How Many Steps?!

During my working years, I was on my feet most of the day in the classroom. But I didn’t appreciate the fact that I was on my feet - not sitting.. In fact, I thought that retirement would give me the opportunity to get in shape and walk more.

It didn’t turn out that way! The urge to sit and relax has been too strong. So - to motivate myself to walk more - I now carry a pedometer in my pocket, aiming to take 10,000 steps a day.

Why 10,000?!

I read that the popular number 10,000 wasn’t derived scientifically. Someone calculated that most people don’t walk enough - on average 5,000 steps a day. If we aimed to walk twice as much - or 10,000 steps - it would be better.

Recently I read that a 20-minute walk daily can add years to your life. 

Hmmm. I wonder how they determined that. 

It does sound doable most of the year in Canada. Maybe 20 minutes should be my next goal.

Mary’s Quilt

I haven’t quilted all summer, but my neighbour Mary recently mentioned that she had been working on a quilt.

It’s now finished!

It’s challenging to assemble - and machine quilt - a queen-sized one like this. 

Thats why the only queen-sized one I ever did was my first quilt  - a sampler.

A really big sewing table helps.

It’s a real work of love! So beautiful! I love the colors!

So Many Flowers in Bloom

With all the rain and heat we’ve had this summer, our garden beds are full of flowers. It makes me wonder if our perennials are blooming earlier than usual.

It’s not even August yet, and the phlox are in bloom.

I always think of them as late summer flowers.

As I survey the garden, I wonder: 

What’s left to bloom in August and September?

Even the beautiful Japanese anemones - that bloom in fall - are already budding.

Do I need to add flowers with an even later blooming season?

Or should I simply add annuals - as many gardeners do? Annuals have the longest blooming season. They continue to bloom until the first frost.

Most Interesting Life!

It’s impossible to know how childhood experiences impact future career choices…

But I know one two-year-old who thinks that the most exciting pastime is visiting construction sites to watch digging machines, rock crushers and cement mixers at work.

Imagine how exciting life is now that digging machines have arrived at his home to do landscaping…

He’s kept busy running from window to window, looking for the best view!

Will he remember these days - 15 years from now - when he wonders about interesting career choices?

Only time will tell!

Do Animals Play?!

Do animals - especially those of different species - play together? 

I sometimes wonder about that when I see playful squirrels interacting with birds - as I once did in Montreal. The two took turns approaching each other. Then, at a certain point, the robin would fly up out of reach - but quickly return. Or the squirrel would jump back, away from the bird. This game of “chicken” went on for a long time.

I was reminded of that, one morning recently, as I watched a squirrel and baby rabbit approach each other on our front lawn, then take turns running away.

They seemed to be having fun.

Perth Music Festival

Terry loves to attend music festivals - but we haven’t done that for several years now, since before COVID.

So he was happy to head to Perth last weekend with our older son to hear the Leahy family of fiddlers and step dancers. 

The Stewart Park Musical Festival is free - but you have to bring your own chairs.

I decided not to go, as I had an important medical appointment two days later - and I didn’t want to risk catching COVID and having to delay the appointment.

(The things we have to think about these days!)

When my son sent me this photo of the large crowd sitting close together, I was glad I didn’t go!

Feeling Unproductive

Summer is traditionally a time for relaxing - with or without a book…

At the same time, I’ve been feeling very unproductive the last little while. Not that I haven’t been knitting… But I’ve definitely not been gardening or cleaning the house (the two main items on my To-do list).

So when I saw this book on getting things done in a stress-free way, I immediately borrowed it from our public library.

But reading the back cover, I wonder if this is the book for me. It tells me that the premise is that our productivity is related to our ability to relax, not stress.

Relaxing isn’t my problem! 

Maybe GUILT is my problem!! The book promises to teach me to FEEL FINE about what I’m NOT DOING!

HMMM… Maybe I’d better just read the book!

Lazy Summer

My summer has been pleasantly lazy this year…

For some reason, I seem to wake up early… around sunrise (4 or 5 AM). I open all the windows, if the air outside is cool, and enjoy cooling the house off a bit.

Around 8, I close the windows to keep the cool air in. 

My main pastimes are knitting, reading and doing online word games (Wordle, Quordle, etc.)

Not a lot of cooking, cleaning or gardening.

I often have an afternoon nap.

My rationale: We’re not planning to go away on vacation this year because Covid infections continue, so I’m trying to enjoy a relaxing time at home!

New Driveway!

My grandson loves to watch construction vehicles at work.

So he was elated when a construction crew arrived at HIS house to pave the driveway… 

But sadly disappointed that he couldn’t stay home from daycare to watch them work!

I 💕 to Knit!!

I love knitting! I realized a few months ago just how much knitting meant to me when I was experiencing severe wrist pain and wondered if I would need to give this hobby up.

It was a sad thought. 

Who would I give all my needles and yarn to if I could no longer knit? Who’d get all my patterns and books?

I really felt devastated just thinking about it.

It was then that I started regularly doing hand exercises for knitters - and taking a break when my wrists were sore. I also stopped using wooden needles, which I discovered created more resistance, making knitting harder on my wrists.

Thanks to online knitting exercises, my pain has diminished, though it hasn’t completely gone away. I try to “listen to my body” - though (as many knitters can attest) it’s hard to stop when I’m in the middle of something and I just want to finish!

Moderation is the key! Hopefully it will allow me to keep knitting 🧶 for years to come.

Looking Back

Today is my mother’s birthday. Here is a picture taken at her 75th birthday in Kelowna, a months and a half after my father died. 

At the table with Terry and me are her brother Stan and his wife Pat. (Stan celebrated his 90th birthday a few months ago…)

Born in 1919 - 103 years ago - my mother lived long enough to meet my granddaughter, her first great-granddaughter. She already had four great-grandsons in Texas, my brother’s grandchildren.

Here is another birthday picture of her - in her 90’s, with my daughter - when she lived here in Ottawa. When I think of her, moving across the country (from British Columbia to Ontario) in her 80’s, I realize how adaptable she was until the end.

Happy Birthday!

Happy birthday to my younger son!

Found these old pictures of you, as you were… age one…

And age 14… Is that a Gameboy in your hand?!

Were you the one who taught me to play Tetris? (And I became addicted!!)

Happy birthday!! Best wishes for a great year ahead!

Walk Down Memory Lane

I don’t take many walks through the college in warm weather, but I recently did - walking to the public library. Looking at the buildings as I passed was a trip down memory lane…

The building above was here when we first moved into the neighbourhood. It remains the main administration building.

Walking past, I remember coming here to pay my son’s college tuition fees when he was a student - until they explained how I could do it on the phone. (I don’t think we were comfortable making online payments 20 years ago.)

The horticultural building came after we arrived in the neighborhood . I remember coming here to buy garden plants one year - fresh vegetables another. 

I recall the night they installed the pedestrian bridge seen in this picture. It crosses a busy street - joining two sides of the campus. Terry and I gathered with a small crowd of neighbors who stood and watched.

Putting the bridge in place was a slow, meticulous task. After about an hour, we headed home, returning the following day to see the task complete.

It was an exciting evening - the opportunity to see engineering in action!

So many memories!

Now I notice new construction signs. 

A light rail train station is being built… Train tracks will follow.., More changes ahead! 

Exciting!

Do I Need an Intervention?!!

My daughter introduced me to the free online word puzzle “Wordle”… Doing it soon became part of my morning routine…

And of course, she and I share and compare our daily score…

I later read about a Canadian version called “Canuckle”  which my daughter never got into but I enjoyed playing it, too. (Canuckle has now taken a summer break.)

In the meantime, my daughter introduced me to three more similar word puzzles, where you try to guess either four or eight 5-letter words within a certain number of tries…

And of course we share our scores - and it becomes a little competition! (Possibly not for her, but for me. I’m always happy if I can keep up with the younger generation!)

So now I’m doing those too! In fact, I’m spending so much time every day on word games - I wonder… Am I strengthening my mind - or just wasting time?!!

Perhaps I need an intervention!

Walking By the River in Gatineau

A few days ago, Terry and I headed over to Gatineau, for a walk.

This lovely path on the Quebec side of the river is one of my favourite outdoor places, second only to Andrew Haydon Park, on the Ontario side.

The sidewalk is shared by bikes, so one does have to be careful!

The Aviation Museum, with its vintage planes, is just across the river. If we’re lucky, we see some in the air.

I wonder how many people can still fly a bi-plane, like the one we saw above!

This side of the river sometimes floods in spring. Noticing a house jacked up in the air, we wondered if the house was being moved - or just getting a new basement.

A new basement! Terry concluded, after a peek inside.

There’s always something interesting to see!

Using a “Swift”

Some yarn is sold in skeins - that need to be wound into balls before knitting. 

I’m sure everyone in our family remembers being asked to hold out their arms to help with the task… much as I helped my mother.

So I was pleasantly surprised when my cousin asked if I was interested in her “swift”. She no longer knits and her daughters didn’t want it.

I’ve never used one - so it was lots of fun trying. I should add that this one is quite old. It was used by my cousin’s grandmother, and possibly others before her.

I managed to tangle the yarn before it was done… (But then I did unravel the knots!) 

But - before long - I finished winding a skein of yarn into a ball - and was able to fold up this useful hand-made tool again… until next time.