[I decided to save some creative time and edited our Christmas letter just slightly for my blog readers. Don't worry, I didn't trim out any of the "good stuff" -- besides, regular readers will have already read more detail in posts through the year!]
As you may know, 2008 was a busy year for Those DeWolfes. January turned out to be very busy at work for me as digitization projects started to (finally) roll in, complete with deadlines but it was also the month that Hubby and I both got new digital SLR cameras. In February, we tackled renovations of the bathroom in the townhouse which turned out to be a bit tricker than we had hoped and coincided with Hubby coming down with pneumonia. In March, Kiddo celebrated her 7th birthday with an hour of bouncing, running, jumping and spinning at Victoria Gymnastics. One of her gifts was a Wii, something that turned out to be fun for the whole family. A few weeks later, Hubby rang in his 40th birthday with a pub crawl and the gift of LEGO robotics -- he immediately set about designing a SwifferBot to go after cat hair and random dust on the main floor. May found us all working on various creative things -- some we started, some we finished and some we shared (Kiddo and I made a batch of recycled crayons and wrote up a tutorial that we posted online).
June was very busy for Kiddo, especially. She went go-carting with Hubby, had major dental work (some extractions and 8 fillings!), dressed like a pirate and walked in the Buccaneer Days parade, rode a ferris wheel for the first time (the only midway ride I can tolerate), and finished grade one! At the end of the month, I celebrated my birthday (turning 39) with a family brunch and a night out.
In July Hubby and Kiddo made a little stop-motion animation film based on Crazy Frog (it's on YouTube if you have yet to see it). After that, we took a much needed family vacation. In a little over a week we drove all the way to the top of Vancouver Island and back, stopping here and there along the way. The goal was for Kiddo to see Port Alice -- and stand in front of the "welcome" sign there. We did that as well as seeing many other communities that were new to all of us -- prior to the trip, the furthest north on the Island either Hubby or I had been was to Courtenay and Comox. It was a great trip, overall, though we were all glad to get home. Unfortunately, that welcome home turned out to be pretty crummy as the Strata had authorized someone to climb into our property and pressure wash the fence, destroying a few hundred dollars in plants and property in the process. Needless to say, that sealed the deal for our wanting to move.
August started with hiring a Realtor and looking at houses but after getting close to putting in an offer, we realized we needed to sell our townhouse first and thus began an intense six weeks of preparation. We packed, and packed, and packed until our storage locker was full. Then we had a home stager come in (a service provided by the Realtor) who told us we still had too much stuff. GAH! So, we got a U-Pack and filled it, too. Meanwhile, Hubby finished his sculpture of Cthulhu and we moved it to a friend's backyard for safe-keeping (there are photos a-plenty online and a video too if you want to get a closer look).
September started with painting and having the carpets replaced then we put the finishing touches on the staging and listed the townhouse September 15th. Inside a week we had an offer which we accepted and were able to use that to put an offer in on a lovely older home that had plenty of quirks -- just about right for us. By the first week of October, everything was signed-off and by Thanksgiving we were living under a new roof just as the real estate market was collapsing across the country!
With the new address came a new school for Kiddo -- she is now attending a traditional school which means wearing a uniform (though it's not terribly strict). She has adapted well and seems to be thriving in the split grade 1/2 classroom; she is now reading at a grade 7 level and is also ahead in math and science.
Right away, we started renovations, replacing the interior stairs (they were narrow and lacked sufficient clearance) and arranging to have the old asbestos-laced insulation removed from the attic and replaced. By late November we were able to get the U-Pack delivered! I did two craft fairs back to back at the end of November and beginning of December which we followed with a trip to the mainland (IKEA!) and then we all settled in to getting things settled -- putting up shelving, unpacking, sorting, and decorating for Christmas.
And then the snow-dump of 2008 hit we got a rare white Christmas in Victoria (in fact it was the first time since 1971 that there was snow coast to coast across Canada).
As always, thanks for reading; I'd like to wish you all the best in 2009!
31 December 2008
27 December 2008
Rift in my personal time-space contiuum.
I cannot explain this any other way; perhaps it is just how one fractures as a parent. Today I have felt both youthful and also as old as dirt.
On one hand, I had a long chat with my niece (she is 16) via Facebook (I do this fairly often now as she is willing to talk to me that way and is frequently logged in), having a good laugh that we liked many of the same albums and artists. This -- along with staying in touch with pop culture in general (watching SNL, reading BoingBoing, etc.) -- makes me feel youthful.
A half-hour later, I was explaining to Kiddo how I used to sing the "Miss Mary Had a Steamboat" rhyme* at school while bouncing a tennis ball in a knee-high stocking on the school wall under and over my legs. Yeah... might as well have been chasing a barrel hoop with a stick, right? Old. As. Dirt.
Sigh.
*This rhyme varies depending on where you grew up -- some will remember it as Miss Suzie, others as Miss Mary; some as a steamboat, others as a tug boat and so on. This is how I remember it:
Here are some other versions along with some much ruder rhymes. Did you sing this one as a kid? Do you remember the ball-in-a-stocking thing?
On one hand, I had a long chat with my niece (she is 16) via Facebook (I do this fairly often now as she is willing to talk to me that way and is frequently logged in), having a good laugh that we liked many of the same albums and artists. This -- along with staying in touch with pop culture in general (watching SNL, reading BoingBoing, etc.) -- makes me feel youthful.
A half-hour later, I was explaining to Kiddo how I used to sing the "Miss Mary Had a Steamboat" rhyme* at school while bouncing a tennis ball in a knee-high stocking on the school wall under and over my legs. Yeah... might as well have been chasing a barrel hoop with a stick, right? Old. As. Dirt.
Sigh.
.. .. .. .. ..
*This rhyme varies depending on where you grew up -- some will remember it as Miss Suzie, others as Miss Mary; some as a steamboat, others as a tug boat and so on. This is how I remember it:
Miss Mary had a steamboat, the steamboat had a bell,
Miss Mary went to heaven, the steamboat went to --
Hello operator, give me number nine,
and if you disconnect me, I'll kick you right ---
Behind the 'fridgerator, there was a piece of glass
Miss Mary sat upon it, and broke her big fat ---
Ask me no more questions, I'll tell you no more lies,
the boys are in the bathroom zipping up their ---
Flies are in the city, and bees are in the park
where boys and girls are having fun, kissing in the DARK DARK DARK!
Here are some other versions along with some much ruder rhymes. Did you sing this one as a kid? Do you remember the ball-in-a-stocking thing?
25 December 2008
And so that was Christmas....
=Phew=
Down to three of us again. As Christmases go, this was a good one; it's so much easier without having to bundle up, load the van and drive to one house or another even if the trade off was cleaning, cooking and re-arranging furniture.
Hubby did all the cooking (thank you!!!) and I pitched in with clean-up and whatever else I could do (including shovelling a lot of snow and slushy ice off the road outside so that family had somewhere to safely park). We managed to (over) feed everyone and the gifts overflowed. I'm very thankful for everything I received -- including some Skull-candy headphones, an iPod touch, dvds, an LG Rumor cell phone, and a Fabricland membership that doesn't expire until the end of 2011. I am spoiled.
Kiddo put herself to bed not long after everyone left and is soundly sleeping while we watch some gifted DVDs and play with our toys.
I hope your Christmases were as pleasant as ours!
Down to three of us again. As Christmases go, this was a good one; it's so much easier without having to bundle up, load the van and drive to one house or another even if the trade off was cleaning, cooking and re-arranging furniture.
Hubby did all the cooking (thank you!!!) and I pitched in with clean-up and whatever else I could do (including shovelling a lot of snow and slushy ice off the road outside so that family had somewhere to safely park). We managed to (over) feed everyone and the gifts overflowed. I'm very thankful for everything I received -- including some Skull-candy headphones, an iPod touch, dvds, an LG Rumor cell phone, and a Fabricland membership that doesn't expire until the end of 2011. I am spoiled.
Kiddo put herself to bed not long after everyone left and is soundly sleeping while we watch some gifted DVDs and play with our toys.
I hope your Christmases were as pleasant as ours!
23 December 2008
Happy Christmas, dear readers.
(or Happy holiday of your choice, but this post is rather Christmas-y)
Our Night Before Christmas
On the night before Christmas, we're all settled down
as more snowfall warnings are threat'ning our town
Our pantry is stocked and our shovel is near
we're ready for family traveling here.
We've checked in with Norad and Santa's en route
(and while the site's cheesy we still think it's cute)
As Kiddo gets bathed and gets ready for bed
we're doing some challenging math in our heads
We have to seat ten for our family dinner
(is it wrong to wish we were collectively thinner?)
The table will have to be moved with some care
thank goodness that Hubby picked up extra chairs!
The ham is defrosting, the turkey is too,
and Hubby baked cheesecakes for everyone, WOO!
The rest of the spread will be easy to prep
(some peeling, some mashing, a few other steps).
The hand-crafted gifts I've been making are done
and I hope that the new owners think they are fun.
The rest of the presents are wrapped 'neath the tree
and stockings are hung in a row -- one, two, three.
"We're finished! We're ready, now what do we do?"
We'll curl up and watch an old movie or two.
We've downloaded Lemmings to kill the last hours
before we awake to the snow or rain showers.
But whatever happens, whatever the weather
we'll celebrate Christmas, at our home, together.
My last wish this season is for each of you
Merry Christmas to all and a fine New Year too!
--Cheryl
(with apologies to Clement C. Moore)
Our Night Before Christmas
On the night before Christmas, we're all settled down
as more snowfall warnings are threat'ning our town
Our pantry is stocked and our shovel is near
we're ready for family traveling here.
We've checked in with Norad and Santa's en route
(and while the site's cheesy we still think it's cute)
As Kiddo gets bathed and gets ready for bed
we're doing some challenging math in our heads
We have to seat ten for our family dinner
(is it wrong to wish we were collectively thinner?)
The table will have to be moved with some care
thank goodness that Hubby picked up extra chairs!
The ham is defrosting, the turkey is too,
and Hubby baked cheesecakes for everyone, WOO!
The rest of the spread will be easy to prep
(some peeling, some mashing, a few other steps).
The hand-crafted gifts I've been making are done
and I hope that the new owners think they are fun.
The rest of the presents are wrapped 'neath the tree
and stockings are hung in a row -- one, two, three.
"We're finished! We're ready, now what do we do?"
We'll curl up and watch an old movie or two.
We've downloaded Lemmings to kill the last hours
before we awake to the snow or rain showers.
But whatever happens, whatever the weather
we'll celebrate Christmas, at our home, together.
My last wish this season is for each of you
Merry Christmas to all and a fine New Year too!
--Cheryl
(with apologies to Clement C. Moore)
22 December 2008
This is getting annoying.
OK, so, it's December 22. Exams are over. Classes are done. No one *needs* to be on campus and yet I made the trek into work today because the university is open. There is a message on the main website proclaiming that the campus has only closed twice since 1963 due to inclement weather. Great.
I wish I had brought more cookies. And more coffee.
The only silver lining on this big grey cloud is that the whole campus looks like a Christmas card -- all snowy and sparkling, with ample opportunities for photos like this one.
I wish I had brought more cookies. And more coffee.
The only silver lining on this big grey cloud is that the whole campus looks like a Christmas card -- all snowy and sparkling, with ample opportunities for photos like this one.
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