Bye-bye, Birdie.

Spoke too soon.  Saw the bird, but then yesterday saw the nest had fallen -- too much wind?  An attack from the magpies... abandoned because of too much (of our) attention?

I picked up the nest and put it back.  No eggs inside or around on the ground.  I tell James the bird might come back if we leave it alone. 

Back in my head I flash back to that day I managed to catch a baby-ish robin.  I was maybe seven?  It's leg had been tangled in some monkshood flower stalks and it didn't seem able to fly.  I was so excited I brought it inside the house.  Mom and Dad were not happy about it, but gave me a shoe box to put it in. 

At some point later in the day they convinced me it needed its parents and that we should set it free.  My dad gently tossed the bird into the crook of a tree branch before I headed off to school.  When I got home I didn't see the bird there and asked about it.  Was I crying?  Dad said he saw a mommy and daddy bird come pick it up and wing-in-wing they flew away.  I think it comforted me.  Though  I realise now of course how crazy a sight that would be.  The bird likely didn't make it. 

James calls every robin his pet "Cushion" -- and strangely refers to their colouring as "yellow".  This makes me think about Chinese royal robes: yellows and oranges were considered part of the "brown" family of colours.  Maybe not so strange after all.  I wonder if other cultures combine those together too...

Time Lapsed - Some Old Photos

Mom had ideas for James (a bath, a nap...) -- so while we waited, Jackie and I flipped through some family photos.  Mom's albums were rarely labelled and weren't in any particular order -- neither the albums nor the photos were standard sized, so she stuck photos where ever there was space*. 

*I should take some pictures next time to illustrate that...

This is what we found:

Photos from Angela and Patrick's wedding (that would be 1978?).

Right: The tea ceremony at my parents'

Below: At the reception - Nancy, Gary, Theresa, Angela, Patrick, Donald, Tim, and Kathy

























Dad's early backyard gardening attempts (Jackie: "You were pretty handsome back then."  Tim: "I'm always handsome.")  

A studio photo from China, rare because it was one of the few we found of Linda (Linda, someone, someone else, someone else-else, and my grandfather 爺爺 - Linda and Dad's dad). 












Photos at Linda and Gary's house (based on the fact I wasn't there: 1976-1977?):

Left: Theresa, York, Tim, and Angela

Right: York, Tim, Theresa, and Angela

Below left: Donald, Gary, and Theresa

Below right: Ernie and Gary




















I know Jackie was really interested in the photos of China, but I was interested in the people I knew and, of course, me!  And so we have it:


Below left: Despite being 2 weeks early (and only 5 lbs 6 oz) I quickly "caught up" and became this chubby baby.  NB: They still have those couch cushions! 

Below right: Mom and me (at around 3 months-old, based on the X-mas tree). 






I'm looking forward now to my next visit to my parents'.  Goal: Photograph and label more of those photos!  (And ideally, find some evidence of me being a cute baby.)

Fathers' Day!

Be kind to thy father, for when thou were young, Who loved thee so fondly as he? He caught the first accents that fell from thy tongue, And joined in thy innocent glee. 

~Margaret Courtney

It's Father's Day!

It's a good day for some flying...



... and comparing / taking stock. (below: When did James's head get bigger than Paul's fist?!)

A little quiet time in the morning to celebrate Paul.  And then it was to celebrate my Dad, "the big Daddy" (/ diva) with dim sum at Marco Polo.  (Though, Paul does like dim sum a lot, so it was kind of for him too...) 

Annoyingly, Dad always chooses Marco Polo, and almost always complains about the food. (So what if it's on the second floor -- a pun being "a level better than the rest" if you don't actually like it?). 

Anyway, Father's day for me is again about family getting together and hanging out... which we managed a little at their place after dinner.

James couldn't keep his eyes off Kevin. (Does he recognise this is another boy / like him? Or is because of what he's wearing?)

Everyone was so smiley!  Even Carl, who lit up when he saw James (though James wasn't so happy about it).  Was he this cheerful with his kids?  I can't even remember.

Yep, it was a long day with a lot of activity and noise... but a pretty good one. 

Below right: James fell asleep sitting up. 

Even your socks are black...

Me: Yes, so...?
Dad: The dust shows.
Me: The dust is there even if it isn't showing - so what's the point?
Dad: But you wouldn't notice it, and it wouldn't depress you.  It's all about the mental battle.

Hm... does he strangely have a point?  

Returned, Open Baggage

Extra hour of sleep, but still so sleepy.

Two baking experiments failed: Too much fruit making it much too wet and then the quiche that was too dry.  I wish I could just mash them together to average them out.

Too much fruit.

Mom's back!  Picked her and Theresa up from the airport and ack! all that backseat driving from Dad. (Though he wanted me to drive because it wasn't bright and there was a bit of snow.)

They also giving me a hard time about my big coat... except for Mom.  I think it's the first time in ages she didn't say I was under dressed.

Annoyed as I was, I kept quiet and listened to Mom talk about Maternal Grandmother's funeral.

Aunt 4's husband cried just as much as the rest of them (her children) -- needing 2 people to help him up.

Yunnan (雲南) in 18 lines.

Dad told us that when he asked him why he was so emotional.  He said it was because Maternal Grandma had believed in him.  There was a time when he'd been sharing an apartment with someone (couldn't even really afford to house himself), but she still agreed to let Aunt 4 marry him, trusted that he could take care of her.

Theresa didn't seem sad.  Tired, but when I dropped her off, she was still excited to start unpacking and divvying souvenirs.  She gave me half of the little boxes from Yunnan (雲南) (above and at end).  Each box had a line from a poem (?) / saying / stereotype about Yunnan, and they contained a pastry sweet from the region.

I then went to Mom and Dad's to have dinner and help unpack.

Aunt 5 again performed her packing magic.  I'm amazed again Mom wasn't stopped at customs.  There were steamed puddings (dumplings) Aunt 5 had made, and "egg fruit" (below) she thought were so tasty we (in Canada) had to try some.   Unfortunately, despite all that effort, I didn't like the taste of any of it.

"Egg Fruit", squished

It was pretty late by the time I got home, but I kept thinking about what Jackie said when I told her of Maternal Grandmother's death: It's horrible being an orphan.  I was confused -- my mom's not an orphan.  Not according to the dictionary at least, since she's not child.

But Jackie was concentrating the another party: The only people who would love you warts and all was gone.

Yeah, I can see that being awful, child or not.

------------------------------------------------------- 

Yunnan (雲南) souvenir sweet boxes in more detail - mixed up order (if there is one):

 

 

Bonding

Visited Dad.  Again, I'm surprised at how relaxed it is.  He doesn't try to feed me too much or bug me about things.  And, I get to help him.  This time, it was to successfully set up the DVD player... so he can watch his beloved 007. 

Yep, with Mom gone, he can indulge in a James Bond marathon of any length of his choosing. 

I wonder, since these discs from Angela, Jack, and Jeff have Chinese subtitles, if he'll get a shock at finally knowing what's being said... then again, how much dialogue is needed to understand a Bond movie (it's about the guns, explosions, and girls, right? :P)

Anyway, we consider what might be different if the settings were set to Mandarin versus Cantonese subtitles.  I watch a bit with him: Thunderball.  They translated the theme song lyrics - that's impressive. 

(Though a ball of thunder 雷球 is pretty much nonsensical either way - or does it make sense if I actually watch the movie?)

Take-Out / Eating In with Dad

If Dad won't come to dinner... take dinner to Dad. 

He seemed almost happy. 

We opened the paper A&W bag (food still hot) and we settled at the dinner table.

I pulled my burger apart into smaller portions and ate it between mouthfuls of fries and vegetables he'd steamed.  He managed (between squishing the burger and opening wide) to fit the thing between his teeth for a bite.  Though, admittedly, there was more room there with his partial dentures out.  :)
 
We didn't talk much.  He turned on his music - the same warped cassette of 70s Cantonese Pop and pop instrumentals.  I'd like to think he smiled. 

It felt less stressed and I wondered if it was because Mom's wasn't there.  I mean, there's nothing to really say, so perhaps we're both less irritated because we don't feel the need to come up with something to talk about?  Or maybe it's because I brought him food (stuff he likes) and he didn't have to cook. 

Love is a Gnu (and other things from the week)

Mom left for China today.  I went over Friday to help settle things.  It was a chain of reminders (nagging) to dress warm, eat healthy.. and, most of all, to check in on Dad (even if he's grumpy about it).  I guess I nagged her too (Do you have your note?  Did you pack your medicine?). 

The rest of the weekend was gardening and cooking with a little bit of relaxing. 

(Right: Quiche Charts the next latest thing?)


We countered Mary and Max (the beautiful-but-also-so-sad stop action animation movie that put us on the "Eric Bana-naman" train of thought) with a lot of Canadian spy silliness called InSecurity. Its theme song has me hooked.




Also listened to a couple more chapters of Love is a Canoe. Not sure if I'd recommend it, but it certainly has some interesting characters to think about.  At the very least one character is an editor.  I can pretend I'm learning about the publishing industry. 

The J Boys Are Back in Town

Canadian Tire -- The place for belt buckles. 

Paul models a musical one (unfortunately, no tubas), but then we find one even more fitting (see 2nd photo).
















After our errand, the whole bunch of us head home - to our house!  I was so excited to show it off to Jack and Jeff (while it was still relatively clean from the house warming).

They seemed to think it was o.k. if a bit boring (no television or game system?!) and were a bit skeptical of our snacks ("It looks... healthy..."). 

The latter wasn't really that big of a concern: They'd bought Kevin and Celina contraband snacks (snuck past parents in their jackets) so had plenty to nosh on while we waited.  My thought: We're going eat dinner in soon!  

Anyway, Dad's birthday dinner was the main feature Jack and Jeff were in town for. 

Though I was glad to see them (alive and in regular spirits) and to play dancing games with them at Celina and Kevin's, I also resented them for pushing me out of the kids' "favourites" rankings -- less than two weeks ago they thought I was great. 

But who can compete with exciting and indulgent cousins?  Certainly not "hipster*" auntie. 

Well, I'm still not going to buy them junk food... at least not large quantities when it's not their birthday.  Take that!



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* Their definition is a mash up of "tree hugging hippy" and "so un-mainstream it wraps around to be almost cool again".