There is a hint of Spring in the air. Or at least that's what I like to think when the sun shines for a change. It has been such a cold, grey week here on the Coast. Kirk is out in the garden pulling weeds and I just saw him with the old fashioned push mower cutting a patch of grass under the picnic table. I am staying inside where it is warm, with my feet resting on the heater. The sun might be out but it is deceiving. I think the temperature is about 8 degrees with a cold wind.
Harper had another successful week at pre-school. This week Kirk was able to drop him off and I'm happy to report that Harper was equally unphased when his dad left the building. He did come home with a scratch on his face from a collision with another little girl. Apparently she said sorry and all was right with the world. Next Wednesday is Valentines Day at the school and we are making cards to give to each of the kids. Let the crafting begin!
We had a few days in Vancouver with Tom and Shawne this week. Our mission in Vancouver was to collect Bing Bing from the airport and deliver her to the Coast. Bing Bing, whose real name is Estralisa, is the Phillipino caregiver that Muriel has sponsored. She used to work here until her Visa ran out. Then she had to go home and re-apply. Now she will work a little bit for Muriel and also for an agency that supplies home help for ill and debilitated people. Bing Bing is quite lovely. Harper took to her immediately. She speaks English as well as any Canadian and we are looking forward to hearing all about her home and family in the Phillipines. She has grown children working all over the world . I think she will have some interesting stories to tell and hopefully some traditional recipes for us to sample. On the way home from Vancouver there was a large group of kids from Uganda travelling on the ferry. They were the Watoto Childrens Choir and they were on a world tour. This was there first trip out of Uganda. The children in the choir are mostly orphans whose age range was from about 7 to young adult. They were all so lovely but the true pleasure of having them on the ferry was when they sang for us. The room was silent. I had tears in my eyes. You've never heard anything so beautiful. They must be performing on the coast. I'll have to get the paper to find out. Hopefully we will be able to see them sing again.
http://www.watoto.com/index.php
Kirk made bread last night and it was deeeeeelicious. As you can see there isn't much of it left. We gave up making bread because it always came out dense, like a balance ball. Our friends gave us a new recipe and it works well. This could be the beginning of fresh home made bread. (Bread machine at least) Speaking of baking, I tried the cookie recipe from my last post. There is a reason I don't bake. I think I cooked them to long as they were a bit hard. Harper said they tasted good. At least he enjoyed them. I don't think I'm going to take up baking anytime soon.
I had my first pilates lesson this morning. It's not the tradional mat pilates. We work with machines and the goal is to use the correct skeletal positioning so that your strength comes from your entire core and not just you abdominal core. It is more remedial than exercise. I went to the class with a sore lower back thinking I wouldn't be able to do anything today but by the end of the session I could to stand without pain for the first time since I hurt my back in December while in Australia. When I stood up after the work out, Sunjata asked me how I felt. I said I felt tall. She explained that the work we had been doing was decompressing the spine and elongating it into a more natural state. It feels amazing. I am looking forward to having a pain free body with the help of Sunjata, my amazing instructor.
I am making progress on Erin's quilt. Here is a sneak preview. It's really bold and colourful. I just hope she likes it.
A 130 pound cougar was shot and killed on a popular hiking trail in Gibsons last week. The article in the paper suggested that in the presence of a cougar always be aggressive. Gee thanks. Apparently bears are making an early appearance due to the warmer weather. Great. No wonder I don't want to go outside.
I think I'm going to make some more bread while Harper is asleep. Kirk has his lawn aerating shoes on as is pacing around the backyard. Why are men so obsessed with having the perfect lawn. I quite like the moss.
With one week to go before the Olympic closing ceremony I have to admit that I don't have Olympic fever. It's more like an Olypmic sniffle. I seem to be missing that 'Sport Gene' and I just not that into it. Not that I'm completely imuned to the excitement. Last week we ventured into Vancouver to soak up the atmosphere downtown. Streets were closed and there were people wandering around draped in the flags of their country, waving flags and chanting. It was really exciting. We didn't make it into any of the pavillions because of the long line ups but the electricity in the streets was enough to get anyone excited about the Olympics. Even Harper, (although I think the highlight of his day was riding on the bus). As you can see he found it all a bit to much. 
