Nice day for a bike ride

I'm squeezing every last opportunity to bike to work this year. I'm always delighted to make it past October, so getting to ride halfway through November is pretty awesome. It was above 0 degrees this morning - 8, 9 or maybe 10? I don't even remember, but it was mild so I couldn't resist.

I've been glancing out the office window all day monitoring conditions and watching the flag across the street flap around in the wind. The flapping has been getting more vigorous as the hours pass. I think I may have misjudged today.

As long as the rain holds back, I'll be ok. I just need 40 minutes and I'm home free.
Good luck to me...

Duh moment

I went 3 hours into the day before realizing that my top was on backwards. No
wonder it felt like it didn't fit properly. I honestly thought it shrunk a
little in the wash.

All the more reason to turn a few more lights on when I get dressed in the morning, duuuh..

Bitter sweet

As Lauren cries and howls over the colossal injustice of my insisting that she cannot wear her favourite  sweater tomorrow, for the third day in a row, because the cuffs are grubby and needs to be washed, Claire does her best to comfort her big sister: She pats Lauren's back, gives hugs and offers a fluffy blanket to dry her face.

These girls will reach a high pitched earsplitting screech when they're at odds, but watching them console each other is absolutely sweet.

I lub you

Claire said her first 3 word sentence yesterday!

C had Claire in his arms in a squeezy hug when she said it: "I lub you". It was so sweet and un-prompted, and so clear.

After the excitement of the milestone moment, I asked Claire if she loved me too, to which she answered, "Too".

Happy anniversary!

I was browsing facebook this morning and noticed a beautiful post from a friend acknowledging her wedding anniversary. Until that very moment, I had forgotten that C and I have a wedding anniversary today too. Oops!

Truth be told, I don't feel so badly about forgetting the date. Moments before reading the facebook post, I was  thinking about the weekend that C and I just had with the girls. We didn't pre plan anything, yet it turned out to be one of the most enjoyable weekends of the summer. The sun was shining,  and the temperature was perfect. We played in our backyard, went swimming, spent some time with  Grandma M, Auntie M and Uncle W. We got some back to school shopping done, played in the park and ended with a simple home BBQ dinner, just the four of us.

I've mentioned in an earlier post that C and I go back way beyond August 26, 2006. It was a fine day, don't get me wrong, but so much happened in our lives before, and has since. Wonderful and sad, funny and bizarre, we've experienced it all and created some great memories, and will continue to create many more.

We've made a family and a home. We are happy and we are healthy. We are so fortunate and for that I am grateful.

Here's to many more years of us!

The Elie & Booth Greatest Show on Earth

Every so often, and almost always at the dinner hour, the circus comes to my house.

By this time of the day hunger and fatigue set in quickly which heightens the thrill of the show. Lauren and Claire morph from their human selves into feisty lion cubs as they snarl and claw at my legs. Unlike many lion tamers before me, I won't put my head near their mouths.

C the juggler works fast with no less than 4 items on the go at a time. One hand flipping food in the frying pan while pouring glasses of milk. The other hand cutting veggies and tossing a salad all the while whipping plates onto the table. The legend goes that he grows a third arm for the act, but it's hard to tell because it's all a blur.

Once seated Claire morphs again, this time into elastibaby showing off her super flexibility with one leg swung up on the tray of her high chair. As a bonus feature and if the mood is right, she'll smear food on her toes before putting them in her mouth. The crowd goes wild every time.
 
In the other ring Lauren has become a nimble acrobat, balancing on her chair stretching across the table to reach the ketchup bottle.

Back to elastibaby who by this short time has already made her food disappear. She then pulls a Houdini by freeing herself from  her bib.

Lauren continues her act as by leaping from her chair to perform a pirouette or two. She then makes her way around the table to gives hugs and kisses to her adoring fans.

Come one, come all! There's always something spectacular to see and the show is guaranteed not to disappoint.

The not so funny giggles

I love it when my girls laugh. The sound brings joy to my heart. At 2 am, however... not so much.

At around half past midnight this morning Lauren woke up crying that her underwear was wet. Great. I quickly checked out the scene and concluded they were dry, but her sheets were damp. It was warm in the room so I suspect she just got really sweaty.

Claire was up at this point so I hauled both girls back to my room. Co-sleeping is the quickest way to get us all back to sleep. Usually.

C woke long enough to ask what was going on, and of course Lauren fell asleep again in seconds. Claire spent the next hour flip flopping around and I was wide awake with my nose centimetres from the wall. Sometimes 4 in a bed is too close for comfort.

Thinking she'd settle down if we snuggled together, I brought Claire back to the girls' room and tucked us both in to Lauren's bed, throwing a towel over the damp spots. By this time new clean sheets didn't really matter.

I lay as still as possible so Claire would get the hint and close her eyes. Fat chance. Instead she flopped around some more, perhaps in an attempt to get comfortable, but eventually gave it up to rummage through the dozen or so stuffed toys that Lauren has piled in her bed. No wonder she got so hot!

Moments later Claire started to giggle. Giggle! I opened my eyes just a sliver so she wouldn't notice that I was really awake, and saw that she was clutching Lauren's purple Monstaz, or Fuzzball as she calls it. This is a newish toy that she received from a friend for her birthday and currently holds the top spot of her favourite toys. According to Lauren's strict instructions, Claire is not allowed to touch Fuzzball for fear that she will chew it and make it all "yucky and wet". Fair enough.

So there we were, 2 in the morning, 4 hours from when the alarm was set to go off to start a brand new day. C and Lauren were in my bed enjoying sweet dreams, I was faking sleep in Lauren's sweaty bed and Claire was pleased as punch to finally be holding in her hands her sister's prized Fuzzball. Not such a funny situation for me, but to Claire, absolutely!

What am I?

A few months ago out of the blue Lauren asked, "What am I?"

"What do you mean?" I replied, as I wasn't sure what sort of answer she was expecting. Tall, short, hot, cold, Peter Pan, Cinderella, bunny rabbit, puppy dog. The answer could be anything depending on the circumstance or whatever game is being played.

"Well, Rachel* is Jewish, Max* is Ethiopian. What am I?"

"Oooh... right." I thought out  loud. I knew this question would come along one day and have yet to come up with a simple answer.

"Well, you were born in Canada like me and Daddy, so you're mostly Canadian. But... (then I took a deep breath) Grandma Mary is from Africa, Grandpa Philip was from England, Grandma Bernadette is from Haiti and Grandpa Fred was from Haiti and France, so you're from all over the world!"

I didn't even bother mentioning that Grandma Mary's mother was from Angola and her family was originally from Portugal. And Grandma Mary's paternal grandfather who was from England sailed to Bermuda and married a Bermudian and they both settled in Sierra Leone. And that Grandpa Philip had a wee bit o' Irish in him too.

What I got in return was a blank stare, followed by, "Oh." And then she went off to do something else somewhere else.

I'm not sure she processed anything at all of what I said. She's still working on sorting out that we live in Toronto, which is a city in Ontario, which is a province in Canada. Never mind having any concept of where in the world Haiti or England is.

I will never come up with a simple answer, but what I can do with Lauren is spend time looking at family photographs and maps and reading about all the different countries that our family tree has branched out to. Hopefully she will someday realize that what she is, is pretty lucky to have such a rich and diverse family history.



*Real people, but not their real names!

Now we are friends

I like being out and about with Lauren. She often has interesting encounters with the people we meet.

Last week we walked into the neighbourhood dollar store and were greeted by the woman behind the counter.

"Hello!" She said.

"Hello!" Lauren and I replied.

I was already off down the aisle looking for what I needed, but Lauren, who was trailing behind, got a follow up question.

"How are you?"

"I'm good... and you?" Lauren asked in return.

"I'm good, thank you."

A few moments later I had what I needed so we made our way back to the counter to pay for it. In that short time Lauren must have determined that the woman was friendly and receptive because she held up her cupped hands.

"Ooohh, what do you have there?" The woman asked.

"A snail I found!" There's a particular spot along our route home from school where snails like to gather on a rainy day. On this day Lauren picked one up to bring home.

"Wow, that's a nice one! I think I have a little bag that you can carry it in."

She then took Lauren's snail and put it in a tiny baggy. A grin from ear to ear grew on Lauren's face .

"What's your name?" Asked the woman.

"Lauren."

"I am Suraiya." She held out her hand for Lauren to shake. "Now we are friends."

Baby girl walking

Claire is walking!

She has been taking two and three steps at a time only every once in a while, for a few weeks now, but this weekend she was stepping further along and much more frequently.

The steps are slow and steady, but she's definitely gaining momentum.  

Miseria per dentem crepitus -or- misery caused by tooth explosion -or- teething sucks

Poor Claire. For the past week or so she has been experiencing what I call miseria per dentem crepitus,  or misery caused by tooth explosion. Yes, teething has been so bad I thought the experience deserved Latin recognition.

She handled the front teeth pretty well, but now the molars are pushing up (top and bottom) and there have been tears. Lots of them. And clinginess and not much sleep. The worst night so far was Friday. After hours of her flopping around restlessly in my bed I handed her over to C at 3am so I could get some sleep. What he was doing still awake, who knows, but apparently she stayed up and fussed with him for another two and a half hours before crashing finally. C caught up on his sleep after that.

We're trying a few different relief methods to ease the pain, but they only work for so long. Wait it out seems to be the only thing left to do. Hopefully the worst is over and the wait won't be much longer.

Never-ending laundry

There are three baskets of clean laundry on the floor of my bedroom. Sometimes there are two baskets, sometimes one.

We used to be on top of the chore of folding and putting stuff away, but we've been slipping. Now some stuff gets pulled from the basket onto the bed. Some folding happens, but mostly not, then hours later gets put back in the basket and onto the floor.

The priority these days is for the clothing to be clean. What happens to it afterwards and where it ends up isn't much of a concern anymore.

We'll get back on track again, one day.

Let the rivalry begin

I knew Lauren would have feelings of jealousy with a new sibling around, but it never occurred to me that Claire would feel jealous too, at least not for a few more years that is.

I noticed it first last weekend when I was playing with the girls in their bedroom. I was bouncing Lauren on my legs when Claire noticed and stopped what she was doing. She came to me and swung her leg around my waist and over Lauren's head, then wiggled her way between us and wrapped her arms around my neck.

Today while Claire was in her high chair eating dinner, Lauren came to me for hugs which prompted Claire to screamed in anger. Lauren walked away for a minute or so, came back for another hug and Claire screamed again.

Again after dinner Lauren got up on my lap while I was holding Claire. More screaming from Claire.

With development comes awareness, and Claire is becoming very aware that her Mummy has the nerve to spend precious time with the other kid in the house.

I'm not sure what to do about this except to let this phase run it's course. My dread, however, is that this phase will last for years.

Biking in the rain

It rained and poured and was windy and I got soaked.

That was the ride home today. I had a feeling there would be rain, but hoped it would clear by 4:15. Instead it cleared at around 5:15 when I was home again and peeling the wet clothes off and putting dry clothes on before hopping into the car to get Claire and Lauren from daycare.

The good thing about a challenging situation and coming out ok is that I know I can handle it next time. I did get wet, but I didn't melt!

On the road again

I rode my bike to work today after a two year hiatus. And it felt good!

Ok, it hasn’t quite been two years, but nearly. I’ve been itching to get out there again and I couldn’t take the wait any longer. The roads are clear, the temperature isn’t frigid, and there are tons of other cyclists on the road, so why not?

I’ve been meaning to do a road test for a few weeks now just to be sure the bike is road ready, but I haven’t gotten around to it. It did get a full tune up just before I stopped riding all that time ago so I figured it was fine and took a chance. Last night I pumped the tires and found my lock and helmet, this morning I dusted off the seat, and off I went! I gave myself a 50 minute lead for what is usually a 35 minute ride, just to ease myself back into routine and get my riding legs back. 8.92 km is a bit of a long haul at 7am after all.

Now as long as the rain stays away for the ride home, it will be a great first day back on the road again.

Putty in his hands

Lauren is begging for hairy putty. How much do I use and how does it work???

This is the text I received one morning earlier this week. I was already sitting at my desk at work as I usually am by the time C gets the girls ready for school and daycare, so he was really on his own for this one.

Hair styling is not his forte, but I give C an A+ for giving it his best effort every day. He shaves his own hair to the scalp every week like clockwork, which then requires zero maintenance, so he really has no frame of reference for how to deal with Lauren's wild locks.

For the most part he does a good job. It's no easy feat even for me. I condition Lauren's hair with a thick all natural product, but it doesn't always work to tame the frizz. And with the temperature rising and rain in the forecast this Spring, there's a whole lot of frizz going on. Last weekend I bought hair putty hoping it would help. So far so good, but it leaves the hair thick and stiff after a few days of use.

We'll see how it goes in the next little while before deciding if we need to try a different product.

Time to mist the mushrooms

I'm feeling a bit like the Dunkin Donuts guy these days. Every morning at the crack of dawn I'm up - not to bake, but to mist the mushrooms.

I received a mushroom making kit from my Secret Santa last Christmas and finally got into it recently. I was really excited because I've never tried to grow mushrooms before, and this kit promised a no muss no fuss project that would produce results, "In as little as 10 days!" Well, it has been 18 days so far, and so far no mushrooms.

I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong, but my suspicion is that I kept the kit in the dark for too long. The instructions indicated to keep it out of direct sunlight during the initial 12 hour soaking period, so I put it in the basement bathroom and left it there. There is a window in the bathroom but the light really is minimal. Maybe the mushroom fungus fell asleep? Or maybe it got too hot? The bathroom is right next to the furnace and it can get pretty cozy down there.

I moved the kit to the kitchen windowsill the other day so we'll see if that makes a difference. I'll give it another two weeks to see if anything happens before considering this project a fail.

Girls in tutus

Happiness is a group of young girls prancing around in tutus and leotards playing ballet freeze tag.

This was the scene during the last 5 minutes of Lauren's ballet class last Saturday morning.

When class was dismissed she ran to me with flushed cheeks and a huge grin on her face. Needless to say she's really enjoying herself.

Step by step

Claire is taking baby steps.

Three steps is the most we've seen so far, then she'll squat down on her bum and power crawl to wherever she needs to go. She had us fooled into thinking she would be into a full sprint by now, considering she's been free standing for months.

Oh well, no rush. The crawl and cruise method seems to suit her just fine, and she's efficient at it. Also, who needs to walk when there's always someone bigger around to scoop her up. Claire does seem to like to be on her feet though. When she's really happy and excited she'll stand up and clap her hands and screech in delight. When music is playing she'll stand and bob up and down and clap her hands and screech in delight.

She's a happy kid, just not in a hurry to walk anywhere.

A lesson on lectricons

This evening Lauren was trying to explain to C and I about "lectricons".

"Mom, dad, do you know about lectricons? They're very fast and they go from one place to the other."

She went on to demonstrate by scooting across the kitchen.

"Lectricons? You mean electrons?" I asked.

"Yeah, lectrons."

Then I thought, "Wow! What a great daycare progamme, the kids are learning some neat stuff these days."

"Do you know what they look like?" She asked.


Thinking back to grade 7 science class I began to answer, "Well, they're very small and-"

"Yeah, they're small and they're fast especially when they're running after gold."

"Gold?" I asked.

"Yeah, a pot of gold."

And the conversation suddenly became way less complicated than what I thought I was getting into.

"Ooooohhh!! You mean leprechauns!

"Yeah, lepritons... lectrons... lectricons..."

With a bit more practice she may have it sorted out by St. Patrick's Day.

March on

March isn't my favourite month.

There, I said it. Apologies to those who celebrate birthdays or other significant milestones this time of year. I've tried to like it, it is the month of Spring after all, but in this part of the country it's dreary and damp and dirty and just drags on.

By March I just want winter to be done with already. There are a few breakthrough days when the sun shines and the temperature rises, but it's almost always just a tease as the temperature dips and the sun goes into hiding again the next day.

So what do I do to keep my spirits up? I keep an eye out for the simple things. Yesterday I was walking in the drizzling rain to pick up Claire from daycare and heard a bird chirping. It made me smile because it was the first chirping I've heard in a very long while. Today I was strolling through Canadian Tire and was pleased to see the bikes and camping gear and gardening supplies out on display. Count on retail stores to be ahead of the calendar. There were a few shelves of snow boots and other miscellaneous winter gear, but they'll be gone soon ;)

Simple pleasure # 19 - bird song

The twitter of a bird at dusk on a dreary day in March.

Daylight savings

There already aren't enough hours in the day, and tonight we're going to lose one. Bugger...

Happens every year and every year I'm not quite ready for it. 

More Torono FUN

Time again to set the alarm for early morning dance registration at the local community centre this coming Saturday.

Tiny Tot Jazz back in the Fall was a great success and Lauren is ready for another class. She skipped the winter session because I figured getting into the swing of me going back to work and picking up from daycare would be enough of a juggle during the week. On cold winter weekdays we all just want to get home, and the weekends commitment free.

Spring is near and it's time to dance! This time around Lauren has requested ballet. Now that she's 5 she'll be with the 5-7 year group which will likely mean a class that's a little more focused. The Tiny Tot group was fun, but the 3 and some of the younger 4 year olds in the class tended to run amok.

Getting a spot in the class may be tough. Ballet is already a popular class and there are very few classes to choose from. The best available for us is Saturday morning at 10:15am which I'm sure is prime time for every other family as well.

Ah well, the best I can do is be in the ready with mouse and phone in hand.  Wish me luck!

Renos 2013

While I was tidying the girls room this morning I pulled Lauren's bed away from the wall to tuck in a bed sheet and noticed water condensation on the floor. I ran my hand along the wall and felt that it was cold.

Zut alors!

The cold wall is a known issue, as is the cold floor. The room is at the front of the house and level to the roof overhang that's above the front porch. Because there's no insulation in that part of the roof, there's no barrier from the cold. We knew we'd have to get to fixing this sooner or later, but hoping for the later. Now that I see water in the bedroom, I think we need to bump this project up on the priority list.

2012 was a no reno year. Claire kept us busy enough, and after spending a good chunk of money and living through dust and noise and paint fumes while upgrading the living and dining room in 2011, we needed the break.

C wasted no time and sent out a message to G, our favourite contractor to chat about availability and cost. A few hours later we were sitting around the table chatting about the what, when and how much.

In addition to the bedroom project, we talked about the backyard. The space has been pretty much unused for the last 5 years, and it's time to take it back. It's postage stamp size as far as backyards go, but it's ours. And how wonderful would it be to eat breakfast out there on a nice weekend morning,  and dinner on a warm night.

G mentioned that he would sooner get a space heater for the cold wall and spend the money on the backyard first. This is exactly the kind of advice I wanted to hear from someone who knows better about what projects to do first.

So, all being well with finances, we'll tackle the backyard just as soon as the ground thaws and the temperature begins to rise. Once we're into the summer months we'll look into getting the room done and hopefully finished by the fall.

Phew. 2013, here we come!

Feng Shui

I was sitting on my comfortable couch in the living room watching The Marilyn Denis Show today and learned that having a couch up against a window is bad feng shui. Something about energy being sucked out of the person sitting on said couch and floating away.

Zut alors!

Because guess where my couch is? Yes, in front of the living room window.

Unfortunately there really is no other place to put it. Options are limited in a 10'x10' area, and the only other wall that's big enough to accommodate the couch has the TV mounted to it. That would make for really awkward TV watching and a kink in the neck.

I wonder if I can counter the effect of my family and friends' energy flying away by adding other positive feng shui elements to the room, like plants, or bowl of fruit, or something.

Need to do some research on that...

Namaste

The signs are out there and calling to me.

Yesterday I found a postcard in the mailbox for the Mindful BodyWorks yoga studio. They opened up just last week and are located down the street. Literally a 2 minute walk from my front door.

I've been meaning to try yoga for a few years now. I did try one hour long class at the Y once about 12 or 13 years ago when a friend invited me along as a guest. It was waaaay harder than I thought it would be because I knew nothing about yoga, just that it involved stretching and meditation which I assumed would be easy. I was in a lot of pain the next day and haven't tried again since.

My attitude towards yoga has come a long way in those 12 or 13 years and I'm ready to give it another go. Cycling is great, as is the "exercise" I get from climbing the stairs in my house and lifting my children, but I'm looking for a more well rounded mind/body workout. I even bought C a yoga DVD for his birthday with the intention of borrowing it. Ok, so his birthday was in July and I haven't yet watched it, but I intend to really soon!

It's a brand new year, time to try new things right now.

Countdown to 1

I just noticed the date on the calendar and realized that Claire is eleven months old today, yay!

Where the time has gone, I have no idea. A neighbour with 3 kids once mentioned that time goes by even faster the more kids you have. Knowing that, C and I are pretty sure we're good with just the 2 we have. We've hit our speed limit!

I've been meaning to write down the things that Claire is interested in - scratch that - FASCINATED with these days. Here goes:

- The remote control for the TV. Always the one we use, not the remote that we don't use that we took the batteries out of for her to play with.

- My cell phone. Always the one that I use, not the one that I don't use that I took the batteries out of for her to play with.

- Car and house keys

- The refrigerator when it's open. She will come to it in a heartbeat like a cat to a freshly opened can of tuna. She has climbed inside twice already. For real.

- The dishwasher when it's open. She will come to it, grab the utensils, and toss them onto the ground.

- Lauren's toys, especially at the moment when Lauren is playing with them.

- The Mother's Day ornament that Lauren gave me last year. It's made from a CD disc with play jewels that dangle and hangs from one of the kitchen cabinets. Claire will reach for it and grab hold of the jewels each and every time she's within reach.

This evening Lauren caught Claire reaching under the lid of the toilet, I guess in an attempt to feel the water? Hopefully reaching for toilet water won't become one of her fascinations!

 

Dude, what's wrong with my car?

It's been over a week since the mechanic tinkered with Sally's idle, and the battery and handbrake lights are still blinking. Yesterday I started hearing a tinny clunking  sound whenever I applied the brakes, like a piece of metal from the underside had come loose and was flapping a round.

Family and friends suggest we sell, and we're starting to lean that way too.

In a last  ditch effort to find the cause of the original issue (and to see if we can keep the car running until we get around to selling), C and I have arranged to leave it in the garage parking lot tomorrow overnight. The mechanic will start it himself on Monday and see the lights in action. I'm curious to see if the battery is anywhere near dead by now.

Canadian idle

This good old fashioned Canadian winter we're having is taking a toll on Sally the Sentra. The latest tweak was to increase a low idle. Unfortunately it didn't fix the mystery of the battery and handbrake light.

The battery and handbrake light go on at start-up and stay on until about 5 minutes into the ride before going off. This began in mid November, but because the lights always went off, I ignored it. A month later I was 5 minutes from home in the middle of evening rush hour traffic with Claire in the back when suddenly all the lights on the dash started blinking on and off - ABS, airbag, handbrake, battery. I thought the car was going to stall right there on the street.

Zut alors!

I pulled away from the turn I was trying to make and drove down the street to the next available area to pull over. I turned the car off, got Claire out and walked the rest of the way to daycare. I didn't bother going back to the car and had C pick it up on his way home from work. Luckily C did manage to drive home, but when he turned off the motor and tried to restart got nothing. Dead Sally. Poor old girl.

The next day CAA came to the rescue to test the battery and got a good reading, but detected a problem with the alternator. A boost was enough for C to make a short drive to the garage. The garage tested a  good alternator but dead battery. Strange. Opposite conclusions. What to do?

Well, seeing as C was right there in the garage and Sally wouldn't start he kind of had to pay for a new battery. What a pain because the dead battery was bought from CAA a year ago and was still under warranty.

Zut alors!

So, new battery installed, the drive to the airport and back that afternoon to collect Grandma B was successful and without incident. The next day the battery and handbrake lights lit up.

Zut alors!

The lights persisted on every start-up for the next few days so I finally took Sally back to the garage myself to get some answers. Of course the lights went off before reaching the garage so T the mechanic saw nothing, except the handbrake light, "because the handbrake was on", he said. "I know, because I always put it on when I park the car" I replied, meanwhile thinking, 'D'uh..., I'm not that clueless.' "The lights go on at start-up, even when I pull the handbrake off. THAT'S the problem."

Fortunately T knew the issue as he installed the new battery the previous week. He explained how batteries and alternators work and offered to test both again for my peace of mind even though he knew they would test fine. The new battery was only 5 days old after all. He also gave me a card for free towing. This too was for my peace of mind because I kept asking "worst case scenario if I'm driving in traffic will the car just die on me??" questions. I also brought both girls with me to the garage so the stress on my face must have looked pretty severe, lol!

Of course the tests were fine, but T did detect a low idle and showed me how the voltage dipped every time an accessory was switched on like the wipers or radio or rear window heater. A low idle and constant dips can deplete a battery over time. Also the alternator isn't encased as it is with newer Sentras so heat from the exhaust system and cold extremes (Canadian, eh), could have an effect. Age is a factor too. Now in her 11th year,  Sally ain't no spring chicken.

So off we went with a tweaked idle for a drive across the city to visit Auntie B. 3 hours later when I started the car to come home, the lights went on again.

Zut alors!

They've been coming on again for the past 3 days. C and I decided it's pointless to go back to the garage. We'll ride it out, likely get a failed battery and no start-up at all one day in the next few weeks and take it back again. By then either the temperature will heat up significantly and the problem will go away, or we'll be shopping for a new car.

To be continued...

Oh Christmas tree

Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree, your branches green delight us.  

But I'm sure you're glad that we finally packed it in on Friday and called it a season. Time to make your way over to your next duty as compost and mulch.

I was feeling all jolly jolly at the beginning of December and put the tree up a week earlier than  usual - that being two weeks before Christmas. We always get a real tree so the tradition has been to wait until just a week before so it doesn't get so dried out and droopy by the time New Year rolls around. Anyway, the holiday spirit hit me hard this year so up it went. 

It crossed my mind only briefly that Claire would be all over it, but then pushed the thought aside because I remembered that Lauren really didn't bother with the tree much when she was 10 months. Turns out I made a bad assumption. For a full three weeks I was pulling Claire away from the tree non stop and hanging the ornaments higher and higher out of reach. One day Claire managed to get a good grip on a branch and just about tipped the tree over until I caught it mid fall. Yikes!

The city tree pick-up was Saturday so I was all too ready to get it outside by the curb. On the up side, it's kind of nice and refreshing to feel like you're done with the holidays and ready to move on with the new year. Not having to sweep up pine needles every hour is nice too!