First Jasper got it. Then I did. Stomach flu weekend. Ick. Friday at about 3PM I felt like I was slipping into the Abyss (note capital A). I had to excuse myself from a meeting and just barely made it home before 6 hours of violent nausea set in: Hello toilet bowl! At about midnight it was all over, but the next 24 hours I felt like I’d been hit by a train. One thing I did wrong (in case you get this, take note): Don’t try to drink lots of water between bouts of vomiting. Apparently, the flu bug makes it almost impossible for the stomach to process food…

“Let them keep their Christmas tree … It isn’t as nearly as bright, Menorah!“

And apparently makes you look like you have a broom shoved up your ass. Oh, well. At least I got my point across. And it was early in the morning. Check out my live TV debut on Breakfast at the New RO, talking about the Empower Suit campaign for the Snowsuit Fund. If you don’t have hi-speed, try this version.

Ok, OK. Here are some recent photos of Jasper and Simon — with some adults who are in much less demand.

Fifty houses in a tiny mill town in Central Ontario have free compact fluorescent light bulbs tonight. How many Canadians does it take to change a light bulb? How many Canadians does it take to change things? Months and months after discovering by accident that changing just one light bulb in every house in Canada would reduce pollution by the equivalent of taking 65,000 cars off the road, the process has started — with a few friends, a brochure, 50 donated bulbs, and a good time in Fenelon Falls. Check out Project Porchlight. You’ll be hearing more about it.

Last week Simon got a tooth. Then another one. He’s drooling a lot, and constipated, so the progress he made saying “da daa” two weeks ago, has regressed to grunting. (BTW, he’s 5 months old, not a carnivorous older cousin or neighbour — just to be clear). Jasper (4) is singing Christmas carols in French. I don’t understand a bloody thing. And I’ve got him in a kids’ choir at the local United Church. They call the group “Cherubs” and dress ’em up in gowns with bunched bookish collars. Very cute. We’ve started taking him to church there Sundays because we felt a bit guilty about getting him into the…