a peek inside the fishbowl

[Please note, this post represents my own personal views and not those of the Westboro Community Association, of which I am a member.]

A few of you who’ve been reading this blog for awhile may remember the stink I made over a little convent in my immediate neighbourhood. This was in 2007 and the convent was called Maison de Jeanne D’Arc. 

It was built in the 1930s, designed by the Mother Superior of the order at a time when women weren’t designing buildings very much at all. (In fact, I think there were only 5 registered female architects in Canada in the 30s).

The population of nuns who lived there were slowly dwindling so they sold it to Barry Hobin, a local architect, who said the building was ugly and not worth saving. He was all set to plow it under - along with all the green space attached to it - and replace it with 21 homes.

At the time I’d never been the kind of person who got involved in anything, but this really bothered me. I liked my neighbourhood. I liked this building too. I liked what it added to my neighborhood. I pay property taxes and mow my lawn. I was invested here, both financially and emotionally and could not fathom why a developer can come in here and do what he wants.

So I started knocking on doors. A lot of doors, up and down the streets. I accosted strangers. I helped organize meetings and got a few other people involved. I met with our Councillor. I stood up in front of various councils and committees and read, with a shaky voice (and palms that were practically pruny from sweat), from carefully prepared notes. It became all I could talk about at the dinner table and at the schoolyard. (I’m sure people learned to scatter when they saw me approaching with a clipboard.)

This kind of thing did not, and does not, come naturally to me. I had to force myself to do it because the need was too great. And you know what? The main part of the building was given heritage status, and it’s still standing (albeit with monster homes all around it, but STILL).

So here we are, 4 years later. And it’s happening again … but with a different convent.

Ashcroft Homes plans to built a commercial and residential project on a site formerly owned by Les Soeurs de la Visitation. The site, including a Gothic Revival structure built in 1864 that the nuns used as their convent, fronts Richmond Road and backs onto Byron Avenue, just off Island Park Drive. The nuns had occupied the land since 1913, but sold the property to Ashcroft in 2009.

There was another public meeting about it last night. Those who were there were upset, which was understandable given what they’ve seen so far. In a nutshell, this whole situation is a fiasco that has been spinning out of control since the for sale sign went up.  

So when I see Robert Sibley from the Ottawa Citizen describing what I’m doing as FRETTING it makes me a little upset. This is what he wrote about the meeting last night:

“They fretted about overloading traffic along Richmond Road with hundreds more vehicles belonging to those who purchased the 620 residential units included in the project. They objected to allowing an exit from the site through Byron Linear Tramway Park to Byron Avenue, saying it would “diminish the park.” They also questioned how dedicated Ashcroft would be to maintaining the heritage legacy of the convent.”

You can read the whole article here.

The fact is, this is a massive development, surrounded by other massive developments. This one will have 620 units and will add an estimated 900 vehicles to the immediate area. Traffic impacts will be far reaching. Think of how hard it is to navigate anywhere near Island Park and the Champlain bridge right now.

This is not fretting. FRETTING is what you do when you pull your new sweatshirt out of the wash and it’s all pilly. FRETTING is what you do when your dog walks over your clean bedsheets with muddy paws. FRETTING is when someone at the grocery store runs into your ankles. I am way past fretting. I think a lot of us are.

FRETTING?

Ashcroft is not taking into account what this will mean for our community. But I can’t blame Ashcroft entirely. Many developers don’t bother following zoning bylaws… because city planners don’t enforce them. I’m not sure why. There is a Community Design Plan for this area, so why are developers allowed to build outside the guidelines?

Sibley managed to make us sound like a whackadoo bunch of naysaying NIMBYs.

I find myself wondering - again - why is there such a lack of respect for our built heritage. I might as well cut and paste text right out of my old convent posts. It’s properties like this one that provide the connecting fabric that links us together. Bulldozing and over-building a site that is so rare and rich in character like this one would do nothing but permanently erase part of our neighborhood character for short-term financial gain. And it’s not worth it. 

I’m not against infill. I want SMART infill. Where is the thoughtful design? The preservation of our collective history? Why are we not able to do something truly inspiring for this site?

As someone pointed out at last night’s meeting, we are at a tipping point here folks. Let’s not let Ashcroft and the City of Ottawa squander an opportunity to create something truly amazing in our community just for the sake of turning a buck.

So. What can we do? Well, plenty.

If my experience with the FIRST convent taught me anything, is that emails count. As individuals we often feel powerless. What can little ol’ me do about a giant like Ashcroft? And the City?  I will tell you. Make a stink. If you don’t like it, say so. Tell your friends and neighbours to say so too. Every single email and phone call counts. It really really does. 

Contact any of these people:

• Larry O’Brien, Mayor: Larry.OBrien@ottawa.ca
• Nancy Schepers, Deputy City Manager: Nancy.Schepers@ottawa.ca
• John Moser, General Manager, Planning & Growth Management: John.Moser@ottawa.ca
• John Smit, Manager Development Review(Urban): John.Smit@ottawa.ca
• Doug James, Planner: Doug.James@ottawa.ca
• Caitlin Salter-MacDonald, Planning Committee Contact: Caitlin.Salter-MacDonald@ottawa.ca

This issue is not exclusive to the west side. It’s happening everywhere. Find your city councillor and drop them a line too.

Things you could write about if you choose to do so (if I haven’t said it already):

- Heritage is important. What can we do to keep it alive?
- Express your opinions about traffic and density and the lack of green space in this community
- the need to repurpose the actual convent in a heritage-sensitive way so the whole community can benefit
- the chopping up of Byron Tramway Park
- zoning and height restrictions

I would love love love it if you wrote to your councillor (and mine, Christine Leadman) to express your views and left a copy of your email in the comments below.

If you’re really keen. Show up where councillors will see you. The project will be going before city council’s planning committee on Sept. 28. I can give more info about this meeting as I hear more about it.

As some of you know I’ve spent the summer slogging away using an interval training app on my iPhone called C25K (which stands for Couch to 5K). I haven’t written much about it here, other than this post, but I wanted to write an update because I’m into my eighth week and frankly, I’m so amazed that I’m here that I wanted to share it with someone.

I’m still calling it slogging (FINOLA!) because honestly, I’m still so slow it’s embarrassing. I see REAL runners leaping along sidewalks like cheetahs on the savanna, a symphony of limbs and muscle. I’m the geriatric/injured/lame zebra with the jiggly rear end. The one that you KNOW is going to fall prey to some larger animal, or drop dead next to the waterhole, whichever comes first.

There is no grace in me whatsoever, let’s just make that clear. :)

My initial goal was to be able to jog for 12 minutes. This hearkens back to trauma caused by Canada Fitness, a government-sanctioned annual phys ed challenge which happened during my elementary school days. One event was the so-called Endurance Run, 12 minutes of running circles around the goalposts on the soccer field. I could never do it. But now I can! I’m up to 25 minutes of “running” - which I am pretty happy about.

I am still wearing my crappy old highschool gym shorts but am happy to report that I’m slowly looking the part. I finally got a new pair of running shoes. I picked them up at Bushtukah on Richmond Road. The fellow there was really helpful and I’m glad I went, even though he made me JOG in the middle of the store. Gack.

I also bought a pair of $12.00 super socks. I never thought I’d see the day.

In my first post about slogging I wrote about immediate weight loss. And there was some, initially, but I’ve gained it back. (I like to think that it’s muscle, but I can’t really tell, although I am fairly certain THIS zebra is moderately less jiggly than before.)

Things I’ve learned thus far:

• Running in the heat is a bad idea for someone with breathing issues. I tried to do Day 1 of Week 8 last night, my first 28 minute slog (up from 25). I had 6:30 to go and my body just stopped. Stopped. I was hurting in ways I knew wasn’t very good. I had to give myself permission to fail this time. It was hard, and I was disappointed in myself. But as I was lying in bed - feeling utterly destroyed - Emma reminded me that I can “try again next time.” (Where have I heard that before??)
• If I’m really hurting, and I stop, leaning forward with my hands on my knees is just going to make me feel like I’m going to throw up.
• If I’m really hurting, and I stop to sit down at the side of the curb, sweat will suddenly pour out of me (TMI?), therefore sounding the BUFFET ALARM for all local mosquitoes. I swear, they follow me.
• Dancing along while slogging in the heat (especially when the assigned interval has an extra 3 minutes tacked on the end) is a big mistake. Energy conservation is a must, even if the music is good. Same goes for jumping up to swat overhanging branches.

DON’T DO IT ANDREA. YOU WILL PAY.

The body is a funny thing, isn’t it? I am not at the point of the elusive “runner’s high” but my body and my mind go through peaks and valleys while I’m out. The first two minutes are hard but the middle part is easier … a soothing rhythm that takes over if you can push through those two minutes. The last two minutes are really hard too, usually the longest two minutes of my life. The seconds go

by.

like.

this.

tick.

tick.

slow.

I never thought I’d hear myself say this, but I itch to go out now. And this coming from the person who always hated to run. It feels good. Surprise!

I am really liking the C25K program. Interval training really works (mostly because it’s gratifying to get better at something, even though it is in tiny tiny increments) and it keeps me going. For those who want to try it, know that it doesn’t have to apply to running. You can power walk it too, alternating slow and fast.

I feel like I’m on my way to something good here. Question is, what should I do in the winter?

Last week’s tip was:

Prepare supper together, there’s a job for everyone.

I know I’ve written about this before, and it’s true. Establishing good eating habits happens at home when the kids are small. Kids watch their parents like hawks. They will learn our good habits, and zero in on our bad ones. This is why I don’t drink juice straight out of the container, for example. If they see me do it it’s sending a message that it’s ok. And it’s really not ok. :)

It’s good to get kids in the kitchen, even if they are just setting the table and washing the lettuce. I just wish we had a bigger kitchen so they could *really* get in there.

Last night we made calzones. The girls helped with the making of the dough. We used this recipe for the dough and made two fillings for the calzones. One was pepperoni and pineapple (GUESS WHO WAS EATING THAT ONE) and the other was a terrific spinach and ricotta. The calzones turned out ok. The dough was a little too thick and crispy. Although they tasted great they weren’t exactly easy to eat. Are most calzones deep fried?

Anyway, here’s the recipe I used for the spinach filling. I’m keeping this recipe in case I ever want to make ravioli with it, because I bet it’s good eaten that way.

8 oz ricotta cheese
1 egg
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 1/2 cups grated mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
most of an 8 oz bag of fresh spinach
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

• If you’re using this recipe for calzones, make the dough earlier in the day. (Or buy some frozen bread/pizza dough and thaw it out.)
• Steam the spinach for about 3 minutes until wilted. Chop with kitchen scissors and squeeze out as much water as you can.
• Mix together the cheeses, seasonings, egg and the spinach in a big bowl.
• Divide the dough into 4 pieces and roll each one into an 8″ circle. Spoon filling onto half of the circle. Fold over and seal the edges. The end product will look like the letter D.

Anyway, my spinach filling was awesome, but the baked dough wasn’t easy to eat. In fact, we had trouble with our knives and forks it was so crispy. (Suggestions are welcome!)

I’m not sure what iIm going to do for KMDM this coming week. In fact, I’m going to skip KMDM in the lead up to back-to-school week because the next KMDM activity is going to be a doozy. I’m asking for your collective support and dare I say, participation.

Mark and I have declared that the first week of school is going to be entirely sugar-free.

Yes indeed it is.

Call me crazy, but September 8 - 15 is sugar-free week here at Casa Fishbowl.

Will you join us? I double-dog dare you.

My definition of sugar-free means (a) no sweet drinks or treats (b) no adding sugar to anything and (c) banning foods with sugar added to it. i.e. Kraft Peanut Butter, ketchup, raisin bread etc. for the week. I will be reading labels religiously and avoiding anything with any sugar in it…  including sugars that end in “-ose” like fructose, glucose, etc. As well as corn syrup.

I sense lots of popcorn and vegetables in my future.

The idea comes from a blog post I read long ago in which the author, a mom, did pretty much the same thing…  but her banishment was even greater and it was for a longer term. Her family ditched all processed foods. The result: a total transformation in her young kids. They were happier. Better behaved. And if I am remembering correctly they may have even slept better. This always stuck with me. What is it about processed food that could make our little people (a.k.a canaries in a coalmine) *behave* differently? What if what we ingest affects us in ways we don’t really understand?

Whenever I’m at the grocery store I remember Michael Pollan’s advice about what kind of food to eat. It boils down to this simple rule: Eat food your grandmother would recognize. I think he’s right. So I’m sticking to it.

Anyway, yes, sugar free! I expect a few days of raging headaches. The kids are hating me a little bit right now*, but that’s the price I’m willing to pay to make my point about how much sugar we eat every day, even when we don’t know we’re eating it.

*and because this is going to be such a big deal I am giving up sugar in my morning coffee. Gah.

So who’s in? Or will I be alone this time around? :)

Hot. Hungry. Tired. (that would be US) vs. Fresh. Colourful. Tasty.

Sarah is happily munching a locally-grown mini-cucumber as I type. I hear crunching, alternating with the tinkling of ice in the bottom of her glass of lemonade.

“THE CUCUMBER IS SO GOOD MUM.”

I know this is true. I myself sliced one in half horizontally, sprinkled it with sea salt, and ate it over the kitchen sink.

Emma used her own allowance to buy a bouquet of colourful carrots. I kid ye not.

Also: LOCAL GARLIC. Dear People. You think you know garlic? You don’t know garlic unless you’ve had it FRESH. The stuff that arrives on that slow boat from China is like comparing fresh pineapple to the stuff in a can. Seriously.

It was a pretty good day. A pretty full day. We went to see the IMAX Hubble documentary (two thumbs up from all of us!) and ended up taking a stroll around the place. There is a lot to see.

Not long ago I found myself in a place that gave me a bird’s eye view of a large group of elementary-age kids and their respective lunches. One child ate nothing but a cup of pre-packaged electric blue Jell-O. I’m not sure what else was in that kid’s lunch bag, but that is all that was eaten.

I understand that some parents don’t have time to make lunch in the mornings. To them I respectfully suggest doing some pre-prep the night before, getting up earlier, and enlisting your kids to help make lunch if they’re old enough. There must be more to lunch than Jell-O.

If your kid isn’t eating his or her lunch, pack less food, not more. Pack food they like. Do not pack dessert. They will eat if they are hungry. (It’s TRUE!)

Steer clear of food products that are brightly coloured. Food dye is crap. Read this piece about food colouring. Consider that what you’re serving your kids could be affecting their health, growth, and also their behaviour and manifest itself as tantrums etc.

Don’t cave to grocery store begging. Parents: you CAN say no.

Some parents like to put dessert-type items in their kid’s lunches. I know this is true because the grocery stores have pulled out the huge displays of lunch-sized versions of candy and chocolate bars, just in time for school to start. I think there’s a deeper psychological reason behind why parents put candy in their kid’s lunches. Don’t beat me up for this, but I think we do it because we want our kids to love us.  We want them to look into their lunch bags and think WOW - my mom LOVES ME. She packed me a [insert whatever treat you want here] …  I LOVE MY MOM SO MUCH.

We do it because we feel bad (read: guilty) that we’re not baking cookies and cupcakes so we shove some candy in there and hope for the best.

Don’t do it. You don’t need to do it. Many of our kids (mine included) are probably getting enough sweets outside of lunch hour. Don’t give in to the idea that there needs to be a sweet finish to every meal. Toss in a piece of fresh fruit instead. It takes just as little time to throw an orange into the lunch bag as it does a candy bar.

We want our kids to eat what we packed them. Right? So the best thing to do is go with simple foods you know your kids will like.

Need ideas? Some of my favourite things to pack include:

• Grapes and/or orange slices. They always get eaten.
• Homemade hummus with pita and veggies
• Cucumber sushi made with leftover rice
• Celery with cream cheese
• For a sweet treat: grab and apple, slice it up, and sprinkle it with a bit of sugar and cinnamon.
• “Build your own sandwich”: good bread, slices of cheese and cold meat all packaged in small containers. Can be eaten together in sandwich format or separately… doesn’t matter, it all ends up in the same place! (Hopefully that’s the stomach.)
• Frozen bagels (they defrost by lunchtime) and cream cheese and/or jam

This ALMOST makes me excited about making lunches again! Heh.
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This post is part of Scattered Mom’s lunch revolution. Couldn’t come at a better time if you ask me. :)

If you’re anything like me, this is the time of year you start salivating at the thought of school supplies.

I love school supplies. I truly do. 

When I was in school it was my favourite time of the year. Something about clean ruled paper, new binders, pencils and pencil cases just made me giddy. And you know what? It still makes me feel giddy. I remember asking (and receiving) a pencil sharpener for my birthday one year. THAT is how much I like paper goods and school supplies.

Brand new school supplies hold so much promise, don’t they? There is so much potential to be unleashed in all those papers and pens.

Hilroy approached me awhile back and asked me if I’d like a box of Hilroy products. How could I say no? Hilroy is as Canadian as beaver tails. Seeing their logo on all those excercise books just makes my heart pitter patter.

And they are graciously offering to send a duplicate box to one lucky (Canadian) winner.

Here’s where it gets tricky. The winner will be getting the same box I did. My box is here beside me but the girls have already pillaged its contents so I don’t know exactly what was in it. :) I can tell you (a) it’s about $70 worth of Hilroy product, and (b) that I’m an office supply snob and it’s pretty nice and (c) it WILL MAKE YOU FEEL GIDDY AGAIN.

Sarah claimed the 1 1/2″ colour-your-own binder as soon as she saw it. I would have loved this at her age. (Heck, I doodled on my binders no matter what was on them. This is license to doodle!) The front and back is like a colouring book. Check it:

Hilroy Zwipes stuff is pretty cool too. Zwipes are also doodle-friendly. It’s like someone took a white board and made school supplies out of them. You use a special pen (it’s supplied) to draw your picture, your to-do list, or the initials of your latest crush … and when it’s time to change it (like when you realized the boy you thought was really nice turned out to be a total jerk) you just use the other side of the pen to erase it.

I know there’s a Zwipes binder and pencil case in this box too. Emma had a Zwipes binder last year and really liked it.

There’ll be a number of recycled products in there too … which I think is pretty cool. There’s a sweet blue/yellow binder made out of 100% recycled chipboard. And pencil cases are made out of 50% recycled PET materials. (Correct me if I’m wrong but I think that’s old pop bottles and food containers, right?) Here’s a pink version.

I would link directly to items within their site but the way their site is set up I can’t link to individual products. (Hilroy - I would be happy to give you some advice on site design and usability! Call me.)

Anyway, yes, SCHOOL SUPPLIES. Who wants ‘em?

What you need to know:

1) You need to have a Canadian mailing address to qualify.
2) You need to (a) leave a comment below and (b) subscribe to my Extra Helping. There’ll be giveaways over there too in the near future!
3) I will do a random draw using Random.org at noon on August 31, 2010. Please make sure you leave a valid email address. You can’t win if I can’t reach you.
4) Hilroy will ship the goods right to your doorstep. The winner will need to give me their addy.

Over to you!

I’ve been travelling for work as well as with the family, and KMDM has had to take a back seat for a couple of weeks.

I think we’ve been doing okay in terms of being mindful of our habits, but I will say that the healthy eating part of things took a bit of a nosedive during our camping holiday. But you know what? I’m ok with that. I think it’s worth addressing here as part of KMDM, because I have been thinking a lot about foods and the wisdom of Total Denial. I’d like to hear your thoughts about this.

Read the rest of this entry »

I finally uploaded a few pics from the BlogHer 10 conference I attended in NYC. As I was uploading them I realized it looked like I didn’t attend any sessions, or really even talk to anyone while I was there. This is not true. :) Most other BlogHer pics are about the people and the parties but this one is all about the architecture. But that’s just me.

You can view the set here.

“Mum, you are so pretty.”
“Thank you honey…”
“You’re even pretty with your bushy hair. You look like Nature Woman!”
“…”

I think I might get the words “Nature Woman” printed on a t-shirt. Also, this little exchange should give you a good indication why I do not appear in a single one of the photos I’m posting online for you to view. :)

-

This year we opted to return to Charleston Lake. I think this was our fourth time on this site. This place is ideal for young families, so if you’re thinking of trying out car camping and you live in this part of Ontario I highly recommend it. It has some pretty sites and it’s near the water for easy swimming, fishing and canoeing. As a bonus there is a great children’s program and there are some lovely little hikes, the water is potable and the facilities are clean.  

The place is manna for the eyeballs. It’s near Gananoque, and if you’re familiar with that area at all you’ll know that it’s woodsy and watery and there’s lots of sky.

In a phrase: superpretty.

We had a great time, as we always do. See?

1. first dip, 2. Sarah at the beach, 3. clay, 4. a popular pastime, 5. Sarah, 6. Emma, 7. sarah’s catch, 8. the “big” beach, 9. Huge dragonfly, 10. Banana Boats, 11. toasty feet, 12. Sparklers!, 13. Baby garter snake, 14. exploring, 15. the small beach, 16. wee frog

In our experience the campsites within the sphere of Ontario Parks can be really good or really terrible, well, let rephrase that. There are a lot of sites I’d rate as medium-good, but the ones that are bad are really bad and the ones that are great are fantastic. We have a site we return to, which, for us, is a good distance away from major roads, garbage drop-offs and outhouses, but close enough to the beach and the comfort station to make it manageable. (In fact I counted the number of steps to the comfort station a.k.a flush toilets and hot water. The magic number? 228. This meant I learned very early on to stop drinking beer at 8:30 p.m.)

It was fine place to be except for one incident we had near the end of our stay. There was something of a family reunion happening over 3 or 4 sites across the road from us. It was a big group, around 30 people, and they were fairly noisy in the late hours (but never past 11, which I could live with). On our last night we were coming back from the beach when we realized they’d set up a HUGE screen and projector and were all gathered around watching a show. This was around dinner time. The show eventually turned into a movie, the name of which we were able to determine by the distinctive music: Indiana Jones. By 10:30 we were sick and tired of the movie soundtrack drowning out the cheery crackle of our campfire and the chorus of peepers and crickets in the forest.

I acknowledge that camping means different things to different people. For some people it means a canoe, some dried food and a week in the back woods of Canada, for others it’s a fully-loaded RV with all the comforts of home. For some it’s about hot dogs and marshmallows and for others it’s about roasted peppers and artisanal cheeses, but I draw the line at pulling out the projector and subjecting half the campground with blaring entertainment.

Rant over.

ANYWAY, the weather was pretty good. We had one solid rainstorm on our first full day there, but it landed squarely in the few hours between lunch and dinner. I had a nap, everyone else read, and I was happy that we managed to get in three hot meals. Otherwise it was very pleasant for outdoor living; not too hot, not too cold.

The bugs were bad-ish, but not in the usual way. We are used to dealing with hoards of mosquitoes in July but were wholly unprepared for everything else. There actually weren’t too many mosquitoes, but the ones that were there were particularly savage. I don’t think it was my imagination. The five or six who make their living on our campsite all managed to find my ankles and gorge themselves. So. Itchy. I alternated calamine socks with something we later discovered … the astonishingly calming effects of a layer of Charleston Lake Clay. The girls coated our legs as a joke and it turned out to be a soothing remedy for our bites. That stuff should be bottled and sold! No joke.

Other bugs:

1) Wasps.
There were plenty of those. This is the time of year they are out in full force, lookin’ for sweet stuff. They sniff out food and swarm dinner plates and crash our picnics. Wasps don’t actually bother me too much. If you had to quantify “fear of stinging” on a scale of 1 - 10 (1 being totally unafraid and 10 being terrified) I’d be about a 5. I did however, have my worst encounter with a wasp to date. I was enjoying a bottle of beer by the fireside, lad di dah, staring alternately into the fire and into the great outdoors when I took a big swig and suddenly felt something, er, WALKING AROUND IN MY MOUTH. I spit it out on the ground only to see a wiggling wasp. Gadzooks. I still can’t believe I didn’t get stung. 

2) Caterpillars.
They were everywhere: on our tent in the mornings (inside and out), on our beach towels, almost everywhere we looked. One day I was walking around the campsite and I felt something tickle the back of my neck (I bet you know where this story is going), and without even thinking about it, reached up to scratch and instead grabbed a furry guy that must have fallen from a tree. In one swift motion - propelled as much by disgust as it was by total revulsion -  I flung it to the ground in one big swoop. Ew.

On a more positive note, there were no horse or deer flies!

(As a sidenote: I find my lack of sympathy for the insect world interesting, if only when I weigh it against the sorry feelings I had for the worms we chopped and sacrificed for our fishing adventures.)

Anyway, click here to view my complete set of camping pics on Flickr. I am in the process of putting additional descriptions/explanations over with each photo instead of doing it here.

It is good to be home, except we haven’t really been home… just using it as a place to dump our dirty laundry and regroup. I have a crick in my neck and feel very much like a zombie this morning. Technically we’re still on holiday too. So don’t expect too much. :)

p.s. I wanted to say thank you to the guest posters who held down the fort last week. Didn’t they do a great job? In case you missed them, here’s Kaitlin’s, Dave’s, Emma’s, and Rebecca’s posts. Thanks again. You guys rock.