This first week of July is bringing some excitement into my life. About a month ago the local library teamed up with a local author, Julie Rowe, to start a writer's group. After the first meeting, Sunday Prose was born and it consists of a diverse group of men and women from Fort McMurray who are interested in many forms of writing, but they are all passionate about one thing, the written word. I had been spoiled back home, in Nova Scotia, as I had a strong group of women who loved sharing their work, their passion, and their friendship in a group that met upstairs in a grocery store. Even though we came from small rural communities, we came together in a central location and shared our ideas, did writing exercises and went to workshops together. Even though our ages ranged from 24 to 76 we were all connected by our love of writing. So when I moved to Fort McMurray five years ago, I knew that I would miss my group, and the friendships that I had formed back in Nova Scotia. I immediately signed up for a workshop with Julie Rowe, and inquired about a local group. Unfortunately over the years, it seemed that there was lots of interest, but it just never came together until just a month ago.
I was nervous the first day walking into the library. Would there be enough people there to form a group that would endure over time? Would I fit in, or would my writing fall way short of the expectations of the group? Would I have something in common with anyone there, or would I be the "outsider" who just never fit? But most of all, would I feel confident enough to eventually share my writing? Even though I have now been a paid writer for about eight years, I still have trouble sharing my work. People always laugh at me and think that I am joking when I say that, but it's true. Even though I have shared some of the more intimate details of my life in my column, somehow sharing my fictional work seems more revealing. And it is something that I continue to work on.
My fears were unfounded, and I felt an immediate connection with a few of the women in the group. I went home from the first meeting energized, and excited to be part of a group again that had this strange urge to put words on paper, or on page. I felt immediately like I once again was understood, I had the support of people who got why I sometimes get up in the middle of the night to scribble my thoughts furiously on paper. This week will see us challenging each other to write, polish and submit something to a publication. We will meet a few times and write, share and polish a piece that we have to submit or put out to the world in one shape or another. It will be exciting to see what everyone will come up with, whether it is a work of fiction, poetry or just a short story about their life.
And then the municipality added to my excitement when they announced that there were be a series of writing workshops over the summer entitled Writers Block. The program will run on Wednesday evenings, at the Haxton Centre, and will feature writers giving talks about everything from an introduction to the craft of writing, to a talk about blogging. For me, it feels like I am a kid in the proverbial candy store, and I can't wait to see what all this encouragement, critiquing and support will produce in the coming weeks. There are so many wonderful writers in Fort McMurray, and lately it feels like it is their time to emerge in the cultural landscape of this wondeful northern city.
For information on either of the programs you can contact the library regarding Sunday Prose, and for information about Writers Block, you can email the municipality at: programs@woodbuffalo.ab.ca.
Happy writing!
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Fostering in Fort McMurray
I have been wanting to start a blog for a long time now, and I sadly attempted to start last month once again, but I find life keeps interrupting. So I thought I would sit down and just start short clips, about things that I am passionate about, and the first thing that came to mind was fostering.
We have been foster parents now for three and a half years here in Fort McMurray, and in all my 15 years of parenting, I have probably learned more in the last three than any of the others. I think I will write about it often, so I will try not to go on and on too much with my first attempt at telling you what fostering is like, because our story would be too much all at once.
But I will start with the question that I most often get asked, and that is, "Why did we start fostering?" And the answer is simple, we love kids. But that is the short answer. Growing up I was always surrounded by cousins and I think it was a natural thing for me to want a big family as I got older, I thought ten was a good number. I am sure I scared a few boyfriends off over the years as I revealed my desire to have a house full of children. But God had another plan for me, and I had to have a bone marrow transplant at 19. According to the doctors, any children were now out of the question, never mind the ten that I had been dreaming about already. But what happened in the years between now and then is a story for another day. In the end, I fell in love with a wonderful man, Tim, and we had two beautiful boys much to the doctors amazement. Then sadly we lost two children to miscarriage, and realized that my body was not going to produce any more miracles.
Five years ago we moved to Fort McMurray, and I was working at the Today newspaper when I did an interview with an amazing woman named Kerri Power, who works with McMan Youth, Family and Community Services, and our lives changed forever after that day. I came home that night to tell Tim there was a great need in Fort McMurray for foster parents. We had thought about fostering before, but this time I felt a connection with Kerri, and started to ask more questions about how to go about becoming foster parents. We started with an information orientation, where both workers and other foster parents came to answer questions of those attending. Then the few basic things that had to be done were a family history with a home study, cym and crim checks and a standard first aid course. ASSIST is also a course that you may have to take, depending on the ages of the children you want in your home. None of these things took very long, the checks just consisted of going to the provincial building and the police station to fill out a one page document request, and then waiting for it to come back in.
I cannot tell you how rewarding the experience has been not only for us, but for our two sons as well, who are now 13 and 15. The very first little baby that came to us over three years ago on that cold February day, is now a Murphy as well, as her adoption became final last year. And we have had quite a few children in the years in between, some for as little as one night, while others have stayed for months. We have taken new babies from the hospital, and fell in love with a few teenagers. You never know what the next call will be, and sometimes you have yourself convinced that the next time you will be more specific with age, but then you get the call, and you think, yes, we can do this right now.
There is still a huge need for foster parents, not only in Fort McMurray, but right across the country. So many people say to us that they could not do it as they would get too attached. I have to chuckle to myself at that comment, as I often wonder do people think foster parents do not get attached to these wonderful children? I know most of the foster parents in town, and every single family here has adopted at least one child, or has been granted private guardianship. We all fall in love with these kids, and yes, we are heartbroken when they leave, but the alternative is that we not do it, and what will happen to those kids then? For our own little girl, I break down in tears when I start to think about what would have happened to her if we had not taken her, as we had such a strong connection right away, and my mother instinct kicked in when it was needed about some of her medical issues. At one point I remember banging my hand down on a desk at the hospital and saying that I was not leaving until a certain test was done, and afterwards the doctor saying that she would have been totally septic within another 24 hours if she had gone undiagnosed. So we were there for her when she needed it, but you would not believe how much joy she has brought to our lives in return for that in the last three years.
Every single one of the children that has come into our home has taught us something, and my wish is that more families take on this challenge and feel the rewards. If it is something that you think you might be interested in doing, but do not want it to be full time, there is a beyond huge need for respite here in town. By doing respite, you give us full time families a break when we need it, it might be a weekend, or it might just be so that we can go to a doctor's appointment. It is extremely, extremely difficult for us to find respite as everyone in town is so busy, and you cannot just leave a foster child with just anyone, they have to have some paperwork done. McMan has another information session from July 6-8th, if you are at all interested or have ever thought about fostering. You can call 780-743-9721 for more information. You can also send me any questions you have about fostering, I will be more than happy to share any information with everyone.
We have been foster parents now for three and a half years here in Fort McMurray, and in all my 15 years of parenting, I have probably learned more in the last three than any of the others. I think I will write about it often, so I will try not to go on and on too much with my first attempt at telling you what fostering is like, because our story would be too much all at once.
But I will start with the question that I most often get asked, and that is, "Why did we start fostering?" And the answer is simple, we love kids. But that is the short answer. Growing up I was always surrounded by cousins and I think it was a natural thing for me to want a big family as I got older, I thought ten was a good number. I am sure I scared a few boyfriends off over the years as I revealed my desire to have a house full of children. But God had another plan for me, and I had to have a bone marrow transplant at 19. According to the doctors, any children were now out of the question, never mind the ten that I had been dreaming about already. But what happened in the years between now and then is a story for another day. In the end, I fell in love with a wonderful man, Tim, and we had two beautiful boys much to the doctors amazement. Then sadly we lost two children to miscarriage, and realized that my body was not going to produce any more miracles.
Five years ago we moved to Fort McMurray, and I was working at the Today newspaper when I did an interview with an amazing woman named Kerri Power, who works with McMan Youth, Family and Community Services, and our lives changed forever after that day. I came home that night to tell Tim there was a great need in Fort McMurray for foster parents. We had thought about fostering before, but this time I felt a connection with Kerri, and started to ask more questions about how to go about becoming foster parents. We started with an information orientation, where both workers and other foster parents came to answer questions of those attending. Then the few basic things that had to be done were a family history with a home study, cym and crim checks and a standard first aid course. ASSIST is also a course that you may have to take, depending on the ages of the children you want in your home. None of these things took very long, the checks just consisted of going to the provincial building and the police station to fill out a one page document request, and then waiting for it to come back in.
I cannot tell you how rewarding the experience has been not only for us, but for our two sons as well, who are now 13 and 15. The very first little baby that came to us over three years ago on that cold February day, is now a Murphy as well, as her adoption became final last year. And we have had quite a few children in the years in between, some for as little as one night, while others have stayed for months. We have taken new babies from the hospital, and fell in love with a few teenagers. You never know what the next call will be, and sometimes you have yourself convinced that the next time you will be more specific with age, but then you get the call, and you think, yes, we can do this right now.
There is still a huge need for foster parents, not only in Fort McMurray, but right across the country. So many people say to us that they could not do it as they would get too attached. I have to chuckle to myself at that comment, as I often wonder do people think foster parents do not get attached to these wonderful children? I know most of the foster parents in town, and every single family here has adopted at least one child, or has been granted private guardianship. We all fall in love with these kids, and yes, we are heartbroken when they leave, but the alternative is that we not do it, and what will happen to those kids then? For our own little girl, I break down in tears when I start to think about what would have happened to her if we had not taken her, as we had such a strong connection right away, and my mother instinct kicked in when it was needed about some of her medical issues. At one point I remember banging my hand down on a desk at the hospital and saying that I was not leaving until a certain test was done, and afterwards the doctor saying that she would have been totally septic within another 24 hours if she had gone undiagnosed. So we were there for her when she needed it, but you would not believe how much joy she has brought to our lives in return for that in the last three years.
Every single one of the children that has come into our home has taught us something, and my wish is that more families take on this challenge and feel the rewards. If it is something that you think you might be interested in doing, but do not want it to be full time, there is a beyond huge need for respite here in town. By doing respite, you give us full time families a break when we need it, it might be a weekend, or it might just be so that we can go to a doctor's appointment. It is extremely, extremely difficult for us to find respite as everyone in town is so busy, and you cannot just leave a foster child with just anyone, they have to have some paperwork done. McMan has another information session from July 6-8th, if you are at all interested or have ever thought about fostering. You can call 780-743-9721 for more information. You can also send me any questions you have about fostering, I will be more than happy to share any information with everyone.
Friday, June 8, 2012
Some easy Thai recipes
Basil
Chicken
3 chicken breasts
½ red pepper
5 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 tsp. chopped garlic
3 hot chilies, roughly
chopped
1 tbsp. fish sauce
1 tsp. sugar
1 tbsp. soya sauce
1 tbsp. oyster sauce
2 tbsp. water
10 whole leaves of
basil(I have used the paste and did not like it as much as fresh basil)
½ tsp. cornstarch
1 tbsp. water
Cut your chicken into
cubes about 2 inches long by an inch wide and put to the side. Cut the red
pepper into squares, or thin strips if you prefer.
Heat the oil in a large
frying pan or wok on high heat until it is just about to smoke. Add the garlic
and hot peppers and stir fry for a minute or so. Add the chicken and stir fry
for about 4 minutes. Add fish sauce, sugar and soya sauce and mix together for
about two minutes. Add oyster sauce and water and cook for a minute.
Add the red pepper and
basil and stir for about two minutes until the peppers soften. Dissolve the
cornstarch in water and add and stir for a minute to thicken the sauce.
I always serve mine
with rice and some eggrolls, and the kids and hubby love it. Below is the “recipe” that I use for the
rice. Both the chicken and the rice are
easy to double if you have extra people over.
Vegetarian
Rice
Cook two cups of white
rice(I use jasmine, but you can use plain), and set to the side. Heat 5 tbsps of vegetable oil in a large
skillet, and add about a tablespoon of garlic.
Then add whatever you like for veggies.
I usually put in about a cup each of grated carrot, mushrooms, and some
broccoli, but you can put in whatever you like, I have used peppers as well. Stir
fry for a few minutes, and then add two eggs and fry them until they are
partially set. Push the eggs and veggies to the side, and add your cooked rice
to the skillet, and add 3 tbsp. soya sauce, and ½ tsp. of black pepper. At this point, if you want to add frozen peas
you can. Then just work it all together
and heat thoroughly.
I hope you enjoy these
two easy thai recipes, they are easy and delicious and so easy to add your own
variations so that they turn out just the way you like them.
I will keep posting
recipes randomly, and I hope to get my supper “experiences” up and running
soon. Until then, I have some other
pieces of my life to share, so keep checking back!
Friday, March 30, 2012
No pressure!
So, I am not great at introductions, when I go to training courses and they get to me in the circle, I feel my voice crack, and wonder what I could possibly say about my life. And yet, here I am, trying to think of something that might keep you, my reader coming back for more. So where to start? Well, when I define myself, before all else, I see myself as a mother. So, I am currently a stay at home mom of three of the most fantastic kids you will ever meet. And no, I am not biased. They are 14, 12 and 3, and my husband and I are also foster parents, so our house expands and contracts as naturally as the Snye River during river break.
We have been married for almost 17 years, and yes, like so many other people here, we are from the East Coast. Cape Breton to be exact for 34 years, and we have been in Fort McMurray for 5 years now.
I love meeting people, I love hearing their stories, and I love sharing those stories. So that is the goal of this blog, to share the stories of the people living in our community, so that we all feel more connected, and we all are a little more interested in our neighbours and what is going on in their lives.
I want the blog to be fun, interactive and most of all, I want it to start conversations that you might not have otherwise. Thus the title of my blog, Around the Kitchen Table. I think the best conversations start over meals, or while sitting at the table with friends having a glass of wine. So that will be the wonderful catch that I hope to do with this blog. Every six weeks or so I will post a menu here, on Twitter, and on Facebook, and invite a certain number of guests to come to our house for a meal. It may not always be gourmet, but it will be free, all you will have to do is agree to a ten minute conversation/interview at the end of the evening, and then I will share your story! Some times I hope to have couples, other times I hope it will be wildly different individuals....of course, when I post the menu you will see if it interests you, and if you might have allergies, etc. But I want the whole evening to be about fun, meeting new people and sharing great food. Well, hopefully it will be great, I am not a chef, so hopefully it will be at least somewhat good.
I also think it will be a wonderful way for our kids to meet new, interesting people, leaders in the community and show them that sometimes stepping outside of the box will bring about fun things.
A blog has always been a goal of mine, but I have kept putting it off. Thanks to some recent encouragement I am looking forward to finally spreading my wings and seeing where it takes me, and seeing who I will meet on the way!
We have been married for almost 17 years, and yes, like so many other people here, we are from the East Coast. Cape Breton to be exact for 34 years, and we have been in Fort McMurray for 5 years now.
I love meeting people, I love hearing their stories, and I love sharing those stories. So that is the goal of this blog, to share the stories of the people living in our community, so that we all feel more connected, and we all are a little more interested in our neighbours and what is going on in their lives.
I want the blog to be fun, interactive and most of all, I want it to start conversations that you might not have otherwise. Thus the title of my blog, Around the Kitchen Table. I think the best conversations start over meals, or while sitting at the table with friends having a glass of wine. So that will be the wonderful catch that I hope to do with this blog. Every six weeks or so I will post a menu here, on Twitter, and on Facebook, and invite a certain number of guests to come to our house for a meal. It may not always be gourmet, but it will be free, all you will have to do is agree to a ten minute conversation/interview at the end of the evening, and then I will share your story! Some times I hope to have couples, other times I hope it will be wildly different individuals....of course, when I post the menu you will see if it interests you, and if you might have allergies, etc. But I want the whole evening to be about fun, meeting new people and sharing great food. Well, hopefully it will be great, I am not a chef, so hopefully it will be at least somewhat good.
I also think it will be a wonderful way for our kids to meet new, interesting people, leaders in the community and show them that sometimes stepping outside of the box will bring about fun things.
A blog has always been a goal of mine, but I have kept putting it off. Thanks to some recent encouragement I am looking forward to finally spreading my wings and seeing where it takes me, and seeing who I will meet on the way!
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