A Grimm Discovery

On Friday, my parents took their coffee at the cafe on the grounds of Summers End. They surveyed the yard and noticed something amiss.
Over there in the NE corner of the lot where the playhouse stands... where was Snow White?

They walked to the playhouse and were horrified to discover 6 of their concrete dwarfs were missing.
The 40" Snow White figure had been knocked down, but at least she was still there. Somebody kidnapped the dwarfs!

Doc, Grumpy, Sneezy, Sleepy, Bashful and Dopey - all of them gone! Only Happy was left behind. (Unfortunately, an horrific accident left Happy a double-amputee several years ago).

Snow White and the seven dwarfs have been friends of the playhouse for at least 25 years. They've been a part of the Wild parties, Family Picnics, Wayne Day and several weddings. They're family - the children of the house after The Original 6 moved out.

Every few years, my Dad would cart each dwarf to the garage where my Mom would painstakingly repaint him. Once sealed and dry, my Dad would carry each concrete man back to his place. Snow White received an ultra deluxe spa treatment, including chemical peel (old paint removal), deep facial line treatment (filling weathered areas) and microdermabrasion (sanding) before hitting makeup and wardrobe.

Two fawns, Bambi and Bimbo, are usually placed as if they'd just left the cornfield - heading toward the playhouse. Bimbo was also missing.

In order to execute the robbery, the dwarf-nappers had to park on the shoulder of the road, climb the fence, walk to the playhouse area, pick up the concrete statue (you need 2 people to carry Bimbo), carry it back

(enlarge to view getaway route)

down the yard, over the fence, down the hill at the ditch to the waiting car...seven times! There's been too much rain to drive through the field without getting stuck. {Aside: Escape through the field after a rain was attempted once. Once. You noticed I said 'attempted'?}

"I miss them," my Dad told me yesterday when I visited the homestead. "I miss you too," he quickly added lest I be offended.
So deep is the loss that he can't bear to whistle while he works in the yard.
Come to think of it, the wind wasn't whistling through the trees either.

As for Happy, well I thought he looked quite lonely.

Tags: [Brothers Grimm Fairy Tales] [Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs]
[Disney Lawn Statues] [Crimestoppers - Durham]

Bawling for Blessings

The annual Crying Sumo Competition took place in Tokyo yesterday.

In crying sumo the babies are held up by amateur sumo wrestlers in a ring, and the baby who cries first is the winner. If both babies cry, then the one that cries loudest wins. A total of 84 babies born last year participated in the contest at the temple.

Crying sumo is a blessing for healthy growth of the child.
I don't understand the competition of this. Is there a wail-off to determine the loudest crier of all babies presented? What prize does the loudest crier receive?

"I love winners when they cry, losers when they try." (Tom T. Hall)

Available at chapters.indigo.ca

Tags:[Crying Sumo]  [Sensoji Temple]  [Tom T. Hall]

The Changing Climate of Parenting

Parenting Through the Decades

Decade	Theme	Expert	Reward	Conse- quence
1950s	Strong Values/ Firm Leadership	Dr. Benjamin Spock	Allowance	Extra chores like wash out the garbage cans
1980s	Put children first	Saul Scheidlinger	Psychotherapy	Psychotherapy
1990s	The child's sense of self	Dr. Barbara Colorosa	Spend quality time together recog- nizing the accomplishment	Reward the effort made attempting to meet expectations
2000s	Nurture Nature	Dr. David Suzuki	Select from list of ethical / green choices++	Deduct/Withhold Carbon Credits

⁺⁺ Green Choice Rewards may include:

Jewelry from natural beads	Organic cotton clothing
Clothing purchased second-hand	Eco Jeans (organic material)
Shoes with treads of recycled tires	Anything from Bono's fair-trade-focused fashion label
School bag made from recycled inner tubes

Some suggested music: Dave Matthews, Alicia Keys, Melissa Etheridge, Jack Johnson, The Beastie Boys (especially Mike D), John Legend, Ludacris, Sting, U2


Tags: [Parenting] [Dr. Spock] [Barbara Colorosa]
[David Suzuki] [Climate Change] [Carbon Credits]
[Brushfire Records] [Tibetan Freedom Concert] [Fair Trade]
[Bono] [An Inconvenient Truth]

Hit Parade

Stratford, the Festival City, wrapped up its day-time events celebrating Canada's 140^th birthday with the annual parade, organized by the local Kinsmen Club.

The parade wound through Stratford's downtown, from Wellington to Downie, across Ontario to Huron. More than 40 groups participated in the parade that was led by the Veteran's Association and finished with the giant birthday cake float.

Three rows deep along the 2 km route, spectators waved and applauded as the more than 40 entries marched by. At the curb, in pint-size chairs and on blankets were young children. Parents, older children and youths made up the second row, on the boulevards and sidewalks. Other families and many seniors set up in front of the businesses and on the grassy knolls.

Way to go Stratford! There is so much support from all generations. It became clear that residents had "their spots" staked out from prior years. I wonder if, in twenty years, that spot in front of the church will still be Nicole's and Rachel's.

Thumbs up to Stratford, population 30,000 - Well planned and well-attended city-wide celebrations wrapped up with fireworks display at the rec. center.

Aurora, population 47,000, cancelled its Canada Day parade due to lack of support.

Some of the groups who participated in the parade:

Stratford Concert Band	Perth Pipe Band
Bethel Church	Stratford Builders' Association	Playmakers Theatre School
Perth Regiment Re-Enactment Unit	Orr Insurance (that's their truck, above)	Stratford Lions Club
Mocha Trumpet Band (London/Woodstock) and the RoadRunners	Dukes of Hazzard chased by Enos	Jubilee Christian Fellowship Band
Saddle Up Stables	Wellington-Waterloo Hunt & Riding Club	DaMax Kennels (thank you for the loot bag for Buddy)
Stratford Motor Products	Gary Stockie Chev-Olds

Red & White Sale on Now at

The Pro Shop

Tags: [Stratford] [Canada Day] [Aurora Cancels Parade]
[Stratford Country Club]

¡Viva!

Cinco de Mayo is widely thought to be the Independence Day of Mexico. Mexico's official Independence Day is in September. Cinco de Mayo celebrates the day of Mexico's Great Battle at Puebla.

Napoleon III's French troops occupied Mexico for five months in 1862. On May 5 the Mexican military overcame the French soldiers at Puebla. In defeating the French Foreign Legion, supplies to the Confederate Rebels in the U.S. Civil War were cut off. The U.S. rebuilt their own forces and beat the Rebels at Gettysburg the following year.

The French recaptured Puebla on May 8^th but were finally expelled from Mexico in 1867.

Así que qué, you ask?

A while ago, my brother and I were talking about Cinco de Mayo. Our sister, who was with us, said, with much disbelief, "Like you guys know when Mexico's National holiday is."
"It's the fifth of May," we replied together.
Joe turned to his son David, 4, and asked, "David, do you know when Cinco de Mayo is?"
"Yep," David answered. Maybe he did know, but he was preoccupied with removing the pepperoni from his pizza slice.

She wouldn't believe that we knew the celebration takes place annually on May 5^th.

We explained that Cinco de Mayo translates literally to May 5.

In her most scholarly voice, our sibling declared, "Well, the national holiday of Norway is November 3^rd."

"No it's not." Joe and I laughed. In fact, it's May 17^th.

So - ¡Viva Cinco de Mayo!
Today, celebrate a battle you've won.

[Cinco de Mayo] [Napoleon III] [Norway]

Sacrilege

After 3 + years without eating, there is little I miss. I've adapted - gotten used to not eating. I don't feel hunger and that makes it a little easier.

I will confess that there is something I miss:

Now, here I am, on the verge of enjoying food again, and this: the Chocolate Manufacturers Association has a petition in front of the FDA to alter the definition of chocolate.

According to Bloomberg News correspondent Adam Satariano,

They want to make it without the required ingredients of cocoa butter and cocoa solids, using instead artificial sweeteners, milk substitutes, and vegetable fats such as hydrogenated and trans fats.

Thankfully, this has been brought out! Don't Mess With Our Chocolate is a website started by Guittard Chocolate. According to Guittard, the purpose of the site is " to provide information regarding how to get involved in saving the real chocolate that we all love and enjoy."

Concerned consumers from around the world can register their comments on the CMA application. The FDA has extended the comment period until June 25, 2007.

Life is like a box of chocolates - you never know what you're going to get. Looks like that might be more true than Forrest ever knew.

I'll go ahead and tag this post, but Technorati's been having some technical difficulties.

[Chocolate]
[Chocolate Manufacturers Association] [Bloomberg News]
[Forrest Gump] [Chocolate is Good For You]
[Guittard Chocolate] [Technorati]

Wedding Thriller

Who doesn't love a wedding? Who doesn't love a wedding reception?

This ain't no Bird-Dance! Check out a great wedding dance:



My family, with well-founded Motown roots, boasts our own 'Dancin'-Machina'...but Patricia is looking pretty pale compared to this.

The Tradition of the Nativity Scene

When I was growing up, our family had a nativity scene that was arranged atop the piano in the living room. It was a traditional scene and my Mom had painted each ceramic figure. In the first year, it was Mary, Joseph, Jesus, the manger and the Wise Men. Each year after that, she painted additional pieces to include. Every December 25th, at 12:00 a.m., we'd sing Happy Birthday and place baby Jesus in the manger.

I don't know where that nativity is now. Come to think of it, I haven't seen that manger set in several years. Yesterday, at my parents' home, I saw there was a different nativity arrangement on the table behind the couch. Except for Kashmir's interest in the new set, I might not have noticed it back there.

My parents have an acre of property that they decorate for the season. The latest in outdoor decorations is the over-sized inflatable adornment. That got me to thinking...

I found these items for sale, and thought, they'd be perfect in the orchard.
A 9 ft. inflatable scene

And to finish it off right,

add the 6' tall Wise Men...

Each has its own "self-contained illumination system" and is described as being "a highly visible lawn decoration." Both unfortunately, now sold out for the season.

Think you'd find these for sale at some blasphemous website, right? Wrong. Try CatholicSupply.com

More on [Inflatable Lawn Decorations]

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