Gardening with the Jones'
Author: jill
•6:51 PM
There is a reason the Jones' do not enjoy gardening.

For us, gardening is something that we have to do. Cutting the grass, trimming the bushes, watering, fertilizing ... these are things we do because we have to, not because we enjoy them.

And often when we do these things, something goes wrong. Once, after gardening, I pulled the muscles in my back and was horizontal for a week ... a week of vacation. Ugh. I have over-trimmed those aforementioned bushes. I have forgotten to water planters ... I have over-watered planters. I have neglected to even put in planters.

Today, Jonesy did some gardening. He cut our Cable wire trying to dig up some weeds. I know what you are thinking ... you are shocked that we would have weeds. But, we do. Well, not any more because he dug them up ... along with our Cable wire.

So, we are now without technology ... no television, no land line phone service, no Internet. It could be sort of freeing ... but not on the twenty-nineth day of a personal goal to blog every day for an entire month. This, my friends, is life with the Jones'. Nothing is easy. Nothing.

But Jonesy came to the rescue, as he usually does in emergencies. Because this was an emergency for me. I wanted to meet my goal ... I just wanted to meet one goal I had set for myself. Jonesy suggested that we go out for supper, to a restaurant that offered free WiFi.

Now do you see why I married him? Working toward my goal and not having to cook supper. This whole "cutting the Cable" thing has definitely worked out to be in my favour.

So, as I type this, the Jones family is enjoying a not very relaxing supper at Bubi's Awesome Eats. Jonesy is trying to entertain the kids by counting as fast as he can. The waitress keeps looking at us with that "Don't-Your-Kids-Need-to-Get-Home-to-Bed" look. Not until I get this post done, lady. Not. Until. This. Post. Is. Done.

In the meantime, there will be no more gardening for Jonesy until May 1st ... which will be fine with him, I'm sure.
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Beautiful Joe
Author: jill
•10:01 AM
In 1910, at the second International Conference of Working Women, a woman named Clara Zetkin, brought forth the idea of selecting one day, each year, in which every country in the world would recognize and celebrate women, coming together to work toward their advancement. The idea was met with unanimous enthusiasm and the International Women's Day was born.

The very first International Women's Day was held on March 18, 1911. Today is the 99th year it will be celebrated.

I am a strong believer that a woman can do anything a man can do. I believe that a woman could be the one to find the cure for cancer; I believe a woman could build a garden shed - if she wanted to; and I believe that nobody can kiss away the hurt, better than a woman. And, I also believe that my daughters can do whatever they set their minds to - professionally or personally. They will have many opportunities afforded to them. But it has not always been that way for women. So, take some time today and appreciate the women of the world, and the things they have accomplished. The Moms and the Gramas, those who have risen to the tops of their professions, those who struggle, those who lead, those who teach, those who heal, those who you admire for whatever reason. Celebrate their greatness, and not just because they are women, but because of who they are as people.

In acknowledgement of International Women's Day, I decided to investigate the women of Canada. I could write about my Mom, or my mother-in-law, or my Grama, or a neighbour that was a great friend to me when I was a teenager - they are all truly great women and wonderful role models. But I wanted to reach out, broaden my knowledge of the women who had made a difference in Canada, and I was drawn to one woman in particular ... the first woman to sell more than one million copies of her book. And guess what? Hers was the first book written by any Canadian author to do it - man or woman.

Margaret Marshall Saunders was born on May 18, 1861 in Nova Scotia. She grew up the daughter of a minister and co-founded the Maritime Branch of the Canadian Women's Press Club with Lucy Maude Montgomery. Who is Lucy Maude Montgomery, you ask? She wrote the Anne of Green Gables series - I'm sure you've heard of it, especially if you were once a little girl who grew up in Canada.

While visiting her sister in Meaford, Ontario, Ms. Saunders heard the story of a rescued dog, who had been horribly abused, and was inspired to write Beautiful Joe. The tale is told in the voice of the dog, and has been selected as one of the top-ten children's books in Canada. It was first published in 1893, and by the 1930's had sold more than 7 million copies world wide. It was also the first Canadian novel to be translated into Esperanto, and then later into fourteen different languages. Not bad for a woman who originated from a small town on the east coast of Canada.

I think I have located a copy of Beautiful Joe, so you can expect that it will be one of those substitutes I have talked about previously.

Ms. Saunders spent her life advocating for women's rights and the humane treatment of animals; she continued writing as well. Her home was always filled with pets, and she liked to name them after the location they were found; my favourite is a little doggy named Johnny Doorstep. Ms. Saunders died on February 15, 1945, at her home in Toronto. She was eighty-five years old.

And so, I will spend some moments today thinking of all the great women I know ... and some I wish I had met.
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Resolving to Not Resolve
Author: jill
•2:41 PM
I do not make a New Year Resolution. I think they are ridiculous to be honest with you, but I understand why people make them. Beginning a new year is like wiping the slate clean. It's a fresh start. I get the same feeling in September when school starts - I always have. Fresh pencils, new books, a big stack of paper ... So, I often begin new projects or make changes for myself in September.

When I was in high school, I had a friend who made a New Year resolution to do something she had never done before ... wink, wink, nod, nod. We all knew what she meant, although I can't remember if that resolution was fulfilled that year. It's actually a great way to make a resolution ... it's non-specific and open to interpretation. You cannot fail ... you could make cupcakes, if you had never done that before; you could plan a trip to a place you had never visited before; you could have a baby for the first time. Think back to this past year ... did you do anything you had never done before? I did several things that I have never done before ... one thing in particular that I had hoped I would never have to do again. But it seems that will not be the case.

You might be surprised to read that I am not a big fan of New Year resolutions, considering that I just challenged myself to read one hundred books in one year. Honestly, this challenge could just as easily have started in March or July ... it just so happened that I became very bored in December. My brain needed something to do ... probably because two of my three babies are in school all day now. Most women would look for a job ... I've got plans ... but in the meantime, I needed a project.

I will write frequently about my children. Remember? I am recovering mom-oholic. My Caiden is gifted with numbers and they consume a great deal of his life. It is how he works, and he even uses them to describe how he feels sometimes. The first time he took the bus home from school, he told me he liked it fifty percent. Everything is broken down into numbers ... the highest score, the tallest, the longest, the oldest, the heaviest. This is how he operates. And so, because I deal in numbers all the time, I often think in terms of numbers as well.

It led me to ask ... who read the most books in one year? How many books did s/he read? The answer is Sarah Weinman and she read 462 books in one year. Sarah is a freelance writer and she describes herself as a speed reader; in fact, she says that she reads in chunks at a high speed, and she admits to not always knowing all the specific details of the story when she's done. I am not a speed reader and I like knowing all the details. In fact, I often get caught up in details. It's a problem, but we'll talk about that another time.

In the meantime, my whole family has become excited about my challenge. The girls and I made new bookmarks. Caiden told me he wanted to read one hundred books, too ... look for him to be a guest blogger sometime!! But the biggest surprise of all is that my husband got himself two novels to read ... Jonesy doesn't read novels. He does enjoy those really boring financial books and biographies or any type of true story but I have never known him to read a novel. Ever. One night he was on the Internet trolling for author/books, etc. (I told you - everyone is getting into the challenge), and he was enticed by a author he found. He happened upon an author who grew up in our home town, and lived right down the street from Jonesy. I, too, am intrigued and one of his novels may be one of those substitutions I talked about earlier. More about that at the time ....


And today, Jonesy made a little stop at Indigo and shopped for books ... what? Guess what he brought home? A new cookbook for me! Many women would be thoroughly offended by this and throw some kind of temper tantrum ... not me. I love cookbooks ... A LOT!! So, the way I see it, this Eve of the New Year will be spent enjoying my homemade spring rolls and browsing through Living Raw Food. Now there is a New Year's resolution ... eating only raw food. Although it can't be all that bad, 'cause the book says it contains recipes from pure food and wine. If it includes wine, it could definitely have a future at my house.

So, at midnight, the quest will begin. Should I get a good sleep tonight to wake up fresh and ready to go; or, should I stay up extra late and begin the challenge? Do you see my problem? I'm caught up in the details already ... that, and I have no life!

Stay tuned ... see you next year!!
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