Archive for December, 2006
12.29.06
Posted in life in Canada, family, health at 11:17 pm by Mrs C.
Holidays seem to be all about eating to a lot of people. I spent Christmas eve at my niece’s where we ate, visited, and ate some more.
Then boxing day, I went with my daughter and son-in-law to his aunt’s home. The family is Portuguese and they have eating down to a fine art. There is always so much food, dozens of people, and yet none of them is overweight. This I find hard to understand. They seem to eat constantly, but are all in great physical shape. Maybe it’s something in the home made wine?
Permalink
12.28.06
Posted in life in Canada, family, learning at 11:08 pm by Mrs C.
I’ve spent a lot of time at my youngest daughter’s these days, while she prepared for her driving test. Since she is in her early twenties, she is more nervous and cautious than an eager teenager would be. I haven’t been the greatest instructor either, since I can’t judge distance and my first reaction when I see a fast approaching car is to cover my eyes. I have been a good role model though, since my daughter thinks that if I could get my license, anyone can.
After a shaky beginning and some trouble parking, said daughter is now a proud licensed driver. The next step is finding a car of her own.
Permalink
12.25.06
Posted in family at 11:26 pm by Mrs C.
This was the first Christmas that my oldest daughter and her family have had to celebrate without my grandson’s two year old daughter. Since her death in August, there have been good days and bad days, sometimes all wrapped up together.
Little incidents trigger memories that tug at our hearts. Even going shopping and seeing a cute little outfit that would have been perfect for Sara. Only Sara isn’t here anymore.
The prayers of many people have helped the family to get through the days so far, but more prayer will be needed, and probably for a long time.
Permalink
12.22.06
Posted in computers, learning at 12:05 am by Mrs C.
After spending the evening making a neat greeting card and adding my voice, using a program called DeadEasy found at mugsandmegs.com, I could not upload it to my sites or put it in a newsletter. I tried everything and the only thing I have to show for it is a sore neck.
Will this ever get easier??
Permalink
12.19.06
Posted in life in Canada, family, learning at 12:29 am by Mrs C.
I have to do a little brag about my youngest son. Mind you, all of my children are worth bragging about and I will give them each a turn, but today is Matthew’s turn.
He calls himself Matt and was one of those teenagers who was out of school as often as there. His teachers noted that he was not a self-directed learner and didn’t seem to have much motivation. So I hope they have all been reading the national papers and listening to CBC Radio when they interviewed my dear boy.
Matt has been busily taking orders over the Internet to repair people’s ipods. They are sent from all over North America and I think overseas. Business has been so brisk that he opened a storefront in downtown Toronto and hired a few employees. Now the press is flocking to interview him and take pictures of the handsome guy. His website, for those of you who are interested, is http://www.irepair.ca
As you can tell, I am one proud momma.
Permalink
12.16.06
Posted in life in Canada, family at 8:33 am by Mrs C.
I have been watching my toddler grandson a lot these days. Now that the weather is turning colder, I am always on the lookout for somewhere to take him. After all, at my age, he wears me out when I am his only playmate. We have been to a couple of the government early years centres and he enjoys playing with new toys and seeing other kids. His favourite time is song circle and his shy smiles usually turn into active participation after a few action songs. By the end of the day I am usually worn out and have told myself more than once that I am too old for this - but then he gives me a special gramma hug and I am ready to play again.
Permalink
Posted in life in Canada, family at 8:22 am by Mrs C.
We not only sold our house, but two days later bought a new one. During those two days, we looked at about ten houses and settled on one that was a bit more expensive than we originally hoped to pay and a little bit further from our daughters house. It will still be walking distance if I want a brisk 45 minute walk, but only 5 minutes by car.
The house is a raised bungalow with three small bedrooms, a finished basement, and nice sized living and dining rooms. Plus a nice little fenced-in yard for my grandchildren to play. All this for the price of a semi in Toronto. At this rate, we might be mortgage free by the time we are ready for an old age home.
For those of you who are not familiar with Cambridge, it is between Guelph and Kitchener, just one short hour from Toronto. Unless of course the traffic in Mississauga is bad, then more like two long hours.
Permalink
12.11.06
Posted in life in Canada, family at 9:52 pm by Mrs C.
After almost three months of making like mrs clean, our house has finally sold and we can begin to live like normal people again. No more picking up before I can leave the house, no more having to go out every time someone wants to see the place, no more living in limbo. I had forgotten how stressful selling a house could be.
Now we get to do the fun stuff like packing and packing and ….. Please remind me, why did I want to move?
Permalink