An Art Show

Isabelle has been attending art classes for a few months now. On Monday of the last week of school she had her big opening. There were formal invitations and we were told to expect "fancy food and fancy drinks." I took advantage of it to wear one of my best bow ties (I really don't get to dress up as much here as I did when we lived in Nova Scotia.) Isabelle and Jane dressed up too. There were fancy clothes all the way around.

Here is a the artist showing off one of her works.

The session/semester had been an exploration of all sorts of media. There was chalk, watercolours, acrylics, and some mixed media. The first stages involved learning about primary, secondary, and tertiary colors. Then came other concepts. Here is some of the artwork:

It was well done as they converted the whole studio into an art gallery. All the other kids and parents were there too, including a guest Isabelle had invited. Dorian, one of Isabelle's classmates, was there by invitation with his mom. I think they plan to attend the next session.

The people at CAT Studio do a very good job. Isabelle certainly loved it and wants to go back for another term.

Michelin Children's Christmas Party, Greenville Style

A few weeks ago, literally a few minutes after I got off the plane from Nova Scotia I headed out to the Pavillion for the Michelin Children's Christmas Party. Jane was already there with Isabelle. She brought along my skates and got Isabelle out on the ice.

Despite being up well before daylight I was happy to be home. A few of Isabelle's friends and lots of other kids, parents and grandparents were there to take in the activities.

The main event was the skating, but there was also lots of crafts and other activities. The bouncy toys were very busy, and there were snacks and treats for everyone. There was a huge raffle including some serious prizes. We didn't come away with anything but had a good time. I spent most of my time on the ice but did manage to catch up to some friends and in particular some of the moms and dads from Isabelle's class.

That evening we had some friends over for dinner. Jane had been planning and prepared a few salads. I had managed to arrange a dozen lobster and got them through customs without any issues. Some of our guests had never had lobster straight up and in the shell. I walked them through some of the intricacies of shelling a lobster with nothing more than a kitchen knife and a little elbow grease. In the end a good time was had by all.

The Joke's on You

Last night somebody broke into the Subaru. We always felt pretty safe around here but it just goes to show you that you are never completely safe from crime.

The thief broke the rear passenger window to get a bag that was sitting on the back seat. I suppose he thought the bag may have contained a computer or something. It was the only thing missing, even though I had some of my kayaking gear in the hatch.

I was impressed with the response we got from the Greenville County Sheriff's Office. Once we figured out how to get a hold of them, you can't call 911 for a simple smash and grab, they were here in about 20 minutes. A quick description and a look around and we were told to expect a report in a few days. He asked if we wanted forensics involved but I don't think that would be a good use of the county's time and resources.

Our insurance dealt with it very simply, saying it was essentially just a broken window. They were pretty efficient and organized to have a technician from a local glass shop here tomorrow morning to put a new window in. In the end we didn't make a claim on the $40 MEC satchel and essentially just want to get the window fixed.

The funny thing in all of this is that the perpetrator of this crime is likely less educated than most and is possibly even a high school drop-out. That's funny (or is it ironic?) because the bag he stole contained three mechanical pencils, a calculator, a few pads of paper, and some South Carolina high school SAT study manuals. The bag was my tutoring kit. I use it when going into one of the local high schools to help out 11th and 12th graders get through their HS-SATs.

Here is a look at the damages.

The good news is that none of the windows that have all my stickers in them were broken. I worked hard to get those there and I wouldn't want to have to start all over again!

Update on the Tooth Fairy

Just a quick note on those of you who have been curious about how the Tooth Fairy did. I think everyone was satisfied. The compensation was half a week's allowance. Not too shabby for a six year old.

Here is the note:

There you go.

The Tooth Fairy

Today was a big day for Isabelle. School pictures, a nice dress to wear to school, and then tragedy struck.

No she didn't loose her tooth before the school pictures, but she did loose it. It's been loose for a good while now and she has been wiggling it religiously. Unfortunately it did fall out while she was at art class, washing her hands over the sink. The tooth is gone but she's dealing with it well. I think it was harder on Mummy than on the little one.

Someone at art class told her to write a note to the Tooth Fairy explaining what happened, so she did. Here it is, written on a bar napkin (we went out for supper to celebrate):

In case you need some help:

"Dear Tooth Fairy I lost my tooth in CAT's Studio. I looked for it, but I did not find it. Love Isabelle Melanson"

I'll post the note from the tooth fairy when she replies.

In the meantime this is what it looks like when she smiles:

Tennessee and Other Adventures

Last week week took a long weekend in Tennessee. I had a project presentation very early on Friday morning to present to some French colleagues at 6:00 so once that was done we packed up and headed west. Our first destination was Knoxville. We drove up into North Carolina and stopped near Asheville at REI. We ate our picnic lunch (the first of three that weekend) in Lake Julian Park. Lake Julian Park is a neat little community park on a lake just between I-26 and Hendersonville Road. The park was very busy as a Farm Day was being hosted. We sort of knew something was up when we left REI and saw this:

The pig is on a trailer being pulled by a motorcycle. He seemed to be enjoying it, leaning into the corners with the air in his ears.

Once into Tennessee the plan was to go to the Knoxville Zoo. We had heard it was pretty good. Unfortunately we didn't know they were closing early for their Boo in the Zoo event. We were too late to make it worth paying full price for an hour in the zoo so we went off to find other adventures. We decided on the Museum of Art. It was very nice, although a little small. One particular exhibit was very interesting. The miniature rooms were quite something.

The real gem in the museum was the gift shop. Nestled in the back of the museum on the second floor where you wouldn't expect to find it, it had the best selection of gifts, books, and games I have ever seem in a museum gift shop. We ended up getting a few things there to tuck away for later.

Next we wondered around downtown Knoxville. Some of you know Wolfville, NS and Asheville, NC. I have always said how Asheville feels like a big Wolfville. It's a very crunchy-granola, back to the earth, sort of all natural kind of town. Well Knoxvelle felt the same only bigger and as Jane put it, even more so. It was very artsy and green, and has a huge university campus on the river. A very interesting city. We didn't stay in Knoxville but wandered up towards Oak Ridge for the night.

Oak Ridge is known for its role in the Manhattan Project. It didn't exist until the mid-nineteen forties and was known as the secret city for a while. Our first stop on Saturday was the American Museum of Science and Energy. The museum was a little dated and not quite as interactive as I had hoped it would be. The displays promoting nuclear energy were interesting but not very child friendly. I particularly liked the historical displays on the Manhattan Project and the A-bomb but I think Isabelle's favorite part was likely the games in the lobby and the two robot arms. They were pretty cool since you could control them and build things using foam blocks and balls in the large display case. To be honest most of the museum felt a little 1950's or 60's. I'm glad we went but likely won't be back.

Next was the complete opposite end of the spectrum. The Museum of Appalachia is in nearby Clinton. It is on several acres of beautiful Tennessee countryside and has some beautiful and interesting houses and structures. It felt a little like Ross Farm back in Nova Scotia. The walking tour took through the Appalachia Hall of Fame were we saw all sorts of memorabilia and other interesting artifacts. Here is some of what it looked like.

And a pretty good shot of the girl at her best (yet again she was a trooper through the whole three day adventure...)

Some of the local residents on the grounds of the museum.

An old postbox, for Jane, but not as nice as mine.

Some of the old houses on the grounds. We visited Mark Twain's family cabin. It wasn't originally located there but was moved in 1995.

That evening we had some time to kill before heading back to the hotel so we took a little detour to Maple Lane Farms. They had a huge corn maze set-up, along with a haunted house, some small rides, and a concert stage. Our main purpose was the corn maze. It was huge. The corn was over eight feet tall and the whole thing was over 10 acres.

Here is Isabelle at the entrance.

She didn't do too bad a job of navigating her way through. There were checkpoints throughout where you had to answer questions correctly to get hints as to which way to turn.

Once we made it halfway there was no stopping her!

Here is the view from one of the bridges. In the distance is the other bridge, almost to the tree line.

As Grumpy would say: the corn was as tall as an elephant's eye.

And finally the end. We only got hopelessly lost once.

Day three took us to Cades Cove in the Great Smokey Mountain National Park. We went early in the hopes of avoiding the traffic on the 11 mile one way loop. We were mistaken. There was no way to avoid the traffic. In the end we only drove half the loop and took a primitive road out of the park a back way. Even that road was busy.

The hold up was usually someone stopped dead in the trail to take a few shots of deer. They were everywhere, but you would have thought no one had ever seen any. The signs that said not to stop didn't seem to matter. Eventually the park wardens would show up on foot or on bike and move things along.

This part of the park was breathtaking. The views were better int he clear fall air and the leaves were just in the middle of changing to their fall colours. It is likely the best time of year to visit, and everyone else thought so too.

There were pull-outs and other attractions along the way, including lots of original buildings and stories to go with them. It would have been an amazing place to live "back in the day."

Here are some of the deer that were causing such a stir. (We didn't stop to take these. We just rolled along carefully since the little fellas don't seem to mind the traffic.)

There were some interesting barns and buildings, including this drive through barn used to dry hay by pitching up through a trap door in the middle.

This is the primitive road we came out on. It was a little challenge but nothing worse than some of the back roads in Nova Scotia. The drive was pretty.

Finally we drove by Bryson City in North Carolina and took a detour up the Nantahala Gorge. This is where the Nantahala Outdoor Center is located. It was a chance to have a little walk around, see the new standing wave they built in the river, and poke around the outfitters store.

This is also where Isabelle got her first wasp sting. We have always wondered about this event. Jane hoped it would be closer to a major medical facility. The problem is that there are allergies in Jane's family to bee and wasp stings. In the end there were no complications, just two relieved parents. Like I said earlier, she was a trooper.

Finally here are the fruits of our labors from last Wednesday. We had some friends over to carve pumpkins. For some of them it was the first time. The one on the top right is mine. No one can say I'm not a company man.

And again in the dark.

Finally I leave you with a new look for Isabelle. Most of you have likely never seen her with her hair straightened. It's not permanent, but just a little something she came back from the salon with. Pretty cool, but I think like her curls better.

Bird Houses and Balloons

Isabelle has been wanting to make something for a while. She loves to paint and mess around in the garage helping me with my projects. This week with Jane in Nova Scotia we tackled a small birdhouse project. Off course with any project you have multiple phases. Isabelle had been working on the concept phase for a while. Here is what it looked like.

Then you usually have to hire an engineer (unless you have one kicking around) to take what the architect has come up with and make it into something that can actually be built.

Then the contractors come in and put it all together. Isabelle helped with some of the marking and measuring as well as some of the nailing. Here is the unfinished birdhouse. Note the three levels.

Now for the paint. She picked red and black. It's not completely done so we will have to see where it ends up. I will keep you posted.

Saturday we headed downtown like many others to enjoy the weather. It was looking like the real last day of summer as it was expected to get uglier in the next few days. Our main goal was going down to see our friend play with his band The Jaywalkers. Unfortunately we didn't stay out long enough but we did listen to a little blues and have a little fun with Jay Dee. Jay Dee is a great entertainer for people of all ages and can really twist balloons. I know some other people who got some really cool masks, helmets, flowers, monkeys, and other cool things. I think I will keep him in mind for the next birthday party I need to help organize. He seemed to be really good with the kids who were there.

Isabelle ended up with a dragonfly that will likely end up hanging from the ceiling in her bedroom.