Birthday Girl!

Today is my granddaughter's 4th birthday.

Here we are when she was 2!

Wish I could spend today with her!

I'm thankful we got to spend time together not that long ago - on my own birthday!

Hopefully I'll see her again soon... We always have a really good time!

Exploring...

When Terry and I first moved to Ottawa, we lived in a different part of town.

Now that we are out walking more, social distancing, we occasionally drive to our old neighborhood to walk around.

There is lots of green space there, near the river...

Why haven’t we come here before? I sometimes wonder as we encounter something new...

I guess, even then, our walks followed predictable routes.

Why didn't we explore more?

I guess we were busy with work...

But it is fun to discover interesting things - like these pillar remains, which, according to a nearby plaque, were once part of the public library downtown!

An interesting addition to a green space!

Ducks... On the Roof!?!

Ducks are not an unusual sight in spring in our neighborhood. We often see them wandering around our neighborhood hunting for the perfect place to build a nest.

This year my neighbor Mary said their nest is near the pond created by the melting mound of snow next to the college parking lot. (The snow looks grey and dirty in the photo...)

I did see one there recently, under a bush...

Mary also mentioned that the adult ducks occasionally land on the roof of her house.

Here they are, enjoying the view!

Never before have I seen ducks sitting on the roof of a house!

Ottawa's Claudette Cain Park

Heading out for a nature walk one day, Terry and I decided to go to Claudette Cain Park - a place where our youngest son often played soccer when he was in high school.

The park was bigger than I remembered it... Prettier, too.

I didn't do much wandering around in those days...

Instead, I'd sit in the car with a bag full of papers to mark...

Working away, I'd look up from time to time, to watch the game.

I didn't go out to watch very often. I remember that, as evening approached, the mosquitoes here were bad!

This time, Terry and I walked around on the nature trails..

After admiring views of the river, we headed back to the car. Sundown wasn't far off. The mosquitoes and no-see-ums were making their regular evening appearance...

Time to head home!

Calcium-Rich Breakfast

These days I'm trying to eat four servings of milk daily... (I also take vitamin D and calcium supplements.) One way to fit in more calcium is to eat fruit and plain yogurt for breakfast...

Terry laughed when he saw my bowl of sliced bananas under plain yogurt, topped with mandarin orange slices and a spoonful of little ground almond and cocoa nibs.

As one of my students once told me: First you eat with your eyes - then with your mouth.

Visiting Merrickville's Ruins

On sunny days, Terry and I often walk in our neighborhood.

Once in a while, we drive to some place we haven't visited in a while.

On one recent "Sunday drive," we headed south to Merrickville - to see if the canal was open ...

It wasn't!

Wandering around, we decided to explore some old ruins next to the canal...

Standing next to this old stone building, I had the feeling that this could be in England!

It was so reminiscent of buildings I might see there...

Coloring My Pottery Birds

My pottery classes with Tim Thibeault ended abruptly when social distancing started and all city buildings were closed down - after our second last class.

Looking back on the class, I realize how much I learned. Imitating Tim's caricatures of birds led me in a whole new direction in pottery.

Eventually I started making owls. After the fun of making them comes the make-it or break-it part of finishing them off by adding color. It can be heart-breaking not to like the way they turn out in the end. So much effort has gone into each one.

It was a learning experience, as I experimented with different ways of finishing them. I covered my first two birds (on the left in this picture) with oxide washes before their second firing... I like the matte effect. But I don't love the way the blue turned out on the white bird. He looks like someone dropped a bucket of blue paint on him!

I tried something different with the next two birds I made -owls. I dabbed different colors of glaze on them.

(I liked them before adding color... Would I like them afterwards?!)

I painted the beaks and claws with black under-glaze paint - then I brushed on glazes of various colors in rough dabs and strips - white, red, black...

This one looks horrified with what I did d to him!

This one looks a little sad...

(Or do these emotions reflect my feelings?!)

I wiped off some of the glaze at the back of this owl - to see if that looks better in the end...

As I left them to be fired a second time, I wondered how they would look once they came out of the kiln!

Maybe I should have wiped off more of the glaze ...

Live and learn, I guess... Trial and error is sometimes the best teacher...

A Wild Turkey Visits!

I've been reading how - as people travel less and stay indoors more during the COVID pandemic - wild animals are returning to beaches and cities.

Seeing ducks - or ground hogs - isn't that unusual. We are used to seeing them in the college field next door...

But recently we noticed a wild turkey walking around in our yard!

After a quick look around, he headed across the lawn into a neighbor's yard.

Now that's something I've never seen in all the years we've lived here.

New (Online) Experiences

The past month has been full of new online experiences. It's not unusual for Terry and me to have face-to-face conversations via video-phone apps with our children in Toronto or Guelph - or even with our son who lives a few kilometres away.

With "social distancing" in place, our regular church services have moved online, too...

Then, a few weeks ago, I was happy I could watch the video-streamed funeral of a close relative who died unexpectedly in British Columbia.

It really felt as if I were there, too.

Not long afterwards, I had my first video medical appointment with my family physician...

When I told her how pleased I was to be able to talk to her like this, she mentioned that video conferencing will probably continue as an option after COVID-19 distancing is over.

I definitely won't complain!

But I am amazed at how many things I've begun to do online...

First Spring Flowers

Weather hasn't been warm this month, but it's encouraging to see the emergence of our first spring flowers.

They aren't as showy as the mid-summer ones...

It doesn't help that these hellebores face downward instead of upward!

And these tiny blue flowers called Scillas add a welcome touch of color in different parts of our yard.

Our granddaughter has some in the grass at her house in Toronto.

Maybe I should transplant some to our lawn, too.

Winter Boot Idea... For Another Year!

Years ago - when I subscribed to a Martha Stewart magazine, I tore out this cute winter boot mat idea.

I'm always looking for ways to make our side porch more attractive...

This year, I came across the article and took it one step further... 

I bought several bags of rocks... But I didn't get around to re-creating the idea.

Something to keep in mind for next year!

Baking for Joy!

I've read that people are baking bread these days of social distancing. I've read, in fact, that flour and yeast in some places are in short supply... I used to make bread,, sometimes in a bread maker, when my children were younger. (They sometimes remind me of those "good old days"!)

I bake a lot less now that I have type 2 diabetes (and am trying to cut back on carb intake). A loaf of bread also lasts a lot longer if Terry is the only one eating it.

But recently I did make chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese filling - a favorite of Terry's...

And, for me, peanut butter cookies (made without flour). Mine never look as good as the ones on the Kraft website...

As usual, there are too many for the two of us to eat - so some will go in the freezer for later... And, to quote Martha Stewart: That's a good thing!

Mottos For These Unusual Times

These days, a lot of people I know are working from home...

I thought of them when I saw this motto shared on Facebook....

Then there are those - like me - who would be better off reading and watching less news and simply try to be productive. There is no lack of things for me to do - but motivation is the key...

Here, for us, is an ad borrowed from Michael's...

I want to think that this unique time will not be a regular recurrence...

Rather than worrying and catastrophizing, I want to view it as an opportunity to get things done!

Frilly Dresses!

Until the COVID-19 social distancing started, I would walk in a large shopping center several times a week. Now I walk outdoors.

When new summer clothing arrived in the mall, I noticed a rack of dresses that resembled a dress I had worn as a teenager...

My mother made me one very much like this - except mine was blue.

I hunted through old photo albums to see if I could find a picture of it - but no luck...

I also dug through old sewing patterns of my mother's... But again no success.

For those of us who wore them, it's a shock to see styles from the 1960's  back in stores again!

Enjoying Walks by the Ottawa River

Most days Terry and I take a walk in our neighborhood.

Occasionally we drive to a different part of town to walk.

I love coming to the Rideau Falls...

The rushing water is very calming...

Near the Ottawa River (in the photos above) is the Rideau River...

It's much calmer.

This was our neighborhood the first two years we lived in Ottawa - when Terry was a student at St. Paul University.

It's always nice to come back!

Our Ground Hog Problem

Unfortunately - we have new neighbors - new wild animal neighbors..

Earlier this spring, we discovered that a family of groundhogs had moved in and were living under our three garden sheds...

How to get rid of them?!

Online research informed me that they eat 1/3 of their body weight in plants every day!! That's a lot of plant material.

I suspect my flowers are in danger!

What do we have to do to get them to move?!

We're currently trying to block entrances to their new home - but they're very persistent - and have strong digging skills!

I've also spread talcum powder and Epsom salts around - I've read that they don't like either... But nothing has deterred them so far...

Not sure how to get rid of them - but they definitely have to go!