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Posts Tagged 'toronto'

back to school

Published September 7, 2009 inspiration Leave a Comment
Tags: back to school, Barbados, canada, dolls, etsy, handmade, hopscotch, inspiration, kids, labour day, loopylocks, parenting, ragdoll, summer, toronto

We are back in Toronto. Feels good to be home. Spent the entire last week of summer sick with colds. Small price to pay for great health and a great summer in Barbados. Today is Labour Day. Tomorrow is back to school. Talking of labour, still feels like yesterday. Now, each of my three kids will be in three separate schools. How did that happen? All I know is that the adjustment might be a little awkward at first. Like this picture. Makes sense but seems upside down for some strange reason.

Having spent an entire summer with my kids every single day I should be elated. Or should I? They have been my little friends. My little foes. But mostly, my little heartbeats for the summer. I have so enjoyed my time with them. All the things they experienced, many for the first time in Barbados. Sailing on the ocean. Witnessing baby turtles make their way to the sea. A mother turtle laying eggs. Snorkeling on a ship wreck. Diving. Reconnecting with cousins they had forgotten. And the list goes on… All good. Great actually.

two more weeks

Published August 16, 2009 travel Leave a Comment
Tags: Barbados, canada, childhood, handmade, loopylocks, ragdoll, summer, sunset, toronto, travel, two, vacation, weeks

We have two more weeks left of our summer vacation in Barbados. Words cannot describe how good this has been for my children and I. To give my kids a taste of what my life was like growing up is so important to me. This summer has been all about reconnection. To home. To roots. To sun. To sea. To family. To friends. To Barbados.

Now my kids want to reconnect every summer.

when life gives you limes

Published August 13, 2009 travel Leave a Comment
Tags: bajan, Barbados, canada, cocktail, coconut, dolls, drink, enamel, lemonade, limeade, loopylocks, Malibu, recipe, run, taboo, teeth, tooth, toronto, travel

Freshly squeezed Bajan limes make the best lemonade. Technically, it is really limeade but who am I to rename a Bajan tradition?

Before coming on our trip, my dentist warned me about the perils of lemonade. Apparently it is very bad for tooth enamel. Being so acid and sweet at the same time is a dangerous cocktail for dental disaster.

Consequently, this taboo has meant one thing since I arrived in Barbados. Isn’t the mind a peculiar thing? So I made up a jug and took my chances by introducing Malibu Coconut Rum to the equation. My theory is that it will take the edge off the dangers that lie ahead. If the Malibu does not make you forget about what the dentist said, gargle with a glass of water immediately afterward and hope for the best. If that doesn’t work, have another. That’s what I did.

You will need:

1 cup of fresh lime juice* (3/4 cup if you prefer it less tangy)

1/2 cup brown sugar*

1/2 cup white granulated sugar

Boil the kettle and add just enough hot water to help dissolve the crystals. Fill the remainder of the jug with as much cold water as possible. Adjust to taste. Add 1 ounce of Mailbu Coconut Rum to a rocks glass filled with ice. Add the fresh lemonade and enjoy. Variations – if you don’t have Malibu, dark rum* works wonders as well. A splash of soda could also be nice.

* preferably from Barbados. Oh, apologies to my dentist. See you in September!

sisters in the sand

Published August 3, 2009 travel 1 Comment
Tags: Barbados, canada, dolls, etsy, footprints, handmade, inspiration, loopylocks, rag, ragdoll, sand, sisters, toronto, toy, travel

Caught my daughters holding hands on the beach as we walked towards Hilton beach for a swim. Exactly four years apart, they are both strong willed, determined girls. For the most part, they get along pretty well. When they are good, they are great. When they are off, beware. Both these lions can roar. They just celebrated their 7th and 11th birthdays here in Barbados.

Seeing them holding hands reminded me of the days when I grew up close to this very beach with my older sister. Looking at the footprints, I would be the one on the right with the water shoes on (my youngest). My sister is much more of a free spirit. This summer I am trying to learn the art of going barefoot more often. My daughters remind me daily that sometimes a bit of both is a good thing.

journey to the sea

Published July 27, 2009 travel 1 Comment
Tags: baby, Barbados, beach, canada, coconut, court, dolls, etsy, handmade, hastings, hawksbill, journey, loopylocks, magic, nature, ocean, rag, ragdoll, resort, sea, toronto, toy, travel, turtles

On Saturday night, we got a small taste of nature’s magic. Something we had never seen before. To call it spectacular would be an understatement. Thanks to a tip off by a passing tourist on the beach, we were told that baby sea turtles were being launched into the ocean in front of Coconut Court Beach Hotel on the South Coast of Barbados. So we walked down the beach with the kids in pitch darkness to be a part of something larger than life.

Witnessing 114 baby hawksbill sea turtles make their first journey to the sea was truly amazing. In the rush to head down the beach we forgot our camera. My youngest daughter drew this to record the experience.

Her detail is amazing. The man at the top carried a flash light and explained to everyone what life as a hawksbill turtle is like. Their chances of survival are slim. The ocean contains many predators from sea life to pollution that make their life a gamble for survival. The squiggly lines represent the waves washing up the shore of the beach path. At several points, the turtles would make it almost to the sea only to be washed back by a small wave. People lined either side of the path to the ocean. The lady at the top had a camera and a flashlight. Lucky her. Lucky me for having a daughter to draw a picture like this. She’s the one at the bottom in the dress with a smile.

beach treasure or trash?

Published July 18, 2009 travel Leave a Comment
Tags: banks, Barbados, beer, bottle, canada, collection, dolls, earth, environment, etsy, fraud, glass, handmade, loopylocks, plastic, rag, ragdoll, sand, sea, toronto, toy, travel, treasure

Collected from the beach in Barbados. The colours stand out on the beach quite easily. As a child, I always looked out for these pieces. The green came from Sprite bottles, the brown from Banks beer bottles, the white from Coke bottles. Occasionally, you would stumble upon a piece of china glass, as in the one at the far back with hints of blue. The red one I threw in even though it is plastic. A fraud. Years ago, all soda came in bottles, so the beaches would invariably be littered with pretty sea glass. The more rounded the edges, the longer it had been nudged, massaged and caressed by the ocean.

Now, with the introduction of plastic, the result can no better be described as disasterous for the environment. I promised I would only write about things that made me feel good while in Barbados. This one is hard to ignore. I wish the bottling companies would be kinder to the earth and resort back to glass. Better for the beach, the ocean, and the avid sea glass collector.

all you need is

Published July 14, 2009 travel , uncategorized Leave a Comment
Tags: 37, art, Barbados, beach, canada, card, child, dolls, etsy, glass, handmade, happy birthday, jewelry, loopylocks, necklace, rag, ragdoll, string, toronto, toy

Today is my birthday. Bastille Day. Lucky me. Nothing beats a handmade card, especially one like this. My youngest made it for me back in Toronto and carefully snuck it into her suitcase. The necklace my oldest made from bottle glass she collected from the beach here in Barbados.

home at last

Published July 9, 2009 travel Leave a Comment
Tags: astrology, Barbados, canada, cancerian, crab, dolls, etsy, handmade, july, loopylocks, ocean, rag, ragdoll, shell, sun sign, toronto, toy, travel

Growing up in Barbados, many of my early years were spent living either next to the ocean, or very close. It was not uncommon to have a crab sneak in the house, or have crabs scurrying about in the back yard. Today I found this crab. He was quietly, yet hastily making his way across the floor on the verandah in hopes of making it back to the beach. I think he got upstairs in a bucket of shells the kids collected. Looking at him, he reminded me of what it is like to be a Cancerian.

July being the month of the Cancerian (June 22 to July 22), my daughters and I are all born in this month. While they are both Leos, I am most definitely a Cancerian. One of the water signs, Cancerians tend to be very protective and like being at home. The shell imagery makes perfect sense to me. We are tough when we are ready but also quite vulnerable and easily hurt. While I appear hard on the outside at times, make no mistake, I am soft under that shell. We are known to be the least predictable of the signs. When situations arise, like a crab, we can side step things. But we do get to where we need to be eventually.

After I took the photo, I walked to the edge and hurled him back to the ocean. Home at last.

adventure awaits

Published July 9, 2009 travel Leave a Comment
Tags: adventure, Barbados, canada, children, dolls, etsy, handmade, holiday, loopylocks, rag, ragdoll, sea, toronto, toy, travel

Each morning the kids eat breakfast and head down to the beach. In the distance you can bearly make out my eldest.

Harry Potter via Skype

Published July 3, 2009 travel 1 Comment
Tags: bed, bedtime, canada, children, dolls, etsy, goblet of fire, handmade, harry, loopylocks, potter, rag, ragdoll, reading, routine, skype, sleeping, storytime, toronto, toy, travel

bedtime Skype

Spending the summer in Barbados with the kids involves quite a few changes to our normal daily routine. As any parent can attest, bedtime routines can be a big deal. One ritual which has been running for the last year involves my husband reading morsels of Harry Potter to the kids before bedtime. Currently on the fourth installment, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, my husband promised to keep up with the tradition by Skyping while he is back in Toronto. If you have not already heard of Skype, I highly suggest you check it out. It’s free and makes the world a better place. Even though we miss each other, Skype has allowed us to stay connected and feel like we are all together. All hail Skype!

Here are our ingredients for a successful Skype bedtime:

Make kids brush their teeth and get ready for bed.
Make kids get IN to bed and all comfy.
The rule is no fooling around if they want storytime.
Get laptop (preferably) and put it somewhere at the foot of the bed, angling the screen so the reader can see them.
Start a Skype call. Note – Having a webcam is a must. This way, the kids can see their Dad and he can see when they are sleeping.
Voila! Start reading Harry Potter…

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