There is no other way to face the price of houses in Victoria. I got together with a group of women last night and we started talking about real estate (of course, there was other, more titillating conversation there, don't worry, I haven't become that boring in my motherhood).

Apparently, Victoria, BC has now become the most expensive place to buy a house in Canada. We are higher than both Toronto and Vancouver. In fact, the cheapest house one can buy is a one bedroom, one bathroom condo "alternative" which is right next to one of the busiest methadone clinics in the city.

It is priced at $155,000.00 and since there seems to be a price war on everything sold these days it will probably sell for even more.

Yesterday evening I went to a meeting to see if I wanted to sit on the board for Lifecycles Project Society. I really love the entire organization. They are doing so well. The number of projects they are involved in around the city is amazing!

Last year they lost all of their funding from the government (some one hundred thousand dollars worth) which seems par for the course with this Gordon Campbell guy.
Now, it seems, the main purpose of the board is to fundraise. I'm into that. I love fundraising. I could do it for a living.

Regardless, when it came time to do a little "go-around", telling everyone who you are, what your experiences are, why you are interested... I clammed right up.

Seriously, what as asset I'll make. I'll bet they were pretty excited to meet me.

I am the behind-the-scenes spin doctor of The Nomadic Peoples of Olive Tree. We are an "environmentally stunning nation" which is currently expanding funds for education and welfare in an effort to curb the rising crime in our country. We belong to the United Nations and are classified as an "Inoffensive Centralist Democracy" (apparently the most common - and the most boring).

I have always thought of myself of a bit of a politics geek but these guys take it waaay more seriously than I ever could.
Then again, I am just getting into this thing...

As I was saying, our landlord is selling the house we are living in. The result of this impending disaster is that all the repairs and cosmetic up-keeps that have not been a priority for her are now getting done.

The furnace is being brought up to code, the dryer has been cleaned, there is a rumor that the second toilet will be fixed, the house has been power-washed and is now being painted as I type.

The guys painting it are cute. Two young sprigs working for peanuts at that College Pro company. This house is really tall and they are up on the roof painting the trim without any ropes!
I can hear them as they talk about mundane things such as the best way to perch precariously on the ladder to reach a little nook or cranny. They introduced themselves to me the first day and have been so friendly and cheerful. They eat yogurt and hotdogs for lunch everyday and seem to have very, very small bladders....

Franklin pulled himself up in his crib yesterday as I looked on in complete horror.


I thought to myself... Nooooooooo! You can't be there yet! You aren't crawling yet! You don't have any teeth! You're growing up too fast!


Sigh, I'm such a spaz for a Mother.


In fact, he is almost crawling. I'm fascinated to watch yet I get sad whenever he scoots over to something he has his eye on. I am so proud of every little thing he is learning but at the same time, I feel like these days are going so, so fast.



I had to lower the mattress in the crib before his bedtime so he wouldn't climb out during the night. I think the different scenery weirded him out as he had a horrible night.

Then again, he seems to always have horrible nights when he learns something new. I wonder what that's all about.

Our landlord is selling our house and apparently we are not going to be part of the deal. Wouldn't you want to buy a house with a built in family? I think it would be quite nice. Some sweet old guy who has spent his life matching socks and planting roses needs to spend all that money he invested in Starbucks and buy a huge, beautiful house by the ocean with a cute young couple and an energetic 7 month old son. We'd even keep our cats for him so he can have something warm and fuzzy to brush up against in the middle of the night (ahem).

Back to reality...

D and I just got back from looking at a little basement suite in Fernwood. Fernwood is a cool area of town - apparently one of the oldest. This would explain why the house had so much "character".

Nevertheless, it was nice - three cute little dogs, a beautiful garden instead of perfectly mown grass, a chicken coop in the back...

Unfortunately, the ceilings were 6 ft high! I know D and I are not tall people but we would need helmets for the rest of our friends!

As well, the woman was painting the entire place a very claustrophobic blue. I don't know a whole lot about decor but if you have a very small suite wouldn't you want to paint it a brighter colour in order to open it up? I understand accent walls and all but every single wall a heavy creamy blue ?
There were nice windows though - and a cat door, which would be handy. The previous tenant left her Burmese cat behind in order to save it the moving trauma. Whomever is to rent the place next has to be OK with inheriting a cat. Fernwood is like that. I thought it was very considerate, some cats don't move very well.

Ah well, back to the search.

Hi....

I haven't skipped town and gone to Bolivia or anything (although that would be really cool) I just have the flu and feel really crappy.
When Franklin sleeps so do I.

He's not feeling too great either - he has this big bump on the right side of his bottom front gum. He keeps knawing on is new Robeez that his wonderful god-parents send him.

I have a feeling a tooth will be erupting soon.

So on Friday, I was telling you all about my thoughts on The Matrix: Reloaded that I saw on Thursday night. I was unbelievably profound - really. Very unbelievable. Unfortunately, I was also too distracted with other tasks to sit down and write it all from start to finish and by the time I saved it, my connection with geocities was cut.
How ironic.

Basically I loved the film - and not only because I love Kung Fu (there is a lot of it in there).
I loved the plot, the whole ebb and flow of life, choices and our true power over them, the seduction of technology...
The first film, The Matrix, was pretty large for me as I am a big fan of Plato's Republic. I thought the entire movie was a modern comment on the awakening of the soul and the enlightened mind. However, this film is different. I think I will have to go back and read some Jean Baudrillard.
There were parts in the movie where I was reminded that I was still in a theatre - and I hate that. I know the special effects were ground-breaking and very tough to do but there was one part in which the character looked like video game animation. I'm not going to tell you where, I wouldn't want you to actually search for it. If you don't see it - more pleasure for you.
There is a chase scene that I would want to say was the best in movie history but I really wouldn't know. What I do know is that I actually paid attention. Usually when a chase comes on the screen I use it as a good opportunity to go to the bathroom.

I find that most movies in a trilogy tend to use the second in the series merely to lead up to final film. "Reloaded" is certainly guilty of this yet with the "Revolutions" coming up so quickly it is almost like a taste teaser. I can think about the film and the decisions that were made by the characters enough to be able to go to the final show with saliva still in my mouth.

I realized today that to get to the same cardiovascular shape I was before I was pregnant will take a very long time.

ugh.

Well, at least I'm out there. Franklin and I stopped to watch a hang glider take off the cliff. (and thank god we did - I was wheezing...) We were sitting on one of the benches for just a moment and everyone stopped by to see him. The kid attracts a lot of attention.
I suppose all babies do - especially to retired folk and tourists - who, along with other wheezing Moms, are the only ones out jogging at 11 in the morning.
I miss the days when going out to clubs and dancing my ass off would give me a better work-out than any old stair-master. Well, I almost miss those days. To tell you the truth, I remember getting tired of it after awhile.

Speaking of night-life...
I'm going to see The Matrix: Reloaded tonight. I'm excited. I really liked the first one.
I'm not a huge science-fiction fan (except for 2001: A Space Odyssey and Solaris- the Andrei Tarkovsky film, not the Clooney remake, I haven't seen that one yet) but I was impressed. I hope this sequel is just as good.
I'll let you know.

I am getting so used to writing this blog that there are numerous times in the day where I take note of what is happening and think about how I would write about it.
It's great except... I always forget what I was thinking of writing about when I actually get the chance to sit down and type.

bummer.

So, I went to the toilet and now I've come back with a topic...
noooo, not that one.

I don't think we watched very much T.V. as a kid. I don't remember very much of it and I certainly didn't have a very firm grasp of the subject until I was much older.

One time (I think I was about 5 years old) I remember my Father coming in the door one evening with a Nana Mouskouri record just as a commercial for her music was finishing. I thought that the T.V. had something to do with this coincidence - like my Dad would have come in with a different record if it had been a different artist on the tube.

Another time (I must have been about 10 or 11), I was sleeping over at a neighbour's house and we were watching "Porky's".

(This was not a movie suitable for minors but since we would regularly hang out in the huge dirty magazine room in their basement I thought it was normal viewing for this family.)

The Father came in the room and turned off the T.V. He told us to go to bed and everyone groaned. Yet, I had this brilliant idea!

"Hey!" I said, "Does T.V. stop when you turn off the set?"

Everyone was silent and looked at me a little weirdly.

Okay then... apparently not...

Well, this will probably be the first among many but, today Franklin got his first adventure "boo-boo".

We have a beautiful child who loves, absolutely l-o-v-e-s, to sit in front of a mirror and talk to himself. Now that he has discovered that he can lean forward on his hands he has started to get closer to the hall mirror which is mounted on the wall above a big wooden base-board. He was leaning forward this morning and got pretty excited - probably seeing some delicious breakfast still pasted to his eye-brow. He leapt off his butt and wham! right into the mirror - well, actually into the base-board below.
I was putting a box on the bed when I heard a bonk!... silence.... then WHAAAAAAA!
He only cried for about 30 seconds but now he has a big ol' bruise on his forehead.

I know this is just the beginning of these little accidents as he starts to crawl and walk but it is so hard to see your baby in pain - even for only a short little while.

I am ashamed to admit it... but I have this strange, crazy, giddy thing for Seamus O'Regan (what kind of name is that?)

He is on the morning news show, CANADA am, that we watch in the morning as D gets ready to go to work and I feed Franklin his breakfast.

Seamus has a masters degree in Philosophy of Politics, he wears his tie in a Windsor Knot, he's from Newfoundland and very proud of it, he is a comic book and Lord of the Rings nerd (which I have to admit I'm not but I think it's really cute), he has a really funny lop-sided grin, and his name is Seamus.

too funny... oh, and D knows all about this and makes fun of me.

I never thought I was one for routine. I had always pictured myself as someone who liked the adventure of doing things on the spur of the moment. I thought I liked changing things up all the time. I liked unpredictability...

Well, not anymore I don't - at least not when it comes to my son. Unbelievably, I'm pleased when Franklin wakes up at 6 am. This means that he will predictably go down for his nap at 8:30 or 9 and will wake up around two hours later. Then we can play and go for a walk until lunch at about 12 pm. His afternoon nap will come at about 1 pm and after about two hours we can play until D gets home.

It's all mapped out see? I love it.
I can plan when to study, update my blog, or clean the house all based on his nap schedule.
I can meet people on time for lunch or coffee all based on knowing his predictable schedule (and he won't be over tired or cranky).
I can always predict why he isn't in a good mood based on what time it is and whether he is nearing mealtime or naptime.

wow.

See which Greek Goddess you are.

You know? At this point I wouldn't mind having "tons of kids" (but I'm not... really I'm not) - especially if I get to keep boobs like those! To tell you the truth, I am looking forward to getting my old ones back. I love breastfeeding but man! these gals are big! I still get taken aback when I catch my reflection in a mirror.

This morning, after Franklin lay in bed with us and breastfed, we went for a walk along a beach near our house. Gonzales Beach is nice and calm as it is so sheltered. It also has soft sand and is quite shallow - a perfect place for kids to play. Of course, Franklin can't play just yet but we are eagerly awaiting running down there with shovels and pails.

We returned home and ate breakfast and then Franklin went down for his morning nap. After his nap we went to Beacon Hill Park with a friend to watch the ducks and geese. There was a mist in the air mixed with a bit of a drizzle. It was so quiet and beautiful. Everything smelled so fresh. We ended the walk by visiting the Mocha House and fed Frank his lunch while sipping hot coffee and tea.

Again, we returned home so Franklin could have his afternoon nap and then the rest of the evening was spent playing in the house while watching the trees outside dance in the wind. I made about two weeks worth of baby food (carrots, split peas, squash) and have them freezing in ice cube trays right now.

Franklin has now gone to bed and we are ready to plunk down and relax.
Life is good.

What did you do this Sunday?

Congratulations to Andrea Skinner. She has won the right to collect Employment Insurance benefits because of having to quit her job due to second-hand smoke.

I used to work in the service industry and I can't tell you how happy I was when smoking in restaurants and bars was banned in Victoria. Seriously, my sense of smell came back! It was getting harder and harder to work for every time I would smell smoke I was nauseous. This was a new response, it never used to bother me - but I figure it was my body trying to tell me something important.

We used to have a roommate who smoked. We were living with him while I was pregnant. He would always smoke outside but I could still smell it up in my room, wafting through the cracks in the windows, on his clothes when he came back inside, and on all the walks we took. It was very sickening. I would have to say that that was the most nauseous I have ever felt in my life.

No matter how much money (much more than I make now) I made working in bars and restaurants I will never go back to breathing that air. I think Heather Crowe would agree.