janice's mash-up

Kamide Family 2018: September - December in review

September meant back to school for three of us - Neil at McRoberts, Janice at the school board office and Colin beginning his second year of Kinesiology at UBC. Adam began his second co-op position at Connor, Clark and Lund Financial Group in downtown Vancouver. 

Adam enjoyed his co-op position and working downtown. He took the train in every morning and ate lunch out every day - so many choices downtown! He learned a lot about his field and really enjoyed the people he worked with. Adam continued to play rec hockey at UBC and also played hockey with his dad and uncle on the weekends. 

Colin gave up his restaurant positions this fall which was a really hard decision for him. His last shift at Ichiro was at the beginning of October.

Part of the reason was that he has taken on a new part-time job as a medic with the Canadian Armed Forces reserves. This has been something Colin has thought about for a long time and has wanted to do this type of service. He has been in his basic training course this fall on the weekends and also works every Tuesday evening. He has also been busy with social and recreational events at UBC and volunteering as a medic for organizations such as supporting people in the Downtown Eastside.

Neil and I attended a beautiful and family wedding with my dad in Squamish. Lots of joy and love to be felt.

Our ensuite project from the end of summer continued on into the fall. Our foyer looked a lot like this for many weeks.

Thanksgiving with thanks to Colin for carving the turkey. Somehow I forgot to take a family photo this year.

   

Hallowe'en 2018 at our house...

 

Treacle Tart

 

Fall is such a beautiful time of year where we live with the change of colours and often bright crisp days (yes, along with the drizzly grey ones).

 

 

 

 

This fall I took on the Great Canadian Baking Show's technical challenges each week. I learned new techniques and used new ingredients and stretched myself as a baker.

Some other things I worked on this fall were new weaving techniques and learning to make charcoal to use for art projects.

 

Travels for work took me to Whistler, Dawson Creek, Saskatoon, Oliver, the Sunshine Coast, Seattle and Sooke.

 

 

 

 

The garden this fall brought us lots of potatoes and quince and then the storms took down lots of birch branches. Still trying to figure out how to use those!

 

    

 

Colin celebrated his 19th birthday on November 17 and we went out for a family dinner to celebrate his and Glenn's birthdays at Steveston Seafood House.

 

On December 18, Neil and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary. We got married on a Saturday, the day after school got out for the holidays. This anniversary in particular made us reflect on our marriage and that day that formalized it all. We actually pulled out our wedding album and shared it with the boys. Neil and I went out for dinner to the restaurant (now a different restaurant) that we went on our first date. I re-imagined our gingerbread wedding cake from 25 years ago and we celebrated with the new version. There has been lots of reflecting and reminiscing this past year on what being married twenty-five years means. We both always believed that the wedding itself is just one day and that our investment needed to be in our marriage. As in any relationship, Neil and I have been annoyed with each other at times and certain things always irritate us about each other but I can honestly count on one hand the number of true "fights" we have had - and by that I mean raised voices and tears. I know we are fortunate. I am very happy to still be in love and know that I am loved. Keys to what I think have helped to make our marriage work so far - trust, shared values, collaboration, friendship, family, compromise, working together towards goals, time for our own interests, appreciating each other for who they are and who they need to be. 

   

 

Neil celebrated his 55th birthday on December 20 and we all teased him that he could probably get seniors' discounts in some places (Neil likes a good discount!).  The boys got tickets for Neil to a preliminary World Juniors games and they got to see Canada play.

 

We had a lovely, relaxing Christmas with family. Family and food - pretty much sums up the few days around Christmas.
 

 
 

  
 

  

Between Christmas and New Year's, Neil and I spent a few days in San Francisco celebrating our anniversary. The weather was glorious and we easily put in over 20 000 steps each day as we walked the city and enjoyed the sites (and bakeries). We really enjoyed Japantown and walking along the bay to view the Golden Gate Bridge. There might have been a lot of photos taken of the bridge!

  
  
 

 

And on the last day of 2018, we went our for a late lunch as a family and reflected on our year. So many new experiences, adventures and opportunities for all of us! Looking forward to seeing what 2019 brings us.

~Janice

a change of vehicles...finally

So many of you have witnessed the escapades of Janice and her RAV4. There are many stories to tell and many kilometres driven but on October 15, I finally said good-bye to my trusted vehicle

and purchased a new Honda HRV.

I love my new zippy vehicle that actually has doors that lock, windows that unfog in seconds, lights, clocks and a radio that works and it has heated seats.

Things that I miss about my old car: the very mathy license plate, the memories of all the travels with the boys to sports, Whistler, to the Okanagan and having pizza parties in the back seat before soccer practice. 

As I pulled out of our driveway in my RAV4 for the last time, I thought back to the day I bought it. I bought it used off a lot at the Richmond Auto Mall and we had narrowed it down to two similar vehicles. The RAV4 was already six years old when I bought and the deal-clincher at the time was that it was one of the Canucks colours. That was important to the boys at the time! I had just completed a writing contract so paid for it in cash - just turned over a cheque and drove off in it. It was a big step up for me at the time - I was so excited to have air conditioning for the first time and lots of space to haul hockey bags, bikes and sports equipment.

I drove the RAV4 for fifteen years and both boys learned to drive using my car. It was so reliable, dependable and especially good in all kinds of conditions. Until it wasn't anymore.

It finally got to the point where the boys convinced me it just wasn't safe. I had talked about getting a new vehicle when I finished my PhD and then I issued myself vehicle penance after that debacle. I remember one time a group of colleagues dropped me off at the board office to pick up my car and they watched my process of getting into my car during the winter. Because the car is old, there are no seals left on the doors and lots of moisture gets inside. So when it is cold, the doors freeze shut. The only door I can pry open is the back door so I get that open and then have to empty all the tubs of work stuff that are usually there, then climb over the seats into the back seat and then over the next sets of seats to get into the front seat to try and start my car to begin to heat it up from the inside. I am still essentially frozen inside my car as none of the doors will open for a good 10 minutes of the car running.  This has been witnessed by many many colleagues and friends. It's a bit dicey when I'm wearing a short skirt. 

On a few occasions in the morning, I have really not shown good judgement and would be furious with the boys if they did the same but after climbing in through the back and over seats, I have kicked open the driver's side door in order to get out of my frozen vehicle so I can scrape the ice off the windows to create some visibility. In kicking the frozen door open, I have forced the frozen locking mechanism and the door will not shut completely as the lock is still frozen and will not latch/engage. So once I get the car running (usually after multiple tries) and it is warmed up enough so that I am not blowing cold air that freezes on the windshield anymore and that I have been able to clear enough of the windows so there's some visibility, I begin to back out and drive with my right hand while using my left hand to desperately hold my door shut. Yah, not going to miss those shenanigans. 

Did I mention the heated seats? I had some very basic criteria when I was looking for a new vehicle. It had to be not too big, not too small, had to have lots of room to cart my tubs, boxes and bags for work around in, I wanted charcoal grey for the exterior but my main concern was heated seats. For someone who has been driving a very old, worn in car for a long time, the flashy dashboard and heated seats just seem like such a luxury!

So that's my vehicle story. So many memories and stories were created in that RAV4. Looking forward to new adventures in the HRV!

Kamide Family 2018: July & August in review

July began with a bang - celebrating both Canada Day and Shelley & Jessica's wedding on July 1st! Neil and I really loved the wedding - so authentic, so warm and so wrapped in love!

Colin worked a bit at Ichiro in July while he was waiting to be deployed for wildfire firefighting. He also volunteered a lot with the BC Mobility Opportunities Society doing hikes, paddle boarding  and kayaking. He did a short trip to Calgary and the Stampede with a group of friends (lots of fun).  Adam lived out at UBC for the month of July as a resident advisor for an international student program which was something new for him and pushed him out of his comfort zone.

We made a short trip to Kelowna for our annual cousins trip.

Neil worked the beginning of July and then rode his bike to Portland over four days. I drove down and met him and we had a great couple of days together in one of our favourite cities.

I taught a few classes at UBC in July, worked on a book project with a colleague and spent a couple of days in Whistler with the Northwest Mathematics Conference committee, getting things sorted for our conference there in October.

The summer brings lots of opportunities to play in the kitchen. Colin and I had a lovely dinner out at Savio Volpe and tried to replicate the amazing gnocchi in our kitchen. We bought some fresh sockeye down at the docks and Colin masterfully filleted them for us. And of course there was lots of baking with summer fruits and berries!

 
         


This summer I also relished the time I had to read novels and got through a couple of stacks of books that I've been wanting to read!

   

The garden is bursting in the summer...

         


Colin finally got his call to be deployed on August 1. His gear had been ready to go for weeks. Me, not so ready. We took our family of four photo before we left for the ferry terminal where he was meeting up with the rest of his crew who were travelling from the Island. We left him there not knowing when we might hear from him which was so hard. We knew if he was in a tent camp it could be a week or two before he would be able to phone. Fortunately for us, he got sent to Prince George and then sent to Smithers where a new fire had been found. Colin spent 17 days fighting the fire - putting in 14-16 hour days. He got to fly in helicopters and be on the first line fighting the fire (not what he or we were expecting).  Because they were staying in a motel, Colin was able to Colin us a few times and send us some photos. He had an amazing experience but I so happy, proud and relieved to see him at the airport!

 Adam left for his Europe trip on August 3. Him and his friend Martin had planned this trip in detail and were both interested world history and politics and chose their cities and countries with that (and budget) in mind. They stayed in hostels and travelled by train and bus between countries. Adam checked in with us during each new country and sent us a few photos along the way. They visited Budapest, Vienna, Berlin, Hamburg, the Czech Republic, Bratislava, Copenhagen and London. He had a great experience and is already planning his next trip with lots of countries he wants to explore. So happy to pick him up at the airport after four weeks away!

 

While the boys were away in August, Neil and I walked every evening visiting different locales, except when it was particularly smoky and hazy out. 

          

   


And there are lots of local festivals to go to - we visited the Powell Street Festival, Maritime Festival, Mural Fest on Main Street, the Garlic Festival. And we saw movies, Star Wars at the VSO and 42nd Street at TUTS. Neil and I had lots of time together to celebrate our 25th year of marriage!

For most of August Neil and I spent packing up the upstairs of our house and making decisions about carpets, tiles, etc as we had all our carpeting redone, new banister/railings and our ensuite (still in progress). I have too much stuff and that's all I'm going to say about that. 

    

And our house is still in complete disarray and our summer holidays come to a close. Not the fresh start to the new year we had hoped for but we are getting close to completion. Just the ensuite left to finish and then all the boxes of things that still need to be put away. Oh, and the thick layer of construction dust that has coated everything in our house will have to be dealt with as well!

 

The last week of August brought back to work time for Neil and I and the boys getting themselves sorted out for the fall. Adam was offered a co-op position in downtown Vancouver so will be doing that from September to December. Colin is back at UBC in his second year of Kinesiology and working and volunteering.

 

The evenings have cooled down a bit, a sure sign that fall is around the corner. Summers will always be a special time of the year but this summer has taught me to go with the ebb and flow of having young adults in our lives who have their own plans and are making their own lives. I have learned to so appreciate the times we are together as a family of four, whether its for a quick dinner together or hanging out around the kitchen counter in the morning. I have also learned to be completely present when I have individual time with one of the boys - chatting in their rooms, going out for dinner, ice cream or doing an errand together - staying connected, listening, loving and supporting them. 

 

Goodbye summer, hello fall and all the change that it brings.

Kamide Family 2018: April-June in review

April began with an Easter lunch and a happy 83rd birthday to my dad. 

    

It was beautiful and springy in April and this inspired my photos and my baking.

  

Neil and I visited the Cherry Blossom Festival at Garry Point...

 For work I visited Cranbrook...

and I went to Washington, DC to present at and attend the NCTM Annual Conference. Highlights for this trip were visiting the Smithsonian Museum of National History and going to the National Portrait Gallery and seeing the Obama portraits.

    

 
  

April was full of studying and final exams for Colin and finishing up projects at work in Ottawa for Adam. We had our last video call with him near the end of April and he flew home on April 30! So happy to be a family of four at home again.

  

May and June brings Mothers Day and Fathers Day...

and long weekends and longer evenings, giving us time to explore this beautiful place where we live.

 

Adam took an economics class during spring session at UBC and applied and interviewed for co-op positions for September - some of the interviews for back east he had to do via video.

He also continued to work on his coffee maker project. I am so glad that even though he made a different choice for his academic pursuits, that he still follows his passion for tinkering, science and making.

Colin worked six days a week between Takeya and Ichiro. Colin was very excited to accomplish one of his goals of getting an item on the menu at Ichiro. Colin finished his time at Takeya at the end of June and it was a bit hard for him to leave - such good memories of his first job as a dishwasher and prep book that launched him into becoming a sushi chef. 

And other news for Colin was a decision to try something new this summer and he applied for being a wildfire (forest fire) firefighter). We went over to Victoria for a weekend in June to do his training and fitness test and he began to buy his gear in order to be ready to be deployed over the summer.

nothing like watching your son walk off to the unknown - just hoping we've given him the wings he needs to fly

While Colin was off at his training, I was able to explore Victoria a bit. Walked down to the beach, visited Emily Carr's house and had some lovely teas. 

June also brought another trip down to Portland for me, this time to present at Opal's Summer Symposium. In the evenings, I was able to visit some of my favourite places including Powell's Books. I could spend hours there!

And then in the peak of end of June busy-ness for Neil, we had another flood in our house. It was a rainy evening and the water started streaming through our house just like it did in December - exactly the same places. The boys were determined to do something themselves this time and climbed up a ladder to the roof and swung a tarp over the damaged area. We couldn't believe this was happening again - tarping, fans, dehumidifiers. 

  

Ice cream makes everything better.

  

 

~Janice

Kamide Family 2018: January-March in review

So 2018 kind of got away from me so instead of "a month in the life" post, I'm going to try and get caught up with some quarterly posts just so I have some sort of archive of the goings on for our family.

January was a bit of a whirlwind with Adam moving to Ottawa to do a co-op position as a junior economist. Before he left we celebrated his 21st birthday!

On January 4 , Adam and I (and lots of luggage) left for Ottawa. It was going to be our last time together as a family of four for four months. I remember feeling so proud of and excited for Adam yet also feeling an overwhelming sense of change coming to our family. 

Adam and I explored Ottawa in freezing cold temperatures (something like -37 with the windchill), bought groceries and household things and got him all set up in his apartment. We visited the building where he'd be working and got his public transit pass and plans sorted out. Before I left we went over some basic cooking tips and made a few dishes together. We talked about his job - really a dream position for him, working as a junior economist for the federal government in a department responsible for innovation, specifically around aerospace initiatives.  I left Adam in Ottawa with lots of tears of course (mine) but also knowing that he was going to do great!

this is classic Adam - reading Reddit

Colin and I enjoyed some dinners out at Dine Out Vancouver and he had full weeks with classes, studying and working at both Ichiro and Takeya but also seems to manage to find time for social events and intramurals at UBC. 

 

 

 

At the beginning of February, Neil visited Adam for a weekend and they went skating on the Rideau Canal!

 

 In February, the snow started at home and kept snowing and stayed. I think the is the new normal for us here on the west coast.

 

I did two weaving workshops at UBC's Museum of Anthropology with some colleagues - cedar basket weaving and wool weaving. So much more complicated and complex than I realized. 

 

  

I was able to travel for work in February - enjoying the beautiful Sunshine Coast...

 

  

and for the first time, travelling up north to Dawson Creek.

 

Neil and I visited Seattle, so I could visit the Wonder of Learning exhibit and we could visit some of our favourite places together. This December will be our 25th wedding anniversary and are celebrating our story all year.

  

So much snow on the local mountains and I enjoyed snowshoeing with friends up on Cypress Mountain.

    

For reading break in February, Colin and some friends flew to Montreal. He had a great time and visited Adam for a day in Ottawa. It was our first sense of what it might feel like to be empty nesters. Thank goodness we still like each other!

This winter was also spent figuring out how to use our new Instant Pot and I loved the science of the pressure cooking!

I spent my 52nd birthday in March in Reggio Emilia, Italy as part of the Canadian Study Tour to Reggio Emilia. I have wanted to visit the schools in Reggio Emilia for years but never thought I would have the opportunity. I did lots of extra presentations and work this past year to pay for this trip but it was still huge investment.  Along with inspiring days full of lectures and site visits, we were able to participate in cultural events in the evenings. The trip was transformational for me.

After an amazing trip to Italy, I was home for 36 hours and then flew down to Portland for our annual BC study tour to Opal School. Neil drove down to meet me in the evenings and then we drove home together and had some time to get caught up on the first part of our spring break!

 Colin and his Kinesiology team won their division at Storm the Wall at UBC. Brought back memories for me as this was an event I did as well when I was doing my undergrad.

 And March brought out the beautiful Japanese plum blossoms in our backyard...

 

Adam is really enjoying his job in Ottawa and calls or video calls us almost every evening. Colin is starting to study for finals and think ahead to his summer holidays which for him, are just around the corner!

~Janice 

one little word 2017: reflections on joy

As I reflect on bringing back JOY as my one little word for 2017, it was a very good choice, so good actually that it might stick around for 2018.

2017 brought a full year of freedom in many ways for me (aka PhD free) and with freedom apparently comes joy.  I am a believer that you can choose joy and seek joy. I have tried to be very mindful of this in both my personal and professional lives. 

Of course, there are aspects of my work that are not always joyful. But...there are many times when I have been able to reframe my thinking and choose joy, seek out joyful moments and hopefully create opportunities for joy for the teachers and students I work with.

There are certain times of the year that JOY is more visible - the word itself just pops up. Easter and Christmas especially. Always a good reminder.

In 2017 I have tried to live a full joyful life, doing things that I love and nudge me in different ways. Going new places, learning new things, taking on new challenges but also finding joy in the simple things like Sunday morning baking, taking in the sights and smells of the seasons, setting a lovely table, walking along the water, reading a book that totally engulfs me and hanging out with my family. It's been a good one. Thanks JOY.

~Janice 

a month in the life: December 2017

December brought more Great Canadian Baking Show technical challenges - brandy snaps and rugelach.

I had a work trip over to Victoria for a couple of days. I love Victoria any time of year but it is especially festive in December - special displays in all the hotels and lovely lights everywhere.

When I got back the Christmas preparations really began - getting a tree, last minute shopping, wrapping, meal planning and lots of baking.

And the night before our 24th anniversary, I opened the door into the garage and got dripped on. It was pouring rain outside and it didn't take long to determine that our roof was leaking...through our house. Turns out a wild critter of some sort, likely a raccoon, dug a hole through our roof. And through a long process, we found out that our insurance policy surprisingly does not cover damage caused by initial damage by wild animals. Lovely thing to happen a week before Christmas, but we are all fine! 

On a happier note, happy 54th birthday to Neil on December 20th!

Colin and I made our first Beef Wellington for Christmas Eve dinner with the Kamide family. It was a lovely family evening with lots of help from Colin in the kitchen.

 Christmas morning...so low key (and later) now but still holding on to stocking and brunch traditions.

Christmas Day dinner was a big Novakowski affair with all the cousins at grandpa's place, with my mom's china and traditional Santa napkins. We cooked the turkey et al and Colin did a masterful job carving it.

 

 The boys both worked after Christmas and it was nice to have time to pop in and see them at work.

The boys both had plans for New Year's Eve with their friends so we spent the day together and had an early dinner at Burgoo with a celebratory fondue!

We reminisced on what 2017 brought us all and thought ahead to 2018 - lots of new adventures for the boys are in store.

a month in the life: November 2017

November here always teases us with winter a bit - some years we get a bit of snow but it never seems to last very long. We had some lovely warm days too which of course meant we had an intersection of summer, fall and winter all at the same time - life on the west coast!

Other parts of BC were decidedly in winter mode though. I flew into Kelowna and drove to Salmon Arm to do a full-day presentation. In the morning, I woke up to heavy snow but at the time, thought it looked so pretty (and manageable). I knew I was in trouble when the organizers suggested we end a little early so I could get on the road. It was an adventure but I got to the airport and watched as flights all around me got cancelled. And then mine was cancelled. When I phoned Air Canada they didn't think they could get me home until Saturday (this was a Thursday of a long weekend). I never really thought about a flight getting cancelled. The hotel by the airport was full and I had already returned by rental car. I decided I would just sleep at the airport and hope to get out on another airline to get home in the morning. A friend in Vernon heard about my situation and drove down and rescued me and I ended up staying the day snowed in at her place. I was able to get a flight home but had to fly through Calgary first. Just glad to be home and I will think carefully about flying for work during the winter again.

Back here on the west coast, I enjoyed some lovely hikes with friends in Lynn Canyon. Such a beautiful spot that feels so far away from the city but isn't. 

Adam's hockey team at UBC won their playoffs and Adam was glad to get the coveted intramural championship t-shirt. Small things like this cause great happiness.

And as is tradition for 18th birthdays around here, we celebrated Colin's 18th on November 17th with a "this is your life" photo retrospective. We had a lovely dinner out at Miku downtown with an amazing celebratory dessert.

I enjoy going to art galleries. It is not something that is Neil's favourite thing to do so I am quite happy to go by myself or with a friend. Gillian and I went to the opening of The Fabric of Our Land exhibit at the Museum of Anthropology in November and I have been back multiple times. This exhibit speaks to my soul - the gathering of natural materials,  the design work, the creating, the stories, the purpose. It has inspired me in all sorts of ways.

At the end of the month, I was off to Chicago to present at a math conference. I have never been to Chicago before (other than flying through) and enjoyed exploring the city - walking the Miracle Mile, going to Millennium Park and seeing the bean, visiting the Art Institute of Chicago, eating Chicago pizza, walking over the bridges, seeing Navy Pier and seeing the L train that I came to know through ER (a tv show that I watched faithfully every week before the days of PVRs, etc). Oh, and the conference and presentation went well too!

I began doing the technical challenge from Great Canadian Baking Show beginning with Montreal bagels and maple leaf sandwich cookies.

Looking forward to December and all the family and kitchen time the it brings!

a month in the life: October 2017

October started out feeling like summer...

Adam has been accepted into the co-op program at Sauder and now as part of his degree requirements, he needs to complete 12 months of co-op work. Lots to learn and think about as he will be beginning to apply and interview for jobs. Colin seems to find all sorts of things to get involved with at UBC and has had a successful first round of midterms - phew. 

Celebrating Grandpa Kamide's birthday:

I went down to Portland with some colleagues to present at the Northwest Math Conference and to promote next year's conference at Whistler.

We celebrated Thanksgiving at my sister's home but our kitchen was full of Thanksgiving smells all weekend.

Some kitchen fun -

 I travelled to Saskatoon with Michelle and Louesa to share some of the work we have been doing in our district around teaching and learning mathematics.

By the end of the month, it was definitely feeling like fall...

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Hallowe'en!

a month in the life: September 2017

Hello September!

We are still basking in the summer weather which always makes it hard to be in classes all day. Both boys are looking forward to their year at UBC. Adam is applying to be in the co-op program for his faculty and Colin is off on a weekend retreat for all the first year students in Kinesiology. Colin is only going to be working on Sundays at Ichiro during the school year and Adam is still going to work a few shifts a week at London Drugs this fall. Adam's also playing recreational hockey at UBC and Colin is finding all sorts of social events to attend! Neil is learning about his new school community and I am striving to work on that whole work-life balance thing - and am enjoying being outside in the evenings.

We celebrated Gillian's 50th!

And I joined colleagues and participated in this years Walk for Reconciliation - an important movement, close to my heart.

I have made time to play in the kitchen and love trying and learning new things.

Neil and I seem to be transitioning into the empty nest stage of our lives, even though the boys still both technically live at home. We are finding new places to explore and are enjoying getting out in the community on our weekends.

And onto October...