Leap Day!

February 29th should be a worldwide holiday. Don't we all deserve a random day off in February every four years? Of course, we do!
A day to play in the snow.

Here's Margot brushing her teeth (back in January):

A Playful Season

The weekend. Sunshine. Mild weather. Snow on the ground. What to do on a Saturday morning when you wake up at the crack of dawn (not by choice)? A day full of possibilities!

The secret to do activities with kids is simple: get there early and leave after one hour.

February is Winterlude month in Ottawa. The top three sites are: Snowflake Kingdom in Jacques Cartier Park, Ice Scuptures at Confederation Park, and the Rideau Canal.

This morning, we went to admire the Ice Sculptures:

Two weekends ago, we visited The Snowflake Kingdom with Jason and Noa. It was a cold and brisk Saturday morning. Since we arrived when the gates opened (9am), we didn't wait in line to go down the ice slides.

And skating on the Rideau Canal on Valentine's Day:

The best part of winter is enjoying the sunshine and the snow.

Words on Asanas, Margot, Books, Knitting, Computer.

YOGA

"How Yoga Can Wreck my Body" by William Bond.

Listen to it here: on Wednesday February 8th's episode  CBC Q

My new found yoga  "resolution": if  don't like it, I'm not doing it. 

From this day forth, goodbye sarvagansana (a.k.a shoulderstand):  I have never liked you from day 1. I tried.  I really did. Especially when I was doing my YTT and one of my teachers was in love with the Queen of the Asanas and we practiced it for 5 minutes a day. She "corrected" me so many times. And yes, there were moments, raised up on 3 blankets, elbows strapped behind me that I did feel calm and in tune. But it's not worth the effort. I can't believe so many people love that pose. I don't get it! Your neck is crunched up, you're trying to keep your elbows together and you're carrying your body weight. It's uncomfortable. I know... I know about all the great benefits. I'll get them in another pose!

Goodbye also to Ustrasana (a.k.a Camel) with dropped head. I hate dropping my head back and exposing my neck. It doesn't work for me. I'll keep doing Camel, but my gaze will remain forward.

Urdhva Dhanurasana (a.k.a. Wheel pose). You feel great and empowering, but you're hard on my delicate wrists.  I will only do you once, out of the usual repeated 3 times. in wheel. I

                                                                    ******   ******

MARGOT

Margot is so much fun! She's full of beans and honey ;) She now pretends to cry/be upset. It's hilarious! And it's so obvious that it's fake - I should enroll her in Acting 101. 

Her favorite words these days are: encore, merci, ça, no, down, assis, oui, lait,  Noa.

                                                                  *******    *******

BOOKS

I have two books on the go (as I usually do). My Women's Bio Book Club is my downstairs book. Out of Africa is our Winter read. It's easy to pick up, read a few pages, underline a few things and then put down and tend to my little munchkin. My bedside one is Jhumpa Lahiri's Unaccustomed Earth, a collection of short stories. The first one almost made me tear up. Now that's a good book! Can't wait to read the others.

                                                                 *******   ********

KNITTING

In terms of knitting. I'm working on a skirt these days, using Lopi yarn from Iceland. Like books, I have two knitting projects: one for movie watching downstairs (I just finished my own pair of wrist warmers) , and one for hanging out in the living room upstairs (grey skirt).  I just ordered Madelinetosh yarn online for a special hug in March ;)  I worked with this yarn when I made a nutmeg-coloured honey cowl for Bec. It is sumptuous! I knew no other yarn could match it, so I had to use it. There's only one store in Ottawa that sells it and they didn't have the colour I wanted.  Can't wait to begin my new project!

                                                             *********     *********

COMPUTER

We have a new addition in our home: a MacBook Pro. Smooth...

                                                             **********   **********