Video Debut

2008 Season in Review

So the 2009 Sailing season is about to begin. that doesn't mean its too late to take a look back at 2008. Actually, the video begins in november of 2007 when we brought "Efficacious" home, since then she's been renamed.

I hope 2009 has as many smiles in its video... I'll let you know in a year or so!

Helping my sister

She likes it when I help her with her jobs....

Like folding the socks... I can help her with that!!

hmm.... maybe I should re-do this one for her...I don't think it's folded quite to my liking!!

Oh My Sister!!! You're jobs are done for you!! I helped!!

Sledding in February

Buddy Boy & LR Sledding off of the back deck in February.... Daddy made them the sled run, and they obviously had a blast!!

Um... make sure you don't drop your brother, eh?

This year's flood

Remember last year's flood? Well, it happened again this year... and then frooze again!! backyard rink, no work!

Look out Ma!

I'm Up!

Weekend Race Clinic

So I've promised myself that this season we will cruise more and race less. I have told myself that I need to slow down and take things easy.

Then I got the race schedule.

Then I got invited to a North Sails Race clinic.

Now I have to exercise much constraint.

On Saturday I went to a church hall and sat through 8 hours of trim and rules. How to flatten your sail to dump wind, when to let out sails to hold wind. When to use the outhaul, what does the backstay do? What to do upwind, what to do downwind, what to do when what you are doing isn't doing anything.

It was information overload before lunch. Then it WAS lunch.

In our sailing club, whenever Dianne is making food the event is worth going to. We had home-baked bread, soups that were AMAZING and boat talk with friends. Who is coming into the harbour - who is leaving, who is doing what to their boat and why. I think ours is the only boat in the harbour without new sails.

After lunch, we started into the rules. The rules of sailboat racing are essentially quite simple, but their application is so complex it can make your head spin.

Basically, there are three key rules:

• ON THE SAME TACK, OVERLAPPED
  When boats are on the same tack and overlapped, a windward boat
  shall keep clear of a leeward boat.
  
• ON THE SAME TACK, NOT OVERLAPPED
  When boats are on the same tack and not overlapped, a boat clear
  astern shall keep clear of a boat clear ahead.
  
• WHILE TACKING
  After a boat passes head to wind, she shall keep clear of other boats
  until she is on a close-hauled course. During that time rules 10, 11
  and 12 do not apply. If two boats are subject to this rule at the same time, the one on the other’s port side or the one astern shall keep clear.

Then they start throwing stuff to confuse the issue - these are the "excepts"

• AVOIDING CONTACT
  A boat shall avoid contact with another boat if reasonably possible.
  However, a right-of-way boat or one entitled to room or mark-room
  (a) need not act to avoid contact until it is clear that the other boat
  is not keeping clear or giving room or mark-room, and
  (b) shall not be penalized under this rule unless there is contact
  that causes damage or injury.
  
• ACQUIRING RIGHT OF WAY
  When a boat acquires right of way, she shall initially give the other
  boat room to keep clear, unless she acquires right of way because of
  the other boat’s actions.
  
• CHANGING COURSE
  When a right-of-way boat changes course, she shall give the other
  boat room to keep clear.
  
  In addition, when after the starting signal a port-tack boat is keeping
  clear by sailing to pass astern of a starboard-tack boat, the starboard-
  tack boat shall not change course if as a result the port-tack
  boat would immediately need to change course to continue keeping
  clear.

These rules go on for some time, and after about 3 hours of running through the rules and different scenarios, my mind was mush. I almost fell asleep once or twice, and I was generally having a hard time concentratting.

By the time we left what I came out with was this:

If you know th erules better than th enext guy, and know how to trim better than th enext guy, you'll do OK. You don't have to know it all, you just have to know it better than the guy you're up against. And heaven help you if the next guy does know it all.

Spring Break Part Six - Butterfly Conservatory

Wordless Sunday.  'Cause these guys are just too beautiful for words.

Spring Break Part Five - Downtown TO

Today we are having wordless Saturday.... because with all the touristing, and the 'big kid' home all week, I am tired.  And out of words.  Enjoy!

Spring Break Part Four - Trip to the Sugarbush

Today we all went to my Aunt & Uncle's sheep farm.  LR was covered in mud from head to toe by the time we left.

They have quite a large sugarbush at the back of the farm, and spend the spring canning Maple Syrup for their own use and sale.  My cousin was drinking amug of pure maple syrup at one point in the day.

BB getting a ride from Grandpa.  Mom's back was getting sore. 

Clare checking on the sap

And again.  You guys drink this stuff??

Oh.  You do drink this stuff.

Mama, that sweet stuff you let me taste.... I think it's in this bottle.  If I could only figure out how to open it... hmmmmm......

BB had the pleaseure of trying a pancake with Maple Syrup yesterday, and ice cream with Maple Syrup today.  My boy is going to end up with a sweet tooth, just like his Mama!

Spring Break Part Three - Pioneer Village

On Wednesday, we took Clare to the Pioneer Village.  When historical homes in the area were to be destroyed to pave way for new development, some of the houses that were in good condition were moved here.  The houses are not all from the same village, they were moved in from all over the GTA.  

Clare and BB outside of the Mill

Group shot outside of the General Store

This was the first time in twenty years that the Village has been opened for spring break. Not all buildings were opened, for a couple of reasons. 1) They have to get their staff in for one week. 2) If you heat a building in the winter, it will deteriorate faster, and they will need to do more preservation work.

We visited the print shop, the outside of the mill, the church, the schoolhouse, the inn, and a gentleman's house. They had carriage rides around the village, which we took, and they had a scavenger hunt for the kids, which LR completed. There was also a dance demonstration, a spinning demonstration, and in two of the houses, they were making cookies over the fire, which were quite tasty!!

Spring Break Part Two - Spring?

Crocusus!

Colour!!  Plants!!

Oh wait... I was in the greenhouses.

But Soon!

Soon, soon, my garden will be in bloom

Spring Break Part One - Niagara Falls

My Cousin Clare arrived for a visit from England yesterday, so today we took her to Niagara Falls.  She has one week with us in Toronto and area, and a week with my Uncle in Kingston - Ottawa area.

My Mom, Clare, and LR at the Falls:

The falls.  Clare says that they were "louder than she was expecting"

Clare & LR at the Falls.

Clare and the Buddy Boy at the falls.

What a smiley pair!!

ummmm....

Maybe it is time to move the soothers off of the mobile......

 

The crib mattress has now been dropped again, and the sucky's have been moved to the dresser. 

We also baby-proofed his room the other day, including putting a gate up across the door.  His room dosen't have a door at the moment, but I like that, because then I can hear him.  We decided to put the gate up across his door rather than at the top of the stairs, because this way we only had to baby-proof the one room, instead of making sure that all the doors are closed or that all the rooms are safe.

Happy guy