Most of my life, I was a student ... or a teacher, so the end of August - to me - signals summer’s end.
Looking back at my summer photos brings back so many memories. Flowers that have come and gone...
All too brief family visits...
Ice cream!
Surprise visitors in the garden...
Two trips to Toronto and Guelph... So thankful for it all!
The west Ottawa neighbourhood we live in used to be a separate city called Nepean.
A number of years ago, the provincial government decided it would be more economical to have fewer, albeit larger, cities so we were unhappily absorbed into the city of Ottawa - unhappily because the city of Nepean was proudly “debt-free” while the city of Ottawa wasn’t!
But all that is history!
Although the city of Nepean no longer exists, the post office still recognizes it. In fact, when I type my postal code into an online form, the city name of Ottawa often automatically switches to Nepean...
My iPhone weather app also distinguished between the two cities, which is fine... except for when Nepean and Ottawa are assigned different weather forecasts!
Yesterday the app predicted that Nepean’s forecast for Monday (today) would be stormy with a high of 82 degrees Fahrenheit, or 28 degrees Celsius...
Whereas the Ottawa forecast was for a mix of sun and cloud with a high of 84 degrees Fahrenheit (29 degrees Celsius).
I wonder which forecast will prove more accurate!
Long before I ever took a pottery class, I loved hand-made pottery. One kind I collected was hand painted mugs and tiles created by Armenian potters in the Old City of Jerusalem.
Originally from Armenia, the potters were invited to Jerusalem to create tiles to decorate the gold-domed mosque in the Old City. When the mosque was completed, they continued to live and work in Jerusalem, selling their wares.
Whenever I could afford it, I’d buy a mug…
Or sometimes a tile to hang on the wall.
The last time I visited the Old City, shortly after retiring, I wanted to add to my collection, but hand painted tiles were much more expensive than computer-generated ones - so I bought two computer generated table tiles.
I would never have been able to afford hand painted ones in these complex designs!
Such beautiful art!
Dozens of cars drive down our street by mistake every day, not realizing it’s a dead end - even though street signs clearly indicate “No Exit.” They then need to turn around on our narrow street or back down to the corner.
Big vehicles occasionally make the mistake, as well ... Once a big school bus ended up in the ditch. One icy day, it was a tow truck trying to turn around. (Another tow truck had to pull him out!) But I’ve never noticed a fire engine make that mistake before.
Did they take a wrong turn?
They ended up turning around in our new neighbour’s driveway…
Welcome to the neighborhood!
Terry and I recently visited a historic cemetery in our part of town…
Over the years the city has grown up all around it.
We’ve driven past it many times, but never stopped to look around.
The columbarium where my mother’s ashes lie - inside a church a few miles away - may be moved here within the next year.
So we came to visit the site.
I’ve had my hearing aids for about two months now. I’m slowly getting used to them...
Recently I had to do some “regular monthly or bi-monthly maintenance“ by changing the tiny filter and the “dome” in each one.
I had vague recollections of the audiologist telling me how to do it, but I wished she were with me as I tried - for the first time - on my own. I did have an instruction sheet.
As with many things, one really only learns by doing - by trial and error. Mostly error!
Here are my main errors! First, it was evening. So lighting wasn’t the best...
LESSON LEARNED: Make sure you have good light!
Second - and this is really important - take a picture of what they’re supposed to look like in the end by taking a picture of the hearing aids before you start and more pictures every step of the way.
My biggest problem wasn’t with the filter and dome. I got that after a few tries.
But I didn’t realize that the tiny plastic wire “anchors” that help support the behind-the-ear hearing aid could fall off... and they did! (Blame poor lighting.)
It took me a very long time to figure out how to re-attach them. (Which direction and which angle). A good picture of what they were supposed to look like in the end would have been very helpful.
(Not having the anchors fall off would have been most helpful of all!)
LESSON TWO: Take lots of pictures for reference!
Life is sometimes.., unpredictable!
Last time we travelled home from Toronto, I suggested we stop at Kingston’s Farmers Market - then take the slower, more scenic back roads home.
We were glad to be back...
But when I got out of the car at Market Square, I started to feel nauseous and dizzy...
Was it something I had eaten? Or maybe Vertigo? (I’ve had that before.)
As Terry went off to buy a few things, I sat on a park bench, looking enviously at a rooftop restaurant across the street...
Not today!
We’d better just head home the fastest, most direct route possible!
I can’t remember the last time we cut short a holiday because one of us wasn’t feeling well.
It WAS vertigo... After a good night’s sleep and some online head exercises, I started to feel normal again!
We’ve had a long hot summer.
The weather is still unseasonably warm, so it doesn’t feel as if these flowers should be in bloom yet.
Japanese anemones are the final blooming flowers in my garden.
I hope all my late summer flowers continue blooming until our long hot summer is over! Wouldn’t it be awful if our long summer extended past the last of my perennials?! I guess I’d have to start adding annuals to my garden beds. They last till the frost and snow arrive.
It has been a hot summer many parts of Canada - Ottawa included.
To make matters worse, Terry and I are both supposed to avoid UV rays because of medications we are taking.
Trying to avoid both heat and sunlight has made it difficult to go for walks. We’ve gone mall walking indoors a few times.
One day recently, however, I decided to take a walk at Andrew Haydon Park again - while Terry sat in the shade and read.
There were lots of sail boats near the marina... I wondered if it was a sailing class. There were also a few toy boats in one of the park’s ponds (two photos above).
Walking along the path, I noticed Canada geese here and there...
The only shady spot I could find was near this secluded waterfall.
It probably would have been wise to go walking later in the day.
I didn’t know our community association had created a pollinator garden a few blocks from our house.
But I happened upon it while out walking recently.
I was curious: What is a pollinator garden?
Online I read that it aims to attract insects, bees, butterflies - and hummingbirds.
This garden was a mix of flowers, herbs and vegetables…
I didn’t notice any humming birds… but a robin was hopping around this pleasant, peaceful space…
Which made me wonder: Don’t all gardens attract pollinators?! Someone once told me that the best way to attract butterflies is to leave a wild space somewhere in the yard - letting natural plants / weeds grow at will…
(I obviously have a lot to learn!)
I remember my daughter-in-law making yogurt pops for her daughter a few years ago...
The weather has been so hot... Perhaps I should try making some for myself, too!
I had about half a cup of unsweetened plain yogurt left in the container...
Some stewed peaches (no sugar added!)
I mixed the two ingredients together…
And here they are... not too sweet: homemade frozen yogurt in popsicle form...
To make them sweeter, one could add maple syrup, sugar or jam to the mix - or use sweetened vanilla yogurt instead of plain.
Run them under hot water to get them to slip out of the plastic case.
