problems with easy solutions

i am trying to write this and watch northern exposure in a minimized window at the same time. it is proving to be a little like doing your taxes while riding a bike. i love that show, always have, and it is hard to not focus on the tv screen. i have paused it for now, we'll see who wins this battle.

so, it's the start of another new year. how about that. i managed to stay up until midnight for the big night this year. we had people over which i think was the main contributing factor to that, although who am i kidding, i stay up until midnight almost every night, it is 11:30 right now. still, a new year. with a little luck it won't end up being the year vancouver lay dormant under snow drifts larger than houses for the first six months. not that i am complaining, oh no, not me. we did borrow a sled from a neighbour for some alley walking, that was fun, and there was a snowman, but still, really? is all this necessary? i am starting to feel like i haven't left the house in weeks, and the garbage/recycling that is piling up under the deck and now, due to a serious lack of space, on top of the deck, is a little much. we did barbeque tonight though, snow be damned, and we all have the proper gear should the next ice age hit, so a little good, a little bad. nothing new there.

cohen seems to have found his voice in the last month or so and more and more he is not afraid to use it. "come on, quick, hurray, trains!" as he motions for you (or anyone else in ear shot) to follow him down the hall to his room. if you don't come right away he will return minutes later with, "uh, oh, i bumped the track, help?". the first 70 times i went and fixed the track, then i learned my lesson and since then he has been on his own, "oh wow, that's too bad, maybe next time you will think twice before you tear the track apart, huh?". this of course spawned the newest conversation which has him explaining to me that it wasn't him that "bumped the track" it was bob the builder and much to the contradiction of his reputation he can't in fact "fix it", as both him and bob seemed to need me on the job. he has also decided that he no longer wishes to use the word eight, so he says nine twice to fill the gap and keep accurate count. i wonder what it was that got between him and eight anyway?

we have forged into the world of playdough. so far so good. this morning it kept him occupied for nearly 40 minutes, which meant 40 precious minutes of not being asked to follow him to his tracks. phew. i also had him help me bake the other day. by bake i of course mean lick the beaters on the mixer (which i call a mix master, but apparently no one else does?). he almost fell off his chair with glee when he realized that those things came out and looked like a lollipop. i can lick one? really?

ada has been taking advantage of the home time to work on her walking. i have a walker for her but it is at a friend's right now and the snow has prevented me from getting it (well that and the fact that she was in ontario over christmas). never one to be deterred though she has been pushing an empty diaper box up and down the hall, stopping to bang her palm on the top and rock her knees to the beat. the girl has rhythm, no question about it. a couple of weeks ago when asked when i thought she might walk i said a couple more months, her knees still shakey, her stance much too vulnerable to actually step alone. this morning she was looking like it might be any day. that would be crazy though, right?

my camera died on new years eve. there was a brief period of gasping for air, teasing us with power and a will to survive, but then nothing. just a cold hard shell sitting on the table. now i am left with the crappy point and shoot i bought as a lark so that i would have a small camera in my bag, should i go out for drinks with friends and want to take arty shots of dumpsters on my way home. we'll buy a new one soon, i promise, but in the meantime things are going to be a little less sharp around here, although you never know, there might be some cool dumpster shots to look forward to.