Remembrance Day

My Grand-papa, my son's great-grandpa, served in the 20th Artillery Regiment from 1940 to 1946. Here he is looking so handsome in his uniform. I see my brothers in him. It's the jaw I think. I phoned my grandparents this morning and asked if I could hear the story of my grandpa in the army and my grandma said next time I visit, he would tell me all about it. It was emotional for me because they live so far away, and it seems everyone lives so far away. Aside from my parents, I have to get on a plane to visit any other person in my family. This makes me sad. Soldiers away must feel that 10 fold.

Subtleties of English

I saw this sign on Fraser Street recently. I don't know about you, but I thought to myself: "Duh, I sure hope so!"

Healthy Snack Ideas

My neighbor Lisa was asking me a while ago about ideas for snacks. Us moms, all have our favorites, but sometimes it's nice to try something else besides bananas and cheese bunnies! Here is a list of snacks I give my boy (he's 22 months and addicted to noodles), please click on the post and add more to the list! Share-sies!

1. Coconut-oat balls: Roast coconut, oatmeal, and flax meal in a pan. Blend almond butter, dates and bit of hot water in a blender. Mix wet with dry ingredients and form little balls, re-roll in coconut and chill. YUM!

2. Pancakes: Take any pancake recipe you like, there are tons of them online: apple, banana, pea, or corn. Make a stack of bite size patties and keep them stored for several days. Serve with apple sauce, almond butter or yogurt. Dip-Dip!

3. Pita pockets: I smooch everything into pita: bananas and almond butter, thin apple slices and cheese, avocado and sprouts, shredded carrot and hummus, the ideas are endless.

4. Smoothies: Go crazy with the blender, fruits and veggies galore! I've experimented with adding ginger, cinnamon, tahini, almond butter, and coconut water. I always add a leaf of romaine. (My boy isn't big on green things-YET!)

Boys' Special Genes

I was shopping at Superstore the other day and I saw 3 boys dressed as firemen sitting in carts. Three! I'm convinced that boys have a special gene: the firetruck gene. There is also the train gene and the truck gene. It makes sense that babies learn early on words most needed for survival and basic comfort, your know, words like Mommy, Daddy, water, eat etc.. but why goo-goo (train), a car (anything with wheels) and nee-no-nee-no (firetruck)? What is it with modes of transportation?

A while back I was walking along with a friend by the train tracks in Gastown and a train was going by so I decided to take a short video to show Baby. I never realized at the time how popular this 3 minute video was going to be. Every time the computer is on, Baby says: Goo-Goo! I bought a play train I found at a second hand store and I was planning to keep it for Christmas, but seeing how excited he was about the train video, I pulled it out recently. My boy has fallen in love with it! Is there a scientific reason for this deep adoration for anything on wheels? I couldn't find one. If you know one, let me know meanwhile I'll be busy tracking down (pun!) more rail pieces!  GOO-GOO!

Writing for a Year

It's been one year since I started writing this blog. I haven't made photos albums or scrapbooks or recorded the day my son learned to walk on his own or said his first word. But, 85 posts later, I summarize this:

• I live in a super neighborhood, in a really nice house, with a wonderful husband and awesome kid. 
• I am blessed to be at home with my kid.
• He rocks!
• Living a peaceful and balanced family life is an art.
• Taking time to do things I enjoy is essential to my health and the health of my family.
• Doesn't nature just blow your mind?

Some say that blogging is "so over". Especially blogs written my moms. And sometimes I think it's true. It takes a lot of writing talent to have a following, not to mention something to say. It seems it's all about saying it quick and I admit, I sometimes think my brain can't handle more than 2 paragraphs at a time. But, still. I think I will continue. You never know, maybe someone out there is enjoying it, and I certainly am.

neighborhood owl

Take your Reptile for a Walk

This morning, we left the breakfast mess on the counter and the oatmeal to congeal. We went upstairs to play with a wooden train set, then we dressed our son in his Halloween costume. I say it's a dragon, my husband says it's a dinosaur and the neighbors said: "Take a look at that fine looking crocodile!" Bonus! 3 costumes in one. We took our "reptile" to a local coffee shop, got coffees,  and visited the fire truck at the station. We walked to the park and swung the reptile, then we walked back playing hide-and-seek along the way and admiring the colors of the autumn leaves. We held hands and made fun of ugly houses in the neighborhood. It was a beautiful, peaceful morning. Just the way I like them. The three of us, doing our thing.

Some weekends it feels like there's so much to do: cleaning, cooking, fixing the car, grocery shopping, etc... and that it will never end. When one thing gets fixed another breaks, and don't get me started on meals, sometimes I wish we didn't have to eat as often to survive. Once or twice a week would be great. Overall though, I feel I've come to relax about this. It will get done. Eventually. One day. When it needs to. I'd rather enjoy doing less and doing it with joy and intention then frantically trying to get it all done. Keeping things simple is also a great way to reduce feelings of "being SO busy." On Zen Family Habits, I picked out some of their 43 Simple Ways To Simplify Your Life.

My favorites are: 

1. Turn off your cell phone. I don't own one so Yay! That's easy!
2. Go to bed early. I hit the sack at 9pm. It's the only way I can stay sane. Sane Mommy=happy family. Insane Mommy makes lame dinners.
3. Purge as much unneeded clutter as possible. The less you have, the less needs attention.
4. Want what you have not what you don’t. This is hard at first, but try it. Tell yourself: "I have every thing I need and it's perfect for me."
5. Get outside. This relates back to going to bed early. Going outside every day keeps me sane. I'd like to go to wilderness more often though; less parks, more forests.
6. Let go of the self-imposed need to be perfect. So the floor is crusty and baby keeps bringing me the fluff off the carpet. It doesn't matter.  I just go outside.

Must do these:

1. Keep a bag for garbage in your car. I keep meaning to do this and forget.
2. Ask for experiences not things for your birthday and Christmas this year. This is what I read: Ask for Mommy Time for your birthday and Christmas this year. Not and hour. A FULL AFTERNOON, or even a FULL DAY.

Ones that don't work for me:

1. Get a label maker or write labels out by hand. Labelers are weird people and generally overuse their label maker. Label makers tend to become sign makers, and then the signs become lists of rules. I don't label- it's a scary thing.
2. Set your clothes out for the next day the night before. Place it neatly on the bed and step back to admire your selection. Weird. Just put on clothes. 
3. Be positive. Blah. Be angry or depressed if you want. Do it fully. Then move on.

Keeping it simple really is key. However that looks for you. It's easy: play hide-and-seek with a reptile, hold hands with the one you love, drink a decent cup of coffee, and marvel at nature. When all that is done, come home, vacuum the fluff off the carpet. Call it a day and go to bed early.

Take the Bus to The OutPost Cafe

Just recently discovered this wonderful spot for a coffee on Fraser and 25th! It's been hard to find decent coffee in Cedar Cottage aside from the Cedar Cottage Coffee House, and the "staff room" there rocks my world. What more can a mom ask for: strong caffeine, yummy candied ginger muffins and a place for my almost 2 year old to hang out and play with toys! I love the relaxed atmosphere with the high ceilings, and the stack of readables. I say no more line ups and crazy crowds at Little Nest. (Sorry, I love you Little Nest, but sometimes I need peace and quiet.)

YAY! I wish we had a place like this on Commercial Street. Come on! Someone! Anyone!

TADA! A Chef's Kitchen!

Play Kitchen Extraordinaire!

For a grand total of about $60, I finally completed this play kitchen for my son. Here's a list of supplies in case you feel like giving it a try! It was a lot easier than I thought.

Things I had:
1. nightable
2. paint, paintbrushes
3. jigsaw, screwdrivers, drill, drill bits
4. shelf (found in the lane)
5. blocks

Things I bought:
1. knobs and handle for the oven $5
2. sticky backsplash $10
3. sink $2
4. wood for the back and oven door $15
5. cabinet hinge for oven door $5
6. food $3
7. different lengths of screws $6
8. primer $15

Some tips: (sorry if this seems obvious)
1. Don't skip the primer, sand and paint 2 coats of it, then paint 2 more coats with acrylic.
2. Pre-drill all your holes. (Make sure the drill is drilling IN the hole and not OUT.)
3. Make sure you have screws that match your screwdrivers.
4. Keep your budget in mind. It's super easy to go bananas and start adding things like an antique faucet, a chalkboard menu, curtains, etc... especially with the fake food, it's easy to blow $100 on fake groceries! Search your home high and low for what you already have, borrow from friends, beg people for free stuff and then stop.
5. HAVE FUN and remember "It's a long term project"- let the paint dry!

My Zen Garden

my stuff

I've never been a very big fan of coffee tables. Sure, I like being able to put my feet up, if you're allowed, but generally, I find that most empty surfaces tend to get cluttered. Coffee tables are the worse for that: books, cups, pens, toys, notes, keys etc... I try to contain the stuff with containers. I use a big tray.




My husband had this habit of putting his stuff on the fire mantel which would drive me insane, so I gave him a tray too. (notice how much smaller it is..not sure if that was intentional). I think it made me insane because the fireplace is usually the focal point of a room and the junk, sorry, the stuff, seemed highlighted there. I put his tray up on our living room sideboard to protect the fireplace and designed the mantel as my zen garden aka no clutter zone.

his stuff

Up until recently, I've been growing my "back yard": 3 pots with grass. Today I took them outside for some fresh air and decided to refresh my zen garden. While reading "Simply Imperfect- Revisiting the Wabi-Sabi House" by Robyn Griggs Lawrence in my quest to continue adding some wabi-sabi to my life, I reread the chapter on uncluttering made easy. Two items stood out: allow only three items on each surface and keep windowsills clear of knickknacks and potted plants.

Okay so I was going in the right direction with having only 3 items, but not with the potted plants. So here's what I've come up with. My favorite school chair, a mini pumpkin and a river rock. So when the floors get covered in toys, counters spewed with dishes and stairs with shoes, I just have to look up for some zen.

My wabi sabi zen garden

Kitchen Play-Act 2

Just finished the first coat of paint on the play kitchen yesterday. It's starting to look pretty fancy- dancy if you ask me! I used some leftover gray and beige paint from our storage and spruced it up with an orange front. I still need another coat of paint, knobs, doodads and the backsplash- ohh la la! On va cuisiner comme des vrais chefs! I sure hope my Babe digs this kitchen as much as I do- he might just use the oven as a garage for his cars, and if that's the case, it's all good.

I've been on the look out for kitchen accessories and scored today in China Town and at Value Village! Yes, I know, I know, I can hear a collective gasp from mothers out there thinking "What about the BPA?" Children toys generally do not contain Bisphenol A- so I think the plastic veggies are okay. We will probably end up replacing them as my friend Meggie felts some for us. (hint, hint.) As for the few spatulas I bought, as long as we don't microwave them or suck on them a lot, I think we'll be fine. So I'm super happy. We're almost there- stay tuned for the final reveal!

I got a huge bag of food for $3. Once I discarded the french fries, potato chips and donuts, I was left with lots of fruits and veggies and some cans. I did find something curious. The flash on the camera gives it that "mysterious" look doesn't it? Can you guess what it is?

1606 East 15th Ave

Thomas Bell House

As promised, I am sharing some of my new findings about our neighborhood, Cedar Cottage. It turns out there is a man by the name of James C. Johnstone who makes his living as a house historian (cool job eh?) who has researched the history of over 800 homes in Vancouver. He is also Chair of the Friends of the Vancouver City Archives Society and of the Strathcona Residents' Association. He has researched one Cedar Cottage house on the corner of 15th avenue and Fleming and if you've ever walked around Clark Park you would definitely notice it, the Thomas Bell House.  In his blog "When an old house whispers.." Mr. Johnstone shares some really interesting findings and photographs about it.

This beautiful home was built sometimes around 1906 for retired sheet metal company owner, Thomas Bell just across from John Fleming's house, a Cedar Cottage land owner and house plasterer (hence Fleming Street-neat!). Thomas Bell, born in Ontario, lived there for a while with his family until 1918 when it was bought by the Peden family and then by the Scottish-born lithographer Frank C. Smith and his wife Margaret in 1919.


Frank and Margaret lived there until the later '40s. After his wife's death, Frank remarried, but willed the house to his housekeeper Pearl Dixon upon his death. (oh, scandal!?) She lived in the house from 1954 to 1960 and married Roderick G. Mackenzie. When Pearl died the house was willed to the Catholic Church and was run as a home for children. In 1974, the government took over and from 1985 to 1996 in was operating as a group home. Luckily, the Thomas Bell house survived possible demolition since then and the current owner has lovingly restored it.

That's Pearl in the yard and the Catholic Church in the back.

Autumn Treasures

Walking around the neighborhood with my camera gives me a chance to look around differently. Today I pretended to be a squirrel. Here's what I saw.

Where are the gnomes?

Family of hedgehogs?

Watch your fingers, it bites!

Tangled

Fireworks

Soaking

Neighbor's garden

Paper, Paper, Paper

The Pile
I've always thought that I was pretty good at containing and purging all the paper that enters the house: bills, receipts, cards, pamphlets, newspapers, flyers, bank statements, paper bags etc... but I was wrong. How do I know this?

The Realization
Last month, my husband and I started to clean out a large wardrobe (which we used as a place for junk) to make space for a desk. Aside from 3 staplers, oodles of pushpins and piles of picture-less frames, there was a mountain of papers. Piles of hydro, phone and gas bills, piles of bank statements, tax papers, investment statements, receipts, and warranties all with our personal information and account numbers printed all over them.

The Task
With the fear of identity theft we decided to shred everything. At some point we inherited a mini envelop size shredder, I think meant mostly for receipts. As I began shredding the piles, one paper at a time, as it clearly warns on the shredder, it became very clear that I needed one of those big shredding trucks . Most of the papers were not pre-folded to fit in so, I started to fold them, then I got super dry hands and paper cuts. And then I said: F***K! this is going to take forever. I guess it's payback for hoarding for so long.

I decided to take the pile down to the tv room and deal with it every time I watch a show which meant I had to ditch the shredder 'cause it was too loud. To save my hands I started to use scissors to cut out our "top secret" information. The pile got smaller and now it fits in a basket which I hide under the couch. (It's still there- I promise I'll get to it)


The New System
1. When one bill arrives, I pay it and throw away last month's.
2. I deal with each piece of paper on the first floor so that piles don't spread throughout the house.
3. I bought a small portable filing container where all our important documents live.
4. My husband and I get one shoe box each for back taxes.

So far so good. One basket to go!

17th and Knight-ca 1908

Wow!  The Vancouver Archives is a great way to see what Cedar Cottage looked like  more than a 100 years ago!  Click on the links to see more photos. There's a neat photo of houses and cars in the 80's which to some of us feels like more than a 100 years ago!

Cedar Cottage east of Knight [Road (Street)] and 17th Avenue

Cedar Cottage southeast of Taylor [Road (Welwyn Street)] and Fleming Road [Street]

[Houses along East] 11th Avenue at Victoria [Drive]

Cedar Cottage October 1909-Vancouver Archives

Cedar Cottage- a bit of history

When I first decided to move to Cedar-Cottage Kensington in East Vancouver, I couldn't find any information about what it's like to live here. Up from "The Drive",  I live in Cedar Cottage which is located North of Kingsway to Broadway, between Clark and Knight Streets and Nanaimo Street.(Kensington is located south of Kingsway to 41st Avenue, between Fraser and Nanaimo Streets.) I live on Commercial street which is really neat. Neat how? I think it has to do with the history.

Almost anyone who gets lost because Victoria Drive curves all of a sudden near 18th avenue (curving streets confuse us Vancouver grid drivers) says: "Oh, what a neat street! I didn't know this was here!" It's surprising to see a wide tree-lined street with businesses, even though some seem abandoned and graffitied when you expect rows of houses. Right away you wonder why and what this street was like before.

In 1888 , Arthur Wilson bought 16 acres of land near Knight and Kingsway which became known as the Cedar Cottage nurseries. He also purchased land around Trout Lake for farming. In 1891, the link between New Westminster and Vancouver brought more farmers and business to the area and especially around the tram stop at 18th avenue and Commercial Street. Lord Selkirk School, at 1750 East 22nd Avenue, was designed by W.T. Whiteway and built in 1908.  By 1910, there was a bank, 40 businesses, a school house, and a post office. You can still see the history of Cedar Cottage if you look carefully, although it's slowly disappearing. I was sad to see what seemed like a creepy farm house at 3845 Dumfries being completely gutted and squeezed by 3 new homes. It was the somewhat famed Wayside Inn, a place to rest before cars took over the Vancouver landscape in 1910-20's and slowly drew away business away from the neighborhood and toward False Creek and the city center.

There's always more to discover about the history of the area. The longer I live here, the more I hear things through the grapevine. I'll post more "insider" information as I come to learn it, but if you need general information, the City of Vancouver website posts good information about our neighborhood. Keep on reading!

Sleeping Beauties

I proudly planted tulip bulbs for the first time. Every spring when I see gardens full of flowers, I always kick myself for not thinking about planting some of my own and so this year, I took advantage of a few coupons and purchased two new pots at GardenWorks. (Very beautiful and inspiring, but very expensive, so look for coupons or go on their customer appreciation day) You might also try to go to Wing Wong's (I like saying Wing Wong lots, Wing Wong!) just a few doors down on Marine Drive going East. They have amazing fruits and veggies, plus really reasonably priced plants.

 

As I mentioned in a previous post, I've wanted to seek out more Wabi Sabi, so I purchased this beautiful warped pot for some "Pied a Terre" bulbs. Can't wait til Spring!

The Play Kitchen

I'm not sure if this is the case with all moms, but when it's time to take care of myself I get itchy and impatient. I have this thing with using my hands and letting my creative juices come out. This needs to happen on a regular basis otherwise my head gets filled with ideas and I start to feel dizzy. So it's extremely important for me to carve out time for my hands to move.

I got this idea to build a play kitchen for my son out of an old bedside table I've had for ages. "How clever!" I thought. Plus it went well with my "don't let Ikea into the house" vibe I've been on, so after looking at all the other clever builders' play kitchens on the web, I was ready to tackle this project. Never mind that I know next to nothing about woodworking.


First I collected tools from various friends and neighbors and powered the batteries. Then I went to the hardware store at least 4 times to get screws, knobs, primer and other "kitchen components". I'm not good with measurements, and the guy at the store has been super patient with me.

"1 and 3/8th?" he asked.
"Yes, you know, a bit longer than an inch plus two little lines." I replied with a smile thinking (please don't leave, I still have 8 other questions to ask.)

"So, you wanna work on the play kitchen?" I asked my husband for the 4th time because I was too nervous to use the skill saw to cut out the sink. Wanna? Wanna? Wanna? We cut out the sink and screwed on the back splash and then we ran into problems. So I went back to the hardware store. And the same guy was there.

"Can I have screws that are longer than this one and shorter than this one? I asked him with a really wide smile.

At this time I've managed to screw on 3 "gas knobs", to re-cut the oven door (12 inches and 4 little lines was not the right measurement the first time around) and to sand the whole thing. "It's a long term project." my husband said before he left on business. It's a long term project, it's a long term project, I say to myself every time I go back to the hardware store for advice and supplies.

And you know what?  I'm loving it! I'm making a play kitchen for my son with wood!! My hands are moving, my mind is quieted, my creativity is flowing and I'm happy. And that's how I take care of myself.

First Words

I really want to capture Babe's first words. Not in any particular order.

Maman
Daddy
Encore
Agua
Douille (nouilles)
A car
Googie (cookie)
Booboo (mommy's milk)
Doodoo (mattress to jump on)
Done
wee-oo-ee-oo (firetruck)
cheese
ma-ma-ma (grand-maman)

Isn't that all you really need?

Add a little Wabi Sabi

I'm going to add more Wabi Sabi to my life. The Zen Buddhist philosophy of Wabi Sabi; Wabi meaning simplicity, and Sabi meaning the beauty of age and wear, celebrates beauty in what's natural, flaws and all.

When I think of simple things that become beautiful with time and wear, I think of gardens, leather, paint, wood, paper, books, fabrics, skin, pottery, long loving relationships, homemade food, space, objects which hold stories, flowers, and photographs.

Instinctively I've noticed that the more I seek these things, the more I relax. It seems that there is a trend back to more natural, long-lasting, handmade things and sometimes it appears to be more costly, but in the end, it's a lot easier to love the mismatched silver forks your grandma gave you than the "wow, we have that Ikea" cutlery. It's easier to wear those super comfy leather boots you've had resoled three times than the "but they were on sale" faux pleather leather shoes.

I can think of many examples in my life where Wabi Sabi lives. Every once in a while my husband buys me flowers, and I get just as much joy looking at them when they are perky and new as when they start to droop and dry out.

Today I went to the pool and I was grateful for seeing all the naked ladies there. It made me feel beautiful because I could see so clearly how we are so different in shapes, size, lumps and bumps that all that difference is so "imperfectly, naturally" beautiful.

I go for walks with my son, and inevitably I bring home a bit of nature: a handful of pine cones, a feather, a stick, a brick... I've noticed that I care less about imperfection in natural things than in things made to look "perfectly fabricated." I don't want to see any more particle board, polyester carpet, and plastic containers. I want tasty, juicy, dirty, mangled veggies, clutter free surfaces, and cotton underwear!


Leonard Cohen poetically said "There is a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in." And that's what I'm going to look for.

No Fun Zone

 

I came upon this sign at the Olympic Village. I couldn't help but laugh. This is the kind of thing that brands Vancouver a "no fun" city. What about this instead?

If this park is fun for you, come again!

Bring your family and friends.

Be nice to the other kids while you're playing.

Leave your pet at home so you can play more freely.

If it's raining, play carefully.

Leave the park cleaner than you found it.

Enjoy!

Giving Thanks

What springs to mind easily is to be thankful for family, friends and good health, but upon a bit of reflection, I'd also like to take a moment to be thankful for:

1. My son's laughter which springs up like bubbles in the air. Because it's funny to throw things and throw yourself off the furniture!
2. My husband's hugs, always present, always loving, and reassuring. They lift the accumulation of crud off of my shoulders. You know, crud: worries, stress, boredom, etc...
3. My neighbors who share food, ideas, time, and conversation.
4. My car. Yup. I am thankful for having a car. To drive to the aquarium, to the library or to a friend's house when it's nasty out and I don't want to share public transportation with wet people.
5. Speaking of libraries. I am thankful for libraries. It's free! What's free nowadays?
6. Nature. These days, I'm admiring my neighbors' apples. I want to eat one, but I won't 'cause it's not neighborly, but I want to.
7. Music. 'Cause it makes me dance.
8. Brunch. Who doesn't love brunch with friends?
9. Coffee, chocolate, and cheese.
10. Sleep.

Stay-at-home styling

Honey? Wouldn't it be nice if we could knock down this wall, paint the doors bright orange, redo the floors, plant a patio garden, make new curtains and paint a mural in the living room?

I'm not sure if this is the case with all stay-at-home moms, but for me, the longer I stay indoors the more my inner interior decorator wants to get very crafty. "Crafty" beyond my abilities (and budget). A few weeks ago, I revisited www.apartmenttherapy.com and I can say I've caught the interior design flu. I've booked marked at least 30 pages of ideas I want to steal. Here are some of my favorites:

1. Yummify your boring Ikea dressers with Overlays
2. The craziest most beautiful wallpaper.
3. Get organized in style.
4. Painted floors that make you want to rip your carpets out today.

If any of these ideas materialize, that remains to be seen. I might have to settle for just re-arranging the furniture. 

Calabria Bakery

Check out my review of Calabria Bakery on yelp.ca. That's where all those yummy Portuguese buns come from! It's kind of in a weird spot of town on Victoria and 33rd, but man it's worth the trip! They have a huge selection of Italian bread and sweets. Makes you want to bring home a giant bag of biscotti and drink an espresso. I'm defrosting their pizza dough for dinner tonight. YUM!

Top Playgrounds on the East Side

Now that Baby is semi-mobile, meaning I hold his hands while he walks, he shown much more interest in playgrounds beyond the swing set. While training for the Sun Run, I happen upon some parks I had not explored before. Here are some of my favorite so far rated based on do-ability of a 15 month semi-mobile boy from best to worse.

Tecumseh Park (Commercial and 43rd): This is my new favorite spot. The park itself is just a green square, but the playground is awesome. It's brand new, has the newest swings, teeter-tooters, a farm tractor, a smaller slide for the little ones, and a tall twisty one for older kids. There's a great sandbox with a water station for messy fun. There are lots of benches for tired moms and a big picnic table. Definitely worth many visits.

Clark Park (Woodland and 14th): It's a good park for younger and older kids. There's a ball hockey and basketball court, which is different. There's a beautiful view of the mountains as most of the park is on a slope with amazing old trees.

Victoria Park (Victoria and Kitchener): This park and playground has received a wonderful facelift. I remember this park mostly because of the Italian men playing Bocce, but also because it seemed a bit shifty. Now, the playground is brand new, has lots of slides, climbing ropes, a gorgeous sandbox full of toys, and swings. It's always well used by the community and seems to have banished the shiftiness.

Trout Lake: It's such a beautiful spot with a super view of the North Shore mountains, so for mom, that's a bonus, but the playground....nah. Not that good. Unfortunately, the small playground is one of those older wooden ones and the slide and tire swing is for bigger kids. There's no designated sandbox. Dog owners are pretty lax about leashing their dogs and I've had big dogs barreling through and scaring Baby a few times. Great place for looking at ducks though.

Sunnyside Park (Inverness and 17th): This park adjacent to Dickens Elementary is not bad. There are two sections in the playground one for older and another for younger kids. There is no designated sandbox and only one swing for babies. Overall the play area just pales in comparison to the super amazing stuff on the Dickens playground which is only for older kids. Poor Baby just kept pointing at it.

General Brock Park (Brock and 29th): This grass square has a small but new playground. Worth stopping if you stumble upon it, but not to make a special trip for it.

Renfrew and Renfrew Ravine Park (Renfrew and 22nd) This park is interesting, I like the ravine and it's handy to have the community center and library there, but the playground is little. Nothing to write home about.
 
Brewers Park (Victoria and 26th): This small park is bit noisy being right on Victoria and small playground seems a bit rundown. Some moms have told me that they like it because of the small water pool which is open in the summer. Hum...

You are Beautiful! Banishing FAT TALK!

It's been a while since I've written. I could say that it was a combination of taking care of a more and more active Baby, picking up food off the floor 4-5 times a day, training for the Sun Run, but really I needed a break from writing. Plus I haven't found anything much to write about until this morning.

On my way to work one morning a few years ago, I saw that someone had painted: "You are beautiful." on the wall of an overpass. It made me smile. After that, I noticed this was written more and more in random public places around the city. It always made me smile, but I would soon forget about it and I never did find out what it was all about until this morning. I picked up at the library "Operation Beautiful-transforming the way you see yourself one post-it note at a time." by Caitlin Boyle. She states that the mission of Operation Beautiful is to post anonymous notes in public places for others to find, spreading the real truth that WE ARE ALL BEAUTIFUL; we are enough... just the way we are. Her book is full of photos of women and notes from all over the world, abolishing FAT TALK and taking back the power of their unique beauty.

I first started noticing my own FAT TALK in my late twenties. I can't remember when I started, but I've Fat Talked a lot. It starts in the mornings, in the showers, in the closet, at the gym, on the street, at work, while eating, while watching tv, and it doesn't stop. I've done it alone and with others.

"I'm so fat."
"Did you lose weight? You look great!"
"I wouldn't be caught dead in that bathing suit."
"What's with size 0? Is that a size?."
"I haven't run this week, I feel so guilty."
"Don't give me any of those, I'll eat a whole bagful."

The only time I've ever had a break from Fat Talk was when I was pregnant. I was FREE!!! I felt beautiful, round, sexy and happy. It was SO AMAZING to NOT think about weight, size, food, exercise etc... It was such a significant change, I couldn't believe it. That inner voice was gone.

It wasn't long after my baby was born, that the FAT TALK came back. If I managed to tame it, reveling in feeding and caring for my newborn, there were plenty of skinny moms at the new mommy groups who had apparently given birth only a few weeks prior. "Really?" The rest of us, round belly moms, wondered when we were going to fit in our old clothes again. Some moms were already on diets, doing hard-core training in the rain with their babies in strollers. What is with that?? It's sick. The funny thing is that I haven't minded that my boobs are bigger and point a little more to the south that before. I love that they are feeding my boy so wonderfully and he truly seems like he's in heaven when drinking his momma's milk. BUT the weight around the middle? That's not okay. It's not??

This paragraph from Caitling's blog " Healthy Tipping Point"  summarizes what FAT TALK really is.

"So, what do we really mean when we say, "I’m so fat"?  We  actually mean that we are FULL WITH AN EMOTION. Oftentimes, it’s shame.  Or sadness.  Or fear.   Why do we express our inner turmoil by hating our bodies?  Because that’s what Fat Talk and society tells us to do.  Don’t admit you’re scared, just feel fat!  Don’t admit you’re lonely or depressed, you’re just fat!   We can deal with ugliness, we cannot deal with weakness.  The next time you feel the urge to say, "I’m so fat," think about what you REALLY mean. By berating your body, you aren’t doing any favors.  But by honoring your emotions, you’re living a happier, more honest life."

Last week I completed a 10km run in 1 hour and 9 minutes. I trained for it for 4 months, running in the rain with Baby in the stroller. It's been 6 days and the FAT TALK is back. I heard it. Yesterday I stood on a scale for the first time since I gave birth. I couldn't believe it what I was saying to myself. I won't ever repeat it. So I'm fighting back:

This break is well deserved!

Thank you body for taking me to the finish line!

Let's have fun today and move so that it is fun!

My body is awesome as it is!

My body is feeding and taking care of Baby so perfectly!

I am beautiful!

http://operationbeautiful.com/

Ode to the High Chair

You are one tall, sticky chair
Full of stains and wear and tear
Old black banana crust
Hard bits of bread a must

Banged with bowls, and spoons and toys
Scratched with things that he enjoys
The perfect place for Baby's lunch
Snacks and other things that crunch

Learn How to Dance

Last Saturday, I attended my Zumba instructor's, Maggie Lima, "Learn How to Dance" class. It was great. What's nice about it is that it's not a specific dance like salsa or samba. She teaches how to move your body more consciously, find the music's tempo and actually dance rather than just going through the movement. I've taken a few dances classes in the past, salsa, hip hop, reggaeton, etc.. and it's a lot of fun too, but sometimes the teachers do a certain movement that I couldn't replicate no matter how hard I concentrated. I think it was partly because I wasn't just "feeling" it and also because I wasn't able to connect my brain to a certain body part. For example: I can do the shoulder shimmy, (shaking you shoulders quickly from front to back alternatively) but if I try to do it with my legs going, forget it! I look like I'm having an epileptic seizure. So, anyways, not that I've mastered this yet, but Maggie showed us some tips on how to get the right muscles to get going. If anyone reading this is interested, check out her website: www.magdalenalima.com

April Fools!

Got my husband really good this morning. Babe and I went upstairs last night while he was out and unpaired all his socks. I rolled up the singles as if they were paired up and hid the others in another drawer. Hee hee hee! :)

I don't know if that would drive your partner crazy, but my husband HATES single socks! And he has lots and lots of blackish, brownish, socks that kind of look the same but don't.

April Fools Babe! Gotcha! :)

Spring is in the Air! Or is it?

I've decided to invite Spring to come a little earlier than it wants to this year. Come on out, I say! Don't just sit there behind those gray clouds, poking your nose in once in a while! Do it with drama, something like, um... a whole week of sunshine!

So to keep preoccupied while I wait for Spring's dramatic entrance, I've done a few fun things:

1. I've bought a pair of sexy sandals ( I should probably take care of my winter feet...)
2. I've taken to wearing my sunglasses, just in case, you never know when you might need them right?
3. I've registered for a dance class to keep that body moving and sexy.
4. I've made diner plans with friends.
5. I'm about to eat a big pile of asparagus.
6. I've donated clothes baby and I don't fit in anymore.
7. I've taken a pair of boots to be fixed and polished.
8. I took a colorful necklace I bought in Brazil to be restrung so I can wear it again.
9. I plan on doing some finger paints with Baby this weekend.
10. I started using an exercise band to strengthen my upper body.
11. I've gone through all the spices, medicine and condiments and thrown out anything that was expired, don't ask me what was dated 2008...;)

So that's it for now. I think I'm doing pretty good to keep those rainy day blues away! Click on the post and leave a comment to let me know what you're doing to bring a bit of sunshine in your life.

Closer Than I Think

There is less and less coverage of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan these days in the media. It's fading slowly behind the upcoming elections, violence in Libya, and spring break. But it's still there, they are still there living with the aftermath. Just a few doors down from me, I have a Japanese neighbor. It took days for her to hear from all her family members. She wouldn't talk about it. I didn't press. It was clear, as I saw tears spring into her eyes, that this tragedy is still happening. It's still here and present.

Compassion

Halfway through "The Wise Heart", by Jack Kornfield, I was inspired to create a sacred space to spend some time every day sitting still, practicing mindfulness and gratefulness or just focusing on breathing. For this space, I've collected a candle, this book, a blanket and some matches. It just so happens that on the wall in our spare room there is a beautiful Mexican picture of "Our Lady of Guadalupe" which completes this sacred space very well.

Recently I've spend some quiet time on cultivating compassion. Here is a nice practice as explained in "The Wise Heart".  As I sit quietly and breath softly I picture someone I care for in my mind and my heart. As I think of them and their life, I try to be aware of how my heart opens to them, how I seek to comfort them, share their pain and extend compassion. I repeat these phrases:

May you be held in compassion
May your pain and sorrow be eased
May you be at peace

After a time, I picture all my loved ones, one after the other and wish them well.

There are friends and family moving, traveling, fighting, overworked, worried, waiting for babies, bored, wondering, unfocused, wanting to quit, celebrating, unappreciated, unloving of themselves, sick, broke and I hold them in compassion.

I didn't want to see any more media coverage of the Tsunami in Japan. All the images broke my heart. There was so much sadness there I couldn't bare to think about it. So I hold them in compassion.

Then, I do the same for myself which is weird at first, but boy, does this ever have an impact on me.


May I be held in compassion
May my pain and sorrow be eased
May I be at peace

So on those days when I wish I could envelop myself in a soundproof bubble because baby is inconsolable, I remember to hold myself in compassion.

So on those days when I lose my patience because I just want to prepare dinner without having to take everything out of the cupboards to entertain Baby, I remember to hold myself in compassion.

So on those days when I blame, judge and feel bad about myself, I try really hard to remember to hold myself in compassion.

Here I am!

I was beginning to think that my blogging days were over, that I should retire these typing fingers for more spring-like activities, but then friends noticed I stopped, and so I've decided to keep going for now.

So what have I been doing all this time? ah ah! A little of this and a little of that. I've been keeping up with my Sun Run Training, running 10km with no difficulty  during the last few weekends, and also going to my Zumba class regularly. I love it! It's just the best way to sweat. Our teacher, Maggie, is offering classes on Saturdays to learn how to really work those body bits and pieces. I usually do pretty good; I can get my feet to do one thing and my arms another, but try my shoulders or my hips, and I start to look like a fish finding itself in open air. So I might join....

The weather has inspired me to create an oasis for myself on our top deck. I've bought a nice lounger and a collection of pots. Next are some plants. Maybe I'll go the easy route and just buy grass. I'm still looking for something serene like a Buddha statue.... I'll be posting photos when it starts to take shape.

What else? Nursed a baby back to health, picked a lot of snot out of small nostrils. Fought a cold myself for a week. Watched my husband snot around after me. This cold is almost out of the house! Yay!

Bought a new leather jacket which makes me feel hot. ooooeeeeee!

Keeping up with my favorite shows: Amazing Race, The Good Wife, and the Office.

In awe of my son everyday! He's learning how to walk, steer his push-toy, scoop food into his mouth, choose books, brush his teeth, talk lots of gibberish, and slide down the stairs on his belly. He's so amazing.

Enjoyed spending time with my parents and watching their garden take shape.

Spent some time with friends and their lovely young babies who are soon off to Australia for work .

So, yup. I've been up to this and that. More on the horizon....

Read on!

Boys, Boys, Boys

I'm currently reading a fascinating book entitled: "Wild Things: The Art of Nurturing Boys." by Stephen James and David Thomas

So far, some of the key things I've come away with are these:

Boys need space.
Boys need to move around. Alot.
Boys will destroy things.
Boys need to go outside alot.
Boys do listen. You just have to learn how to talk to them.
Boys are different than girls and isn't that wonderful?
Boys need to go outside alot. Did I say that already?
The more boys seem to despise you, the more they love and need you.
Get educated. Educate your boys especially about those dreaded topics like masturbation, wet dreams, sex, drugs, pornography, and any other topics your parents probably "forgot" to tell you.
 
Lori has written a great review of this book in her blog, if you want an idea of what this book is all about.

It's funny how my 1 year old zeroed in on the picture of the boys on the cover of this book. Mesmerized....

Moments of Mindfulness

Yesterday, I was sitting on a bench overlooking Trout Lake and breastfeeding baby. It was easy to be mindful at that moment. There was an unusually warm wind coming up from the water, birds and ducks hidden behind the reeds were singing a happy cacophony, the sun was shimmering on the water peeking in and out of a gray cloud and baby was happily sucking away with his eyes closed. It was beautiful and so, so peaceful. Nature has a way to stop me in my tracks, and demand I pay attention.

With the white and yellow crocuses poking out of the ground, seems Spring is timidly announcing itself and it's easy to spot the colors after so much greyness.

Just outside Baby's room there is a crow's nest carefully guarded by our local crow couple. Other crows have come to check out the real estate, only to beaked out forcefully.

This morning I was woken by a hail storm and now that I no longer live in a ground floor apartment, I could really enjoy the force of showering ice on the roof.

The dogs at the park, they know something's up. The lake's not frozen, the air smells like melting muck and squished grass, all highly enjoyed by the canine folk.

I love Nature. How absolutely deliciously divine!

"Life is now. There was never a time when your life was not now, nor will there ever be"
-Eckhart Tolle

Strata Rules!

We recently received an extensive list of patio dos and don'ts in an email sent by our strata. Yes, sometimes it feels like your individuality is taken away when you are not allowed to hang your macrame seashell wind chimes out on your patio, but be thankful.

Why? Let me tell you about a neighbor I shared a patio with a while back. It was one of those little second floor patios barely big enough for 2 chairs and a hibachi divided with a "divider"; some see-through metal lattice work about waist high. My neighbor had a thing for cats, and I'm not going to feel bad about saying "a cat thing" like it might be a contagious disease. It was a cat thing. You rarely hear of people with a "dog thing" probably because it's harder to hoard dogs, although, I think the dog people may be catching up to the cat people. Anyway, the reason I'm going into so much detail about the cat thing is this:

On my neighbor's patio there were 3 slightly moldy, multi-level carpeted cat trees slightly, about 20 different pots with plants are various stages of deadness, a drying rack with leopard print undies and tank tops most of them seemingly purchased way too long ago, pictures of cats cut out from old calendars taped onto the window, a collection of damp stuffed Garfields along the windowsill, a mop, a broom, an old chair and an ashtray shaped like a cat face.

Needless to say, I never sat on my patio. I never used my hibachi, never kicked back with a nice cup of coffee to contemplate the view. Oh, yes, and you might say: "Oh, just look the other way!" Okay, I'd like to see you try. One morning, as I opened the door to let fresh air, I noticed, a new cat sticker on the divider. It said " I love cats" and scribbled in pen below it: "not people."

So I was glad to see the Strata patio rules. Now I sit on my patio and if I happen to look across the way, I get to enjoy lovely plants and clean patio furniture. Ah,,,,, much better!

Zumba at the Masoniac Hall on Victoria

If you are looking for something super fun to do on a rainy winter night, come check out Zumba at the Masonic Hall on Victoria Street near Kingsway. Magdalena Lima is a Capoeira player, samba dancer and Zuma instructor extraordinaire! She leads us through a variety of latin and world music choreography with easy to follow moves and lots of sweating! Just when you think your legs are going to give out, her contagious smile gives you that extra kick (no pun intended)to keep you going. Call the Trout Lake Community Center to find out about the next free demonstration class, to sign up for a series of 5 classes or for drop-ins. You can look at Zumba on youtube, but don't be dissuaded by the cheesy clips, it's just plain fun! The ladies in our class are of all ages and I think the best thing about the Masonic Hall is that there are no mirrors, so you can dance away and always feel like you look fantastic! Yay for Zumba!

Makin' Tracks

Baby and I rushed out after breakfast to play in the snow before it was all shoveled away. I love being the first ones out making tracks and I noticed we weren't the first! A big family of raccoons maybe?

Strong Start Program

I learned about the Strong Start Program offered by the Ministry of Education of BC last summer when Baby and I went to a mommy group in the park. Cindy, the early childhood educator who was facilitating the group told be that once Baby was older I could attend this program which takes place at Lord Selkirk Elementary school up the street.

According to the information on the website, the Strong Start Program is a free drop in program for children and their parents/caregivers where they can participate in activities such as reading stories and doing music and art in order to help children grow linguistically, physically, socially and emotionally. It provides an environment where children who do not attend daycare or preschool can interact with other children and receive early learning experiences. Sounds good right? So I went to check it out.

The classroom is really nice with different play stations; toys, plasticine, sand, water, paints, mini kitchen, puzzles etc... The morning is scheduled into different activities like free time, snack time, story time etc... and adults are expected to participate and guide the children in each activity. I arrived early morning during free time and Cindy introduced me to adults and the kids who were already there while Baby played with trucks on the floor: "This is so-and-so and he doesn't speak English, and this is so-and-so and she only understand English, but doesn't speak it and this is so-and-so and he doesn't speak English.... you get the picture. I couldn't remember who spoke English, who only understood and who didn't speak at all. All the adults speaking loudly in Chinese or other Asian language. Cindy seemed happy to introduce me to a young mom who arrived and spoke English sensing that I was eager to meet someone I could communicate with. This mom sat on the floor with her one year old daughter and spent the entire time on her Blackberry. Every time she stopped fiddling around with it, I tried to break the ice, but she just went back to her phone. Okay, then....

So to make a long story shorter, I left feeling conflicted. Although I can see that Baby would benefit from being around other little children and having access to lots of different activities, I'm already worried about him learning his parents' languages: French, English and Portuguese...and I'm not sure being in an environment where the majority of people speak Chinese and Malaysian is that good for my boy. It's not clear if the program was intended for non-English speakers. Oh well, maybe we'll go once in a while...It's a little disappointing. I wonder if it's just the demographics of our neighborhood and if it might be different elsewhere. Maybe I'll try somewhere else.

Lucky Duck Toy Box

We just received our Lucky Duck Toy Box delivery!!! Yay! We subscribed for the 3 toys/ month for $24 plan and chose 1 fire truck, 1 musical table and a toy radio. Baby loves all his new toys and once he gets sick of them (or I can't take the tunes anymore) we can return them and get new ones! What lucky duckies are we? There's a pretty good selection of toys which you can select online by age group.  I did notice that all the ones I wanted at first were taken already; bigger toys like play kitchens and play gardens, but what we got in the end was great. The toys were delivered to my door all cleaned up and ready to go. Definitely worth a try if you don't want to waste your time on craigslist trying to get rid of mountains of unwanted toys.

SOS Cuisine

Okay so as a mom with a 13 month old who loves to be held,  here's the type of cuisine I can manage:

1. Five ingredients or less.
2. One pot only, or slow cooker.
3. Less than 3 ingredients to chop.
4. Nothing with hard to find ingredients like lime leaves, ghee, sundried pomegranate seeds or juniper berries.

So forget fresh quince stuffed pork chops with fresh passion fruit salsa.

Toast is good. Goes well with jam. Goes well with butter. Goes well with cheese. You can smush a banana on it. Or an avocado. Toast is yummy.

I barely have time to look at recipes even when I've bookmarked them online or earmarked them in magazines. My girlfriend even traded recipe books with me and it seems like I'm still standing there at 3pm in the afternoon wondering what to make for dinner. What's with that?

Oh, some say, make a plan, write a list, go to the store on the weekend and start early by preparing most of the meals on Sunday. YAH, OKAY. Not happening. So to do most of the thinking for me, I've decided to revisit SOS Cuisine which a great site which allows you to choose according to your tastes and eating values. Every week you receive a menu plan for the week, the matching shopping list and step by step instructions on to put all together. You can collect your favorite recipes in your virtual cookbook. So here goes, let's see if I can be saved!

Daycare Adventure

I was browsing in a consignment furniture store on Main Street yesterday and overheard the owner of the shop chatting with his buddy. It was more loud talk, you know, like you get the impression that they want you to hear everything they are saying. So I can't say that I was eavesdropping or even overheard, but just plain heard them talking about their kids and how they loved daycare because they get to do fun things that they don't get to do at home like painting. This got me thinking not so much about painting, 'cause Baby is doing great in the arts department, but more about his stimulation.

Part of 13 month old babies' programing is exploration and sometimes I get the feeling like he's thinking: "Mom, I love you, but could I see someone else for a change?" or "Mom, I've played this cup toy enough already, I got bored of it 3 months ago, and you keep giving it to me." Okay, so I'm probably projecting, but still, not that I would prefer to send him to daycare full time, I would however like to find ways to stimulate him. So just to get started with the daycare thing...

Okay, so I'm probably eons away from getting Baby into daycare because I didn't put his name down on "the list" sometimes after my high school graduation and before his conception, but I thought I just try looking for fun.

I Google-mapped (yes, Google-map is a verb.) " day cares Vancouver BC" and at first glance it seems the map is littered with little red dots! Whoo-hoo! Look at that! But, no. Scroll over the little red dots and what pops up? DOGGIE DAYCARES!!!!! Stupid me. So take those away and in Cedar Cottage-Kensington, it's pretty slim pickin's especially if you minus after school care and care for kids with disabilities. I count 1 or 2 possibilities.

Okay, so googling might not be the way to go. Maybe the Westcoast Child Care Resource Center can help. I'll give them a call. More on this Daycare Adventure soon!

A Funny Thing Happened...

Yesterday morning I was thinking about the first chapter I read on Buddhist philosophy in a book my mother gave me for Valentine's Day. At the end of each chapter, the author gives you an exercise to practice new learnings: "Practice noticing nobility in others by remembering them as they might have been as a child." I remember thinking about this when I was working as a career counselor, noticing that my unemployed clients' uncertainty and fears made them react in what might be considered "annoying, rude and even sometimes, crazy" by others. It wasn't uncommon for clients to yell at others, blame themselves and everyone around them, cry, swear, and if I can say; throwing a huge tantrum. I remember sitting with these vulnerable clients and seeing how childlike they seemed; in need of care, reassurance, love, encouragement, and patience.  I was noticing their nobility.

This exercise was on my mind when I took off for my run with Baby and a big bag of library books. It was an unusually warm and sunny day and it people were out enjoying it. I noticed ahead of me an old man walking with a cane and I thought about the exercise; imagining him as a kid, running quickly, climbing and jumping. Just as I passed him, I turned to him and said hello. He smiled back and one moment later he fell back, his cane falling and his toque flying off. I think we were both surprised. I helped him to get up, putting my arms under his and holding him up as I bent down to pick up his cane. He kept smiling as I asked him if he was okay. I picked up his toque, wiped the leaves off his back and gave it back to him. I noticed that there was no way he would be able to put it back on with only one hand. I took it back from him and put it on for him, tucking his ears under to keep him warm. At that moment, I looked in his smiling face and he seemed like a child, laughing about falling, and feeling better after someone picked him up.

It occurred to me that when we do something with care and love we are honoring the nobility of people's heart. We are letting them know that they matter and they are loved, just as all babies are born to be loved and cared for. My Baby is loved unconditionally by many people. It seems that as we get older we are less able to remember our innocence and how perfectly wonderful we are. As adults, we are supposed to have it figured out and when we admit that we don't, it seems we're not as cute and as lovable anymore. The client who walked into our office screaming in anger that employers are losers, and what the hell were we going to go to help her, might have been pushed aside for being rude and abusive and sent away. But what if we imagine that same client being only 6 months old, wouldn't we all want to take her in our arms and comfort her? Tell her that everything would be okay?

A funny thing happened yesterday, an old man with a cane reminded me to practice finding nobility in others.

Little Art Project

Here's a step by step demonstration of a series of paintings I did over the month of January. I was inspired by the mountains on the North Shore.

I used:

1. a piece of maple wood which I purchased and had cut at the hardware store.
2. a package of heavy duty eyelets.
3. fun paper.
4. acrylic paints, brushes, medium for varnish and pastels.
5. a surface away from Baby. Notice his little curious hand....

First I made a stencil out of paper to create a "frame" for each of the pieces of wood and I outlined it in pencil.

Then I started painting/pastelling. I took turns with each piece and used the same colors to add continuity. There were many times I thought: "Man, this is ugly!", like at the moment I took this picture, but just kept going.

I bought some really cool paper which comes in a pad at the local art supply store and cut up shapes that I liked.







And glued them onto my mountains.

Then I used "Clear Tar Gel", which is this super gooey medium to make sure the paper bits would stay on and to give the whole piece a nice shiny finish.

Then I decided I didn't like the border pale and redid it in purple.

This one reminded me of Rio de Janeiro. I painted Copacabana beach and a slum, but no Corcovado.

This one reminded me of Vancouver. The beach, the coastal mountains and the Rockies. I made the clouds more festive than they usually are.

This one reminds me of the Gulf Islands, so I put little boats in the water....

Finally I measured the middle point and screwed in an eyelet in each piece of wood. Maple is really soft, so I didn't need a drill. Then I tied them together with string.

And ta-da! 3 mountain paintings.