Autumn Fun

I think I'm warming up to autumn. I think I've always disliked the season because of what it represents: shorter days, colder nights, winter is looming around the corner... But yesterday was what autumn is all about.

After playing in the leaves on our lawn for a while earlier in the day (minus the part where I stepped in some of Jake's leftovers), we went to a local pumpkin patch with some friends of ours. There were tractors, including an old steam tractor, mazes (both for little and big people), animals for petting, wagons for pulling around, and pumpkins gallore!

ah kids

yesterday was a bit of a breakthrough for kai. he initiated going to the toilet in order to do a #1. before we moved here we were using stickers as incentives to get him to go to go #1 in his little kids toilet. as i was getting something out of the bathroom cupboard yesterday morning kai spotted the box of stickers. he immediately wanted to get onto his toilet and go pee "i want a sticker" were his words and i then helped him take off his diaper and down he sat. nothing happened. it didn't bother him that he didn't get a sticker but last night when becky helped him sit on the big toilet he went and boy was it an event. each time since then he has initiated wanting to go the bathroom, i don't know if he can tell that he has an urge or if it's just the stickers. but it's working. last night he got to wear some elmo underwear before going to bed and it was a big deal. they ended up wet but that's the way it goes sometimes. he gets a real kick out of me jumping up and down whenever he uses his little seat over top of the big toilet.

convincing him that he can do a #2 in the toilet may be a bigger adventure but we aren't in a hurry. we are trying not to make any of this forced or put too much pressure on the little guy. he seems to be happy to tell us when he wants to go and we accept it when we ask and he says "no".

now if we can only convince him to stay in his bed at night.

First snow?

My mother and I have been curious about whether it will snow first in Barrie or Boulder this year. Well, yesterday it snowed in the Boulder AREA, but it's hard to say whether or not it actually snowed in Boulder. It didn't snow at our house - it actually rained for about 48 hours straight. The Denver airport got about 8", though, and the foothills all around Boulder got a comparable amount. Some places in the Denver region got as much as 18". Not our house, though... we just got rain. So does this count as a first snow? I don't know...

I didn't even realize there was snow in the hills near Boulder until I went out for groceries late in the afternoon yesterday, and yet it still wasn't really obvious as the low-lying cloud/fog made it almost impossible to see. This morning, however, it was very clear that there is snow here - the hills around my lab are covered, although it is melting quickly.

I know I wasn't looking forward to snow, but now that it's here (however briefly) I can definitely appreciate the way that it makes the mountains come alive... In fact, I even had to take pictures of it, just because that's how my mind works:

Giving thanks

Today is [the Canadian] Thanksgiving. It’s a strange holiday for a Canadian living in the U.S., because although Thanksgiving is also celebrated here, the two nations recognize the holiday on days that are over a month and a half apart, and few Americans realize that today is special for us. I think this is the first day that I have felt really far away from home. It doesn’t help that Keith is over 2000 miles away at a wedding, making it a holiday that no other adult nearby is celebrating. All I could muster the energy to make for dinner for myself and Kai was spaghetti and garlic bread, and the dinner conversation wasn’t that fantastic:

Kai: I want more cheese.

Me: no Kai, you’ve got enough cheese.

Kai: I want more WHITE cheese… I want MORE cheese… I want more CHEESE.

Me: I said no.

Kai: I want JUICE.

Me: (pours juice and hands it over) Here you go.

Kai: I want more cheese. I want MORE CHEEEEEEESE!

Me: I said no.

Kai: I want more cheese!

Me: (silence)

Kai: I want… THAT (indicating plate containing the banana muffin bits that he had rejected minutes earlier, and upon receiving it, dumping it, crumbs and all, into his bowl of spaghetti).

And so on…

confession time: I’ve never cooked a turkey. Maybe this year will be the year I learn how. Of course, Keith and I have often scoffed at the whole turkey thing. Is it really necessary to consume one every Christmas and Thanksgiving? Having three sets of parents, plus good friends who have often graciously invited us to their family functions, we frequently get turkeyed-out during the holidays. And I can’t say I enjoy big turkey dinners any more than a nice roast chicken, fresh bread and a salad. A few years ago Keith and I thought that perhaps we’d make lasagna for Christmas dinner if anyone ever comes to our place. Of course, now they likely won’t come. But I do make a pretty decent lasagna, or so I’ve been told.

Having had a lot of time to myself this weekend, I’ve spent some time thinking about some of the things I’m thankful for: of course, Keith and Kai, and our families. I’m thankful that Keith was able to be there for Mark this weekend as he starts a new part of his life with Chandra. I know it meant a lot for him to go. Even though we are both too far away from Ontario to go home, I’m thankful that all our parents are with one of their children this weekend. I’m thankful for the opportunity that we had to come to Boulder, and that we are able to explore and experience so many new places. I’m thankful for our good health. I’m thankful for old friends who have always been there for us – I miss you. I’m thankful for new friends, including the ones who invited Kai and me over for lunch this afternoon, making my first Thanksgiving away that much more bearable. I’m thankful for mountains, and for new meaning to the song How Great Thou Art. I’m thankful that God has provided for us over the past year, and continues to provide for us, and I'm thankful for the many ways He has taught us to trust in Him since we moved. Above all, I’m thankful that I have hope in my Lord and Saviour, and that I can trust in Him to take care of us.

So happy thanksgiving to all of you, Americans and Canadians alike. May you all have something to be thankful for this year.

there's no place like home, there's no place like home

while that is true, it is also true that there is no place like a party. and so tomorrow morning i am headed to boston for a party. more like a wedding really. mark abraham's wedding to be exact. i fly into boston and there mark is picking me up and we are heading back to freeport maine for the weekend. becky and kai will be staying in boulder and i'm sure they will have a great weekend together.

i have to remember to take my pocket knife off of my key chain as i pack for the flight, i don't want to end up being searched.......

it will certainly be a different kind of trip for me. the longest i have ever been away from kai is two nights, so four days and three nights should be an experience.

Another gloomy day

Today is another gloomy day, made more gloomy by the contrast to the very nice weather we've had for the last few days. I suppose it's good to have gloomy days so that we can appreciate the nice ones that much more. I've heard the same said for cold, snowy weather, but I think I've seen enough snow in my lifetime to be able to appreciate warm weather even if I never saw snow again.

Even Jake is mopey:

still an alien, but now i can be a working alien

friday afternoon was a lazy day, a sunny day, just another day of going to the mailbox and not finding my work permit. as i came back into the house i decided to check the homeland security webpage that contains information about my file. the last time i checked the webpage it said the office had received the information that they had requested and now i would have to wait. so as i logged into my file i expected to see a statement to the effect of "our decision has been mailed to you". but lo and behold the statement said "this case has been approved, your card was mailed to you on september 22, if you do not receive it within 14 days contact our office." i was so happy i nearly jumped out of my skin. i immediately called becky but she wasn't answering her phone. she walked into the house 5 minutes later while i was talking to my mom.

and so now i need to go to the social security office tomorrow at 9 am and apply for a card. i can apply for any job i want, i just have to tell them that i have a work permit and that my social security card is on its way. hopefully and prayerfully within a couple of weeks i will have a job.

thanks to becky, my parents and my lifegroup for your support
and thanks be to God. jeremiah 29:11

Bike Musings

I ride my bike to and from work on average about 4 days per week, 2 1/2 miles on the way to work and 6 miles home (I take a shuttle up the mountain to my lab and then I ride home the whole way). Biking is a good time to think about life and about things that matter. It's also a good time to think about inane things, because attention spans on bikes can be rather short. Lately, I've been mentally tallying up a list of things that occur to me while I ride, and I thought I'd share it with you:

1) There are a lot more bugs at 5:30 PM in September than there are at the same time in July.
2) Bugs hurt when they hit you in the face at 40 miles per hour.
3) Glasses are a good thing.
4) Somehow, roadkill always ends up in bike lanes.
5) Like the shoemaker, I have elves. Only, my elves don't make shoes for me at night - they loosen the strap on my bike helmet, so that every day I have to retighten it.
6) Sometimes the fastest way home isn't the best. A bike path beside a creek beats a bike lane on a street every time.
7) My hands hate the cold.

If you ride, feel free to add your own musings. The list is open.
If you don't ride, but wish you could, I say: just do it. It's very worthwhile.

imagine breathing 1/3 the amount of oxygen and then try climbing a mountain

yesterday i had the pleasure of meeting a man who joins a club of six other climbers (he is the first american) who have climbed the 14 highest peaks (8000 meters or 26,246 feet) on the planet without using supplemental oxygen. on may 12, 2005 ed viesturs reached the summit of annapurna, the tenth highest mountain in the world.

kai and i went to r.e.i. yesterday afternoon where ed was doing a meet and greet before his presentation at the boulder theater last night. he signed this poster for becky.



he told the story of his sixteen year quest to climb these mountains and he talked about his experience regarding the 1996 tragedy on everest. he talked about the impact that climbing at extreme altitudes has on the human body and of course about his sponsors who have supported him over his career. most importantly he talked about his wife who supported his decisions to climb and his climbing partners both past and present who shared in these adventures. his pictures and stories contained tales of caution and inspiration as it relates to safety and success on these high peaks. his mantra has always been - getting to the peak is optional, getting down is mandatory.

his autobiography is going to be released next year and i'm sure it will be just interesting and inspiring as his presentation was last night.

red tape

last week i filled out some job applications ... i got as far as the section that asks for proof of your eligibility to work in the usa. for the past couple of weeks i have waited anxiously for the mail truck to make the turn down our street. i have been expecting a letter from homeland security telling me if i do or do not have work authorization. each day i put kai down for his nap and then sit at the computer checking my email or looking at a variety of different web pages on climbing, mountaineering and other sports. from the desk i only have to lean over to look out the window when i hear a vehicle turning around on our dead end street. today is the last day that i am going to be held captive by this expected letter from uncle sam. i will continue to check the mail of course but i won't go looking for the mail truck.