Finally, Gardening! Woo!

The weather here, right up until recently, was seriously inconsistent.  It would be really warm for two days, then the temperature would drop and it would rain/hail/generally suck for a few days.
That is basically par for the course for spring in this part of Canada.

Last summer was our first summer in this house, and we didn't do diddly with the backyard.  At one point, you  may have considered looking for lost civilizations in there.  However, toward the end of last summer, we finally got it cleaned up thanks to some help from some family, and we've managed to stay on top of it for the most part.

This has allowed me to actually start to plan out what i want to do back there.  I've ordered two 4'x4' raised planter bed thingys from a major retailer in anticipation of getting started this long weekend, but I have been thwarted!  They were supposed to be here by the 19th at the latest, but nothing has happened since my order confirmation.
I've spoken to some very nice people on the phone, who also have no idea what is going on in their warehouse.

I hope it gets sorted soon because I have vegetables I need to plant!

In the meantime, I've made due by planting some herbs in one of the existing beds which is currently full of hostas & daylillies.  I put in some chives, creeping thyme, and oregano.  In addition, I've got some pots going - one of rosemary & one of greek oregano.

On the upside, at least the front of the house looks nice.  There are purple petunias, yellow begonias and an orange gerber in addition to the peonies, lavender and pink columbine.

I hope those of you who garden managed to get some of your season started this long weekend, because I certainly did not get nearly as much done as I'd hoped!

Presented Without Context: The Shark Song

There was a boy
(hold up one finger and bounce it along to the tune)
Da na nuh na, Da na na na na

And a girl
(hold up the other finger and bounce it along too)
Da na nuh na, Da na na na na

And a lake
(make wavy lake motions with your arms)
Da na nuh na, Da na na na na

And so they swam
(pretend you're swimming!)
Da na nuh na, Da na na na na

And they swam
(keep swimming!)
Da na nuh na, Da na na na na

But. There. Were. SHARKS!
(using your entire arms, clap your hands in front of you like your arms are the shark's jaws)
Da na nuh na, Da na na na na

Papa Sharks!
(keep clapping, but do the da na nas in a papa shark voice)
Da na nuh na, Da na na na na

Mama Sharks!
(bring your elbows together and clap using only the lower part of your arms while using a mama shark voice)
Da na nuh na, Da na na na na

Baby Sharks!
(put your wrists together and clap only your hands, singing in a high baby shark voice)
Da na nuh na, Da na na na na

Grampa Sharks!
(fold your fingers under because grampa sharks have no teeth.  Use a deep, rough grampa voice)
Da na nuh na, Da na na na na

Inbred Sharks!
(flop your hands around like a fish on land.  Say whatever seems most inbred for the da na nas)
Da na nuh na, Da na na na na

So, they swam faster . . .
(swimming arms again, but speed everything up!)
Da na nuh na, Da na na na na

They swam faster!
(go faster, there are sharks!)
Da na nuh na, Da na na na na

But there were SHARKS!
(get your shark arms out again and start clapping)
Da na nuh na, Da na na na na

Papa Sharks!
(keep clapping, but do the da na nas in a papa shark voice)
Da na nuh na, Da na na na na

Mama Sharks!
(bring your elbows together and clap using only the lower part of your arms while using a mama shark voice)
Da na nuh na, Da na na na na

Baby Sharks!
(put your wrists together and clap only your hands, singing in a high baby shark voice)
Da na nuh na, Da na na na na

Grampa Sharks!
(fold your fingers under because grampa sharks have no teeth. Use a deep, rough grampa voice)
Da na nuh na, Da na na na na

Inbred Sharks!
(flop your hands around like a fish on land. Say whatever seems most inbred for the da na nas)
Da na nuh na, Da na na na na

(this next part is sung slowly, while swaying your body back & forth)
Now all was red . . .
Da na nuh na, Da na na na na
All was dead
Da na nuh na, Da na na na na

Except the sharks!
(start your shark clapping!)
Da na nuh na, Da na na na na

Papa Sharks!
(keep clapping, but do the da na nas in a papa shark voice)
Da na nuh na, Da na na na na

Mama Sharks!
(bring your elbows together and clap using only the lower part of your arms while using a mama shark voice)
Da na nuh na, Da na na na na

Baby Sharks!
(put your wrists together and clap only your hands, singing in a high baby shark voice)
Da na nuh na, Da na na na na

Grampa Sharks!
(fold your fingers under because grampa sharks have no teeth. Use a deep, rough grampa voice)
Da na nuh na, Da na na na na

Inbred Sharks!
(flop your hands around like a fish on land. Say whatever seems most inbred for the da na nas)
Da na nuh na, Da na na na na

Branded Balls *Not Those Kind!

WARNING:  I'm going to say the word ball or balls a lot in this post.  Not in a dirty manner, but if you are like me, you'll giggle anyway.  Balls.

Some things that I was vaguely aware of before having a child have come closer into focus for me over the past year and a bit.

One of those things is the ever-present corporate culture in North America.  It made me annoyed before the baby, and it makes me more annoyed now, since I've discovered that there are virtually no controls on advertising to children.  Things that other people see as cute seems overwhelming to me.  It is almost like marketing departments are cowhands, wanting to brand new calves with their ranchers mark as soon as possible.*

Don't get me wrong, sometimes I think knowing a company's product and preferring it over another is fine.  Some companies make pants that fit me better than others.  However, as much as that corporation would like it, I don't want to advertise that fact to the world by having their name or logo across the butt of said pants.
I feel the same about children's wear.  A one-year old does not need a company's logo across the front of their sweat-shirt or on their diapered butt.  They can't even read!  Other companies get around the lack of literacy by putting character likenesses on *everything*.

*Get off my lawn portion of the rant:* When I was a little kid, which was not forever ago, you could get licensed lunchboxes and backpacks, superhero underoos, and a character shirt if you were lucky enough to visit a themepark.  When I hit my teen years, characters and logos started appearing on more things.
Now, you can't swing your arm without hitting something that is either logo'd or that has a licensed character printed on it, especially if it is aimed at kids.

This rant came about because I wanted to get my child a bouncy ball.  Just a plain old rubber bouncy ball.  It is one of those staple toys that I think every kid should have.

The first issue I had is that regular old rubber balls, for bouncing, that are not a sport specific ball, are really hard to find.  I'm assuming this is because marketing departments have yet to find a way to market them as 'educational' and put some sort of computer in them.  If you don't believe me, go to the Toys R Us website and search for 'ball.'  When I searched today, it pulled up 82 items and none of them were a plain old rubber ball.

I haven't had a lot of luck with other retailers either.

Imagine my surprise when I was picking up supplies from the drugstore yesterday and they had rubber balls, in a size perfect for toddlers, in their seasonal section!  For only two dollars!

Unfortunately, every single ball had a lisenced character on it.  They were also clearly intended to be gendered.  You had your choice of the very pink Barbie ball, the also very pink Hello Kitty ball, the Disney Cars ball (blue & red with only male characters on it) or the Pixar Toy Story ball (blue & green with only Buzz Lightyear & Woody on it).

At this point, I gave up and the baby in my stroller picked the Hello Kitty ball.  She knows a good deal when she sees one.  At least Hello Kitty is not terribly prevalent in North American advertising.

At this point, my kid isn't able to identify common characters.  That day is not far off judging from other kids we know.  And I don't know how capable I am of navigating a world where there is a cartoon character at every corner who wants to sell her things.

Sometimes, a toy ball just needs to be a ball and not a marketing ploy.

*I'm not going to make any excuses for this pun.  I'm not sorry.