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!

Dance Competition

Last week, our granddaughter participated in a dance competition at the college near our house.

Terry and I walked over to watch.

It was a "pairs" competition - just Ivy and her partner on stage....

I pulled out my phone and managed to snap a few pictures.

Later, when we joined up with her in the lobby, Terry said: You were great! But when she lifted you up, upside down, I was so shocked... Your partner must be very strong!

WHAAT?!! Ivy was in the air upside down?! I didn't see that!

That's the problem with taking pictures. You sometimes miss important things when you're fiddling with your camera! 

Surviving Winter

I've never really LOVED winter. I didn't mind it so much, as a child. I liked to build snowmen and make "snow angels" on fresh show. We built our fair share of winter "forts" to hide behind when throwing snowballs.

But I never enjoyed winter sports. 

I tried skating and skiing - the old-fashioned way... Not on a ski hill with a lift... After we slid down the hill on our skis, my uncle Knut taught us to step sideways to walk back up again.

This year, we've had a lot of cold, snowy weather. I haven't gone for outdoor walks - but I do continue to walk (and shop!) in a nearby mall. 

I've also surrounded myself with things I love to do - like knitting and crocheting.

I try to capture the world outside my window in a tiny daily sketch - focusing on the sky.

I blog... I've started a new eating plan to help me control my type 2 diabetes. So I'm full of optimism... in spite of the snow and slippery roads! 

I'm happy, content. I'd say, I'm not only surviving... I'm thriving... in this, my least favourite season of the year!

A "Soup" Kind of Day!

Yesterday was ALMOST warm ... warmer than last week - but not quite spring...

Terry was lying low with a cold...

A perfect day for making my favourite chunky vegetable bean soup! I like to make a large pot - so there's lots for another day.

Thinking About ... Family

Today is "Family Day" in Ontario. It's a relatively new holiday - that came into effect for a few weeks AFTER I retired!

I recently came across this picture of Terry's father as a child - in a family picture that includes Terry's grandfather, Donald, his grandmother, Olive Ruth, and Terry's uncle (his father's younger brother) also named Donald.

The only one in this group that I ever met was Terry's grandmother - who attended our wedding. For a while, we all lived in Montreal - so we would see each other regularly. Our children all met "Nan Hutchins" when they were very young.

It's a beautiful family photo, probably taken in the early 1930's.

That's a First!!

Have we had more snow than usual this year?!

City workers have kept busy clearing our roads. 

Our neighbour, Mary, filled us in on something Terry and I missed the other day...

You missed the excitement again.  We were coming up our street and noticed a truck appeared to be parked in the middle of the road at our end of the street.  

As we got closer we noticed that a dump truck was partially parked in our neighbour's driveway and there was a backhoe removing snow at the dead end part of the street.

In our forty years of living here, I have never seen them remove snow from our end of the street. 

Kim noted that she now won't have to climb a mountain to walk through the field to get to work.

That is a first! 

I remember one winter, when the college first purchased the elementary school property that had been next door to us and closed off the road with large boulders. Our street was no longer the point of entry into a school yard, so we lost our special status for early snow removal. 

But they forgot to put us on another snow removal roster - so our end of the street had NO snow removal at all until we complained to our counsellor!

That was frustrating! 

I wonder if this year the city was worried about losing access to the fire hydrant if snow got any higher. Or maybe they were concerned about spring flooding.

Whatever the reason, glad someone is looking out!