We've taken on a lot, and somehow managed to stay in tact. Living life now as a family of 4!

When I was 18, I went to Europe for a year with Intermenno, an exchange program of sorts that no longer exists, sadly. I learned a lot of things that year: German, how to make soup, how to wash different kinds of lettuce (there are a lot of kinds of lettuce), that cups dropped on a brick floor break much more readily than cups dropped on a linoleum floor, Swiss German, how to take trains and travel around the continent, how to take care of a man (die maenner muessen versorged sein) - which now sounds a lot dirtier than it did then. Back then it referred to doing their laundry and cooking their food the way they liked it. It also sometimes meant cleaning my host-brother's apartment, which I was strongly against doing. I remember clearly saying to my host mother 'Other people have jobs and are gone all day and then come home and cook their own food and clean their own houses'. I think she didn't quite know what to do with me... But anyway, I digress. The most impor...

A few weeks ago we went to Ontario to visit Jake's dad and step-mom. While we were there we went to the McMichael A rt Gallery to look around. I highly recommend this gallery. It's not far from the Toronto airport, has a restaurant and is gorgeous inside and out; the grounds are just as impressive as the collections of art inside, which is saying something. (Sadly, both times we've been there the weather has not been conducive to wandering around outside - it was pouring the first time and -25 (which is like -45 anywhere else ;)) the second.) The McMichael is a private art collection that has been turned into a museum/gallery that is open to the public and houses many many Group of Seven and other forms of iconic Canadian Art. The first time we went we were eager to see 'our' Lawren Harris painting (hanging above our fireplace); they have the original.    When we were done our tour and hadn't seen it, we went to the desk to ask about it. Turns out, the...