Learning More

My grandfather was a carpenter - who built houses and barns - and, in his latter years had a "sash and door" business, making windows and doors.

Here is one of the barns he built 100 years ago. It's still in use! I visited it last winter in Edmonton.

My brother hung around our grandpa's workshop after school - but I stayed away from the buzzing saws. Too dangerous! (Though fun to watch from a distance.)

So it's not surprising that I've never done any crafting in wood - though I do have an electric sander and have refinished tables, chairs, and old pine cupboards.

Recently - in my winter decluttering - my attention turned to this hand-made wooden duck, a gift to my parents from a visiting cousin.

Would my kids like it?

Who is the artist? Ron Sadler.

Online... I discovered that Ron Sadler had made many beautiful wooden birds which he sold in his Ontario woodworking studio. 

His passion must have been birds ... and wood. Beautiful!

Taking the Stairs

My phone has a "health" app that tracks the number of steps I take every day.

My goal is to walk at least 10,000 steps - so I check the app several times a day, to see how I'm doing.

I recently noticed that my app also notes the number of flights of stairs I walk - usually two or three.

But one day I apparently walked18 flights! (Was that a mistake?!)

Do you remember when I might have walked up and down 18 flights of stairs? I asked Terry.

Maybe the day you vacuumed and organized the upstairs bedrooms, he replied. You were going up and down a lot.

Yes! That was it!

The undervalued benefit of house cleaning as a fitness activity! (And the fitness benefit of preparing for guests!)

Orchid Beginning to Bloom

What's this I see?!

My orchid is beginning to bloom! I've been waiting for this for weeks!

It changes slowly... 

But its blooming is such a satisfying affirmation... Yay! I got it right! Not too much (or too little) water... Just the right indoor temperature and light.

Pure Winter Fun!

A week ago - on Family Day weekend - our whole family headed out into the country for an afternoon of cheese tasting and sledding fun.

We had heard that a small local artisan cheese factory called "Back Forty" was having an open house... They also have a hiking trail and a sledding hill.

A beautiful place, near a river. On a nearby sliver of open water, we noticed swans out swimming...

After eating our grilled cheese sandwiches - made with locally produced cheese and sour dough bread, we headed out to the sledding hill - where all (except Terry and me!) trekked up and sled or snowboarded down (again and again and again)...

The same winter fun I remember enjoying  as a child!

Then home... on snow-covered country roads! A perfect day!

More Snow!

Yes, we have more snow!

Terry hasn't been out a lot during the past two weeks. First he injured his wrists, shovelling - and was in a lot of pain. Then he picked up a cold...

So I wasn't sure how we would handle this significant snowfall. But he decided to go out and do "just a bit" of shovelling.

Fortunately we have kind neighbours! Ken and his ride-on snowblower came over and did most of the heavy lifting!

Maybe we should get Terry one of those ride-on machines for Christmas! (Maybe I could even learn how to use it myself...  It could be fun!)

Year of the Horse

Terry often asks me what I learned walking in the mall that day.

Well, yesterday I discovered that the new Chinese year is ... the year of the horse. 

Online some call it the year of the "fire horse"...

Not sure what all that means... but the sign nearby calls it a symbol of strength, freedom and success... All good things!

Nostalgia

Our visit to the college last week - to watch our granddaughter dance - was full of nostalgia for Terry.

A year after retiring, he started to teach at the college in the social service worker program. So it was exciting to return... 

He wanted to have his picture taken next to the photo of his (now-retired) friend and colleague who encouraged him to apply.

Hard to believe that Terry taught here, part time, for 10 full years! It definitely added interest to his life!