The kids have a big yard with a creek full of fish running around the back of it. We have tackled the back yard, and it promises to be an epic battle between my sheer will and the will of a few decades of weeds run rampant. I have always moved into places with well established perennial beds, so this is a bit of a challenge. Planting a garden with two three year olds is also proving to be a challenge. Both have inherited my "more is more" outlook on life, so planting involves me going behind them and digging out the fistful of seeds shoved in each tiny hole. It also involves me agreeing that their new "best friend" of an earth worm/frog/toad is indeed beautiful, but no, mama would not like to hold him. I found Shep the other day watching television, holding up a garden slug so it too could enjoy the brilliance that is the Backyardigans.
I don't think the slug was very impressed.
So, to catch up - a few shots of the past month out here in Orono. Digging, planting and fence building (Paul did it all by himself). A first fish, and a first dance recital (note the bug bites, (did I mention that there are a ridiculous amount of insects in the country?!).
And last but not least, Frannie. Francis was our cat for the past decade. She enjoyed sleeping and eating and snuggling. I found her as a kitten in Kensington Market and thought she would be a great gift for my then friend Paul. We ended up married and she ended up mine. Francis loved it out here and was very happy with our decision to move out of the city.
Sadly she was killed by a dog last week. This was the last picture I took of her, sleeping in the clean towel basket.
Happy with the sad, luckily much much more of the former. We buried Fran out back and will spend the next few weeks, in shorts, planting beautiful perennials all around her. xo
RIP frannie xo.
You can't tell from this shot of Frances but she had THE most incredible eyes i've ever seen. on anything. the were green, blue and even yellow in places. i'm sad i will never see them again.
ReplyDeleteIts look like you all having such a good time! you have a great family. Although your post have a bitterswett flavour... Frannie was a beautiful cat.
ReplyDeletekisses from the vegetable garden.
Carola
Bye Frannie. I didn't know you long but you were a cat so I liked you.
ReplyDeleteI also love Shep on the car - this looks like it could have been taken in the 70s.
thanks all, she was lovely and crazy..but mostly lovely. she will be missed.
ReplyDeletexo
Sweet kitty, so sorry.
ReplyDeleteStrange that I found your blog when we are thinking about moving with OUR 3-year-old twins (also girl and boy) from the SF Bay Area to the Toronto area. Orono looks beautiful, and your new garden is great. Can I ask if you plan to send your kids to the local public school? It's a big consideration, as we are hoping to live on one salary (or one and a half). Thanks.
thanks lesley:)
ReplyDeletethat is a big move! orono is lovely, we are very happy here...glad we did it. we do plan on sending our kids to the local school. part of the decision to move was because they were starting school soon. smaller school, less kids, more free space to roam. the school here is very cool - it is sort of an open concept space, with the younger grades each having areas divided by bookshelves etc...but no walls...i loved it when we first toured orono. there are also french emersion schools in nearby towns if we had decided to go that route.
best of luck - let me know how it works out :)R
Thanks for all the info--I like the sounds of that school. Is it realistic to think about one of us commuting from Orono to Toronto daily? Also, how do you feel about those giant nuclear reactors being so close?
ReplyDeleteyou are welcome!
ReplyDeletemy husband commutes daily - drives from orono to oshawa and then on the GO to downtown toronto...takes an hour. he is home around the same time daily he was when we lived in the city...some days he finds the commute hard, but i remember him disliking biking in smog equally - so i think it evens out. i am not thrilled we live this close to reactors. we were still pretty close living in the city, so i don't feel that different. less panicky at the thought of having an emergency plan in the country than surrounded by a million people with the same idea though...:)
Hey! I was reading stories of commuters from Orono to Toronto and came across this blog. My wife and I moved to Orono in 2009. Bought a house over by Jungle Cat World and we love it. I also commute to Toronto, it's stressful at times but on the weekends you feel like you are on vacation from the city. It's great. I am glad you are enjoying Orono.
ReplyDeletehi chad, i am going through old posts and came across this one - sorry i missed you! we moved here in 2009 too...we love it and wouldn't change back at all. the commute is hard on paul sometimes...but yes, he gets to be here at the end of the day and it's totes worth it!
ReplyDeletebest to you and yours :)R