blinded by science

one fraction of the many many seconds spent fascinated by the

ball rolling "mousetrap" style contraption 

at the ontario science centre in toronto last month...

after the egg hunt

my 43rd cake.

today, i'm thankful for the rain.

ok, for the last few weeks i have been looking everywhere for my camera.

in fact, i almost bought another one

but

i was certain that i had last seen it in the house. 

  it had not been stolen; although our home often looks as though 

it has been turned over by robbers, 

it would be a very particular thief to leave every other potentially

valuable electronic device behind.

~

considering where i finally located the camera, my hunch was correct.

it was a particular thief indeed...

a cheerful magpie who stashed his prize for later;

tucked safely away in the bottom of my pink rubber rainboot.

~

 here then, finally, is my birthday cake,

and the time-tested recipe.

(david's mom has been making it for his birthdays for as long as he can recall)

the first blurry paragraph is the icing recipe, 

the second is for the cake itself.

lion taming

there had been nothing but a 1/2 cm trim since he was born.

  it was decided that he finally needed a haircut.

but how to have it cut?  

i certainly couldn't do it;

the simple act of washing and combing elicit fierce complaint...

and then,

will it have to be short?  

will the curls disappear?  will i cry?

he is so wiggly...

regardless, for this event to occur peacefully, 

 the more experience

the hairstylist had with kiddies, the better.

 the appointment, therefore, was made at a children's only salon.

edgar clambered into the 'car', did up his seatbelt, 

and was as quiet as a lamb the entire time.

he may look concerned, but is, in fact, glued to a massive t.v. screen of cartoons.

so, no dramatic outcome after all...

he still sports his mane, it is just a little 'zazzed up'.

(according to esther.)

whew.

hotcakes

a window on esther's most important meal of the day.  

only 9C this morning, but she firmly maintained her preference for breakfast on the terrace.  

we moved the play table out to the front steps, 

set her up with a chair, 

and there she patiently waited to be 

served her solitary meal of pancakes, maple syrup, and milk.

eager beaver

last night we had fierce thunder and lightning, then very high gusting wind today.

no surprise, then, when preparing supper, 

(the kiddies were flaking with TVOkids) 

 i heard a loud CRACK, 

and our street lost power.

transformer, i guess.

luckily, no entertainment inside meant new entertainment outside...

since it was too dark to spar inside,

the gang from the beaver boxing club took to the street to finish their training.

first we watched from the window, 

then from the back garden, 

then from the driveway...

closer...closer...like cats mesmerized by butterflies.

both kids found the whole spectacle so amazing, 

that the coach offered up an extra set of gloves.

esther declined, but edgar took on the invite...

i think the boxers were entertained also...

~

oh, and the power returned just as i began to light the candles.

the need for inner space

i figured that a space ship-would be a fun project for edgar and i to make this afternoon..

at first, i thought we were making a stuffed rocket,

but quickly realized it is a better blast-off un-stuffed.

three-two-one....

lift-off!