flashback...
For those of you who have been blog readers a long time, you may remember that I used to write on separation of church/state issues when I lived in Kentucky. Oddly, that was good training for an article I wrote last week...and it came out on Saturday. Here's a CBC opinion piece on why I think there is no such thing as a "secular prayer" and why I think it shouldn't happen at city council or at the Manitoba legislature. Turns out that the Canadian Supreme Court thinks that too!
Like a prayer: Rethinking traditions at city council
In other news...our radishes are coming up, little bitty green things, in our raised garden beds. Both boys had the sniffles so we spent a lot of the weekend playing close to home. This playing alternated with small boys throwing cranky tantrums. We also attempted a trip to Fort Whyte for their Earth Day festivities. It was gorgeous weather, very crowded, and a bit hard to maneuver with two hungry, cranky and sniffley guys. We did see pigs, chicken, rabbits, bison, an owl and a snake, lots of geese and other birds and lots of touchable wildlife taxidermy (which I found gross, but the boys loved).
The most interesting part of the visit, for me, was the Pioneer Sod House. here's a link to some photos. I had never been inside a sod house--I believe I have seen some collapsed ones out on highways as we drove someplace, but this was a real live example. We have a great kid's book:
The New Land: A First Year on the Prairie
That helps us explain to the boys what the first European settlers on the prairie experienced when they came here...and it has a sod house in it. What a rush it was to see light dawn for both three year olds as we went into a real (very small) sod house. We all wondered what it would be like to spend winter in one. Very close quarters!
I also recently came across some Manitoba legal codes from the 1870s that said which belongings could not be confiscated in case of bankruptcy. Luckily, a spinning wheel and weaving loom were stipulated as among the essential items that could not be taken. Whew.
Of course they were absolutely necessary to keep the family warm and clothed, but also? for mental health reasons....
OK, that's enough prairie talk for today! Have a good one. :)
Like a prayer: Rethinking traditions at city council
In other news...our radishes are coming up, little bitty green things, in our raised garden beds. Both boys had the sniffles so we spent a lot of the weekend playing close to home. This playing alternated with small boys throwing cranky tantrums. We also attempted a trip to Fort Whyte for their Earth Day festivities. It was gorgeous weather, very crowded, and a bit hard to maneuver with two hungry, cranky and sniffley guys. We did see pigs, chicken, rabbits, bison, an owl and a snake, lots of geese and other birds and lots of touchable wildlife taxidermy (which I found gross, but the boys loved).
The most interesting part of the visit, for me, was the Pioneer Sod House. here's a link to some photos. I had never been inside a sod house--I believe I have seen some collapsed ones out on highways as we drove someplace, but this was a real live example. We have a great kid's book:
The New Land: A First Year on the Prairie
That helps us explain to the boys what the first European settlers on the prairie experienced when they came here...and it has a sod house in it. What a rush it was to see light dawn for both three year olds as we went into a real (very small) sod house. We all wondered what it would be like to spend winter in one. Very close quarters!
I also recently came across some Manitoba legal codes from the 1870s that said which belongings could not be confiscated in case of bankruptcy. Luckily, a spinning wheel and weaving loom were stipulated as among the essential items that could not be taken. Whew.
Of course they were absolutely necessary to keep the family warm and clothed, but also? for mental health reasons....
OK, that's enough prairie talk for today! Have a good one. :)
Labels: CBC, essays, fiber arts, Fort Whyte, gardening, prairie, sod house, spinning, virus, writer's life
posted by Joanne at 2:28 PM
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