A Brief Time Living the Life of a Pioneer Mom: Day One

So, the whole week of September 12th, Emily and I got up early, put on our long skirts, aprons and bonnets, and lived the life of pioneer women!  Well, not really!  I hardly did a lick of housework all week, and Emily said the spelling bee words were "easy-peasy!"

But we did learn a lot about making butter, spinning wool into yarn, sewing garments and dressing properly, grinding flour, wood-working tools powered by pedals and a flywheel, printing . . .  oh, and the difference between rawhide and leather (one is translucent and may substitute for glass panes, when no float glass is available).

And we met some lovely, lovely people!

We mimicked a typical 1860's school day with the ringing of the handbell, to call in the children.  Boys and girls all lined up according to height, with boys entering the schoolhouse in the left-hand door, and girls entering at the right.

Children started the morning by rising from their desks to sing "God Save the Queen," as it was Queen Victoria on the throne at the time, and Canada was English territory.  Immediately following this came the health inspection, when everyone is checked for clean fingernails and hands, clean ears, and nits or lice.  Some kids thought this was enormously funny.

After the spelling and math sessions, there was a playtime break, enjoyed by all ages.

Abundant climbing trees and hitching rails for climbing in front of the school.  Who needs a jungle gym?

After lessons, we all trooped off to learn about weaving  - the kids got to try their hands using a  loom over  a hundred years old!  Don't  know about the rest of the parents, but I was jealous not to get a turn too!  :-)

After weaving, we stood to learn about printing at the print shop, but tummies were getting empty and   . . .

. . . some of us were getting a little weary of standing still and listening attentively to the historian.  So we broke for lunch and got to know each other better.

Kerri, and little Joscelyn & Sebastian

The first day was really energetic, as we all worked hard to learn and adapt to the full-day routine we would be following all week.  Just one day out of five, and we were all exhausted by the end of it - but raring to go back the next day!

A Little Friend Came To Visit Today

This afternoon, Emily dashed into the house from the backyard patio, breathless with excitement.  She was sitting quietly at that the patio table, writing something, when she noticed a furry little somebody was sitting right by her feet!

Having recently had read to her Dick King-Smith's book, The Cat Lady (the plot of which introduced to her the concept of reincarnation).  So anyway, Emily has announced to me that she believes this baby rabbit is Sandy reborn, just coming by to let her know she's OK now.

t

Scootering around . . .

We found Emily another scooter, to replace the one we left behind in NC. She's happy as a clam (an unusually mobile one) whizzing ahead of me on every path and zooming down hills with a big grin plastered on her face. This is a really good thing - once I've satisfied myself that she's remembering to "look both ways" and all that - because I really, really, REALLY need the exercise involved with keeping up with her!

I expect we'll head out again this afternoon, as the rain isn't that heavy today either. Currently, Emily is trying out her new palette of watercolors. She discovered a great use for all those useless, out-of-date, old business cards, as the card paper they're made of stands up pretty well to soaking.

I do get the distinct feeling that the artist is "yearning for Spring."

So it's Spring, huh?

Yesterday was not exactly what Emily and I expected. Yeah, I read some forecasts about "Snow Flurries," but somewhere along the line, they must have modified things and I didn't notice.
So, when just the day before we had been out with only our jackets and no hats or boots, we awoke to this . . .

But we've toughened up over the past few months, so we went out and fed the ducks anyway. Snowflakes clumping up on your eyelashes is a sensation with which we are both quite familiar now.

Of course, our outing wasn't for an overly extended period of time; so after lessons, Plasticine (what they call modeling clay here . . . and in England, too, I believe) supplied the remainder of the day's entertainment.

Emily made a crab for me.

And then the ancient Romans inspired her to make her own aqueduct . . .

Ho hum . . . well, fed some ducks again . . . enjoyed warmth of sun on our backs

Better Angle For The Marilyns

On Thursday, Emily and I did some more walking, lured out by the bright sunshine, even if the temperatures were not very warm. Coming back from the Community Center, where I unsuccessfully attempted to sign Emily up for one of their programs, we passed by the Marilyns again.

 

Today, it's warmer - but we've both been puttering around with our respective projects; and Emily has gotten another audiobook about owls. So, thought I'd let her listen to that for awhile and work on her own things. Emily's yearning for summer, I think:

Spring? Probably, not yet; but we had fun hoping!

The temperatures last Wednesday afternoon hovered around a balmy (well, comparatively balmy) 3 degrees Celsius (that's 37.4 F, apparently), and there was some sun peeking out here and there.  We were suffering from some serious cabin fever, as you can see by Emily's expression.  So after math, Emily and I decided to walk to the Library.

On the way back home, we stopped to take a few photos of some of the things we have noticed in and around our stomping grounds here in downtown Mississauga; so thought I'd share:


We managed to hang out in the Central Library a good long time, looking up books about bats and some additional good fiction for my voracious little reader (can't get the child to go to sleep at a decent hour anymore because she sits up reading in her bed - she knows I'm pleased as punch anytime she decides to read a book during her leisure time, so I've been letting her get away with this.  One of the nice things about not having to abide by a school's early-morning busing schedule.)

So, we didn't get any photos of the inside of the Library, I'm afraid.  It's pretty cool, though.  One whole floor is devoted to the children's section, with a very large play lighthouse surrounded by beanbags in the center.  Once I get a camera with a flash again, I'll get some shots.

After the library, Emily and I meandered over to the civic center and admired the beautiful lobby.  It made me think of OZ with all that green granite (or marble, possibly?).  There's an antechamber that seems to be devoted to growing large green vines and other plants - a sort of interior garden, in which Emily enjoyed dancing around.

 

 

Sort of between the Library and the other government buildings was a walled garden named for Elizabeth II.  Lots and lots of little birds were taking refuge in there.  We are looking forward to coming back when the snow and ice are gone.

 

And on the other side of the government buildings, we discovered another sort of courtyard, which appears to have structures tailor-made for skateboarding . . . ?  Not sure, but probably we'll find out once it's warmer:

And after that, we turned down Princess Royal Drive and passed the LivingArts Centre where Emily has her drama class every Saturday.  We just had to cross the street and pat the bison again!

 

And, after dropping into Walmart to find a mop, we paused to admire the Marilyns again.  In this not-so-good shot, they kinda' look like slightly crushed aluminum cans.  I'll work on getting a better angle to really show you why I think they're fantastic.  From right by them, looking up from below, it's like you're approaching a tornado or something.  Really neat feeling.

Various "Artistic" Endeavors While We Wait Out The Snow

 Ho hum!  Well, it's still snowing, after snowing (and something that sounded like sleeting in the wee hours on our skylights) all night; and so Emily and I have been keeping ourselves entertained inside.  Emily caught wind of the other kids in this area being kept home from school; and her sense of justice and "fairness" was immediately awoken . . . so, we're not doing lessons today.

In case you are wondering what this first photo to the left here is, yesterday when Emily and I were exploring our neighborhood on foot, we spotted a sort of ice "stalagmite" about 3 feet high that formed when some good bit of water flowed out of release valve on the side of our building.  So we picked it up and carried it to our backyard area to serve as our own lawn art for the winter!  Emily was delighted and spent some time decorating it with snow.

Today, it is still visible above the snow and we peek out at it from time to time, as we work on our "paper people party" on the kitchen table.  As you can undoubtedly see below, in addition to the dancing princesses and gingerbread boys, there is a gingerbread girl playing an accordion, while a whole fleet of tiny ships sail in the foreground, with their passengers of birds and seals.  Oh, yes.  And not to be forgotten, notice also the frog posing behind his row of tents!