redo it.

But for now, it’ll do. I love the glossy black base!

Okay, so the lamp is done… what about this chair?

I really pictured it bright, and wanted it yellow and funky. It took at least 6 coats of paint to completely cover the blue paint and the wood.

Besides lots of painting, this project involved a seat being made by Dad (thanks Dad!), as well as foam… fun!

After cutting out the basic shape, I trimmed the top edges so they were rounded (not square).

We covered the foam on the seat with the material,  then stapled my  material of choice onto the wood.

Voila!

This has been my favourite project… I really love the result!

Then there’s the batik. We bought this at a street market in Penang, north Malaysia, on one of our lovely beach trips a couple years ago. Batiks are made by hand using a process called wax resistance – they paint wax on the material, dye it, remove the wax, then paint more wax on… and eventually create the whole picture.

The woman holding (and selling) that batik was mute, and all the batiks she sold were done by people with various handicaps. We spent a long time choosing the one we liked most!

So finally, last week I found it in my boxes of ’stuff’, unfolded it, and prepared it for it’s purpose.  First of all, I sewed a black border around it.

I had sent Dad the measurements, and he made a perfect frame for it. Thanks Dad!

We stapled the material to the frame, with the intention of keeping the black on the edges.

Stretching it just the right amount while keeping it all even took a lot of work… these things look so much easier than they actually are!

We both really love the finished result! This piece of art symbolizes our time in Malaysia, and stirs up a million wonderful memories of our first two years of marriage.

So that’s what’s been keeping me distracted and busy, and plodding through winter! There’s no end to the ideas in my head, and I’ve got to just decide what’s next!

I spend a LOT of time on public transportation. I use the subway, streetcar, and bus system and actually really enjoy it! I find it rather relaxing, since I don’t have to focus on anything, don’t need to stress about traffic or distractions. I just listen to music, read, and watch people.

Actually, just between you and me,  I have a secret hobby. I hold my phone in front of me as if I’m listening to music or surfing the web, and actually (shhh!) I take pictures of people.

Why on earth would I take pictures of strangers? I’m not sure! Partly because it’s fun being sneaky about it (really, they have no idea), and also, I truly enjoy capturing moments.

Like shy love:

And see, this gal’s got her own stealth moves… using her sunglasses to be able to stare at anybody without them knowing. She’s probably staring right at me; but little does she know, I’m snapping photos of her.

And this girl was standing so close to me in the doorway of the subway. I couldn’t help but be fascinated at her nails, and how high her skirt is hiked up. *snap*

Here’s a good one – this woman was reading the Bible next to me. Neat! But wait, she’s hiding it behind another book! I don’t know if that’s funny or sad. Probably a bit of both.

But what I love most of all is how many people read! It’s incredible!

My students have mentioned too, how impressed they are with the number of people taking out books, magazines or newspapers to read on their daily commutes.

The Metro is a daily newspaper that’s free at all subway stations and all around the city. It’s not the best quality, but it’s still young, and has improved even in the last year. It gets people reading and interested – that’s great!

Look at this – all of them are engrossed in something.

It’s inspiring!

Chinese serving bowls: $1.00

Glazed plate: 50 cents

Funky cushions: $2.00

Glass bowl: 50 cents

Cast iron skillet: $2.00

Rice cooker: $6.00

Most-awesome-retro-cannisters-that-I-love-with-all-my-heart: $12.00

Hunting for ‘treasures’ in second-hand stores: priceless.

Well, just over a year ago, I had so many hopes and dreams for our new life in Canada.  I still do – I’m just a little more realistic about it all now.  (Re)settlement takes time, lots of it. And all the things I’d hoped to do with Mehmet, all the places I’d hoped to see with him… well, we barely started on the list.

But as I look back over the year’s photos (I do this often, just go back through my pictures and reminisce) I realize how many new experience he did have. Although he likes to look at pictures with me, he’s not as nostalgic about things like this to the extent I am, so let me take you on a trip through his experiences of 2009, and I’ll imagine you are moved with me. :)

First of all, winter was a pretty big shock to both of us. We had just spent two years in the tropics, and before that we were in Istanbul, which is much milder than Canada in the winter!

Mehmet started to learn a bit about bundling up to go out in the cold wind… it’s the wind that kills you, man. At dad’s house he shovelled snow where the snowblower couldn’t reach.

We went to see our nephews Bryce and Jayden play ice hockey. This was a first for me too!

We went to a London Knights game – that was also a first for me, and great fun!

Mehmet pulled on ice skates for the first time, and made a go of it on Harley’s ice rink.

He even picked up a stick and watched joined the boys in some ’shoots and scores’!

One crazy day, we decided to build an igloo. Yeah, we weren’t that successful, though it was fun!

We went to see Niagara Falls (a must for anybody new to Canada!) and boy oh boy, was it cold.

My sister Joan took us cross-country skiing in the property around their home.  Mehmet’s first time on skis!

This past year, Mehmet was introduced to civilized dogs. (Can dogs be civilized?) In East Turkey, where he’s from, dogs are mean to anybody but their owner, and their purpose is to guard flocks and property. But our first day in Canada, he met dear Babe, and it was love at first site. Here he’s giving Babe a good scratch/brush.

Babe loved Mehmet too! Sadly, we lost Babe last year, but I’m so glad they met each other, because Babe was special in my heart too.

In Toronto there are lots of dogs, and most newcomers to Canada are quite surprised at how friendly and quiet they are.  We’ve enjoyed dog-sitting our landlord’s three dogs (Colt, Hogan and Taz) occasionally.

Because my family almost all live in rural areas, Mehmet got a good introduction to life in the Ontario countryside.

We met ‘Quack’, an abandoned baby duck that David and Cynthia adopted and cared for till it grew up. It turned out not to be a duck at all, but a Canadian goose!

He picked fresh beans from Dad and Carol’s garden… we still have some in our freezer.

Dad likes to take drives, and enjoyed introducing Mehmet to some local crops … like basil…

… tobacco…

and of course the greenhouse with the flowers!

We enjoyed a truly rural country fair in the fall…

… and by ‘truly rural’, we’re talking Demolition Derby. (I’m sorry.)

And some more experiences that are so stereotypically Canadian: A maple syrup bush!

And that delicious Canadian nectar collected from the trees… yum!

Canoeing – yay! It was just a taste of it… I’m pretty desperate to get him on an authentic canoe trip.

Camping – oh yeah! We had such a nice weekend camping with the whole family.

There were some excellent bike trails and we had a fantastic experience next to Lake Huron.

A campfire at my sister’s place. Another of my favourites.

His first roasted marshmallow!

A walk near the dam in my sister’s town.  We both love spending time in nature.

Mehmet was amazed by the beauty of the Canadian autumn. It really is a spectacular season.

Not to mention the whackiness of that unique North American observance of Halloween.

I mean, seriously… how do you explain spider webs and cemetaries suddenly appearing in all the neighbour’s lawns?

Of course, as you know, the year also involved some help in the baking department. All this is new for Mehmet. Decorating gingerbread cookies? Yes!

And baking homemade bread from scratch? Oh my!

There were lots of other firsts too:

Playing Wii…

Christmas tree decorating…

And doing some woodworking with Dad in the workshop.

The best part about the summer was getting different festivals and events around the city.

Caribanna Festival…

Buskerfest…

Centre Island (our favourite – we went there several times)…

And definitely biking. We biked a lot and often… this was new for Mehmet, biking in a city.

We discovered some beautiful bike paths!

It’s a great city on the lake, and we got to see a lot of it this past year.

Mehmet (and I of course!) got two new nieces this year. It’s not new for him – he’s got 10 nieces and nephews in Turkey, but that doesn’t mean being an uncle ever gets old!

A huge first (and last!)  for Mehmet this year was…

… that’s right. The chicken pox! It already seems like ages ago that I wrote about it here. But it’s still fresh in his mind and no wonder – it was a good ten days of anguish!

A large part of marrying me means being part of my family, which can be a great thing when it comes to support…

… and we love to play games, which Mehmet also enjoys.

Of course games are especially enjoyable if you win! Mehmet got the family award for winner of the Dutch shuffleboard tournament with his high score.

It’s all for fun! Look at the little trophy guy that Harley made using a tennis player (I think?) and his own shuffleboard creation.

And how about this one? In April, we had a baby shower for Joan and Matt. Normally baby showers include just the lay-deez, but not this one. It was a whole family surprise affair at our Easter family get-together. Now, we girls planned some traditional baby shower games, but the twist was that the guys (boys and men) were the ones that had to play the games. In this one activity, all the guys had one minute to ‘multi-task’ like a mom. They had to hold a baby (doll), hold the phone to their ear without hands as if they were on a phone conversation, and hang up baby clothes on the line – all at the same time. The guy who hung up the most clothes in the allotted time was the winner. Here was Mehmet’s try. :)

… but you know, like I said, when he married me, my family became his family, and well…  I can’t make any excuses:

I don’t really know what to say.

I mean, I’m so mature and restrained, so feminine and demure, right? (RIGHT?!) Am I really related to these people?

I can’ t explain this:

And I certainly don’t know what to say about this:

Even this one looks like Trouble with a ca-peee-tal T.

Oh, it’s a fun family, and my biggest goal for 2009 in regards to Mehmet was for them to get to know each other and love each other. I’m so glad we had a lot of family time over the year!

And somehow (just between you and me), I didn’t really think the transition is all that difficult.

About a week or so ago, I was moving around some files online and making some changes on the server where my blog is stored. Suddenly I had a huge fright. My blog was gone! All the files! I had deleted the wrong folder? And then confirmed that this was indeed the folder I wanted to delete, and yes, I understood there could be no changes?! Yikes! After my heart started beating again, I fell into despair. I knew – just KNEW – that I had done a very bad thing, and remembered very clearly confirming and reconfirming. It’s not as simple as it seems – the folders and files are not clearly laid out like on a computer hard drive.

When I went to the blog’s website (this page you are reading now), there was simply a bold black note: “Database not available.”

I almost wept. Although I keep another online journal which is a lot more personal than this one, this is the blog where I share my photos and stories, my adventures and family time. And it has documented my life with Mehmet since just before we were married.

Well, long story very short, the problem was not my fault, and somehow a password had been corrupted. The hosting service had a backup of all my files and nothing was lost. PHEW!

But at that time, I had to think – will I start it again? And I decided I probably wouldn’t. I probably wouldn’t put all the energy into building a blog like this again. But thankfully I don’t have to make that decision.

And thank you to those who read, and those who leave comments, because it motivates me to keep it up.

Having said that, I’m really falling behind in my blogging. This year I will make an effort to write more often. We’ll see.

ANYway, I have this collection of photos I want to share. Just images of things Spotted Over the Holiday Season.

Here we go.  I think a few of these I may have posted already.

On our tree, one of my favourite little ornaments:

My niece, Sophie on our way to the SkyDome (Rogers Centre) for her Christmas gift from her parents – Disney on Ice. I went with her and my sisters for a great girly day!

Cynthia’s parents brought this nativity scene back from Kenya, where they are currently living and working. It’s made inside a gourd – don’t you just love it?!

Me!

The next few pictures are from my sister Joan’s house. She has so many cute vintage-y, crafty decorations. Here are the seasonal jars of cranberries… er, beads.

Her husband Matt made this village scene from paper!

New Year’s Day snow.

It was our first real snow experience of the season…

That day we went cross-country skiing with Joan.  Such beautiful scenery!

Night-time tree

I’m a bit of a sucker for Christmas decorations in big shopping centres. This is at the Eaton Centre downtown, and this year’s tree was decorated with thousands of Swarovsky crystals!

From close-up, you can see the crystals. There was a barrier around the tree, and security too of course.

There were lots of spotlights shining directly on the tree, so it really sparkled!

There was this Ferrero Rocher chocolate tree too. I’m not sure what people were lining up for – free chocolates maybe?

I don’t mind Christmas-time busyness in malls, when things look so pretty. It’s the Walmart-type shopping that makes me want pull out a semi-automatic.

I really love the Eaton Centre.

And moving along, from shopping to celebrating Christ’s birth, the following two photos were taken at Yorkminster Park Baptist Church downtown, where Mehmet and I went to listen to an evening of carols by the choir.

We felt like we were among maybe a dozen people under age 30. Oh wait, I’m not under age 30. We felt young. But it was beautiful!

Poinsetta in our kitchen window. When the sky is so blue and the sun so bright, winter is so much more bearable!

We did lots of baking in December… and Mehmet really enjoyed doing some of the decorating!

Oh, some more of brother-in-law Matt’s talent. Carolling cheeseballs! Cheese to eat with the crackers. At Easter, he made klompen (Dutch wooden shoes), so the expectations are high for next time, Matt!

This is also a re-post, but so worthy! Our nephew Bryce made these adorable placecards for everyone at our family Christmas. I love how all the pictures were specifically drawn to represent the person on the card.

Cozy hearth at Dad and Carol’s.

Carol goes all out for Christmas. The house is transformed! My favourite decoration is this lit up village on the piano. Our piano teacher had one of these when we were growing up, and I remember being so transfixed by the magical little town sitting on the cotton ’snow’ in her cozy home on cold winter evenings.

Too cute!

And finally, the beautiful Christmas cactus.

It was a great holiday season, our second since being back in Canada.  How is that possible?!

Well, sometime among all the past weeks of holiday busyness, travel to family homes, saying goodbye to students, finishing up my teaching paperwork, continuing private lessons… a little baby was born! My youngest brother David and his wife Cynthia (who have appeared often in my blog) had their first child, an adorable little girl.

Meet Rachel!

She’s got dark, dark hair, just like her mom!

Eager aunties wanting to help change Rachel’s diaper. That’s Cynthia’s sister Joanne, and my sister Joan.

Joan’s baby Lilith (now 7 months) suddenly seems so big!  None of Cynthia’s family nor mine ever grew up close to our cousins, so it’s really neat that these two little girls will have a chance to grow up and become good friends.

David is the youngest of us, and the only one born with dark hair. I really should pull up some baby photos of him.

Daddy wrapping up Baby

Auntie Joanne

Cynthia’s parents with their first grandchild!

It’s fun taking photos of babies. They have no choice but to comply as I hover and manipulate them. :)  I imagine this blog will hold hundreds and hundreds of photos of Lilith and Rachel as they grow up.

Exactly a year to the day that we arrived in Canada, Mehmet and I joined the rest of my family at my brother Harley and his family’s home for our Christmas celebration. We had a beautiful day!

Look! This train set up is meant for the top of a Christmas tree, but Harley set it up over the dining room table.

Little Lilith is getting bigger!

Our tradition is to do a ‘White Elephant’ gift theme. This means everyone brings something they no longer want. You never know what you get to (have to) take home! It may be musical glass lanterns!

It could be a plastic alligator.

Or a lawn bowling set!

You might get something you really like…

… such as a bamboo whistle!

But what you really don’t want is the infamous red nightie that shows up every year. I got it last year and wrapped it up in a big box. Jared *really* didn’t want it… but got it!

Harley builds an ice rink in his back yard each year. It wasn’t quite ready for skating yet.

But walking on it was allowed.  *crack*

Nancy and Jayden

Lots of catching up to do… cousins, sisters-in-law, daughter and stepmom…

Bryce made these beautiful name cards for everyone’s dinner place.

Getting ready for the dinner

Matt’s carolling cheeseballs

The whole family

Mmm… homemade desserts!

Sophie loves the Wii. Creating her character is just as much fun as playing the games.

Boy Wii action

We ‘adopted’ a family for Salvation Army this year – it was fun to deliver the Christmas dinner food and the gifts!

Of course, there’s the annual ‘Sjoelbak’ (Dutch shuffleboard) tournament.

Each game has three rounds, and each person gets to play three games throughout the day.

Scores are kept over the day, and the person with the highest single score gets the family trophy!

This year, the award went from Harley (who won last year), to… Mehmet!

Games, games, games…

Setting up the ‘falling dominos’…

Wheee…!

We played Scattegories with small teams of 2 or 3. …A famous tourist attraction starting with ‘M’…

… a food you almost always eat raw, starting with T…

Something you store items in … starting with D…

And downstairs… air hockey!

The rink at night

We had expected to spend Christmas celebrations with a new niece or nephew! But poor Cynthia, almost a week overdue, was still waiting. So we were lucky to have her and David spend the day with us.

Baby, baby, come and play!!

Well, since our Christmas celebrations, baby has arrived. Those pictures will come soon. :)

As I mentioned in my last post, Christmas decorating is one holiday tradition that I’ve really missed.  But something else  – Christmas baking! I got so used to life without an oven while overseas, but I definitely missed baking.  Since we’ve been back, I’ve made the occasional brownies, muffins and cookies (and Mehmet makes bread). Howver, the last couple weeks saw us in the kitchen a lot more than usual, as I was preparing gift boxes of baked goods for my students.

It’s not too late to do some baking for Christmas! In case anyone wants to make any of these, I’m including the recipes.

Gingerbread cookies

The great thing about gingerbread is, it’s so easy to work with. The dough is wonderful – and tasty! I think it’s healthy, with all that molasses and ginger. Yes, we should all eat gingerbread cookies for our health.

We don’t have a decorating bag or tip, and Mehmet was better than me at decorating these guys, using only a small plastic bag with a tiny snip off one corner to put on the icing.

Also, it’s not often that you can work with cookies that have character! This was like playing with several trays of little boys… it was hard not to have “Run, run, run, as fast as you can… you can’t catch me – I’m the gingerbread man!” in my head as I was working on these.  Recipe here.

Icebox Cookies

These were great fun too. Those are chopped candied cherries in the dough. The dough is rolled into ‘logs’ and can be frozen. So easy to just slice up and bake when needed! I like that they’re squarish, too.  Recipe here.

Chocolate Truffles

Oh yes! This was my first time to make truffles. Easy? Not really. Fun? Definitely. For toppings we used a variety of candy sprinkles, crushed peanuts and flaked coconut.  Recipe here.

Lesson learned: don’t put them into the paper cups until they are fully dried and set. I just couldn’t wait… I had to see them in the cups, and some of the cups got drops of melted chocolate on them as a result. Not a big deal, but if your standards are high…!

Peanut brittle

I haven’t made this for soooo many years! It’s surprisingly easy, and not-so-surprisingly sticky in your teeth. So yummy! Corn syrup, butter, sugar, peanuts – oh my.  Recipe here

Sugar cookies!

Hey, why does that one in the top right look grey. It wasn’t grey! These are easy to make, and Mehmet likes helping with decorating. Shaped cookies are always a delight – why do we tend to only make them at Christmas time?

I’ve actually never worked with Royal icing before (it gets hard).  Enjoyed it! Recipe here.

We put everything into the freezer after baking, and then yesterday I prepared the boxes to hand out to my students after our class potluck lunch today.

It was fun! They loved the boxes of goodies, and I got one of my holiday fixes. Win-win!

A year ago we were wandering through breezy rice fields in beautiful Bali, Indonesia. At the time we mentioned how “a year from now, we’ll be talking about our trip”.  Sure enough, it’s hard to believe we ever truly had those tropical vacations in the South Pacific. What a dream!

Ah, but I’ll write more ‘one year later’ reflections in another entry.

In all those years overseas, I never had the chance to really get into the holiday by celebrating with the decorations and preparations that add so much to the spirit of the season. There’s just something about moving to a new place every year or two that keeps you from collecting a stash of seasonal decorations.

But Mmmmm…. the warm lights and shiny decorations combined with the smell of a fresh Balsam Spruce — it is so warming and magical!

When I was young, our piano teacher – Miss Bailey – had a huge tree every year. One cold evening in December, after our lessons, my sister and I would be invited into the family living room to have a look.  We walked around the tree, wide-eyed and amazed at all the little ornaments. She had so many ’special’ ornaments on the tree. Tiny books that opened, musical instruments that played, puppets with strings  – it was a wonderland!

Sometimes I wonder what kind of  ’special’ tree I’d like to have. Something different, not the generic shiny balls and glittery garlands, but a kind of tradition I could build on over the years.

And a couple of years ago, it came to me! Of course I would collect little ornaments from my travels!

Every culture has little trinkets and decorations – who cares if they’re not meant for a Christmas tree!

This is a little handmade ribbon decoration – I got two from a student while I was in Korea.

This one is a handpainted little paper mache ball with beads – from Turkey.

A gold print of an aspen leaf from a dear friend in the States.

And this one – you guessed it – from Japan!

Here’s my favourite! Also from Japan, this is a little woman in a kimono – made out of a clam shell! It’s painted and covered with the layers of silk. Isn’t it just perfect?

And look – her sister!

I only have a few, but I will definitely be working on collecting more little decorations over the years.

This whole decorating thing is quite new for Mehmet.  Last December we came to Canada just in time to help Dad and Carol decorate theirs, but this is our very first tree of our own. Special times! I’m so glad he loves the decorating and is not ambivelant about it. He enjoys the process and the coziness as much as me. :)

There are so many cultural tidbits of life in Canada – and sometimes I forget they are new tidbits for Mehmet.  After we had hung up the ornaments,  I took out this little package of tiny candy canes I had picked up at the dollar store. We unwrapped them one by one, and I explained to him they were called ‘candy canes’… like a cane, you know, I said as I gestured a walking cane.  We hung ten on the tree, then I handed one to him, and took one for myself. I put it in mouth and took a bite. Crunch.

What are you doing?! he cried.

And suddenly I realized that he didn’t even know they really were candy – he thought they were plastic decorations!

It’s fun sharing all these experiences with him – in the evenings we are doing advent readings and I’m teaching him Christmas carols.

And it’s still green in Toronto – fine by me!

The days are flying by, and I can’t believe we are near the end of November. There are so many things I want to do with my time, and so much I want to write about, but alas, I’m tethered down by the daily demands of work. I’m thankful for the work though!

As I’ve mentioned here, my sister-in-law Cynthia is expecting her first baby in December. Yay, a Christmas baby! Last weekend, a few of us held a surprise baby shower for her.

It was in a wee village about half an hour north of our hometown, and we had a plan in place. While she and David were coming through on their way to a Sunday afternoon lunch together with Dad and Carol, they would stop at a shop where Carol wanted to pick up a couple things.

In the meantime, we would wait in the shop next door, so when they arrived, we could surprise her.

The store was called ‘Funky Junk’, and there WAS lots of funky junk. A good place to sit and wait, especially if you’re a little girl named Sophie.

When the van arrived and parked next door, we ran towards it (we weren’t sure what side she’d be sitting on!), not giving her a chance to notice us coming.

Surprisssseeee!

She was surprised all right.

Dad and Dave went on their way, and we went across the road…

…to Harry’s, a tea house!

Warm, cozy and Christmasy!

While we waited for the food, Miss Cynthia opened her lovely gifts.

My favourite – this sock monkey that Joan made.

And then, time for lunch – tea, scones, sandwhiches, soup…

Ice-cream for Sophie

It was a great afternoon – and what a luxury to spend some girly time with family!

Back row: My sister Eleanor, Cynthia's sister-in-law Kimberly, Cynthia, my sister Joan, my sister-in-law Nancy, our stepmom Carol. Front row: Me, Eleanor's daughter Sophie, and Cynthia's sister Joanne.

And a quick shout out to those missing – Cynthia’s mom and also her sister Eliana – both of them off in East Africa! They’re planning to be home in time for baby’s arrival.  It’s really going to be an extra special Christmas!

I wonder if Clyde and Tobacco will get jealous.

A couple weekends ago, we were asked to dog-sit for a couple of days. Our landlord Rob lives above us and has three sweet fur-babies – Hogan, Taz and Colt.

I love dogs, and so does Mehmet, though we really think our place is too small to have our own – it’s hardly big enough for the two of us! But for a couple days, it’s fun. And these three dogs are really well-trained and lovable!

Of course, how could anyone  resist these furry faces nudging them awake in the morning!

Hey! That’s MY side of the bed!

Well, dogs need regular exercise, and since it was Mehmet who agreed to take the dogs, it was me who agreed they were entirely his responsibility! Heehee!

But of course I was glad to join them all for a walk to the park. Hey, I’m happy for any new photo subjects!

Incidentally, this was just a few days before Mehmet was attacked by The Pox.

The park is about a 10 minute walk from our house, and boy, did the dogs go nuts!

Colt (the big one) and Hogan (the black one) ran and ran and rannn…

Although Hogan is bigger, Taz is packed with energy – he runs faster than Colt, and almost always gets the ball first!

While the rowdy boys were playing, Taz enjoyed himself by sniffing – apparently there are so many interesting scents in a park!

We’ve had a beautiful autumn here. Check out all the leaves!

Feels soooo goood…

And of course there are other dogs to meet. And sniff.

This is Rob’s ‘Chuck It’, and it can transform even people like me into good ball throwers!

Hogan loves it!

But he gets pretty demanding if you don’t throw it instantly.

After lots of running (them – not me), they were all tired out. Time to go back home!

And they were out for hours. No guilt at having dogs in a small apartment when they had that much exercise!

Ahhhh…

Taz is pretty special – he reminds us so much of Babe!

But Hogan is so much fun – he’s Mehmet’s favourite.

As for Colt, well who can resist a funky face like this?

And while we’re talking about dogs, you should know that Korean dogs say ‘Mung mung’ and Japanese dogs say ‘Wang wang’!

Ten years ago this week, we suddenly lost my mom.  She was 62. In some ways it seems like a lifetime ago, and in many other ways I can’t believe it’s been that long – I feel her influence in so many areas of my life.

Mom was born in 1938  in a quaint little Dutch town where everyone has crocheted curtains in their windows and tulips in the flowerbeds below. She was born the second youngest of 11 children. This is a picture I’ve posted here before:

Mom didn’t talk about her childhood much, but I was intrigued by the little she did share. For example, when she was a schoolgirl, she had a pet crow that sat on her shoulder as she walked to school and met her again when school let out.

During the world war, her family hid a Jewish family in their home, and Mom told me how every day her mother (who I never met) cooked a massive pot of potatoes for her family of 13 plus the members of the extra family. She must have been peeling potatoes all morning!

Mom said she loved people and animals even as a kid. I’m sure she was a “helper”. When she graduated from high school she went to nursing school and got a job as a nurse in pediatrics.

In 1966 she and Dad got married, and not long after, they packed up their furniture and other belongings into crates, and travelled across the Atlantic to their land of dreams … Canada. Dad built a beautiful home on a lot full of massive shady maples, they began to pick up some English, and started a family. Mum immersed herself in mothering.

The family grew to include three girls and two boys.When I was nine years old, my parents bought a fruit farm, and we moved into a small wooden farmhouse that was over a century old.  We worked so hard! I can’t eat strawberries or beans without thinking of the times we were hoeing (and hoeing and hoeing), and pulling weeds in the hot summers. We were both so intolerant to heat! In the springtime I enjoyed helping her choose annuals and planting them in the flowerbeds around the house. It seemed there was always work to be done, inside the house and out. As a pre-teen, all I wanted to do was sit in my room, write in my diary, and listen to music. But there was always so much work to do! When they sold the farm, I asked Mom if she missed it, and I was surprised when she told me that they bought the farm solely for the sake of the kids… to teach us how to work hard, to be responsible, and of course, to keep us busy and out of trouble.

When I was about three or four, while my sister was at school during the day, Mom and I would cuddle for a nap in her bed every afternoon. I remember so clearly always lying there, eyes wide open, not wanting to sleep. “Mummy, can we talk first?” “Yes Brenda, what shall we talk about today?” “Let’s talk about the poor people.” Always… always… always… I wanted to talk about “the poor people.” Mom was very careful to tell us how blessed we were as kids, and how there were children in faraway places like Bangladesh who had no moms or dads, and often no food to eat. We were intrigued by her stories, and wanted to help them. She and Dad sponsored several children through World Vision over the years, and I’m sure she really wanted to raise kids who wanted to help others. I was only four years old when we had those intimate moments of chatting during nap time, and already Mom was planting seeds that sprouted and whose vines have invaded every part of my body. I do have her heart.

She was stricter than the mothers of all my friends, and as a teen I was so conscious of  that. No movies. No dances. No drinking. No rock music. No make-up. No “acid-washed jeans”. No dark nylons. No short skirts or tight tops. TV was limited to sports, news, wildlife programs and Little House on the Prairie. Mom disciplined us hard and trained us hard too. When we mouthed back to her, we had to write hundreds and hundreds of lines:  “I will not talk back”.  At the dinner table she put a strong wooden ruler next to her plate, for easy access if she needed to smack grabby hands. She gave us each household chores and saw that we did them promptly and thoroughly.  Mom was thrifty, too! McDonald’s was for birthdays only. Pop was for very special occasions, and cookies were almost always made, not bought. Our lunchbox snacks were raisins or carrots,  instead of Cheesies or Twinkies. Her rules were unreasonable by my standards, and her expectations infuriated me often.

In retrospect, however, I’m so grateful for the example she and my Dad set. I appreciate all the sacrifices she made. I wonder how many things she would have liked to have, but gave up for our sake (not least of all, her career). Because of those sacrifices, there was money for private school, piano and swimming lessons, trips to Holland, and summer vacations.

I once asked her if she ever tired of cooking for all of us day after day after day. And she said, “Every time I peel a potato (we ate potatoes every day, like true Dutchies),  I feel grateful for a family to feed and grateful for food to feed them.” She never complained about being a mom… even though I know we (well some of us) were difficult often. She taught us to be thankful for everything and to express thanks too. She taught us to look out for needs of others, and to do what was right. I often hear her words ringing in my ears, “If you’re doing what’s right, why do you care what others think?”. To my adolescent ears, those words made no sense. Of course I care what others think! But as an adult I find myself repeating those words to myself and anyone who will listen.

Mom worked hard at keeping us busy and creative. The craft drawers were always stocked with paper, paint, glue, and tape. There were popsicle sticks, buttons, foam, alphabet pasta and felt.We painted, coloured, and created. She cherished and kept every little card and macaroni craft we made for her, and never threw out our school notebooks. I now have all the stuff that I made which she kept.

She sewed little nurse uniforms for my older sister and me. She transformed our whole basement into a pretend grocery store complete with a homemade cash register, and aisles stocked with empty food cans, boxes, and bottles. She patiently let us help her make bread, cookies and pies again and again. Every Saturday she took us to the library, allowing us to take as many books as we could hold in our arms.

Mom always had time – I don’t remember her ever saying she was too busy to help, to teach, to read with us, to sing, to listen. Every night after dinner we read Bible stories as a family. At bedtime she sang and prayed with each of us in our early childhoods. She taught us about God’s grace, and about being ’servants’.

Mom was very efficient and did everything thoroughly. She had low tolerance for poorly done jobs. As we girls grew older, she taught us to sew, and then let us choose patterns and make our own clothes. On numerous occasions she had to step in and undo my mistakes, patiently undoing mistakes and expertly fixing them. The clothes and gifts she sewed and stitched were masterpieces. She would take hours to fix a little mistake that nobody would have noticed anyway. I have a couple of her simplest pieces of cross-stitching, and they mean so much to me – because she made them for me!

She made one of these for each of us when we were born.

Once I had just finished hanging the laundry on the line outside, and she came out and insisted I redo it. Rehang it all! I thought I had followed the unwritten hang-up-the-laundry rules: I had hung the shirts together, the socks together, the pants together, etc. But that wasn’t good enough for her. Something about the spacing not being right, and folding too much of the clothing over the line, instead of the least amount possible. “Brenda, everything you do… EVERYthing you do, do it the best you can.” I thought she was going overboard, but when I told my older sister about that she said, “Oh yeah… haven’t you ever noticed? When mummy hangs the laundry, it looks sooo nice from the road!” She was serious, too.

I left home for college at age 18. Through college and the years since then, I have realized that she  never ever meddled or vocally disagreed with my decisions as an adult. She and Dad have always supported me. Despite the tight reins while we were growing up, I felt she completely trusted and believed in us as adults.

Yes, as we got older, Mom relaxed. She knew the hardest part was finished, and perhaps she felt she could now reap the fruit of her efforts. She was weak with joy when her first grandson was born, and began to spoil him in true grandmotherly fashion.  In her role as grandmother, she moderated her military approach to homemaking. I really cherished the weekends I could go home and spend time relaxing with her on the front porch at the end of the day.

When I got really into using the Internet, I convinced her to get a computer and try it. Try it she did.  And she fell in love with it! Every night she pored over news sites from all over the world. I loved her take on world issues and was surprised by her insight. She learned to type and started corresponding with me by e-mail. I taught her how to use ICQ and she loved that we could chat live while I was working on the computer and she was reading the news.

I remember a couple days after she died, I was standing at the cash register in Zellers, buying some black tights for the funeral. I have such a strong memory of that moment – how everyone around me seemed so cheery, how life was so bright for everyone else, while I was feeling numb and dazed, still overwhelmed with unbelief.  I couldn’t imagine that life would ever feel normal for me again. But of course God (and time) are great healers.

I’m sad that she never got to meet Mehmet. I know she would have loved him, and he would have loved her. But I am thankful that she died without pain or suffering. (She had a brain hemmorhage and died in her sleep.) I’mc thankful that I had 29 (!) years with her – that she wasn’t taken sooner. I’m thankful that I carry so many great memories and lessons from her. I’m thankful for all the warming  stories so many people told us in the days after their death about how she so quietly and modestly touched their lives. I’m thankful for the promise of eternal life for believers. And I’m thankful that life goes on, that God gives healing and strength, and that our sweet and gracious stepmother Carol has stepped into our lives.

This was our last family picture together with Mom – Thanksgiving weekend, 1999, just a couple weeks before she died:

And this was last month, Thanksiving weekend 10 years later:

So much to be thankful for.

When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” (1 Corinthians 15:54-55).

There are some things happening on our street. In the last two weeks there has been a bit of a transformation.

And I’m not talking about autumn. Of course that doesn’t mean I don’t fully appreciate the change of seasons!

It’s a wonderland!

The old brick homes look like they were built for this season.

Doesn’t it all look incredibly homey and cozy?

But the transformation on my mind is not the leaves.

It’s this:

And this:

The street has been invaded by spiders!

HUGE spiders, apparently.

And they have woven their webs with complete abandon.

And if the spider invasion isn’t enough, there’s been a surge of deaths in the neighbourhood too.

City lawns are small… one must conserve space.

In fact, the street looks more like a graveyard!

Some families can’t afford high quality tombstones, I guess.

Poor guy:

It’s not easy to rest in peace these days!

It’s Halloween evening, and we have turned out the lights and are watching TV in peace.

Oh, I had big plans, I did. I was going to introduce Mehmet to his first Halloween, and we were going to carve pumpkins, make treat bags, and enjoy the kids of the neighbourhood as we handed them out.

But a week ago, the poor guy got the Chicken Pox!

Have you ever seen an adult with the Pox? It’s baaaad. He was so so sick for the last week, and new spots are still showing up!

My question is:

Wouldn’t it be fun if he answered the door looking like this?

Happy Halloween!

One of my students asked me the other day why there are so many bodybags around these days. Bodybags? I asked.  She knew the word wasn’t correct, and tried to find the right one. Bodybags. No… bodybugs. Badybugs?

Ohhhh… ladybugs! I love when new vocabulary comes up like that. English learners think that ladybugs is such a cute name. It is, isn’t it! Cute insects deserve nice names…

So why are there so many around this season? I haven’t been able to find the answer online, though someone said, “If you’re near farming country…the Asian ladybugs were brought in to help farmers with aphid control.” Upon further research, it seems that’s true. Ladybugs native to Ontario are small and bright red. The ones in varying shades of orange (like in the pictures here) were imported from Asia and have been used as a natural pest control for several decades in North American agricultural industries.

Somebody else said,

This is obviously some sort of well thought out invasion from Mars. They are working with the lady bugs in some sort of well planned tactical nuclear strike that we will blame on Russia – sending the world into World War III causing a maple syrup shortage.

Well then.

Mehmet told me that in Turkey there is a superstition related to ladybugs. If you extend your fingers and the ladybug crawls to the tip, make a wish! If the bug flies off from the tip of your finger, your wish will come true.

Neither Mehmet nor I are superstitious at all, but oh well. I made my wish.

C’mon Mr. Ladybug! Fly away… fly! (I wonder how the males feel about being called a Ladybug.)

Go ladybug, fly… fly…

Yes!!

My wish will come true!

No winter!

“Can you spend an extra day when you come home for Thanskgiving?”,  my sister-in-law Cynthia asked me a couple months ago.

“I’m not sure yet. Why?”

“Then you can go to the Rockton Fair with us!”

I had never heard of the Rockton Fair.

To be honest, I’d never even heard of Rockton, a village not far from my hometown.

But I’m not one to say to an outing in the country, so Thanksgiving weekend, we joined David, Cynthia, and her sister Joanne for an evening at the fair.

Rockton World’s Fair? Amusing! Later I found the following on the website:

The Rockton Agricultural Society has come a long way since the first Beverly Agricultural Society Fair was held in October 1852.

According to the information recorded in ” The Pioneers of Beverly “, October 20th was a ” Glorious Indian Summer Day “.

In 1934 the Beverly Agricultural Society became the North Wentworth Agricultural Society and in 1966 the name was changed to the present Rockton Agricultural Society.

In 1878 Andrew Kernighan commented that the fair should be called the “World’s Fair” because all of the world comes to it. The next day local newspapers carried an article about the fair entitled “The World’s Fair at Rockton“.

So… World’s Fair it is.

It was fun! When I was young, the county fair was a huge deal! Rides, candy floss, games… and not much has changed!

I was mesmerized by the lights in the ferris wheel… what great photo opps!

The busy-ness of the midway, the warmth of the food booths, the laughter and screams of kids – it all made up for the cold weather that day.

|

This ride was called ‘Freak-Out’ – it was so intriguing, because of its huge size, lights and the screams that accompanied each giant swing.

It’s funny – in a giant theme park, this ride would just blend in among the others.  But here in a temporary set up in a field in the middle of nowhere ROCKton, it’s the star!

The website also claims: “Agriculture is the highlight of the fair and education of agriculture is our objective.” We didn’t see the poultry and other livestock, but we did see some other exhibits. Prize-winning… HAY!

At the first fair 150+ years ago, apparently there was $194.50 in prize money paid to exhibitors. Now the prize money total is $80,000!

The categories are endless… all kinds of fruits, vegetables and grains (those are soybeans in the glass displays below), preserves, arts and crafts (from photography to quilts to wreaths), Christmas trees, and so much more. It’s so cute – there are categories for everyone in the community!

These are the projects entered by school children.

4-H displays. This really brings back memories! Dozens of years ago (sigh), my 4-H club and I also entered our displays in the local fair.

But okay…

The real reason we were invited to the Rockton Fair?

The true drawing card?

It was…

(I’m sorry for this…)

The Demolition Derby!

Oh yeah.

It was so bad it was good.

Don’t knock it till you’ve  done it yourself – sitting there on a chilly night under your sister-in-law’s blankets, with a hot apple cider in your hands…

You’ll be swept up in unexpected thrills as you watch old beaters being crashed into each other till only one is still moving.

And then you watch the machinery come in to remove the demolished cars to make way for the next group.

I can’t explain my brief relapse into hillbilly-ness. I have to admit I didn’t expect it to be as fun as it was. Mehmet loved it too!

Isn’t it great that our life contains bits of life like this:

AND this?