Random news...

Much has been happening in our little world, of late.  The computer has relented on its work action, and no longer freezes and quits as often as it used to.  Apparently, some free (although time consuming) health care in the form of defragmentation has addressed some of its occupational health and safety issues, and the result is a much happier little laptop.  However, upon severe overuse of its video function, it still recommences job action in the form of a complete and total shutdown.  Which brings me to...

Curling!  Lloyd is a huge curling fan.  He has curled for many many years, and really enjoys watching the games, particularly our national playoffs for men and women.  Juniors too, really.  And the televised cash bonspiels, and tournaments, and oh, yes, the Olympic curling this year, as well.  (There is really a lot of curling that one can watch on television.  Wow!)  So, he watched a lot of the games over the internet, which a) gave the computer fits and shut it down from time to time, and b) kept me off the computer.  Which (b) is not a bad thing, really, but it did cramp my surfing style a bit.  ;p

SUNSHINE!!  +  20 degree weather!!  =  Suntanning outside!!    (In other words, I have a wee tan.  Before the end of March, people!  I am still in shock, even as I revel in the tan lines!!)  I am not the only one catching some rays.  Our tiny little neighbours were out the other day, too!

Birthday parties and cakes, oh my...  Carson turned 8 today, and we had his birthday party this past Saturday.  A total of 10 boys were running and screaming inside and outside of the house, playing inside then outside then inside again as the heavens opened and the rain poured down from time to time all afternoon.  They settled down admirably after cake, and after the first guest or two left.  (Funny how that changes the group dynamics, the departure of the first guest.)  I made a super yummy chocolate cake, from scratch, and broke the first one beyond redemption getting it out of the pan.  (Yes, I greased and floured it first.  I think it was just undercooked a touch, and a bit too cool to boot.)  So, I baked a second cake, and with the help of parchment paper, I had no trouble getting the cake out to decorate it.  (Spidey's face was a big hit!)  Today, for Carson's actual birthday, he wanted a cake to share with his class at school.  What with one thing and the next, the cake came out of the oven last night at 23:15.  Flat.  Unrisen.  Awful...  I had forgotten to add the baking powder and the baking soda.  So, I baked the fourth (and final!) cake for Carson's 8th birthday, made some frosting, tinted it a pastel turquoise sort of colour, added sprinkles, and sent it to school.  It was a huge hit, but all the children were amazed at the frosting, which leads me to ask, why is there not a lot of frosting here?  I have not yet seen Betty Crocker tubs of frosting, nor any other kind.  Is it just not done, here?  What do they ice their cakes with?  It was just a simple buttercream frosting, with butter and icing sugar...

This is not the buttercream frosting cake.  This is Spidey with plain, homemade chocolate frosting.  I forgot to take a picture of the pretty pastel cake before I wrapped it up to send to school, and I wasn't unwrapping it for anything! 

Parade de Printemps:  The morning of the party, we all danced and walked in the rain in the Spring Parade that all of the elementary schools in town put on each year.  It was so much fun, and so cute, too!  Margo and Riley wore crocodile headbands, and Riley had a tunic to wear, too.  Lloyd was part of the crew carrying the large crocodile in the parade, and I was amazed at how many sculptures were carried through the parade, and how many people participated in the parade.  Carson decorated his own wolf mask, and had a lot of fun scaring Margo with it earlier in the day as we were getting ready to go to the parade. 

The James Bond of Chickendom  (or rather, Jane Bond)... From my Facebook status on Sunday:  Joy... has survived a day of "wild discovery" here. Thankfully, so has the neighbour's pet chicken. The children witnessed it being chased, caught, and dragged off by a dog. (They were just a wee bit upset.) Luckily for us all, the chicken came back, later this very same day. :)  

Carson, Riley and Margo were playing out in the yard on Sunday afternoon, when all of a sudden, Riley comes to the door, just bawling!  He finally spit out that a dog was carrying away one of the neighbour's chickens!  Now, Riley loves these chickens, with all of his heart.  He has fed the chickens day and night for the past few weeks while the neighbours have been away, and he has collected the eggs.  He was so excited when they started to eat out of his hand, and when they started letting him pick them up and cuddle them.  So he was crushed, and scared, and oh, so MAD that a dog caught the chicken and carried it out of the yard and across the field.  I carried Riley across the yards to the neighbour and broke the news, and by then, the dog was back in the yard, and Riley and Carson and Margo were just furious!!  Both boys were crying by now, (thank goodness Margo didn't really understand what was going on!), loudly. I got them into our house, without incident, after Carson put down the other chicken, and my neighbour, C and I went looking for the chicken.  For a carcass, for closure, whatever.  We couldn't find the body.  Anywhere!  Back we went to our respective homes.   Later, just before dinner, which we were sharing at C's, we see one chicken at the coop.  (The other hadn't returned home yet, either, after running and hiding.)  The boys went to investigate, and lo and behold, it was the carried off chicken!!!  Bloody, limping, missing lots of feathers, but home!  And walking!!  And trying to hop up into the coop!!!  And then the second chicken arrived, and the celebration was on!   The injured chicken was taken to the vet the next day, and it was determined that nothing was broken, and it just needed time to heal.  Yay for Speckles, the Jane Bond of Chickendom.  :D

 Riley and Speckles.  A boy and his (neighbour's) chicken.  :)

Heigh-Ho!!  It's off to Legoland we go!!  We leave Wednesday evening for Legoland in Germany, our last trip in Europe, and a birthday gift for Carson and Riley.  We are all looking forward to this, very very much!! 

Sadly, internet service will be disrupted for the next three weeks.  I will be randomly checking posts, and hopefully, posting pictures of Legoland, but we are starting to pack up all of our things to return home, and we must cancel our landline and WiFi now to have a chance at paying the final bill before we leave the country for home.  I am so very excited to be returning home, even as I am sad to leave behind the friends that we've made here.  I have so many thoughts, and questions, and comparisons of "here" to "home" that I shall be writing them for a good long while to come.  With some distance, and time for reflection and further research, I hope share more of my thoughts and impressions of here, and what I've learned.  We will be back in Canada on April 16th.  

See you on the flipside.  :)