Best in show
When Harvard was little, he and I found ourselves with lots of time to wander the streets of Toronto. He’d ride along in a baby sling and we’d wander up and down Queen Street and hit up lots of galleries and buy German sandwiches. The sandwiches have changed, but he’s still a great partner to take along to gallery shows.
On Friday, the Matt Family went on the Northern Scene Gallery Crawl and saw a bunch of art from Northern Artists. The exhibit at the Carleton University Art Gallery (CUAG: the gallery with a terrible acronym that they resolutely they use with pride) was by far the best show we saw. The lower level was full of whimsical drawings and sculptures from Inuit artists, but Harvard plonked himself down in front of a piece by Zin Taylor called “Put your eye in your mouth” and sat entranced for the full twenty minute video. I had to pull him away from it because the bus was leaving for the next show. Harvard has decided that media art is the way to go. He later found another piece “The Soniferous Æther of The Land Beyond The Land Beyond” by Charles Stankievech, a visual exploration of an arctic labratory (?) with a droning soundtrack and lots of slow pans. Harvard’s review: “Thumbs up, but it could use more action.”
I’m pretty proud of him and his taste. It was a blast and it fills me with a little belated guilt that I haven’t taken him to more shows.
I admit it, we totally threw him into the deep end with the cello. But Sebastian being Sebastian, he worked hard and is quickly getting the hang of it. And last Friday he had his first public performance with his Suzuki cello group at Kiwanis. He had a lo of fun and it was so nice to see how proud he was of his own accomplishment.
We love our house and, luckily, there are very few things that need to be done to it. Still, there is a small but expensive list of repairs/improvements that will need to be addressed when we have the money and time to do so (repoint the exterior brick, replace the rotten support beam holding up our addition, fix the bathroom floor to prevent further water damage to our living room ceiling, replace the countertop in the kitchen). We were at a granite place to look at counters for my parents’ kitchen and came across this slab of rock. It’s a beauty. Luckily for us, nobody else will probably like it a much as we do, so we’ll have time to save up.
“What are little boys made of?
Snips and snails, and puppy dogs tails
That’s what little boys are made of!”
Having boys can be a lot of work. They’re like steam engines: if they’re not pushing a freight train, they’re liable to explode. But there are the other times; the times that you don’t jump to mind when you think of boys. The times when a pile of new books comes back from the store and a silence descends on the house and a new adventures begins in their imaginations.
It is a well-known fact that we are a soccer family. But Ottawa is a hockey town and when I had the opportunity to bid on 6 Ottawa 67s tickets, I jumped at the chance because while the NHL is on strike, the 67s get to play at Scotiabank Place. Turns out these games really are great fun (only one fight broke out, and even that one seemed almost staged, it was so ridiculous), and they know how to keep a young crowd engaged. And that is as close as I’ll ever get to endorse hockey.
Halloween candy made an early appearance this year. I woke up this morning to hear Harvard tell me that there’s a special present waiting for me downstairs. Let me be clear. It is not my birthday. It is not Christmas. There’s really not anything special about today (quite the opposite actually — it’s Monday). I went downstairs to find this little note and present left for me.
Then I realized what it was. You see, Harvard and his brother’s had snuck downstairs and were surreptiously eating candy that morning. The present was a pre-emptive bribe to get me to either ignore or endorse their candy binge. But the worst part? It totally worked. I do like Starburst candies.
I was extremely fortunate to visit Nunavut last week. The plan was to go to Pangnirtung and Rankin Inlet, but the weather was not playing along (everyone from up North did warn us that the the weather can be unpredictable this time of the year what flights are concerned). So we were fortunate enough to spend a couple of extra days in Pang. It is hard to put into words how beautiful Pangnirtung is, and how warm and welcoming its people are. I kept telling everyone that I will be back and I want to bring the kids. If you are into art, culture, nature, hiking, photography …., this place should be at the top of your list of places in Canada to visit. Pang has so much to offer: the beautiful Uqqurmiut Art Centre (www.uqqurmiut.com) with its printmaking and tapestry workshops, the Angmarlik Visitor’s Centre with its knowledgeable staff, and lets not forget Louis at Auyuittuq Lodge, who handled us tourists with a firm, but kind hand (not to mention excellent food!). I can’t wait to come back.
Real happiness
It’s finally here. Arlen’s 3rd birthday has upgraded him from being a “little big boy” to a “medium big boy” (his description, not ours). Watching him celebrate his birthday made me realize that it’s really not what’s in the wrapping paper, it’s the thrill of being the complete centre of attention that he loves. Of course, he wants to play with the his new train board game. He loves his new Thomas Box. But what got the biggest smile was just having all of his family brothers completely focused on him. The youngest of three is a foreign territory for me, but he’s was really relishing the attention from his brothers.
And of course, there was cake. So much cake. Literally, every meal he had, came with a different cake.
Wait. There’s such a thing as “breakfast cake”? Why didn’t I know about this?
and there was the sparkly cake.
So yeah, it was a good day to be a “medium big boy.”
The Gap
Sebastian has been waiting for this moment, and now he’s finally lost a tooth! He’s got the Matt Family shark tooth thing going on, but those are real grown up teeth you see back there. It also (hopefully) means that he can finally eat using his whole mouth.
Dog? Cello case? It’s not clear.
Sebastian started his two week Ottawa Youth Orchestra Academy summer camp. It’s BAND CAMP! Having no (conventional) musical ability, I’ve never been to band camp, but it has lived up to its reputation. The kids were a little nerdy (in a sweet way) and they’re playing games like Orchestra tag. On the first day, Sebastian was nervous at first but became really excited when other people started showing up with their instruments. (Double basses are cool). On a few occasions, he wanted to bust out his cello and start practicing (that’s always a good sign). The experience has been similar to Harvard’s Capital United Camp with lots of more experienced older kids and the younger ones who look up to them. Of course, being band camp, the environment is much safer and all health and safety regulations are met.
I think this will be really great for Sebastian. He’s learning that playing cello is a social thing. He’s in an environment that has has its own definition of cool, and its one that better suits Sebastian’s disposition. And he is getting a chance to be the leader of his own little tribe of misfits (sometimes being away from Harvard is a good thing).
Sebastian on stage. Note his friend Raif looking over to him for some guidance.
