Good morning everybody!

I am making an exceptional post (a weeday morning when I should be on my way to school!) because I saw this wonderful video on Canada AM. I am curious as to how people make their blogs so diverse, so here's my attempt to embed the You Tube video that captured my fancy. It appears as though Toyota is reaching out to consumers by tickling their sense of humour... have a look. (Once you've watched this, don't forget to read yesterday's post. There is VERY IMPORTANT info included in that one too.)

The job quest continues...

A few weeks ago I blogged/vented about my unsuccessful application as a high school Basic French teacher. Well, yesterday I interviewed for a position as a Middle Years French Immersion teacher with the Louis Riel School Division where I am currently employed. The Division is trying a new hiring strategy for the first time, and that meant that all teachers presently holding a term contract were invited to throw their CV into the ring and the successful candidates would be placed following the interview process. My turn was yesterday at 3 pm, and for the first time in my life, adult or otherwise, I prepared for it. I had notes, a mnemonic device to help me remember everything I had to say about the climat in my classroom, I consulted colleagues and practiced my delivery while riding my bike home. In other words, I managed to get myself in quite a lather! AND, it was thirty degrees yesterday afternoon, which made putting on form fitting underpinnings a real honest to goodness struggle and during which I may have pulled a muscle. I'll do anything to look good in a suit. I was in and out of the interview in thirty minutes, and managed not to commit any blunders, serious or otherwise. I've done my part, and it is now my turn to practice what I preach to my students, the art of being patient.

In the spirit of hockey playoffs (Go Habs !) I am posting a photo of Scott Rees who is Kelly McKeag's eldest son. Scott is assisstant manager at Winnipeg's brand-new Apple store. When Norm and I were in there, the place was hopping; Scott was deeply entrenched in an intense tutorial session with a kid who had brought his laptop in for a look-see. It was pretty cool to see Scott take such good care of this little customer. Here he is, long past the (NHL) drafting age, but in his beer-league prime. THANKS FOR THE PHOTO SCOTT! (That means one more post without a photo of the Châtel boys or my dog.)

Charaty's (Scott's finacée) brother Derrick, Scott & Charaty's other-brother Darren

celebrating the Buzzard's league championship victory.

Before concluding this post, I must correct some of the info I posted about our cousin Dean Campbell. He and his partners are accountants, not lawyers; but Dean, were you ever a lawyer? Our cousin Doug Campbell in Calgary once was a lawyer and he switched teams and became an architect, so you can understand why a person might slip up periodically... This is how Dean so diplomatically let me off the hook when I mistakenly identified him as lawyer

"...although after Enron and Worldcom in the mind of the general public that may be a distinction without a difference".

Who said accountants don't have a sense of humour? I posted a photo of Angelica, who would have been Grandma and Grandpa's first great-great grandchild. I haven't asked Dean his permission to post this next part, but it is a perfect illustration of how when some place is truly home one tends to overlook its shortcomings...

Regarding May in Winnipeg (my last post was mostly about Winnipeg weather), the last time I was there was May 1st 2002(?), I was at a large family gathering at the former home of Uncle Scott and Aunt Sonya on Wellington Crescent, and it was snowing in the afternoon! Roy Drewitt asked me just how hot it could get in El Paso in the summer, and I replied the highs could exceed 100 degrees F. Roy exclaimed that a person would have to be crazy to live there. I mumbled something or other in response and glanced out the window as the snow flakes fell ever faster, all the while wondering how many El Pasoans would regard living in Winnipeg as crazy. To each his own, but I prefer hot and dry to cold and damp. Dean Campbell, El Paso Texas

Happy long weekend everybody,
wherever you may be,
I hope the sun shines brightly.

Good Sunday Morning !

This is the exact moment in time when 'Peggers are lulled into a false sense of meteorological comfort. It is mid-May (even better than midway) and yesterday Mother Nature granted us a beautiful day. We've had a lot of rain & grey skies of late. I know, I know, the rain was badly needed, and the explosion of green is refreshing and desperately needed after weeks of the dust and grime that melting snow leaves behind, but rain to a teacher means indoor recess and mobs of children who's delicate sensors react STRONGLY to changes in barometric pressure (I am nothing if not adept in euphemistic prose). BUT 'Peggers should know better...Mother Nature has duped us before. THEREFORE I have vowed not to gather up the winter gear for the spring-wash-and-store process until July 1. And to those who will goadingly say, "sure sure, it is just procrastination dressed up in scepticism", I say "You try and sit through 3 hours of baseball on a chilly May-June evening." I will not be snookered and the fleece blanket, toques and gloves will remain close at hand.

This weeks photos are courtesy of the eldest Campbell cousin, Dean Campbell, number one son of Uncle Craig (#3 son of Gladys and Douglas) and Aunt Enid. When I was a little girl I thought Dean was extremely tall and, like his brothers, exotic because they were American. Our meetings were years apart, and at some point I realized that maybe he wasn't so tall after all (sorry Dean, but the Campbells aren't really towering giants!) but he does remain exotic because he is still and American, his wife is Mexican, they both have two degrees each and they have the first great-grand-children.

Thanks for the photos Dean. Stay in touch.

Eleven year old Angelica Campbell in a field of East Texas wildflowers

Our cousin, Dean Campbell in his office, looking respectable.

Dean and his partners, looking rather informal.

(I'm sure if you need a lawyer in Texas they would serve you well)

Dean with his wife Maria and friends.

PHOTOS WANTED!

Don't be shy or modest,

send me photos of your vacations,

children, pets, home renos,

I will happily post them for our

collective viewing pleasure.

Alex turns 45 in Venice

Wrights and Drewetts fêtent in Venice

Alex Wright turned 45 this past April - the 18th I believe, and to celebrate she planned a family vacation to Venice. She, Peter and Fraser were accompanied by Liz & Rob, Ashley and jeff, Lynne and Aunt Pat & Roy. What fun. Of course the less fu part was that their trip coincided with the volcano blowing its top thus putting a full stop to air traffic in the 'hood. Once again Mother Nature was reminding us just who is boss. Lynne kindly provided the following photos, but I happened to steal a quick look at Roy's library of photos, and I must say, there are blog worthy indeed.

I experienced some difficulty in uploading the photos Lynne had forwarded to me, but this file uploaded while the others refused to. I am an expert blogger until operations go wrong - I am so quick to jump ship it is truly shameful! I am a fair weather blogger. The end result is that only one of Lynne's photos would upload, but I promise to post more someday... I think we all get the "picture" though - it was a fabulous trip. Happy Birthday Alex.

Aunt Dawn in Anguilla

To round things off, I thought I would post the photos Janis McKeag sent me. Aunt Dawn was in Anguilla over spring break. They are wearing their Easter bonnets; Grnadma would be so proud!

Pip, Janis's husband is seen here giving Aunt Dawn a hand with his luggage. Pip will be back in Canada in July when Scott Reece needs a BBQ chef for his lakeside wedding.

I will sign off now so that I can tune into the last period and a half of the Montreal - Pittsburgh game. Go Habs!

Happy Mother's Day

Cheers Mums!

Aunt Pat, Aunt Sonya, Dilly,

Aunt Sharon and Aunt Dawn

on the occasion of the official opening

of Grandpa & Grandma's

farm house at the

Fort la Reine Museum in P la P, July 2009

And a special tribute to my own mother who has

always valued a good sense of humour!

Here are just some of the great

mums that make up our family.

Dilly and Sonya Burns Christmas 2009

Dilly and Sonya, summer 2009

Janis & Dawn McKeag, fall 2009

Sonya Wright & Lynne Arnason mum to Kirk & Thomas Wright

Summer 2009

Alex Wright with her son Fraser Marco Lyon, summer 2009

Ashley Wright and her cousin, Margot (Tallin) Bigelow

July 2009, Neepawa

Lynne Arnason & Thomas Wright, summer 2009

Kelly McKeag, Alex Wright and Colin Rees (Kelly's son)

Sonya & her daughter Livy doing a time-honoured

Mother - daughter activity; the rite of passage that is ear-piercing

Step 1: Signing the waiver. This is for REAL Liv!

Step 2: Sterilizing the lobe:

So far so good, right Liv?

Step 3: WHAT?!? THERE'S PAIN INVOLVED!

And always remember Liv, your Mum signed the

paper that gave the technician the permission to

inflict the pain upon you.

Step 4: Not so bad eh Liv?

And Mom was there by your side all along.

A Christmas (2009) gift you will have forever,

along with the knowledge that Mum's are there to protect you, always.

irony

iro·ny Pronunciation: \ˈī-rə-nē also ˈī(-ə)r-nē\

Date: 1502

3 a (1) : incongruity between the actual result of a sequence of events and the normal or expected result (2) : an event or result marked by such incongruity b : incongruity between a situation developed in a drama and the accompanying words or actions that is understood by the audience but not by the characters in the play —called also dramatic irony, tragic irony

Curious as to why I would open with the definition of irony? I applied for a position as a high school French teacher, but was unsuccessful mostly because I do not coach a sport - it would be truer to say that the successful candidate will bring a lot to the extra-curricular table, whereas my sports experience is pretty limited. In fact, the past thirteen years have been dedicated exclusively to the spectators' side of the gym, and even at that I spend most of my time "connecting" with other parents (some might call it socializing, but I prefer the former). Hey! I've made important friendships with the parents of my sons' team-mates. That would be one example of irony - all that time spent in a gym and no coaching skills to speak of.

The other shortfall mentioned in the brief post-mortem I had with one of the interviewers was that the successful candidate uses "21st century teaching practices". I actually had to ask for an example of a 21st century teaching practice. Not a good sign. The answer? Using Blogs, Wikis, and Twitter (among other things) as teaching tools. Isn't that ironic? Here I am spilling my thoughts on this particular shortcoming on to what? A blog! I'm pretty sure I lost points for my lack of techno savvy. The truth is, using blogs in the classroom was not on my radar screen. Will I run out and sign up for a course on just that? Good question. I am curious as to how they are used to enhance teaching, especially the teaching of a living language, so I will do a little research into the matter. Perhaps then I will be able to make a more informed decision as to its value as a teaching tool.

The most valuable lesson I learned from this latest foray into the job market is that you can't leave the world of teaching for 13 years and expect things to remain the same. Now I hear some of you saying "Duh! Captain Obvious", but on many levels teaching does remain the same. One still has to connect with the students, one still has curriculum to deliver, assessing, evaluating, reporting all still in integral part of the job. It's the approaches that change. And parents are changing. I may one day come back and report something completely different, but that's what growing in one's profession is all about.

What is going in the world of Campbell/Burns cousins?

I received an email form my Dad's first cousin, Susan Smith from Edmonton, Alberta, notifying us of the loss of another of their first cousins.

Hello to my Crowe family -

A note to let everyone know that our cousin, Randy Strause (George Randall), Elsie's son, passed away quietly before midnight last night from a brain tumor.

Elsie would be Grandma Burns's sister.

A whole gang of Campbell cousins travelled to Venice to celebrate Alex Wright's 45th birthday (April 18th). They were of course grounded in the travel bottleneck that Europe became while the volcano spewed ash into the air. Hopefully one of the members of that travel party will share photos.

Norm (my husband) is in San Diego attending a Math conference, and was planning to hook up with our cousin Mary Naimish. We'll see how well they follow directions as they are supposed to take photos as well.

How many of you took the time to click on the link to Benjamin Zander's talk on classical music? I promise you will not be disappointed. In fact, www.ted.com is a great web site to find all sorts of speakers on all sorts of topics.

I will leave you today with a photo of our my boys (David-Louis in the very fashionable blaze orange tuque & Liam) and me with Dad in his last week at Riverview. Some might think it odd to be snapping photos of their father as he lay on his deathbed, but to me he was still very much alive and the moment was right.

Be well!

Love,

Shannon

Benjamin Zander on music and passion | Video on TED.com

Benjamin Zander on music and passion Video on TED.com

I know that I have been absent for several days, but only because life has been carrying on at the speed of light. In fact, I am preparing a skit that I must present to my eager grade five students, and so this post will short.

The above link is to a favourite clip on a favourite site. If you are unfamiliar with Ted.com, you are in for a treat. I hope you will have time to listen to Benjamin Zander as it is a wonderful way to spend twenty minutes. Enjoy!