Beyond the Gingerbread Post....

Want something home baked for the holidays but really don't have time - an ad at Dovercourt caught my eye today. A "stay at home mom who loves to bake" named Andrea is willing to do your baking for you (and yes it includes gingerbread!). For $5-$6 a dozen she'll bake gingerbread, shortbread, sugar cookies, thumbprint cookies, chocolate mini truffle cups (!) or chocolate peanut butter balls. Indeed she'll also make you homemade perogies (I'm guessing some Ukrainian in her background) or take your order for anything else you might ask for. Her number is (613) 747-5038. Let me know if you try it and it's yummy!

For lots of kid friendly gingerbread making opportunities see the separate post earlier this month.

Gingerbread, Gingerbread......

My Mom (who is 81!) still sends me (well, technically my boys) the cookies we always had at Christmas growing up.  They are thin, crispy delicious molasses cookies with a light glaze of icing and little candy balls sprinkled on top.  They are delicious and we all love them.  She has been sending them to me by mail for years and I helped make them for years when I was a kid.  I have a photo somewhere of my eldest baking them with her in her kitchen.  It's a sweet photo - he was about 3 - I will have to find it and post it.

This year in our neighbourhood there are a lot of baking opportunities, firstly in your own home kitchen and secondly out in the community.

Devonshire Public School is hosting its 2nd annual Gingerbread Workshop on Saturday, Dec 4th.  There will be three sittings: 10 am to 11:30, noon to 1:30, and 2 pm to 3:30.  The cost is $20 per house, candy, icing and best of all - clean-up.  There will be a little café set up with snacks and drinks for sale as well.  You do need to register in advance so please contact Kelly Serjeantson for more info kellyserjeantson@rogers.com or karlaandrich@sympatico.ca.

Canadian Mothercraft (on Evered Avenue) is hosting its 20th annual Gingerbread Event at the Crowne Plaza Hotel on Sunday, Dec. 12th, from 11-3.  Help decorate a gingerbread masterpiece that you get to take home, do crafts, have your face painted, hear the Junkyard Symphony and have a visit from Santa Claus.  $20 for an adult / $10 for a child  All proceeds from this event benefit Mothercraft’s work in supporting vulnerable families through the Birth and Parent Companion Program.  Call Mothercraft at 613-728-1839 x500 for more information. You may register by phone or email or you may purchase tickets from any Milkface location in Ottawa (the one on Churchill is closest of course)

At the Thursday, Dec. 16th version of the Chapel Cafe playgroup there will be bridgehead coffee, hot chocolate, Cookie Decorating (!!), x-mas tunes, face painting and a special surprise.  All are welcome.  See other posts about this playgroup if you need more detail.  It runs every Thursday from 9:30-11:30 at the All Saints Anglican church on Richmond Rd. between Churchill and Roosevelt.

The Cooking School at Superstore is holding Gingerbread House decorating classes on Sunday, Dec. 12th (1 pm) and 19th (1 and 3:30) and on Friday the 17th (6:30) and Wednesday the 22nd (6:30); $18 per person and the class has a max of 16 people.  Ages 3-5 must be accompanied by an adult.  Register online at http://www.pccookingschool.ca/ or drop by the Richmond Rd. store.  The site is not allergy free.

It is also hosting a "Sweet Treats for Christmas" class on Friday, Dec. 3rd from 6:00 - 8:00.  They describe it as a "feast of festive treats, featuring rich Rocky Road Fudge; beautiful Stained Glass Window Cookies; White Chocolate & Raspberry Cookies; fruity, nutty Tropical Snow Drops; and yummy Hot Chocolate". $12 per person and register online (as above).  The site is not allergy free.

If you don't make any of these I'm guessing the Harvest Loaf on Wellington might be able to help out!  =  )

Hope for Kate

Last spring some of you may have heard of a little girl named Kate in our neighbourhood who suffers from an undiagnosed illness that causes many developmental delays and who gradually lost all hearing since birth.  She was unable to receive the cochlear implants typically given to help deaf children hear because of serious issues with anesthetic.  Some of you may have read her story in the Kitchissippi Times or the Ottawa Citizen, seen the interviews on CTV or attended the Hope for Kate fundraiser which raised close to $50,000 for the Community for Kate trust.

Well now I can tell you that she did get her cochlear inplants to assist in hearing and the surgery was a success.   For more details, or to donate to Community for Kate, visit http://www.hopeforkate.com/, check out her Facebook Page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Go-Kate-Go/113508482008574 or her Caring Bridge site at http://www.caringbridge.org/.  Although many challenges remain ahead, I guarantee that it will make you smile to read more about her, her family and how wonderful it is that this step has worked out for her.  We wish her all the best for many more positive steps to come.

Sunday Yoga for the Little Crowd

"Come shine like the sun, stretch like a cat and balance like a tree..."...those are the words that greet you on the homepage of Little Feet Yoga.....

I didn't know about this class until I happened to do a twitter search for "kitchissippi" and it turned up!  The class is run by Catherine Lesage of Little Feet Yoga and you can find more information about her and her classes at http://www.littlefeetyoga.com/, though I found the most information about this particular class at http://events.linkedin.com/Family-Yoga/pub/467197.  The session starts on Sunday, Nov. 21st from 12-1 pm, though I gather you can sign up for the full session or on a class-by-class basis.  It is held at Kitchissippi United Church, 630 Island Park Drive, in the upper hall.

When my middle son was in the kinder program at Dovercourt they at one point did a yoga program and I was so surprised at how much he liked it (and how good he was at it - 6 year olds are really flexible!)  I was doing a yoga class at the time and he always wanted to pull out my mat and try out his poses. 

The class is for children aged 3-8 and their grown-up and is bilingual.  Pre-registration is required
Contact Catherine at littlefeetyoga@gmail.com for registration and fees.  She also offers birthday parties!

Holiday Shopping for the Young Set

We moved to this neighbourhood in 2001, just before having our first baby.  Mountain Equipment had just moved it, the pharmacy was still on the corner of Churchill and Richmond and Boomerang was a store in Old Ottawa South.  Things have changed and on the shopping front I'd say for the better - though I've certainly  lost a few of my old favorites too.

Want to know what's out there without searching the web or driving the neighbourhood?  Here are the beginnings of my list and yes, it is the beginning, so watch as it continues to grow.  I haven't even been to all of these stores and am really looking forward to visiting them and writing about them in the coming weeks.  Anything you'd like to add?  What's your favorite and why?  I'd love to know =  )

Boomerang Kids, 261 Richmond Road, http://www.boomerangkids.ca/
Chickpea Childrens Boutique - 1395 Wellington St. West, http://www.chickpea.ca/
The Extraordinary Baby Shoppe, 11131 Wellington St. West, http://www.extraordinarybabyshoppe.com/;
Fab Baby Gear, 1308 Wellington St. West, http://www.fabbabygear.com/
Kiddie Kobbler, 393 Richmond Rd., http://www.kiddiekobbler.ca/
MilkFace, 445 Churchill Ave N. (http://www.milkface.com/
Mrs Tiggy Winkles / Lost Marbles, 317 Richmond Rd., http://www.mrstiggywinkles.ca/
Peek-a-Boo Natural Toys, 992 Wellington Ave. West, JUST OPENED! 
Playvalue Toys - http://www.playvalue.com/
Red Chair Kids, 1318 Wellington St. West, http://www.redchairkids.com/
Scholar,s Choice, Carlingwood Mall, http://www.scholarschoice.ca/
West End Kids, 373 Richmond Rd., http://www.westendkids.ca/

Winter! Hockey! Skating! ...outdoors

OUTDOOR RINKS IN KITCHISSIPPI

This is what the Westboro/Dovercourt rink looks like now (or a week ago, =  )).  But in a month or two it will indeed be a rink with a "puddle", the name affectionately given to the ice surfaces without boards or defined edges.  And I'm winterizing my blog with wintery details for k'kids, with more to come....

Dovercourt has some great outdoor skating lessons that don't fill up nearly as early as the City indoor rink sessions (which I always miss).  Fisher Park has what I'm told is an awesome hockey development program if you're not quite prepared for the full commitment of the West End Hockey League, the other popular option.  It does however fill up extremely quickly.  Fisher Park also has its own skating and power skating sessions.  Registration for the winter session starts on Monday November 15th is in person only at the Community Centre office (613) 798-8945 located in the Fisher Park School, 250 Holland Ave. Payment by cash or cheque. For the hockey you have to be there bright and early. 

Information on the outdoor rinks below is taken from the City of Ottawa site at http://ottawa.ca/residents/parks_recreation/seasonal/fw/outdoor_rinks/locations_en.html.  Information below is current as of November 6th, 2010.

Champlain Park, 140 Carleton,, rink with puddle, field house w/ washrooms, lights, boards, supervised Mon to Fri: 5 to 9 pm, Sat, Sun: 10 am to 5 pm

Dovercourt (see Westboro, below)

Fairmont, 265 Fairmont, double surface with trailer and lights, Supervised Mon to Fri: 4:30 to 8:30 pm, Sat, Sun: 1 to 9 pm

Fisher Park, 250 Holland, Ottawa, Rink with puddle, Trailer, lights and boards (not sure whether it has supervision)

Iona, 223 Iona, Double surface, Field house, washrooms, lights, no boards, Supervised Mon, Tue, Thur, Fri: 6 to 11 pm, Wed: 4 to 9 pm, Sat, Sun: 11 to 5 pm

Laroche, 52 Bayview, Rink with puddle, Field house, washrooms, lights and boards, supervised Mon to Fri: 6 to 10 pm, Sat: noon to 9 pm, Sun: 1 to 5 pm

McKellar Park, 539 Wavell Ave., double surface, lights, no boards, field house w/ washrooms (though not sure of fieldhouse hours), supervised Mon to Fri: 4:30 to 8:30 pm, Sat, Sun: noon to 6 pm

Westboro (aka Dovercourt), 411 Dovercourt Ave. , rink with puddle, trailer, washrooms etc. in recreation centre, lights, boards, supervised Mon to Fri: 4:30 to 8:30 pm, Sat, Sun: 10 am to 3 pm.  Great family sledding hill at same location.  Picture at right is of Dovercourt's outdoor lessons.

Woodroffe, 180 Lockhart Ave., rink with puddle, field house, washrooms, lights, boards, supervised Mon to Fri: 5 to 9 pm, Sat: 11 am to 7 pm, Sun: noon to 6 pm