u/beekettle

Reporting back.. it was so great! The film is gritty/graphic, and worthwhile in my opinion. Cool backstory crossover with the push of bookbans we are seeing now. The long walk concept, and knowing when Stephen King wrote the book made me think of the Banaan Death March in the Phillippines, though I have no idea if he would have been aware of that history at the time.

Joshua Odjick and his mentor Claudia Jurt were super generous with their time and insights. We got to hear about how Joshua brought a going home song from his culture to the role.

Yeahhh! For me it was nails, and now it's cuticles. I recently bought cuticle scissors for the first time and am trying to curb my habit by trimming any loose bits of skin. I really struggle to not do it (even in work meetings ugh).

It sounds like you'd like to develop your own crew. But in case it's of interest, the Nepean library has a romance book club now! https://booking.biblioottawalibrary.ca/en/event/happily-ever-after-book-club-0

And I hope you didn't miss the library's romance authors panel that happened tonight 😬

For.

We recently bought a 100+ year old house. We found out that the pipe joining our house to the city line was lead during inspection. The length of pipe is around 6' as we don't have a front yard and are urban.

We contacted the city for a lead water test and it returned a result that was below the public health threshold for safe drinking water. So technically we're good. Test from the city was free because our house was build before the 1950s (can't remember exact cutoff).

Because we have a young child, we've opted to filter all our drinking water with a Brita Elite filter (jug). This means bringing a water bottle up to the bathroom for drinking. We also always have a second jug on the go so that we can have a good amount of water available all the time. We haven't opted for a tap filter yet because we prefer having a nicer faucet. We do have a utility sink near the kitchen that I think we'll add a tap filter to, to simplify filling pots.

When we inquired to the city, they told us that our street had the lead water main replaced around 2000, so the owner at that time must have just opted not to replace their portion of the pipe 😞

Our recent quote was for $16,000 (Laurent Leblanc Ltd), but they said it would be $11,000 if we could line it up with city work so that they didn't have to remove/replace the sidewalk. There is also a $1000 city rebate. I found out the work requires a city permit ($300) that can take up to a month to issue. So my worry now is that if the city decides to do work on our sidewalk, that we won't find out in time and be able to get the pipe replacement lined up. I'd hope we could push the city to get the permit. That's what we're hoping to do. Even if we didn't care about the lead levels, I assume it will impact the negotiated sale price of the house if we leave.

Good luck!

Shannon Lee Simmons just released a new finance book for teens. I haven't read it yet, but I've read all her other books and would recommend checking it out on that basis. It's called Making Bank.

https://www.harpercollins.ca/9781443469814/making-bank/

Excerpts suggest it has situational examples, similar to the wealthy barber style, but for teens.

5 and a half now. He's been talking about being non-binary for almost a year now. We're still doing lots of open check ins. Like 'your friend Lily is a girl, and Oliver is a boy, do you feel like you're more like one of them?' or 'what pronouns feel good today', but he's so consistent haha.

We got a non-binary kiddo! We knew the likely sex before birth. Kept the household very open for the early years in terms of gender (but mostly used pronouns aligning with sex). And now we have this vocal and amazing kid who knows himself and asks for what he needs.

Wee Woollies for kids baselayers for sure. They source their merino in New Zealand and sew in BC. I've loved the quality of what we've gotten and it's plastic free.

Ooh I forgot! I love Wee Woollies for Canadian pure wool soft baselayers. Highly recommend. Always spend on these.

For moderately-granola options.. you might be into a clothing exchange service like this that buys from Canadian brands: https://moderndaybaby.com/

I'm in Canada but my budget doesn't really allow for buying Canadian so we go mostly used to avoid fast fashion. I'd also recommend looking at 'grow-with-me' pants from cottage craft sewers as they last so long! I've gotten some used pieces from Miles and Little Earthling Organics that I've really loved (it's a good sign when they last multiple kids). I also love Duns of Sweden (available at Modern Rascals).

Good luck!

Another idea.. I've heard some french families use Yoto audio players with 'make your own' cards to record their own reading of stories or to save copies of french kids podcasts. That's something I plan to try soon.

You could consider a non-resident membership at a Quebec public library to use their online resources. I'd recommend Ottawa but I find our french ebook collection for kids isn't the best. So you might do better with a library in Quebec or France.

This is a resource mostly directed at non-francophone parents raising bilingual kids, but it could be helpful to join a class for the interactive element. https://123petitspas.com/ Run by a French teacher in Ottawa.

I think that finding other francophone buddies and doing fun expressive things together is key. Repeating a translation if he speaks in English. Those things will help! Stick with it! Good luck!

I saw the tiny table in a pizza from the 1197 Wellington St. W location this week.

You could check at these 22 public libraries.. Alta Vista, Blackburn Hamlet, Carlingwood, Carp, Constance Bay, Cumberland, Elmvale Acres, Emerald Plaza, Fitzroy Harbour, Greely, Greenboro, Main, Manotick, Metcalfe, Munster, North Gower, Orleans, Osgoode, Richmond, Rosemount, Sunnyside, Vernon.

Call their infoservice line to check if a specific branch still has kits.

Will be there! Protect trans kids.

Kinemedics

You don't need a certification for the 3D printing. You should have a library card. The staff will help you get started. They have MakerBot Replicator+ printers.

I've used a steam juicer to juice them, then frozen it in cubes and used it in drinks.

Another idea for memories.. go through your old texts (if you have them) to see if you sent updates on baby as she grew. I know I sent a lot to my Mom so I'm planning to try to fill in our baby book that way.

Try Sanguiccio out.

Definitely continue trying to get through to your doctor's office. Sounds like you're going to need medical assistance to sort it out.

Cashable GICs. We have a timeframe that would put purchase time at around 2026.

I haven't been following the sub much because my partner and I haven't agreed to try again. But I do feel like I'm playing the waiting game. We have a 3 year old and I'm finishing up my master's degree in early May. That's the point when we'll be able to reassess and see if we're both on board for another little sprog.

My brain is definitely wanting another badly. Even though I struggle with anxiety and overwhelm. The thing that stresses me out is that if finishing school is going to make a big difference to our family and my headspace, we won't know that for months. But I'd rather start trying right away if we're going to, because the age gap is growing. Gah.