Summer Strawberries and Fields of Daisies

I kept my youngest home today for various reasons relating to school activities and philosophies, and such a lovely day we have had. We made bread. I promised the kids that I would make homemade bread as soon as I was off for the summer. It's something my eldest reminisces about often: those early years when I was at home with them and fresh bread was a daily ritual. He is old enough to remember getting off the school bus to a thick slice with butter which he would eat in the kitchen with his younger siblings as he told us about his day. I've been back at work full time for 7 years now - as long as I was off with him - but he still remembers.

Today is the first day of my summer break, and I forgot how pleasurable it was to knead dough in a morning kitchen, with the light pooling across the butcher block counters and red tiled floors. Grace helped, and while it was rising, we went hiking through the back fields. There were wild strawberries, sweet and miniature, and we ate them as we went, hugging the shady perimeter of the field to avoid the sun. Another week and Grace and her sister can go back and collect them, though I doubt there will be enough brought back to do anything with. May as well eat them warm and ripe off the vine. Grace said if she was magical, she would grow a wild strawberry vine outside the kitchen door. Now that's using your magical powers for good.

When we ran out of strawberries, I told her stories from the legends of Arthur.....surprised somehow that she hadn't read some of my old books of that period. Arthur. Gawaine. The Lady of the Lake. Excalibur. We will look through the library to find some if the volumes I have packed away somewhere.....at least one of which I hit from my Aunt's childhood collection when I was about the age Grace is now. 

And we meandered home picking wildflowers.....daisies, buttercups, clover....a bouquet that now sits on the table reminding us of this perfect morning.

Dinner Conversation

"Your family must have the most interesting conversations around the dinner table!"

This was said to me and Erik last week at the Zone Oratorical Competition as we waited for the judges to determine the winners. 

The speaker was a woman I do not know, who had cornered me the previous afternoon at a music festival (where Grace's school band got a gold medal) to tell me that she had been at the high school speech competition the previous week, and that she thought Erik had the most interesting, most entertaining speech there, and she couldn't understand why he hadn't placed and gone on to the next level. 

Obviously a part of the organizing committee for the oratorical competitions, she was now also present for the Zone level....the winners of which will go on to the Provincial level in May....and had just listened to both Anna and Grace (who had placed 1st and 3rd respectively in their school contests) speak.

Erik's speech the week previous had been a rather tongue-in-cheek approach to the subject: How My Passions Impact The World. He was funny and self-deprecating as he spoke about his love for environmentally hostile big trucks, and his ideas for making them more environmentally friendly. It was his first public speaking, and the boy was a hit with his classmates, but not, alas, the judges. 

At the zone level (same subject) Anna spoke eloquently and earnestly about her passion for peace and education. Grace brought a certain dramatic flair to get speech about her plans for developing a climate changing machine that could deflect the sun's rays to help mitigate global warming. All three speeches were very representative of the speakers themselves, and the authenticity shone through. I was impressed. And apparently, so was this lovely woman.

And we do have interesting dinner conversations (or car ride conversations, which are equally good for encouraging discourse). Geo-engineering was our most recent one. But literature, philosophy, politics, education, scientific discovery, and mathematical debate are often on the table with the stuffed chicken breast and spinach salad. 

And sometimes the conversation is a lot less highbrow too: alternate endings for movies, debating the leadership style of Darth Vader, coming up with funny t-shirt slogans, and my "favourite"....the seemingly endless debate over the benefits of fart-proof underwear. Yes. Well...

But I hadn't really thought about it until this lady mentioned it.

It makes me happy to think that this is part of the fabric of our lives.

Grace came in 3rd in the Zone Competition....she was the youngest participant, and it was a great showing for her first contest. Anna won. She will be off to the Provincials again. This will be her third time making it that far, and we couldn't be more proud of her. Of all three of them, actually. 

Maybe....just maybe...dinner conversations had something to do with it.

(Grace 3rd and Anna 1st with their proud great-grandmother after the zone competition)

A Personal History of Downhill Skiing

Mont Tremblant, 2014

New Year's Eve, 1988....I had gone to the Junior Ranks Mess at HMCS Brunswicker for a party with my reserve friends, and somewhere around midnight, someone mentioned they were going downhill skiing for the day the next morning. I had never been skiing, so they insisted I try it out and tag along. 

New Year's Day, 1989....On about 4 hours of sleep, I joined Todd and his friends for a day out on the slopes, where they patiently taught me how to get down the hill in one piece.

January, 1992....Living in Halifax. New boyfriend. Did I ski...he'd like to take me away for the weekend? Of course I ski. Well, sort of. But that was the first of many ski weekends away, and evenings of night skiing over the next few years, and though I am not sure I got much better, I certainly did enjoy it.

January 1996...My first time meeting my now-husband's family and we went for a ski week at Owl's Head in Quebec. My mother-in-law was worried I wasn't enjoying myself, Andrew convinced me to try a black diamond, and what I really remember from that week was one of the deepest and most pleasant afternoon naps I have ever had in my entire life. After two days skiing, a good sleep is easy to find.

Kids at Mont Rigaud, Winter 2008

Winter, 2003....After years (it seems) of pregnancy and babies, I went skiing again. Or rather, we took the children to Mont Rigaud where we skiied and they tried boarding (except for the three-year-old, who skied with Andrew, almost breaking his back in the process). That was our pattern for a few years. Saturdays at the mountain as the children took lessons ("Sturdiest legs on the hill" was what they said about my youngest who started boarding at 5)

Mont Tremblant "Village", 2014

Winter, 2008-present...Downhill skiing or snowboarding for those hip, cool youngsters, has become a family affair. We often go to Rigaud, which is not far away, but on weekends now, can try out bigger mountains, and have tried numerous of the fantastic resorts and hills throughout the Laurentians, including a fabulous week at a condo in 2012 up at St. Sauveur where we went skiing and tubing.

St. Sauveur: Curled up with Dad after all that fresh air, 2012

February, 2014...We finally took the kids on a mini break weekend to Tremblant, where we had a fantastic time, staying in the old village, exploring the new, enjoying the gondola ride and an incredible view from the top, the invigoration of the long ski back down, and fine restaurants where the kids discovered they have gourmet tastes and were willing to try escargots, duck, and naturally top it all of with absolutely fabulous desserts.

Chocolate Mousse Cake, L'Hotel Mont Tremblant, 2014

The Satirical Touch

I won't even delve into the satirical aspect of my not posting in so long, and now using someone else's words in place of my own....but Andrew posted this on Facebook the other day, and it made me laugh out loud at the way he manages to use satire and humour at the end of this piece to brilliantly capture our kids' distinctive personalities.

Also, he quotes Tennyson. And I love Tennyson.

Disclaimer: The "Sample Conversation" at the end is true to form but rigged with Andrew's special brand of sarcasm. I did just do Ulysses with my college students, I do make my children write essays (though not yet on this poem), but I don't think I gave him quite this much of a hard time about it.

The pint of beer....oh, that's true, all right!

Andrew Nielsen

18 hours ago

Tho' much is taken, much abides; and tho'
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.

The last 6 lines of Ulysses by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.
Just reread the epic poem after seeing a couple of lines in another book. Like reading it for the very first time all over again.
Mention this to my lovely bride, along with the above excerpt. Apparently she read it last week.
Nice thing about being married to a smart lady and having smart kids. Keeps you from getting up on your high horse.

Sample Conversation at the Nielsen house:
Andrew "Oh, look at how clever I am, I just reread Ulysses"
Denise "Pfft, give me a close reading and comparison with another two major epic poems and then I'll think you are scratching on the door of clever"
Erik "Don't look at me, man, that was my Mom homework last week and I only got a B minus"
Anna "Well it is supposed to be my homework this time next year, but I've already finished it. I worry about getting behind"
Grace "Tennyson didn't design rocket engines, screw him".
Andrew "Can someone bring me another pint, please?"

Yule

Solstice...the shortest day of the year....marks the real start of the festivities of the season in my world. It's dreadful weather out with freezing rain on top of all the snow we had yesterday, but that can't dampen our spirits. With my last day of work for two weeks behind me, I spent today relaxing. We would have gone outside if the freezing rain had held off....I fancied a day cross-country skiing....but settled for inside decorating, cookie baking, and enjoying the pagan feel of Yule. 

With the hearth fire blazing, the new wine from Vintages uncorked, and my family all gathered warm and visa and safe, it feels like the perfect day. 

Light the candles, bring in the greenery, and feast together, for,  "if Winter comes, can Spring be far behind." And since the answer to that in this northern country is "yes," then let us celebrate the gorgeous serenity of Winter. 

When December rolls around

The snow is falling and the fire burning brightly. The outside lights went up this past weekend, and we will put up the tree next weekend. The house smells of ginger and cinnamon, and the songs of Christmas are heard in a myriad of forms: piano, sax, song, and iTunes. The excitement is palpable.

For December is here, and amid the bustle of shopping and baking, wrapping and decorating, there is an overarching peacefulness. Best heard in the early mornings when the sun shines through frosted tree branches, sending glittery beams scattering across the kitchen; or at dusk, when the light turns pewter, and the world is hushed; or yet at night, when the world sleeps, the cats prowl, and the house sighs with satisfaction at a day well spent.

The run up to Christmas is best. Over the years we have learned to be easy on ourselves, to let the season unfold instead of rushing it. Living in the country, in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by trees and snow and sheep, and space, that is easy to do. And when December rolls around, I appreciate it most of all.

10 Minutes

I don't get around much to blogging these days. I think its's because, although theoretically I  have less work every day, the structure of it is different. I am out of the house at 8 am every morning, and often detour to pick the children up from after-school activities at 5 on my way back home. At work, I am happily, blissfully busy...certainly no need to "find" things to do as a Professor - there is a steady stream of students and meetings and marking and class prep that I stuff into my day with any extra brought home for a Saturday afternoon or the occasional evening. It's a balance I am still working on as I  try to avoid bringing work home every day.

When I was blogging regularly, it would be this time of day. Morning. With the children off on the bus, the light streaming through the kitchen window, and the fire (this time of year) cloaking the house in the kind of pleasant warm a radiator never can quite manage.

When I woke this morning, it was to a heavy headache and a shortness of breath that made me think I'm getting  a cold. Lovely! I did what any sane person would do....I hit snooze. Twice. Then turned the alarm off altogether. Once, that would have meant a race to get the kids ready at the last minute, but one major benefit of them being 13, 12 and 10 now is that they are organized, self motivated, and best of all make their own lunches. So at 7:55 when I finally crawled downstairs, they were ready to go.

The crisp air revived me and by the time we gathered the recycling and made the bus I was feeling human again. One of the benefits of my job is that my hours are flexible as long as I am in the classroom on schedule. I rarely take advantage of that, preferring to get my work done at work when I can. But this morning, I don't teach until 1030 and so here I am sipping coffee, and enjoying the clear air, the spectacular late November view out the window, and the luxury of having 10 minutes to blog.