Infill, apples, and a new platform

 This is a quick post...about a recent CBC article that went up this past weekend on Winnipeg's Infill Guidelines:

Winnipeg infill guidelines need improvement to protect neighbours

I also had another article go live on the Vancouver Jewish Independent's website, about apple picking, and how to value what we've got--when so many are struggling with poverty and illness.

Need to value what we have

And, last but not least, I am launching my knitting designs on another platform called Payhip, for those who choose not to use Ravelry, because of its accessibility issues. I only work part time and this process has been slow, so I've only launched the first design, with an accompanying low vision accessible pdf (for those with vision impairment)...but I'm proud to say that Rosie McStrippit is now available in three places: Payhip, Ravelry, and on Lovecrafts.com.  It's getting cooler here in Manitoba, and I actually wore this sweater just a couple days ago...no snow yet,although my kids are asking when it will start. (I hope we have another month yet?!)

Take care and stay well!

Canadian companies retool for pandemic, why not climate change?

Here's an opinion piece that came out this weekend on the CBC-Manitoba website.
Pandemic proves companies can change in an emergency-so what about that climate crisis?
True confessions:  I actually wrote this at the end of February.  I didn't write this in response to the pandemic.  However, the news was changing so fast at that time, nobody had room to run it.  I was supposed to check back in at the end of March. Well, we all know what happened by then...I was at home, home schooling and so was everyone else.  I forgot all about this piece.

I reread it at the beginning of May...and changed about three sentences. (that's about all I have time for, right now!)  It seemed more likely than ever that Canadians could make fast change if the political will was strong enough...so I resubmitted and it went live this morning.

Tips to stay sane

I wrote this on Monday,  the CBC ran it today. (Wednesday)
Things are changing fast,  I hope this will help if you are home, have kids, and are considering hitting the booze early! (Joke!)
Top tips for families to stay sane

The piece went online fast. Here are a few additional ideas, off the top of my head, that may help.

-If you have stairs in your home, and are healthy, consider stair climbing as exercise.  No, it is not Stairmaster!  It is running up and down your stairs to get our heart pumping and do aerobic exercise.  It will burn off some energy! (use caution, do not do this if you aren’t up to it!)

-If you’ve got a multi vitamin right now at home, it is not a bad time to take it.  Our diets may change during this time and this may be a helpful boost to your immunity.  I say “may” because doctors disagree on this one, but a single multivitamin is not generally harmful. (Again, practice moderation!) On a personal note, I know that Vitamin D really does help me get through Winnipeg’s winters...

-Step away from the news!  If it is stressing you out, take breaks from media.  24/7 newsfeed is bad for our mental health.

-This is a stressful time.  Make sure you talk about it with your family, especially your kids.  We have had a lot of meltdowns in my house, we are all worried.  It is only natural.

Take care!  Stay healthy!
Joanne

What's on in March...

Sorry for the blog silence.  It's been a season of colds, Sally, our old dog, isn't feeling good and needs vet trips, and we've had a few other human medical appointments.  And meanwhile, I've had some articles run as well...

Over on the CBC, I had a piece come out about how the current Manitoba government is offering us $45 million in road infrastructure repair for the province's 150th birthday..and isn't prioritizing anything for a greener, more sustainable future or a future that celebrates or recognizes our diverse population.  (Happy anniversary, honey!  Here's a new vacuum cleaner?)

I didn't post anything about it at the time because I didn't know when it would run, and then the comments were full of some inappropriate stuff.  (so inappropriate that the comments were removed...)

I had a column run in two papers about how we can keep learning if our libraries stay afloat.  This winter I spent several weekend afternoons on the couch with a sick kid and good books.  Here's a link to Words of praise for libraries.

My article about how basic tools make a difference for handspinners went live over on the Spin Off Magazine's blog: 6 Handspinning Hacks....

Here's a photo of how you can use a dog waste roll core (a cardboard tube cut open) to create a bobbin for your spindle...when you are done spinning, slide the roll right off the spindle!  It's a Spindlewood spindle, in case you are curious...

Or you can use a toilet paper roll for your ball of handspun, and when you are ready, you pop out the roll, insert your thumb in the space left, and use both ends of the handspun for making a 2 ply yarn.

The hack that got left out?
Cotton bedsheets from the thift store: Every now and again, I end up with a lot of free or inexpensive fleece. I skirt and sort, shake out vegetable matter and contain the washed fleeces in countless number of sheets from the thrift store. 

Next topic: And, if you're a knitter and celebrate Purim? In honour of increasing your joy in Adar, you can download The Hamantaschen Noisemaker pattern for free, using the coupon code:
Adar
(ends midnight, CT, US & Canada--on March 10th, of course.)
Please consider this some virtual shalach manot from me to you!
Have fun! Have a great holiday!

Last, but not least...happy International Women's Day. Yes-We still need it...equal pay, equal opportunities, adequate healthcare and childcare access...we still need a day to talk about all this and more.

Those Granola Bars

I make mostly homemade lunches for my kids...aside from the granola bars.  A while back, I tried making homemade granola bars and our twins really didn't dig them, no matter what.  (The professor and I can vouch that the homemade ones were delicious, we ate two whole pans of them and probably gained a lot of weight during that experiment!)

As a result, I just buy a big box of granola bars with chocolate chips but no nuts from the grocery store and I carry them around as extra snacks, especially for doctors' appointments or during vacation periods.  It's safe to say I've thought WAY too much about these granola bars.

Two things happened.  Today, my opinion piece about the granola bars ran on the CBC-Manitoba website:
Mom's emergency granola bar is there when you need it-no matter who you are

Second thing...
My kids' school is having a program this week called "The litterless lunch."  They want to reduce lunch time waste and trash by asking kids to bring homemade foods, packaged in reusable containers, so that everything in the lunch can be reused, recycled or composted.

Turns out that my twins were already in second place in the classroom when it came to bringing lunches with no trash.  What made them second place?  The granola bar wrappers!

Today, one of my guys decided to help me make homemade granola bars again.  We mostly made the recipe up, but each bar has oats, sunflower seeds, cut up pieces of dry fruit, chocolate chips, a little whole wheat flour...all mushed together with condensed milk.  We baked it for a half hour, and then cooled it down fast using a Winnipeg solution: by leaving it outside in the snow on the back deck for a few minutes.  The quick cool down in snow isn't the recipe, of course!

We produced enough bars for school lunches this week, plus enough to taste test.  Turns out that now, both twins think these are darn good.  Have their tastes changed?  Are they proud of their mom's litterless lunches?  Who knows.

Now we have more granola bars (in wrappers) to give away this week, too.  It's all good.

--This photo's from the article, link above.  I'm not that hip looking!

PS: When the kids first mentioned the litterless lunch, I couldn't figure it out.  I thought they were talking about 'the literal lunch.'  And I was like, what kind of crazy elementary school program is this?  Who packs a figurative or metaphoric lunch!?  (Joke's on me, of course. Maybe I took too many literature courses at Cornell.)

New dress, new year

Winter break has taken over my whole world.  Kids go back to the school tomorrow and I may be able to catch up again!  My late night sewing has turned out this new #100actsofsewingno1 dress with a lining rather than bias tape and inseam pockets.  I'll show you both sides!  It's Brussels Washer Yarn Dye, (linen blend) and the colour is called heliotrope, although I think it looks sort of like a raisin in gray light. I made this to match my new knitting design...more details soon!

We've done some fun things over break, including buying both twins new skates and trying them out at the local community centre arena.  This has been fun and included a few brief moments where I too wore skates again.  (It's been a long long time...)

Last but not least, my opinion piece went live on CBC-Manitoba today:
Mental stimulation amid child-rearing? You can do it if you try

To that end, I recently signed up to learn more Talmud.  I signed up for a 'Daf Yomi' email every day...learn more here.  Sign up here if you're interested.  To my surprise, it is all in English so far, so I am also using Sefaria, or at least I am--on day 1!  Happy Birthday to me!

A gift for 2020

This piece ran on the CBC-Manitoba website this morning.  I am proud of it--and hope it could come true.

A gift for 2020: Earth for our great-grandchildren

We're having lots of fun at our house, Hanukah started and we are playing, resting, and celebrating.  Hope you are, too!

The bread machine and the dishwasher

Here's my opinion piece on the CBC-Manitoba webpage today about fixing appliances and why we should do it:
Our disposable culture needs a fix that will help our environment, too

In other, less news-worthy news, we are in the midst of a three day weekend which seems to involve a lot of cold, cloudy flurries outdoors, kids playing in front of the fire, dog walks, warming foods, and very occasional chances for me to knit, spin and sew.  (in between meals, snacks, and everything else!)

The high price of smashed car windows

Here's a piece that I wrote in early July. 
The high price of smashed car windows, petty crime and addiction
It ran on the CBC today. 

The update: We have only managed to get one (of two) windows fixed on the car.  We found the planter and returned it home by ourselves (see post below for more details...) but the bigger problem has no end in sight.

In the meanwhile, we've gone raspberry picking at a farm and Nanking cherry picking in the neighbourhood.  While twins biked with their dad this morning, I put up about 18 cups of cherry and raspberry jam.  I'm beat....but I am definitely looking forward to some of this "summer in the bottle" come winter time!

What will you do to further reconciliation?

This photo features what the Canadian Oath of Citizenship SHOULD say if the government passes a bill to update it to meet one of the points in the Truth and Reconciliation's 94 calls to action

Here's a link to my opinion piece that came out today on the CBC-Manitoba website:

'What will you do to further reconciliation?' Canadians need to act on MMIWG inquiry's calls for justice

I wrote this piece in response to being asked this "What will you do' question. In responding, I was reflecting on how all the inquiries seem to request  many similar things from the people and government of Canada... And few or none of the-totally valid-points are being dealt with properly or promptly in response.

(In other--less important-- household news, it's Shavuot, my kids have had way too much ice cream this weekend, and they also did very well at their first piano recital.  There's a lot going on, all at once-as usual- at my house.)