Cutting the Mustard?

Cousin Bill and his wife, Doreen, were visiting from British Columbia so we were visiting with them and having a roast beef dinner at Granny Trudy and Grandpa Dennis' place.

Isobel had overheard a conversation about different types of mustard while in the kitchen.

Later, at the table, she devoured her Yorkshire Pudding and wanted another.

"Can I have another one of those Dijon Muffins?," Isobel asked.

Her request was rewarded with another Yorkshire Pudding ... and then a few more after that!

Maybe one day I'll master the recipe for "Dijon Muffins," too! Surely Granny isn't the only one who can make Yorkshire Pud!

Red and Blue??

Isobel has known her colours for a long time. This is partially due to John quizzing her when she eats Smarties... asking her the colour of each little chocolate filled candy.

This week the Kindergarten curriculum is focused on the colours RED and BLUE. Today (Tuesday, September 14) she was instructed to wear red clothing to class and on Thursday the students are asked to wear blue. These instructions were written in Isobel's Agenda last week, on the last day of class.

When I told Isobel what the book said, and that she would be learning about red and blue she said: "I know RED and BLUE but I am going to pretend that I don't because they might kick me out [of Kindergarten.]

I don't think there is much chance of that happening, but I did report this amusing statement to Miss Weekes, her teacher!

Cherry Wine and Fatso Laird

The cherry tree had ripened fruit - not as much as last year, but fruit none-the-less.

Alisdair decided he wanted to make some cherry jelly, using Granny Trudy's recipe and so he began to pick the fruit into a big stainless steel bowl. Isobel saw him doing this and wanted to help. An argument ensued and Isobel was clearly upset by it. She left and went to do something else. Shortly afterwards, Alisdair lost interest in picking cherries and left the bowl on the back step.

John had a fire burning and I joined him in a plastic lawnchair near the fire pit. Isobel was hovering around until John told her to go pick some fresh peas from the garden and told her she could eat the contents of a few pods.

She ran off, into the yard next door. All was quiet for a while -- too quiet for too long... and then suddenly Isobel ran past us, her hands covered in a blood red substance. For a moment I thought it WAS blood. And then the penny dropped... she'd gotten into the bowl of cherries.

I went to check and, sure enough, the unwashed cherries had been turned into what looked like cherry wine. Squished and fermenting in the bowl with bugs flying around the dish. Fit only for the compost bin.

I was angry and went in search of the culprit. She was nowhere to be found. I told John what had happened.

He thought for a moment and then he said something very cryptic and yet very wise, "That sounds like something Fatso Laird's friend would do!" And then he reminded me that there were still other cherries on the tree and we could still pick some of them and probably we would still have enough to make jelly.

I knew he was right about Fatso Laird and her friend. And so I went to find Isobel, who reappeared once she realized my anger had waned, and I proceeded to wash her sticky hands.

As I washed Isobel's tiny palms I wondered about Mrs. Laird. Was she still alive? Did she still remember the young girl who got angry at her, one day when Mrs. Laird was volunteering at her son's school, and wrote "Fatso Laird" on a piece of masking tape and stuck it on her bottom? And now, as a woman of 48 -- far removed from the girl in Grade 5 or 6, who had done the deed -- I wondered what I would do if some mischievous kid did the same thing to me??

At the time of the incident, my parents made me apologize to Mrs. Laird -- but I wasn't truly sorry. It was only a ritual of obedience. But when I saw the squished cherries and the angry little girl lashing out,I fully understood. Later, John and I laughed about the fact that Isobel was "so much like her Mother" -- but deep down sometimes I still feel the need to truly apologize to Mrs. Laird (if I ever track her down) -- for my transgression almost 40 years ago. Now I am both the angry little girl -- and Mrs. Laird herself -- all wrapped up into the same person...."Fatso Laird's" secret friend....

The List

Isobel found an old receipt from the Post Office and had scribbled on the back of it. She told me it was a list of all the things she needed to make her room beautiful. According to her, the list included "Four FO-KAYS and a beautiful picture for the wall". (A FO-KAY is a bouquet of flowers.)

I took the list and read it aloud, telling her that it also said she needed, "a battery for the Dora clock, to clean up the mess on the floor and to hang the family picture on the wall."

She seemed disgusted at my suggestions and then, all of a sudden, she said (somewhat exasperatedly), "You can't even READ SQUIGGLES!"

I guess she's right. I can't!

How To Make Coffee

Did you know there are four ingredients needed to brew a pot of coffee?

The first thing you need is: SUGAR

Then you need some: LOVE

And of course some COFFEE grounds ... and lastly, as Isobel told her Granny Trudy "Don't forget the WATER!"

It was futile trying to explain that many people don't take sugar in their coffee... So, don't skimp on the FOUR necessary ingredients for a fresh cup of steaming java!

The Cat Chow Trail....

We were over at "the other house" and Isobel wanted to play with the kittens. Unfortunately they did not want to be mauled by a four year old. Suddenly she had a bright idea.

Isobel took a paper cup and filled it with cat chow. Then she began to lay out a trail (like in the tale of Hansel and Gretel -- but instead of using bread crumbs, she scattered hard cat food.)

When she was finished, the kittens continued to ignore her but there was a big mess from the living room to the kitchen.

John saw the cat food mess and said to Isobel, "I am going to have to sell your kite (that she received as a goodie bag treat at a birthday party last weekend) and go and buy a broom!!"

After thinking for a moment, Isobel said, "But Johnny .... You DO have a broom!"

At that he started to laugh and declared her to be one smart cookie! And, as to the mess, we left it for the cats and kittens, to clean up by the digestion method...

The Princess Has a Plan....

Isobel came up to me the other night and asked, "Do princesses have babies?"

After thinking for a moment, I said, "Yes, some Princesses do. Princess Diana had two babies."

Then she told me "Well, I am a princess and I want to get married to Kale (Worman) but I don't want to have any babies. What should I do about that?" Not wanting to get into a discussion of birth control with a four year old, I told her that if she really didn't want children, she shouldn't get married.

And then I found out the reason behind the decision not to have offspring.

"I don't want to change stinky diapers," she confided, wrinkling up her nose.

But soon Princess Isobel came up with a workable solution (at least in her mind!) John and I will live with Isobel and Kale (or else they will live with us) and John will be in charge of changing the wet diapers and I will be responsible for changing the stinky ones.

Wonder if these "plans" will change in the months and years to come??

Step Saving Advice...

John was watching television and he asked Isobel to go to the kitchen and get him a beer out of the fridge.

After waiting some time, the little blonde servant returned but not with one beer -- she had two.

When asked why the extra one, she responded, "It will save me a trip, next time!"

Smart cookie... save as many footsteps as you can!!

Completely Logical!

Last night Skipper, our dog, was eating something on the carpet in the living room.

In response to his crunching, I said, "Skipper, what are you eating??"

Isobel came up to me and said, "Mum, why are you asking him that? He can't talk!"

Perfect logic... No, he couldn't tell me that he was trying to eat what looked like a chestnut!

A Probing Question....

Yesterday John had to take the semi to town for an inspection prior to the annual safety. Since Isobel loves to ride in the big rig, he took her along.

On the way Isobel asked him, "How many children do you have to have before you can get married?"

Joker that he is (and because all of his three wives have had two children), John replied, "Probably a couple. But you'd have to ask your Mother to find out for sure!"

So, as he told me this, he was warning me that I was going to have to field that question in the near future.

Just the other day Isobel was telling me she remembered "being the flower girl" so I guess weddings are on her mind and she just wanted to make sure what the requirements were...

It could be interesting attempting to answer this question, so I am kind of hoping she'll forget her query before I have to tackle it!

"I Love Johnny!"

I took Isobel to the hair salon on Thursday afternoon to have her hair cut.

While there, she was visiting with the stylist and the owner of the salon. "I love Johnny," Isobel told the ladies.

"You love Johnny?," the owner responded. (She has met John several times over the last few years because that's the only place he will go when he needs a haircut.)

"Well, he's my Dad and how could he be my Dad if I didn't love him?," Isobel explained.

As they were working on her, Isobel was very chatty. But at one point, Jeanine (the salon owner) was trying to trim her bangs just a little bit shorter and the stylist was brushing Isobel's hair with a round brush and blowdrying it. "Hey, watch the ears!," Isobel instructed, in a loud voice, which was peppered with dismay.

Another lady was having perm rods put in and both the client and the employee working on her, were having a hard time not laughing out loud at the little gal.

The women pampered Isobel to excess, even putting rouge on her face in answer to her question, "How do you get red cheeks?" And then she got a rainbow coloured piece of hair tinsel (bling) tied into her new surf cut. Finally, as we left, Isobel got a package of M & M's as a treat. I'd told Isobel that she didn't really need any chocolate as she had a blueberry muffin waiting at Grandma's house. But she really wanted a treat... so Jeanine handed her a package of M & M's and told her to run!

From there, we went to the eye doctor for Isobel's annual check up. I think she really wanted to dupe the optician into giving her an Rx for glasses. They shone pictures of various things on the wall and Isobel answered correctly that it was an "E" and that another icon was a birthday cake. Then they flashed up a drawing of a bird. "I think that's a flower pot," she said. Unfortunately (for her) the trick didn't work and she was given a clean bill of eye health and told to come back next year. In fact, she is actually a bit less farsighted than she was last year. So be sure to watch for flying flowerpots in the sky near you!

"I'm All For Growing Up!"

It was the Neilburg Composite School graduation ceremonies last night and I didn't have a sitter. I decided Alisdair would be able to look after himself, quite capably for a little while, so I told Isobel she would have to come along with me when I went to take photos for the newspaper.

I explained to Isobel there would be lots of beautiful girls and they would be wearing pretty dresses.

"I love pretty dresses," she exclaimed loudly, and as we walked across the street towards the school, she gave a little jump. When I told her when she graduated someday, she too, would have a pretty dress, Isobel inquired, "And dangly earrings?"

When I said, yes, she probably could wear dangly earrings, too -- she got even more excited.

"I'm all for growing up!," Isobel declared.

It was also an educational experience for Isobel because one of the graduates was a lesbian and she had her "girlfriend" as an escort.

When we came home Isobel told me that she was going to tell Grandma about the pretty dresses with all the sparkles and that she'd learned, "Girls were mixable!"

Not exactly a lesson I hoped she would learn.

Sometimes, I think it might not be such a great idea to be "all for growing up!"

Parenting? It's "Easy-Peasy!"

Isobel was unusually snuggly this morning, climbing up on my lap. So we had a cuddle and I said that was so nice to get to do this with her because sometimes parenting was hard.

John was lounging on the nearby bed -- watching and listening to everything.

Isobel laughed and said "It's 'easy-peasy' when you can read my mind!" Then I asked her who could read her mind?

"I'm pointing at him," she said, gesturing at John.

"How does he read your mind?," I continued to inquire, to see if I could learn more about how this child thinks.

"Well, he brings me lollipops," she said.

And behind Isobel (out of her view) the alleged mindreader was enjoying overhearing the snipets of our conversation.

Next time, when the going gets rough, I'll just have to remember to use a little telepathy and then it will become 'easy-peasy' for me too!

Without A Doubt!

Isobel is hooked on McDonalds and she especially loves to go to the one in Lloydminster because they have a big pink slide in the play place.

John knew he was going to have to take the semi in to the repair shop on his day off, so several days before he told Isobel he would take her to McDonalds.

The day before the scheduled trip, I asked her, "Isobel are you going to McDonalds tomorrow?"

Her reply - "Without a doubt!"

Now that's security and faith in what you have been told and it coming to pass.

And yes, she went to McDonalds. In fact, she rode in the semi on the way to Lloydminster. I wasn't in the city yet as I'd been delayed somewhat leaving home, and so they took a taxi to their destination (the truck centre offers rides as a free service to their customers). And so she had a red letter day -- playing in the play place, enjoying chicken nuggets and a strawberry milkshake AND riding in a cab (probably the first time she's had the opportunity to do that).

It's so much fun to be 4!

A New Doxology...

While Isobel was staying at Grandma and Grandpa's house, she began learning to sing "The Doxology."

The day after she returned home, she was singing snippets of the song - seeming to forget the words at the beginning of the lines but coming on strong at the end of the phrases.

I was cooking lunch as I tried to help Isobel learn the rest of the words. After a while she went on to another activity. When lunch was ready, I told her, "Now is the time you could sing your song."

A smile burst across her face and she began to sing loudly, "Johnny, Johnny, Johnny" -- a song she often sings when her Stepdad returns home after a long day at work.

"No, the other song," I told her, not suggesting the words "Praise God from who all blessings flow."

Enthusiastic and undaunted, Isobel began again for a second time singing, "Shake your bum to the music."

Finally -- on our third try, we were able to sing the Doxology.

Now I am left wondering what would happen, if at our next extended family gathering, we sang, "Shake Your Bum to the Music" as our table grace?!

A Gem

Isobel stayed at Grandma and Grandpa's house for a "sleepover" during the Easter period. This was the first time she had stayed all by herself.

While there, they took her to the Pentecostal church for the Easter morning worship service. Unknown to them, at the close of the service, Isobel had gone to the back of the church and struck up a conversation with the minister's wife.

The minister later told my Mother that Elaine had been wearing a necklace with a red stone in the setting. Isobel observed this and told her "That's the biggest red gem I have ever seen!" Both he and Elaine were amused by her comment and her use of the word "gem."

... When I heard about this (via the grapevine) I couldn't resist and had to record this "gem" for posterity -- when Isobel will be grown-up and these dear childhood "gems" forgotten.

Olympic Hopeful...

Back in February, during the height of the Vancouver 2010 Olympics, Isobel was watching the athletes on television during one of the Canadian medal presentations. Intrigued, she told me "she was good at running and soccer and she was going to win as many medals as her hands and neck could hold."

Last night Isobel got the privilege of holding an Olympic medal - Joan McCusker's curling gold, won in Nagano, Japan in 1998 with Sandra Schmirler skipping "our girls" on to glory. "It's heavy," she remarked as I snapped her photograph to capture the "golden moment." (McCusker explained that gold would be too soft on its own, and so they use a bronze core and then plate the medals with gold).

Who knows? Maybe getting to hold a medal will be inspirational for Isobel and help her achieve a youthful Olympic dream.

Fifteen Cents and Counting...

This evening Isobel came up to me with her little hand brimming with pennies. She plopped them on the brown wooden desk beside me.

"What's that for?" I ask.

She looks at me and smiles and says, "It's so you can pay ALL the bills and still have enough money to take me to McDonald's." And then she adds, "I have more money for Johnny, too."

Later I count the pennies in the pile she so generously offered me. Fifteen cents. When I used to eat at McDonald's Restaurant as a youngster in Surrey, B. C., (back in the early 1970's), regular hamburgers WERE two bits a piece. But that was then and this is now.... She'll need to save a few more pennies before she can afford a chicken nugget Happy Meal... (and don't forget the toy!)

At any rate, "I'm lovin' it!" ... and Isobel is, too!

It Would Be Wonderful...

Somehow I DON'T think it would be wonderful...

BUT Isobel said to me today "It would be wonderful if I could run through the sprinkler today!"

I could hardly believe my ears...

So I said, "Isobel,look out the window. What is that white stuff you see?"

"Snow," she replies.

I try to explain that it is far too cold (it was -22 C. overnight) to hook up the sprinkler, let alone run through it.

She still thinks it would be fun and isn't happy that I am telling her "No."

So then she says, "Why don't you ask Johnny. He's the one who is in charge of the sprinkler."

And so, just to please her, I mike phoned Johnny and explained what Isobel wanted.

His response? "Maybe Monday, Isobel. Maybe Monday!"

... I'm thinking maybe we can pencil it in for a Monday in mid-June when, it really WOULD be wonderful!

Be Sure You Have Your Reading Glasses...

Yesterday Isobel got a parcel from Amazon.co.uk containing two books intended to be her Easter surprise from her Scottish Granny. One book was a re-telling of Rapunzel and the other was the old favourite, Sleeping Beauty. Although I had already read both books to her, Isobel went to John last night and asked him to read them to her.

"I can't," was his response. "I don't have my glasses."

And so she was put off ... but only for a while...

This morning, before John left for work, he was sitting on the couch drinking his morning coffee.

Isobel got her Sleeping Beauty book and climbed up onto his lap. "Got your glasses?," she asked. And then answering her own question, she reached out and took John's reading glasses from the pocket of his shirt, opened the lid of the plastic container and handed them to him.

We caught each other's eye and laughed. And, with a smile, Isobel got an abridged version of Sleeping Beauty before breakfast!

So much for excuses!

The Christmas Illness....

Isobel was talking to her Scottish Granny on the telephone. She was trying to tell her that Alisdair was sick with tonsillitis but she got a bit mixed up.

It came out like this -- "Alisdair has TINSEL-litis."

I had to smile... after she had hung up the phone I wondered what the symptoms of "TINSEL-litis" would be. Perhaps a sufferer would have little pieces of silver tinsel sticking out of their mouth? And, I imagine that people would only catch TINSEL-litis around the Christmas holiday season.

Thankfully the boy is much better now - still taking his medication but he's definitely on the mend. And as Martha Stewart would say ... "That's a good thing!"

"There is Something Wrong..."

We'd just come home from the doctor's office where big brother had been diagnosed with tonsillitis. And they were fighting -- AGAIN.

Isobel came to me and told me, "There is sump-ing wrong with Alisdair."

"Yes," I know, I told her. "The doctor said he has tonsillitis and that means he has a sore throat."

"No," she says, "Not that. Sump-ing else."

And then it pops out of her mouth.

"It's his ATTITUDE" (This time pointing at her head.)

Laughter followed... but she DOES have a point. Maybe she'll be a psychologist when she's grown!

Number Eight

"Mum, do you remember when I went on a trip?," my daughter asks.

It was only this past weekend that we travelled to Moose Jaw to attend my Aunt's funeral. So I answer that, "Yes, I do remember our trip."

Then Isobel says "Let's go back to 'Number Eight.'"

For a moment I can't figure out what she is talking about. And then it dawns on me. We stayed in the Super 8 Hotel. She wants to go back there and push the buttons for the elevator and eat in the breakfast bar. She cried when we checked out. Such a big adventure for a 4-year old girl.

Later, I laugh and ask her where she'd like to go.

"To the Number One," Isobel replies.

She should be in charge of the corporation's advertising portfolio.

Gives a whole new meaning to the old sayings, "Behind the 8-Ball" or "Eight is enough." Now we stay at "Number Eight," too!

A Child's Perspective on Ice Fishing...

We took the "scenic route" home from the funeral on Sunday afternoon. At Saskatchewan Landing we were surprised to see several groups of fishermen out on the ice with their gear. Since John thought the kids would enjoy seeing this, he pulled over to the shoulder of the road so they could have a better look.

As he pointed out the people and the vehicles on the ice below us, Isobel looked very surprised and then gave her take on it all.

It only took two words -- "That's NUTS!"

John told her, "That's right Isobel. It IS nuts!"

I couldn't have agreed more and thought to myself that I hoped none of the folk would fall through the ice that Sunday afternoon - a warm and sunny day in March.

"I Can't See the Box"

Isobel insisted on going to the viewing at the funeral home because she "wanted to see the box.' (Coffin). She said she wanted to know if it was "square, rectangular or pink."

She burst into tears in the parking lot of the funeral home saying, "It's kind of sad that Grandpa's sister died." We tried to comfort her and Grandpa made the mistake of telling her that "it was okay because she was OLD." That made the situation worse because Isobel thinks, since John and I both have grey hair, that we are OLD.

Isobel then responded, "I am scared someone else is going to die."

At that point I put her in the car and began to drive to the restaurant we'd agreed to go to for lunch. On the way, Isobel tells me, "Poor Auntie Ellen, she only got one visit from me." (Isobel remembers our day trip to Central Butte last September with Grandpa and Grandma). I took a deep breath and said to her, "Well, maybe someday, when you get to heaven, you will be able to visit with Auntie Ellen again."

Again, more tears welled up. And then a little voice answered from the backseat, "But I don't want to have to die to get there."

None of us do, my dear girl.... none of us do.

She fell asleep on John's lap during the actual funeral but was wide awake and intent on seeing everything at the cemetery. At one point, during the commital service she began talking to John. He tried to shush her and she said, "But Johnny.... I can't see the box!" And so he dutifully moved a few feet to the right so that Isobel could have a better view of the proceedings.

It's been an educational week for a small girl...

Bereavement ... From a Child's Perspective

My Aunt Ellen died on Saturday, February 27. She was 84 and had been in a care home for some time, but there is still grief and pain attached to her departure.

The next day I was trying to explain to Isobel that Grandpa was sad because his sister had died. And that she should tell him she was sorry about it and be extra kind to him.

After my explanation she smiled at me and said, "But he still has ME to RELAX with!"

A comfort, indeed.

Award Winning Daddies...

The other day Isobel told me:

"Daddy Johnny is the bestest Dad in the whole world." And then she added, "And Daddy Gordon is a good yeller."

Truth, spoken from the mouth of a 4-year old babe.

From A Child's Perspective....

Isobel and I were driving to North Battleford. When we were almost there she looked out the window and excitedly exclaimed, "Mum, look! Somebody scratched the sky!"

For a moment I wondered what on earth she was talking about. But then I managed to glance up from the road long enough to see a long white smoke trail in the sky coming from an airplane that had just flown past and to the west of us.

When I explained what the "scratch" was, Isobel said simply, "Oh, I didn't know that!"

What a girl....

Testing Out the Carrots

It was New Year's Day. Alisdair was at his grandparent's house and John was working and so Isobel and I were the only ones at home. Earlier in the day she had gone to the fridge and helped herself to a large carrot - eating the whole thing raw.

"Carrots are good for your eyes," she informed me, between bites.

A few hours later, the power went off. Instantly the cartoons Isobel had been watching were off the air and the whole house was dark. Since I was in another room, she couldn't see me and began to panic.

"Where are you Mum?," Isobel yelled. I called back so she knew where I was. She came closer to where I was and said, "Now I can see your feet!"

I told her what was happening and that we would have to wait for the power to come back on again.

As we waited (and it took about 2 hours) Isobel sighed and exclaimed, "I guess those carrots didn't work after all!"

I guess she thought because she'd eaten a carrot, that she would be able to see in the dark!