So True!!

Came across this on Instagram...

Good to be reminded! 

Found this on Instagram's "easy fitness over fifty" (from Newfoundland, I think). She has a lot of easy exercises as well!

Wish I Had Asked My Grandmother!

When I see pictures of my mother in her youth - and the clothes she wore - I wonder who made her dresses - and how they were made...

Sewing machines were invented in the 1700's - ones with a crank handle on the right side. But they were meant to sew leather and canvas.

Later machines were invented in the 1800's, the century my grandparents were born. 

I don't recall my mother's mother ever sewing clothing - though she did knit socks. She also had to learn how to spin and weave, to make sheets and towels for her family. I remember her telling me that.

But did they buy clothing ready-made? Or did a seamstress or tailor take their measurements and sew them by hand!

I wish I had asked.

My June Graphic Calendar

Life has been busy! So it has taken me a week to bring out my graphic calendar of weather, daylight hours - and human activity for the month of June 2026.

The most enjoyable part of this creative activity for me is drawing the daily sky at some point of the day.

The big news was the summer solstice - the several weeks when there is very little change in our (longer) hours of daylight.

To me it sometimes felt as if I were holding my breath, waiting for change to return. For most of the year we gain or lose 2 to 3 minutes of daylight from day to day. But in the month of June very little changes. We started the month with 15 hours and 25 minutes of daylight and ended it with 15 hours and 37 minutes.

Although we had 11 days with about 15 hours and 40 minutes of daylight, the actual longest day here in Ottawa was June 23 (not 21!) with one minute more - 15 hours and 41 minutes. 

The whole month was warm - and busy!

Knitting ... in the Sun!

Seeing this ad for summer knitting reminded me of the first (and last!) time I mixed sunbathing and knitting...

I was knitting a lacy white sleeveless acrylic top. I didn't realize that the sun was turning the yarn on my needles yellow! I only noticed that when I resumed knitting indoors! 

I never knit in the sun again! My mother, who was a high school teacher at the time, wore the two-tone top with delight. If anyone noticed, there was a story - and a lesson - to share!

Watching It Go

We have been busy clearing water from the basement... 

And carrying out waterlogged and damaged possessions...

Sad as it is to say "goodbye,"...

It will be good to see it go.

Rain... Then Flooding

Last Wednesday - Canada Day - we had a lot of rain here in Ottawa.

My son took these pictures when he got off the bus after work, to walk home...

Then he saw security tape - the ceiling in a nearby passageway was already coming down!

As the song goes: "The rains came down and the floods came up..." in a large number of buildings - homes and public places, like our local library. 

We had a flooded basement, and have been cleaning up ever since... Eight or more homes in our block have water in their basements. Some also have no hot water or AC. Fortunately we have both.

At our end of the street, people have been very kind.

When the time came to open our freezer - which Terry had unplugged when the water was rising - our neighbours Mary and Earl found room in their freezer for the things that we couldn't fit into our fridge.

Another neighbour offered us a pump to help remove the water that was covering the basement floor. (We had two pumps of our own, but a third made a big difference.)

Our older son took 2 days off work to help us move things out of the basement. Our younger son brought over 2 dehumidifiers to help dry the carpet and floor.

When it is all over - and the cleanup done - I hope that these kindnesses will be what we remember most.

My Favorite Blooming Seaso

Flowers in our front garden bed reach their peak in early July.

There's a mix of orange lilies...

 

... white daisies...

... yellow coreopsis...

... and mauve-blue flowers that seem to grow wild - making the front flower garden look like a giant "bouquet."

I wish this mix of flowers would last longer.

But like most perennials, they move on - replaced by a new wave of blooms. 

The coreopsis do continue to bloom a bit longer...

... together with the blue geraniums that grow near the overhanging pine tree. They lie closer to the ground, so they are not as noticeable as the taller flowers.