Homeward Bound

 Driving home from the Blue Jays baseball game.

Oldest grandson Callum has passed his driving test so he was behind the wheel, with his dad riding shotgun.  A new experience to drive in Toronto traffic at night. I was in the back seat, keeping an eye on things. Always good policy to have a competent back seat driver!

Coffee Mug

Last November my oldest grandson's Atom ice hockey team (ages 9 and 10 up to Dec 31) Schomberg Red Wings won their local tournament which was quite a welcome surprise as they really hadn't won many games all season.

However, this was a huge victory for them, and the team now qualified for entry into another tournament that was to be held in January 2019.

This was the International Silver Stick 2018-2019 Tournament Finals held in the Niagara Region. There were over 100 ice hockey teams competing in 13 different arena locations, from all over Canada and some teams from the US.
The team played 4 games, won 2 and lost 2, so they were pretty happy with the results!

Before the hockey games kicked off, there was some social time scheduled, and  time was allotted for pin trading, so of course, if you swap team pins, you have to have somewhere to pin them.  I made each member of the team a pin banner to hang on the bedroom wall. They loved them and the banners were soon covered with souvenir pins.

And as an unexpected thank you from the team, I received this delightful coffee mug..... pictures of the team, all 17 of them, displaying their pin collections on the banners. What a great souvenir.... I'll be enjoying my morning coffee and cheering the team on at the same time! Go Red Wings!

Dirt Bike

What could be more fun for a nine year old boy than your very own dirt bike? And he lives on two acres of grass and trees, so there's plenty of room to ride it off-road without getting into too much trouble. But first, it's necessary to learn the rules of the trails and how to handle the bike safely, so off he went to Honda Junior Red Riders dirt bike school for some training and hands on experience.

 Junior Red Riders is a learning experience for ages 6 to 12. A day at dirt bike school teaches the fundamentals and the importance of safety gear, how to ride safely off-road and why it is important to respect the riding environment and conditions.

Safety gear is essential. The kids learn basic riding skills, acceleration, braking, balance, starting, stopping, some maintenance and some trouble shooting. He's hot and sweaty after a morning of instruction. And it looks like he had lots of fun.

Stuff Sorted

I've been a really bad blogger recently, no excuses, I know. January and February weather does that to me. It has been a surprisingly mild winter, with not even one huge blogworthy snowstorm. And I haven't been to Florida, or Arizona, or anywhere hot to get away from Old Man Winter. But tonight the clocks "Spring Forward", the evenings will be longer and signs of Spring will start to appear. Hooray!

Stuff Sorted over the past few weeks:

1. YoungerSon, my techie genius, helped me change my internet provider to one that gives me 6 times more download room than I had before, and for a much lesser price. And he also set up getting rid of my expensive phone land line and connecting an internet phone. So far it's worked perfectly...... fingers crossed.
2. Finished making a multicolour baby/toddler quilt for a baby expected on May 1. No, not my family, but very dear friends are becoming grandparents for the first time. So exciting.
   
3. While I was in the sewing mood, I cut multicolour strips of leftover cotton quilting fabric, and started making another toddler quilt. Stay tuned for pictures.
4. Set up a weekly "Dinner Date" with the grandies who live just down the road from me. The 3 of them are always together, so they take it in turns once a week to come to Nana's house for dinner after school. It's good to have some one-on-one time with each of them, and they can't wait until it is their turn. Last week it was Isaac (6). Dinner was sausage, egg, chips (that's French Fries to the non-Brits) and Heinz baked beans (has to be the one with the green label) and ketchup.... mmmm gourmet dining.
5. Our Art Group has been asked to display paintings at the Town Offices.... there are about 30 paintings exhibited until March 31. The moo-cows are mine.
   
   
   
6. Grandie Callum celebrated being 8 years old by inviting 14 6 to 8 year olds to Laser Lounge for 2 games of laser tag. It was mayhem!  Warriors are divided into a red team and a green team, outfitted with vests with flashing lights in the appropriate colour, and given laser guns, and the battle is on! The battle ground is filled with smoke so the laser rays can be seen, and parents can watch through the window.... looked like so much fun creeping around shooting people that next time I want to play too. The kids ended up red faced and sweaty, but still had enough energy to consume 8 large pizzas and birthday cake in the shape of a Star Wars robot. 
7. Birthday parties weren't anything like that when I was 8.

Letter to Santa Claus

The very best letter that Santa Claus received this whole Christmas season.  

Four Towheads

What's a towhead?  According to the Oxford Dictionary; a head of tow-coloured or very blond hair, or a person with such hair.

What does tow-coloured mean? Once flax, jute or hemp fibres have been retted (soaked) and prepared for spinning into textiles or ropes, the fibres are very light in colour and are known as tow. The noun “tow” used in the fiber sense came into English in the 14th century. The word may be related to the Old Norse noun tó, which meant “uncleansed wool or flax, unworked fibre of thread.” 

Any towheads in your family?

It's a Hard Knock Life!

Callum has been taking jazz and musical theatre courses at his local Dance Academy, and today was the annual end of year Dance Recital. This year he was in two numbers.... this is the second one, It's a Hard Knock Life, from Oliver! He's the little tyke with the flat cap. Mum and Dad and Grandma and Nana (that's me) were there to watch the performance. The show opens on Broadway next week!

My Favourite Hockey Player

All he needs is his helmet, face mask and gloves.....

..... his skates, a hockey stick and some ice!

Wild Kratts Live!

If there are no children between 4 and 8 in your family circle, you probably have never heard of Wild Kratts, but let me tell you, Wild Kratts is Isaac's absolutely definitely most very favourite TV show.

So when I saw that the Wild Kratts Live! show was coming to the nearby theatre, I knew we had to go. I bought the tickets last May and kept them in a safe place till last weekend.

Conservationist brothers Martin and Chris Kratt created their TV show to educate children about the world's creatures and the dangers they face, using elements of zoology, biology and ecology, and combining science education with fun and adventure. The show is introduced by the Kratts themselves, and features a specific animal and it's habitat, and then, with a mighty "What if?" they are transformed into their cartoon alter egos, and the adventure begins.

Callum (6) and Isaac (5) knew they were going to see Wild Kratts, but had no idea that Martin and Chris were actually real people and were going to appear on the stage. Callum, being a cool six-and-three-quarters year old man-about-town, took it all in his stride, but I'll never forget the look of wonder on Isaac's face when his heroes appeared. "I love these guys!" he shouted.

Martin Kratt always wears blue, and Chris wears green. "My favourite colour is blue!" shouted Isaac.

The Kratt brothers can summon up magical properties when they are wearing their special creature power vests, especially when it means saving a wild creature from hunters with evil intentions.

Some refreshment at half-time. A lot of shouting and jumping up and down can build up a thirst.

Lots of audience participation, lots of excitement. I thought they were both going to leap over the balcony railing at one point in the show.

Thanks for a good show, Martin and Chris, you made their day!

Farmer Christmas

Yes, that's right.... not Father Christmas, but Farmer Christmas!

Every year on the first Saturday in December the little country town of Schomberg, Ontario, closes off Main Street, charges everyone $5.00 (kids are free!) to pass the barriers, and holds it's annual Christmas Festival. 

There are jugglers, fire eaters, magicians, singers, and rock bands. Blazing fire barrels to stand next to, in order to keep warm on a frosty night. 

Food stalls, firemen offering free hot chocolate from the back of the fire truck, a craft show and sale, carol singers, a parade for the children in the afternoon, and when it gets dark, the main event that everyone is waiting for...... the Enormous Farm Equipment Christmas Parade!

The local farmers, and there are a lot of them, decorate their farm equipment with thousands, maybe millions, of lights. The bigger the farming machinery, the better!

This tractor and hay wagon had revolving reflectors installed under the equipment making fantastic coloured patterns on the road.

This one had lights that went round with the huge wheels. I have to wonder how they do that, without the wires getting all tangled up. Must be Christmas magic, I think.

Here's a short video of a couple of the floats.... the maniacal screaming is my grandson Callum. Sorry if he hurts your ears. He was very excited!

Finally the Great Man himself arrives riding on an enormous John Deere combine harvester. 

We'll definitely be going again next year..... the best Santa Claus Parade EVER!!!!

Too Much Lego?

The Lego Army..... and this is just a small part of it!

There's never a problem deciding what to get Callum for his birthday! 

Attack of the Towheads!

Grace Lake Retreat

It's a three hour drive away from home, but such a nice change to drive north to cottage country. The countryside changes from gently rolling hills and fertile farmland to the Canadian Shield.... rocks, trees, lakes, and more trees and more lakes and even more rocks.
OlderSon and The Equestrienne and Callum (and large hairy dog Badger) rented the cottage at Grace Lake Retreat for a week's getaway, and were kind enough to ask me to join them for a few days.

The cottage sleeps 8 and has everything needed for a week's vacation. All conveniences: fridge, stove, microwave, coffee maker, TV, DVD player, X-Box.... you name it, it's there. Plus kayaks, a canoe, a fishing boat, comfy Muskoka chairs, a BBQ on the deck.....

Just remember to bring the bug spray. There are lots of trees sheltering hungry mosquitoes who like to come out in the evening to hunt for unsuspecting vacationers.

The orange kayaks got lots of use out on the lake, as well as the blue canoe. There was a big rainstorm the day before I arrived, and the lake water level was about 12 inches higher than normal. Normally there is a small sandy beach in front of the steps. A lot of cottage driveways were completely washed out.

The motor boat was used for fishing, but they didn't catch anything. The lake at this point drops off to about 60 feet deep. The water was cold to get in .... I'm such a coward.... but once in all the way, lovely! And sitting out on the dock after dark watching for shooting stars was a new experience for us all, especially Callum.

A great place to take sunscreen, sunhat, a good book and just watch the world go by on the lake.
Thank you to OlderSon and The Equestrienne for inviting me. I loved it!

A Fishy Story

We planned a Family Excursion to the new Ripley's Aquarium in downtown Toronto. I bought tickets on line a couple of weeks before we went, saving a long line up at the ticket booth, not something we wanted to experience with excited children.  It's not a very big building, but there's lots to see and do. The Canadian Waters Gallery features 17 exhibits totaling over 665,000 litres. And that's just the first gallery, there are 7 more!

A giant American lobster. Surf and Turf, anyone? He was enormous!

The Rainbow Reef featured colourful fish with imaginative names; Picasso Triggerfish, Humbug Dascyllus, Emperor Angelfish, Pajama Cardinalfish, Unicorn Surgeonfish.

Callum and Isaac tried swimming with the fish. No, not really, they crawled up a tube into the middle of the tank.

Halfway through the aquarium there's a children's play area and a snack bar. We took our lunch with us, so we ate on the benches next to the kids area, giving us all a break! The aquarium has only been open since late 2013 so it's a very popular place and quite busy. More pictures in a day or two.....

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

OK, so that's a corny blog title, it's all I could think of!

Toronto Blue Jays vs. Kansas City Royals at the Rogers Centre.... formerly known as Skydome in Toronto. What a great way to spend a sunny Sunday afternoon. Callum stayed with me overnight on Saturday, then we went downtown on the GO bus on Sunday morning, and met up with his dad outside the stadium. His mummy couldn't join us as she was busy moving her galloping steed to a new stable.

Luckily we had seats that were in the shade, as it can get pretty hot sitting in the sun for 3 hours. I don't know a lot about baseball stats but I love going to the games. The two chaps in full Blue Jays regalia sitting next to me talked sports for the whole game. I was listening in and learned quite a bit!

It was Blue Jays Cowboy Hat Giveaway Day. The first 20,000 people into the ball park got a cowboy hat (made in China, of course). We were a bit late getting to the park, but surprisingly there were still hats being given away. Last week was Blue Jay Jersey Giveaway Day. Next week it's Jose Reyes Bobblehead Day!

 Here's OlderSon and Callum giving me the Encarnation parrot-on-the-elbow salute.


I planned to do some sketching at the game, but Callum hijacked the sketch pad. This is Encarnation hitting his home run. He definitely looks pleased with himself.

Blue Jays won the game 4-0, as you can see on the scoreboard. Finally I go to a winning game! The last 2 games I was at, the Jays lost. Exciting home runs by Navarro and Encarnation. Winning pitcher was Mark Buehrle. Jays are currently on top of the A.L East with 34 wins and 24 losses.... keep it up, boys.

Go Jays Go!

SuperHeroes

The sewing machine came into use at Christmas. I made all three of my grandsons Superman capes for Christmas. Black with a yellow felt Superman logo.
Callum wears his to his skating lessons.
Emma got a special cape.... red with a pink felt Princess Crown on it. Max loves dashing through the house wearing the Princess cape more than his own, so Emma has to wear the Superman.
And the capes are reversible.... red on the other side with their initial and a lightning bolt. The big boys seem to like the red side best.

SuperCallum and SuperIsaac taking a break from their exhausting SuperHero activities.

Something Very Fishy Going On Here

A few days before Christmas we made our annual family pilgrimage to downtown Toronto to see the Pantomime. Not such a large family group this year. Callum was the only child in attendance, as Isaac couldn't be there, and the twins are still too little.
The annual Christmas Pantomime is a time honoured tradition in Britain, usually vaguely following the theme of a nursery story or nursery rhyme. Christmas just wouldn't be Christmas without a visit to the Panto.

This year's offering was "The Little Mermaid - Ontario's O-FISH-AL Family Musical"..... definitely not the sweet Walt Disney version but something far more fun. Lots of audience participation, booing the baddies, cheering the goodies, shouting warnings... "Behind you! Behind you!" No need to keep the kids quiet in this production.

Ross Petty took the form of the evil fish monster Ogopogo who lives at the bottom of Lake Ontario... and he certainly makes a very believable bad guy. He was almost BOOOOed off the stage and he loved every minute. Ogopogo wanted to develop a Marineland Casino and nightclub featuring all the mermaids, and was eventually defeated by Panto regular Dame Plumbum von Botox, the mer-maiden aunt of the Little Mermaid herself, and the underwater residents of the lake, including Shelly the Shrimp, Carl the Clownfish and Sponge-Bill-Triangle-Pants.

Lots of slapstick belly laughs for the kids, lots of slightly off-colour references to keep the adults laughing. Lots of dancing, singing, colourful costumes, talented comedy.
Will we go again? "Holy Carp!" You bet we will, I can hardly wait till next year!

Quilted Cover for Ipad Mini

A special request from grandson Callum to make a cover for his Ipad Mini so the screen doesn't get all scratched up.

So here it is.

Sorry, Blogger won't let me rotate the photo.

If you're feeling ambitious and want to make one of your own, I adapted the pattern from here and here.

Pizza Party!

It was a Pizza Party to remember! Callum invited his cousins and his kindergarten friends to celebrate turning FIVE! When you're five, you're big enough to learn to cook, so his mum and dad booked a pizza party in the party room at the local Superstore and the birthday boy and his guests learned how to make pizza.
First you wash your hands, write your name on your chef's hat, and put on your apron.
Then you are ready to start. Squish the dough so it's nice and round and flat (don't drop it on the floor, well, not all of it!).

And then you take a spoonful of tomato sauce and spread it on the dough (remember not to lick the spoon, the next person has to use it too!). Take a chopping board and a cutter, and choose the toppings for your pizza.... Callum chose pepperoni and cheese but there were many more choices..... chop it up and put it on your pizza.
It doesn't matter if you put your sleeve in it.... does it, Mom?
While the pizza is in the oven it's time to make a cookie for dessert.

 A ball of cookie dough flattens out nicely, make lots of  holes with your finger and pop a chocolate chip in each hole. Finish it off with a handful of pink sugar.... bet this is going to taste awesome!
The cookie goes into the oven as soon as the pizza is done.... and then it's time to eat!

 No birthday party is complete without a birthday cake. This one had five candles and Callum blew them all out in one big puff. He's been saying he's been feeling as though he is five for a long time....

.... so now he really is five! Next thing you know, he'll be wanting to be six!
Happy Birthday, Callum!

Train Talk

Santa delivered a train table to Isaac's house for Christmas.

Callum (who loves to tell everyone what to do and how to play with toys): Don't forget when you are driving a train you have a daily duty to load and unload the train, it's your daily duty. Everyone has a daily duty!
Isaac (who doesn't want to be told what to do by his cousin): Sorry, today is my day off!