Evelyn Recites "How Tinkerbell Got Her Name"

Evelyn participated in her school's Talent Show recently. She decided to tell a story. She has been listening to a Tinkerbell audiobook each night for about a month, and had most of it memorized, so she decided to recite the first part of that story. She was not afraid of speaking to an audience at all and did such a great job. When she could not remember what came next, rather than say "um, ah..." she just paused. I don't know much about public speaking, but I'm pretty sure that she managed her lapse in memory perfectly.

Dad Life (Father's Day Opening 2010)

Happy Father's Day!

Capernwray Harbour Ladies Conference June 3-5 2011

I had the chance to get away for a weekend to Thetis Island (off of Chemanius). During the weekend, I was blessed with the opportunity to get to know 3 new women. L-R: Danielle, Ronya, (Ruth) and Rachel.

 I also got to spend lots of time chatting with Bettina, Ruth and Alanna.

The best part of the weekend was the food. Amazing, beautiful meals, and the best part: not prepared by me! Coming in as a close second, the singing and music was so inspiring. It was simple and heart felt. I loved to pause and listen to the voices of about 150 women raised in praise of our Father. Third best thing, the weather! It was perfect! Fourth best thing, would be the relaxed pace and atmosphere of relationship building over activities. Coming in a close fifth (the spread between 1st and 5th is very small) was the speaker Hilary Price. She talked about the Psalms. The best part of her talk (for me) was when she literally took Psalm 23 (The Lord is my shepherd....)  and went through it from the view of a sheep. The photos and historical info related to shepherding brought so much depth to the metaphor of the Psalm.

 This photo was taken by Bettina. I love how she got the oyster shells in the foreground.










A pile of harvested oysters. This stretch of beach is leased by a seafood company. They seed old oyster shells with the larva of new oysters then dump them on this beach. They leave them to develop until they are mature, then collect them for processing. I learned that these are a Japanese oyster than grows much faster than the local oyster (more profitable). I also learned a easy way to classify beach animals. ABCD'S:
A: Attachers. Oysters, mussels, barnacles and anenomies  fit in this category.
B: Burrowers. Clams, gooey-ducks, and other creatures that dig themselves under the sand fit in this category.
C: Crawlers. Crabs are an obvious creature, but starfish also fit in this category.
D: Drifters. Jellyfish are one example.
S: Swimmers. Fish and mammals like otters would fit in this category.

A visit from Cousin Tyson (and Auntie Dawne)

Ryan's sister and her son came up for a visit. Tyson is getting close to the year-old mark now. It is fun to see the kids start to be able to play with him. Next year, he'll be even more able to play! He's furniture surfing and has just figured out how to stand without holding on to anything. I think he is teething right now, he spent a lot of time chewing his fingers.

Luxton Fair with Nana, and Evelyn makes her lunch

Ryan's Mom took the kids for a night and they went to the luxton fair. From what I have heard, Ethan loved the thrill rides, Evelyn...not so much... But, they both had a lot of fun!







 Evelyn has been making her own sandwiches and then assembling her own lunches this year. She makes the sandwiches on Sunday Evening. Tuna is her favorite. "Mmmmm Tuna!" She will exclaim each time she makes it. She can open the can of tuna, and mix the ingredients, then spread it all out. She's working on cutting the sandwiches.

More garden pics from the end of May

The kids have enjoyed making up games to play in the garden. They have a club 'house' that they plan to build in a small patch near the back. So far, construction is still in the planning and gathering stage...

 I built a clothes drying rack under our deck. It's on pulleys so I can raise and lower it to a good working height, then lift it all the way up when I'm not using it. I can fit around 5 loads of laundry on the rack. I am getting addicted to the smell of line dried clothes! As an added bonus, when it drizzles or if I have to leave the clothes out overnight, the deck keeps them mostly dry!




Okay, I see this plant cropping up in many areas, sometimes it seems to be there intentionally, other times I'm pretty sure it shouldn't be there. IS THIS A WEED? Anyone know what it is?














I like this Rhodo because of the mixed colours. The Purple and Yellow feel like confetti. It's very festive! 

 











 



 


 










 







 


 

 

Midieval Cakes for FunFair

 A Kings crown made with sugar cookies cut out in crown-ish shapes and decorated with mini m&m's and skittles.

 A shield in the Coal Tyee School Colours and cougar mascott symbol. Accented with skittles and silver edible beads.

My favorite cake - the dragon! 2 cut up 9" circle cakes with chocolate covered graham crackers for spikes, Fruit Roll-up wings and flames, marshmallow and choc chip eyes and cut up Fuzzy Peach candies for claws.

These were all made for the cake walk at the schools Fun Fair.

Surprises in the back yard

Surprises come in all shapes, sizes, and smells. Some are welcome, others ... not so much. Some are good, others bad.

Here are a few surprises I've had lately.

This tree near our deck surprised me with it's amazing smell. Heady, vanilla-honey perfume that I feel I could breathe for hours. 

This trillium (Left) surprised me hiding in a nook in the garden. I've been told recently that this flower is protected on the East Coast and you can be fined for picking it.

The blooms on the tree (right) have been an anticipated surprise. They are lovely. 

 This exotic flower surprised me right outside the front door. It's part of a plant with large tropical looking leaves, and I didn't think it flowered.

 This patch of flowers surprises me with how pretty the pink, yellow and purple looks together. The tulips open and close with the heat of the day.

 There is just one of these purple flowers and a white companion. I was surprised by the almost snakelike pattern on the petals. They're subtle and lovely.

 This gorgeous tulip was hiding under a small Rhodo bush. As walked by it, I couldn't help but exclaim "Well, Hello!" This flower is now in my living room, and I love it!

 First time I've had an opportunity to see a poppy up close. WOW! (Is it a poppy?)

 Then, there's the other sort of surprise....

This critter was hanging out on our patio door yesterday. Full sun, no cover nearby. He is not a timid creature. I have never seen a spider like this, and, with the bright red abdomen, I was afraid it could be poisonous. So, after taking some photos, I started googling. I am pretty sure it's a jumping spider, NOT poisonous, and actually not aggressive at all. I posted this photo to Facebook and got some responses from others who have seen them on Vancouver Island too. 

He is probably about 2-3 cm long and very hefty. 

The closest photo I could find on google named the spider as a MALE "redbacked jumping spider (Phidippus johnsoni) is one of the largest and most commonly encountered jumping spiders of western North America. It is not to be confused with the unrelated and highly venomous redback spider (Latrodectus hasselti). When threatened, the redbacked jumping spider can inflict a quite painful bite in self defense, but with no serious medical consequences." Females have a black stripe down the middle of the red abdomen.

Regardless, it's not a spider I look forward to seeing again!