keeping it clean: summer edition

 Years, ago, I wrote an article about how hard it was to keep my kids' bedroom cool in the summer when we had to shut the windows...their bedroom at the time was near a bus stop. Folks leaving nearby bars and waiting for the bus on a summer evening would smoke cigarettes, talk and sing, and even smoke pot.  They didn't look up 20 feet to see the open bedroom windows, and of course, it was always after kids go to bed.  This was one of a series of articles I wrote about air quality and pollution.  Nothing has improved in Winnipeg in the past few years, either.  I suspect lawmakers do not live near the density corridors and probably have air conditioning, too.

What I found is that if you have air conditioning, live in a quieter residential neighbourhood, or have no health challenges (like asthma) to begin with, nobody thinks much or cares about these things.  I can certainly tell the difference now that we have moved to a quieter neighbourhood away from a major road, patios and restaurants.

Then the wildfires happened this year, and the smoke spread farther than usual.  Suddenly people in the US and all across Canada suffered from wildfires the way we do, every summer.  Sandwiched between western fires in Alberta and Saskatchewan and the fires in Ontario and Quebec, Manitoba gets wildfire smoke every summer.  Of course, we also have wildfires in our province, too. Air quality issues are part of the summer experience in Manitoba.

When I wrote those articles, I got an email out of the blue from someone offering me an air purifier for free.  I was shocked- in those days, if I got a freebie, it might be a skein of yarn! However, they said they felt bad about our predicament and offered this to help us keep our kids' bedroom air safer at night.

Well, this was in 2018.  Five years later, this thing is still running all the time in my kids' room, in a new house, and has made such a big difference when coping with wildfire smoke and allergens.  After all this time, the person who sent me this as a marketing intern has moved on, I'm sure...but this was a gift that made a big difference, so I'm passing along the information.

This is the model that I think I was sent. I can recommend Honeywell purifiers. It's done a marvelous job of helping us breathe through challenging air conditions. 

Note: If you click on this image, it'll take you to Amazon.  I think 5 years is enough of a trial period, I recommend this.  If you're struggling with smoke this summer, this might be worth a try.

Gone swimming

At the last minute, we lucked out.  We got two spots for swimming lessons at this gorgeous lake.  It is about 30 minutes’ drive from home, and the lessons are every week day for 10 days.  I did the first week mostly on my own with kids...the professor came along for Friday.  This week, my folks are visiting from Virginia and they are doing the lake run.

I miss the mini vacation of each trip but have also enjoy having a few hours off each afternoon at home to do crazy stuff by myself. (like make dinner, clean up, walk dogs, etc.)

I wanted to share the view with you.  Also, imagine the trip: some traffic on the way out of the city, and then a wide open prairie view of blue skies, puffy clouds, and fields of sunflowers, corn, hay, cows and horses. All that and home in time for dinner...

Closing curriculum centre short-sighted

Here's the link to my analysis piece, which came out today in the Winnipeg Free Press.
What's the short version? Manitoba's Education Minister has conflated the salary of the Winnipeg School Division school superintendent (one school district among many in the province) with the closing of the provincial Curriculum Support Centre.  In the end, who is negatively affected by this closure?  Students, teachers, and Manitobans' future ability to think critically, as educated people should.

Read more here--
Closing curriculum centre short-sighted:
Winnipeggers like to joke about finding a good bargain, but when it comes to educational expertise, the right thing is to pay professionals what they’re worth. In a recent question period at the Manitoba legislature, NDP education critic Matt Wiebe quoted a teacher who was concerned about the April 1 closure of the Curriculum Support Centre...

woolly weather and one 10 year anniversary

My article, Embrace Sweater Season with Local Wool, went live yesterday on the Manitoba's CBC online!  I am so pleased by this one, because it is a chance for my writing life and my fiber-arts one to merge.  Rare to have this overlap....when I started this blog, (ten years ago this month!)  I didn't realize how often my writing/storytelling exploits and my knitting/designing ones would diverge.
On to other news...this is a big month for the blog.  Ten years ago, at the end of November, I started this project.  I hope to do some celebrating towards the end of the month, but first, another big anniversary.

On November 1, 2005, we brought home Sally the dog from a rural shelter in Kentucky.  Yesterday, we celebrated Sally's 10th anniversary of her "coming home-forever" day.

Nothing much happened.  She got her usual walk, her normal number of cuddles, and it was peaceful and warm and safe in our house.   That is how it should be--a huge difference from when we first got her.  When the blog started, I wrote a lot of dog stories, particularly about Sally.  To read a whole mess of Sally stories, check out this search, which lists them in no particular order.  If you'd like to read how we got her, or the squirrel story, or Sally's special nurturing skills (two different posts!) or how Sally's foot got stuck--may this never happen to you-- well, it turns out I've written a lot about our girl.  In fact, there's a lot to say.  She has turned into a truly delightful and amazing family member.  Here's to many more years of celebrating our Pointer-mix, Sally, and her coming home-forever- day!

childcare in Manitoba

My CBC opinion piece on childcare in Manitoba came out yesterday evening.  Here's the link:
Manitobans want more child-care and we want it now

This time, I love the title. :)

One of my goals is to try to make a positive difference in the world, and of course, that can feel daunting.  For many years, I taught...religious school, adult ed., high school, community college, even grad. school seminars.  Recently, while I've been corralling twins, I haven't had much of an opportunity for teaching, although I occasionally manage to offer a fiber arts class.   When I did teach, I felt that helping students, one person at a time, was really meaningful.  I struggle sometimes to find that same meaning when I am exclusively writing and designing...sometimes the topics aren't life-changing--but occasionally, things work out.

It's been great to get a chance every now and then to comment on something that I hope might affect change.  I sometimes write on religious issues. At times, much of my work is in the knitwear design/hand spinning world. Yet, it has been really exciting lately to have these pieces on the CBC online.  Many times, I don't get much response from what I've written, but at least it is a soapbox to describe what I hear from other parents of young children, new moms, etc.  I love that part of what I do.

I'm reposting the links here so that if you're interested, you can be part of the conversation.
Thanks for joining in!
Joanne