another lisa

Thanks to Scott, I found a really cool place to order business cards online.

What a week! Sarah finally made a decision after many weeks of indecision. She is heading to China to teach English for a year. She has her passport, she has applied for her visa, she gave her final notice at her job and she has purchased her ticket to Shanghai. She leaves on Aug. 18th!

After receiving several offers in June, she backed off - I think she was overwhelmed at the immediacy of it. But after thinking it all over, she decided to accept one of the contracts. She will be teaching English in a high school near Shanghai. They provide a residence on site for teachers which includes some meals which I think is great.

Sarah has to clean out her room - meaning clean up the garbage! I have asked her to pack her stuff that she wants to keep and we will store it for her in the basement. If she comes back, she can have another room in the basement. Oliver will probably move into her room.

Meanwhile there is emotional fallout here. Dorothy is quite upset that Sarah is actually leaving... they have gotten pretty close over the years even though they are so different. She said, "even though Sarah is SO annoying sometimes, I will actually miss her!".

I am kind of sad too -- it's the first time one of my own kids will actually move out. (I know, she may come back) but it feels very strange. I am also worried about Zoe and Owen's reactions once it hits home with them. Overall very emotional times around here.

About two weeks ago, Oliver told his mom that he wanted to come back to live in Ottawa with us for the upcoming school year. Until age 12, he had lived half time in both of his parents homes in Ottawa (joint custody). Then his mom decided to move to BC - not for a job or any other reasonable reason, just because she felt like it. After a year of strife, Oliver decided to try living in BC with her and ended up living there for the past two school years.

Oliver is now starting high school and has decided that Ottawa has more to offer him. There are many reasons he wants to live here, including his family being here and his best friend.

This week has been very stressful due to the fact that Oliver's mother showed up suddenly and is demanding to see him. She is very aggressive and threatening, so Oliver is refusing to speak to her, even on the phone. It is a very difficult situation which is worsened because Eric is afraid to speak to her as well. She suffers from manic depression and can be very intimidating when she starts screaming. We have a situation where we may have to call the police if she attempts to enter our home, which really sucks.

For now, Eric and Oliver have written her a letter explaining what his wishes are and why he doesn't want to see her right now. We are concerned about how she will handle this and are trying to protect him from the worst of it.

This sure has been an amazing week for Broadway performances. My dad took me to see Mama Mia! tonight... we had so much fun - it is a really great show with a fun story, lots of comedic moments, time to be teary-eyed (there is a wedding of a daughter involved) and many opportunities to sing along. Who doesn't love ABBA??

Also, I took the day off and spent it with Eric (plus Dad tagged along) so that we could go to the brand new Canadian War Museum It was quite amazing... we spent about 5 hours there (we purposely didn't bring any kids with us so we could take our time) and we did not get to see all of the exhibits.

This museum includes 8 different sections which focus on different aspects of war. The first one is all about ancient history of war in Canada, looking at the time before Canada existed. Most of this section is about native peoples and the earliest contact with white colonial invaders up until about the War of Independence of the US from Britain and then up to about the Boer War.

The second section is mostly about the first world war, and the third section is all about the second world war. We saw these three sections, plus we visited a huge section which has a huge inventory of old war related vehicles such as tanks, trucks and planes...

As well we spent a long time in the huge art gallery in which hundreds of pieces of art with war themes are on display. Apparently Canada, Britain and Australia recruited dozens of top artists during WWI to document what was happening all over the world. Some of Canada's most famous artists who would later become the "group of seven" participated in this project, including Alex Colville and A.Y. Jackson. This was my favorite section of the museum, as the artists didn't try to glorify anything... they just painted/drew/sculpted what they saw.

There is also a Hall of Remembrance which we visited briefly and a Reconciliation Hall which didn't seem finished but we poked our heads in quickly there too. We did not get to do section 4, which covers the Cold War up to the present.

Overall, we were all incredibly impressed with this new museum. It certainly is worth visiting if you ever come to Ottawa. Although there is a bit of the feeling that war is exciting and dangerous (aka glorious)... it mostly focused on the loss, grief, violence of it all and the pure horror of it. It certainly was eye opening, especially in light of recent world events.

For example, there was information on internment camps for Germans, Italians and Japanese during both world wars, which were all across Canada. Canadians mostly now think this was a terrible, shameful thing to do to almost totally innocent people. But these days, the new anti-terrorism/homeland security laws remind me of these past events.

The design of the building itself is an incredible work of art. The wall surfaces and shapes remind you of tall ships, low bunkers and tunnels underground. In some way, it is very beautiful. See the picture of the building above.

Finally, I wouldn't take any young children there. It is just too graphic and honestly, boring for them. They wouldn't understand and might be very frightened about what is there. Tanks and guns are just not appropriate for children, in my humble opinion. I was dismayed to see dozens of people there today with 3-8 year old children, which I think was totally inappropriate. Maybe when Owen is around 12 I would take him there and have a good conversation about war and peace.

NYC report



Wednesday
- Got up at 4 am to get to the airport early – flight left at 6:30 (what was I thinking when I booked this flight??)
- Arrived about 8 am at La Guardia airport, got a ride to Manhattan from an airport shuttle (paid for round trip so we wouldn’t have to worry about getting back to the airport on Sunday)
- Were able to check in to the Vanderbilt YMCA by 10:30 am (even though official check in time is 3 pm
- By noon 11 am we were on our way and walked for the first of many times over to Times Square
- We had some time to kill before tickets went on sale for the evening performance so we went to NBC for the studio tour (they also have a great candy shop there where we bought a huge bag of M & Ms in rainbow colours
- After the tour, we went to stand in line at the TKTS location at Times Square… we waited just over an hour and got tickets to see Chicago!
- We were so hot, we decided to go watch a movie while we killed time… we saw “Wedding Crashers” (which we found out afterwards was rated R – lots of bare breasts… but noone questioned me taking Zoe – age 15)… overall very funny movie
- After the movie we went for dinner to TGI Fridays- very good meal.
- Then we went to Chicago and it was fantastic… very simple… meaning no constume or set changes… the movie is a souped up version of this play.
Got to bed by about 11:30 pm

Thursday

- Woke up around 10 am – basically this was the first of many days of exhaustion
- Decided to go down to South Street Seaport to check it out, get tickets there as they open earlier, with the loose plan of going to Battery Park, Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island
- This was the first day we took the subways and we got lost at Grand Central station
- Zoe panicked a bit when we were lost and later when we had other issues with the subways (ie. her metro card didn’t always work)
- Then we got lost trying to find the South St Seaport – we found it eventually – I have a pretty good sense of direction, a map and I am not afraid to ask for help if needed!
- Good things always happen while lost in NYC – we found a cute little diner and got lunch for under $10 for the two of us and Zoe got to try a piece of my club sandwich – she has now decided that club sandwiches are the best invention since nutella!
- While in line at the TKTS outlet – a white haired little old man approached me and asked if I might be interested in buying some tickets!!
- I went to see what he was offering – he had tickets to see WICKED, which you can’t get ANYWHERE… this show is sold out for the next two years.
- I was very scared to buy these tickets as I had heard people sold counterfeits on the streets – - I told him that I was visiting from Canada – that it was my daughter’s birthday and she would be heartbroken if these weren’t real tickets
- He took my hand, said “look me in the eyes” and he said “I promise you that you and your daughter are going to see a very special show tonight”
- So I bought the damn tickets – for $125 each!!! (more later)
- Then we went on to Battery park, got tickets for the ferry to Liberty and Ellis Island and WAITED for over an hour just to get through the security tent (man has everything changed in NYC to do with security – more on this later)
- We didn’t get off the ferry at the statue of liberty – just looked at it in passing and went to Ellis Island for a couple of hours (great ice cream here)
- Then we went back to Times Square and got dinner (can’t remember where)
- WICKED continued…. I was very anxious that the tickets were fake but trusted to fate… we got to the security for the theatre, held our breaths and…. They let us in!
- We got to see Wicked!
- It was one of the most amazing shows I have ever seen. Basically it is a prequel to the Wizard of Oz, telling the story of Glinda and the Wicked Witch of the West and how they were friends in high school and what happened to them and how the whole story with Dorothy eventually happened. Just amazing. I hope to buy the music someday.
- Went to a fancy restaurant for chocolate cake after – to celebrate Zoe’s impending birthday… I figured we wouldn’t have a chance the next day to have cake.
- Got to bed before 1 pm

Friday (Zoe’s Bday)
- Got up around 10 and headed out through Brooklyn to Coney Island for the day and early evening.
- Bought a pay one price bracelet for Astroland – a kind of sleazy amusement park – but we had lots of fun on rides (except for one that I had to get off of!!)
- We played some games – Zoe won the biggest huge bear but didn’t want to have to carry it back on the plane so she picked a small prize!!! (I told her I would have taken the big one and then handed it to a small child there… there were many obviously poor families around)
- Walked on the Boardwalk – and spent a lot of time at the ocean collecting shells
- At one point I saw a jelly fish and showed a little girl who shrieked and she ran to her dad (who gave me a dirty look like I was a pervert) and I explained to him there was a jelly fish in the water!! (he hustled his kids away)
- We ate clams, fried chicken, ice cream and BEER (zoe didn’t have beer)… this was the first alcohol I had on the whole trip but it was the perfect setting
we decided to head back early as we were so tired and just watched a movie back in our room as we fell asleep

Saturday
- we walked and walked in a huge circle – first up to Central Park – by the time we got there we were pooped (remember, temps in the 90’s) so we took a horse drawn carriage for a ride around the park – it was very pleasant
- also we had a perfect “brunch” with zoe having a turkey sandwich from a deli and I had a huge salad with tons of fruit in it
- then we walked down to Time Square and stood in line for almost two hours – we were at the head of the line but when it was our turn, they didn’t have tickets for our first choices… so we ended up getting tickets for Sweet Charity with Christina Applegate starring in it
Zoe was quite mopey, whiney and complaining about having to see this show and we had a little tiff – I pointed out to her how lucky she was to be on this trip compared to many children in the world, and that she had already seen two incredible shows – more than most people – blah blah blah… (aka you are the most ungrateful child I have ever seen)… she eventually apologized and said she was just tired, hot and hungry… so we went to eat dinner in China town and got a nice meal there
- The only problem was that Chinatown on Saturday was a big mistake – very crowded (ie. you have to push your way through the crowds) and everyone was shouting… so we jumped onto the back streets and it was a bit calmer – Zoe doesn’t handle crowds well with her social anxiety
- Sweet Charity was really good – with famous songs like “Hey Big Spender” and “If My Friends Could See Me Now”… and the lead was very good at it. The male lead was also fantastic.
- Went to bed around midnight

Sunday
- Got up about 10 and packed up room – left our bags at the storage room for the day
- There was a huge festival going on one block away – they had blocked off about ten blocks of third avenue (really close to the United Nations) and we got to wander around for a while – had breakfast at a deli
- Zoe got her way and we went to Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum
- I have to say that it was a great place to go – but not with small children – even Owen might be too young – it’s kind of freaky – the figures looked SO REAL
- We took tons of pics and maybe someday we will develop them
- I didn’t have a digital camera – so I will have to see if I can get digital copies of them at some point
- The shuttle to the airport insisted that we had to leave at 4 pm for the airport “just in case” so we got to the airport by 4:30 and our flight didn’t leave until 8:40 pm (4 hours of waiting… so I bought a book and read half of it)
- We got back home about 10 pm and Eric was right on time picking us up
- It was sooooo nice being back home...NYC is exciting to visit, but my overall impression is that it is crowded, noisy, smelly and busy. I would not want to live there… and I don’t think Zoe would either.
-the other comment I was going to make was about having to live in a city that is so focused on security... what with the recent London bombings I guess living in NYC is hell...if you are there everyday... there were police and security guards everywhere, not just at the subway... for almost every building you enter, you have to show id and put your bag through x-ray machines constantly and we saw army guys with machine guns in some of the subways!!! I can't imagine living with small children in that type of environment... growing up in fear all the time... ugh.

Zoe and I are packing and leaving at 5 am tomorrow morning... so I will be away for the next 5 days... Come back to visit next week to hear about our adventure! Hopefully with pics.

So Zoe and I finally took some time today to plan what we might want to do while in New York City... we came up with the following possibilities:

- Broadway shows (of course- hopefully 3 if we can afford it)
- NBC Studio tour (I did this one with Sarah and Dorothy and it was fun)
- Madame Toussaud's Wax Museum (Zoe loves this idea)
- Coney Island (for Zoe's birthday on Friday)
- Aquarium (Zoe has never been to one - I went to the Vancouver one recently and it was cool)
- Museum of Natural History (I wanted one museum so we decided to do this one)
- China town and Greenwich village (have a meal there)
- Ellis Island and Statue of Liberty

We made a detailed budget - Zoe is contributing about $400 to the expenses, so we can do more activities. We have agreed not to "go shopping" as we would rather see the sites.

Eric is on holiday for a couple of weeks.... so I have asked him to help with cooking a bit as I am the one who has to get up and go to work. (Mind you, I shouldn't complain, as I get a "holiday" with Zoe this Wednesday as we prepare to leave for New York City),

Yesterday was very busy as I had to get some work done, get groceries... then I went to my friend's house to help prepare for a memorial service (food prep)... the actual service started almost two hours late, which made us almost two hours late for our dinner invitation last night... luckily, our evening people didn't mind we were late, and we enjoyed the evening with friends eating pizza, drinking wine and watching "National Treasure". This was a pretty good movie and since we have been reading The Davinci Code (and watched Kingdom of Heaven recently)... it all makes some sense... there are some common threads between these various stories... such as Templar Knights, Masonic Lodges, Hidden Treasure, plus of course, lots of evil bad guys.

Today was heaven as I had very little concrete plans... so we played some games... we have a new game called "Carcassonne" - it's a French game (not in French, but from France!) and we have been playing it quite a bit lately. It's fun for any age - and even Owen, age 8, played it twice today - and enjoyed it (probably cause he won once).

I cooked some bbq chicken for dinner with cooked carrots... while Eric made his family's famous potato salad - which basically were mashed potatoes with tons of mashed eggs mixed in, plus some miracle whip and onions. My comment was that I am not that fond of mashed potatos, but this made it more interesting. The potato salad that I have enjoyed in the past was quite chunky with more ingredients, such as carrots and pickles. I just usually think potato salad is boring.

If you have any recipes for potato salad or pasta salad, please share them!

For anyone who is new... here is a brief breakdown of our family:

Lisa - mom, step-mom
Eric - my main squeeze for almost 5 years
Dorothy - 21 (mine)
Elizabeth - 21 (his)
Sarah - 19 (mine)
Amelia - 18 (his)
Zoe - 15 next week (mine)
Oliver - 14 in Aug. (his)
Owen - 8 (mine)
Jim - 60 + (my dad)
Suki - 1 yr, 2 mos, (main dog - english cocker spaniel) - (mine)
Shadow - 2 mos. (emergency backup dog - miniature poodle) - (mine)
Houdini - 18 mos. (long haired black cat who thinks he is a dog) - (eric's)
Maybe - 18 mos. (long haired calico cat who thinks she is the queen of the house) - (dorothy's)
various fish - several years (mine)

All of these bodies live in our house - except for Elizabeth who now lives in Montreal... plus we have Rob (Amelia's boyfriend), Eric 2 (Oliver's best friend), Jack (Owen's best friend) and other occasional visitors who hang around some.

Any questions????

Geez... this morning I got up around 8 am to let the dogs out... Owen got up earlier (as usual) and he decided to let them out of their crate... but he didn't actually take them outside AND he didn't close doors to keep them in the kitchen (which is what I usually do).

There was poop and pee everywhere. I am pretty sure Suki didn't do it - she seemed pretty anxious to actually go outside.

So I had to tell Owen that he can't let them out unless he follows the protocols.

I forgot how much work it is to have a puppy around. *Sigh*

I can't believe July is half over. I had a very busy day which included taking the puppy to the vet. BTW we ended up naming him "Shadow" as he is Suki's little shadow at this point. Not very imaginative, but the boys really liked that name and I figure they will be here longer than the girls.

The vet said that the pup is very healthy and stated that he had "two good testicles and that they were in the right place". I thought that was funny. I don't think I have ever owned a male dog before... like when I had Owen, (my first and only boy), I guess it will be a new adventure.

Amelia is away for the weekend again... last weekend she went camping for three nights to an electronica camping gathering. It sounded like she had a lot of fun. This weekend she is seeing an old friend.

In other news, Oliver mentioned to his mom that he might want to stay here in Ottawa -- and true to form -- she totally flipped out with much weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth. When Oliver started crying, Amelia grabbed the phone from him and her mom went so far as to tell Amelia that she would have nothing to live for if Oliver wasn't there with her. Amelia challenged her for saying that and really stood up to her. Amelia has tons of baggage from the past with her mom and I am afraid that this newest issue will set her back more.

Sometimes life is just soooo complicated. Meanwhile I spent a good part of today in my new office and it was really fun! I need some art though. Maybe I will get a colourful rug and hang it on the wall.

Me with Sarah after the ceremony. 

I picked up my court clothing today... This is what lawyers in Ontario must wear to court when speaking to a judge. I will look JUST like this... except for the fact that I am shorter, fatter and you wouldn't catch me in heels... or a skirt... hopefully I will get some pics tomorrow at the ceremony.

Today I had several errands to do:

1. drove Sarah to work for 10 am...

2. went to Rod's office for the last time as an "articling student" to pick up a bunch of files to go down to the courthouse...

3. went downtown, stop at the Law Society office... get in line... wait... finally get my turn to "sign the rolls" as a solicitor for the Ontario Superior Court and the Ontario Court of Appeal...

4. went to the courthouse to file stuff for Rod...

5. went to pick up my court attire... (see picture above)

6. picked up Zoe from my mom's and we went home...

7. picked up some boxes and moved them to new office... zoe came too!

8. came home and talked to Steve for a few minutes to finalize plans for tomorrow

9. went out for dinner with my boss Rod...

10. came home and washed the kitchen floor...

I saw this over at Carrie's blog... I got social career which makes some sense, considering I used to be a social worker and am now a lawyer. (as of Wednesday!)

Your Career Type: Social

You are helpful, friendly, and trustworthy. Your talents lie in teaching, nursing, giving information, and solving social problems. You would make an excellent: Counselor - Dental Hygienist - Librarian Nurse - Parole Officer - Personal Trainer Physical Therapist - Social Worker - Teacher The worst career options for your are realistic careers, like truck driver or farmer.

This is the surprise I was talking about... We got a 7 week old miniature poodle today! We had to pick between a smaller 3 lb one who had white paws and chest and this all-black 4 lb boy. We decided to take this one as he seemed less hyper. As a miniature poodle, it is predicted that he will grow to be about 12 lbs as an adult... but could be as much as 15 lbs.

Why the hell did I decide to get another animal, you ask? Well...

1) Like Holley, I think I need an Emergency Back-Up Dog... you know... just in case.
2) We have two cats, so its just fair (I like dogs more than cats... Eric likes cats more)
3) Poodles are hypo allergenic, so it won't bother my allergies.
4) I have been wanting to breed Suki and I am interested in Cockapoos - they are so cute!
5) We can sell the puppies for quite a bit which will pay for fixing these two dogs eventually.
6) This will help Suki to have more power against the dark forces of cats in this house.
7) Suki sometimes is lonely when we have to go out.
8) Oliver wants a dog.... (aka this is a way to bribe him to live here)
9) Did I mention that I love dogs?

**please note: I wanted to get another dog, specifically a miniature poodle for the past six months and have been shopping around -- it is just a coincidence that Oliver wants a puppy -- and I told him that if he is here at the end of August (meaning Oliver) and if he takes good care of the pup, it can be "his" dog... and if not, it's my dog.

Also, I wouldn't consider breeding Suki if she wasn't an incredible sweet tempered smart dog. At least 4 people have asked me to let them know if she has puppies as they like her so much.
I have bred dogs on occasion in the past and have always been able to find excellent homes for them.

Houdini (our main cat) has already welcomed the puppy by licking him. Maybe has stalked him a few times and threatened him by hissing. She is just letting him know that she is the Queen of this house.

outside 

Yesterday was an amazing day as I got to attend a refugee hearing for two teen girls whose case I have been working on since September. It was a very emotional event, with them finally being accepted as convention refugees. Yay! Many tears of joy were shed, including my own.

Today was officially my last day of work. I wrapped up a few files and my boss Silvia took me out for a drink and appetizers at the end of the day. It was very nice.

Nothing else much happened...

Meanwhile... I think there may be a big surprise tomorrow at our house... guess what it is?

I am fascinated and almost overwhelmed at the huge number of interesting blogs that exist on almost every topic imaginable. Heck I was thinking about starting a blog about ingrown hair after I discovered I have an ingrown eyelash this week! (just kidding)

Scott Feldstein noticed that I linked to him and commented about having to get over being a "token male". I guess when I was first organizing my links, this blog was really a parenting blog and it has developed into a slightly broader focus... including some politics and human rights stuff that I am interested in, as well as gardening, photos, animals and kids stuff.

At first, the friends I made online were pretty much other moms. Then I started meeting lots of other people... singles, men, pretty much a wide sample of human diversity, which is really cool.

Anyway, I had thought it was funny to put "token male" when I discovered Zero Boss and added him as a link. Maybe it's not so funny - and I certainly don't want to be a hypocrite.... so I think I will rename the sections....

Sorry Scott, if I offended you... I really like your blog!

My friend Lynn sent me this...

A Minneapolis couple decided to go to Florida to thaw out during a particularly icy winter. They planned to stay at the same hotel where they spent their honeymoon 20 years earlier. Because of hectic schedules, it was difficult to coordinate their travel schedules.

So, the husband left Minneapolis and flew to Florida on Thursday, with the wife flying down the following day. The husband checked into the hotel. There was a computer in his room, so he decided to send an e-mail to his wife. However, he accidentally left out one letter in her e-mail address, and without realizing his error, sent the e-mail.

Meanwhile, somewhere in Houston, a widow just returned home from her husband's funeral. He was a minister who was called home to glory following a heart attack. The widow decided to check her e-mail since she was expecting messages from relatives and friends.

After reading the first message, she screamed and fainted. The widow's son rushed into the room, found his mother on the floor, and saw the computer screen which read:

To: My Loving Wife
Subject: I've Arrived
Date: October 16, 2004

I know you're surprised to hear from me. They have computers here now and you are allowed to send e-mails to your loved ones. I've just arrived and have been checked in. I see that everything has been prepared for your arrival tomorrow. Looking forward to seeing youthen!Hope your journey is as uneventful as mine was.

P.S. Sure is freaking hot down here.

I love reading this site. Muslim Wake Up is a site written by many prominent Muslims. The content seems to be very progressive and liberal politically. This interesting article about why Muslims should support gay marriage or at least not oppose it is worth checking out. It approaches the issue as a human rights perspective... sort of like saying if you believe in freedom of speech and expression, freedom of religion and other basic human rights, you should not oppose the freedom or rights of other minority groups.

Tonight we took Oliver to get new glasses... he really liked these simple ones which have "clip on" sunglasses (they actually attach with magnets)... I pointed out to Eric that when Dorothy got that type a couple of years ago, she lost the sunglasses attachment very soon after she got them, so he shouldn't only focus on that "cool" aspect.

I suggested that we look around more and luckily we found another glasses place on the third floor of this huge mall. The exact same glasses were there at less than half the price.

Then the three of us went out for dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Moxies. We had a nice dinner and shared a glorious strawberry dessert. I love this time of year because of the local strawberries.

OK... so in case you have questions for the new Pope, you can visit his new website, called Ask the Pope! I found the link over at Thoughts of a Pseudo-Intellectual Lunatic, who visited me recently. It is really quite hilarious.

You Are Rocky Road Ice Cream

Unpredictable and wild, you know how to have fun. You're also a trendsetter who takes risks with new things. You know about the latest and greatest - and may have invented it. You are most compatible with vanilla ice cream.

To add to the chaos, last night we let Oliver and Owen have a friend overnight, so Eric (Oliver's friend) and Jack joined us. The bigger boys actually treated the younger boys fairly decently and the younger boys didn't drive them too crazy. They played hide and seek, watched each other play video games and ate constantly. I think this is typical male behaviour. (maybe not the hide and seek??)

Owen and Jack slept in the upstairs living room and got to sleep by about 10 pm. Oliver and Eric slept in the rec/games room in the basement. Eric is actually here for the weekend and I think Oliver will be going to his place tomorrow night. They seem to be joined at the hip. I am happy that Oliver has a good friend here.

Today I got groceries and we are going to Melanie's for a bbq later this afternoon. I got a pizza for the boys so they don't have to come, as there isn't much to do at Melanie's. Owen is coming with us, as well as Zoe, Dorothy and my dad. It should be a nice evening and is not quite as hot as it has been all week.

Owen, Jack and I just came back from a dog walk down by the canal. We decided to stick to the more forested paths to stay out of the sun and met some interesting dogs. One was a Bernease Mountain Dog... very sweet and huge.

Attention: USA, Canada, Great Britain, France,
....Germany, Italy, Japan and Russia.

Hopefully you have been catching one of the Live 8 concerts wherever you live... the Canadian one is pretty cool... so far they have shown some performers from London as well. I am hoping they will show some of the other countries too.

If you don't know, this concert is being held to try to pressure the G8 countries who are meeting this week. It is the 20th anniversary of the Live Aid concert which was held to raise money for Ethiopia during a huge drought.

8 world leaders, gathered in Scotland for the G8 summit, will be presented with a workable plan to double aid, drop the debt and make the trade laws fair. If these 8 men agree, then we will become the generation that made poverty history.

Today, 8 countries are holding huge free concerts to raise awareness about poverty in 3rd world countries. Many recording artists as well as actors and other people in the entertainment industry are getting involved in this activism. You may have noticed the commercial that's been on for the past few weeks with people snapping their fingers. The "a child dies needlessly every three seconds" one. It is connected with these concerts.

Bruce Cockburn performed today at the Canadian concert. He is one of my favorite all time artists. I saw him perform years ago onstage with just an acoustic guitar and soem acapella songs.

The whole point is to get the citizens of these 8 countries sign an online petition to get their own governments to commit a certain percentage of their budgets and to forgive any debt for the most poor countries, especially in Africa where the toll of AIDS has caused the death of most adults... so that right now, 58% of the current population in Africa is under 16 years old.

Take a moment and check out the web site for Live 8. It's really important to sign the petition or contact your own government about this issue. It is a well put together site with links for each country to see what's up there. The site in Canada is www.makepovertyhistory.ca.

Some blogs have dozens or hundreds of links to other bloggers. At some point I started putting links onto my blog and it seems like the basic guidelines I gave myself for putting links on is this:

I will put a link on my blog to someone's blog if:

1. they link to me...(some people link to me without telling me and I find out by chance!)

2. they talk to me in my comments more than once (and leave info on their blog that I can find), OR

3. I really enjoy what they are writing and I read their blog at least once a week.

There are some links that I have included where these guidelines are no longer true... so I probably will take them off at some point.

Most, but not all, of the blogs I link to are parents - mothers, to be more specific... a while back I added the Zero Boss as my "token male" as I really love his blog. I found him through his wife Kim at Catawumpus.

I think I will be adding some new links to a couple of people I have gotten to know because of their activist/political leanings. I really respect what they have to say - but if you don't agree with what they are into, that's ok.

Today, I added Scott, another "token male" who is a dad as well (with I think, two teens), but I like his blog because he talks about lots of other interesting topics, including politics and technology. I met him through Karen at Verbatim. Hope you will visit him!

This post at Zero Boss about how his daughter baked him a birthday cake cause her mom was out of town reminded me of a couple of weeks ago when Zoe baked a cake for some special event.

My daughter Zoe, age 14, had decided to bake a cake. She asked me to get a mix, so it wouldn't be too hard (ie. just add water and eggs - there is even a picture of a cup of water and two eggs on the box! baking for dummies-like).

I got the one she wanted. After it was "baked" for the correct amount of time, and cooled off, we noticed something was wrong. It hadn't risen - it looked more like a pan of brownies. So we tested a bit - it tasted like crap... and was mushy.

With a bit of questioning, it was discovered that she hadn't exactly followed the directions...

She forgot to put in the eggs. Poor Zoe.

*looks at the current world's population* You must have a lot of frustration then.

What pisses you off?

Created by ptocheia