Friday, March 31, 2017

Enjoying My Orchid Flowers

The orchid I bought last year is slowly beginning to bloom again. Every few days one of the little buds slowly opens up.

The plant is in a west-facing window that gets a few hours of late afternoon sun now in March. The temperature of our house in winter is hardly tropical, so I'm actually surprised to see the flowers come this early in the spring.

I haven't watered the plant since it started blooming about 10 days ago. I'm afraid to risk rotting the flowers. I read somewhere that orchids should be "watered" every few weeks with one ice cube - letting it melt on the soil... That's about two tablespoons of water, I guess.

Before it started to bloom I watered it weekly.





I was going to give it two tablespoons of water a few days ago, but the pot has no drainage holes and the sides of the clay pot feel damp. There must be moisture inside. I think I'll wait until the pot feels dry.

When these flowers stop blooming, I plan to transfer the plant to another pot with holes.


Thursday, March 30, 2017

So Many Pots!

I've never sold any of my pottery, but, after working with clay for several years, I now have more handmade dishes than I can use.

So I've been giving some thought to participating in a craft sale sometime soon.












Over the years, I've stored the pots I don't use on shelves in the basement. The shelves are overflowing!
















As I pack bowls, mugs and vases in boxes, I'm amazed at how many there are!

Time to sell the ones I don't need - or give a lot away!


Wednesday, March 29, 2017

Pottery Inspiration

Wherever I go, I usually have my camera (or Iphone) in my pocket...

I don't want to miss an opportunity to take pictures of blog-able sights or pottery inspiration!











Being able to refresh my memory before I head to the studio is so important.












Otherwise I waste a lot of time wondering what I should try next...

Tuesday, March 28, 2017

Storing Leather Bags

I don't watch much TV, but recently - while on the treadmill at Planet Fitness - I watched part of the Marilyn Denis show. Her special guest was a woman who specializes in organizing clothing. The 10 minutes I watched, she was talking about storing hand bags, in particular leather ones.

They should always be stored upright or they will lose their shape, the organizing expert said. And they should be stored in a breathable cloth bag, not a plastic one which could hold moisture in.

The next day, I went to my closet to organize my purses. I brought along a few old pillow cases to protect my leather bags.

The result? I did vacuum the closet shelf. And I did pull out a few bags to give away.







But most of the handbags I decided to keep are either cloth, plastic or micro-fiber! Though I don't use them a lot, I lined them up in plastic bins with a cloth on top (to protect them from dust).








Only two need to be stored upright in breathable cloth bags! My new leather knapsack is one of them. Not sure how I'll get it to stay upright on a shelf!

In my life, out of sight is out of mind!

I hope I don't forget I have these bags now that they're organized and put away!

Monday, March 27, 2017

More Fresh Pots

Every week or so, I bring home pots I've made over the past few weeks.

This is my latest batch, mostly purple...

















But a few are emerald green.

I choose a few to use...












The rest go downstairs to my pottery shelves.

They're getting full!

Is it time to think about selling pots at a craft sale?!

I'm not sure I'm ready for that - so, in the meantime, I pull out least favorite ones I've made over the years and put them aside.

Maybe I should box them up to donate to a church bazaar...

Sunday, March 26, 2017

Looking Back 10 Years

Ten years ago this month, I traveled to Germany to visit my youngest son who was studying for a year at Hohenheim University in Stuttgart.

I was still working, so I went during my spring March break.
The weather in Europe was unseasonably warm that spring.












But I encountered a few mishaps en route.













My plane arrived in Frankfurt too late for me to catch my connecting flight to Stuttgart...















It was then that I realized that I had no phone number to reach my son at.

(It was the pre-cell-phone era, and he didn't even have a land line in his residence room.)









The only way I could contact him was via email.







I ended up taking a train from Frankfurt airport to Stuttgart, rather than wait for the next plane, as I was told it would get me there sooner.










I emailed this information to my son, hoping he would get my message in time.













He checked his email after I didn't arrive on the planned flight.










The only problem was that I hadn't mentioned which train station I was arriving at!!












(How was I to know that there were two?!)









But fortunately, he was able to check the train timetable and match my arrival time with the right train!
(All the way there, I wondered what I would do if I arrived with my luggage and there would be no one to meet me!)











Foolishly, I had no address for him either!













Would I end up taking a taxi to the university, then sit on the curb near the residences waiting for him to see me?!!










Thoughts like that filled my mind!






But he was there! I was never happier to see anyone in my life!












He took me, by city bus, to his university campus where I stayed in residence with him.












I asked him to find me a bed and breakfast place nearby, but he insisted I sleep on his bed, while he slept on the floor.











It was strange to live in a university residence again, with shared bathrooms down the hall! (I lived in residence for one year at UBC in Vancouver!)
















That whole week, we went sight-seeing, first in Stuttgart, then in Heidelberg, and finally in Frankfurt, where I visited with three of my mother's cousins, siblings whom I had met in my younger years. It was good to see them again.









That may be the last time I see them, unfortunately. They are all of my mother's generation. Two are suffering from ill health and one now has dementia. But I was privileged to get to know them in their younger years, to meet their mother and one of her brothers - siblings of my mother's father, who had died when she was only two years old.,

(Here is a more recent photo that one of their nephews in Germany sent us.)

From Frankfurt, I headed back to Canada by plane - and my son headed back to his studies in Stuttgart, where he remained until the end of August. It had been a busy, eventful, fun week!


Saturday, March 25, 2017

And Still More Snow!!

Yesterday I woke up to a lot of freshly fallen snow...

I was very surprised. The past few days had been mild and the weatherman is predicting warmer days ahead...











I've decided not to let it get me down...












At this time of year, there surely can't be many cold days ahead, now.... can there?!!

Friday, March 24, 2017

Arnprior in Early Spring

Last week was spring break, so pottery studio times were cancelled to make way for children's day camps in the art facility.

Let's go for a drive, I suggested one day when the roads seemed safe and clear of snow. I'd like to visit every small town within an hour's radius of Ottawa this year. Why not start with Arnprior?

So we headed off...







Maybe Wes's chip stand is open...

I doubt it, Terry replied. It's not warm enough.











But it was! And there was a steady flow of customers.












Later we drove over to the river to see how it looked in spring, with the ice just beginning to melt.











Actually Arnprior has two rivers - the Ottawa River, which is much wider. It divides Ontario and the neighboring province of Quebec.

The second flows through the town into the Ottawa River.

I always love to stand by the river and enjoy the tranquil scenery... But, this early in spring, it was cold!




So we headed into historic downtown Arnprior...













We headed to a cafe we know...

... and warmed up with soup and coffee before heading home.

Thursday, March 23, 2017

Keys to a Happy Retirement: A Personal Reflection

Yesterday's blog post mentioned a newspaper article's "keys" to a happy retirement. Writing about it made me reflect on my own retirement. I think that the opening questions posed by the article are very important:
  1. What do you want out of life?
  2. What do you enjoy doing?
  3. How will you fill the social gap retirement from work brings? 
Before I retired, I had no idea I'd be doing what I am doing right now, well into this wonderful phase of life. But I did know that I wanted to travel, quilt, write and do art - something I didn't have enough time to do during my working years.







A year after retiring, I started to write this blog - a diary of my life with pictures. In my mind, it would be a picture to those living in other countries of what Canadian life is like. That idea doubtlessly came from my years of teaching English to immigrants, talking about the Canadian way of life and explaining how Canadians think. 






I don't know how many people from other countries actually read this blog, but I know my grown-up children dip into it from time to time. That brings me to my second purpose in writing: We don't always have time or inclination to listen to our parents when they're around - but years later, they may be interested in knowing.







I think retirement evolves, as time progresses. The winter after beginning my blog, I began to take art classes. My neighbor Mary (who is also retired) encouraged me to try botanical drawing, which I did for a few years. Then my curiosity about pottery led me to take a few classes in that.













Traveling has also been my passion - learning about cultures by seeing first hand how people live. I've done a bit of that in retirement, and I'd like to do more...
















This brings me to another suggestion made in the article on successful retirement. Draw two columns on a piece of paper: 
  • In the first, list three things you want to do more of.
  • In the second, list three things you've never done, but would like to do.
Most of mine involve travel! 
  • I'd like to spend more time in Hawaii during Canada's long, cold winter months.
  • I'd like to spend more time in Toronto with my children - and granddaughter - who live there.
  • I'd like to take more art  classes, especially in pen and ink drawing, something I don't really know how to do.
New things: 
I may never have an opportunity to do any of these new things - and I'm okay with that!