Saturday Morning Once Again... And The Upcoming Teacher's Strike

At 7:30 a.m. I am at the computer and preparing for a day of level 5 spinning. Teapot will be heading in to FSJ later today to pick up the truck which we discovered has a bad starter on it and so needs to be replaced. (Since he is going on strike on Monday and money will be shorter than usual we have decided that that $500.00 repair on the truck can wait till later in the month... for now we will have to tweak the starter each time we start the truck... these are the trials of buying second hand). The girls are going to be having a normal day after having to spend hours getting their bedrooms cleaned up yesterday. All in all it is lining up for a normal weekend.  (who knows what normal is though!) The weeks seem to be flying by and I am getting nowhere lately on my homework books. I have been trying to finish some spinning that I started at the Blueberry a few weeks ago. Somehow it seems wrong to take that off my wheel and move on to something else when I am not really finished it. I don't have much left to do and so I got up this morning early with the intent of getting that stuff finished and off my wheel before I move on to TPI questions. Clearly I need to get myself motivated into working on the homework again.

I had thought I would write this morning about the upcoming strike but I decided after all the fore bearance is the better option... Except that I do want you to understand that our rights... that is the rights of the individual (as apposed to the rights of school teachers in particular) are being undermined and taken away from us... I'm not even sure that most people realize what's happening to their rights.

Imagine you lived in a third world country... Imagine you worked for pittance a day. Imagine you worked with children all around you, them working too. Imagine the boy that sat next to you in the factory where you worked would come to work each day with a black eye. Imagine that he was getting that black eye because there was another boy who worked next to him who had problems... you know like ADHD or FAS but the ADHD boy was entitled to work too because he had a family of six little sisters at home who needed their older brother to work and bring home money for food and medication. Now imagine that the ADHD boy was a threat in the factory where you worked to all the little boys and girls working there... imagine that occasionally that ADHD boy even threatened you and made it really hard to get your work done. Then imagine that one day you decided to walk off the job and protest to the government that you needed a safer working situation and more money and that most importantly you wanted there to be help for the boy who was getting the black eye and for the boy who was giving the black eye. Then suppose you were told that if you didn't go back to work and work with this horrible situation you would be fined a lot of money or thrown into jail or you would have your job taken away. Would you say that this person was bad for stepping out and trying to make their work situation better?  Would you say that this person deserves to have his job taken away? Would you say that he doesn't have a right to demonstrate in front of his work place?  Would you say that that person was doing wrong? No... I don't think so... you would probably say that they have every right to try to access better conditions and better pay. You may also say that they were holding up work that their fight was inconvenient.... but you would not deny them the right to try to get a better working  situation.

Our government is not negotiating with the teachers about teaching and schools... they are negotiating how people will fight for working conditions. This is truer and truer each time the government imposes a contract rather than negotiate a contract. Believe me, the teachers I know would much rather a negotiated contract but this fight is not just about the teachers contract... it is the government trying to seriously undermine the right of the individual to demonstrate. Make no mistake, if Bill 22, which goes by the Education Improvement Act (which I think is a stupid cover for a more serious intention), passes, we as a collective British Columbian people will be giving up our right to walk out on a picket line to fight for better working conditions. Yes the teachers strike is inconvenient... for parents who have to scrabble to find child care or lose several days of pay... but it is also inconvenient for the teachers.... they are also losing pay and for some of us even one day of pay is a terrible loss. But I ask you what is more inconvenient... the loss of a few days pay or the loss of your rights. The loss of your rights starts with one small thing and before you know it the snowball is rolling down hill getting bigger and bigger. Soon you have no recourse... no voice... no rights at all. It is a slippery slope my friends... remember that.

For two days I have watched emails coming in from the Union to Teapot (he is the union rep for our school) telling them what they can and cannot do under the guise of the law. He is not allowed to wear a placard but he is allowed to carry a sign. This is because evidently a placard suggests that there is a picket line and that infringes on the rights of those who would cross a picket line. They are not allowed to form a picket line but they are allowed to pass out leaflets. Once Bill 22 passes they have no right to do any of this and they are not even allowed to negotiate working conditions... pay... benefits... and that includes health benefits....

Teapot likes teaching... and he is a good teacher... that has been told to us over and over. Each year he gets up at the end of the year to hand out awards to his students and he invariably chokes up on stage as he is doing this. We are beginning to think that teaching might not be the best career... he certainly doesn't get the respect due to someone who holds the education of our children in his hands, and he certainly wouldn't encourage others to go into this profession... why would he?  According to the B.C. government and the media, teachers are the scourge of the professional world.

I heard an interview on the radio not too long ago... the person talking, I think, was a member of the UN and she was saying that we in the West take our rights too for granted. That it is easy to lose them and not even notice that they are going... It is easier to SEE what is happening when you stand from afar... we are very close to the situation... we need to every now and again step back and look around from another point of view. I ask you now... stand back... think about your inconvenience when your child doesn't go out the door on Monday to school, a little inconvenience now might mean that when you need to demonstrate,  that your right to do so will be there. Remember the whole problem in Syria started with some teenagers who wanted to demonstrate and what they received was torture and death.... I hope we here in Canada never come to that.

More tomorrow about the teacher strike... why teachers are their own worst enemies.

Blue

Brilliant blue seems to be a part of my life these last few days.  I was awake early a few days ago and happened to look out the window as dawn was coming. The sky was a bright brilliant blue... outstanding like something you only see at this time of the year. I did take a picture of it but as is the case with all pictures it just doesn't do the colour justice. Here's the picture of the sky as taken through my living room window...

Now isn't that an outstanding blue.

A few days later I had a dream that had a brilliant bright blue in it too I dreamed that I was visiting Sweet Davey's parents who just so happen to be my aunt and uncle.... (they read here so now I'm thinking they feel famous... snork!) Anyway, everyone was there... all my cousins and their families and my aunts and uncles and my mom and dad because my aunt and uncle had just bought a huge big Victorian style house in Toronto and we were having a celebration of sorts... (I have no idea where I was getting this but you do have to remember that it was a dream!!!) It kind of reminded me of my paternal grandfather's house which was kind of Victorian but not really.... but the house in my dream was even more huge.... I kept walking through the rooms and thinking how beautiful it was and finally I opened a door into what was obviously a rental space (my aunt and uncle were going to rent it to someone they knew.... this was all part of my dream)  but it too was Victorian and beautiful. There was scroll work in every corner of the ceiling... and there were beautiful wrought iron rails and even the french doors that led out to patio had wrought iron scroll work. When I walked out onto the patio there was a park, like something you would see in the English countryside. The patio was made of stone and the stones were grey with moss in between them. And all over the patio were the most beautiful little blue birds that were tiny.... even smaller than humming birds. The blue of these birds was the same colour as what you see in the above picture.... and they were friendly birds... those wee birds would come and land on my hand when I held it out. honestly that dream was like a small piece of heaven... I was very sorry to wake up from that one. I wanted to stay in that beautiful place with the beautiful birds on that quiet patio with elm and oak trees spreading away from me with thick rich green grass. Lovely.

This morning everything is anything BUT blue, green and lovely. Our truck, (white) which has been having trouble with the transmission from the first day we bought it, had to go to the dealership last week for repairs.  Supposedly the dealership fixed it and we picked it up on Wednesday of this week... Last night Teapot took me into town for Knit Night with the intention of him going to visit a friend while I was knitting. He had taken the recycling to the recycling depot before he went to visit his friend and there the truck died and there it still sits. It will need to go back to the dealership for more repairs. On top of that the teachers, with which Teapot shares the his career, are on the verge of a massive strike. (I will write more about that later... like maybe tomorrow...) The morning is sunny but I am feeling at odds with the sun... I am thinking of the blue birds... and I am thinking of peace.... and having read the news this morning there is anything but... So what's a body to do when everything seems topsy turvy and not at all like my dream....

I guess I will try today to put it all behind me... maybe today is the day for that fire out on the deck in the fireplace.... and maybe I will daydream a little about that beautiful place in my dream. Here's thinking of blue.... blue birds and blue skies...

Hmm... Aahh.... Ummm... Can't Think Of Anything To Say

When I'm stuck for words... then the world must be coming to an end.

I might have something to say later today... that is if the world hasn't come to an end!

In the meantime... rock on...

I Should Be Thinking of Spinning... But No I'm On Renovations... Again

It is Tuesday. Last week I was making an effort to get my buns in a tight swimsuit so that I could swim for two hours. (You don't want to think about a squash in a swimsuit... too much like veggie tales!). That night, my shoulders felt like there was a nasty little fire burning inside of them. Teapot had messaged them but I ended up having to take meds to put out the flames. Today, a week later, I am expecting my friend for a day of spinning. It is rather difficult to wrap my head around the fact that a week has gone by, and I have been pissing away time all week and getting nothing done in my work books so today I will get out some fibre and spin. Today's question will be spin three separate colours and keep them separate in plying by "Navajo plying" which is a technique that draws on a crochet chain style of plying.

Recently I have been getting the itch to work on my crappy looking house. There have been some dust bunnies move in recently and I'm sure that if I'm not careful, they will let Murphy back in when my back is turned! (If you read here regularly, then you will know that Murphy, of Murphy's law fame, had lived under my china cabinet with his buddies the dust bunnies and they would conspire against me at every opportunity! {No I'm not making this up and I'm not delusional... well maybe a little delusional..}

See this is the china cabinet where they lived!

Until last year when I got the hutspa to kick them out of my house. Now they have taken to living under the deck. But they keep trying to get back in... and when I'm not diligent those dust bunnies reproduce prolifically... it's all Murphy's fault!) I am not happy with the way my house is looking. I suddenly had a brilliant idea the other day. (Teapot was not so sure.) When we moved in to this house, we were tickled pink that off the bedroom there is a lovely little balcony. The problem is that it is on the east side of the house. So in summer time it is far too warm to sit out there until well after dark at which time the bats (which love it) decide to swoop and swarm around it. This makes it virtually unusable.

Notice the junk up there... that's because nobody uses it!

So I decided that I will put my studio out on the balcony.  It is a small space but that is pretty normal for around here. It is about 4ft. by 14 ft. So this spring Teapot and I will purchase 2x4s and we will close it in and weather proof it. It will not be warm but it will be a good space to store my unspun wool and plastic containers full of junk which takes up 90% of my studio.

See... there's plenty of space here for studio storage. And we will use glass to close it in with a couple of opening windows so the light won't change in our bedroom.

 I will keep my loom downstairs and my wheel and Lazy Kate. I will also try to find space for my rigid heddle loom downstairs too. That way I will be able to use the whole sunroom as a living space and then the dining table can come into the room off the kitchen which believe me is an all round better use of space. This also means that we have no choice but to buy a love seat and two, maybe three, new chairs. Our sectional couch just will not work in the sunroom.

As a result of this slight change in our accommodations, we are going to finish the flooring downstairs. This means a year of living with wretched plywood again. The first step to finishing the flooring is bringing the floor up to the level of the kitchen by putting half inch plywood down as sub-flooring. Then we are going to go shopping to buy (finally) the recycled rubber flooring from Home Depot that we chose back in 2008 when we did our big renovation.

This is the flooring from Home Depot

 (It's hard to believe that it will be 4 years since we started the renovation on April 4th 2008.) It is an awesome product and we have already used it in our downstairs bathroom

Sorry this is not the clearest picture but this is the easiest stuff to keep clean. I just love this flooring.

and my parents living room. We thought about putting a hardwood or a laminate product on our floors but with dogs and snow and mud in spring we need something that will stand up to the wear and tear and be easy to clean. I used laminate in the kitchen when we took up the carpet first when we moved in but I can safely say that I didn't really like the product, so we wanted a different option this time around.

Is it hard to tell that spring is getting closer? Every year I go through this... I make plans... I change plans and some come to fruition but some don't. Hopefully this will be the year that gets us closer to being finished. I'm quite frankly sick of living in a renovation zone. But every little thing we do is one step closer to being finished. Last week I had the electrician come and finish all the electrical... except for the outside verandah lights... that he will do in the spring when temperatures warm up. But at least I now have the bathroom lights finished and we actually have a light in our bedroom and now I just have to get the new lights for the kitchen which will take regular bulbs instead of halogen bulbs.

Yup... spring is coming and my nest feathering is definitely rearing it's ugly head... I had better go do some work on my spinning before I get any more brainy ideas!

Are you getting nest feathering ideas too?!

Terrifying Squash??!!! Who Me???!

I just was reading to Daughter #1, (whose been struck with a cold of the bulbous nose-itis sort) my post of yesterday and she said, "Mom, you are a Terrifying Squash... of epic proportions."  I'm not sure if I should be insulted by this or if I should take it as a compliment.... but coming from a Daughter who is completely besotted with swords and ninja chicks I think I will err on the better side of valour and take being a Terrifying Squash as a compliment... Honestly... I'm to afraid to ask her to clarify!

Like A Large Rotund Squash

All day I have been perfecting my veggie impressions. First I tried my impression of a Spaghetti squash by sitting on the couch in my yellow nightgown.

Yes this is the right colour and the right shape... I'm quite like this actually.

Then I tried perfecting my veggie impressions by sitting on the couch in my green top and black pants and I thought I did a good impression of a Butternut squash.

Yes this too resembles the way I looked today.

Then at supper time after I had put the pork chops in the oven, Teapot cooked the veggies and I thought I did a very good impression of a Turban squash since, Teapot delivered my dinner to me on a plate while I was vegging on the couch like a sheik. I intend at some point this evening to try my hand at resembling a gold nugget squash... (maybe I will win the latest 649)! Basically what I am trying to say is that I have passed this day in complete laziness.  After such a day, words such as "large" and "rotund" and "squash" are very applicable.  I did nothing... at least nothing useful. However, having said that, I can also say that it is not my fault.  I was squaring up for my first fire in the fireplace out on the deck today. It was lovely... blue sky.... sun, sun, sun.... but I went out through the door and basically turned around again since the frickin' temperature, which was supposed to be -4, was more like -14! I had a look at the thermometre and it was reading -10! What the hell is this business of -10 at the end of February. Like... we haven't had that kind of cold for weeks. I'm totally boycotting winter! Where the hell are the spring-like conditions of only two days ago. It would appear that I have no choice in the matter... it is either poop blossoms or freeze your buns off. Darn it all. I had been looking forward to a chance to enjoy the deck. But I guess I was jumping the gun by a month. : ( Still, with the sun shining on me as I sat on the couch, the veggie impressions were quite authentic!

Teapot went for a walk today and walked about 10 kms. He headed off into our wonderful forest that borders our property. At first he wasn't sure where he would go... he wanted a ramble and so the direction he took was a wandering one. He walked the deer paths keeping the dogs close to him. And after coming upon a moose nibbling greenery off the tips of some alder bushes,

he decided that maybe he should go in a different direction. There is a ridge of hills that goes along the back of the subdivision where we live. (I say subdivision with my tongue in my cheek since our "subdivision" is a group of acreages off the main highway leading into town.) Anyway Teapot finally decided to head up over the hills to see what he could see... which is the point of any ramble through the bush. As he was getting to the top of the hill, the dogs' interests were taken by something behind and below them in a scattering of bushes, which meant that Teapot was out in the front. That's when he came face to face with a wolf. It was sitting ahead of him, on the path which he was on,

and when it caught the sound of the dogs behing Teapot it took off in rapid style... Teapot in his wise mind turned around and headed back down the hill the way he came.

Over the years Teapot has had several face to face interactions with wolves. At one time he was walking along on a hunting trip and a whole pack of wolves surrounded him as he was walking... they never touched him, they just kept going and he stood there with his gun in his arms... but that was a long time ago. Today's wolf experience was not as dramatic... with just one that obviously wanted nothing to do with him, Teapot felt safe... he said he would have gone over to check out the tracks of the wolf but he was afraid that the dogs would get a whiff and take off after the wolf. That's the last thing we need.

In all the years of living here I have never heard of a wolf being so close to our home. I have to wonder if that is why the coyotes have been so active and close to our house. Usually the wolves and coyotes won't stay in the same hunting area because they hunt the same food though wolves generally go after larger game while coyotes tend to be satisfied with voles and mice a squirrels as well as deer.  I do know that there have been brought into our region last spring..., thanks to our ever knowing wildlife officers,... some 15 cougars.   They might be pushing the wolves closer to town. (Take note: "idiots" and "wildlife officers" are synonymous because they do stupid things like bring cougars into a northern region to cull the numbers on Vancouver Island forgetting that "northern region" and "remote region" are not synonymous!)

All winter there have been nights when the doggies sit in the pen outside and bark far more than they should... (we usually let them in before they annoy the neighbours)... Knowing that there are wolves that close to our home makes me wonder if sometimes the dogs are not barking because they sense a wolf close by. Maybe the wolf is thinking about the moose... who knows...

I love wolves. I think they are awesome... and having said that I also know a few of my neighbours would be displeased to hear my confessions of liking wolves.  There have been horrible stories in our region of hunters on snow mobiles driving wolves across the ice till the wolves can run no more and then they shoot them or run them down.... it is too terrible to think of.  Wolves are generally cautious and will not attack unless they are desperate and have more than one with them... and most importantly, you are alone. If there is more than one and the "food" is not easy pickin' they still will not attack generally. As for hunting wildlife that people want, I say too F#*^#$in' bad... they were here first and as far as I'm concerned we can go to the grocery store when they can't... so it really burns my balls (no I don't have any but it burns them all the same) when wolves are treated so badly. Same thing with coyotes. I have lived here in the wilds of the north for 15 years... in a house that is on the edge of their territory (and make no mistake... it is their territory)... I have only lost two chickens to coyotes and nothing else... I have never had wolves take my animals... that's because I have good fencing and a really good chicken coop. The only reason I lost the two chickens is that one was too stupid to go in the house at night and went under it instead... and the other was taken when it was free ranging in the middle of the daylight. Actually I've had more trouble with foxes and bears than coyotes or wolves. They have a right to the wilderness just as any animal does so I get kind of frosted when I know that people treat them so badly.

Teapot's wolf... the one he saw today... is in the middle of ranch territory and he will find it hard to survive the prejudice that many ranchers bear wolves... so I wish him well.... and I wish him well away from here where he can live a long and natural life with no threat to it.

And as for me... I'm no threat... no threat to wolves... no threat to coyotes.... no threat to foxes, bears or cougars... I'm not a threat to the dogs... or to Teapot... (though sometimes he says I am)... no I'm no threat at all 'cause I'm just a large rotund squash sitting on the couch... vegging on a Sunday afternoon.

I think I will go try out my gold nugget squash impression... hmm.. better check those 649 numbers...

Snow In The Great White North... Now There's A Thought

Yes,... we did get our dump. It started snowing about 4 p.m. yesterday. I look out this morning and the ground is white once again... something that hasn't been the case since back in January. At least we don't have to look at the poop for a while! The snow must be pleasing to someone because when I woke at 6:30 a.m. I had a look out the window in the bathroom and there to my wondering eyes was a pair of nutscases people out for a walk in the new fallen snow. Maybe they wanted to see their footsteps in this pristine snow... maybe they were out with a doggie... I'm not sure why they were out there, but then I can't always account for odd behavior, (not that walking in the snow is all that odd... just that at 6:30 a.m. it seemed a little strange!) It seems like something Teapot might do... roll out of bed and take the dogs for a walk in the new fallen snow. Actually now that I think about it it might have been a cool thing to do..... (ok I'm losing it!)

I am not unhappy to see the snow. This year the snowpack has been low and of course that wears thin really quickly along about July, when the grasshoppers come to stay for the summer. Did you know that you can eat grasshoppers. They, I think, are supposed to be manna from heaven... but honestly I'm quite happy to eat meat and veg and leave the grasshoppers to their hopping... still chickens love em!... and I love chickens.  I was thinking about chickens not too long ago.... maybe we should get a few wee silkies again.... I wonder if I can talk Teapot into it.

Today is a French Toast and coffee day. Normally we are planning all sorts of things on Saturday. Teapot will need to go haul some water for us but otherwise we are staying close to home today. Last week Teapot took our truck (the one that we bought last fall) in to the Ford dealership in FSJ. We had noticed almost right away that something was up with the transmission. When we hit about 60km per hour the transmission would flip out of 2nd gear and into 3rd. However it wouldn't stay there. it would go back and forth in and out of 2nd gear to 3rd over and over until we hit 70 kph then it would go into 3rd and stay there until the next change.... it would buck back and forth and to be quite honest it was really annoying. We knew this needed to be dealt with since it was on warranty and the warranty wouldn't last forever. So Teapot brought it in last Monday when he had a day off from school. Almost a week later, we are still without our wheels and this is not good. We have been given a loner from the dealership but it is quite a bit larger than our own truck and uses gas like it is going out of style. That is one of the reasons we will be staying close to home... we have blown through our gas budget this month and then some just keeping this monster truck running.... (although I do have to say, that it looks like a really cool truck). Still Teapot had to bum our old water tank from the friend that we traded with back in the fall. He hauled water home yesterday since we couldn't haul water all week while our water tank is still in FSJ with our truck. This truck can handle large capacities of water so we are able to haul 300 gallons at a time. Three runs and our cistern will be full.

Well looky there, since sitting here an hour ago, the sky has turned blue and it has stopped snowing. Maybe the snow won't last... I'm not sure if I am happy about that or not.  Still it is quite grey to the south... so you never know when it will start snowing again. Moisture is pretty important if I want a green summer.

I'm off to get that cup of coffee... maybe make the bird feeder if I use the last of the coffee and of course I'm going to spin. Back to level 5.

Hope this January day is full of blue for you.... blue sky that is....