I’ve only heard a little bit of Northern American news about the droughts in Ethiopia this year – but the BBC and the UN are certainly paying attention.  We all have memories of the terrible famines of the early 1980s – a storm is now brewing that may equal that that devastion of the previous famines.  The country is now in a more stable position – but there are twice as many people in Ethiopia as there were in the 80s… and so many of them are children.

Check out the videos below to educate yourself and become aware. 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/7411071.stm

http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-05-18-voa15.cfm

I’ve been up in northern BC visiting my family and working for the last few days… it’s beautiful spring up in the Peace River country. Here a couple of shots of my family (minus the children-in-laws) and the scenery at this time of year.  More fun fam shots to come!

Dad and little B planting an apple tree in the backyard.  What a good son!

Mom and I on a walk out on the breaks… 

Visiting an artist friend, Mike Kroecher.  His work is just awesome – and we enjoyed a morning of green tea, great views and a tour of his studio.

Views along the Peace River from today…

On the shore of Williston Lake

And back at the parents’, trying to get a good family shot… but constantly foiled! First, by my bro not smiling and then by my father answering the cell phone. Sheesh.

Finally, a nice family pic…

Some thing I already know about how Jrock and I will act as parents.  for example, J has a hard time maintaining any type of discipline.  In fact, it amuses him profusely to teach our cats and dogs bad habits.

Haatim, our boy cat, is a total carb addict.  He’ll take cereal or popcorn over fish or meat anyday – it’s crazy.  Anyway, every morning, while Jrock eats his cereal, Haatim sits up beside him and Jrock feeds him a couple of pieces of cereal.

I’m not sure who looks more pleased with himself.  The cat, or the husband.

Hi folks;

No Courtney – we are not all quiet on the adoption front for any particular good reason!  (Although thanks for thinking positive!  Send those vibes this way!)

We’re just quiet.  Busy with work (a couple jobs,) and volunteering, and our extended family going through some changes, and going to the beach, and fighting with the irrigation system.  Just everyday boring stuff like that.

In fact, I’m off to visit my family and for some work out of town for a week, so you may not hear from me for a bit.

But I’ll leave you with some cool news. A little birdy told me that our adoption agency has signed agreements with 2 new orphanages (they only deal with 2 currently, – now 4!) so hopefully there will be some referrals soon for families, and, even more importantly, more children being adopted.

Keep ya posted!

Nicky

I have all these big landscaping plans, and Jrock has been standing by, scrutinizing my ideas, throwing his hands up at costs, and just being generally grumpy about the whole thing.

So I started myself – riping up sod, buying plants at the Garden Club’s sale, etc.  Finally, seeing big patches of dead sod on our lawns, dust all through the SUV from hauling sod to the dump, and general chaos, he gave up and decided to pitch in.  Which is good! because it’s a heck of a lot easier to do this stuff with a partner.

Yesterday we peeled back some more of the dead sod in the back yard and started on the raised garden beds.  It doesn’t look like much yet, but going out and getting the boards and putting your design in action is half the challenge. The 4 beds will be 24 inches high, so I can sit on the edge of the beds and weed and plant.

One of the other main challenges in the yard is the “toddler dealth trap” – left of where I’m sitting in the garden photo and from closer above.  It’s a pond insert – currently full of a bunch of mud and leaches – eww - but too deep and too precariously situated for safety.  I love ponds – I had a big one in our last yard… but it wasn’t an insert, and a kid could walk out of it over a gradual edge. This one is quite a hole.  So I’m going to haul it out, fill in the dirt, and replace it with some very shallow pool and a water fountain.  I’ll take out the rock plants, move them away to a more useful part of the yard, and plant it with herbs.

I love puttering in the garden! (And I am so happy Jrock is helping me out too )

Haatim is such a little sweetie, and he really does put up with a lot…

…like trying on the body bibs I bought for the kids from IKEA!
(I saw these bibs in action on a friend’s kid and boy, they are great!)

P.S. This is a terrible shot of me, but you only get one snap of a cat in a body bib! Anything for zee aart.

There is something very satisfying about nesting – collecting little bits and making your home more pleasant, and more yours.

I hit the Kelowna Garden Club’s flower sale, where you could get 6 inch pots of perennials for $2.  Seriously cheap.  You can see the hordes of flowers sitting on the kitchen table, ready to go.

Part of our garden plan was to make some window boxes, which really fit the character of our house.  There is a little old building being torn down on my street, so I got permission to rip off a bunch of the cedar siding to make these window boxes.  My helpful husband installed the brackets so they would stay up, and here you can see the results of my (our) labour.  Don’t they look cute?

Our best little buddy Hamish gave us quite a scare the last few days.  Three days ago, he came home from the groomers (you can see his summer haircut below) and he was really down and out.  Really lethargic, and he didn’t want to eat anything.

Well, he got a lot worse, and the vet tentatively diagnosed him as having pancreatitis… which can be fatal if you don’t get it under control, and depending on which type he had. We put him on IV for 3 days and… finally…. he seemed to perk up and started eating. 

 
on IV in his crate                    Haatim, Vega and Maggie keep Hamish company

We think he’s in the clear now – I can hear him barking his head off outside, which is always a good sign  Poor little Hamie.  He’s slept in my bed almost everynight for 9 years – I can tell you I was an absolute wreck for the past few days.  Jrock was really distraught too – I don’t think either of us has slept much. Between getting up in the night to give him more antibiotics and crashing at the vet clinic during the day to keep him company, I’m a little bit of a wreck.  But thank goodness, he seems much better now.

 
beggin for food – a good sign                        

much more alert and perky, but still pretty tired

Notice that the number “8″ is also the symol for infinity. That’s how long we’ve been waiting for a referral.

My sentiments in haiku:

Spring snow –
an expectant mother rests  
her hands on her belly

Paul  David  Mena

late afternoon -
again she sweeps
pieces of sunlight

Carol Raisfeld

drifting clouds -
she sings to herself
a child’s song

Carol Raisfeld

First butterfly
just time to catch the shadow
of its passing wings

Patrick Blanche

nearly Mother’s Day
my best daffodils bent low
in the constant rain

paul t conneally

Rare moments of calm
when the fridge is silent
you can hear the wind

Patrick Blanche

Summer sunset
the baby finds his shadow
on the kitchen wall

Anon.

spring passing –
a small lane where even the sound
of wind cannot be heard

Suzuki Masajo