Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Fat Cat

Our cats Mali and Malta are six years old.  They are sisters but they have very different personalities.  Most people tell them apart by their colour – Mali is a orange/cream colour and Malta is a tortoiseshell.  Mali has another distinguishing feature that people comment on.  Mali is overweight.


She wasn’t always.  When she was two she was slim;


When she first began gaining weight I was unsure why – I fed both cats the same type and amount of food but only Mali was overweight.  Through observation I discovered that personality played a part too.

Malta nibbles her food, chewing each piece thoroughly and waiting a few seconds before selecting another piece.  Malta is picky about what she eats and the setting must be just right too.  If there is any sound or motion that disturbs her she quits eating and will not return.

Mali attacks food with fervour -  often consuming half the food in one bite and she doesn’t chew.  There is nothing that distracts her from eating.  So, I discovered that she really was eating more than her sister beause she was eating the food left in Malta’s abandoned dish.

I started feeding them separately and ensuring that Malta’s uneaten food was promptly removed.  The veterinarian also recommended a diet cat food.

It has been nearly three years since then and Mali has lost some weight but she still weighs more than she should.  The children like to see if they can lift her.


Recently, I decided to address not just the amount and type of food that she was eating but also how quickly she was eating.  I bought her this fancy food dish with several levels and she really has to work to get her food.

 

Moving each piece through the maze until it reaches the dish below.


Sometimes Malta likes to watch but the dish is far too frightening for her to try to get any food from it;


We had to put a cover over the top because sometimes Mali ‘cheats’ and just stands up to eat the food at the top.


It now takes Mali about 15 minutes to finish a meal instead of the mere seconds it used to take her.  Diet and exercise together.  I’m looking forward to her next visit to the veterinarian.

Saturday, October 27, 2012

First Snow

Winter is on its way.  Yesterday there was a light dusting of snow.  I like snow much more than rain,  I like the way it highlights the surfaces;


We can still see the grass and I like the contrast between the green and white;


I planned to take the children for a walk first and then play in the yard.  The sidewalks were so slippery that the toddlers had difficulty staying upright.  We just made it to the end of the block before turning back.  Then we were facing the wind — hello winter!  That was quite a shock prompting the 5 year old to shudder and ask “Is winter almost over?”

Luckily the back yard was sheltered from the wind and not slippery like the sidewalks.  The children and I were much happier here.  I noticed several of these around the yard;


I was informed that they were rainbows;


The children’s favourite activity was running back and forth on the walkway;


They had a lot of fun and there were some tears when it was time to come in.  Yes, winter shocked us a little at first but we love it.

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Fall Leaves and More

There was no school on Friday and I planned to do some type of fall craft activity.  Earlier in the week the preschoolers and I had collected some leaves – this was a little difficult since it has been so wet lately so most of the leaves are mushy.  Luckily we also had a lot of grains and leaves from our garden.

I don’t particularly like store bought glue so we used glue recipe;

 Cook and stir 1/2 cup of cornstarch, 1 1/2 cups of water, 4 tablespoons of light corn syrup, and 2 teaspoons of white vinegar over medium heat until thickened.  Remove the mixture from the heat. In another dish, mix together 1/2 cup cornstarch with 1/2 cup water.  Add this to the heated mixture. Use the resulting glue immediately or store it in the refrigerator for up to two months.

This glue is nice and thick so I find that it works well for for filling gaps when you’re trying to adhere things that don’t lay flat against the paper.  The youngest in the group thought it made great playdough/hand lotion too. This activity kept them engaged for over an hour;


Later in the day we went for a long walk (no babies with us today).  The children played a game where they tried to avoid stepping on any of the leaves;


There was a mixture of dismay and excitement when we reached areas that looked like this;


The weather was cool but not cold and it was not raining however the humidity was high and it was very damp.  When we returned we had some hot cocoa to combat the chill;


It was a nice treat on a somewhat quiet fall day.

Friday, October 19, 2012

Chili or Not

Chili is not one of my preferred menu items but many of the children like it so we currently have chili buns once every four weeks.

Lately the children seem to be growing tired of  some of the menu items including chili buns  so I’ve been going through my recpies with the intention of changing a few of the menu items.

I came across a quinoa chili recipe and decided to try it to see if the children like it better than the regular chili.  It starts with a whole lot of vegetables;


Carrots, onions, peppers (red, green and jalapeno), and zucchini sauted together.  Then crushed tomatoes, frozen corn, garlic, cooked quinoa, two cans of beans and some spices (salt,  pepper, cumin, and chili powder) are added.


Simmer — Mmmm smells good.

For the preschoolers I cut the buns into cubes before topping with chili — easier to eat that way.  Then cheddar cheese is sprinkled on top.


I found the quinoa chili was not as saucy as the regular chili so the buns didn’t soak up the chili as well.  The children still seemed to enjoy it but no one wanted seconds and I have far too much leftover chili. Good thing I like quinoa chili better than beef chili.

Still, I think that it may be time to remove chili buns from the menu.

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

What's the Difference?

Changes to the playspace are always made on the weekends so on Mondays we play ‘What’s the Difference’.  Yesterday the first children here immediately noticed the appliance upgrade;


Yes, last month when my husband and I renovated the playspace, I said it would like to paint the appliances to simulate stainless steel.  I didn’t paint the washer/dryer like I originally planned — there was some discussion about possibly re-designing this appliance due to some minor damage and functionality issues.  I didn’t want to paint it if we were going to eventually replace it so until that decision is made I will not paint it.

The children’s comments regarding the fridge and stove were “What happened?” “Cool!” “Neato!” and “Ooo, it’s so soft”.  We briefly discussed the difference between ‘smooth’ and ‘soft’.  Then one of the children excitedly exclaimed “Look! she painted this too”.


Very observant – the tissue box is a different colour than it was on Friday but I didn’t paint it.  I just brought out a new box because the old one was empty.

There was another difference but this one took them a little longer to notice.  As usual, I waited.  I don’t ever point out the changes – letting them notice on their own is part of the game.  As promised – under the sink in the housekeeping area my husband added a drain and water line;


Later in the day the children eventually noticed this new addition.  Each and every one of them squealed with excitement and then immediately did this;


There was a little dissappointment when they realized that the water line was not actually attached to a water source but they still like the new addition.  Now, before getting their tools to repair the sink, they make sure the tap  under the counter is turned off — they must watch the DIY channel too :-)

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Baby Steps

I know the phrase…“There’s no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing.”  I firmly believe that the children and I should be outside every day in all types of weather.  However, yesterday was one of those difficult days.

Sun, rain, snow, and slush.  Mother Nature just couldn’t make up her mind.  The worst part though was the temperature – not bitterly cold but definitely chilly.  A snow suit would have been far too warm but fall jackets were not really warm enough especially when they got wet.

It’s days like that when I take the children for a walk.  Certainly they would prefer to play in the yard but invariably at least one of them would roll around on the ground and get soaked and we would all have to come inside.  So, we walk.  We go outside and we keep moving.

Now, I face another obstacle – two toddlers.  Both the one-year-olds are capable of hiking around the block when they’re holding my hand.  The problem is that the older preschoolers find the toddler pace very slow.  With the toddlers tiny strides it takes about 40 minutes for us to get around the block – and the older children spend about 30 of those minutes just waiting for the toddlers and I  to catch up.

Some people might put the toddlers in a stroller or a wagon and head out for a longer walk – but I won’t.  We’re going for a walk, not a ride. Our outdoor time is the perfect opportunity for gross motor activities for all of us including the toddlers.

So, I started a game.  I instructed the older children to run ahead four sidewalk squares and turn around and run back to me.  It took a few tries for them to get the hang of it – we discovered that it was easier if they counted ‘lines’ (sidewalk cracks) instead of squares.

Then I increased the goal to ‘six lines’ ahead and then back to us.  The older children stomped on each line as they counted to six and then turned around and ran back.  Then they tried jumping from one line to the next before running back.  Sometimes they bent down and touched the line with their hands – so much exercise :-)

One of the children asked if they could do ten squares next but first we tried just eight.  We all counted together as they passed each line before turning around to run back.  They came up with some interesting challenges like spinning around on each line.

Just past the half way point walk we increased the distance to ten sidewalk squares but only one of the preschoolers was still playing.  The other one was walking slowly with me and the toddlers – ‘too tired’ to keep playing the game.

One square city block on a cold and wet day and plenty of gross motor activity.

Monday, October 8, 2012

Saying Good-Bye - For Now

I opened my front door and thought ‘What a beautiful sunny day’  – but wait, it is cloudy.  “Why does it seem so bright on such a cloudy day?”

I looked again.  Autumn seems to have arrived suddenly and winter is on its way.  The Elm trees that shade my yard have lost all their leaves.   The foliage usually blocks my view of the sky from here but now that the branches are bare the light comes through even on a cloudy day.

A thick blanket of leaves covers the garden so I can barely see the gravel path.  Sigh.  Good-bye my friends.  Sleep well.

Back in March I wrote a brief history of my front yard garden and my plans to redo the whole garden.  You can read about it here.  Then in May I continued the saga as I began to create the space to plant my prairie garden.   I planned to write another chapter once the plants were in the ground but I never got around to it.

So here is the ‘before’ picture I took of my front yard;


This was taken in May as we began taking apart the old steps to make room for the expanded garden space.  You may notice that these old garden beds contain mainly day lilies along with a few other plants that had managed to survive.

The steps and sidewalk were then relocated to the far left side of the landing and a bench was added so we could sit and enjoy the new garden.  I left that big bush under the window (I don’t know what kind it is) and the Hosta which seemed happy this year.  All the other plants were dug up and most of the gravel was replaced with more soil.

Then I planted the seedlings from the shade garden kit that I purchased from Prairie Flora.  The plants include:
I’ll admit that at first the garden looked rather sparse.  There were a few casualties over the summer – mostly due to the neighbourhood cats who decided I had built the world’s greatest litterbox :-(

Some of the young plants grew much quicker than I anticipated.  Many even produced flowers – something I didn’t expect them to do in their first year.  I know that all these plants  were busy putting down strong roots to support them for years to come.

By September the garden looked like this;


In this view you can see some of the sticks I put in the soil to deter the nasty cats;


Yes, as I look at the thick blanket of leaves that now covers my prairie garden, I am a little sad.  As these young plants prepare for the long cold winter ahead I will say good-bye, for now.  I’ll see you again in the spring – stronger and more beautiful than ever.

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Garden Questions

“Are these weeds?”

That’s a question I hear often – I don’t always know the answer but generally, if we didn’t plant it I say it’s a weed.  The children like to pick leaves and flowers to use in their activities like making soup or decorating structures.  They are careful not to damage the plants that we are trying to grow so they seek out the invaders – the ones we didn’t put there.

This plant is not even near the garden – it is growing through the fence but it originates in my neighbour’s yard.


Since it is not ours we don’t pick it.  It is a Virginia Creeper.  We have one in our yard too but it doesn’t grow the way we expected it to.  “Why?”


Ours has been here for four years but barely grows.  I suspect it is because we have planted it in a container.  There’s another plant growing in a container by the garage;


We didn’t plant anything in this container but we think this one looks like it is a bean plant.  Maybe when the children were playing with the beans from our garden one of the beans got dropped in this container.  Even though it is now October this plant looks new – not old and shrivelled like the beans we planted in the spring.


What about these flowers?


They are growing in the garden with the lemon balm but their leaves don’t smell like lemon so it must be a different plant.  It looks similar to the plant on the hill.  “Are they the same plant?


We did plant that Giant Hyssop on the hill but not in the garden.  “Could some of the seeds have blown across the yard and landed in the soil by the lemon balm?”  That’s another good question.

We may never know all the right answers but I love that we ask so many questions.