Candy!

So . . . where were we?

(Checks back at blog . . .)

Good lord, the last time I posted was in 2013, December. Time flies.

So, quick update. Still a stay at home dad, still have two energetic sons (Sonwun and Sontoo), still have a lovely wife and am still coming back to my creative outlet once in a while when I the need to write rears its ugly head. (I think it was a review on Urban Spoon this morning that sparked the need to write again.)

I guess the most significant change of late has been the introduction of Sunny’s Treehouse Candy . . . my first real run at doing something to earn a little cash to add to the family stash. It started a couple of Christmases back when the wife and I decided to make candy for our family members who live in other provinces and countries. We wanted to do something different. So we did.

And just this last Christmas, the wife’s sister, who works in Toronto, asked us if we could pull off 5 $200 corporate gift baskets. We had no idea. But I’d read Richard Branson on Twitter say something like, “If someone asks if you can do something, say yes. Then figure out how and do it.”

So we did.

And then in January, we started hitting Farmer’s Markets here in town and in Winnipeg. We’re not yet profitable, but we’re getting there.

I gotta say, I really enjoy making the candy. We’re up to about 18 different flavours of Hard Candy, four flavours of Salt Water Taffy, Sweet and Salty Peanuts, Sponge Toffee and three different kinds of Brittle (peanut, chocolate peanut and almond).

We’ve designed a logo, labels and packaging in keeping with our Treehouse theme. (Mostly the wife there, she’s really good at this stuff!) We’ve sourced inexpensive suppliers for candy ingredients as well as packaging. It’s been an education and, in a couple of months, we might even be profitable!

So that’s what’s kept us sane over the winter. More later, I hope.

House of Cards

So, back to renovations.

I forget where we were last I spoke of them. But currently underway is the bedroom/laundry room downstairs. The rec room is on hold pending flooring funding. And, with Neomom taking a few days off, we attacked the bedroom yesterday. Tore out studs, pulled out wiring . . . all that good stuff. Sure, half of the downstairs is dark right now, but it won't be long because we're putting in a concentrated effort to complete this area.

At least we were.

Another area in need of some work is the upstairs bathroom. But that's on the back burner because it just doesn't seem critical.

At least it didn't.

Yeah, after making a fine start to the downstairs demolition, we returned home last night to find the upstairs toilet was leaking a little. And thus, the house of cards that is renovations, has shifted.

You see, I think all the toilet upstairs needs is a new wax ring. But it also needs a new floor (always has, nothing to do with the leak). So, why take up the toilet and NOT put in the new floor. Oh, and the countertop on the vanity needs replacing as well. So, if we're taking up the toilet, we might as well do the floor. And if we're doing the floor, we'll have to move the vanity. And if we have to move the vanity, we might as well replace the countertop. And the green grass grew all around, all around and the green grass grew all around.

This is the renovation house of cards. I learned about it shortly after I bought my first home. 

Again, it was a bathroom. And the tub needed recaulking. So, I ripped out the old caulking and thought, you know, this needs a new tub-surround. So I took it to the next level and began prepping for the tub-surround. I then learned that the drywall around the tub area needed updating. One thing led to another, and soon I was pulling off the baseboard behind the toilet. The hammer slipped and shattered the toilet base. 

Before I knew it, a simple caulking job became a complete bathroom renovation - new toilet, new vanity, new sink, new tub surround and the green grass grew all around, all around and the green grass grew all around.

I'm hoping . . . and praying, that I can end this one with JUST a new floor, wax ring and countertop.

Will let you know.

Have a better Thursday than I will.

Thanksgiving Weekend

Snow. October 5th and there's snow on the ground. Ugh.

Can't say I was ready for this just yet. I like it best when my kids don't have to follow me, with the snowblower, around the neighbourhood for Halloween. Don't get me started on Thanksgiving.

I'm not impressed. But Sontoo, the early riser, is. 

"It snowed, Daddy," he says, standing at the front window in his Cars undies, Guardian Cat at his side. "It's Christmas!"

Sigh.

It's not one of those gentle, fluffy little snowfalls either. The wind is howling, the snow is wet and feels like ice pellets burrowing into your face. The poor leaves, many of them still green, are clinging to the trees for dear life.

It is not, however, without its moments. Like when I let the dog out to pee this morning. She ran through the garage, as she always does. Straight out the door at full speed. And when her front paws hit the snow, they stopped dead. Her back feet caught up and she almost completed a somersault. (Had to check the spelling on that. Had it right. Weird.) (Oh, and that reminds me. Weird is a weird word too. 'I' before 'E' except after 'C', right? But not with weird. Which I guess makes sense.)

Oh, and here's my Blogtober blogging tip of the month. Ready?

Don't make pancakes and blog at the same time, unless your computer is right beside the stove, where you can keep an eye on the pancakes. Mine is not. 

So, happy Thanksgiving weekend! Special thanks to the School Board which, in its infinite wisdom, decided to make this a four-day weekend instead of just the average three-day holiday weekend. And I mean, fair enough. Teachers have been hard at work for almost a whole month now. Time for a little break.

May your turkey be moist,

Your potatoes lumpless,

May your gravy be smooth, 

And your stuffing so sumptuous (Come on, it's close. I know you were wondering how I'd rhyme lumpless.)

May Thanksgiving find you,

with family to be

and if not

you must work for 
the RCMP

Cheers. Have a great weekend.

Sontoo and Puffy

I don't understand it, but I think it's pretty cool.

At about 5:30 a.m., I was sitting at my keyboard, trying to come up with something to write about (for yesterday), when I heard a few soft thumps from Sontoo's room. I looked down the hall and watched as he emerged, clutching Owen, his teddy bear, and rubbing his eyes. Beside him, walking and stretching simultaneously, was Puffy, his guardian.

Puffy, the grey ball of feline fur we picked up last year, has attached himself to four-year-old Sontoo in a way that is just really cool to watch, but impossible to understand.

From the time he was a wee little kitten, Puffy has been, well, a toy in Sontoo's mind. He picks Puffy up in the most awkward way, uses him like a blanket and hugs him until his eyes bulge. 

Puff and Sontoo, the early years.

And more recently.

Puffy has learned to just go limp when this happens. And he's learned to just enjoy the ride. 

Rather than run when Sontoo enters the room, he'll actually go sit beside him. If Sontoo's doing a puzzle, Puffy lies on the table. If Sontoo's on the couch, Puffy's nearby, on the floor. If Sontoo moves, Puffy moves.

And most nights, when Puffy's not out prowling the neighbourhood, he's sleeping in Sontoo's bed, or very nearby. Last night, just after bedtime, Puffy plopped on down in the hallway, just in front of Sontoo's doorway. Half an hour later, he was inside the door on the bedroom floor, and half an hour after that, he was on Sontoo's bed.

I really don't understand this relationship. I mean, I'm good to the cat. Always have been. My wife is good to the cat. Sontoo is, well, he's not mean to the cat, but he's pretty rough on it. And yet the cat likes him best. 

I'm a little wounded.

No, I'm not. I'm amazed to see them stumbling together out of his room in the morning. I'm blown away that the cat will hang out in the front yard while Sontoo plays on his swing. And I don't understand why a cat will lie under a water table as Sontoo splashes above it in the backyard.

Whatever the reason, I'm happy to see it. If a boy can't have a dog as his loyal subject (ours has imprinted on my wife) then he should have a cat that loves him, puts up with his crap and sleeps in his bed. Don't understand it, but I do think it's cool!

A few of my favourite things . . .

Blogtober . . . day 2 . . . dammit!Okay, so let's start with something really exciting. 

Went for a walk yesterday.

I'll pause here and let you catch your breath.

Yeah, I know, but it's something I really need to do more often. Something Sontoo needs to do more often: get outside, get some exercise, pick up bugs, throw rocks and run, run, run, run, run. It's what he does, and better that he does it out on the jogging trail, than in Walmart, or COOP.

For me, a Fall walk is a chance to walk on crunchy leaves, smell the cooling air, pull out the ol' camera and reacquaint myself with one of my first loves, photography. And photography, like walks in the woods, are something I need to do more often to feed my soul.

The soul has taken a bit of a beating this year. So I think it's important for me to take everything that feeds my soul, and take as much of it as I can, as often as I can.
 So, let's see. What else makes me smile?

I like writing. Which is why, in spite of my whining, I'm secretly enjoying Blogtober. Gives me an excuse to make time to do this.

I like hugs from my sons. Not the obligatory, quick squeeze. But the full-on I-Love-You-Daddy hugs.
 I like playing poker with "the boys." Now, "the boys" have changed many times over the years, but the camaraderie, good-natured, beer-fuelled ball busting remains pretty much the same. I'm not sure why it's so universal among men. But it is. And it's fun.

Slo-pitch. I like it. The older I get, the more it hurts, but I like it anyway. Haven't really played in a league now for three years or so. I miss it. Must look harder next year.

I like hunting. It's basically a Fall walk, with my dog, and a gun instead of a camera. No, I don't get wonderful pictures to look at, but sometimes I get to bring home supper. And that's kinda cool.

Anyhoo, that's enough for today. Must save time to do one of my favourite things, after doing some of my less-that-favourite things.

Here are a few of yesterday's pics. Have a great Tuesday.

I like to call this one "Prickly Thing Among Other Fall Stuff"
Not sure how I came up with the name.

And this one is
"Really Cool Light Study, Which You'd Understand Better If I Hadn't Deleted The Other One
That Had The Same Subject With Different Lighting."

"Boy Following Through After Throwing Rock.
Note How He Keeps Eye On Target. Will Make Good Hunter Some Day."

And finally, I've entitled this one,
"Energetic Boy Running Away From Father"
(You may have to click on the picture to make it larger to see said boy. He's in a green shirt.)

Blogtober . . . Dammit.

Okay, it's October 1.

And unfortunately, a fellow blogger, very annoyingly, (YES, I KNOW IT'S NOT A WORD!! PISS OFF!), mentioned in her blog that this day signifies the beginning of "Blogtober."

And that means I must blog every day for the next 31 days. Damn. Didn't need this right now.

But I blog semi-regularly and, as such, must honour the sacred month of Blogtober. All hail blog.

So, what's going on today in the life of stay-at-home-dad, RCMP spouse and all around great guy, me?

Not a hell of a lot.

Day so far? Wake up, wake wife up. Check internet to see how Fantasy Football team made out yesterday. Do short but effective victory dance in living room. 

Check facebook, catch up on Words with Friends, play Battle Pirates.

Make children breakfast and see that they get chores done. Plan supper (pot roast, I like the beef blade roast personally). Help children locate things they need for the day. Drive Sonwun to school, take Sontoo with me shopping. Purchase said roast and other things we need after the weekend. 

Return home, put stuff away. Get first load of laundry started. 

Chop carrots, onion, garlic and add to slow cooker. Add a few splashes of V8 juice and Italian salad dressing. Add roast. Season to perfection. Put on lid. Supper will be ready in about 7.5 hours.

Sit down to write blog as it is, after all, the first of Blogtober.

And here we are and that's all I have for you this fine morning. I have a bunch of stuff to do, so I must run. But rest assured that while I'm doing all of the fun things on my list, I will be thinking about tomorrow's blog entry.

You just DON'T want to miss that. See you tomorrow.

A confession . . . or two

So, I have something else to blame on a brother . . . a new addiction.

It's one of those stupid Facebook games that I swore off more than a year ago, when I gave up Mafia Wars. But then he invited me to play Battle Pirates, I thought I'd take a quick look and now I just can't wait to expand my island, build more oil platforms, plunder the Draconians and collect my booty. Good lord, that's pathetic. And it's all JackSparrow's fault. That's his pirate name. Mine's CaptainCrunch. 

Pathetic.

So, I was confessing this to my wife this morning . . . excuse me, must go repair my fleet.

So yeah, we were talking about this game and how it was similar to an educational game back in high school in Geography class.

And that reminded me of an amusing little story, involving geography and high school. And I guess I should explain that I went to a Mennonite High School, though I am not Mennonite. That's a story for another time.

But this school had a dress code. Blue corduroy pants and shirts with no letters or numbers. The school had a lot of other silly little codes, but, again, that's a story for another time.

I forget if it was Grade 9 or Grade 10 Geography, but it was exam time. And somehow I got the impression that the dress code was a little relaxed for the exam hall. So, being the wild and crazy guy that I am, I wore my t-shirt with the number 32 on it. Crazy rebellious hellion.

Now, there was a prissy little teacher that had been dubbed "Sister Jim" by the students. Sister Jim didn't like me much. Not sure why. 

But Sister Jim took great pride and pleasure in "catching" me in my flagrant disregard for the rules of good behaviour. I wasn't too difficult to catch. I was just kinda standing there, waiting to go into the exam hall to write my geography final. But you'd think he'd captured Osama Bin Laden. Or, at the time I guess, John Hinckley Jr.

Anyhoo, he told me to stay put and pranced off to conference with another teacher or two . . . just a sec. Gotta go attack a Level 4 Draconian Cargo Ship. Pathetic.

Where was I? Oh yeah, Sister Jim.

So, apparently after the Nuremberg court met to decide my fate, it fell to Sister Jim to deliver the bad news. Which he did with a smug little smile on his face.

And it had been decided I would NOT be allowed to write my exam in the exam hall (gymnasium). Instead, I would have to write it, all alone, in one of the classrooms. I was marched down to an empty classroom, told to sit down, was handed my exam and I was left to write.

Now, I should point out that a major portion of this particular exam involved remembering where a lot of the world's countries were located. I was provided with a blank map showing only the shapes of the countries. I had to fill in the names. It was a part of the exam that I was dreading. I wasn't very good at meaningless memorization.

I looked at the blank sheet, sighed, shook my head and then looked up . . . at the gigantic map of the world, in front of me, on the classroom wall. It had all the names.

I did very well on that part of the exam.

Have a great Monday!

MasterChef must wait . . .

Saturday . . . the weekend. But not.

Neomom's on night shift through the "weekend." And that means it's just us boys, left to our own devices . . . hmmmm.

It's 6:30 a.m. It's currently -17C, with a windchill of -26C (that's -15F for my friends down south). The streets are pretty clogged with what I believe is the biggest snowfall we've seen this winter. Weird for this part of the world.

The driveway needs shovelling, I need to bake some bread, I need to get a little shopping done. And I think I need to come up with something different for supper. Something I haven't made before. Something drawing inspiration from The Food Network. And something in which I can use a crapload of basil. My hydroponics are going crazy!

Basil aside, for a moment, I'm thinking I want to try messing around with wonton wrappers. Why? Cause they looked cool when someone made them on Iron Chef. And I haven't ever made them before.

So . . . recipes. On to allrecipes.com. Buffalo Wontons. We have a winner.

So, if I can get the manly minivan out of the driveway, and not stuck in the street, I can get everything I need on my shopping trip and then spend the day in the kitchen. Cream cheese, chicken, hot sauce, vinegar and, of course, wonton wrappers. If they have them. If not, I saw a recipe for them, but I'd prefer to take small steps and buy them this time.

As for the basil, I guess a salad is in order.

Okay, 9:30 a.m., shopping done. Change of plans. Now plan on making beef stock and using it to make braised short ribs for supper, assuming stock is done by then. Also cooking up a couple of chickens and may use the Buffalo Wontons as an appetizer. Should be YUMMY!

And now, it's 6:20 p.m. I have been working in the kitchen, it seems, almost all day. Preparing, planning, chopping, shredding, simmering and baking. Neomom's getting ready for work, without supper, and the kids will be having Kraft Dinner. I'm guessing I will not be the next challenger on Iron Chef. And I'll be holding off on my application to Master Chef.

Let's see . . . the stock I was making is still not done. Really needs to simmer for about 8 hours. Then it has to be strained. And then, when it's ready, it's still gonna take at least three hours to braise the short ribs. Bad, bad planning.

The two chickens I got were roasted in time for lunch. So we had some nice chicken salads and chicken sandwiches. The silver lining on a rather cloudy day. The leftovers were to be used for the aforementioned Buffalo Wontons. And they were. Cut with hot sauce, butter, cream cheese, mixed well and folded into the wonton wrappers.

Should have watched the YouTube video on how to wrap wontons BEFORE wrapping the wontons. Bad, bad planning. I ended up with a cookie sheet full of butter, cream cheese, hot sauce and some pretty flat looking wontons full of dry, cheese-flavoured chicken. Live and learn.

As far as I know, the stock should be okay and I'll take a run at those short ribs tomorrow. All in all, not one of my more successful culinary outings. 

Oh, and I still need to shovel that driveway . . . tomorrow.

Have a great weekend!

Great Day!

Okay, that was a great day!

After a week of being cooped up in the house, Mother Nature granted us a beautiful day yesterday; perfect for a trip to the toboggan hill. As usual, I posted our plans on Facebook, hoping we'd get a big ol' party together on the hill.

As usual, the response was not huge. But, as is not usual, we actually did get one family out to share the day with us. And it was AWESOME!

I mean, the boys enjoy tobogganing and all, but after about 20 minutes on the hill yesterday they'd had enough and were ready to head home. It was then that our friends showed up. And with two new kids, close to their own ages to play with, Sonwun and Sontoo got their second wind.

It was so much fun to watch them all sliding and tumbling and crashing and laughing their way down the hill, over and over and over. And this time, the batteries were fully charged in my camcorder so I could catch the action in HD splendour!

We tuckered 'em all out and then headed back to our place for hot chocolate, a good chat, and some quality time with my movie editing program. It's Apple's iMovie and, honestly, it makes me look good. So easy to use. And the clips, when thrown together, with a little Ozzy for background music, looked great. 

Unfortunately, I can't upload it to YouTube with the Ozzy music. Something about copyright, blah, blah, blah. So I had to redo it with some generic muzak, but I still think it looks pretty cool.

Sontoo had one good wipeout on the hill with a friend, but he's fine. Just a little pissed off about getting snow in his face.

Anyhoo, looks like another great weather day here in Portage La Prairie, so we'll probably be heading out for a nice walk on a frozen creek nearby. Oh, and here's yesterday's video. Enjoy!

Tweet

The knives are out of place. The dishwasher's loaded wrong. I slept on a sliver of the bed last night, pushed out by another body and too many pillows.

Yup, Neomom's home! Wouldn't have it any other way.

So I feel pretty good this morning. Even though I really didn't sleep all that well. But the head cold is gone. Well, apparently not gone. It has shifted to Sonwun's nose this morning. He woke up sniffling and coughing. Crap! It's supposed to be a nice day today and it would have been great to go for a nice walk up the creek. 

My cold has kept us in the house all week. And now, with Neomom home, I was really hoping to break out. Well, we'll have to see how it goes.

Why can't we all just get sick at once. Then we can all lie on the couch, sniffle, complain . . . and rest . . . together.

Ah well.

So this morning at about 3 o'clock I was pondering social media. The trigger was a meaningless post I left on Facebook last night. It was a line from The Princess Bride: "Hello! My name is Indigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."

Honestly, I'm not even sure why I posted it. I guess I liked the movie and thought it was kinda funny. But, to my surprise, a bunch of people responded to it. Didn't realize the movie was that popular.

What struck me was one line, also from the movie, posted by a fellow SAHD from Illinois: "No more ryhming now, I mean it!"

And then a Mom friend, from here in Portage, responded with the next line from the movie: "anybody want a peanut."

I just kinda thought it was cool. Two people who don't know each other, have had no contact of any kind, sharing a laugh over a movie they'd both seen and enjoyed.

And I guess I find it kinda cool because this kind of thing just didn't happen when I was younger. The world was so much smaller.

And, like it or not, this is the world in which my kids will grow up. So I must do my best to stay on top of this stuff - to the best of my ability. I admit, I do not own a smartphone. I do, however, have an iPod with WiFi. Kind of a smartphone lite.

So I've got some of this stuff figured out. But I was recently reminded that I opened a Twitter account a while back. Had forgotten about it. But somebody started "following" me, so I got an email notification. 

I'll be honest. I don't "get" Twitter. Pretty sure I don't know how to use it correctly. But I see some of my younger "friends" on FB (that's how we say Facebook, apparently) who are using it. 

But with FB, and texts, smartphones and all that stuff, where does Twitter fit in? What's the attraction? What's the catch? Is it just so that we can all see what the celebrities are thinking in the morning when they wake up and get a coffee? Or is it just that we are able to tell all of our "followers" that we had a peachy day today, all at once. 

If any of you twitterers want to explain it to me, please feel free. I guess I'm just not one of those guys that can express himself in 140 words or less. Which is why I do the blog thing.

Anyhoo, it's the weekend. Enjoy! I plan to. (Maybe I should Tweet that last line!)

Maturity

Hump Day. Day 3 of single parenting. Day 3 of feeling like crap.

But, in spite of it all, I'm seeing a couple of things that make me smile.

First off, Sonwun. Yesterday he woke up and realized it was Valentine's Day. We'd spent the previous evening filling out little Spiderman Valentine's cards for his classmates. There were five left over from the 28-pack.

One of the first things he did in the morning was disappear into the kitchen and return a few moments later with a Valentine for his little brother. To Nick, From David. That warmed my heart in a big way. 

For the last few years, he's refused to accept, as a friend, his younger brother. Sure, he'll play with him when there's nothing else to do, but he does the eldest sibling thing, ensuring he always wins the games, changes the rules of the games and ends the games when something better comes along. 

For a while, he often said stuff like, "I love mommy and I love daddy and I love Sabra (the dog) and I love Ollie (cat) and I love Paws (cat) and I love Puffy (cat)." 

And that's where it would stop. It broke my heart a little that, even with prompting, he wouldn't add Sontoo to the list. 

But he seems to be coming around. In the past, he would have filled out the first Valentine for me. With a little pushing, he might have grudgingly made one for Sontoo. But Sontoo got the first one yesterday morning and I was the afterthought. I'm good with that.

His maturity level just seems to be soaring these days. This morning, before breakfast, he asked if he could make his own lunch. Between my coughing fits (the latest phase of the plague) I gratefully granted permission. And he did a great job. Ham sandwich, juice, banana and a couple of treats.

After breakfast, he did his chores. Okay, that took a little prompting and then a little reminding. But when he was done making his bed, feeding the dogs and getting his backpack ready for school, (the chores) he cleaned up the front hall (he'd made the mess) and then cleaned up the living room before school. And when it was time to go, he helped his brother zip up his coat. All without being asked.

Guess I better enjoy this stuff while it lasts. And I am enjoying it.

Have a great Wednesday.

Still Sick

Day 2. Head cold still holding strong. Can't taste coffee. Can't taste what I believe was curdled cream in coffee. Gonna be a good day.

Yeah, Neomom's still in Dauphin. She's struggling with the same head cold, but she's a day or two ahead of me. I can't wait until she starts to feel better. It will turn on the light at the end of my tunnel. 

The boys are behaving fairly well so far. Probably the fear of poking the angry, sick bear that is hiding in the basement. Whatever works.

So, on top of the snot fest that has invaded my face, and the fact that I'm single parenting for a week, it's I Love to Read Week at Sonwun's school. And that means, in my Nyquil-hazed, tasteless, hearing-impaired state, I must remember the daily activities associated with this little festival, and remember to prepare Sonwun each morning.

Last night, we filled out the Valentine's Day cards. And if I wasn't so tired, I'd rant on about getting children started on their Hallmark-inspired addiction to meaningless paper sentiment. ("Swinging By With A Valentine Hi!" *picture of Spiderman*) But I am too tired.

I think they're also going on a hayride today, weather permitting. (Short pause and sound of Dad checking weather) And the forecast says +3 today. Looks like the hayride's a go. I think they said they'd have to call it off it the temp hit -27C. Good to have standards.

Oh, that reminds me. He's supposed to wear red today. Note to self. Find red stuff.

Well, 6:06 a.m. and Sontoo is up. 

"You know what I want to do this day Daddy?"

"No."

"I wanna go on a roller coaster ride."

What a sense of humour this kid has.

Well, that means I gotta start the day. Gonna be another long one.

Happy Valentine's Day.

Happy Weekend!

And the winner of the Best Belching Scene EVER in an Animated Children's Movie is . . . envelope please . . . Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius. ( APPLAUSE  APPLAUSE ).

Watched this little gem last night with the boys on Netflix. Sonwun, the elder, loved it from end to end. Sontoo, the younger, found it briefly "boyring" (still having a little trouble with the Rs) in the middle but found new interest toward the ending. 

If you've got kids in the 4-6 age group, I recommend this one. Without being a spoiler, it's about boy genius Jimmy Neutron, who sends a message into space. Evil aliens get said message, kidnap all the parents and it's up to Neutron and his friends to track them down, all while discovering and conquering their insecurities and relationship issues. But it's cute and the message is well disguised.

And the tacked-on belching scene, at the end, when Jimmy's parents accidentally consume his burp-guaranteed soda invention, had my minions in stitches.

So, Happy Weekend. Seems like a pretty good Saturday already.

Went to make Neomom's lunch this morning. Grabbed my home-made bread and went for my Henckel bread knife. You know where it was?? Middle slot, on the left, in the top block. EXACTLY where it was supposed to be. You know it's gonna be a good day when . . .

Discovered something strange though. Didn't know this about myself. But I'm pretty sure I've been making sandwiches the same way for about 40 years. 

See, after I laid out the bread, butt-end to butt-end, as is my way, I buttered the piece on the right side. But it occurred to me that I was making a ham sandwich and the mayo was supposed to go on the right. Butter on the left. No problem, said I, I'll just do it backwards. Honestly, my hands got confused. They were just not accustomed to doing it this way and they, all by themselves, started rotating the cutting board in an attempt to make things right in the universe once again.

But I wouldn't let them. I was becoming aware of the situation and I wanted to make the sandwich backwards. No, I don't know why. I just did. 

This really isn't going anywhere, I just found it weird. In the end I made the sandwich backwards, just to prove I could. I must remember to ask Neomom if it tasted any different.

Anyhoo, I have a lot of plans for this day and should really get started. The boys are getting pancakes for breakfast. As I type this, Sonwun is standing beside me reading along. He just realized he's getting pancakes for breakfast and he's pretty excited about it. So I'd better get started.

Have a great day!

Two ways to do things . . .

Neomom's back to work tomorrow. After a mini-vacation of 12 days.

It's been nice. We've gone tobogganing, skating, walking . . . a lot of the stuff that we just don't get to do, as a family, all that often. We need to remember to make time for this stuff on the regular days off.

But, you know, as a stay-at-home dad, I gotta say having her home full time throws my schedule and routine off, just a little. (It's okay, I told her this already).

I'm not complaining, really, but there's just some stuff she does . . . that's not the right way. Meaning, of course, not my way.

She doesn't know, for example, how to load a dishwasher. She puts the glasses in the wrong places, the plates in the wrong spots, and don't even get me started on the coffee mugs. And I'm not being anal here. I've loaded the thing so many times that I know how it all fits together. If you put the plates near the back, the pots don't fit. If the glasses are in the centre on top, the bowls don't fit. 

She's the same way with grocery carts. There are two ways to fill a cart. My way and the wrong way. When she joins me on a shopping trip, she not only ignores my well-thought-out list, she spends way to much time pondering which pasta sauce to get, which bacon is best and which crackers to buy. I know this stuff, I have a list and I buy what's on sale. Easy.

And, when loading the cart, you must keep in mind things like the fact that the milk is at the back of the store. You must leave a milk-sized space in the cart, or you will be reorganizing everything in front of the cooler in the dairy section. 

You gotta keep the fruit and veggies (which are at the front of the store) stacked up a little so that you're not putting the large peanut butter or the laundry detergent on top of them. Grocery cart space management. It's my life.

And finally, but most importantly, know where my knives go. In the past few weeks, my knives have been re-organized twice. This is not a good thing. There are three blocks - two for the cheap knives and one for my Henckels. Don't mess with this.

The cheap knives were earned by saving little stamps at the grocery store. They're okay, but they are not my good knives. They don't deserve the same status as the Henckels and they CERTAINLY don't belong in the Henckel block. I mean really!

Oh, and the KitchenAid Santoku knife? It falls somewhere between the two others. I like it more than the cheap stuff, but my favourite knife is the Henckel chef's knife. Always will be. Don't mess with it.

As such, the Santoku has earned the top spot in the cheap knife block, closest to the Henckels, above the lesser stamp knives.

It's all very simple. And if she'd just take the time to study my systems, instead of vacuuming the stuff I missed, dusting the stuff I didn't dust and reorganizing all the stuff that doesn't matter, my world would make more sense. And, most importantly, all my knives would be exactly where they should be when I need them.

Have a great Thursday.

Pull Off to Drop Off

Wednesday . . . morning.

Was up for about a half hour before the boys crawled out of bed. It's now 6:25. Coffee in hand. Blend of regular stuff with some French vanilla. Cream only. Extra large mug.

Fire up the iMac.

Poke John. Poke Gail. It's just what we do. Read comments on comments.

One message of blog encouragement - thanks Kim. One and a half of chastisement/encouragement - sorry Heather, sorry Justin.

Boys begin fighting over how to use the coffee table in the living room. Sonwun is feeling motivated. He's off to get dressed for school. Sontoo apparently won the coffee table battle and is playing his toy piano and singing and dancing. Too loud. But cute.

Okay, brain starting to work. I've been wanted to talk about the school parking lot for a while. It drives me nuts on a daily basis. It's too small and some people just refuse to follow the rules. Now, I remind myself a little of Michael Keaton here, in the Mr. Mom movie of the 80s.

(Quick aside here. I belong to an on-line community of Stay-at-home Dads. Pretty sure I've mentioned it before. Anyhoo, there are many of them who despise the term Mr. Mom. Personally, doesn't bother me. And I liked the movie.)

In the movie, Keaton loses his job and becomes a SAHD. In the beginning, as he struggles with the new role, he causes problems in the school drop-off zone because he just doesn't understand the rules. By the end of the movie, after his transformation into "Mr. Mom" he's the one with the stop sign, directing others in the proper parking procedure. (There's more to the movie, of course, but this is somehow relevant to me this morning).

Okay, cool, just found the video:

Now, parking lot at Sonwun's school. It's basically a three-lane loop. The PROPER procedure is for cars to enter the lot, pull either to the left or right (leaving centre lane of loop open) and drop off the kids. Then pull back into centre lane to drive around and exit. Pull off to drop off. Pretty simple.

See, this way, we don't all have to wait while each car stops in the centre lane to drop off the kids. There is simple logic here. But, every morning, after I pull over and boot Sonwun from the manly mini-van, I pull back into the centre lane, only to find three cars stopped while the kids unload back-packs, sleds and lunches; struggle with doors and kiss their parents good-bye.

This slows the rest of us down and has a tendency to back the traffic up right to the street, making entrance and exit dangerous and difficult. I realize it's a small thing, but it pisses me off. It chips away a small piece of my sanity each morning. And I don't have much to spare.

I think this morning, when I take Sonwun in, I'll bring my video camera. After all, if a picture is worth a thousand words, a video . . .

Okay, it's now 9:03 a.m. Took the video camera in the manly mini-van to drop Sonwun off at school. And, as Murphy would have it, everyone followed the rules. So just forget it.

Okay, only a thousand more words to go: Hydroponics day 22.

Have a great Wednesday!

I blew it

Okay, it's official. I blew it.

My 90 blogs in 90 days took a dump at Day 36. Bummer. Really thought I'd pull it off. And you know what else? I bought a loaf of bread for the first time this year. Didn't make my own. Wow, big failures all around.

Oh well. It's Tuesday. And I have a new culinary quest: fish and chips. We bought some halibut recently and last night tried a batter recipe that, well, didn't cut it. I mean, I love fish and chips . . . if done correctly. I don't think I'm alone in this, but "when I was growing up, there was this place . . ." near our house. Mr. Chips and his Fish, I think it was. Maybe it was Mr. Fish and his Chips. Whatever. They had a giant deep fryer that ran full-tilt on Friday nights. They wrapped the product in newspaper and it was a treat every time we had it.

I want to find a way to recreate that. It's not easy. Those countertop deep fryers you can buy just don't hold the heat. And the amount of oil needed in a stove-top pot makes things too expensive to be worth it on a regular basis.

Unfortunately, I have not located any quality fish and chips here in Portage La Praire. Most places have it on the menu, but I haven't found one I love. Maybe I need to open a take-out place. But first I need a good batter recipe.

If any of you are fans of fish and chips, and cook your own, and have a great recipe, please share. Would love to try it.

Other than that, not much to tell you. I will attempt to continue here and do 89 blog posts in 90 days, or 90 in 91. We'll see. The key is the morning. Must do it in the morning. Lacking motivation and inspiration later in the day. 

Have a great Tuesday.

Superbowl!

Okay, gonna be pretty short, but not as bad a last night.

Superbowl. I wanted the Giants to win, and they did. Yay for me. Reason is, I had several key players in my fantasy football league play a big part on the Giant offence. I had Manning as my backup QB (hey, I had Aaron Rodgers too!). I also had Hakeem Nicks and Ahmad Bradshaw. So I kinda had to go with the Giants.

Now then, let's talk about the important stuff. First off, commercials. My favourite, far and away, was the Kia Optima spot. If you didn't see it, here it is:

I like it because it promised all the sex and rock and roll of the others, but threw in a twist that I loved.

Second and third place were close. It was between the 2102 Chevy Apocalypse and the Audi Vampires. 

The Apocalypse takes it, for me, because the Audi was touting their headlights. All that for headlights? Really?

On a side note: Coke, you guys gotta let the Polar Bears go. Old and tired and really not all that amusing or even interesting,

And finally, speaking of old and tired, the halftime show. Gotta say it provided much more style than substance. But it was, I'll call it "watchable" because the style was really well done. The substance, Madonna and friends, just seemed tired on so many levels. Sorry Madonna, but you kinda looked your age. Pretty slow. But the tightrope guy was pretty cool.

Anyhow, that's all I've got for tonight. Hope y'all enjoyed the game. I did.

Have a great week!

Stars Aligned

When I first entered the working world, with a part-time job at a gas station, I loved shift work.

I loved being awake, and a part of the world, when most others were sleeping. I loved seeing what went on during the hours I slept for the first 16 years of my life. It was pretty cool!

Now, not so much a fan. Neomom works shift work. She doesn't like it either. She's not a fan of sleeping during the day, and switching back and forth every few days.

I don't like it because we don't enjoy the "rut" that everyone else seems to, you know, work 9-5, Monday to Friday, every evening and weekend off. It's not just the working spouse that works shift work, the stay-at-home spouse does too. So do the kids, in a way.

Neomom's not home for supper every night. She's not here for breakfast every morning. She doesn't get to tuck the kids in every night. And she does not get to enjoy every weekend when Sonwun is home all day long.

But every once in a while, the stars align and we get to enjoy it all. And this week it started, as these things often do, with an uncontrolled discharge of raw sewage into the school basement.

Neomom had just finished three night shifts and had enjoyed a full day to recover. And Tuesday morning we got the call from the school. Cancelled. Day off. Two stars aligned.

No one in the house was sick, mom was off, Sonwun was off and, believe it or not, the weather was beautiful.

On Tuesday, we hit the toboggan hill in the morning, enjoyed a leisurely nap in the afternoon, and then Neomom and Sonwun enjoyed a "date night," consisting of dinner out, a new toboggan and lots of time to talk, one-to-one. Good stuff. (Sontoo and I enjoyed hot dogs and Cars 2).

On Wednesday, the poo problem continued at the school, giving us a second day to toboggan, skate at a local outdoor rink and enjoy a fine dinner of greasy bird bits, courtesy of the Colonel. 

I had every intention of getting some great video footage of the family tobogganing at Garbage Hill yesterday. But after a quick "establishing shot" of the hill, and a recording a run by Neomom and myself, the battery died before we could tape the boys enjoying themselves. The only star that failed to align.

But I'm not complaining. We've had an awesome couple of days together.

Sonwun returns to school this morning, and life returns to our version of normal. 

So here's the video: I added some music and a cool title page to make up for the lack of good footage. Have a great Thursday!