Christmas Eve at the Tripone's house

It must be obvious that I have had a busy winter since I am just updating my blog with Christmas photos. We had a lovely Christmas Eve dinner at my brother's house. Sandra and family were there, my father and his wife, Lidia's parents. Plus, all the children! It is such a delight to be around so many children...Dylan had a ball.

After dinner we played an Italian card game (don't ask me what it is called). Dylan won $5.

At some point the children escaped to the basement for some ROCK BAND fun.

The final family Christmas photo.

VELO - Frankentrike!

Despite having a double-car garage, I have not been able to park my car at home for over a month. Why? Because my husband, the mad scientist, has been locking himself in his garage workshop until the wee hours of the morning every night while working on his latest Frankentrike...the next generation.

And now, ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Andrew's latest (and greatest) invention...the VELO-FRANKENTRIKE!

As some of you may know, Andrew has been lusting over the velo-mobiles ever since our visit to Holland. Unfortunately, they are very very costly. And, there are waiting lists for up to 2 years! So, as always, Andrew thought he could build one. This will be his "winter" trike to help him commute to work through the hard Canadian winter months. Press PLAY for video.

Getting in and out of the beast is not too bad. Press PLAY for video.

Grey Cup

Every year, Andrew's Ryerson buddy Chris has a Grey Cup party. He has been maintaing this tradition ever since the Ryerson days. This year was no exception and Andrew and I joined this gang for chili, beer and football (don't ask me who won as I don't know)....I go for the company!

Dog Sitting

I am grateful to have a wonderful babysitter for Dylan after school. So, I was happy to return the favour when she asked if we could care for her miniature Pintzer dog over the weekend.

This gentle little creature was a delight to have around the house...but what alot of work! You quickly forget how much constant time and attention a baby or a dog can demand from you.

Dinner with Friends

We had a lovely home-cooked meal with Karen and Richard. This was a good time for us as Richard was recently released from hospital without any complications. It was the first time we had seen them since camping this summer and we hope it won't be as long until the next time we get together!
Father and Son

Another Niemeyer!

Imagine my surprise when my "baby" cousin announced that he and his wife are expecting their first child in April! Congratulations to Edwin and Sharon....I can't wait to see the next generation.

Hallowe'en

Hallowe'en night was the usual bustling time in our neighbourhood. I had purchased 400 pieces of candy and by the end of the evening I was scavanging from Dylan's loot to service the steady stream of children at our door.

We started the evening with a Hallowe'en party after school for 5 of Dylan's friends.

We played the old classics of Tangled Web...

and wrap the mummy.....

Dylan was dressed as Darth Maul from Star Wars after daddy carefully applied the makeup..

Daddy, himself, thought of a last-minute costume with the help of our toilet seat and a little scotch tape...Can you guess it?

Hint: The Canadian Dollar going down the toilet!

Our neighbours were able to display the latest addition to the family...Jack (1 month)

I loved this costume by our neighbour Pearce. It is Michael Phelps and his 8 gold medals.

I served eyeballs to our neighbours (shooter glasses filled with green jello and a lichee with a piece of red licorice for the pupil). Ohhhhhhhhh scary!

Rock Band

We went to my sister's house for dinner. The children took this opportunity to play the Wii Game "Rock Band" which is a combination of karaoke and instrument karaoke (play VIDEO).

Needless to say, Andrew and I had a great time watching these budding musicians.

School Fall Fair

Dylan's new school had a New Moon Fall Festival. As part of the festival, the school choir (including Dylan) sang some songs. I have to give his music teacher credit...he brings passion and enthusiasm to the group and the children love him. Dylan is in the front line, dancing. Press PLAY.

There was also a reptile exhibit and Dylan was able to handle an albino python.

Red Belt

Dylan started karate many months ago. He recently passed his Red Belt examination. He was so proud. I must admit we have been impressed with Dylan's focus and determination with these classes. His teacher came to me privately to comment on Dylan's excellent body movement and co-ordination. He asked me what sport activities Dylan had been doing to bring him to this level. I had to bite my tongue from telling him that three years of ballet lessons were were the root cause of his current success in this (macho) sport!

Mum and Dad Visit Toronto

I have been very fortunate to have mum come to Toronto two times within several weeks. The purpose of her trip was to help me with child care for Dylan as I have started a new job!

During their visit we went to Elora's Gorge on a beautiful sunny day.

Mum and Dylan

We also had the opportunity to go bicycle riding as a family.

Mum on my bicycle

Dad on his recumbent bike

Thanksgiving Dinner

We enjoyed a sumptious meal at my brother Victor's house. His wife Lidia prepared a smorgasbord of appetizers, entrees, desserts. Everything was delightful! My sister and her family were there as well and overall it was a very entertaining evening. Dylan loves being part of such a large group!

Reading on the Bicycle

Q: What kind of spectacle can cause a group of Asian tourists to stop, laugh, point and photograph?

A: Andrew and Dylan on one of their tandem bicycle rides while Dylan reads his book (while pedalling)!

Press PLAY for video.

Soccer Season is Over

Soccer season is over. Dylan's team played a final game and then lined up for popsicles and momentos of the season.

Hockey Night in Canada

Once again our new favourite neighbours handed us four tickets to a Maple Leafs hockey game ($600)! We took one of Dylan's friends who eats,breathes, and sleeps hockey. What a strange night it was...the Leafs were winning until the last 10 minutes of the game when the other team scored two goals to tie! This lead to overtime and the other team won....I hope this isn't indicative of another poor year for the Leafs.

I must admit, our family are not big hockey fans and, although we loved having the opportunity to see the game live, our favourite part of the night was the in-seat ordering of food and beverages....now this is the life!

You Too Can Be a Banker to the Poor

I don't usually share publically which charitable organizations receive our financial support. However, but I would like to share my experience with one organization which can cost you $0 and yet allow you do a world of good.

KIVA is the world's first person-to-person micro-lending website, empowering individuals to lend directly to unique entrepreneurs in the developing world. It was founded in October 2005 by Matt and Jessica Flannery and is run by a team with experience in microfinance and technology. The founders came up with the idea for KIVA, which means “unity” in Swahili, after spending time in East Africa.

Small loans to entrepreneurs are now widely recognized as an important tool against poverty. Muhammad Yunus won the Nobel Peace Prize for his pioneering work with microfinance in Bangladesh.

Essentially, this is how KIVA works: Choose an entrepreneur, lend, get repaid.

1) Lenders view the profiles of entrepreneurs in need, and choose someone to lend to. When they lend, using PayPal or their credit cards, Kiva collects the funds and then passes them along to one of their microfinance partners worldwide.

2) Kiva's microfinance partners distribute the loan funds to the selected entrepreneur.

3) Over time, the entrepreneur repays their loan. Repayment and other updates are posted on Kiva and emailed to lenders who wish to receive them.

4) When lenders get their money back, they can re-lend to someone else in need, donate their funds to Kiva (to cover operational expenses), or withdraw their funds.

I chose a single mother in Peru who runs her own general store to support her son. Betti was described as a "determined woman and constant in what she does." The background descriptions of the various borrowers are fascinating.

My simple loan was paid on July 28th and she has already paid back 17%. With these funds I have already started to shop around for another borrower...its almost addictive. If you are interested in this concept you can obtain more information from their website: kiva.org.

Weekend in Ottawa - Park Omega

We spent the Labour Day Weekend in Ottawa visiting Grandma and Grandpa. We were blessed with quite nice weather and we made a day trip to Park Omega. This is a park where Canadian animals are able to roam freely. Visitors drive their cars through the park and feed the animals carrots.


A family of wild boar

There is a picnic area where you can eat and commune with deer (to the point where they become an annoyance).

Some areas are naturally fenced off due to the nature of the animals such as black bear, timber wolves etc..

We were treated to a show on birds of prey.

Peregrine Falcon

Gatineau Hot Air Balloon Festival

While we were visiting Grandma and Grandpa in Ottawa, we went to the Gatineau Hot Air Balloon Festival.

Over 50 balloons took to the sky in the early evening.

During the daytime we were treated to a parachute demonstration (press PLAY).



We were able to view the hot air balloons (and their crews) at close range. This balloon was from Belgium and was in the shape of Darth Vader. The crew were dressed up as Star Wars characters.

We saw a very entertaining Magician act en francais.

Then, we were treated to a wonderfully intimate acrobat show in a small tent. These buskers were truly enjoyable. Their performances were sensual and graceful.

Press PLAY to see this trapeze act.

The Canadian National Exhibition (The EX)

You know that summer is coming to an end when Dylan and I visited the annual Canadian National Exhibition (now in its 129th year). We started off the day with a relaxing acupressure foot massage (Dylan LOVED it).

Then we went on almost every ride possible. Our favourite rides were centrifugal in nation whereby Dylan was thrown against me with a crushing force. Unfortunately, it was a little too crushing as my camera, which was in my purse, broke. No more photos of the day were taken after this sad event!

At the Cottage

We had a lovely weekend at the Nancy and James' cottage. They have a beautiful winterized cottage which allows them summer fun on a lake and winter downhill skiing nearby. They are marvelous hosts who completely spoiled us.


The weather was great (considering the wet weeks we have been seeing) and Dylan was fortunate to be able to go tubing.
Nancy, William and Dylan

Press PLAY for video

James took the boys out for a ride on the Seadoo.

Press PLAY for video

In the evening we sat on their beach and roasted s'mores. This was Dylan's first taste of a s'more and we will definately be back for "some more".