I love Easter!

Friday night our church choir held a Tenebrae service which I was able to take part in. It's the second time I've sung in it but until now I didn't know what the word meant. Here's the definition for anyone else who isn't familiar:

–noun (used with a sing. or pl. verb) Roman Catholic Church.

the office of matins and lauds for Thursday, Friday, and Saturday of Holy Week, sung respectively on the afternoon of Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday of that week, at which the Crucifixion is commemorated by the gradual extinguishment of candles.

[Origin: 1645–55; literally: darkness]

It closes in complete darkness and the people are asked to exit in silence; I find it very meaningful and a lovely time of meditation.

Sunday we went to Sean's parents' and stayed until 10:30 pm when we realized that we (ahem, Sean) forgot to bring our overnight bag - so it was back to Saint John and a return in the morning. We got to visit with the whole family and even had a trip to his aunt and uncle's farm. They have a beautiful old farmhouse with a lot of handmade pieces in it. In fact, his aunt just started up an Etsy shop that you can check out here to see some of her work.
After a great visit indoors we headed for the barn where they keep their sheep and cows. I was curious to see how Simeon would like the animals and didn't have to wait long for my answer. As soon as the first lamb was taken from its pen the sheep started bleating and Simeon started screaming. He wasn't too impressed with the cows either as you can see here - I was trying to reassure him but he remained pretty skeptical.
I hope you all had a happy Easter and got to spend it with family. There's no better thing :)

So-and-So and What's-His-Face

Saturday, March 15th, 2008.

So Mark, Caitlin, Simeon, Ruth and I all packed ourselves into our miniature automobile to attend the wedding of some girl and this guy she met. It was a good time, and the car - which is meant for two people really - only complained a little bit during the three-hour drive to that place there.

Daddy does the 'do

"Daaaadd, are you sure you know what you're doing?"

"No way, they'll think it's a toupe!

(Still, I am a handsome devil, aren't I?)"

"I think this is the one; Wolverine meets Ace Ventura. Nice."


"Team Carroll, lookin' good!"

{Narrated by Simeon D. Carroll}

Trained Responses

Here's one for you: this morning in church I was walking down a hall with an unoccupied baby carrier - Ruth and Simeon were elsewhere. I had a coat and a shoulder bag in the carrier. I passed an elderly lady who looked down into the carrier and went, "Awwwwww."

I didn't stop... just smiled and kept on walking. It got me thinking.

Tumble

Yeah... tubing at Mom and Dad's. That last bit? That was a stream. Ruth landed safely on the other side. I landed in it. Brr.

Asparagus sandwiches and clean kitchens..

...make us happy! Sean: asparagus, Ruth: kitchen. We've had a wonderful March break so far! Today was especially nice, after doing some work around the house we left for a doctor's appointment for little Simeon, who apparently isn't so little for his age - between the 75th and 90th for height and weight. After he calmed down and decided to forgive us for letting the mean lady give him his shots we headed over to Nougatine et Chocolat; an amazing café with decadent desserts. MMMMM! Conveniently located next door is a second hand bookstore that had to be perused, and with great success, as we left with a few volumes to enjoy. On the drive home I was looking out the window and noticed the frozen waterfalls clinging to the rocks and smiled. Since I was a little girl I've always loved the NB highway. Our forests are beautiful and varied, you can't help but want to hug a tree. Enjoy the simple pleasures and smile; it makes your face look better. Happy March Break.

Last Weekend

It was fantastic to get out in the fresh air again; before last weekend it had been an unacceptably long time since we were by the sea. This was our last outing with Beth before she left for Korea. What a beautiful day! Ruth picked up five yards of fabric a little while ago, with which she now very effectively transports Simeon.
This is how it looks from the front...
... and from the back.
I haven't tried carrying him like this yet, but she says it's extremely comfortable, and it makes being outdoors infinitely easier and more enjoyable. (We're getting positive reviews from the passenger too:)
**Note: we are not on a real road in this picture (if you're wondering what Simeon's doing out of his car seat). We were simply moving the car down the shore a little ways.

Bye-Bye Aunt Beth

...who left us today to answer the Call of the Orient. Again.We'll miss you!!

Jump Around

Saturday

No shirt, no shower, no problem:)

Here's Brayden!

Simeon: "I don't know what my mom's doing with another baby, but I know I don't like it..."

This is Brayden, born to friends of ours half an hour into February 13th. There's only a couple ounces' difference between Brayden's and Simeon's birthweights, so we were a little startled at how light this little guy feels:) Did our kid really use to weigh that?!

Phlashback

So the other day I found these two shots hiding under a rock in my hard drive. I didn't take them, but I sure do recognize them; they're from Socotra, that island we explored in Yemen. These two images so quintessentially typify the Socatri landscape... I just can't get over it. For two weeks we were surrounded by what you see here. And I don't think I ever took a picture quite so representative, so thanks to whichever member of our expedition captured this.

570 minutes

Our little man gave us a wonderful gift last night...sleep. A blissful 9&1/2 hours! And he's quite the morning person too! (Must be from Sean's side) ;)
Before he goes to sleep at night we swaddle him which has worked out very well (thanks for the tip Loralee!) - not that it's sunshine and roses every night, but overall we have nothing to complain about. So, the tube top he's got on is actually the swaddling blanket that he'd managed to squirm out of when he decided it was time to rise and shine!

Here's a pic of Simeon and his Pa saying goodnight.Sweet dreams everyone.

Difference of opinion

Sean didn't think this picture he took was blog-worthy; I disagreed. So, like all good wives do when faced with conflict, I waited until he was out to post it :)
This is what I missed the most when I was in Yemen. It is very easy to recognize the beauty in a sandy beach with palm trees all around, but I think it takes a Maritmer to yearn after a landscape like this. It's home.

A walk in the park

Rockwood Park! It is the largest urban park in Canada at 2,200 acres and was designed by Calvert Vaux, one of the designers of Central Park in New York. Another point of interest is that in 1907 a court battle had to settle the question of who has the rights to the ice - the ice cutters (because no one had freezers at that time) or the skaters. The skaters won and subsequently in 1926, Charlie Gorman (a proud Saint Johner) won the World Speedskating Championships there at Lily Lake before 20,000 fans.
Our little visit was not quite so historic but it WAS Simeon's first walk in the woods and we thoroughly enjoyed our snowy stroll. Here they are reflecting on Robert Frost.

Dust Collectors

I've had some of these shots kicking around my hard drive for two years or longer. Some are more recent, but all of them are pictures about which I said, "Hmm, maybe I'll post that" and promptly forgot about. So here they are, in no particular order, back from the brink of oblivion.Trees reflected in a frosty window at dawn.

The Great Horned Caterpillar of Belleisle Bay (?!)

My sea turtle skull has a new home

My love:)

Self portrait

Frankencord

Ok just kidding:) We're back online. After trying to repair the cord again last night, I wrote the previous post on the last legs of the battery and retired to bed in defeat around 12:30. Though I was exhausted, I couldn't sleep because it made no sense to me that what I'd done hadn't worked. But then it came to me, and I got up this morning and ripped the poor cord apart even more. Having spliced everything back together in this hideously roughshod (and exposed) work of amateurism, I now have a working cord once more. Yay.

Offline

Our laptop cord died. It died a while ago, and I got it going again with a patch job, but now it's gone for good. There's a new one making its way to us from Hong Kong. See you then!

Green cleaning

I've heard a lot about vinegar and baking soda as homemade cleaners but I'm now adding tea tree oil to the list. We've been using it in our laundry when we clean Simeon's diapers and in the dirty diaper bag to neutralize any odour, but apparently that's just the beginning.

It can also used as an air freshener, all-purpose antibacterial cleaner, mold and mildew cleaner/repellent as well as all its medicinal uses. The great thing about it is that a few drops go a long way and it can be found almost anywhere; we get ours at Superstore.

Find out more here about tea tree oil and it's uses and this site provides recipes for other homemade, eco-friendly cleaners. So, as you run out of Mr. Clean or Pine-Sol think about making your own alternative.

If you know of any other green solutions, we'd love to hear them!

Cold

I found the best graveyard tree today. Here it stands, smack in the middle of St. Joseph's Cemetery on Westmorland Road. And it just.... fits.

Newly Revised and Updated

I'm subbing in a machine shop class this week. Came across this gem, Modern Machine-Shop Practice, on a shelf in the shop. It was originally published in 1887, so this 1906 edition contains reams of important additions and up-to-date information.

Four Smiles

Do A Little Dance...

Snowy Lion Rampant

At the corner of Prince William & King.
Sorry I couldn't get closer - it was too high up:) But if you click on the close-up to make it larger, it looks a lot cooler.

~S.

Merry Christmas

We had a superbly wonderful Christmas, first at Ruth's folks and then at mine. Simeon spent his time staring at tree lights and the like. Beth was home from Korea which was cool, and all in all we couldn't have asked for a better day.

You?

And now for his debut!

Kudos, Dan Piraro

30 Days

Simeon was one month old yesterday. Here he is at one hour old...
...and at one month!

Bored much?

Wanna waste some time and laugh yourself to tears while doing it? Head over to icanhascheezburger.com... there are 161 pages of pictures like this:)