Coucoumellisms

We went apple picking today, Gabriel, Nicky and I, with Jo and his mother. Gabriel and Jo ran all over the place, pulled apples off the trees, sometimes pulling the twigs with them, and ate a bunch too. We mothers walked calmly through the trees, pulling off the biggest, reddest ones, to make up for the small green ones that were often being put in by the younger pair. We enjoyed ourselves. Summer is coming to an end. The oldest children are back in school, Gabriel will be starting pre-school next week, the hectic summer soccer season is coming to an end, and I can finally start to relax... NO MORE SOCCER UNTIL THE END OF SEPTEMBER/EARLY OCTOBER!!!! Halleluia! I'm a bit sad, as I always am, to see my children traipsing back off to school, but getting all the new school supplies ready is always kind of exciting. For some strange reason, I like pens and crayons and markers and all that stuff, I could browse places like Staples/Bureau en Gros for hours no problem... But autumn...

Ooh! Ooh! Ooh! I just got all excited about this little site... http://www.eragonmovie.com/ To be honest, the excitement is not about the site, but about the movie coming out on December 15th. If it does justice to the book, it's going to be a good one. I'm willing to bet it'll be almost as good as the LotR. The book is excellent, and written by a homeschooled boy to boot. He started it when he was only 15!!

Apparently these are actual excerpts from classified sections of city newspapers: 1. Illiterate? Write today for free help. 2. Auto Repair Service. Free pick-up and delivery. Try us once; you'll never go anywhere again. 3. 3-year old teacher needed for pre-school. Experience preferred. 4. Used Cars: Why go elsewhere to be cheated. Come here first. 5. Dog for sale: eats anything and is fond of children. 6. Man wanted to work in dynamite factory. Must be willing to travel. 7. Tired of cleaning yourself. Let me do it. 8. Wanted. Man to take care of cow that does not smoke or drink. 9. We do not tear your clothing with machinery. We do it carefully by hand.

And now I am going to do an about face and go liberal on you all... This is all about the Public Relations Campaign between Israel and (especially) the American Media. Where most mainstream american media neglects to mention that Israel is oppressing palestinians and that palestinians are being occupied. They are live in violence and repression every day. They are desperate. Ambulances are blocked, homes destroyed with people still inside, civilians used as human shields for the israeli army. They are often forced to stay inside all day, children cannot go to school, adults cannot go to work. Amnesty international has documented many human rights abuses. But we do not see this in American media. The fact that there is an occupation going on is left out. All we see are the terrorist attacks on israelis by palestinians without the context. It looks like terrorism for no reason. Most Americans have NO IDEA of the sufferings palestinians go through. No idea of the desperation. Without th...

Here is a list of a few social-conservative blogs written by canadian women, who are pro-life, pro-family, and anti-feminist. The subject of interest here is Actual the government funded group Status of Women. I quote: On August 14, LifeSiteNews.com reported that Status of Women (SoW) was likely using public funds to launch a massive counter offensive in the media after human rights group REAL Women of Canada had sent letters to MP's calling for the organization to be defunded and dissolved. When the main Canadian media outlets ignored the story, it was taken up on the blogs - live online journals by private individuals - largely women,who say they were tired both of Status of Women's radical feminist agenda in Canadian politics and the media's campaign of silence against any opposed opinion. Calling SoW (Status of Women) "elitist and undemocratic", Susanne wrote Tuesday on her blog, Big Blue Wave, "So it's a bunch of radical feminist bureaucrats consulti...

Got this from Catholicity LAUNDRY: THE BIG LIE Perhaps the biggest lie about taking care of kids is that the word "laundry" means one task. Yet as most moms know from hard experience, laundry consists of an almost endless succession of distinct actions. Here is an incomplete list, just for fun: Gather clothes (and towels!) from multiple locations Carry baskets to washing machine Sort clothes by person(s) Sort by color Sort by type of clothing Treat pesky stains with special stain-fighting product (and often: delay before loading) Load into washer (by type or color or person) Measure and add detergent/softener Start washer (often, this step is forgotten!) Wait for up to 30 minutes Come back to washing machine Unload wet clothes from washer (on time!) Put the SECOND load into washer, add detergent, start washer Sort wet clothes by permanent press, cotton, what's needed right now, etc. Load wet clothes into dryer Start dryer (again, often this step if forgotten!) Wait for up...

I went to get the breaks fixed last Friday, and had to wait two hours. I only had Nicky with me, so I went out walking with him, and ended up at the Halles St-Jean (shopping plaza). There is a Health Food store in the plaza, and I have to admit, I love to browse in there. I stopped for chocolate, (they have yummy dark chocolate, not bitter at all) and discovered bags of tea. Not tea bags, big bags of dried herbs to steep in those wire mesh thingies. I ended up buying a whole bunch of them plus a teapot for two complete with strainer, so I could make tea for two and make my own mixes. My sister arrived that evening and we spent the whole weekend drinking herbal tea. I put licorice in almost everything because it has a very sweet aftertaste. Did you know that you can drink MARSHMALLOW tea? I got that. I had no idea how it was going to taste, and neither did the store clerk. But she told me it was good for the digestive system, and oh, as an afterthought, it was also good for br...

Check out this foot now, because you probably won't ever see it looking this good again... I took Maryssa with me to get our nails done. I got a whole pedicure done (God knows my feet needed it, poor woman who had to do them, I tipped her five dollars for it too...), and Maryssa got her nails polished. Aren't we the fancy ones?

Thought I'd do this one too... Your Political Profile: Overall : 35% Conservative, 65% Liberal Social Issues : 25% Conservative, 75% Liberal Personal Responsibility : 25% Conservative, 75% Liberal Fiscal Issues : 0% Conservative, 100% Liberal Ethics : 50% Conservative, 50% Liberal Defense and Crime : 75% Conservative, 25% Liberal How Liberal Or Conservative Are You? Gee I guess I am more liberal than I thought... Or could that be because some of those questions were WAAAY too general and I might have chosen something more in between?

Just thought I'd do this one too, since I am supposedly Taurus. I must have been born during some weird "alignment of the planets" or other though, since I don't actually seem to ressemble a Taurus all that much after all, especially the parts about needing security and loving money and possessions... You are 40% Taurus How Taurus Are You?

You Are a Purple Flower A purple flower tends to represent success, grace, and elegance. At times, you are faithful like a violet. And other times, you represent luxury, like a wisteria. And more than you wish, you find yourself heartbroken like a lilac. What Color Flower Are You? Got this from Days Go By

It's not just a matter of Hallowe'en stuff coming out in the dollar store in mid-July, and Christmas stuff out as soon as Hallowe'en is over in most stores, the whole idea of getting ready for a whle new season when the current season has just begun just makes me go bonkers sometimes. Like I want to be checking out swimsuits in the middle of winter!! What really drives me bonkers is when I really need something, like a new pair of mittens for my kids, in the middle of winter, and THERE ARE NO MORE MITTENS anywhere, at least not any more good ones, or none the right size, because THEY ARE OUT OF SEASON. How can they be out of season if there are at least two more months left of winter? Kids always lose their mittens, shouldn't there be mittens in stock until at least the end of winter? It just doesn't make sense. Unless it's marketing sense. I guess the whole conspiracy is there to make us buy stuff "just in case we need it later and there isn't an...

I keep trying to upload pictures from Nicolas's baptism, but for some reason there is always a problem or another. Will try to get that done later tonight when there is less traffic on the web(?).

This on-line "flash" version of the Way of the Cross from Beliefnet is definitely worth checking out: Turn up the volume. Bitter Journey - The way of the Cross

Remember the good old days when things were made to last? Neither do I, that was before my time. But I'll bet my parents do, back before disposables took over our world, (the developed world anyway). We have become a society of disposables. Disposable diapers, paper cups and plates, plastic knives and forks, kleenex, individually wrapped-ready to eat/drink food, paper-towelling, heck we even have the swiffer now, to replace mops. Don't get me wrong, I would rather use toilet paper than, say newspaper... I'll bet the plumbing likes it way better too. And I think kleenex you use once and throw away is probably a lot more hygienic than a hankie used a few times. But couldn't you just have a lot of hankies and throw them in the wash after each use? I use mostly facecloths to clean my babies' bums and I have a whole lot of them, I don't re-use them without washing them first. I don't even need to touch on paper/styrofoam plates,... I think greenpeace and the like...