Wilsonworld

Teaching them right.

Ever since we got rid of cable here at Wilsonworld, we have taken to watching movies much more than we used to. I am a fan of classic films, my first to favourite films ever being The African Queen and White Christmas. From there you can go on to any of the Tracy/Hepburn/Bogart etc..films...as well as the Great Musicals from the era of MGM..you know when entertainers were, um ENTERTAINERS? They had to be able to sing, dance and act?

So last night we curled up and watched Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang. Keith and I were talking earlier in the day about when we were kids, watching The Wonderful World of Disney, Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom and the likes of television gone by. We started to list the movies that we had grown up loving and decided that we were going to go through and make sure the kids had the chance to watch them as well. This led to me making a list...which grew into several lists, since we have different tastes and age groups.

We are compiling movies lists and I need your help.

What classic movies do you think should be a must see? I am not looking for anything done past 1980..We have a separate list for those ones, that are on the KIDS MUST SEE list (they include but are not limited to The Killing Fields, Schindlers List, Diary of Anne Frank, The Passion of The Christ, Metropolis) but rather those movies that were fun to watch...like The King and I, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Sound of Music..you get the idea.

I have a general list of movies which sits at 50+, as well as lists for Sci-fi and Classic War movies (my favourite being The Guns of Navarone) and ones that Bug should see (Little Women, Anne of Green Gables, Black Beauty)

SO what say you blogisphere? What movies are must see for you?

Thursday, it is the new Hump day...

Now that I am back on a somewhat rotating schedule, my week no longer falls into the traditional realm, not that there was ever anything traditional about my schedules! I think back to the way we used to function here on opposing shifts, how everything used to get done. I know that it will take time to get back into the swing of things, but I can't help but feel like I am being pulled from both ends. Once again, I am not home for dinners, or to help with homework or hear about the day... Last night I managed to walk in the door just as Bug was going to bed. The parent in me is torn...I want to be there for my kids, but at the same time, I need to be able to show them that sometimes  work needs to be done and  you just have to suck it up. I know that this schedule will change, as it does every 6 weeks, and there are worse shifts I could be on. This one allows me to use public transit bit there and back, and the shift does end early enough that Keith can still pick me up if needed. Like I said, we are adjusting...

Man-Child's school is having a vote this week to determine whether or not they will switch to a semestered time-table. Currently, they have 8 classes a day, every day all the way through the year. They are one of the only schools in the province that still has this type of schedule. It is one of the reasons we chose the school. But of course, since it is not broken, the powers that be want to "fix" it. The parents vote tonight, and the students vote today and tomorrow. The School Board of course has the final say, and I hope that they truly take into account what the children and parents want/vote. Man-child really likes the school, as do we, and the 8 class deal. Let's see what the vote says. In speaking to other parents and kids, they don't want the change...we will see what happens.

Forecast is saying we will be getting snow... it is after all December and it would be nice to help put everyone into the holiday spirit... But we all know that they can be wrong. I would love a job like that, where you can be wrong 90% of the time and STILL keep your job :)

Bet you thought I'd left you!

Forgive me readers, for I have lapsed..it has been..gulp...17 days since my last post. We are slowly getting used to the new normal around here, now that I am back to work. I am in my final stages of training, and should be dealing with things on my own by the end of the week...SO much stuff to remember, technical manuals and there is the whole getting used to using a PC thing, but I really am enjoying it.

So, what have you missed...

Bug had a birthday this past weekend...she turned NINE (how did that happen so quickly?) and we celebrated with family. She wanted a pretty, girlie cake, and was very happy with what I came up with...

She had her best friend Roo sleep over and spent the following day at the mall with Roo and her Mother (who has the patience of a saint!). Perfect way to turn 9.

The big present for her was tickets to go see Little House on the Prairie the Musical...and we went last night. It was at The Fox in downtown Detroit, and it was the first time that Bug had ever been there. I thought her eyes were going to pop out of her head when she stepped inside...gasping and ohhh-ing over the ornate grand hall, which was decorated for Christmas. It was stunning, and I loved being able to share that with her. THe performance itself was wonderful. The cast, including Melissa Gilbert in the role of "Ma", did an incredible job of bringing the stories to life, with minimal sets...lots of tableau and imagination. When Laura kissed Almanzo for the first time, the crowd broke into wild applause....It was the best gift I could think of for Bug at this time in her life...theatre, and and the chance to see the stories she loves brought to life. It reminded me of when my Grandma took me to see the stories of Winnie The Pooh set to music and put on stage. I will never forget that feeling, and I hope that Bug carries the memories of last night in her heart forever.

Little House has been more than just stories for us here. As we worked our way through the books, reading aloud in the living room for the whole family, it gave us the chance to talk about living simply. Living in a time when if you wanted something, you had to make it yourself.  The stories help reinforce the message that we have been trying to put into practice here over the last year. I have been trying to teach Bug (and Man-child too when he isn't busy being a teenager) things that my Grandmothers taught me...skills that have been lost to many generations. When, in the LHOTP books, they talk about making rugs and candles and everyday items, we have been looking at, and in most cases trying those skills. Braiding rugs and the newest thing..Tatting are great ways to spend time in the evening. We want to try making our own cheese pioneer style, which of course brings us around to food. Money has been tight here, and I have had to become even more creative than normal when it comes to meals....no longer do my children think that dinner needs to be a huge spread. Reading about the times when families had to go without has been a valuable lesson for my own children (and the adults too) and it makes us appreciate what we have even more.

Yes, the new normal is a lot simpler that what I thought it would be, but in the end I think it is better for all of us. It is making us appreciate the better things, like family and love..not that we did not before, but now it just seems...even better.

Just so you know it isn't just Pioneer days...we did get the chance to get all dressed up and attend a masquarade ball for a dear friends birthday...it was a great time and Bug loved getting all dressed up in her frilly smock (what little girls doesn't..and the chance to wear feathers on your face?)

  

A new week, a new beginning.

Traditionally this past week here in Wilsonworld has been one of quiet reflection and honouring the memories of those who went on before us. The weather in the past has mimicked the greyness of our moods and has most often been grey, cold, damp, dismal...you get the idea. This is the week of Remembrance Day, the anniversary of Faith's passing (7 years..it seems like only yesterday), my Grandfather's passing (22 yrs), My Aunt's passing (1 yr). So you understand that moods around here are not all sunshine. We try, but the memories of those lost, in combination with the added pain of Remembrance Day this year often makes it really difficult to see the sun. This has been a horrific year emotionally for me, spending most of my year in what i used to call my February mood. I have done what I could to try and get out of it, but often found myself sinking...heavy losses, combined with being unable to find a job and finding it harder and harder to provide for my children was not helping. So this past week was probably the worst of the November weeks that I have ever had.

But a funny thing happened.

This time around, the weather was sunny and warm. The sun did its best to warm up my heart. The temperatures this past week were similar to a late spring day, approaching summer. Kids were out on their bikes, walking was pleasant and the sun was even shining at the cenotaph. I should have known it was a sign of things to come.

Friday, I was offered employment. I had three interviews with the same company this week, ending with me walking out of the last meeting with a job. A JOB! For the first time in a very long time, there was a spring in my step and the grey cloud that has followed me for the last year disappeared. Starting Monday, I will be back in the work force...and it could not come at a better time.

I like to think that those who weigh heavily on my mind were watching out for me this week. I have learned in the last year that I will take all the help I can get.

I will not be talking about work here, and the company I will be employed with will remain unnamed. But I will be working and I cannot think of a better way to end the worst week of the year than to start anew.

Go out and enjoy your Sunday...have fun with your friends and your families. That is how I will be spending mine..laughing and loving...and actually feeling it.

Remembering a little differently this year.

Every year, I post something here on Remembrance Day, remembering the men and women who served our country proud. Every year, I talk about people like my grandfather, Private Henry Gilles, or his brother Major Andrew Gilles. My grandfather got to come home after the war, my Uncle not so lucky. He spends the rest of eternity in a little cemetery in France. I talk about friends who have served, and friends who are still serving. And I always talk about Papa.

This year, I have one more poppy to lay at the cenotaph.

Papa never talked much about what happened to him during his time in the RAF. He never talked about what happened to him as a POW. He said it was too painful, and besides, people shouldn't have to hear about things like that anymore. He may not have talked about it, but I know how much it hurt him, and what kind of damage it did to him. I saw the scars when I bathed him. I comforted him when, in the middle of the night, he would wake up screaming. I would hold him and comfort him and help chase away the ghosts that always came back. No, he never really talked about it, but he lived with the consequences right up until the day he died. Now that he is gone, we will never really know about that part of his life. It is a piece of history gone, stolen from us. While i understand why he did not want to talk about it, I cannot understand his reasoning. We cannot expect to learn from mistakes if we are not taught what the mistakes were, and if we do not learn we are doomed to repeat them.

This year, I will go to the cenotaph and lay a poppy for my Father-in-Law. I will remember the laughter and the love. I will be thankful for the things came from that horrible war...for without his suffering, I would not be here. At all. I would not have my husband, and there were be no Man-Child or Bug. I think that Dad was wrong. He said that nothing good ever came from war. I beg to differ.

There was him and all that he became. A friend, father, brother and papa.

And today, I remember him most of all.

“They shall grow not old as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.”

Laurence Binyon (1869-1943)

Cat blogging Friday and sickness for everyone!

Yet another week comes to a close, and this week was probably one of the least productive I have had in months. Bug was sick Monday night, and decided that sickness is much better when it is savoured slowly..as in ALL WEEK. She is home again today, but thankfully her fever has not reappeared since midnight last night, so fingers are crossed. Man-Child on the other hand has been nursing his cough for a few weeks, which is normal with his asthma this time of year. That is until yesterday. The "bark" as we lovingly named his cough is worse. MUCH worse...and his inhalers are done. SO today, we are of to see our family doctor. We LOVE Dr. Jamie. I have been with her since she opened her practice-almost 20 yrs. She is warm, genuine and cares about her patients. She is also a Mom, and will listen to our Mom like intuitions. She never makes me feel like I am over reacting when it comes to my kids. I have never been told she is too busy, and she started evening office hours recently to help with the ever changing schedules of working parents.

So BOTH kids are home today. On a Friday. On a day that I was REALLY hoping to get some writing done. I had such a nice word buffer when Nanowrimo started, and this week dealing with a clingy sick Bug has seen that word buffer slip away... She is using my laptop to keep occupied, and to do her own Nano, which SHE has been able to keep up with. Perhaps when we are back from the doctor's today I will be able to pry my computer back for a bit. I am not behind, in the must-do-1667-words-a-day sense, but today unless I write I will be officially behind. I see a writing marathon in my future.

And to round up the title, here is Lord Stanley of Wilsonworld, taking part in our Halloween festivities. He normally hides that night, too many people for his liking, but when we were setting up the coffin, he thought it was a nice place to hang out and watch. Perhaps next year we can get him to dress up as a black cat?