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Tuesday, August 20

Where does the summer go?

When I was a kid, summer seemed to last forever.  There were the weeks of swimming lessons, a week of family adventures for my dad's holidays, hours and hours on my bike.  But I just went to Summerfolk, the CNE has started and that means that my birthday and Labour Day weekend is not far away.  How crazy is that.  I feel like three blinks ago it was June with the summer ahead of us.

I have multiple blog posts in my head - a little update on the Toronto meet up, the 2 Sorbettos and the A line skirt I've made, a Summerfolk review, our house concert schedule is set...  but I need to get pictures off of Mr. Lina's camera (he was kind enough to take a few pictures for me) and much as I love writing, I seem to like sewing more than writing, Sorbetto variation #5 just needs a hem.  That's a good thing.  :)

So while I get pictures organized... I got a little recognition for my mentoring at work.  A project we worked on to build up my coworkers skills was recognised by her client with a reward that has never gone to a research partner.  Shiny gold star for her and I am so very proud of her.  On the plus side, people are recognising me as her trainer and I really appreciate that.  I got a certificate to put up at my desk and I get to pick a prize from over 200 options.  That sounds like a lot until you start ruling things out,  I don't want a watch/jewellery, I don't have kids, don't golf, I don't need many kitchen appliances.  There are quite a few cool, nice to have things, but nothing that is the clear winner.  I have narrowed it to a few things.
  1. Hammock for two with stand - the stand means I don't need trees to use it, but if I'm moving and it's the end of the summer, this is just another thing to pack.
  2. Lagostina 7L pressure cooker that I really don't have space for in my kitchen and I've never cooked with a pressure cooker, but it seems kind of cool.
  3. Coleman All in One Cooking system - we have a traditional 2 burner Coleman stove, this has multiple cooking surfaces so you can fry and grill as well as use the traditional burner.  But I worry it's a bit small, like you can't be boiling water while cooking eggs which I can do with a two burner stove.  So cool, but not fantastic.
  4. DeLonghi Professional Ironing System - this is where I'd appreciate your feedback.  I have a basic iron that I am generally happy with, it does what I need it to do and throws enough steam to hurt my fingers when I'm not careful.  Still... this looks like a neat iron and given the general price point, it should be better than my little iron.  I generally work on the principle of making do with what I have and that makes it hard to pick an iron that doesn't need replacing. 
Decision making isn't always my strong point.  I got this award in June and I got an email reminding me I hadn't picked something.  Two months hasn't helped although I guess I can rule out picking the baby oriented stuff.  The crib and baby monitors were looking tempting in June.  This isn't sad, it's just replaced by the thought that some of the older kid stuff (bikes are one of my options) will be a good choice at some point.

And can I reiterate I hate being told people are pregnant in person?  I feel stunned every time.  It is like I'm a wooden replica of myself that doesn't know what to say.  I say congratulations, but I'm not sure it actually sounds convincing and I don't have any follow up questions.  I immediately start thinking of myself and how this times with either my last loss or how many weeks farther they are than I've made it.  I need time to see this through their eyes.  It just sucks and I hate that I'm probably making them feel awful by not looking happy.

You can imagine that rant didn't come out of the blue.  My youngest brothers wife is pregnant again and they told us last night over Skype.  I will be happy for them, I do love my niece, but I'm not sure I am today.  She is at 7 weeks and my first thought was that I didn't make it that far.  I don't think I realised how much that was bugging me until I started to post.  I really didn't mean to go there, but now I'm leaky for the 3rd time today.  Not the most work appropriate behaviour.

So let's leave this with Vance Gilbert.  I didn't get to see nearly enough of him this weekend at Summerfolk.  This song, Goodbye Pluto, it is about Pluto losing their planetary status, but it's a song that makes Mr. Lina and I a little leaky.  It's a song worth a second listen for the words.

9 comments:

  1. Sera: The time that passes too fast (aka summer) is the same as that which gives us perspective (though not fast enough!). BTW, IMO, it's not your responsibility to have pleasant "follow up banter" with the pregnant people. Anyone who knows you understands this. xo

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    1. So true. It's not my job to manage their feelings.
      I am feeling better about it. I think I needed to find a little home for those feelings. The afternoon is 100% less eye leaky (so far).

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  2. Congrats on the award! I vote for the Professional steam thingie.. Everything else will come as regular life expenses.

    Like Kristin said, While Pregnant folks are entitled to their happiness, they shouldn't expect the same reaction to come from you. If they know you well, they would understand. If not, it is not for you to work around their feelings.

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  3. Congrats on the award!! If you like your current iron, I'd go for the pressure cooker. Those things ROCK!! (And you'll spend less time cooking and more time sewing.) ;-)

    I think everyone who knows the situation understands how you could be less than excited. But, especially with your SIL, you'd probably be more upset if you were kept out of the loop and found out later, even though it stings now. But I agree with Kayotic that it's not for you to work around their feelings, they'll either understand your lack of enthusiasm or they won't; either way it's not your problem.

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  4. Congrats on the award, it is lovely to be recognized for doing good work.

    I'm with Country Girl on choosing your prize, but for slightly different reasons. I used to work in retail and we used to refer to Delonghi products as rentals, cause they always came back. Not always, obviously, but their products really don't measure up to the price they charge. Get the pressure cooker. Pressure cookers are amazing, and once you get used to cooking with one, you will love it. Whole potatos in 10-12 minutes for example.

    In my experience people who are announcing that they are pregnant are too self absorbed (normal and to be expected) to notice any perceived lack of reaction on your part. Don't worry about it.

    Yes, summer has gone by in what feels like a week. I am seriously displeased. Right now (5:45 am) it is 7ºC! It is so wrong.

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  5. Thanks ladies, I appreciate the feedback. The Delonghi rental issue is a bit concerning but echos a few reviews I read. I find people only review things when they love or hate things, a few bad reviews don't bother me, but to the extent you called them rentals... that's showing a bit of a pattern not just a one off bad iron (or bad owner).

    As for the pregnancy announcement, you are all right. I'm going to post later today (assuming I can find the time). I had a long chat with my brother and I feel better.

    And ElleC - 7C?? Ick. We have a high of 31C today so at least it feels like summer. But it was rather cool in the mornings at Summerfolk. I really didn't want to get out of my cozy pjs.

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    1. We are at 26ºC now, so it isn't all that bad, but August is usually hot as hell here. Too early for cool mornings.

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  6. I tell myself not to read your posts at work! Because I cry! But I always read them and I usually (READ: almost always) cry. I love your writing.
    I say go for the hammock. Maybe because we are having the most amazing weather this week and I love the idea of a hammock.
    Or you could be practical and get the pressure cooker.

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    1. I am quite chuffed with the compliment. It's not a great thing to make you cry, but I'm glad to hear it resonates.

      I do like that it is intended for two, but a few weeks from now when it arrives... it isn't going to be quite as warm as today. The pressure cooker seems to be moving up the list. Not something I anticipated.

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Thanks for your comments, I love to have a two way conversation. I seem to be getting a lot of spam from anonymous users and am turning off the ability to comment that way. I really would like to hear from you so if you do want to add your two cents without an OpenId, email me at seraphinalina at gmail dot com.