Our good friend Cameron came over for a visit this weekend. The kids were glad to see him and promptly wore him out with demands for piggyback rides.
Earlier today, we were driving down to Chapters, and he mentioned that in the upcoming Hobbit movie, Benedict Cumberbatch had been cast as the voice of Smaug the dragon. This was greeted with general approval from the rest of us in the car.
But it somehow led to a discussion between Cameron and Vivian on whether or not Barney the purple dinosaur was, in fact, a dinosaur, and not actually a dragon. Cameron took the position that Barney was a dinosaur, and Vivian the position that Barney was a dragon, and Cameron set about demolishing Vivian’s argument. Until he ran into an unexpected counterpoint:
Cameron: Does Barney breathe fire?
Vivian: No…
Cameron: Does he fly?
Vivian: No…
Cameron: Does he sleep on big piles of gold?
Vivian (rallying): Yes!
Cameron: (opens mouth, then closes it) Okay, point.
In other news, though I’ve not been posting, I have been writing. I have multiple writing projects that need my attention, and I’ve been focusing on that, in between just wilting under the heat that has afflicted us since this past Thursday. I’ve never liked the dog days of summer. When it gets this hot, I find it really saps my strength, and my interest in doing much of anything. Even the simplest things become chores. Fortunately, there seems to be some relief along the way.
If you haven’t yet, be sure to check out my latest column with The Kitchener Post, wherein I sing the praises of early childhood education and full day kindergarten. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to get to work on the next column.