life candy

so long, fort awesome.

Every winter, Roomie and the kids make a quinzhee, a snow shelter or cave, in our back yard. It's a fun and simple activity all the "outdoors folk" in my house (ie. not me) really enjoy doing. Plus, it's a chance for Roomie to impart an important survival skill to his kids -- in case they find themselves stranded in the middle of our Canadian wilderness in the dead of winter with nothing but a shovel and their incredible cuteness.

See? Incredible cuteness.

"Fort Awesome" is in honour of the mansion of our favourite eccentric billionaire, Jimmy James on NewsRadio.

This year, with the crapload of snow shoveled from our walkway and raked from our roof, Roomie was able to throw the biggest snow hill yet. After giving the snow hill some time to settle and harden, he excavated a huge multi-roomed quinzhee so the kids can have a little cave to hang out and play in.
Shovel-shovel-shovel, throw-throw-throw, dig-dig-dig, then BAM! -- a place for survival and tea parties!

Sadly, we have to bid an early "Bye-bye now" to Fort Awesome. With temperatures rising to 10C (50F), we'll have Puddle Awesome before we know it*.

Out go the blanket that kept bums warm, the plastic ninja sword to keep the crazies out, the tea set that refreshed little visiting friends, and the cool light that made Fort Awesome look so very awesome.
For Daddy.
When he'd hide there.
At night.
Like a mole.

So, adieu, Fort Awesome. See you next year! We'll all miss you.

* - Last year, this time, it was -19C (-2F).

the end is NOWHERE NEAR near.

Before you say anything, no, our bathroom isn't done yet. Actually, they haven't even started, and I still have a hot steaming mess of yucky-old-bathroom. But I gotta say, for now, I'm okay with that.

Why, Nenette? Why are you content living with the Disgustington model of bathroom decor?

Actually, it's hard to explain. It has everything to do with the energy in this house. It's all up-in-the-air, in-feng-shui-limbo, the-exact-opposite-of-grounded, and all the other non-one-word synonyms for "unsettled and chaotic".

Frankly, at this point, if I have strangers coming into my house to interfere with my space (yes -- interfere with my space) and stir up the already-frantic energy, the question "What does Nenette look like when she goes totally bitchcakes?" will be unequivocally answered.

And I'm convinced the crazy energy in the house is thanks to the number of unfinished projects* slapping me in the face...

Sort toys for the Children's Hospital and Goodwill.
Finish sorting other crap for sale, disposal or Goodwill.
Finish viewing the last of the VHS tapes (I'm now at the crap-quality Red Dwarf episodes taped from Public TV).
Sew the "Olympic fire mitts" for Lam's school play.
Sew the box pleat curtains for the livingroom (because the Sears interior designer quoted $1634+tax for custom-made, just about sending Roomie into shock.)
Put up the blinds in the kitchen and livingroom.
Put up diningroom photo frames.
AND ON, AND ON...

And no hyperbole anywhere to be found.

And many of these are not projects you can just stash away until you're ready. No, I have light fixtures, bathroom fixtures, toilets (okay, just one -- but it's in the livingroom), window blinds, cans of paint, bags and boxes of toys, and cans of paint in every corner of the house.
And I see this crap every single minute of every single day, because I'm a STAY-AT-HOME-MOM, and my unfinished house is my frickin' office!!!

It's no wonder really that my stress level is sky high right now. I'd go on about that, but that's a topic for another soon-to-be blog post.

Anyway, don't get me wrong. I'd like to get my bathroom done soon, but I'm not rushing anyone.

Meanwhile, one glorious item has been settled: Our new couch was delivered! On time and assembled... by 2 very cute and competent delivery guys. And the best thing? The kids love it! Slowly, my house is becoming more and more like the warm cozy home I've always hoped for.

Check it out -- oh, btw, the green wall will be painted white this summer, so this isn't the final iteration of the room...

What do you think?!

* - And these don't include the projects on Roomie's list, which he can only tackle on the weekends or holidays.

a winnipeg family needs help.

One of the wonderful things about us humans -- despite our infighting over religion, over territory -- is our tendency to rally around those in our community struck by tragedy outside of their control. Our speedy response to the Haiti and Chile Earthquakes, Hurricane Katrina, and 9/11 are just a few examples.

Now, it's not a habit of mine to post this sort of thing, but I thought I'd put out the word for those of us in Winnipeg willing and in position to lend a hand. I just heard from my friend Sue, and she has friends who need our help. Here's the email she sent me:

Dear friends of mine are in desperate need of help!!
Early Saturday morning at 4am their house started on fire! They got out with just the clothes on their backs and nothing else!! They have lost everything!! Everyone is safe, although Dean, the dad, had to have surgery on his hand as he tore his tendons smashing the windows to save his kids lives. Their 13 year old son, Jack, injured his foot jumping from the second story window.

They had no house insurance.

Now before you judge…these are good people who have been struggling for a while and were just trying to make ends meet. Dean has had two back surgeries in the past and was trying to make a living selling items on Ebay. He is also a tattoo artist by trade and was trying to open a business but lost all his equipment in the fire.

They never imagined that anything like this would happen, and were just trying to make ends meet, so insurance got put on the side burner, which of course they regret deeply now…

And now they are left in desperate need of your help!!!

The 6 children plus a foster daughter are as follows;

14 year old foster daughter (that they took in with no help from anyone)

13 year old son

12 year old daughter

8 year old son

4 year old son

2 year old girl

and nearly one year old girl

They need everything, but immediate needs are diapers (size 3), easy ups (size 4), wipes, toiletries, clothing and food.

They also need help with the demolition of their house, and they somehow need building supplies to be able to rebuild a home for their family.

I know that people of Winnipeg have come together before to help out when families are in need, and once again, here is a really great family in a very bad predicament!!

They are not the type of people to ask for help, but have no choice right now, and they do not want to end up declaring bankruptcy and be on welfare.

Please help my friends rebuild their lives!!!