Here comes the sun!

Conditions at 7:00 - 18* and foggy

Later- 28* and mix of sun and cloud

It appears that southern Ontario is sending us their weather - again!
Yesterday I was listening to CJOY (a Guelph radio station) and they were talking about the fact that it was 33* with a humidex reading of 39* - that's just nuts! It wasn't a great day here yesterday, rainy off and on all day, with a high of 18* but I'd much prefer that. Today is meant to be very hot and we're just not used to those kinds of temperatures here.

I was talking to Patti yesterday and the kids had a lemonade stand outside their house.
Apparently there were some construction workers down the road and some came and bought lemonade and someone even bought a bottle of water for their dog. Quite the little group of entrepreneurs on our hands.

Yesterday I received an interesting article in the email. Being as our department is all about fund raising, this one was actually one that I really thought was a great idea. I think it's something I might like to start with the kids when they each reach a certain age. I think 10 years old might be a good time.

Wonderful gift for youth in your life

Try this with your nieces, nephews, and grandkids

This is so amazing...from Uncle Bill and Aunt Beth in Gloucester MA to their nieces and nephews. Sharing and teaching and learning all in one. Nurturing young donors. Obligation and reciprocity. Please read the whole thing. Maybe you want to copy this gift and letter from Beth and Bill. Here's the letter:
Enclosed is a holiday gift for you from the both of us...By now you are old enough to know that no matter how much money you have, there are others who a lot less. By now, you are old enough to know that there is a lot in this world that needs fixing. By now, you are old enough to know how good it can feel to actually help someone else by giving them something - like your time or your skills or your money. By now, your parents have tried to teach you how important it is to share what we have in this world.
So the $100 gift enclosed comes with this deal.....
-- You need to give 1/4 of it - or $25 - back to the world. It is up to you whether to donate it to some organization, or to use it in some other way to help make this planet a better place.
-- In order to receive any birthday money next year, you need to tell us how you used the $25 well before your birthday.
-- And, if you do that, for your next birthday, you'll receive $125 from us. In other words, we'll give you more money next time if you follow the deal. (But we'll also ask you to give away 1/4 of that, too.)
So in the spirit of sharing this holiday season, here's a gift from us. We love you lots. And we look forward to hearing back from you.

I like this idea but I would like to take it one step further and stipulate that they must give away 1/4, save 1/4 and then they can do what they want with the rest.

The kids all have so much 'stuff' that they really don't need more toys, and they get lots of those kinds of things anyway. Of course it's totally selfish on my part - how easy would Christmas shopping be for me! And besides, not living in the same place, it's hard to know what to buy for them and we may not always spend Christmas together so this way I can just mail their gifts. Once they know they are getting the same thing each year, instead of dreaming of what they might get for gifts, they can start dreaming about where they are going to donate their money to each year, as well as what they can save up for.

We just might be on to something here. I know that James is already that way inclined as his birthday is December 22. Several years now on his birthday he has asked his friends who come to his party to bring money instead of gifts for him and he donates it to something he's learned about. It's usually something animal related and that's okay. It's still doing something to make the world a better place.

I'll talk to Patti about it when she's here and see what she thinks.