Greataunt, Greatgrandmother, Great Trip coming

Here are two pictures of Remy with greataunt Carolyn and greatgrandmother Vivian. They came for a visit on Tuesday and we enjoyed seeing them. It was especially great to see Greatgrandmother with her. Remy is Vivian's tenth greatgrandchild. Isn't that great? May I live so long.

In the jewellery department, I received some new ceramic pendants from brother-in-law J. and am excited to get started on some new pieces. I applied to get a table at the Portobello West craft market, but no answer to that yet. There aren't any places available until next March, but we will see.

My friend and mentor, A. and I are going to create a studio together and rent out space and equipment. We will be working on this as soon as I get back from Winnipeg.

I am excited to be going to Winnipeg to see all my friends. My appointment book is filling up fast for lunches, coffees, and dinners. I am so happy to be leaving next Tuesday. I don't plan to blog while I am gone, so don't expect anything. And, who knows, maybe I will even find a couple of new places to sell my jewellery.

When preparing to travel, lay out all your clothes and all your money. Then take half the clothes and twice the money. ~Susan Heller

All of Our Future

No new pictures of Remy to share yet. She has a little baby acne and I decided not to take any more pictures until it clears up a bit. Oh, vanity, thy name is woman!

I went over to M. and J.'s today and spent the afternoon with my little treasure. As soon as I cuddled her, rocked and hummed she went to sleep. This allowed Mommy to take a shower and go for a walk to Safeway to buy groceries. Remy doesn't like being put down even after she is asleep. But she slept for a good couple of hours in my arms. It felt great holding her while she slept. It made me think of my mother who was a natural with babies. I still miss her. At least she got to spend some time with her granddaughter. I wish he could have seen our granddaughter.

Sometimes when certain expressions pass over her face she reminds me of her Daddy. Her general look is like M. at that age, but she does have more and darker hair. She has changed so much already. Babies change so quickly. She is 18 days old today. Soon she will be smiling and chirping, making pre-language noises. I wonder what she will be like as a crawling baby, a toddler, an older child, a teen. With two intelligent parents like hers she is sure to be smart. She is all of our future. And the future looks bright.

She has gained weight and is going a little longer without needing milk especially at night. But it is tough for Mommy to be essentially tied to her. I agree with most of the books that one can't "spoil" a baby at this young age. She needs to be held - a lot. Making her feel secure by holding her will be a good basis for her future development. It's good I am here to help out with that task so that Mommy doesn't have to be always with her. Of course Daddy is doing his share and more, but he had to go back to work today.

Granny is willing and able to take on the childcare when needed. I am so glad I moved here, a short walk away from my granddaughter. It's not quite a whole village raising the child, but it's early days yet. Parents should not have to do it alone. Lots of young parents don't have grandparents close by to help. Children are the future of Canadian society. Society should help to raise children. It was hard enough when M. was little with the two of us and grandparents to help. I can't help but admire the single parent. So many things about child care have changed since I had a child, but one thing hasn't. There wasn't enough day care then, and there still isn't. What progress have we really made? That's my rant for the day.

Children are one third of our population and all of our future. ~Select Panel for the Promotion of Child Health, 1981