by Heather Plett | Oct 18, 2005 | Uncategorized
I’m suffering from brain drain these days. My brain seems incapable of focusing on anything for longer than a few seconds. I’ve tried to write a few posts, but abandoned them when I couldn’t get anywhere. So here are a few random thoughts to fill up the spaces while I attempt to re-ignite my brain.
1. Finally, after all these years of having mis-matched dishes and cups, our cupboard is full of dishes that MATCH! All those mugs that say “Q-94 FM” or “Friends Forever” and all those odd glasses from sets we used to own have finally left the building! When I get paid for something I write, I usually consider it “development money” and buy myself something that helps my development as a writer/artist. This time, when the cheque came through from Winnipeg Free Press, I decided to use it to “develop” my kitchen, and instead of books, I bought dishes. It’s the first time we’ve EVER had a decent set of dishes.
2. Let me just say this – it really, really sucks when you have to fire someone. Really. Makes me wonder if I should re-consider my career choice of becoming a manager. Next job, I don’t want to be this accountable for people.
3. Seems I’m on a bit of a sewing kick. Last night, I sewed ponchos for the girls. Well, technically “sewing” is a bit of a stretch, since mostly what I did was cut them out of fleece and cut fringes around the edge.
4. Maddie, being the social butterfly that she is, seems to be attracting a lot of attention these days. Her “phone” never stops ringing, and most evenings, she can be found in the living room entertaining a long procession of guests. The other night, she welcomed Elmo, Big Bird, Mickey Mouse, The Grouch, someone named Gumpa, her friend/doll Misty, and several other celebrities and non-celebrities to our home, and all of them decided to stay for a sleepover. Apparently though, they ALL wanted to sleep in her bed, so at about 10:30, she was in our room complaining that all of her friends were crowding her and she’d have to sleep in OUR bed. It also appears that some of her houseguests have been less-than-gracious. She worked hard to make a tent for Elmo, and in the end he complained that he didn’t like it. Sheesh.
5. How can a three year old POSSIBLY take up more space in a bed than two adults? With those flailing arms and legs, it’s like sleeping with a restless OCTOPUS!
6. Why did I insist on buying that super-duper wind-em-up Pampered Chef cheese grater, only to abandon it when it got forever clogged and return to using my old-fashioned run-of-the-mill $5 version? Past experience should have proved that most of the time, “slice-em-dice-em” kitchen gadgets are a WASTE OF TIME AND MONEY. Anyone want a high end cheese grater? Speak now, or it gets added to the goodwill bag.
7. It’s amazing what you can do in 5 minutes when the pressure’s on. I just wrote a press release in less time than it took me to write this random list. Not that I wish there were always pressure, but sometimes that’s just the impetus I need to re-ignite my brain.
by Heather Plett | Oct 17, 2005 | Uncategorized
Okay, okay, so I’m exagerating a little. But they DID learn to sew today – isn’t independent living the next logical step?
Nikki was first up.
Then Julie took her turn.
Their creations – pajama pants! I just had to help with the tough parts – like the crotch and elastic. 🙂
Maddie was convinced that she had enough to make a pair of pants for Peanut out of the scraps. 🙂
by Heather Plett | Oct 14, 2005 | Uncategorized
On Monday night, we had our third Thanksgiving meal at our friends’ Yvonne and George’s new home in the country. There were TWENTY NINE people there for supper! It was such a great evening! No, they’re not technically our family, but they sure FEEL like family. The three Wikkerink sisters (Yvonne, Linda, and Michele) are the next best thing to my own sister (or perhaps I should say “sisters”, since I also have 2 pretty great sisters-in-law).
Here are a few photos of a great night with great people.
Delicious and bountiful food in a beautiful, welcoming home.
An awesome bonfire!
Julie and Maddie – warming their buns by the fire 🙂
This is what family is for 🙂 Nikki with her auntie and uncle and almost-cousin.
Maddie, Yvonne and George hangin’ with Buddy
Me, Michele, Linda, Maddie, and Micah. If you want to read the story of the quilt, you can find it on Linda’s blog. (Michele, I ALMOST posted the other picture, but decided to be kind 🙂
There you have it – a few more reasons to be thankful 🙂
by Heather Plett | Oct 13, 2005 | Uncategorized
Last night I got to go to the THEATRE! Yay! It’s been a long time (way too long) since I’ve been to the theatre. I used to go much more regularly – especially when I was studying theatre at university. Now it just seems to be one of those rare luxuries that I just can’t find time and money for.
But yesterday I got to go for FREE! A co-worker was planning to go with her husband, but he baled out at the last minute, so she asked me.
What did we see? A delightfully delicious play called Copenhagen at the Prairie Theatre Exchange. Wow! What a feast for the literary and intellectual senses! Here’s what the playbill says:
In 1941, the German physicist Werner Heisenberg made a strange, clandestine trip to Copenhagen to see his Danish counterpart, Niels Bohr. Their work together on quantum mechanics and the uncertainty principle had revolutionized atomic physics. But now the world had changed and the two men were on opposite sides in a world war. Why Heisenberg went to Copenhagen and what he wanted to say to Bohr are questions that have vexed historians ever since, but Michael Frayn’s fiercely intelligent and daring play poses some possible answers.
At first I thought I might get lost in the complexity of quantum physics, and there was a fair bit of that, but it was brilliantly intertwined with relationships, ethics, the tricks of memory, the complexity of war, the pain of losing someone, etc., etc., ETC. There were so many layers to it, as it shifted from narrative to the re-enactment of memories and back again, that you were never sure if you were catching everything, but you never wanted to let your mind wander. It was so well-crafted and well-written that you always felt like you were getting fed delectable morsels of a bittersweet treat.
If it comes to your town, go see it. Or, better yet, pay a visit to Winnipeg and see it here! I think you’ll be glad you did. I liked it so much, I’d see it again.
by Heather Plett | Oct 12, 2005 | Uncategorized
1. airplanes
2. blogging
3. pumpkins
4. Nikki, Julie, Matthew, Maddie
5. Marcel
6. my siblings
7. the fact that my siblings were smart enough to marry three of the best people in the world
8. my nieces and nephews
9. my Mom
10. three more bags of clutter ready to leave my house
11. my friends
12. my job
13. GNF
14. the dishwasher
15. the comforter my mom made from the wool of my dad’s sheep
16. the memory of my Dad
17. books
18. tea
19. raw sugar from Tanzania (I wanna go back for some MORE!)
20. my children’s friends
21. my bicycle
22. crunchy leaves
23. my sister
24. the baby growing in her tummy
25. my boss (he’s not perfect, but he shows humility and respect)
26. city transit
27. libraries
28. feet
29. orthotics for my feet
30. my wedding and engagement rings (still like them after all these years)
31. my oldest friend Julie in Alberta
32. the memory of the way my dad used to sing “His eye is on the sparrow”
33. my almost-new bathroom
34. sleep (I only wish I’d had more of it last night)
35. hot baths (even when Maddie and Julie join me)
36. that today’s task never has to be replicated
37. potlucks
38. big soft towels
39. cheese
40. hand lotion
41. the Wikkerink sisters – all three of them
42. seasons
43. Thanksgiving
44. bonfires
45. cameras
46. kettle chips (stole that one from Linda, but I couldn’t resist)
47. music
48. a concert to look forward to
49. Folk Festival
50. camping
51. that I won’t have to deal with a certain challenging person after today
52. home
53. trips with my family
54. an almost-clean house
55. trees
56. Thai food
57. a husband who cleans the freezer
58. my African jewellery
59. a grocery store within walking distance
60. that I don’t have to live in a cookie-cutter house in a cookie-cutter neighbourhood
61. second-hand clothes
62. jeans that fit
63. cards from friends
64. grapes
65. God
66. no more diapers (well, except maybe Peanut, and he/she goes home at the end of the day)
67. that I’m not as bad as the eleven e-mails (from one person) I got this morning say I am
68. conversations with interesting people
69. Marcel’s favourite number (oops! TMI!)
70. that I can enjoy other people’s gardens
71. art
72. bridges
73. deer
74. warm clothes
75. Nikki’s questions
76. Julie’s love for baking
77. Maddie’s stories
78. going for Slurpees with the girls (don’t tell them I like them – I have to act like it’s THEIR idea and a rare treat!)
79. honesty
80. supportive friends
81. toast with peanut butter and honey
82. my new cookbook
83. Marcel’s family
84. lie-with-me night
85. containers
86. my orange purse
87. my orange backpack
88. yeah, I like the colour orange, but not EVERYTHING I own is orange. I’m also rather fond of turquoise and purple
89. that I don’t have to carry a diaper bag anymore
90. the growing independence of my children
91. that Maddie doesn’t wake up EVERY night anymore and that the 3 times last night were exceptions to the rule
92. chai latte
93. the mentors I’ve had in my life. Gisele, for one.
94. windows
95. friends who invite me for great meals
96. community
97. growing up in the country
98. learning
99. sunshine
100. giggling with my daughters
