Almost Done!

I just finished knitting this light-weight "poncho" that I started about 5 months ago. I bought the yarn and pattern when we stopped in at the Mary Maxim store in Paris, Ontario, en route home from Niagars Falls - where we had gone for a Frankie Valli concert. So the project has a personal history - as do many knitting projects... (where I got the idea, the yarn, etc.)!

It's made of a lighter weight yarn than I normally use, so I'm not sure if it will keep me warm at home in winter. Our house is kept cool.

The poncho is made of two equal-sized panels, sewn together, leaving a neck opening on top.

Having tried it on, I realize that the back is a little shorter than the front. If I made another like it, I'd make the back panel about 3 inches longer than the front - to make them sit equally.

My next steps are to weave in the yarn ends and to "block" the poncho. I'm hunting for instructions on how to block synthetic yarn. I don't remember ever learning how.

I'd like to make the edges lie flatter.

Birthday!

On birthdays, we think of parties and gifts...

But to those who were there at the time of the birth - it's a time of looking back in wonder, thankfulness - and joy! A new person has come into the world!

And the world is a different place!

Remembering...

I recently had lunch - by myself - at a vegetarian restaurant my daughter also enjoys. We used to come here once or twice a month when she lived nearby.

I've decided to continue coming on my own - because I enjoy the food. (Also because the DASH diet for hypertension recommends eating vegetarian.)

Sitting here, looking out the window - it suddenly occurred to me that this is a very significant place in our family's history.

The university across the street is the reason Terry and I moved to Ottawa in the first place. Had Terry not come here to study, we would no doubt have raised our family in another part of Canada, lived in a different neighborhood, and had different friends. So much would be different! But the university brought us here - and here we stayed!

A Time to Reflect

One of my friends recommended this book to me - "For Everything a Season," by Joan Chittister.

So I've started reading it. There's lots of food for thought, so I think it will be a slow read!

It's based on the well-known passage in Ecclesiastes: "There's a time to be born, a time to die..." and so on.

Already in the introduction, I've had to stop and reflect when the author says: "Adversity... gets our attention. But joy we take for granted... Joy we too often ignore."

Yes... Even the way we talk about them reveals this. We say "hard TIMES" and "MOMENTS of joy."

I've noticed - when taking my blood pressure - that if I think happy thoughts, like how lovely the flowers look, I relax and my blood pressure goes down. But if I worry and wonder why my blood pressure is so high, it goes even higher!

Time to pay more attention to joy!

Pink Ribbon Sky!

Yesterday I was treated to this "Pink Ribbon Sky" around 7 am, shortly after I got up.

The sun rose at 7:02 am and set at 4:32 in the afternoon - so we had 9 and a half hours of daylight. We have another 45 minutes to lose before we start to gain again.

I don't love it these early darkening days - but I do love waking up to the gift of a beautiful sky.

All Different

It's interesting to see how my children - and now my grandchildren - all have different interests.

There are, of course, similarities - like a love of watching Sunday afternoon football that Terry shares with our boys - as he once did with his father.

Several of is enjoy doing word puzzles - like Wordle and Scrabble.

When we get together for a meal here at home, we often play Scrabble after dinner, using the same Scrabble set that my mother and her friends used when she lived in an apartment nearby.

We are competitive when it comes to those games - and exchange scores!

But none - except my grandkids - have taken  an interest in building with Lego. I wonder if that interest comes from their mother's side of the family. 

It amazes me that my four-year-old grandson has the patience to build with the tiniest of pieces! He worked day after day on this Lego space ship launch pad, made from a Lego set that my sons (his father and uncle) had been given for Christmas, when they were 9 or 10. But they never took any interest in it.

Glad I kept it! The instructions are lost - just the picture on the box remains. He wanted me to help him make it (but I'm not good at Lego either)... So I told him he could do it any way he wanted. This is his creation. Not exactly like the picture - but I love it!

Since it's recommended for ages 9-12, I hope he'll continue enjoying these Lego pieces for years and years to come.

The Sports Dome Goes Up

Soccer season is over at the nearby college field, so - even though there is still no snow on the ground - it's time for the plastic sports "bubble" used as a gym in winter, to be put up.

There are numerous steps - so it takes a few days of nice weather.

First, a tall crane is brought in to pull the folded-up dome out of storage containers.

A team of several dozen people then spreads the giant plastic circle on the ground.

A tunnel is attached from the circle to the clubhouse...

And finally... its's inflated,,,

Now it's ready to go! For us in the neighborhood, it's a sure sign that winter is here.