Fireflies in the Garden

Hubby and I decided to watch a movie last night. It's something we seldom do. We chose "Fireflies in the Garden." The synopsis on the DVD sounded good...the story about a dysfunctional family who gather to bury the mother who was killed in a car crash on the day she was graduating from college. Her children grown, she had decided to go back and get a degree.

This is a movie I would NOT recommend. The flashbacks made it very confusing and the action was very slow. In fact it was difficult to make sense of the entire thing. We got the point that the father had always been both physically and emotionally abusive, but there was no resolution to that fact. The movie ended very much the way it began...a poor plot with no conclusion.

The North Wind Does Blow

The north wind does blow

And we shall have snow

And what will poor Robin do then

Poor thing.

He'll sit in the barn

And keep himself warm

And hide his head under his wing

Poor thing.

(children's nursery rhyme)

Last week this poor robin was huddling in the backyard trying to stay warm. Robins are one of the first signs of spring. They're predicting above normal temperatures for March in my part of the world. Of course it's been above average temperatures all winter. Though I'm not complaining, I'm wondering what this means for the future. More mild winters? A change in climate? Who knows. We just have to take it as it comes.

A Visit from Griffyn and Tarryn

Some of you will remember Griffyn and Tarryn. They are the boys of my niece, Melissa. On Monday, which was Family Day in Ontario, the boys and Melissa stopped in for a visit.

The boys had fun on Family Day. They went to a special fair a few miles away. Their faces were painted and they were excited. They played with Dakota for a few minutes but then he started getting too excited. I don't really trust him around the boys, as he's only seen them a couple of times.

The boys told me about a hike they'd been on. I'm going to show you a few photos.

This is what the boys looked like a few months ago. Griffyn is a little quieter than Tarryn. Griffyn in blue and Tarryn in red.
This is what they looked like on the day of the hike. They love the outdoors and I hope that love continues for the rest of their lives.
Melissa and the boys. Look at the ice behind them. Beautiful sculpture in a winter that has been fairly mild.
This is gorgeous! I have never been to the Conservation area, but sure would like to go. There is an abundance of beauty there.

First Semester Report Cards

As most of my blogging friends will know, both Brandon and Jordan are in high school. Brandon is in grade 11 and Jordan is in grade 9. Both of the boys like high school so much more than they did elementary school and it showed when their progress reports came yesterday.

Both boys did excellent. All of their marks were in the 70s, 80s and 90s, except one. Jordan just made 60% in music. He made it by the skin of his teeth as they used to say, just barely getting a passing mark. This is great for a boy who just made it through grade 7 and 8 with quite low marks.

I'm very proud of both of them. They're doing a great job and looking ahead to their future. Right now, Jordan is aiming for computer design as a career. Brandon isn't sure yet. He's trying new things and this semester has two cooking classes, one horticultural class and mandatory English. It's nice to see both boys doing so well.