It's Halloween!

I have vivid childhood memories Halloween (or Hallowe'en, as we used to write it). I still remember the first time I went out to beg for candies... My mother helped me get dressed up as a gypsy. I wore one of her skirts and several necklaces. Some older kids picked me up to "trick-or-treat" in Hay Lakes, the village where I lived. In the dark, it was such an adventure! In those years, we'd sometimes stand outside a neighbor's door and shout, "Halloween apples!" Sometimes we'd get apples - which were the latest fall fruit of the season.

(When did pumpkins replace apples?!!)

I don't remember carving a pumpkin till my own children were young.

They also had good memories of going out in costume to "trick-or-treat" - especially in the early years, when Terry would stand on the road and supervise. They would walk up and down our street - coming home with a big bag of candy and count their loot!





As a child, I wasn't aware of the religious origins of the Halloween - that it was the evening before "All Saints Day," November 1. In fact, it was only years later, when I was visiting my parents in Kelowna, that I made the connection. We must have been keeping an eye on grandpa while his live-in caregiver went out to an evening church service one Halloween.

I remember Gertrude returning, wiping tears from her eyes as she came in.

That's the last All Saints service I'm ever going to, she announced. It's too emotional... I know too many people who have died. 

I was surprised... I had never gone to a service commemorating the dead. I didn't even know it was a Christian tradition.

Remembering Margaret... and Friends

Today is the first anniversary of my mother's passing. A few months after she died, there was a memorial service - for her and others - at the nursing home where she had spent the last four years of her life.

Staff made us smile with personal memories of each one. I recognized my mother in the stories shared. They knew her well those last few years!

I recognized some of the photos and families of others who were being remembered. Our paths had crossed at barbecues, birthday parties, campfires - or simply in the hall or lounge.

One neighbor who had lived across the street from us for over 30 years died around the same time as my mother. She was remembered at this service as well. Her time in the nursing home had been brief - but years before when she lived across the street from us, in good health, she had volunteered at nursing home "bingo" nights. Her daughter still volunteers here at the home.

My mother used to love these memorial services. When she was mobile in her wheelchair, she always came. It was an event she never wanted to miss... Other residents obviously feel the same.

I am so thankful that my mother spent her last years among such kind, caring folk, among caregivers who also knew her well enough to grieve her passing and to share stories of how much she loved music - and how she never wanted to miss any event!

Final Touches on the Romanian Orthodox Church

Last Friday I watched with interest as a crane lifted the cross onto the Romanian Orthodox Church in our neighborhood.

This final touch to the outside of the building was followed by landscaping - laying of sod, planting flowers and a row of trees.

Lovely!

I expect to see a sign up soon, too.

This new building in our community will probably be in use soon...

Autumn Leaves - in Wakefield, Quebec

Last week Terry and I headed to Wakefield - about an hour north of Ottawa on the Quebec side of the Ottawa River.

We wanted to go somewhere to photograph colorful fall leaves.

Terry suggested Wakefield, in part because a friend of his owns a restaurant there.

Our first stop was the rustic Wakefield Mill Hotel and Spa.

It's located on the edge of a rapidly-flowing river.

Later we headed over to the covered bridge - built a few years ago, to replace original historic one that burnt down.

The leaves were lovely - but not astounding. I think we were a week too late.

But we had a fun day exploring Wakefield, nonetheless.

Next time, I'd like to park on one side of the river and walk over the bridge into town - and then back again...

We ended our day enjoying the view from Terry's friend's restaurant. Unfortunately, at the time, she wasn't there.

It was a perfect day. We wanted to linger outdoors as long as we could.

Saying "Good-Bye"...

Life goes on as normal for years and then... !!

The past few weeks we've said "good-bye" to machines that we've relied on for years!

First, our trusty fax machine suddenly "died"... Fortunately, we no longer send or receive faxes, but we did use it as a phone... (On the plus side, moving it out of my office led to a major frenzy of tidying, cleaning and re-organizing!)

Then we decided to sell our 12-year-old car. Around the same time, it started to manifest a few problems, so we had to have some repairs done... But now it's fixed and gone!!

We thought we'd have to say another "sad farewell" - this time to our 17-year-old washing machine... The knob (on the right) that you pull to start the machine came off... But then we discovered that we can use pliers to start it! So the pressure is off...

Terry will be looking for a new washing machine, but there's no hurry now!

Benefits of Barefoot

In summer, I walk around barefoot inside our house...

I find it comfortable - and I've always assumed it must be healthy not to constrict the many bones of the foot.

Recently, in the book, The Brain that Changes Itself, I read that barefoot may have other advantages, too. It may keep the brain young!

Like our hands, as bare feet constantly touch different objects, they send a stream of neurological messages to the brain.

The more active brains are, the healthier and more youthful they remain...

(Hmmm... As days become cooler, do I dare cover my feet with socks?!!)

Physiotherapy

I've discovered that I have "chronic tendinitis"... (and a little arthritis) in both my wrists... It shouldn't surprise me. Many of the hobbies I've enjoyed for years - quilting, knitting, pottery, gardening (to name a few) involve working with my hands... And once I get started, I have a hard time quitting, even after feeling the warning signals of pain.

I know I simply don't heal as quickly as I used to when I was young... That's hard to accept...

I've been plagued with nagging wrist discomfort for the past few years, but recently it worsened. Even the simple movement of twisting an elastic in my hair suddenly caused excruciating pain...

Time to see a physiotherapist!

I've been going twice a week for over a month now, and my left wrist (the one that hurt the most) is almost pain free!

I've had electric shock treatment, ultrasound treatment, hot wax treatment, acupuncture, massage, exercises and even taping - to prevent certain movements - as in the picture here...

I've never been athletic... but I so appreciate sports - big business sports that I never watch - because, thanks to big business sports, physiotherapy has evolved into an amazing healing tool...

I sometimes think about how, in my grandparents' era, an injury remained an injury, pain was part of getting old...  That's just the way life was!

But we no longer have to put up with all pain. Some can be cured by physiotherapy... And, for that, I'm very, very thankful!

On Quilting... and Life!

The past few weeks have been busy with quilting...

As I work on my latest quilt, it occurs to me that the end result will be determined by daily decisions I make as I go along...

How big should it be? Do I want it fluffy or flat? To quilt by hand or by machine? To add a border or not?

Small daily decisions move me in different directions, determining what the end result will be like...

In that way, quilting is a lot like life!

As I re-read this, I suddenly realize that quilting offers me a freedom of "expression" that knitting doesn't... In knitting, I follow the pattern!

I'd really love to be able to knit out my designs and ideas - play around a bit - but I'm not that skilled. I don't know why - I've been knitting longer than I've been quilting.

One of my knitting goals is to be able to design my own sweaters and other garments, which is why my current wrist problems - tendinitis - is so disheartening to me.

Finding Good Food

I've found a new way of discovering good places to eat in when we travel: I google "Best restaurant" or "best burger" in [whatever town we are approaching]. 

It always leads us to good food.

It also takes us to a part of town that we wouldn't otherwise discover...

Like this park in Peterborough, Ontario, where a stone wall is partly buried...

Nearby is a railway track...

And a river...

(What used to be here?!)

After eating, we wandered around a bit...

Good food PLUS adventure!

Neighborhood Church Almost Done...

A few years ago, a Romanian Orthodox congregation purchased an old neighborhood flower shop and green house, with the intention of building a church on the property.

As the church nears completion, I wonder about parking. There are several other churches in our neighborhood. All have the equivalent of at least four lots to accommodate their parking needs.
This property is a lot smaller.

Street parking has become a hot topic among neighbors, as cars belonging to Algonquin College students fill our streets from Monday to Friday. It's especially problematic in winter, when snow plows can't get down the streets to clear them.

The building looks completed from the outside. A small parking lot has been built. Hopefully it will meet their needs when the building is officially opened.

It's a beautiful building! It will be interesting to see how it impacts our quiet neighborhood.

17 Months Old is Fun!

It's so much fun to hang out with a young child again, whenever we can...

Almost a year and a half old now, our granddaughter Ivy is beginning to enjoy playing in the park...

She also likes to help in the house... Washing dishes holds special fascination...

Working in the kitchen is now a family affair!

Summer has been a great time to have fun with water in the back yard.

It had rained the night before, so she had to wipe down her lawn chair, just as she had seen her parents doing...

Grandpa Terry was able to practice reading stories again... while Mom popped food into Ivy's mouth...

A delicious time was had by all!

"Maple Lawn" in October

One of the loveliest old gardens in our part of town is the historic Maple Lawn garden.

Surrounded with a stone wall, it was established, in the nineteenth century, as part of a farm.

Eventually the city grew, surrounding the farm.

Fortunately both the garden and the farmhouse survived. A lovely old building, the farmhouse now serves as a restaurant

Modern buildings have sprouted up all around - but there are a few empty fields nearby.

Whenever I come here, I look at what is in bloom - and compare it to the flowers blooming in my garden

Volunteers tend the Maple Lawn garden, so it isn't as overgrown as mine!

On my last visit, I was impressed by the number of butterflies flitting about!

One of my gardening goals is to come here every few weeks in the summer - to pick up gardening tips and ideas!

Like my garden - there isn't a lot in bloom at this time of year.

But I was pleased to see that I have some of the same plants that make this garden lovely in fall.