Last day of school & Gratitude

A friend recently gave me this knitting project bag.  It's got funny things on it like:
"Mother: [noun]-One person who does the work of twenty. For free."
And
"The joys of motherhood are experienced when kids go to bed."

I'm extremely glad that I had my twins, and I love them a lot.  However-- I'm also pretty sad that grade 1 is over as of lunch time today!  During the summer, we have some summer camp time, and a lot of "hang out with Mommy" time.  It means I have to work at night, on weekends, or whenever I can fit it in...so blog posts may be fewer, and well, I get fewer breaks to do grown-up things like work.  (Maybe it's surprising, but I love working and being by myself and miss it terribly when I'm on full time mom duty.)

Yesterday was a taste of things to come.  We had a day off (right before the end of school) and we got hair cuts, went to the pediatrician for a check-up, brought Sadie the dog to a play date with a trainer and picked her up again, walked to the bakery together (and boys purchased bread/treats on their own), had meals and snacks, played in our front yard wading pool... and ran one other errand.  Yes, we had take-out for dinner.  I could do no more!

The errand: I picked up my engagement ring and wedding ring from the jeweler's.  Yesterday was our 20th wedding anniversary.  In honor of this, I had my rings resized so I could wear them consistently again.  Twin pregnancy and Lyme disease/post-Lyme means my knuckles swell...and getting the rings on and off had become really a trial.  So, I reconfirmed things with the Professor this way.  The jeweler said "Here they are again, like brand new!"  But I didn't want brand new.  I wanted older, a bit worn, and still fitting.  Oh well.  No one's fault that my knuckles got swollen.  I need to be grateful for what I've got!

In order to counteract this feeling...here's a link to my latest article,which just came out today:

Do you have a gratitude list?

Happy 5778! and more

Sorry for the radio silence over here.  Just when the second week of school for twins started here, our dear professor (Daddy) went off to England to do some research in museum insect collections.  I am proud to say that we made it through more than a week on our own.  Two six year olds, two older dogs (one pretty sick) and one very tired Mommy.  Holding down the fort is hard work.

Every day, our professor sent us photos of what he saw while he was in London at the Natural History Museum, in Oxford, and then at a symposium in Cambridge.

Here is a little sampling of his photos.
This is the museum in Oxford where he worked.  The red shirts at the front were volunteers for a day of student visits...he said there were balloons and signs and helpers, and lost looking young people everywhere.

The outsides of these museums and the display spaces are really something to see.  Behind the scenes, according to the professor, are even more interesting--sometimes disorganized, dark, and overwhelming.  He saw very old insect collections (like, 400 years old) and more.  Here is a shot of what behind the scenes looks like in Oxford's museum.

In Cambridge, he got to attend a symposium for his grad school advisor.  (Yes, the professor attended that Cambridge for this Master's degree, he's a Churchill College guy.)

Here's a shot of the punters on the river in Cambridge.

 What happened at home?
My article ran on the CBC here.  I got a lot of interesting and somewhat confrontational feedback.   Little of it seemed to apply to managing responsibly as a single parent for a week.  (You'll understand more if you check out the link, it's about creating legislation and education campaigns for the July 2018 marijuana legalization in Canada.)

The 2017 Manitoba Fibre Festival happened, and I was there for only an hour or two with both kids as I didn't teach or help this year.  It was remarkable to be there as a regular bystander.  Only a few people knew me or said hello.  It reminded me how capable others are--there were great classes, many volunteers, lots of helpers.  While I missed some of it, stepping down from being involved was obviously better for getting over Lyme disease,improving my health and taking care of my kids.  However, I was left a bit hollow about the whole thing, still sorting out my feelings there.  I've taught at a bunch of festivals, given a key note at one or two, done booksignings, and helped start this one.  But for now, I am 'between' festivals.

There was also a really super review of my book, and I was so grateful for it.  I have fallen down on marketing it.  However, the short version is that I'm proud of having written From the Outside In and even more pleased that I figured out how to publish all those newspaper columns both affordably and independently, in book form.  That said, I'd also like to break even on the whole thing, so if you haven't read my book, please check it out!

We topped off this very busy time with a really wonderful family Rosh Hashanah, Jewish New Year, to celebrate 5778.  Happy New Year!  Both boys were unhappy that I didn't manage to invite guests to our holiday meals, but one very tired professor (with jetlag) returned just in time... so now we're back to two parents, two elderly dogs, and two very busy grade 1 students, starting a new week of school.  (Easy by comparison to last week)

It was rainy and cold here this weekend, and I'm knitting like crazy to get ready.  Kids keep growing like weeds and need new sweaters.  Winter is coming!  (Winter is always coming in Canada)  Are you knitting anything new?  Need some pattern ideas?