Recent events at HofJ

Here's a little update on what we're up to:

Working on the Masters degree: Well, work doesn't start until January. It's been interesting to hear the variety of responses when I mention where I'm going to school and what course I'm taking. Here are a few:

• "Royal Roads? I thought that was an army base." I think it used to be. It is now a university. Apparently they have shot hollywood movies there - the campus is supposedly quite beautiful.
• "Royal Roads? That's amazing. How in the world did YOU get in?" Yes, it is fairly prestigious, apparently. Yes, I'm very humbled that I got in.
• "Masters in Leadership? Is that a program?" Yes, it is. A program for people working in the areas of social change, crisis managament and peacekeeping, that sorta thing.
• "MA? That's way better than a MEd. You can do so much with that!" Well I don't know if I'd go so far as to say it's better but I do hope that it is effective.
• MA - Leadership? So-and-so, So-and-so, and So-and-so (insert various names of well-known experts in their fields) took that!" Yes, and now me too. Cool, eh?

20th anniversary, Part Deux:

• Mr. Jones and I went over Niagara Falls. Not in a barrel - in a teeny weeny Cessna. It was really great. Then we sampled some wine from Pilleteri Estates and meandered through Niagara-on-the-Lake with a Danish actor whose name I cannot pronounce (he was in for the film festival). Toronto was a fantastic 3-day refresher, filled with fun stuff in a bustling city, delicious Tai and Vietnamese food. A much-needed reconnect and break from a fast-paced life. Oh - and there was a little concert that we took in while there. A little band known as U2.

J1:

• Yesterday had 3 wisdom teeth removed, 2 of which had not and never would break the surface. I heard actual gasps of horror behind me when the receptionist loudly announced the total before taking my VISA with a little giggle. Good thing J1 has solid health insurance through his work - I don't even know if he still qualifies under Mr. Jones' health plan. yeesh! (Why only 3 teeth, you ask? He only had 3, just like his mama.) He is in so much pain today, and can't really eat. The poor kid has no extra meat on him these days so we're going to bulk up his milkshakes with some protein powder, maybe a purreed steak or two. We'll see what we can do for him.
• Is so excited to be moving into his very first bachelor pad Oct. 1! He and 5 buddies - heaven help the neighbors. They have found a really huge house in a very nice area. He will be able to walk to meet me for lunch! We are happy for him. We remember how exciting it was to spread our wings. Personally though, I would love for him to live at home until he was 25 or 30. I'm still recovering from his 3-month trip to Germany! I did buy him a very nice spatula and can opener, though. That and a pot, and he's good to go!

J2:

• Is looking for a job and starting road instruction for his drivers license this week. He has a very sweet girlfriend (same one for over 7 months - the only people in the House of Jones who dated anyone longer than that ended up marrying each other!) He's still the same happy kid he's always been - but without all the bumping into things. Lucky fellow, he got his daddy's personality, he likes everyone and everyone likes him. I have always said that we can't go ANYWHERE without someone saying hello to Mr. Jones. Ironically, it's the same way now with J2!

J3:

• Has begun to obsess and stress over which high school to attend. She is a planner and a worrier (I wonder where she gets THAT from?!) She tries to see things from every angle, so we know that she will make a great choice.
• Is loving her Lexi and doing very well at training and grooming.
• Has decided to join indoor soccer this winter, after a long and arduous consideration process. She doesn't like the competition, doesn't like it when the audience screams for a star-making action shot. She just likes playing. So she chose to be placed on a lower tier so she could just enjoy herself without the team stressing over winning and the audience screaming at them like they're in the European football league. Smart chick.

International Literacy Day in Saskatoon 2009

Grad studies

Nothing like taking a 23 year break from university to feel refreshed and ready to get back into the swing!

Mrs. Jones has been accepted into the School of Leadership Studies at Royal Roads University, beginning in January. Royal Roads specializes in meeting the advanced education needs of working professionals. Mostly distance and partly on-campus, the program is very unique in that there is plenty of collaborative work required - and students come from all over the world, so I envision time zone issues. But, I'm extremely excited to get started. Finally!

Yep, new pup is gonna be just fine.

Curious about literacy?

If social justice, poverty, housing, and national economic crisis are things that you follow, consider this: These are often promoted as social problems. I would argue that they are social symptoms of deeper problems. Peeking past a few layers, you will find issues of literacy.

To learn more, go to the Movement for Canadian Literacy at www.literacy.ca.

Want to try some new technology and learn about literacy all at the same time? Find MCL on Twitter and follow LLKatMCL.

And also...

We couldn't stop, so we added some cedars and cut in some steps around the new retaining wall.

What we did on our summer vacation

Went to the lake, celebrated our 20th anniversary, and built a retaining wall! All of these, with our own 4 hands! (okay when we went to the lake we had extra hands, and some hands helped us move the 70-pound blocks as well...) Here's a snapshot of project work:

Leveling the base course took forever. Laying the first course took almost as long. Behind each course, we added road gravel to level all the way to the top. Digging out old tree roots was unreal. The second and third courses were easy.

Putting on the caps was delightful. Next year, we will put patio blocks in. It's a nice firepit area - will be even nicer when some vines mature and the steps are in. But that is for next summer's vacation.