It's never too late to salvage a crappy day.  Early morning was not looking promising, but this day ended up including a cup of tea with a colleague, an amazing albeit short flight in a new plane with a friend, and a fun filled dinner with my family.

Those familiar with Greg Mortenson's work in Afghanistan will appreciate the reference to "Three Cups of Tea".  Although sometimes apparently a time-consuming hassle in our fast-paced western culture, the tradition of drinking tea together while mulling over various matters is one that can greatly benefit the decision making process, while enhancing personal relationships and improving overall health while reducing stress.

I had the great pleasure of taking tea this morning with a colleague in her classroom while the students worked on an independent assignment.  The atmousphere was calm and focussed for a moment, allowing the two of us to sip our tea together while discussing various facets of the teaching profession in general, and Grade Three in particular.  A valuable but seldom-to-be-had professional conversation unfolded as we exchanged ideas and observations, and I could feel my heart beat and pulse "normalizing" as the calm of the tea-drinking and conversation did its work.  (Interestingly, this calm seemed to flow smoothly through the classroom, and students who are typically rather "active" remained focussed on the task they were working on for nearly the full 40-minute period!  I guess a calm teacher transcends and shapes the classroom climate - surprise, surprise!)

For those who've not taken a generous (by classroom teaching standards) amount of time to drink tea with a colleague lately, I encourage you to try it out.  The rest of my morning was much better for having taken the time to indulge.

A pleasant surprise to welcome us home... Simon's Morning Glory has sprouted!

The nice thing about an evening flight is that you can still get a whole day of the Island in before you have to go!  We spent muich of the morning at the lighthouse beach, walking to Clarence's beach and playing in the sand.  Then it was off to Charlottetown for Cow's Ice Cream before heading to the Airport.  Can hardly wait until summer....

After an intense birthday dinner with the Wrucks and Wayne, Josh and I took off with the boys for the lighthouse beach... we had to fight some serious mud, but we managed to get there, and the boys enjoyed about 20 minutes of sandy fun at dusk before heading home again to enjoy the newly floored music cabin!!!  :)))

We're here, we're here!  So exciting to break through the crowds and see the red soil!!!!

Looks like they've built an addition onto the airport -- I don't like it.  :-P  But no more photos, sorry... we're about to get into our car and grab some groceries before heading out to St Pete's!  YAY!!!!!!!  We're HERE!!!  :)))))))))))

May long weekend, and our first trip out east of the season... Trevor's birthday meant a quick little celebration in the morning here at the apt in YYZ, but we plan to have a proper, leisurely birthday BBQ in St Pete's, weather permitting, on Sunday afternoon.  Boarding begins at 2:30, and then... a mere 2 hours until the blissful tranquility of Prince Edward Island.... at least for a few short days!

The boys had their first camping trip this weekend... in the pouring rain!  A friend and I took them to Presqu'ile, a campground not unfamiliar to me as a child.  Our campsite was right on the water (and we had plenty of water from above, too!)  Click on the first photo below for some larger images and further narrative:

Some years ago, Omi got it into her head to plant morning glory around the telephone pole out front of Second St.  For many months, the gorgeous blue and pale purple blossoms adorned the tall wooden pole each morning.

A few years later, Simon and I planted some Morning Glory, and -- for a few weeks -- said plants wound their way around the ugly metal stakes of our balcony at the apartment.

This year, Simon decided he wanted to plant both Morning Glory and Moon Flowers; the latter features glorious white flowers which blossom in the evening and send off an intoxicating aroma, and Simon thought it would be good to have the full day covered, rather than restricting his spendid balcony garden to the morning only.

Not to be deterred by starting from scratch and waiting patiently for the seeds to sprout, Simon forbid me from planting any other annuals in his Morning Glory/Moon Flower planter box, so here we are on day one.  Even the dog is unimpressed by the apparently empty box thus far!