An Apology and an FYI

Hey everyone! This has been a slow posting week for us, obviously. It's been busy at home, without a whole lot new to report that you guys would be interested in. Life simply goes on.

We just wanted to apologize that we've missed a lot of comments people have recently left on our older posts. (And we didn't discover this till Blakeney was poking around for something in a rarely-used secondary e-mail account.) We usually forget to check for comments that we don't happen to notice on the main page, so we didn't reply. Sorry! We do appreciate your interest in our lives and adventures.

That said, here's the FYI. We're probably not going to magically start remembering. ;-)

We don't plan to close comments on older entries, and you're welcome to leave them. We'll try to do better about checking for them. If we don't respond to your comment on one of the earlier posts, though, please don't be offended. We do love you! We just get scatterbrained sometimes. :-)

Love,
The Green Girls

Evil Vampire Hunters Defeated by Traffic Court

"Uh, are we gonna fight, or is there just gonna be a monster sarcasm rally?" - A Vampire in Buffy Episode "The Freshman"

We haven't really said much about the car accident about two weeks ago, when Bree, Kirsten, and their driver's ed teacher were involved in a hit-and-run by the people who are after Clare. Bree and Kirsten are getting over how scary the accident was, and Clare is getting over feeling guilty over the fact the girls were involved because we took her in. Other than that, we haven't said anything because there hasn't really been anything more to report, on our end.

The police's end is another story. Ever since the girls made a police report, the constabulary has been trying to track down the people who hit their car. Our city doesn't have a lot of crime for an urban area, but our police force is really good. Eventually, they figured out who was involved. Today Kirsten and Bree had to go to court to testify about what happened. (Leaving out the part about vampires, of course.)

Turns out? Leaving the scene of an accident is a crime. So are obstruction of justice and evading the police, which apparently have happened in the meantime. The scary vampire hunters will be doing some jail time. They'll all be deported subsequently, and won't be able to return to Canada for a prescribed length of time. If they can't get into the country legally, it'll be a lot harder for them to come after our friendly local vampire.

So... for now, Clare is safe. Eventually they'll probably find a way to come back, it they're so inclined; Canada and the US have the longest undefended border in the world, and it's not impossible to sneak in. It'll be more difficult for them, though, and maybe they'll just give up.

Funny (but in a good and very relieving way!) that the mean vampire hunters were fought off not with violence, but with the consequences of a traffic offence! :-)

Love,
The Green Girls

The Birthday of the Blakeney

Sorry we weren't around pretty much at all yesterday - we were celebrating our guardian's birthday. She turned 28, ancient!

All of us - including the girls next door, who we consider family too - piled in cars, and headed to a little town about half an hour from the city, where one of Blakeney's friends lives, and we played in an outdoor swimming pool (Inna tried on her new bikini,) had a picnic barbecue, and then took a walk along the harbour after we ate. It was a lot of fun! The temperature was only in probably the high 70's or low 80's, and the sun wasn't high in the sky, so Clare even managed to join in some of the fun, with sunscreen and a lot of clothing on. The younger girls couldn't be there because they're still at camp, but the rest of us had a great time! It's fun to be one big family!

Love,
The Green Girls

P.S. We still need to think of something to call our neighbours besides "our neighbours" on the blog. We're trying to think of a pseudonym!

Six Months

This is the six month anniversary of our blog! Wow, can you believe that? A lot has changed in that time:

1.) There are two new sisters in the family, Bree and Fiona.

2.) Our neighbours became friends, then more like family. We found out they have some secrets, but we love them in spite of it.

3.) We met Clare, learned that vampires are real, and gained her as another honourary family member.

4.) We learned that we have powers we didn't even know existed.

5.) We got a dog!

There's one more thing, too, and it's related to Point #2 above. Lately we've been thinking how hard it'll be if we ever move, or our neighbours do. We'd really miss them. So we've decided (including our guardian and the adult sisters next door) that we're going to to keep being a big family. We're not just going to go our separate ways. We've all sort of adopted each other anyway - and now we've put it in words and made a decision. We're really happy!

Here's to six months making great blog friends! And here's to many more!

Love,
The Green Girls

Quiet House, Thinking Thoughts

Hi, this is Clare. :-)

Taryn suggested that I spend some of my wasted daytime hours blogging, and although I wasn't sure I'd have that much to say, I've given in to the peer pressure, and I'm going to try.

The house is really quiet without Evelyn, Charissa, and Fiona. It's sort of amazing how much chaos those three can create - I think it's just their age. Is it weird that I like the quiet, but I still miss them? I think the other girls do too, on both counts. You get used to having all the family there.

For that matter, it's strange not to have Kiwi here. I think I see almost as much of her, Summer, Inna, and Maia, as the people who actually live in this house. Even though they sleep next door, it's more like one big family during waking hours.

It feels like... I'm part of the family now, too. I didn't expect that. I'm really attached to them. I'm worried I won't be able to leave. Sometimes I think about asking them to adopt me. Then I remember how much harder I make things for them. It's silly to fantasize about it.

Today, I've been kind of philosophical, I guess. I've been thinking about good and evil. More specifically, which I am. I don't think I'm particularly good. Does being a vampire mean I'm automatically evil, though? Can a "creature of the night" still be good? Is what I am just bad, or does it depend on my actions? What if in the future, I never do terrible things? Am I still evil, because I'm a vampire? I feel bad that I have to drink blood. But is it any worse than a cheeseburger? Most people eat animals... just in a different way than I do.

I've also been thinking about the people I... you know... killed. It's hard to even type that. Yeah, the other vampires made me, but it's still my fault, isn't it? That must mean I'm evil after all. But the family here is so nice to me. Why would good people want to keep me around, if I'm evil? Maybe if I start doing good deeds, I could atone for my past or something. (Like Angel from Buffy - have I been watching too much television?)

Yeah. Thinking a lot, today. A quiet house can do that to you.

Love,
Clare

A Temporary Goodbye

Don't worry, it's not Clare saying bye, and it's not permanent.

(Hi, this is Bree, by the way.)

Today we said goodbye to Evelyn, Charissa, Fiona, and Kiwi for two whole weeks! They're going to sleep-away camp about an hour away from the city. They're going to be hiking, swimming, learning about nature, doing crafts, sitting around the campfire... the usual camp stuff. They also each get to choose an area to focus on learning about while they're there. The camp calls it a "major," like at a university. Evelyn is going to be taking horseback riding for her major. Fiona and Kiwi are doing drama. Charissa is doing sports and athletics.

It sounds like they're going to have a fantastic time! They were really excited... but a tiny bit nervous too. Especially Evelyn, I think, since she's the youngest and she hasn't really been away from home much. I think once they get there, they'll have so much fun they're going to forget they were ever worried or homesick.

We the older kids are staying in the city for now. Me and Kirsten have these two weeks off from driver's ed for "vacation." Kirsten is going to be doing a Model UN seminar, which she's taking so seriously it's a little absurd. You would think her success or failure was really going to make or break world politics, the way she's acting. Meanwhile, Felicity, Summer, and I are taking a writing course at the local public library, and Josefina has three more weeks left in her photography course that's co-sponsored between the library and the museum. Molly is going to the same art program she goes to every year, but she says she learns different things every time. Kaya has been taking dance workshops over the course of the summer so far, but for the next ten days she's taking time off from ballet to attend an environmental science day program with Parks Canada.

Clare can't go along on any of our activities, of course, due to vampire sunburn concerns - but she's doing a lot of reading and learning yoga. She seems pretty content, although it's too bad her life is so restricted. We try to spend as much time with her in the evenings as we can.

So far our summer has been pretty cold and grey. Yeah, we live in Northern Canada, but the other girls tell me it's usually warmer and sunnier than this in July. (It's my first summer here.) Things finally warmed up a couple of weeks ago, although it has been pretty inconsistent and there have been as many chilly days as summery ones.

Still, we're hoping to do some weekend camping trips between now and when school starts. We can't spend our entire summer in the city, after all, right?

Love,
Bree

The Deathly Hallows

Did you see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows? Did you love it?



*Warning, Spoilers*



We did on Friday evening ("we" meaning sisters, including Clare, plus Blakeney and our neighbours,) and we did love it! We've grown up with the Harry Potter series, and it's pretty important to us. The world of Hogwarts is such a fascinating and magical one. It's kind of bittersweet that the stories have come to an end, although the Pottermore website seems like an exciting way to continue the fun.

Most of us cried at some point during the movie. Even Blakeney cried - she loves Snape, and she was sad when he died, plus seeing his memories made her pretty emotional too. (Blakeney was gloating to us after the last book was released because she always knew Snape was good. Oh we of little faith! Still, kind of cool to argue about Harry Potter with your adult guardian.)

We've all read all of the books, but somehow seeing Hogwarts in ruins still had an impact. At least it ended on a happy, hopeful, optimistic note.

"All was well." ;-)

Love,
The Green Girls

Meltdown

Hi, this is Felicity again.

Last time we posted an entry, I predicted that things were going to come to a head after the accident. Unfortunately, it turns out I was right. Sometimes I wish I was wrong about this stuff more, but I know my family.

Last night, I think the final last straw came. The power went out on our block... which means no alarm systems. Under the circumstances, that was worrisome. Our neighbours came over, and we all camped out in our living room. It was really fun, actually, but we couldn't deny that it was for safety in numbers. I could tell Clare felt even more guilty, if more guilt was even possible after the car crash.

Ever since Tuesday, Clare has been all but silent. Today she was in the bathroom for a long time, with the door locked and the shower running. Molly was oh-so-compassionately going to fuss at her for using up so much hot water, but when she got to the door she heard Clare crying, so luckily Molly was sensitive enough to drop the subject.

The last few days have been sunny. Today it was rainy and grey, though. The kind of day where vampires don't have to worry much about daylight. Apparently, that was enough to get Clare to make her move. Or maybe it was just how much guilt was already brewing in her over the changes she brought to our lives.

While the rest of us were in the kitchen working on supper - we made crêpes, so it was a bit of a project - Clare slipped off and started packing her bag.


Bree heard her rustling around. She motioned to me, and we followed her into the bedroom. "What do you think you're doing?" Bree asked.


"Leaving!" Clare replied. "Like I should have done a long time ago."


"We don't want you to leave!" Bree couldn't help feeling angry, and honestly I kind of was too. We've been sympathetic, but after all that's happened and all we've been through together, it was hard not to be mad that she was just ditching us again without a word. Bree's face was like a storm cloud. "We've already faced danger and come out on the other side. How can you just walk away now?"


"Very easily," Clare replied coldly. Her eyes weren't cold, though. She looked really sad, and I knew it wasn't as easy as she was pretending it was.


"Clare, please..." I said quietly.


Clare hoisted her bag over her shoulder. 


Bree glared at her. "Doesn't anything we've done for you matter? Isn't the time we've spent together important?"


Clare turned to walk away, and Bree grabbed her shoulders. Clare pushed Bree. Bree pushed her back. 


"Girls, stop it!" I said helplessly, unsure what to do.


Clare slapped Bree, and then so fast I barely saw her hand move, Bree slapped her too.


Suddenly they paused, like they were frozen, and stared at each other. Bree started laughing first, then Clare started giggling too. They gave each other a hug. I was baffled by this strange ritual. Five seconds ago they're hitting each other, and now they're friends? Weirdos!


Anyway, Clare didn't go. She put her stuff away and sat with us at the table, even though obviously she didn't eat any food. Clare was smiling again, and she actually joined the conversation a few times. Things seemed nearly back to normal.


So that was our meltdown. It wasn't exactly the finest moment for any of us. All families have their problems... and our family has weird problems... so I guess in the end, we did alright.


Love,
Felicity

Crash

Hi, this is Felicity.

Kirsten and Bree had driver's ed this afternoon. They left after lunch, in their usual manner... bickering about which of them is a better driver. (Bree totally is, but Kirsten is stubborn.) They were teasing each other even as the door shut behind them and they went to catch the city bus to the school where the class is held.

Normally they come home at 4:00, but there was no sign of them. Sometimes they miss the bus and have to catch the next one, but there was no sign at 4:30 either. 5:00 rolled around, and we thought they might have decided to go somewhere after class and forgot to call, but we were starting to get really worried. Our guardian was reaching for the phone at 5:07 to call the school and try to track them down, when it rang. It was Kirsten, and she wasn't calling from class, or from the mall, or from anywhere she and Bree might hang out. She was calling from the hospital.

Kirsten told us that another car came out of nowhere, crashed into the side of the driver's ed car, and then drove off. The cars they choose for the program are like tanks, so neither our sisters nor the instructor were hurt, but the police took them to the hospital just to make sure nothing was wrong. They were pretty shaken up - especially Bree because it was her turn behind the wheel at the time and it hit her side - but they weren't physically harmed.

Obviously we went straight over to the hospital. Kirsten and Bree had to finish giving a statement to the police, but then we were allowed to take them home. They were really relieved the whole thing was over, although Bree is still kind of trembling even now.

Up till the point we got home, we were assuming it was just random. I mean, accidents happen when you drive. Once we were at the house, though, Bree quietly informed us that the people in the car that hit them were the vampire hunters she tried to send on a wild goose chase to Vancouver to protect Clare. Apparently they weren't very appreciative of the detour, to put it mildly. At least it bought Clare some peace.

Knowing this made the whole thing even scarier. Apparently the mean people are really angry now. We're worried about Bree (and the rest of us too, really) if they try to take more revenge. But we're also worried this is going to undermine all the progress we've made with Clare, if she thinks the risks to us have gotten too high.

For tonight, everything is alright. Now we just need to figure out what happens next...

Love,
Felicity

The New Normal

Hello, friends! This is Kaya. :-)

Life has been pretty crazy here lately, what with the vampires, vampire hunters, were-creatures, and secret powers! It seemed like every day, there was something new and unbelievable. You know what, though? Eventually everything still settles into a routine. There's a new pattern... but it's still a pattern. Our new routine includes being vigilant for rogue vampires, and our new pattern involves cats we know are human sometimes and abilities we've always thought were just in stories. Still, most of the time we just live our lives like everyone else.

So here's an update on some bits and pieces from that life:

Cirque du Soleil was fantastic! It was like nothing we had ever seen. The artistry was just amazing!

Kiwi, who takes gymnastics and acrobatics classes (and who, we would add, very much has the showmanship and confidence down too) has now decided she wants to join Cirque du Soleil when she's older. Bree, on the other hand, was totally fascinated by the technical side of it, and what has to go on behind the scenes to make the show come to life. During the school year she participated in Drama Club and was a techie for the school play, and although she'd never really been involved in theatre before that, she was hooked. It was fun to watch her watch and learn from the people who are so crucial to the show but don't usually get the credit.

Summer took Evelyn to the barn with her, and they had a blast! Ev is definitely going to start riding lessons when she gets home from sleep-away camp. Right now, getting ready for camp is occupying a lot of time for her, Fiona, and Charissa.

Kirsten and Bree are taking driver's ed, and they're super competitive about it. (I think Kirsten mainly started that, because she has a more intense personality, but Bree rises to her bait sometimes.) The sad truth is - and I'm sorry Kirsten! - but Bree is the much better driver, at least so far.

Molly has been working on a painting of Summer and Kiwi as cats. So far it looks pretty good! She paints on the deck whenever it's sunny and warm enough. Josefina is practicing her photography, and in the mornings she takes a class in it at the local museum. Felicity is getting her first-aid certification. Charissa is volunteering at the animal rescue, and training our own dog April to be a model canine citizen. (It's definitely paying off!) Fiona and I are taking dance workshops offered at our studio, while regular classes are out of session.

The best news, I think, is Clare. She's not talking about leaving anymore. I think she had a great time at Cirque du Soleil, and she keeps mentioning it, which makes us smile. Since she can't go outside when the sun is out, and it has been lately, she's been doing a lot of reading and yoga, and putting together jigsaw puzzles. Clare actually seems pretty content and relaxed.

Even better? Usually when she's talking to us, she refers to "your family"... but yesterday she slipped up and called it "our family" and didn't even catch herself! It's a small thing, but it's progress toward her feeling that she belongs here. Which she does! :-)

So that's what we've been up to when not dealing with paranormal excitement and mortal danger! Just wanted to show you that our life is actually still pretty normal.

Love,
Kaya (and Sisters)

Intervention with the Vampire

Hi, this is Bree. :-)

This has been a fun day for us. We went to Summer's horse show - she won four ribbons, and two of them were blue! We were so proud of her. Evelyn was in heaven (she loves horses) and I think she's going to be taking lessons now at the barn where Summer rides, too.

That's not what this post is really about, though. It's about our friendly local vampire.

Clare seems to be doing better since we rescued her at the park. She seems more relaxed, and she's living inside with us rather than out in the yard. She makes conversation, hangs out with us, and so on. There's one thing that worried us, though. She wouldn't commit to staying here. Whenever we brought it up, Clare would say she likes it here but she'll go if she feels she's putting us in danger. (Our guardian wants her to stay, too, but short of physical restraint there's not much she can do if Clare really gets desperate to go.) We don't want her to run again. We'd rather take the risk than leave her to face danger alone. The difficult part was convincing her.

The last couple of days, Clare has seemed more and more like she was resigning herself to leaving. She was careful to remind us she was temporary. I saw her looking up bus schedules online. We had to do something fast, or she was going to bolt. Sooner, rather than later.

After we got back from the horse show, told Clare I needed to talk to her privately. I was really nervous. Obviously I'm not scared of Clare, but sometimes I get really awkward and tongue-tied, and just stand there like a moron. I didn't want to screw this up.

Before I could lose my nerve, I blurted out, "So Clare, we can really do this the easy way or the hard way."

She looked confused. "Do what, Bree?"

"Look, we're not going to ditch you. Me and my sisters won't, and Blakeney won't. Even Inna and Maia are on your side. So this can really go one of two ways. You stay here, we defend ourselves as best we can, everything turns out fine and you lead a long, happy life. Alternatively, you flee into the wind, we follow you, we track you down, we defend ourselves and you although it's a lot more difficult since we're not on home turf, so we're in greater danger... then we bring you home, and on to the happy life. Those are the only options. You disappearing or us leaving you to your fate are not options. So really, the best thing you can do at this point is stay, and make it all less difficult."

Clare stared back at me. "What if I just run? You won't be able to find me."

I laughed. "Yeah right. They didn't let me disappear, and I wasn't easy to find. The distance of almost a whole continent didn't stop them. It won't this time, either. We're involved now. We're going to protect you, whether you like it or not. You just get to decide whether to make it easy or difficult."

"Why should I make it easy?"

I said the first thing that came to mind. "Because we have tickets to Cirque du Soleil tomorrow night. It's an early birthday celebration for Blakeney. If you leave, who's gonna sit in your seat?"

As soon as these words were out of my mouth, I regretted them. What the heck, Bree? There are a thousand reasons she should stay, and the best reason you can come up with is that you don't want to have to scalp her ticket? What is that? She's in mortal danger, and that's what springs to mind?

Sometimes I don't think on my feet very well. Weirdly, though? It seemed to work.

"You guys got me a ticket?" Clare asked in a small voice.

"Well, sure. You're practically family now, and the show is at night. We just kind of assumed. But if, you know... you don't want to..."

"I want to," Clare said quickly.

Getting her to stay at least one more day is a minor victory at best. One more step toward making her realize she's family, though? I think that may count for something.

Love,
Bree

On the porch with Summer

Hi, this is Felicity. I decided that today was the day I was going to talk to our neighbour Summer about what I saw. I was pretty nervous. I didn't want to upset her or make her think I was spying on her or anything. But I also feel like not talking to her was making a rift form between us. She seemed more distant from me than she used to be, and it happened really abruptly that day, so I'm sure it was the cause. I wanted to sort things out before the problem got worse.

I saw her out on the deck, and I went across to talk to her. I sat on the chair next to her without being invited, and she looked nervous, but she couldn't exactly tell me to go away without being really rude. So she just tolerated me, and waited to see what would happen.

I took a deep breath and said, "Summer, I wanted to talk to you about a couple of days ago."

She shrugged and looked out into the yard, watching the birds.

I went on, "I want you to know that it doesn't matter to me if there's stuff that's... different... about you. We can still be friends. You can trust me. Whatever it is, I don't mind. Neither do my sisters."

"Sometimes I'm a cat," Summer said, sounding semi-sarcastic, but glancing up at me through her lashes, waiting for me to react. If I'd scoffed or acted freaked out, I'm pretty sure she would have passed it off as a weird joke.

"I figured. Cat-you reminds me of regular-you. It's okay. Really." I smiled reassuringly. "Have you always been able to turn into a cat? Can you control it?"

She nodded. "Yes. To both. I have to change at least every once in awhile, but I can decide when. Kiwi and Maia can change too."

"Can Inna?"

"No, she's... different. When Kiwi is a cat, she looks like a little tiger. Maia has spots; she's like a cheetah."

"That's really neat!" I said enthusiastically.

Summer shrugged. "You don't think it's weird?"

"No, it's great. I wish I could do that!"

She shook her head. "You shouldn't. It's caused a lot of trouble for us. Did you know me and Kiwi have been adopted twice?"

I was surprised. "No, how did that happen?"

Summer looked out into the yard again, and it was hard to hear her. "We weren't always in the same family. Kiwi was adopted from China when she was a toddler. I'm not from overseas; I was born in Toronto. I was in foster care when I was a baby, and a family adopted me pretty quickly. Neither family kept us, though. It was too much trouble to deal with... what we are."

"That's so horrible!" I said, instantly sympathetic.

She shrugged. "Kiwi barely remembers the people who adopted her. They only kept her a couple of months. I stayed with mine till I was seven, though. Eventually they both decided to get rid of us. Kiwi was a Canadian citizen by then, and I always was, so we ended up in foster care in this country. Another family was going to adopt Kiwi when she was in kindergarten, but they decided not to after they'd had her for awhile and made a lot of promises to her. It hurts her more than it hurts me. I've had more time to get over it."

"So Maia got custody of you both?"

"Yeah. She was our foster sister, and she recognized that we were like her. She and Inna are wonderful sisters to us. I'm glad things worked out the way they did. But..."

"But you've lost a lot because of this secret?" I suggested.

"Yeah. I just want to have a regular life, with... friends."

I smiled. "Well, you have friends! You have all of us, for one thing! This doesn't change anything."

Summer didn't say anything. She gave me a relieved smile, though... and she isn't being weird with us anymore. I think talking about it really did help after all.

Love,
Felicity

The Story of Clare, Continued

Hi, this is Clare again. This is the second part of the story I started tell. My last post was about my life as a human. This part is going to be about how I got turned into a vampire, and why I'm running from people now.


This part is harder. It's about me doing bad things, and being around bad people. It also seems more... immediate. I've only been a vampire for a year, but in a way it seems like forever. Human life seems distant. It's easier to be objective about my human past; I remember it but it's almost like talking about things that happened to someone else.


I guess I hope even after I tell all this vampire stuff, people will still like me. I understand if you don't, though.


So here it is...

Amber is the Colour

"Brainstorm, take me away from the norm 

I've got to tell you something 

This phenomenon, I had to put it in a song 

And it goes like

Whoa, amber is the color of your energy 

Whoa, shades of gold displayed naturally..." - 311, "Amber" 

Hi, this is Felicity. For some reason I woke up really early this morning, and I couldn't get back to sleep. I decided to make a cup of tea and sit out on the porch. The sun was already up, but it was low in the sky, and the birds were starting to sing.

I saw a cat in the neighbours' yard. It was chasing the birds, but more playfully... not like to really catch and eat them. More like teasing them. I found it odd because our neighbours don't have any pets as far as we know. We've been in their house on a pretty much daily basis and there was never a cat.

The cat also looked kind of strange. It was really big for a domestic cat! It wasn't fat, though, it was sleek and muscular. It also had lovely amber fur, almost like a tiny lion. What a beautiful cat!

I watched for awhile, then the wind shifted and the cat caught a whiff of me. It got scared, and ran under their deck. As it was going, though, it glanced up at me. The cat had amber eyes. 

Eyes I recognized.

The same eyes as our neighbour, Summer.

I thought it was kind of weird, and not really thinking about it, I muttered "Summer" under my breath. The cat tilted its head and looked at me, like I'd called its name. Then it crossed under the deck, climbed the fence, and circled toward the street.

I know it sounds like I'm making a big deal out of nothing, but it kind of unsettled me. I figured I was just making up a resemblance. All day, though, Summer wouldn't meet my eyes. She was acting really embarrassed, like I'd stumbled onto something she considered private. As much as possible, she avoided me. That's not like her. 

Then after awhile, Maia made a comment about how she'd gotten up too early for a vacation day... and without thinking, Summer commented, "Felicity was up even earlier than you." How did she know that? I didn't see anyone awake except the amber-eyed cat.

Our life was so ordinary till recently. Now there are vampires and secret powers and... could Summer be some kind of were-cat? 

Love,

Felicity

The Story of Clare

Hello, this is Clare. This is the first blog entry on my own. The sky didn't fall when I let the readers interview me, so I guess I don't mind stepping a little bit out on a limb and talking about my past.

I ended up writing kind of a lot... so if you want to read it click the link below if you're currently on the main page, or scroll down if you direct-linked.

(Our) Interview with the Vampire

So, one of our favourite things to do when we get a new family member is to interview them. (We've done so twice so far - Bree was the first, then Fiona.) Clare isn't technically a member of our family in any legal sense, and she hasn't even promised to stay for the long term, but for now she feels like a surrogate sister. We wanted to interview her, and after days of pleading and bugging her, she finally agreed.

Clare said each of us could ask her a question, and she'd answer it for the blog. After a little more begging, she said she'd answer questions from readers, too! So if there's anything you're dying to know about Clare, leave a comment, and she says she'll answer... as long as she's not revealing anything "too dangerous." Whatever that means.

So here's the interview...

Happy Canada Day! And a conversation with Maia

Hi, this is Felicity. :-)

Happy Canada Day, to all our fellow Canadian friends! (And to those who aren't, hope you had a good day anyway.) Today we celebrate when Canada became a country in 1867, although not all of the provinces joined till later. Ours didn't join till 1949, as the 10th province.

As we've mentioned before, because of this there's some tension about whether today is Memorial Day - as was traditionally celebrated July 1st before joining Canada - or Canada Day. Older people are still alive who remember not being part of Canada, and younger people don't. There's sometimes some awkwardness about whether this is a holiday of solemn remembrance or happy patriotic celebration. Many people do both.

That's what we did. We went to a Memorial Day service at the war memorial this morning, and just now we had a barbecue for supper. Once the sun sets - very late, this time of year this far north - we'll go to one of the city parks to watch fireworks over the lake. It's a fun holiday!

Today was sunny and warm, so Clare had to stay inside. She's still here, by the way, and we're glad. She seems to be getting more comfortable. I think she thought we were just going to ditch anyway if things got bad, but when we fought/helped her run from those other vampires, I think she figured out we aren't fickle like that. We felt bad that she couldn't join us for the barbecue, but our family and our neighbours were in and out of both houses all evening, so she had plenty of company. Since the fireworks are after dark, I think she's going to go.

Yesterday was not sunny. The sky was dark grey all day, and for most of it the fog was so thick that you couldn't even see the headlights of the cars. Until recently, we would have just thought mean thoughts about how we should get a real summer, but now we can't help but think... good day for vampires. And it was. Inna said she saw the ones from the park sniffing around their shed and ours. Like literally, sniffing. Weird. They didn't try to attack, though.

Since we've been having these discussions with Inna, we've started wondering more about their family, but it's hard to know how to ask them. So, do you have connections to creatures of the night and the walking dead? Not so much a good way to start a friendly chat.

We did find some things out from Maia - one of the two adult sisters next door, along with Inna - at the barbecue tonight, though. I noticed she was kind of by herself, so I sat down and asked her about their lives. She's pretty quiet, so I didn't know much about her before, just that her parents were from Rwanda but she was born in Canada (thus the North American name) and she's a math teacher at Fiona and Evelyn's school. Maia is still pretty shy, but she wasn't reluctant to talk; I think she just feels weird starting conversations about herself, but she'll respond if you ask.

It turns out their family started from foster care, too. Maia's parents were killed in a car crash when she was young, and they hadn't been in Canada very long so they didn't have any relatives or friends to take her in, so Maia grew up as a foster kid. (Some of my sisters can relate to that!) In the last foster home where she stayed before she aged out of the system, she met Summer and Kiwi, and the three of them got to be really close. So once Maia was an adult, she applied for and was granted custody of them. Because they had been sisters in the foster home, it made sense to keep that relationship - it would be weird if they suddenly had to start thinking of her as Mom. Inna came along later... I'm not sure how long, though, or how they decided to make her part of their family, because the food was ready and the conversation got interrupted. I have to admit I was kind of surprised; I had assumed Maia and Inna were there first because they're oldest, but I was wrong.

When we went to grab our plates, Maia said, "We'll talk more later, okay?" So hopefully before long, we'll know more of the story.

Love,
Felicity