The Big Update

So…it’s come to my attention that some of you (probably 5 check by my blog semi-regularly, and are really looking for a newsy, photo-full update about the goings on here in Milleyville. With that in mind, (and a bit more time on a long weekend) I sorted through the (few) photos taken in the last few months. The plan is to give a brief written precis of the happenings of a particular month, and follow it with a few photos, or gallery. Provided I can make the sustained effort over the next few days. (Photos were collected and sized this morning; it’s now 8:53 pm that I begin this).

January

Couldn’t resist starting off with some hilarious photos taken by our New Year’s overnight guests, while we weren’t looking. Quite the posers, as you will see below. Looking back at our calendar for January, which is the only way, apart from photos, that I seem to be able to remember what occurred, it was a busy month. There were several Milley birthdays, I began teaching the winter term of sewing, and Edmund and Agatha started ballet and “Sportball: Multisport” (which, if you’re Edmund, you must yell, all the words run together). And, in the last week of January, somewhat on a lark, I applied for a job in the development department at Agatha’s school.

Also, in this post, since I have been remiss in the photo department, you’ll notice different watermarks on some of the images, denoting the photographer. Like this one by Agatha, with her new camera:

February

For such a short month, February was hugely zany for us. I got the job at VCS (Vancouver Christian School), we hosted Wafflemania, I signed up for the Sun Run (largely due to the awesome team name my friend Smita came up with: “The Peoples Drug Runners”), I attended a fabu 40th birthday celebration (and dabbled in handbag construction for the first time), we bought seeds for our summer garden (nothing chases away the winter doldrums like dreaming of fresh fruit and veg in the sunshine), and Agatha sent away Flat Stanley to the Cariboo and to Greece (thx, parents and Dina!). Edmund also had fun with Arts Umbrella, reps from whom come to his class once a week. The piece below apparently took 45 minutes of sustained effort (those people must be magic!)

March

March was a rather ‘photo rich’ month, as Spring Break (mercifully!) filled up the last half of it. Before the holidays, it was as busy as ever: I designed a 6 page newsletter from scratch, Edmund attended a pre-kindergarten event, we ate dim sum (thanks, Steven and Rachel) for the first time (shocking! I know), Agatha celebrated with her class as they hatched salmon in a classroom tank, and Jaegen organized the acquisition of Keats Island Activities (mainly puzzles). He and Agatha are like puzzle-completing robots–heads down, arms telescoping in and out, finishing puzzles in disturbingly short amounts of time.
We spent the first week of the break at the cabin, and saw an amazing amount of spring wildlife, including: sea lions, orcas, cormorants, snow geese, mergansers, scoters, barrow’s goldeneye….(how do you tell we have a birder in our family???) Every day, it was a spectacular display, a la David Attenborough.

April…so far

So, it’s April. The seedlings in the house are getting ginormous (i’m pretty sure the pumpkin vines are about to wage a plant vs. machine battle against the computer monitor), I’ve been attempting flash photography for work (thx, emma, for the loan of a flash), the kids seem about 50 ft. taller, i ran the sun run, jaegen and i got to watch a canucks game while they were still good, and today, we have Agatha’s “dance presentation”. I’ve added in a few ‘work’ photos below, as well as some shots of a lovely new babe (congrats, Kocherinos). All in all, crazy, but good. i’ve started several posts since January, all about adjusting to working outside the home, how to slow down for vacations, how to fight the winter blahs, but have honestly been so busy, that it’s been impossible. i will say that i would like to take more photos in the coming months, as we spend more time outside, and i rediscover how much i love taking up close photos (as you’ll be able to tell from the easter tree pics, as well as the mini edmund gallery). in any case, i hope the spring is treating you well (keep taking those antihistamines!) and i will write again as soon as i am able. thanks, as ever, for your loyalty and patience. i can feel it, even through the intertoobz.

Question o’ the season: What is your favourite thing to do on a sunny, Spring day?

Uh…That’s not going to fit on a sampler; or, a list of the best advice i’ve been given

Some of the aforementioned advice has been non-advice. Take the wisdom my father imparted to Jaegen and I when Agatha was one week old: (i’ll paraphrase)

Don’t listen to any of us. I mean it. When we give you advice, we don’t remember what it was really like [having a baby]. Or, we think we do, but we have since re-written it, to suit our own ideas of how it should have been. You’ve got good instincts, listen to them, and you’ll know what to do. Or you won’t, cause none of us did either.

awesomes. and decidedly true. it was very helpful at a time when we were bombarded with fears and opinions. i hope i will resist the urge to tell my children what to do for their children, should they ever have any.

Best piece of marital advice? It came from Barb Phillips, who has come to be my “Extra Mom”, or, my “Third Mom”, since I am blessed not only with a fantastic biological one, but also with the best of mothers-in-law. She said to my friends and I, not long after I got married:

Be loyal to your husband. don’t say anything about him when he’s out of the room, that you wouldn’t say when he’s in it.

those are some powerful, good words. i have to say that i have been so profoundly affected by them, that i’ve even given the same advice on a couple of occasions.

Speaking of that lovely mother-in-law, she gave me the most useful ideas about labour and childbirth, avoiding the cliches entirely:

Just think of it [labour] like you would a big athletic endeavour, like swimming across a lake. You never think to yourself, “I’ve got to swim all the way across.” No, you think, “I’m just going to take it one stroke at a time, and pace myself.”

Clearly, that analogy would not work for everyone, but it really aided me in my journey across that particularly choppy body of water.

Most often, I think, advice zips by us–in one ear and out the other. clearly, that can be good: some advice sucks, or is ill-timed, or ill-meant, or tells us less about life, than it does about the giver’s own fears. but, now and then, a nugget of honest to goodness wisdom just drops into our lives, and is comforting, or practically useful, or revealing, and, very occasionally, fundamentally life changing. And, for me at least, it is deeply reassuring to think that words can still perform some profoundly good work in the universe.

A Supremely Obvious Question O’ the Day: What’s the best/silliest/most helpful advice you’ve been given? Who gave it?

Cheers!

Here’s to new beginnings, since this time of year will always be more of a new year to me than the actual New Year’s. Have to say, I love/hate how the first week of school always kicks my ass. It’s always exciting and full of energy, AND more exhausting than i ever anticipate. Here are some new starts that I got to be a part of this week:

We kicked it off with a wedding last Sunday: Steven and Rachel’s. They arrived by helicopter to the top of Grouse Mountain, and shared their vows whilst we overlooked the expanse of Vancouver spread out on the valley floor below:



(sorry for the hideous pixilation; they’re from my phone camera)

We had our first ‘Fall’ dinner chez Milley, with a lovely ham and scalloped potatoes and all those other good comfort foods.

Agatha and Edmund both recommenced school. A relatively easy day, since both are returning to familiar places and people. Agatha, in particular, was thrilled to be back. Apparently the highlight of Day 1 was the realization that she “only ha[d] to wait until tomorrow to go again!” May she always feel thus about school.

I began in earnest to think about the next chapter in my life, since it is only a year until Edmund goes to school full time. I realize that that might seem a bit over the top, since it is an entire year away, but i am nothing if not a long range planner. (I have already planned the knitted items for Christmas presents for teachers, and, in fact, almost purchased the wool today. ’nuff said.) As for those distant plans, I’m not sure. Many possible paths are open, which feels like a lovely blessing, rather than a stress (at this point!). I’ll keep you posted.

I did my first real stint as an event volunteer at Agatha’s school. The “Back To School” luau went swimmingly last night, thanks to the tireless efforts of the development coordinator. I was in charge (surprise surprise) of decoration, and did my share of setting up and schmoozing at the ticket table. (sidenote: it’s weird when events like that remind me that, yes, it’s true, i am a so-called “grownup”, responsible for introducing myself and my spouse, making conversation, and generally being social. weird.)
the kids likewise had a successful evening:

The week quite nicely ended on a similar note to where it began: Agatha has been invited, along with her entire class, to be flower girls and groom’s attendants at her new (fabulous) teacher’s wedding.

So, cheers again, to all those beginning new and exciting adventures!

Question o’ the day: what’s your latest adventure (big or small)?

How I’m Feeling

won’t fit into a status update, and, since this blog is ever my narcissistic loudspeaker to the world, i here share my thoughts with you on this breezy, autumnal (noooo!!!!!) August eve.

just got back from a walk through the neighbourhood, my usual ‘circuit’ that i do, only this time, edmund (and his trusty run bike) accompanied me. it is truly a glorious evening–the sky softening to a pale eggshell blue, “little breezes dusk and shiver”, and the last rays of the sun mellow from golden to copper as they slip off the waving cornstalks and slide out of our garden. it seems, on nights like this, to be a world of blessing and abundance: the waiting harvest, the still green leaves, people and dogs ambling through the sunshine. i know that this plentiful goodness is context specific; we can all think of those who are not feeling or experiencing such loveliness. yet, just for tonight, it seems enough to hold it all in my open hands (thanks, bobbi, for that image) and be truly grateful.

may this image and feeling sustain me in the bleakness of winter, in the darkness of sad days. may it hold on to me, as i hold on to it. may you be likewise blessed by goodness, and may it abide with you.

My Life in a Short List, To Be Performed like a Beckett Play

take deep breath. exhale. take deep breath.
let all the following words run together in nearly-unintelligible fashion.

1kitchengarden
2dressorders
3cupsofcoffeeeverymorning
4daysofschoolthisweek
5attemptsatblogposting
6yearoldwonderment
7daysofsunshinewishedfor
8waystoavoidhousework
9atnightandstillcatchingup
10ideasican’tquiteelucidate

and (voice rising, then falling)scene.

question o’ the day: what play/book/movie does your life most resemble right now?

so i said i would write, right?

and yet, here i am, weeks apres my last post, trying to herd my muddled thoughts into some kind of comprehensible form. it’s not that i haven’t tried writing; i have—i’m going to cut myself off right there. apologizing all the fricking time is getting me nowhere. so, here are some of my musings from the last little while. such as they are.

Stealing a self-diagnosis from one of my friend Nicole’s 7-yr old clients, “I’m a bit cha-cha-cha,” ie, all over the place. if i were i cat, i’d be chasing shadows on walls. i jump from thing to thing–knitting, cooking, cleaning, yard work, reading–never really accomplishing anything. and, sadly, this outward aimlessness is certainly indicative of an inward restlessness as well. i think it’s like i’ve been genetically programmed to be on the move. this time of year, in particular, as the weather gets warmer, i just want to be outside, or on the road, or on an airplane. going somewhere, almost anywhere, having ‘adventures’, whatever the heck that means.

right now, for instance, i am sitting in the glorious sunshine at the computer, typing these random curiosities, instead of mowing the lawn, as i should be. and maybe that’s it. it’s the “should be”‘s and “have to’s” that are messing with me. i’m a lover of routines, generally, but maybe by this time in the school year, i’m about ready to cast off the domestic grind, get my hippie groove on, and embark on a ridiculous road trip. (maybe that’s why i’m pining for the new VW van Or, as I like to put it, “The hippie doesn’t fall far from the van.”

Other things: I’ve been messing about making cards:

and, i made a couple of smock-type dresses i was reasonably pleased with:

All in all, life is pretty topsy turvy. too much in my brain, and not enough time. right now, (and by right now, i mean the evening *after* i started the first part of this post (!)) i want to: 1) ride the bike on the trainer 2) paint on a canvas 3) work on the sweaters (!) i’m knitting 4) sew 5) make the bin of clean laundry a neat, folded pile 6) read my bookclub book 7) eat some s’more pie for dessert…um…so, yeah, i can’t quite make it all come out even…and that’s a friday night. not a monday morning. next time, i might be a bit more focused. maybe. probably not.

Question ‘o’ the Day: What road trip do you consider the best you’ve ever taken? the worst? the most surprising?

30-day trial

WARNING: THIS IS ONE OF THOSE ANGSTY, REFLECTIVE POSTS, SO IF YOU’RE NOT ENAMOURED OF THIS PART OF MY BLOG PERSONA, READ NO FURTHER.

that said, i have been thinking about facebook and twitter recently. actually, i’ve been thinking about facebook since i left, almost 2 (!) yrs. ago. i am considering a return to the Dark Side, but have, as yet, not made up my mind.

On the pros side, facebook allows me to connect with friends and fam whom i never get to see. i can find out what they’re up to, and send my good wishes, without a ton of effort on either side. on the down side, i have a somewhat addictive personality, which is why i gave it up in the first place. having a computer around basically 24/7 makes it difficult to resist checking in on all my ‘friends’ often. too often.

as for twitter, i do like the idea of micro-blogging, since twitter makes it easier for people to read my musings, and to reply. sometimes regular blogging feels a bit like shouting into a room where the lights have just been switched off. i can hear other people breathing and muttering, but few people call out so i can identify them. i’m just like that, too; i read other people’s blogs, but don’t comment all that often. in this way, it seems like twitter could be a win-win. BUT, will twitter kill my ability to write anything above 140 characters? will i stop blogging? will i become a twitter junkie, a sort of self-obsessed proclaimer of all things banal, addicted to the rush of people paying attention to my every verbalized thought? this last objection is the reason i’ve been holding out on the whole twitter phenomenon. i’m not accusing anyone of this, by the way, just subjecting myself to a bit of critical self-examination.

lastly, and perhaps most importantly, staying out of the facebook/twitter loop is making me feel, well, (and laugh out loud if you wish) OLD. maybe it’s that my birthday is just around the corner, or that summer always fills me with this bittersweet longing to be 21 forever, with all my possible destinies still ahead of me. i do realize, however, how essentialized and unrealistic that version of my youth is, and most of the time i’m able to shake off the nostalgia. but as i think through all these issues about connection, relationship, being ‘wired’, the omnipresence of the interwebs, i can’t help feeling like i’m shaking an upraised and impotent fist at an unfeeling sky. is there any point in decrying our absolute societal obsession with the internet? with broadcasting our personal lives? with being able to access EVERYTHING from EVERYWHERE at ANY TIME? i wonder.

and, as if to illustrate the wonderful and crazy world i’ve just been describing, the shoes i ordered online at 7 pm monday night were just delivered, and i’m now posting a picture of them.

House of Virus, catching up, and a Maternity Manifesto

i’ll be writing this for as long as the kids play happily in playroom and den, so i may conclude rather abruptly. consider yourselves duly forewarned. I did, however, think it was time for a post, though i am rather loathe to catalogue the happenings of the last week, since there have been few highlights. In the main, we are sick with the flu, not the stomach flu, thankfully, but the fevery, mewling cough, stuffy, achy flu. jaegen succumbed first, and spent the end of last week shuffling from upstairs to down and back again, muttering in fevered sleep, and generally overcome by malaise. the kids and i have it now, and we are sort of coping, with no trips (yet) to emerg, thankfully.
There were a couple of bright spots, however. We were privileged to be a part of the Rigolo’s ConfirmationCelebration 2009, and we had an extended visit with dr. (dr.) miranda, who braved the house of illness to visit with us before jetting off to Thailand (lucky girl). if we’d been more well, this would be where i would insert photos of these happy events. instead you’ll have to imagine the laughter and subdued good times.
on another note, i have been composing a list of things that i want to declare to the world, since i have, of late, felt mildly (and sometimes, acutely) misunderstood. the beginning goes something like this:

I, Jennifer will

1. cease to apologize for having an untidy house, thereby implying that i think that cleanliness is a virtue of some kind, or that i secretly judge others for the states of their respective abodes.

2. proclaim that the things that i do, including, but not restricted to: cooking, baking, sewing, knitting, crafting, and hosting i do because I WANT TO DO THEM, and not because they are TRADITIONAL DOMESTIC PURSUITS that befit a mother. seriously. this means, therefore, that i do not hold in lower esteem any other woman/mother who does not like/pursue these same activities.

3. stop comparing myself, as much as possible, to my peers. nuff said.

4. try to accept that, though, motherhood most often FEELS like I am failing at a number of smallish tasks simultaneously, it doesn’t mean i am A FAILURE.

i’m still thinking on this topic, and therefore may subject you soon to more of these rather pompous pronouncements. i will attempt, however, to make them more pithy and witty.

Question o’ the day:
If you were to declare something to the world today, what would you declare? (like a facebook status, or a promise, or a clarification….) in capital letters, please

As promised

I am here posting some photos. It’s going to be a big post, so prepare yourselves, and be patient with your browser.

Up first, some soccer moments captured by a proud and bemused father:

Our lovely Garden Park, home of Soccer Mania. And last but not least, the most important tradition:
The Halftime Orange. Must confess, due to a complete ignorance of team sportage, I had no idea what this was, until I was recently enlightened. I still have no idea as to the origins of the ritual–refueling, team-building, a defense against scurvy….?

Next in the docket, some pics (does anyone else loathe that shortened word as i do?) from our visit to Aurora’s abode. Still loving the manual focus on the portrait lens:
oh, the bette davis eyes on that one…

who doesn’t love trying on the guests’ shoes?

Still more to come.  Friday was Agatha’s first Sports Day, and from what I observed, it looked like a giant FunFest for all involved.  Here she is in one of the relays:

And here, skipping to the Final Tally of Points:

Not done yet.  Here is a final one for THIS post, stay tuned for another whole post about the long weekend:

The First of Several (hopefully)

this was one of the several things that happened last week. i’m getting to posting about the rest, i swear, so stay tuned…