Perfect Job for a Snowy Day

The snow is falling - again!

A perfect day to stay in...

... and wash my winter coat and hat. They've had daily wear over the past few months! Cars are covered in salty white dust... And coats brushing against them can't stay clean.

Did I mention that I'm looking forward to spring?!

Our Cold Continues... And So Does Outdoor Skating

Ottawa is proud of its Rideau Canal. In summer boats glide through it, up and down the locks, from Kingston in the south, northward to the Ottawa River. In winter, part of it is cleared to become a 7.2 kilometer (4.4 mile) skateway. (This picture shows the northern end of it.)

This year, as winter continues to hold us in its grip, last Wednesday the canal skateway broke its record for number of days open - 46 straight days of skating. Daily, as our cold weather continues, that record-breaking number is growing.

The only problem (for many) is that it's simply too cold to get out there and skate!





But not all Ottawans are easily deterred. In our city of winter bikers (mentioned in a recent blog post), there are still some hardy skaters. Driving along the canal a few cold nights ago, Terry and I saw some of them!

Cycling... in Winter?!

Ottawa is a cycling city.

Bike paths abound - with bike path maps to help cyclists find their way.

But I'm always amazed to find cyclists out in winter. This year, according to local weather experts, Ottawa has experienced more -15 degrees Celsius (5 degrees Fahrenheit) days since 1888.







 

Yet rarely a day goes by that I don't see someone trying to cycle down our snow-covered street.

That is something I really don't understand!

A Truly Wearable Jacket

Occasionally I buy clothing that I wear for years. It's always hard to part with favorite garments.

Less frequently do I purchase something that I wear for a while - then one of my children wants it!

But one of my sons borrowed this well-worn jacket a few years ago. (I had to open up the roll-over cuffs so that the sleeves would be long enough.)








 

The most surprising comment he ever received was when someone in a fancy store asked him if it was a designer jacket! (It isn't!)

Eventually he eliminated it from his wardrobe...

Now my other son has taken to wearing it... under his down-filled jacket, for extra warmth!

When I bought it for myself quite a few years ago, I had no idea it would become a family favorite!

Quite a few people are going to miss it when it's gone!

Dead End Dilemma

Dozens of cars and trucks daily come down our dead end street, despite signs indicating there is no way through.

It's less common to see school buses make that mistake. They follow a specific mapped route.

But a few weeks ago, one erred - and ended up in a neighbor's ditch...

To my surprise, another one came down our street just last week!

The driver of this one opted to back up all the way to the corner rather than try to turn around.

One kid - his head sticking out the window - was carefully watching... What an adventure!

It was too cold for me to go out and see if they made it...

But I wonder who updated the bus drivers' maps!

Terry Should Welcome Snowy Days!!

Terry groans as he heads out to shovel snow again...

He doesn't realize he should be happy and welcome snowy days!

(They keep me from going out shopping!)

Life is an Inexact Science!

Life is an inexact science...

How else does one explain that - although a few days ago the weather forecast predicted a gradual warming trend these last two weeks of February, in our part of North America we are caught in the grips of extreme cold, day after day, with no end in sight!








Or why, after eating a low-carb meal last night (eggs and sausage) before heading off to pottery class, where the pottery wheel provided a physical workout, I tested my glucose readings as usual this morning only to discover that my fasting blood sugar is up, not down, this morning... (Am I, perhaps, fighting a cold or some other infection?! These also raise my blood sugar, I've discovered - but I don't feel sick...)

There are factors beyond our knowledge, I tell Terry, when he asks if my morning readings were better today. (He doesn't enjoy a supper of eggs and sausage, but had it because low-carb is good for me!)

(Maybe life is really too exact a science with way too many factors beyond our human understanding!)

Finding a Lovely Painting

This has been my winter of sorting through ... stuff! Boxes of shredded paper have gone out for recycling.

But a few long forgotten souvenirs have also resurfaced, like this card illustrated by the father of one of my students.

Mr. Ileri, the artist, was the Turkish Consul General in Jerusalem in the early 1970s, but painting must have been his hobby.

(I wonder if he ever gained fame as a painter.)

Too Much Vitamin D??

My doctors often ask me what prescription drugs I am on and what non-prescription medication, like vitamins, I'm taking.

I used to tell them - but recently I've started bringing all the bottles with me whenever I see a doctor. Lucky I did, since recently my family doctor examined my bottles and suggested I might be taking too much vitamin D. (It's found in my multi-vitamin and my calcium supplement, but I was also taking it as a separate supplement.)

I didn't realize that excess vitamin D could be toxic - but apparently it is. (Here's an online Mayo Clinic article about it.)

Signs of Winter's End

I'm looking for signs of winter's end! We haven't had the snow that Boston has with three blizzards in two weeks! (Terry, a Boston Patriots fan, reads the daily news from Boston!)

But here in south-eastern Ontario, it has been very cold for a long time now... (Or so it seems!) And I'm looking for an end to winter...

So as I look outside, the snow appears a little brighter. We have more hours of daylight... Will the sun bring more heat now, too?

I hope so! The 2 week forecast on my weather app shows the temperatures slowly rising.

(Except for a brief sharp dip on February 23rd!)

A Lesson in the "Fine Art" of Shovelling...

Occasionally snow is light and fluffy...

... and easy to move...
















 

Then two shovels work better than one!

Are Vinyl Records Making a Comeback?!

Among my mother's things, I came across these spools from my father's 8 mm movie films. (He used to splice the smaller 5 minute films together onto bigger reels.)

To toss or to keep?

It's very likely I'll never need film spools again... But you never know!

Just when I thought that vinyl records were becoming obsolete, they may be making a comeback.

In fact, here is a record we were given for Christmas.

We haven't played it yet... I wonder: Is it a children's record?

If so, are record players for children making a comeback, too?!

(Terry would never let a child use this one!)

Warm Memories

One early morning, after an overnight snowfall, my mind went back to a place far from the reaches of winter...

Just to sit and bask in warmth would be such a treat!

(Or would I - Canadian style - complain about the heat?!)

The Power of ... Disappointment

Most of us want to shield those we love from disappointment. But disappointment is not necessarily bad. It has the power to move us to do things we would never have dreamed possible! (But first we have to be really, really unhappy!!)

I think of my 18-year-old self, so miserable during my first year of university in Vancouver. I hated the rainy, grey campus. My classes left me uninspired: none led to work I wanted. I knew I had to change my life course, which I did, moving away for a year's study abroad... which stretched into ten happy, life-altering years.

Don't be afraid to want something, Joan Chittister writes in Aspects of the Heart: The Many Paths to a Good Life. Wanting is a precious part of being human.

Then she adds: Dampened expectations are the beginning of a healthy journey to new ideas, new interests, new events.

Even disappointment can be a good thing!

Trying to Stay Positive... in Winter

I'm not a winter person - I don't skate or ski - so I'm looking forward to the end of our coldest season. I'm pretty sure that our winter is more than halfway over. (In fact, according to Terry's hundred days of winter theory, there are only 24 days left!)

But as I sit here, waiting for the world around me to turn green. Waiting to walk freely outdoors again, I can't wait for it to end!

But I'm trying to be thankful as I look outside at the bleak landscape!

I'm thankful for my early morning cup of hot coffee!

Thankful also for a quiet house and a quiet neighborhood...

Thankful that I no longer have to head out into the cold to go to work or school, like I see others around me doing.

Thankful that I have lots to do indoors...

And did I mention that I'm especially thankful that winter will hopefully soon end?!

Making Pottery Can Be... Humbling

Making pottery is a humbling experience. I have been working at it for about a year and a half now and was hoping to improve.

Occasionally I'm okay with my results...

... like these nesting plates, that I wanted to be similar - in different sizes.

I'm not unhappy with this "flower" ring holder, even though it resembles a cactus!

But occasionally, out of the kiln comes such an atrocious mess - I have no idea what went wrong!

It looks as if this mug had to be chiseled from the kiln shelf.








I used the same glaze (I think) as I did in the nesting plates. But in some places it pooled and in others it didn't stick on.

What happened?!!

As I shake my head in frustration. Terry simply smiles: Looks like another pencil holder!

New Laundry Room Addition

I bought a canvas fold-up stool for sitting outdoors and painting flowers a few summers ago...

When my left knee was bothering me a few months ago - and I was told not to bend over for a month after my cataract surgery - I brought it to my laundry area to sit on working at the washer and dryer.

My knee is a lot better and the month (after cataract surgery) has passed.

But the stool will stay: Sitting is definitely easier - and better for me - than doing deep knee bends...

(And the stool is useful for recharging small electronics, too!)

New Solution For Chapped Hands...?

Canadian winters can be hard on hands. Once the weather gets cold and dry, my hands often develop painful little cuts. Doing pottery - working for several hours with damp clay - doesn't help. Sometimes the only thing that relieves the pain is to apply Polysporin and bandage every little cut.

Every winter I find myself hunting for a new perfect solution - a grease-less cream that will stop my hands from drying out.

Last week, at the pottery studio, I mentioned my problem, wondering if anyone else shared my dilemma.

Have you ever used olive oil on your hands? one woman asked. I rub it on my hands like hand cream.

Olive oil? I asked... The kind I use for cooking?

Yes, she replied. Try it...

So I have started to apply it, rubbing about half a teaspoon of it into the hands whenever they feel dry. It takes a minute or two for the oil to absorb - but I was surprised to discover that no greasy residue ended up on magazines I read a few minutes after applying it...

Have I found my perfect solution? I'm  not sure... But I am giving it a try.

Everything Old is New Again!??

I recently came across a picture of my mother when she retired from teaching about 30 years ago.

I don't remember these glasses...











 

A few days later, I came across a magazine picture of a woman who makes cosmetics. She is about my mother's age - and I assume this is a recent photo...

She is wearing the same style glasses!

I wonder - has she taken out an old pair (say, 30 years old)? Or are these frames back in style again?!!

In Winter, I Need... Color!

I've been doing a lot of organizing in the basement over the past few weeks.

But one recent snowy day when I didn't leave the house, I needed a change. Surveying the bleak landscape outside, I realized I needed to add some color to my life! Why not make a colorful quilt?!

I had seen one on Pinterest: I kept going back to this quilt in diagonal stripes of various colors. Perfect for using up scraps.

Time to pull out my scraps and get to work!

At the same time, I decided to repair my mother's old quilt that had numerous tears. 

















One of the fabrics she used wasn't as durable as the rest. (But of course, one never knows what will last when fabrics are new.) The easiest solution would be to take it apart and remove the torn parts...

Are you making a new quilt or repairing an old one? Terry asked, surveying the fabrics strewn all over the dining room...

Dare I tell him: A little of both?!?