Family Day!

Last Monday was Family Day here in Ontario…

We were lucky enough to have our grandchildren come from Toronto for a visit!

Terry even got down on the floor to play with toy cars and trucks…He hasn’t done that in a while!

I developed new bedtime routines.

Life was much busier. We were sad to see them go!

Our Snowy Winter

First, it snowed… (again!)

Then the wind… Drifting snow…

Then Terry slipped on the icy driveways, while shovelling snow! (So far no bruising… though he has a bump on his forehead)

I’m REALLY READY for spring!

More Sunlight! Yay!!

A sunny day is sure to boost my spirits, even if the weather is cold… which it has been this past month!

And the good news - for me - is the days are getting longer, so there’s lots more sun!

In the past three weeks, here in Ottawa, we have gone from 10 to 11 hours of daylight…

That’s something to celebrate! Yay!!

Using Our Strengths

A book I’m reading (about dieting) has a chapter on using our innate STRENGTHS to overcome obstacles we’re struggling with.

When I mentioned this to Terry, he said he’d taken a course in “Strength-Based Counseling” when he was doing social work, and he had found it helpful. 

How does it work?

After talking with clients about a problem, he’d turn the conversation towards internal and external resources they already had to help them solve the problem: supportive people they could talk to, openness to counseling, past successes (remembering how they achieved them), community resources, ability to reason - and so on.

He said it was similar to “solution focused therapy.”

The book suggested doing an online questionnaire - at ViaCharacter.org/character-strengths - to discover what a person’s “signature strengths” were.

(I shouldn’t have been surprised to discover that CURIOSITY was one of MY top five!)

My book suggests a few other resources I could check out.

I may listen to the TED Talk by Shane Lopez on “Focusing on your strengths.” I already have so many books I’ve started that I have to finish!

More Amaryllis Growth

The Amaryllis bulb I planted last month has been rewarding me with flowers...

Unfortunately, the blooms don’t last more than a few days.

I cut them off when they dry up, in hopes that more flowers will grow. And they do!

I see that more flowers are on the way! A fourth flower is growing on the original stem - and another taller stalk with a red tip hints that it will bloom as well.

I’m not sure if the low lying sprouts at the base of the plant are just leaves ... or another flowering stem. But it’s fun to watch it grow. It’s always changing!

7 (Yes, 7!) Habits for Happier Ageing

Did someone have a contest for the 7 best habits on healthy ageing?

I’m wondering - because I read an interesting  online article on my news feed on that topic a few days ago. Later, when I wanted to find it again - I found TWO DIFFERENT articles, each with 7 slightly different lists of habits.

(I now wonder what evidence these articles are based on!)

MU Health (University of Missouri) suggests that the 7 best habits to form now in order to age better are to use sun protection, get enough sleep, drink a gallon of water a day, eat balanced meals, exercise, take care of your skin and keep a positive attitude.

The magazine, Real Simple, considers the following 7 habits essential if you want to age well: maintain a positive attitude, eat healthy foods, eat only until you’re full - not stuffed, exercise, keep socially active, use sun protection, and get adequate sleep.

The original article I read started with giving up smoking and drinking - and ended with something about resiliency. 

I wonder how many articles with “7 habits“ are out there!!

Winter Decluttering

Cold winter weather has been a great motivator for me to look through boxes - and discover things I forgot we had!

Using the Marie Kondo principle of storing similar things together has freed up shelf space - and boxes. This box was empty after I put all our family VHS tapes - as well as my father’s - in the same storage container.

SUCCESS = an empty box!!

The “Jennifer Salad”

My daughter informed me that she was making the recipe for the “Jennifer Anniston Salad” - the salad the “Friends” cast member apparently brought to work every day... Or so the story goes!

I found the recipe online...

My daughter’s only complaint was that it made so much!

Did one recipe make a week’s worth?! I guess that’s why she brought some to work every day!

Winter Gardening

This winter, for the first time, I started shining lights on some of my indoor plants for several hours in the evening.

I think they’re growing better!! … 

Or am I simply seeing the growth more clearly?!

Winter = Snow

I expect to have snow in winter. That’s just the way it is in our part of Canada…

So I was surprised to hear Terry say: I wonder if February is our snowiest month…

Isn’t every year different?! I always thought January was pretty snowy…

(But then, I don’t do much shovelling anymore.)

Shared Soup

When our older son was four, he had a wonderful kindergarten teacher! I’ve posted pictures of her class elsewhere in the blog.

I understand that nowadays teachers send emails to parents, updating them of class activities. In those days children came home with photocopied sheets.

This sheet is a request that the children bring certain uncooked vegetables to school - on Wednesday, October 6, 1986. The class would be making a vegetable soup that they would then share in eating.

I must have asked the teacher for the recipe because I added the instructions: Add vegetables to 8 cups of boiling water and 4 cubes of soup broth mix. Simmer for an hour.

I later added the comment: Delicious!

(My son must have done some practice writing on the paper as well!)

Memories!

New Knitting Challenge

For years I thought that I knew all there was to know about knitting. I managed to follow knitting patterns in four languages... (by learning the key knitting terms and their abbreviations). I even taught several of my friends how to knit.

I didn’t think knitting was all that complicated. There were a few basic stitches  - cast on, cast off (or bind off), knit, purl - that’s it! The limitless variety of patterns depended on the order of stitches and the type or thickness of yarn used.

At times - when I’d see patterns created by knitters who had been at the craft for only a short while - I’d feel a little disappoint that - in spite of all the knitting I’d done over the years - I’d never created patterns. I don’t even feel competent to modify patterns very much.

But recently, in the sweater I’m currently knitting, I’ve come across new terms that I don’t know: “German short row,“ “wrap and turn”... 

I’ve had to go to YouTube for demos. But even then, I’m not sure I’m doing the right thing!

I feel like a beginner all over again! It’s challenging... But fun!

My Indoor Plant Spaces

I have three indoor plant “gardens” - one, facing north, in the living room… 

(There are also a few corners of the house with larger plants - trees - growing in them.)

Another plant area is in our “no-TV” room, which has windows facing north - away from direct sunlight. …

And windows facing  west, so the plants get afternoon sun.

Another south-facing window is in the upstairs bedroom I now call my sewing room.

Spider plants, geraniums and aloe vera plants do well here. 

They like the sun - and need to dry out between waterings. I tend to forget plants in this room, so they aren’t watered as often. 

I’ve recently enlarged this indoor garden by adding a second shelving unit under the sewing room window…

Now I have room for a few more plants - which is lucky. Although I hope to move some of the geraniums outside in spring, my daughter wants me to take a few of her plants that one of her cats likes to chew on.

(And to think that - when I was a child, I hated watering my mother's plants every Saturday morning! I remember telling her that when I had my own home, there’d be NO PLANTS TO WATER!! Now I have far more than she ever had!)

Useful Work

I was recently looking something up on Google when I happened upon some interesting local trivia. 

I’ll share it in the form of two questions:

Question 1: Who was once called the most useful person in Ottawa?

Question 2: Who called him that?!

The answer to Question 1: The man who was the head plumber on Parliament Hill for over 60 years - Wally Clarke.

Answer to Question 2: None other than Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau (father of Canada’s current PM!)

I guess the moral of the story is that you don’t have to be a politician to make an impact in government!

Sorting…!!

I’ve been tearing recipes out of magazines for years. After several decades, I have folders full of them!

Some, I’ve tried. Those I love have made it into my binder of tried-and-true recipes I often make…

Most have yet to be tried!

I’m trying to get rid of things I no longer want or need… even though I’ve never actually made any of these recipes, it doesn’t make them any easier to throw out!!

Family Resemblance

Friends of Terry’s recently sent us this photo... 

Terry is holding our daughter - who was a year old. 

Who does she look like? Terry immediately asked...

She looks so much like our grandson! (The son of our youngest son - who wasn’t even born yet!)

The power of genetics!

Winter Walking

The weather has been very cold the past few weeks.

It’s currently also very icy. (Terry calls it a skating rink!)

So Terry and I often head to a large shopping mall in our part of town. A few winters ago, my goal was to walk around each of the three floors once…

Now I’m trying to build up to twice around each level. Terry sits in the food court with a coffee and reads. I leave my winter coat with him.

I’m so glad to have this bright cheerful space to walk around in!

A Little Sadness

I haven’t been downtown in a while - though I’ve seen pictures of the protest that turned into an occupation, in the news. Locals have been asked to stay away.

But yesterday - in the rain - Terry and I had to drive downtown.

It was sad to see: Trucks blocking streets in the top picture - our normal route, so we had to make s a detour. There was a sense of sadness in the air.

Later on, sorting through papers at home, I happened to come across these words by Benjamin Franklin. He had lived through the American War of Independence, and according to one biography I read online, one of his sons had opposed the revolution - and returned to England to live. There must have been some sadness there - a family divided. People didn’t fly back and forth to Europe as we do today.

Yes - we all long for peace!

Playing “Wordle”

There’s a new online game that seems to be popular these days. It’s called “Wordle.”

The aim is to guess a five letter word in six tries. After every try, you’re told if any of the letters you guessed appear in the word. If a letter turns grey, it’s not in the word of the day. If it turns yellow, it’s a letter in the word - but not in the right place. If it’s green, the letter is in the right place.

My daughter started playing it and suggested I might like it.

I’ve played a few times. I can’t say I’m addicted to it - yet!

Daily Amaryllis Changes

Over the past few weeks, I’ve enjoyed watching the amaryllis bulb grow… 

... and change…

Everyday brings new developments..,

New changes!

It is exciting to watch it begin to bloom. 

But now I wonder: How long will it have flowers? Will it die as quickly as it has grown?

And what about these other sprouts and leaves? Are they going to grow into flowers, too?

“The Joy of Clutter”

The February edition of Maclean’s Magazine has an article entitled “The Joy of Clutter.” It was written by a woman…

Do women tend to have more problems with clutter than men?! I don’t think so - based on my limited experience - though in our household, my clutter tends to extend farther than Terry’s! I’m responsible for more cluttered spaces than he is!

The article describes the “maximalism” of the Victorian era… which is something I personally find claustrophobic. That’s not my kind of clutter…

Mine is constantly wanting to be surrounded by plants - because they give me joy, books to read and craft projects at my fingertips - because I don’t want to be bored. Creativity brings me so much joy!

Are we craving comfort from our stuff as a result of Covid confinement, as the article suggests? Do our possessions remind us of happier times in our life - and comfort us?

I’ve always liked to be surrounded by things that bring back happy memories… For me, winter - when I spend so much time indoors - is my prime decluttering time time, if I have time to do it … and this winter I do.