Pegs of Oz

Peter has realised that simple dolly pegs can be dressed into any number of different characters, especially if the character is particular and is based on human form. So, he made up Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tin Man, Lion Man and the Wicked Witch of the West from craft scraps and hot glue. There has been a resurgence of interest in the 1939 movie: The Wizard of Oz. Marketing companies might not be agreeing with that, but what can stop us if we have dolly pegs! There are still more characters to join the cast, like the good Witch of the North and the Wizard even. Dolly pegs from the Joseph narrative, blogged about earlier, can be commandeered to fill some of the other roles. They are all pretty simple and fun to make.

After observing children playing with the dressed up pegs, Peter has realised that children will play just as well with these "stick people" as with manufactured toys. The more rough and the simple the better. A by-product of this may be the realisation by children that they themselves can dress up their own dolly pegs for very satisfying play.

Prayer Blossom

At last Sunday's Children's Church we discovered that the prayer tree had been moved from the stage of the main hall to our end of the complex. One of our leaders, Lucille, found some pink card and cut a large number of flower shapes in quick time. During our prayer time that followed, the kids wrote or drew their prayers on these flower shapes and added them to the tree. There was enough Blu-tac to go around and the result was very encouraging for us all. Our prayer tree has blossomed at the start of our southern winter. How topsy-turvy is that. That's just the thing that God would do.

No More Deliveries

When the pizza place changed hands for a second time, Peter decided to call it quits. He can't really call delivering pizzas a real job. During the quiet spells, he reads. When it is too busy, with not enough drivers on and too many customers demanding pizzas, he is flat chat and getting stressed. He prefers to call the work a community service. That is probably why he kept doing it for so long. The pay was not to much to talk about. At least it covered for the fuel and wear and tear of the car, and the remainder quietly built up over time to help ease financial pressures.

Now after three and a half years, making 2,629 deliveries, and travelling 16,498 Kms about the neighbourhood, and getting to know the area very well, it has all come to an end. He leaves on good terms and with good memories. It had been increasingly difficult to maintain the Friday night driving commitment. Now Friday nights are free again, much to Barb's relief.

Jasper Two.

Jasper seems older than that! Here he is having an ice cream in the week before he reached two years. It feels like that length of time could not fit all the growing that he has already done. He communicates well, thanks to continual tuition from Piper. And he has such a sunny nature. He creates fun out of whatever he is doing. Unfortunately we were not able to be there on the actual day and were forced to mail our present.

Let's Celebrate

Gord made it through a lot of high pressure to reach a deadline in time. This was enough to make a meal of it the next day. It was a really fun time, nice food, great company, and a nice stroll through the nearby shopping plaza for follow-up treats. Nice memories.

Creative Piper

This latest drawing by Piper features Thomas the Tank Engine complete with smoke coming out the funnel. The driver and his family are aboard. In front is her Poppa with a 'Mohawk' haircut. Her vocab keeps up with drawing progression. Piper is showing creativity in many areas of her life. It was a gift to her Pippa and Poppa.

Pepperina Grove

Nearby were we normally have our coffee (University Hill) is a preserved Pepperina grove where the developers were obligated leave them and work an open barbecue area around them. Old and decaying limbs were removed and they are looking very trim these days.

That is not to say that there aren't gaping holes and twisted, gnarly branches that make intriguing pictorial stories. Peter was drawn to this grove for a spontaneous photo session. Soon he had taken over a hundred snaps. This is something you could not do a generation ago with cellular film, unless you were mega crazy or mega rich.

The Pepperina tree's scientific name is Schinus Molle, also known as the Peruvian Peppertree, Californian Pepper, false pepper, pirul, and pepper tree. It is a shrubby tree that is a native to South and Central America, and especially, the Peruvian Andes region. It produces clusters of small berries.

Tree's Demise.

Our big tree out the front died prematurely due to the acute lack of rainfall. The water restrictions, the chlorinated water and the lack of absorption into the dry ground helped to end its life. We were sad about that because it has given the front yard shade for as long as we have lived here. Peter spent a few days cutting it down into manageable bits. It will be different now... till the drought resistant saplings we have planted start growing.

A Blond

This is just a short report to say that our Grey Norwegian Dwarf (cute name for a rabbit breed) still lives. Barb loves her and Peter tolerates it. Barb calls her Sophie and thinks she is very sweet. Peter calls her 'the blond' because she has such a slow reaction time, and still gets spooked half the time we walk by. After a year and a half of living here and seeing us, that is pretty odd.