I could actually venture outside without a coat or sweater on and take a look at what was popping up in the garden. I am going to go to the garden centre and get some organic fertilizer and help give things a boost. The weather is supposed to be the same tomorrow so I hope to be able to do a wee bit of gardening tomorrow (as a writing break, that is :). Today is the first day that really feels like spring and the temperature is 14 degrees C. I am taking my son for a haircut later and then having dinner out with the boys. The only bad thing about the day is the fact that I have to go to the dentist tonight. Ugh. Airplanes and dentists; I don't know which I hate worse.

Do you think too much, do you over-analyse words and situations? Do you have the tendency to sometimes obssess over the small things and lose the big picture? Do people annoy you? What about blogland; what bothers you here? People who visit and don't leave comments, lurkers, rudeness or nothing at all? Does the blog emulate the "real" world, because if so, there must be things that annoy us here as well.

Today I...

• fed children
• changed diapers
• played with children
• got exasperated with children
• made crafts and played computer games with my older son
• collapsed upon Mr. C's arrival...

Tomorrow I will...

• prepare end of the fiscal year paperwork
• give a guest lecture at a community college
• polish off a couple of grant proposals
• organize some research in preparation of writing on Wednesday and Thursday
• all of the above by 4pm, after which I will be back to today's list again...

My life is glued together by being an organizational routine freak.

Have you ever felt relief that the weekend was coming to an end and that you would wish for your return to some form of routine come Monday? For once in a rare time, I am actually looking forward to Monday.

Busy weekends full of dinners and plans, parties and outings can be a lot of fun. But I think a sign of age is the desire to be home, snuggled up on the couch with good movies and magazines. When life goes by so quickly, the moments can not be cherished as deeply.

My sisters' birthday dinner at my parents was far nicer than the children's birthday party we went to this morning. Children's parties should be banned; they are a source of all that is the worst in society; greed and extravagance, indulgence and gossip. The mother gleefully declared that she was finally able to rid herself of the leftover Halloween candy in the children's loot bags. We will be taking our son on a weekend excursion rather than subject ourselves to this kind of event.

I am off to watch Nip/Tuck before I tuck myself into my cosy bed on this cold windy night.

How was your weekend?

I can stand in my living room and watch the lobster fishermen set and haul their traps. I took this photo through the window, among dozens of others. The weather is so tempting but there is still a deep chill in the air. I am home today with both boys...The babe is curious about everything and watching him play is very amusing. He has five tiny teeth through and you can feel his relief (for the time being anyway). We have a lot planned this weekend; swimming lessons, shopping, two dinners out and two birthday parties....

What are your plans for the weekend?

When Mr. C and I are having something for dinner that we know for certain that our son will not eat, we sometimes ask him what he would like to have. Lately, his response is "mixed plate". I don't know where this came from, but what he means is a plate of mixed raw vegetables, crackers, and cheese. He will eat any vegetable known to mankind. Loves them. I have no idea how this happened. When I was a child, I wouldn't touch my vegetables. To this day I hate peas. Blech. What don't you like to eat?

I have been having a terrible time posting photos lately. Fed up with the annoyance of trying over and over, I will post without. I wanted to show you the view from my living room this morning, with the snow coating the ground once again. Spring can come late and end early here.

Work has been great lately, with so much going on and the writing coming slowly, but progressing nevertheless. I finished using up my research fund for book purchases and have a great new library of research related books now.

When I went to pick up the babe from the babysitter she greated me with a lovely surprise; she had won tickets to a theatre production of one of my favourite books, one that I talk about all the time and that she knows I love: "Tuesdays with Morrie"! Not only did she give me the tickets, but she offered to take both boys for the evening so Mr.C and I could have a really nice night out. This woman is so wonderful.

Every day, 6000 children will die from a lack of safe drinking water. What if yours were one...Stop and think about this. Future wars will be fought over access to water. Make this your concern. My life's work is dedicated to this cause. Watch this...

"We plan our cities near water; we bathe in water; we play in water; we work with water. Our economies are built on the strength of water transportation - and the products we buy and sell are all partly water, in one way or another. Our daily lives are built on water, and shaped by it. Without the water that surrounds us - the humidity of the air, the roughness of the river's current, the flow from the kitchen tap - our lives would be impossible. In recent decades, water has fallen in our esteem. No longer an element to be revered and protected, it is a consumer product that we have shamefully neglected. Eighty percent of our bodies are formed of water, and two thirds of the planet's surface is covered by water: water is our culture, our life." (UNESCO, 2006).

It was a beautiful sunny day but we didn't even leave the house. It is still very cold (-1 degrees C, which is about 30 degrees F), so looks are very deceiving. Being at home with the two boys left me drained and stressed; the babe is getting his top front teeth and is really cranky and my older son is really good, but was hard to amuse today. We all felt a little restless, as though we all knew that it was officially spring, and our minds and bodies need it, but it hasn't quite happened yet. Like three bears wishing we could all come out of hibernation.

Other than that, my mind was on mute today. I was thinking about Michelle, though, who lives in the vicinity of the landfall for Typhoon Larry. Thankfully, neither she nor her home was injured.

As I had mentioned previously, I read the instructions in haste and so my cherry trees did not really bloom. My son and I enjoyed watching the little crystals emerge, however. Thank you again, Alysa.

The next three days will be really busy with work. I will check in when I can, blog friends.

It was a cold (minus 1) day but we decided to go for a hike near the beach anyway. I feel very fortunate to live five minutes away from such a beautiful place. We hardly saw a single person and the air was fresh and even warm in the sheltered areas.

My lovely experiment that Alysa sent is still under construction. But I need to admit that I did something wrong (and I am a real scientist, go figure...). There will be photos eventually! In the meantime, I have been listening to the two cds she sent; she has excellent taste in music and makes really pretty cd covers like this one:

Last but certainly not least, today is my wonderful friend Chloe's birthday. If you haven't already, please drop by and offer her the most deserved well wishes. HAPPY BIRTHDAY my wonderful friend!! xoxo

The cat next door stopped by to say hello to our cat this morning. Judging by the size of their tails, neither was too impressed. Makes you wonder what they are thinking (especially since I just saw The Shaggy Dog movie yesterday).

I received a lovely package from my friend Alysa yesterday. I am waiting to post photos because it included a little science experiment that I want to show you the results of!

I have hardly been home this week, but we are all home now and I am really looking forward to watching Nip/Tuck on DVD tonight. I am hooked. I plan on curling up with popcorn and licorice and my afghan and being a complete couch potato. I'll burn it off with a hike along the coast tomorrow. More pictures to follow when blogger stops acting up. I am also wanting to change the look of my blog, so we'll see where that goes, if anywhere.

I got this idea from Chloe, who got it from someone else, I believe....so now you know!

1)Why and how did you start your blog?
I didn’t really know what blogs were all about until I started reading Rosie’s. Most of the people leaving comments had one and so I thought I’d start one up.

2) If you have a special 'nom de blog', how did you choose it?
I didn’t; my mother did!

3) How did you come up with the name for your blog?
My original blog had a different name but after about a month, I deleted the entire thing by mistake. “Here I Go Again” was literally named because I was starting over again.

4) What things do you tend to blog about the most, and why?
I started off blogging in the midst of Hurricane Katrina and I was infuriated by the whole response so initially my blog was a place for me to fume about things going on in the news and miscellaneous meaningless stuff. I didn’t blog about anything personal at first. But then, as friends started coming by to “visit”, I started to talk about my life a little bit more and post my photos. Right now, I would say that I primarily talk about things that are going on in my life, and with my family, but I mix in things that I react to that are going on in Canada and the world.

5) Are there subjects you'd like to blog about, but don't, and if so, what is stopping you?
I would like to talk about my work more, but don’t think that it is appropriate for anonymity’s sake. I also would like to post more photos and in general, feel more open to discuss precisely everything that is on my mind. I find myself editing my thoughts every now and then. I know I have are lurkers.

6) How do you organize your blogroll/links?
There is no order other than the fact that newer blog friends get added to the list, so most recent ones are towards the bottom.

7) How do you feel about the design of your blog?
I actually quite like it, given that I tinker at the code myself. I change it seasonally (some of you might remember the red and green Christmas theme). I will be changing it again some day soon.

8) How often do you post new entries on your blog? Would you like to post more (or less) often?
I usually post every day. When I don’t, it is simply because I am really busy with work, family and life!

9) How often do you read and/or comment on other blogs? How do you find new blogs to read?
I try to read the blogs on my links every day or every other day and comment as much as I possibly can. I used to search for new blogs to read but I feel like I am a bit maxed out right now, and plus, I have a really great group of friends.

10) Have you done anything special to get others to read and/or comment on your blog?
Not really. I just hope that you enjoy it!

Thank you for all your lovely thoughts on this from yesterday's post. I was thinking a little less profound about my completion to the statement. Choose from the following four options:

You know you're a good mother when....

A. You love your children more than life itself.
B. You are willing to go outdoors at 9 o'clock in the morning in your pajamas in subzero temperatures with a hacksaw to cut down dead branches for an Easter Egg Tree. Just because your four year old asked you to.
C. You turn down two weeks of paid (PAID!) work in Cuba in the midst of a Canadian winter because you do not want to leave your children for that long.
or D. all of the above....

I took my sons for a walk to the mailbox and there was a package from Meow
all the way from Australia. She sent some Tim Tam chocolate wafers (I ate them as soon as I had taken the photo; yum!), an Australia key chain, cd of Australian musicians, stained glass window decals of koala bears and a home-made happiness kit. What a lovely package, and a kind note as well. Thank You! My son was thrilled to get mail from the country that the Wiggles are from. I could barely get the package out of his hands!

Here's my question for you today (male, female, mother or not; you've all had or known one)....you know you're a good mother when... [finish the sentence]. I will finish mine for you tomorrow.

I haven't been taking many photos lately (at least ones I feel like sharing) and there are no crises, or major issues dominating my mind, and so I must confess, for the first time in (how many months have I been at this now?)...I have a bloggers block.

My day was great; it felt like an official spring day (10 degrees C!); I puttered in the garden, after a jaunt to the bookstore and lunch with the family. Really, just a simple nice day (as compared to the shit day that seemed to never end, called yesterday).

So friends, any of you stopping by....my apologies for taking this moment from your life to hear pretty much nothing of mine! :)

I woke on the proverbial wrong side of the bed today and couldn’t crawl myself out of the funk that began at 6 am. Saturday is my day to sleep in, and by sleep in I mean 8 am. But today the three boys were just one wall away and LOUD…Mr.C watching car racing (on low volume, mind you) and the other two acting their respective ages.

I tried many things to get out of my funk….starting with a nice walk in the recently positive degree weather. But my son fell in the pond (only elbow deep, mind you, but a full body soaker, nonetheless).

I tried to relax and work on my scrapbook, but it only lasted for a half an hour because both children got cranky at the same time.

I tried to enjoy cooking dinner for my parents, but got overwhelmed by too many new recipes on the go. And both children cranky and crazy all at the same time. It must be a full moon tonight. The babe is getting his two front teeth in and letting us know it. Our older son is craving the attention diverted to the babe and letting us know it. My parents got up from their seats to go with the food barely in their stomachs. Again.

And now the day is over and I am too edgy to even enjoy blogging. Where has the day gone? It has passed me by in a blur of distraction and constant cleaning and cooking and caring for children.

Calgon, take me awaaaaaaay…..

P.S. I’m not seeking soothing or sympathy, just dumping frustration. By tomorrow I’ll be over it (so long as I wake up on the right side J

I made your favourite cookies today and because I know you will be peeking here before you leave work, now you can drool on the drive home :) According to Chloe, I am always baking cookies (am I?) And, because Chloe is nosey ( I mean interested:), I posted a photo and the recipe for you.

Jumbo Raisin Cookies

2 cups raisins (boil with 1 cup of water for about 5 minutes and set aside to cool)


Cream:
1 cup margarine, butter or shortening
2 cups white sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
Add cooled raisins (juice and all)

Sift Together:
4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 ½ tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp. nutmeg
¼ tsp. Allspice

Add the above dry ingredients to the raisin mixture. Mix well with a spoon.
Bake at 375 degrees C for about 12 minutes.

My brain is in complete work mode and won't shut off. You might assume this is a bad thing, but it isn't. The best way I can describe it is fireworks in my brain. I have so many ideas and have wonderful collaborators on interesting and meaningful research projects. The writing is going really well, and ...what more can I say?

So it is hard for me to slow the brain down a notch and think about blog topics, but I thought I would start a weekly post on the theme of "Did you know?"...mostly with Canadian content that most of you might not know or have heard about.

Did You Know (#1):

That the Canadian Military are now in command of the multinational brigade in Kandahar, Afghanistan. And that we have been there since 2001 as a direct result of September 11...

"Canada participated in the UN-mandated International Security Assistance Force, which was created in late 2001 to help bring stability to the country. Canada ended its role in late 2005 and committed a battle group of about 2,000 personnel to Kandahar in early 2006. Canadian Brigadier General David Fraser was to take the command of the multinational brigade consisting of Canadian, British and Dutch troops in March 2006." (CBC News)

More information on Canada's role can be obtained from the Government of Canada web site on "Rebuilding Afghanistan"

As well, just so you are aware just how important Tim Horton's coffee is to Canadians, the Canadian Government is working on arrangements to set up the first Tim Horton's in Afghanistan. Good cup of Timmies in the morning, and that'll do the job.

Stay safe friends.

Small signs of spring; the temperature was plus 8 degrees Celsius today; a veritable heat wave. I bought this bunny faery on the weekend to hurry things along. And when I am cranky I can imagine her pricking stupid people with her garden fork.

The babysitter is back and so ends that saga...I worked a real work day, from my office, and it dawned on me how secluded I have been from reality. I noticed small things, like how busy people acted, how they didn't have time to stop and be polite, how rude and even obnoxious people spoke on the telephone. Having spent so much time alone at home with two young children, and now I reenter the world of adults and everyone seems so juvenile and stupid.

I am looking forward to the Amazing Race again tonight; I am rooting for the two hilarious guys or the geeky couple; I always cheer for the underdogs; the nice guys.

I took my camera on our walk yesterday; I rarely go anywhere without it. The weather is still cold, but it is starting to warm just a little bit; the ice on the lakes is turning to slush so we couldn't skate. As we were walking and my older son was exploring and investigating the sticks and rocks and twigs, it occurred to me that many children do not have the opportunity to experience nature in this way. One of the greatest gifts we can give our children is an understanding and appreciation for nature.

(Source: Department of Fisheries and Oceans: www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca)

Arctic sea ice is melting and the world is under threat of a global shift in climate which can result in increased frequencies of severe weather, rise in sea level and even increased health related problems. The recent alarming rate of melting ice in the Arctic led people to question whether there would be a seal hunt this year at all given the fact that there were so few floes for the seals to birth on. One might wish the world would unite around this environmental crisis. But our environmental consciousness is awoken instead by famous celebrities who can make their personal beliefs known and influence the public by having access to international media outlets. In the meantime, the facts get pushed aside. There is no doubt that the Canadian seal hunt can and should be debated, but it should be done by those who share expertise and unbiased visions, which means among academics, officials and organizations, at conferences and in peer-reviewed journals and texts. But instead, the presence of Paul McCartney on an ice floe on one day in March may have forever changed the face of the seal hunting community in Canada.

A number of you expressed that you would be interested in knowing the facts of the Canadian seal hunt. When I teach this topic to undergraduate classes, I present both sides of the story and let the students make up their own minds. Last year, in a class of 52 students, only two concluded that the seal hunt was inherently wrong. This in a class comprised of environmentally conscious and aware students. Almost all of them were Canadian, however, so perhaps we can not have an unbiased view. This post is long. Bear with me...

The fact of the matter is that every animal that is killed for human consumption is slaughtered in some way. Chicken coops, cattle slaughterhouses, fishing boats…these are not pretty things to see, but they tend not to be under the glare of cameras hovering above. And, as the Premiere of Newfoundland said on Larry King last night, the seals are killed on gleaming white snow, making the blood shed look so much more dramatic; put a white sheet down on the floor of a chicken slaughterhouse and see what that looks like. My point here is that to campaign against the seal hunt means that there should also be a campaign against the cattle industry, the fishing industry, and meat farms the world over.

The imagery and propaganda that is put forward by the deep ecology movements are based on emotions rather than fact, including: images of the white coated seals, which are not killed. The seals cannot be harvested when they are in breeding or birthing grounds. Only weaned, self-reliant seals are hunted after they have been left by their mothers. The majority (90%) of seals are shot from a distance. Some are killed with a hakapik, which has been documented (Canadian Veterinary Medical Association, 2002) to kill the animal quickly and humanely. “Hunting methods were studied by the Royal Commission on Sealing in Canada and they found that the clubbing of seals, when properly performed, is at least as humane as, and often more humane than, the killing methods used in commercial slaughterhouses, which are accepted by the majority of the public.” (Department of Fisheries and Oceans, 2005).

The seal population is not endangered or threatened in any way. The harp seal population is abundant, with over five million in the Northwest Atlantic alone. The population has tripled since the 1970s. The Federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans sets quotas at levels to ensure the abundance of the seal herds. Generally, the quotas are 3% of the total population. Many researchers and scientists view this as a sustainable quota and it is particularly humane in light of the fact that the seal population has grown so large that the seals are under threat of starvation. Just this past December, a massive number of seals washed ashore along the Northumberland Strait of Nova Scotia and they died a painfully slow death. No celebrity was there reporting the natural slaughter or the cruelty of Mother Nature.

There are economic incentives to maintain the industry, which personally do not play into the debate for most environmentalists who do not decry the hunt, including myself. But to present the facts, in 2004, there was a landed value of $16.5 million which provided a significant source of income to many families in the Maritime provinces, for those who may not have other work options, living in remote northern coastal communities. And the income is not based primarily on the seal furs. Seals are harvested for food, and seal oil (for Omega-3, which has been a component of heart medication and menstrual medication).

The seal hunt is tightly regulated and monitored by the Canadian Government. There is no scandal, there is nothing particularly different about this than any other form of animal slaughter. The Canadian seal hunt is an excuse for organizations to raise their profile and themselves to make money. Their intent may be good, but it is one that is partial and flawed. The persistent use of cute and cuddly images of furry white seals sensationalizes the actual facts; these seals are not killed. Are the images of hunters with a hakapik difficult to watch? Without a doubt. It’s difficult to watch anything being killed. The difference here is that this hunt is filmed, on the open ice; where are the cameras inside the beef slaughterhouses?...perhaps McCartney might like to take on the American cattle industry.

I would welcome your specific questions or comments on this topic.

References

1. Marine Mammal Regulations, Fisheries Act. SOR/93-56. The Canada Gazette, Part II, vol 127, no 4, 1993, 18 pp. (Sections 28, 29)
2. Daoust P-Y, Crook A, Bollinger T, Campbell K, and Wong J. Animal welfare and the harp seal hunt in Atlantic Canada. Canadian Veterinary Journal 2002;43:687-694
3. Sjare B, Stenson GB. Estimating struck and loss rates for harp seals (Pagophilus groenlandicus) in the Northwest Atlantic. Marine Mammal Science 2002;18:710-720
4. Hammill MO, Stenson GB. Harvest simulations for 2003-2006 harp seal management plan. Canadian Science Advisory Research Document 2003/068:Fisheries and Oceans Canada http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/csas/Csas/publications/ResDocs-DocRech/2003/2003_068_e.htm 5. Independent Veterinarians’ Working Group. Improving Humane Practice in the Canadian Harp Seal Hunt. August 2005, http://www.ivwg.org/
6. Department of Fisheries and Oceans “Atlantic Canada Seal Hunt Myths and Realities” http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/media/infomedia/2005/im01_e.htm

Let’s just start by saying this; some of you will not like what I have to say. Some of you will not understand it. As well, a more diehard environmental advocate you will not find than me. And so this may therefore come as a surprise to you….I am not against the regulated seal hunt. I would not go so far as to say that I am for it per se, but I most certainly am not against it. And given the fact that I hold a PhD in a related field, and teach marine management, I feel that I am informed. And I am sick and tired of the misinformed media attention that is given to it. And even more sick and tired of celebrities who chose to spend their time working for a cause that they are misinformed about. Yes, Sir Paul…I am talking about you. Mr. Misinformed. How about tackling issues that are global threats to entire ecosystems, like climate change and global warming, or over-fishing or the loss of marine reefs and on and on I could go….why not boycott the lobster fishery? Well, those creatures are not so cute and cuddly are they? No nice photo ops with a lobster in your face. Would you like to know why he is misinformed, or shall I just keep it to myself?

My son woke with a cold yesterday morning. Today it is as if he never had it, but I am a drippy stuffy mess. And I have a lunch meeting to go to. Lucky man.

Sir Paul McCartny. Before you go protesting, please get your facts straight. Period. Stop. End of story. Well, not really, I'll be posting more about this, but I am too annoyed right now.

I have nearly finished writing my article and another has just come out. The book has been on hold, but that has been o.k. with the publisher. Somehow I have managed to squeeze a forty hour work week into about 6 to 8 hours. I have no idea how it happened, but the babysitter is back next week. I have officially survived the month of February.

Thank You, Chloe, for the wonderful Broccoli Soup recipe. I had been surfing around for a good one and then wondered if she would have one, and voila!

Chloe's Broccoli soup: For 2-4 servings

6 tablespoons butter
1 large onion (processed to invisibility if the soup is for kids)
1 carrot peeled and minced
1 potato peeled, cut
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
4 cups stock (vegetable or whatever you've got, commercial is okay)
1 head of broccoli cut into small flowerets (don't throw away the stems just peel and cut into rounds)
1 cup grated parmesan or other yellow cheese
1 cup heavy cream (or light cream, that's okay too, sometimes I just add milk)
pepper,
salt

In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion, and cook until softened, 5 minutes. Add nutmeg; cook until fragrant, 30 seconds.Stir in stock, broccoli potato and carrot. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Simmer until vegetables are tender, for about 10 minutes.Purée soup in batches, filling blender halfway. Return to pot. Add cream and parmesan. Taste and add salt if needed. Sprinkle some pepper.

I wasn't able to puree it as well as I'd liked because the babe has decided that the blender is scary. And I used milk because Mr. C had bought dessert whipping cream rather than regular cream :) But it turned out delicious! Chloe is a magician. Her magic recipe was so good even I could make it taste good. It's minus 17 degrees Celsius tonight, so the warm soup was lovely.