Lots of snow at Blue Mountain

Here I am at Kay Too with Ken and Lyndall (she took the photo). I have my hair cut short now.

Cheers to tons of snow& I can't ski yet.

I have to be patient and let the achillies heal and learn to be a ski bunny.

Ken is not skiing this season as he is waiting for knee surgies.

We are so happy to have Lyndall home for the Christmas holidays.

Joey- Lynn and Brian were home for a week in Nov. They moved to Singapore for three more years. We had a great visit with them and they got to do early Chritmas shopping and eat early holiday meals.

D’arcey ,Dave and Lukie will spend a few days at Whistler over the holidays. We skype them weekly to chat and watch Lukie being an active one year old. I will go visit them the last week of Jan.

Joey-Lynn is in love with her nephew and they are kindred spirits instantly! I made them matching pyjamas with crazy big buttons. His favorite activity this week was going shopping around the condo with his flashy Hong Kong bags. We sing and dance and went out in the stroller to two beautiful parks. He was still on china time so we had party at one a.m.

D’arcey had a double jet lag with Lukie on the go so much at night. I gradually got him back to his regular naps and he slept more at night.

Grandfather, Ken came too and he helped with the walks and shopping.The two weeks just flew by and we helped D’arcey and Lukie get ready to meet daddy Dave to fly to Ironman Hawaii for a week. D’arcey was attending a sports medical conference before the triathalon.

Ken and I packed the van for Celtic Colours in Cape Breton and drove to the Halifax airport to meet George and Freda Fraser. George is a master bagpiper and I was in the Lahr Pipes and Drums Band in West Germany 1975 to 1978. Freda was born and grew up in Cape Breton and George grew up in PEI. We all stayed at my brother’s  Dundee cabin. I had tickets for 8 concerts and a few local events and community meals. The first Sat. was a big family funeral- my Uncle Wilbert Urquhart and Freda was excited to even attend a real CB funeral. George piped the Mac Pherson’s Lament and slow airs at the family grave. We all attended the Celebration of his life at the firehall and then went to a kitchen party at a pub in St Peters.

It was a Ceilidh where the audience was invited to perform. After mid-

night when George played the fling tune -the Marquis of Huntly I was dancing the Highland Fling with a friend when – pop – my achilles tendon severed and I hopped on my good left foot to hold on to a chair. Because it did not hurt but the foot was useless I knew it was serious. We stayed for the end of the entertainment.  In the early morning my nephew who is studying to be an Ortho surgeon -

Nathan Urquhart  happened to be at his parent’s home with his wife and daughter. He came down to the cabin and instantly diagnosed the injury and he got me into the correct kind of cast. He had been  to a conference on new treatments for this injury the week before. We were now able to see all the concerts and take in the Mac Pherson Clan Gathering in Baddeck. Even with the cast I was able to attend the MacPherson meetings and events that I organized.

I taught two dance workshops and my young cousin Ava demonstrated the Cape Breton Step dancing and played her fiddle for the crowd and Chief Clunny from Scotland. 

The drive back was relaxing and I was comfortable in the van with my cast up and Ken driving all through the USA way home. It was on my way home that I realized how my life was about to change with a cast for six months.

No more dancing, driving, shopping, running about , up and down stairs or gardening…  but I still could sew even if it was downstairs. Ken came home the first day back with a swivel stool for the kitchen so I could keep on cooking and baking! Now I have finished six children’s quilts and am finishing some old sewing projects. I have read 11 books and am going to start learning more on the computer when Lyndall is home for the Holidays. I have been healing quicker than expected for a 61 year-old. This VacoPed cast is so much better than the last two hard casts. I take if off to sleep, shower or bathe and do my physio three times a day.

Now it is time to go back upstairs to make supper. I move around twice as fast as I could on Oct 10th when I got on the first cast. Now that winter came full force I found my left boot and went out today to cut a pine tree for Christmas.

As he read his memory was stimulated and his personal stories were told to me as he used the text and maps to let me experience his daily manouvers and battles all the way from Sicily to Italy, over to Egypt, to France, Germany,and finally Holland. We got out his can of wartime pictures and the old family albumns where his sister kept pictures he sent back to his home The Mac Pherson House  ( Hotel and family farm). I was busy writing the names of his fellow soldiers and places where he took the photos. Many pictures were taken at CFB Borden-then called Camp Borden. He was always mechanically an expert and experienced  truck driver and at Borden the officers recognized his teaching potential and they kept him back from the front to instruct on the tanks and new APCs and motor bikes. After a year of getting the armoured core ready for battle my dad- Lloyd Alexander Urquhart requested to be posted to Europe. He signed up with the Halifax Rifles but by the time he was in London there were so many causalities and the Halifax Rifles had to be disbanded to become reinforcements for the units facing the fierce German guns in the Canadian Fifth Brigade leading the way north in this Italian Campaign.  Lloyd was assigned to the 8th New Brunswick Hussars -the armoured core lead by the famous Black Watch Highlanders. His uncle William Stuart Urquhart was a soldier in the Black Watch in World War I and again in World War II. Uncle Billy was my father’s hero and he was engaged to Billie’s wife’s sister Harriet Peeples. My mother was living with her sister’s familybefore and during the war. I have the letters Lloyd wrote to Harriet during his service overseas. Mom left them for me to have and they too are precious memories. lloyd signed his letters with this lovely salutation:

                  ” Oceans of love and a kiss on every wave”

Could their love story could become a book or screen play? The settings are the front lines following the 8th New Brunswick Hussars and Toronto General Horse Guards and the family and friends back home in Cape Breton. What is a D-Day Dodger  and why has it taken so long for these stories to be told? My Dad explained it this way- it is a term that only those in the Italian Campaign can fully understand. Their purpose was to keep the German Big guns tied up on this front to distract attention for what was being planned for D-day.  It was ongoing seige with huge casualities but these D – Day Dodgers never “dodged” anything they did the opposite - they would not give up on their mission and took Italy ridge by ridge, ravine by ravine and river by river. this summer I will read Dad’s books and WWII notes  again and find out how I can share his story.

 She helped me correct my problems getting on my line and to my own g-mail. I have so much more to learn about blogging, using my computer, downloading and attacking files and sending things to my blog or to others.

Now I will try to continue my writing and contacting friends etc. Now it is Victoria day and I will finish this post. We had a good trip to Toronto-Lyndall was addicted to her new smart phone, played her tunes from her Ipod  -and Brandon rested. They got home in time to get ready for Lyndall’s friend’s wedding. She has a busy week with her movie being shown in a Montreal film festival on Sat. We will bring her our car to attend with her friends. She has to get calm and be organized so she can enjoy the event. Lyndall has to keep cool and manage her time so she does not get flustered. I think she had a good but short visit home and Brandon enjoyed it too.

Today is a hot day and we biked to the end of beach one here at Wasaga. Now it is time to go back to our beach at 41st  for a swim and do some reading or old fashioned writing !

Tomorrow I am going to Toronto tomorrow to see a play with Lyndall and get more help with this blog. I hope to see my nephew Nathan, Robin and baby Asia who are at a conference. I have some Olympic gifts for them.

Why I love the Olympics? This was the event I looked forward to since I first started thinking about retirement. It was always a sports event I admired and living with a sports family made me even more aware of the training these athletes must go through even just to qualify. I remember the years Joey-lynn and D’arcey did Olympic training for tryouts for the Canadian swim team. D’arcey made the team for Barcelona but decided not to go because she wanted to finish Uof T and compete in the World University Games as well as swim in International Swim meets. She went on to do 6 Ironman competitions and Joey-lynn completed a dozen or more maratons and Ironmans. They both now coach elite athletes and still watch the Olympics with awe. I also remember my parents getting so into watching the Olympics during the Calgary Games . Each quilt she made during an Olympic year has the hand quilting done in the Olympic circles around the edges. Dad drew the interlocking circles and Mom did tiny running stitches on the circles. She became a serious hockey fan since her three grandsons were in hockey and she had regular Sat.night bets on NHL games -she even traded hockey cards with the grandsons and kept albumns of their hockey events . I loved coming home during Olympics to stay up late and watch all the competitions. Next day she read everything written about the games and she got Dad to fly the Olympic flag they bought while they visited me in Germany. It flew at Dundee during summer Olympics and on the lawn flagpole in Port Hawkesbury. Mom and Dad had their own favorite teams and events . Mom loved the hockey, figure skating, bobsled, power skating and nordic ski events. She planned meals infront of the TV so they could not miss a beat. She often called me to discuss an outcome or remind me to get ready for an event. Watching these Olympics is to me feeling my mother’s spirit beside me on the couch- I wrap myself up in one of her many quilts and feel cocooned in her million of stitches that cover me from head to toe.

Today I was so happy to see the Terry Fox Olympic award given to Canada’s  Joannie Rochette for her courage to continue her quest for an Olympic medal two days after her mother’s sudden death from a heart attack the day after her parents arrived in Vancouver to see their daughter skate in the ladies competition. Therese Rochette was a truly a dedicated skating Mom who passed on strength and confidence to her daughter all through her skating career instilling Joannie to carry on and do her best and finish what she started. This mutual trust and empathy carried Joannie to reach a sliver  even during the grief for her own mother. No doubt she had an angel flying with her as the second she skated onto the ice she was not out there alone.

Now I must get back to the final events- Canada has 13 gold medals -BELIEVE  for sure- all we need is the men’s hockey gold- if  Harriet and Lloyd can cheer from heaven I am sure all their decendents will feel it as they remember Nanny’s caribou cove yell and Loyd’s calm but confident support and very big grin.

My friend Cathie organized such a wonderful afterschool party and the CCI library was full. I helped her set up theme tables on my teaching career and she made a wonderful story boad for me and she selected just the most treasured photos to show my career. She did it at Staples and when the former CCI student saw me in the photos- James told Cathie the storyboard would be free because teachers never get enough appreciation for all they do for students. I had a tears in my eyes when I was told that so I will drop in to thank James and his staff. He has often helped me with getting memory sticks to work and to print one of my short stories.

The retired staff came back to join in the celebration and everyone enjoyed the decorations , the food and time to chat with everyone. The caretakers gave me a beautiful plant arrangement.  The sectretaries made sandwiches and helped  set out all the delicious sweets.  I was so busy talking to everyone I forgot to eat but Cathy had a group come to her house for drinks and  a wonderful meal that evening.

Neil Buie was a real commedian giving a roast on me. He was kind and so funny! I can’t wait to see it on the video Lyndall made during the party. She came home the night before and helped Cathy and I all day at school. We took a break in the middle of the day and went up to Blue Mt. Village for a break.  She gave me a hiliarious book on retirement- You are not Dead Yet! The card she wrote to go with it was sweet. Annie H did the gift selections for me and the staff gave me a Celtic broach and Quaich for sipping Scotch! They also gave me a gift certificate for the Scottish Shop in Barrie. It was a happy day and one I will always remember. The sadness I was worried about was coddled by all the close friends and colleagues around me and I felt ready for the transition. The timing was just right – at times I felt sorry for the many teachers who admitted to being envious – especially the ones who have not been teaching even ten years!  I tried to pass on my secret of  41 years in my Thank You talk and reminded them to keep looking to the students in their classes and focus on the ones who are there to learn, to share, to question and even to challenge the whole process of education. The knowledge is getting into their developing brains – some right away and for some it all clicks in even years later when you meet them in the workplace or at the beach! After a few minutes  I interrupted to correct Neil when he referred to me as the 70 year old teacher who always was first to put her hand up to volunteer. I t was a  relaxing and fun  gathering and people did enjoy looking at the albumns, pictures and souvenirs on my theme tables. Finding me in the group photos was a game for some and many commented on how I really have not changed that much over the years. Once in a while people thought I was Lyndall in a few pictures and on the story board the girl in the kayak is Lyndall not me!  All those years did go by so quickly- but it always does when you are having fun!  So find something to make you smile every day- and some days you may have to laugh at yourself.

I came to CCI when my husband Lt. Col. Ken Musselman was posted to CFB Borden. I had taught the previous year at Alexander Dunn Public School and since the High Schools on military bases were closing I applied to a Families  Studies  at CCI and started an eighteen year position. In case any of my stuents and colleagues from previous schools are checking out this blog this is where I have taught :

                      SIR ROBERT BORDEN JUNIOR HIGH- 1969 to 1972

                       GRAHAM CREIGHTON HIGH SCHOOL- 1972 to 1974 

           BADEN SENIOR SCHOOL at CFB BADENSOELLINGEN ,W.GERMANY   

                                                    1975 to 1978  

                      GAETZ BROOK JUNIOR HIGH , HALIFAX CO. N.S.

                   COLE HARBOUR HIGH SCHOOL , HALIFAX CO. N.S.

                   HURON HEIGHTS  SECONDARY SCHOOL, NEWMARKET, ON.

                   NEWMARKET HIGH SCHOOL, NEWMARKET, ON.

                   ALEXANDER DUNN PUBLIC SCHOOL, CFB BORDEN, ON.

TO ALL PRESENT THE STUDENTS AND STAFF AT COLLINGWOOD COLLEGIATE INSTITUTE :

As we approach the Vancouver Olympics which was my target year to retire I wish to apply the  ”Believe” theme to this message.

You are what you are becoming – was the concept of my first lesson in Family Life Education in September 1969. It was all about becoming receptive to change and not losing yourself. It seems 41 years later that this thought can be applied to lifestyles today. We get so busy in a world which has everything at our finger tips that we forget to pause for the cause of letting us look inside ourselves to build the sparks that become dreams.

FIND SOMETHING TO BELIEVE IN AND WORK ON ONE DREAM AT A TIME.

Do not get lost in messaging just by texts – value making real long lasting relationships. Maintain and develop people skills with communication that does not get misunderstood. Real friendships can last a lifetime when you commit to each other.

Take time to do something special with your parents. Make a memory with them- learn a new skill anything from crocheting , snowshoeingor just sit down and give them the slow and easy lessons on doing more on the computer. Take a trip or day away doing something special. Parents are the ones who were your first teachers and they shall always be there for you.

When I became a professional Home Economist and was presented with my ring - I made a promise to promote the well-being of the family and it’s individual members. On February 2nd I will be leaving the High School classroom but I shall never retire from that Home Economics promise.

May you value your education and recognize that knowledge is a never ending process that can lead you to never ending wonders. Consider what makes you feel the most alive and lifts your spirits. That can build a happiness better than any pill. Passion can help you overcome obstacles and be the human engine that can drive you to a career of your choice. There may be delays and detours along the way and if you are aware and ready you will meet people that step with you side by side, at times in front and often just behind you. The tango is one dance that follows the challenge and flow of education since it is so alive, high spirited and full of anticipation. Dance is one hobby I will have more time to follow and to share.

Teaching has always been a learning experience and a lot like being on stage and being a director, parent/caregiver, providerand entertainer all at the same time.  Teaching can take a lot of energy and if you work it the right way it can generate energy. When that energy link is found and turns on- your students will say did this class ever go fast or why does the bell have to ring?

My bell is now ringing and I have lots of stuff to do at home. Thank you to all the students I have taught and learned with over the many years. Everyone at CCI have given me many fond memories. Thank you to the present staff and all the outstanding CCI Alumni for your support and team work. I will miss the kind and cheerful sectretaries and custodial staff who knew how to make me laugh.

 All you fighting owls  have made CCI the school where students and staff live the legends and can’t wait for the next re-union. As Ozzie says :  ” Dare to be Wise ! “

As I soaked in the bathtub before daylight I tried to remember the first day of teaching 41 Septembers ago. It was 1969 and aweek before my Mom and Dad packed our family car with my homemade bed and new matress , our old kitchen table and four chairs, bedding, linens , my Mona Lisa picture in great grand mother’s antique frame , a victorian table ,an old dresser and two new big garbage cans filled with everything a kitchen and bathroom would need. The previous two  years  while I studied to become a teacher my Mom paid for a unique kind of hope chest- every pay day she bought stuff I would need for cooking, baking, cleaning,  storing, serving meals – it all went in that big green garbage can. My two room mates were amazed with all my parents did to get our apartment set up.

The apartment building was new and we were one of the first groups to move in. The day school started we realized many of the tennants were teachers all heading out to the nearby schools. It wasn’ long before we were able to arrange car pools to our schools. most of us were earning $4300.00 for the first year of teaching so cars were not in our budget. We saved money sharing the rent, taking turns sharing meals and we even shared outfits and would sew most of our school clothes.

So what did I wear the first day I became a teacher? It was probably a gray jumper with red trim and a white blouse with a peter pan collar. I remember my shoes – red carpet- black spectators with suede and pattened leather trim. The high heels made me feel like a teacher- an inch and half taller!

My wardrobe was two dresses, three skirts, a Nova Scotian kilt, red blazer and turtle necks and blouses many colours of the rainbow. Nobody wore pants teaching in the 1960s but we did on the weekends. Cords and dress slacks but no jeans – If  I had any jeans Mom would get rid of them as she felt they did not become me even if I re-made them to fit. In my mom’s mind they were hippie or cowboy wear.

So back to my last day- do I dress down because it is Friday- it seems now teachers dress down every day. I put on my wear red on friday- ”Support our Troops” vest with a white dress shirt and black velvet jeans.  It was comfort clothes and I did have a lot of cleaning to do in the foods lab.

Attendance  was poor on this the last class before final evaluations. Time to review , chase down incomplete assignments, return projects and leave the students with some inspiration and light humour. Share the message from Oh The places You Will Go – Dr. Suess’ last book seemed appropriate. And then the bell rang and my last class – grade 10  Foods and Nutrition. When I told them they were my last class after 41 years there was silence. Then one kind of sassy teenage girl said well -how old were you when you started teaching? I told them I was just twenty and explained how I had students my age and older. I started teaching in the first integrated Juniour High School where black and white students from the Eastern Shore shared a new school. Many black students did not have the opportunity to start school until they were ten years old. This group that usually was rowdy and crushing to get through the but today they stayed back to chat with a kindness and respect. That was when I noticed Hayley had tears in her eyes . She stayed and came back to see me after the others left. She wanted me to know that when her mom got paid she may be able to buy me a card.

I gave her a hug and told her I really prefer notes or hand made cards and she really! I love to draw and make cards. She said she was so sad because she had picked my classes because she liked me so much. I told that she just made my day so special by saying that. I told her she would really like the new young teacher and the classes would be fun. I gave her the progress report and she was so proud of her 68%. Hayley M gave me her essay on how she feels about me leaving. It was straight from her heart and some sentences made me want to cry like she did, I hope another teacher can become a new mentor for her. She got so excited the day I brought her a ribbon for the best cookies at the Great Northern Exhibition. It was the first time she ever made anything that was a first place. Hayley does love to cook and she worked harder than anyone in that Foods and Nutrition course. Some of the negative behaviour of a few in her class made her very upset and she was actually worried for me.years ago I would have had Hayley who has special learning disabilities in a smaller special class. It certainly was the best way to teach students like Hayley because the class atmosphere would be constantly relaxed , positive and so much more could be accomplished teaching at a level to meet her needs and skills.

 After all these years and so many classes- on average four classes a day with about 22 per class and ten schools teaching all the Home Economics/Family Studies programs along with Grade 9 to 11 Science, Grade 9 and 10 Art, Grade 10 English and History and Career Studies and Grade 9 Special Ed. Geography. This was my high school time table at Collingwood Collegiate Institute- I always had half day in my speciality and then off to other departments. The last five years I was back to my speciality being full time Humanities and Social Sciences- the newest name for what was in my beginnings as the Home Economics Department. This was where I belonged but the experience in other subjects was an opportunity to meet more staff, learn more content and made me appreciate even more the value of our subjects as the window to these students future where our courses let them learn skills that would eventually become part of their every day life.

The biggest joy i have experienced as a teacher is meeting former students at Wasaga Beach or down town Collingwood, skiing at Blue Mountain or in Halifax/Dartmouth and even in a busy mall in Toronto where former students came up to me to talk about their present lives. On my present staff  I have a student I taught at Alexander Dunn Public School and she still has the boxer shorts she sewed and she remembers all the cooking classes especially the one where we made a celebration of the Order of Good Cheer. Family Studies was definitely special ! We could work local cultural events so easily into our programs- fashion shows with local businesses, visits to child care centers, International meals, Inviting World War II veterans in to our class for dinner, sewing mittens and hats for care packages and sending a big box of Christmas cookies with letters to our troops in Afganistan.

Well it all went by so quickly because we were busy doing the things that were meaningful and if I was passionate about the topics it did spread to most of the students. I will always have fond memories of the faces and comments when they finished something and could proudly say :  “I made this all by myself  ! “   or  “Taste this – it is the best! Can I take some home to let Mom try some!”

This is where I need a student to help me add some pictures here in my blog.

I have collected pictures and made albumns of the ten schools where I have taught and this week-end i looked through some of them-

A new school –  Sir Robert Borden Junior High with a special staff prepared to intergrate the black and white students in programs where we had to research and add Nova Scotia Black History and Culture throughout our curriculum . We had students from age twelve to eighteen in non- streamed classes all randomly formed groups. It was a most unique school with a student body ages thirteen to eighteen because many black students did not get a chance to start school until they were about ten years old. The staff was a team of experienced and first time teachers and the staff room was a buzz all the time with collaboration, team teaching , sharing resources, combining classes for special visitors, games and activities and the music/drama and sports and dance programs  were a big part of weekly assembleys .Within a month this school was hopping with what we now call positive school climate . It had it’s own culture and student leadership from both the black and white students came forward and a strong student council was formed. We had lots of shortened timetable days to have special events in the gym that built a lasting school spirit.

Some events were sports- basketball with staff and students on the floor together. The choirs sang and the whole school learned the words:  “ Jerrimah was a Bullfrog”   & “Joy to the World”  Songs by James Brown & Little Richard and  Sing -a -Long Jubilee tunes -Anne Murray’s hits etc

After three years I moved to the high school to follow these fascinating kids and see them graduate. Graham Creighton High School was growing and was putting itself in the provincial news with its famous basketball, volleyball and hockey teams. It was not just a jock school because it was becoming academically recognized for students being awarded excellence in Science, English and Math.  Back then our schools were Halifax County  not part of Dartmouth but a rural community with a new expanding  subdivision in  Cole Harbour. A few times Graham Creighton High School had rumbles that were race related and the media blew it up so it often made national news. The Black Power movement was trying to reach our students and Angela Davis was in Halifax promoting equal opportunity for black youth but most of our students already found their positive identity and believed they had the same opportunities as their white classmates. Since 1968 the provincial government paid the black students $5oo.00 a year to stay in school  and many burseries and scholarships were available for black students to go on to post secondary schools. Some of the fights on school property were not started by Graham Creighton students but were made to look like that. Our staff then convinced the media to write about our schools positive accomplishments. Richard Jewers and I shared a terrific homeroom class in 1974 in the new big Home Ec. room. We worked all year to fund raise and in July we took 24 students on a Newworld Educational Tour to England, Denmark,  Norway, Sweden and Lenningrad in Russia. It was an amazing three week cruise. The ship had 1o00 students on board and was run like a strict British private school with daily classes teaching our students all about each country they would be docking at for two or three day city tours then two days at sea with classroom work and ship tours to the bridge , engine rooms, galleys etc. they learned all about each Nationality , geography, culture  and money. It was the first time students from the West were allowed into Russia and Lenningrad was the only stop for two days. The locals knew of Canada because of the famous Hockey competion that year- our student were all wearing Montreal Canadians logos and pins and a few wore hockey sweaters. 

My cabin mates were  teachers  from Victoriaville Quebec and from Charlottetown, PEI. Our students all got along so well and they were learning about other provinces as well as Europe. On the last day in Lenningrad as all 1000 students left the huge Berinoski department store all at once. We were hurrying to catch our buses back to the ship and had to cross the busy street via  an underground crosswalk. Two of the PEI students went the wrong way and got lost in a huge Soviet city where nobody spoke English.They were lost for seven hours and my room mate was so afraid. She would have to stay at the Canadian Embassy to get help to find the boys but the Captain delayed our sail time and just before midnight the boys were returned by the Lennigrad police. A kind Russian man recognized the hockey sweater and kept saying Canada- Hockey – Canada Wins. The boys then trusted this man and showed him a card all our students had to carry while off the ship. This card was written in Russian explaining the students belonged to our ship at a specific dock. The man tried to calm the boys as he lead them to the police- he kept talking in Russian about the hockey game and the PEI hockey fan joined in in English telling the names of Habs players. He tried to give the man his  hockey sweater but the police would not allow clothes from the West-forbidden  back in the Cold War Era.