Now we are six

It's been a busy few days here, as our twins have just turned six.  Conveniently, we had a school holiday on their birthday, so we had plenty of time to have fun.  (Aside from the actual holiday observance, we went to the zoo, which was great, as usual.)  We've had hot sunny weather, which is a real surprise at this time of year.  It is usually still a bit unpredictable...yes, frost is still technically possible.

One of the boys' presents was to get this poster framed.  One of their kind aunts picked this up at the 2014 National Book Festival in Washington, D.C.  I think maybe she took a couple of my nephews there.  Then, somehow this extra poster migrated to Winnipeg, and in a fit of tidiness, I cleaned off our breakfront.  (where all mail and other flotsam and jetsam goes to die.)

Along with an old utility bill (gosh, our rates have really gone up!) I discovered the poster.  It matches the boys' bedroom perfectly and they fell in love.  We sang together about "The man in the moon" (He's smiling, cause he's in love with the girl in the world) and they decided it reminded them of the book Goodnight Moon, which they can recite.  So, it had to go on the wall...because it also reminds me of when the Obamas hosted such things, and celebrated books...learning, and knowledge.
  We walked to the local art gallery and framers and got it done.

Tomorrow, assuming the weather holds, we will plant our garden and celebrate two six year olds in style with a small party and a lot of gelati.  I took 10 minutes this past week to sit outside with our plants, admire the weather, and drink some iced tea.  (real brewed iced tea is an oddity in Winnipeg; no one seems to have heard of it, so I just make it at home when it is hot.)

I have been trying to finish this really long biography about Abraham Joshua Heschel in these rare free moments.  It goes slowly, but I am 1/3rd of the way through the second book...it's due back to the library soon!

Harry the dog enjoys the dirt and shade here.  It was a hazy day.
I hope you're also getting some small breaks in the sunshine, wherever you are...

(And yes, everyone has recited A.A. Milne's poem to the boys, and they are definitely "clever as clever, and I think I'll stay six now for ever and ever.")

Perfection...

Small things make me very happy.

About 5 minutes after we'd finished assembling the futon, Harry the dog was ready to start trying it out.

I am now able to unpack more of my office stuff...

To respond to some of the comments--I'm able to email some of you, which I've done. The short answers are:

1) I think the gelato place is open in the winter time, but we'll have to wait and see. Sadly, cream of chestnut appears to be a monthly special!

2) The Forks is a neat place, but it's only one of many very cool things in Winnipeg, in my opinion. For one thing, everyone is very warm and welcoming here. There are fabulous summer festivals, a ton of ethnic restaurants, and the entire city is very accessible...no enormous commutes or traffic jams, so far.

For those who haven't been, the Forks is a series of big buildings with food vendors, shops, and tourist stuff. It's right near the forks in the rivers, and there are water taxis, river paths, and a very cool First Nations gathering circle. There's also a world-class skate park, a prairie restoration park, and a lot of public art. You can see a few photos of it here.

3) Kristy is an amazing resource! Kristy, if you're listening? Could you drop me an email? Kristy has kindly explained the potholes, stinky smells, and other details in her comments on the last post... and I hope we'll be real "in person" friends soon.

And about Folklorama...we've now been to the Philippine, Métis, Greek and Israeli Pavillions....every single one of those was terrific!

We've also gotten a delicious farm share with Stone Lane Orchard and had our first dinner guests over last night!

So, it seems everyone is making themselves "to home" here.

(That would be Harry, Sally, and the sheep toy, sharing my bed. You can see their crates on the very edges of the photo.)

Now back to unpacking...Have a good weekend! Say hey in the comments, ok?!