What are the Chances?!

Canadian money - Canadian bills - are all different colors, so we don't have to look carefully at what's written on the paper. Instead, we quickly glance at the color.














If it's blue, it's $5; if it's purple, it's $10; if it's green, it's a $20... and so on... Which may be why I never pay attention to the pictures on the bills. (I really couldn't tell you what illustrations or portraits decorate any of them...)














So... a few days ago, I was at a party with former teaching colleagues, chatting with a young man whom I'll call the Science Teacher. I've known him for years, in a casual way, and I was asking him about his new home.

Another colleague, whom I'll refer to as the Storyteller, came over and joined us.

Did you know that this young man's ON the five-dollar bill? the Storyteller asked, and he began to pull out his wallet...

(ON the bill? What is he talking about?)

Thinking this was a joke, I smiled, wondering where all this was heading.

Good, I have a five, the Storyteller said, and pulled it out.














Look at the hockey player over here, he said, pointing to a picture of a group of children playing hockey. Did you know that this is HIM? (indicating the Science Teacher).

Really? I asked, still thinking this was a joke. I never thought of illustrations on bills, like this hockey scene, being real people - except for the former prime ministers on the other side of the bills.

The Science Teacher nodded with a smile.

That's YOU?! How did your picture end up on the bill? I asked.

My mother sent it in - and it was chosen, he replied matter-of-factly.

(So that's how it's done?! It's a contest? People send in pictures... and one is chosen?!)

So (to my amazement), I discovered - not only that there is a hockey scene on the five-dollar bill (I had never noticed it before!) - but that I know the person who is on it!!

What are the chances?!

Cut Flowers

I don't usually cut flowers for indoor bouquets - partly because I enjoy seeing them in the garden, and partly because we try not to bring ants into the house accidentally. Enough find their way in on their own.














I accidentally pulled these off while weeding... And they make a delicate little bouquet!

Then a blogger I follow shared some of her beautiful flower arrangements...

Take a look...

Now I'm inspired!! Perhaps the time has come to brighten my indoor spaces with lovely garden flowers as well!

(But I do enjoy paintings of flowers... like this watercolor behind the vase - created by a former student from Afghanistan.)

A Beautiful Ottawa Church

One of the most amazing church buildings in Ottawa is the gold-domed Ukrainian Catholic Shrine, St. John the Baptist.














I often drive by it: One can't help but notice its glimmering domes in the distance.














Recently I went with a friend - to attend a monthly meeting of the Ottawa Ukrainian Genealogical Society.














And I got to see inside...














Lovely inside and out!

It reminded me of the gold-domed Church of All Nations on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, Israel!














While searching for the website of that church, I came across this 3-D view of the inside. Click here to see it.

Marlene's Fashion Tips

Okay, so I'm the last person who should be giving advice on fashion - after all, jogging pants and a t-shirt are my current wardrobe of choice!

But... for many years, I did have to stand in front of a group of (sometimes critical) students - who did notice what I wore. It's amazing to think... but I remember the entire teaching wardrobe of my grade 5 teacher, probably a recent grad with university debts to pay. She wore the same two plaid skirts with matching sweater sets all winter long... (And winter lasts a long time in Alberta!) Every day she wore either the green outfit or the red... Every day!

When spring arrived, and she switched to a dress, we (the girls in the class) ran up to her desk to tell her how nice she looked!

With her in mind, I made a conscious effort not to wear the same thing day in and day out when I was teaching. The same holds true, even now that I'm not...

So Fashion Tip #1: Aim for variety in what you wear. Of course, this may mean a little extra shopping... But it will brighten your life! Nothing like a different outfit to see yourself in a different way.

Fashion tip number 2...

A friend of mine... or rather, her husband, once commented: Diane has a closet full of nothing-to-wear...

I mention that because that "Nothing-to-wear" feeling happens to me, too...

Then I read about organizing a closet according to color.

When I went back to work after the "mommy years" at home, I borrowed a book on wardrobe planning from the library. I didn't have money for a lot of new things, so I decided to get some basics, then mix and match. One piece of useful advice from that wardrobe-planning book was:














Fashion Tip #2: Organize your closet by grouping clothes according to color. (Shades of red, shades of blue, and so on...) It's amazing what combinations of matching outfits will jump out at you. (And the closet feels so organized!)

So whenever that "nothing-to-wear" feeling returns, I go to my closet and organize what I have.

Third, the point that started me thinking about writing a blog post in the first place...

Fashion Tip #3: Focus on colors that suit you best - and ignore the rest.

A few years ago, a friend and I went to a color consultant, who suggested colors that looked best on us. The concept - explained in this book, Color Me Beautiful, has saved me money... and time. (I don't even bother looking at clothes that are not in "my" colors.)














This concept, popular a few years ago, has worked well for me...

And finally,...

Fashion Tip #4: If, when you try on a garment, your immediate reaction isn't...

Wow! I look amazing!

...Don't buy it! Save your money for clothes that look sensational...

My Garden is Never TIDY!!

I don't know why, but my flower beds are never tidy! Some plants astound me with their profuse growth - while others disappear, leaving me to wonder why.














I admire other people's gardens...














... taking pictures, for inspiration, like I did last year in Burlington, Vermont...














... or in my neighborhood. I love this tidy border of lamium!














I struggle to keep the front bed tidy, trying to keep plants far enough apart to allow for growth - without having airborne weeds fly in and take root in the bare spots.














My back yard is totally out of control! Early in my gardening years, I encouraged a few plants that spread - and have now taken over. I must also confess: I have a soft spot for wild flowers in bloom (like these yellow ones in the picture above). I leave them alone until they stop flowering.














My ideal tidy garden would be a bed of hostas - with tidy mounds of sedum...














lilies, bunches of daisies, and...














tidy clumps of roses... They stay where you plant them!

(But there are so many other lovely flowers that aren't that easy to manage!)

My excuse (to myself) is that I have a large yard... which is true. But the reality is that - on a hot, humid summer day - I'd rather be indoors admiring flowers in bloom through the window than outdoors, battling angry wasps and bees, who don't seem to mind the heat... I learned my lesson the last time I was stung!

Best resign myself to the fact that I'll never have a tidy garden!

Motherhood

Quite a few years ago - on this very day of the year - my life changed forever. I entered the Ottawa General Hospital - wondering what was going to happen to me... And I was transformed into a mother!

Eventually two more babies were born, each time a unique experience.


















I had always wanted to have a large (and boisterous) family of children.














My grandmother had 14 children, though only 11 survived infancy. Her home was a fun place to be!

That's what I hoped for myself... Love and laughter. That's what I still have... most days!














The biggest surprise about being a mother?

Well, there have been a few...

First, how much love erupts suddenly from somewhere deep within - love that carries you through the sleepless nights and other trying times. Fiercely protective love.

Second, seeing the world in a whole new way... Watching random people in the street and thinking - you were a baby, and you were a baby, and you...

You were all a product of that miracle: Birth.

Third, that there is so much to learn. After all these years, I'm still trying to figure out how to be a good mother.

Ottawa's OPEN DOORS

A few years ago I discovered an OPEN DOORS weekend in Toronto. (Actually it's called "Doors Open," and it's an annual event.) Many interesting buildings were open to the public that one weekend I was there. It was fun to look inside places I normally walk past without a thought.

We should have the same thing in Ottawa, I enthused...

Imagine my surprise to discover we do... once a year.














There are almost too many interesting buildings to visit...














So this year we visited two places. One was a former bread factory that had been converted into an artists' co-op.














The pottery studio was open and a potter was demonstrating her art.














We wandered around the studio, checking out the lounge...














...and a few displays.














The second place we visited was Arts Court,














... a heritage building that houses several galleries and a small theater.














We wandered through two galleries...














... and an art rental gallery, that rents and sells art by local artists.














Whenever I visit places like this I am inspired to sstart drawing and painting again! When I was in school, I loved to do pen and ink sketches and portraits in oil paint...














(Maybe it's time to take an art class again!)