Nui Blanche

Ok I'm a little behind in posting these. Anyway Nui Blanche was extremely cool and an evening for the adults to enjoy one another's company. Almost like a date. And, like a date, it had pie at the end.

A momentous occasion. The odometer rolls over to 100 000. The celebrations in the streets may commence.

Catch Up

It's been quite some time since I've submitted a blog post. I have a strange relationship with my blog. One the one hand I have very few readers so in a sense it's more like a diary. On the other hand I know that it's essentially a public document so I'm very hesitant to discuss issues that are actually meaningful to me. This tension between private and public often prevents me from making any posts at all. Anyway, one of the many posts I didn't make was regarding TVO Kids day I attended at Black Creek Pioneer Village. Great fun! As you can see above I got the chance to meet Steve Paikin, host of The Agenda. That was kind of exciting for me as I have a lot of respect for his work. The kids also had a blast (yes, I was there mostly for the kids). Here they got a chance to meet Polkaroo "in person". What exactly is Polkaroo anyway? Polkaroo made a lot more sense when he was 0n Polka Dot Door. Whatever . . .  the kids love it. I must admit I was very impressed with the caliber of entertainment provided to the kids--and all for no other cost than that of admission. There were puppet shows, TVO Kids personalities doing skits and getting the kids to dance. We were there the entire day including buying the lunch there (the TVO Kids meal which included lunch bags one of which I'm now using). Great day!

Finn Fun

Today Irmina and I traded places. She took Asha to church and I looked after Finn. Irmina thinks it's a good idea for Finn and me to spend more time together so he bonds with a male role-model. I just like a change now and then.

I finished the breakfast dishes and then took a nap. My strategy when I want to nap with Finn is to lie down and fall asleep and after playing for a while around me, sooner or later, he lies down and falls asleep too (kind of a non-strategy strategy). Although he did lie down, he was quiet but awake when I woke up; so it was semi-successful. Afterward I gave him some lunch, did the dishes and we played. We played with his older sister's leap-pad, read some books, ate some snacks, and played in the tent.

He also played very well on his own for a few minutes while I graded a couple of papers. When the rest of the family returned we had both had fun together; and I felt better rested than I have in weeks. Irmina had done some errands including picking up for me that copy of Don Quixote that I've been wanting to read.

Subsidized Again

forever young?
Originally uploaded by smannion

As you may already know, my mum is a person who has mental health concerns. She has lately been forwarding all her mail to an imaginary person and her phone has been cut-off: probably because she didn't pay the bill.

She is also a person in subsidized housing. To maintain her subsidy her housing provider requires proof of income once yearly. Well since she's been ignoring all letters and she doesn't receive phone calls they were forced to jack up her rent to more than triple what she normally pays as of last December. In January her rent bounced altogether. I've been in touch with them and they're very sympathetic. In fact they are the ones that got in touch with me to inform me of the situation. I should also add that my mum would never accept what they're telling her because she insists, among other things, that rent is now free and that the prime minister has made it so.

Anyway, I called CPP and pleaded with them to send me her proof of income, or to even send it directly to her housing provider; but they said they couldn't because of privacy. In the end, however, they did agree to put my name on it and send it to her address.

So that Sunday I went to her house and told her that I was expecting a letter and to please save it for me. She said she would. Crossing my fingers I visited her again yesterday and lo and behold she produced the letter. Naturally she insisted I forward it on directly to a person she named (this person is in her head). Instead, I called her housing provider and faxed the information over. Yay! What's even better is that they will retroactively refund her money for the period she was charged market rent. Double Yay!