Summary of a Year

I find it interesting when my iPhone photo app picks up significant photos from past years. Digital photos have date and time imbedded in them, but how does the app know which to choose? However it's done, one photo can tell so much.

Recently the app showed me photos from 2021 and 2022. In 2021, our granddaughter - visiting from Toronto - transformed one bedroom upstairs into her personal "Barbie Room." I took a picture of her Barbie set up next to the bed.

A few months later, in 2022, the family moved to Ottawa - and suddenly needed a snow-blower for their much-larger driveway. A new toy!

Going back in time, in 2019, baby brother Jericho was born. 

In 2020, the Covid pandemic arrived. Our daughter started working from home. She didn't get out as much as before, so she enjoyed taking day trips with Terry and me whenever we visited. The picture chosen by the app shows a scene in Goderich, on the shores of Georgian Bay - one of the places we visited together.

Going back again in time, in 2017, our granddaughter turned one in April. An earlier picture shows her before she began to walk.

A year later, in 2018, not only is she walking and talking - she's looking very grown up!

All this reminds me...  What a difference a year can make!

Crafting Idea for the New Year

I recently came across an interesting idea for a year-long project: a crocheted afghan that is a temperature graph of the year.

The designer of the afghan crochets one row a day using different colours of yarn.

The colour used on any given day is based on the day's average temperature.

What a great idea! Time to sort through my yarn!

Clean Your Room!

I recently came across some comments by controversial Canadian psychologist, Jordan Peterson to the effect that people who are lacking direction in life should clean up their room. A university professor, his main audience is students, so a room is all they have. I have a house!!

Is there any research that you're aware of that correlates tidiness to self-confidence or strength or anything like that? I asked Terry, who has taken many more psychology courses than I have.

He could think of none.

When I told him why I was asking, he asked: Are you tidy?

No!

Have you ever been tidy?

No?

Have you achieved your goals?

Yes.

Then don't worry about it!

But Peterson's comment intrigued me. One student understood it to mean that her room was an extension of who she is, and the degree to which her room is disorganized, her thoughts were disorganized, muddying her sense of direction and purpose.

I thought about my personal space (my house) - how, my focus and interests have changed over the years. Would getting rid of the things that no longer interest me help me clarify what I want to do next?

Hmmm... Maybe it's worth a try! Time to clean up my "room"...

Pottery Pros and Cons

My pottery session is over. A new one starts in the new year... but I really don't know whether to continue with my half-day a week in January. It doesn't seem like much time... and I enjoy it .. but...

There's no shortage of things I could be doing at home...

(But would I really spend my time sorting and tidying?!)

My big deterrent: Winter weather is uncertain in January and February... and home is a cozy place to be.

I also feel as if I've reached a point where I need to expand my abilities by taking a class. 

So as I wander around the now-empty studio and gather up my unused clay and my unfinished pottery, I look around, still undecided about what to do next.

Mary's Amaryllis

My neighbor, Mary, sent me pictures of her new waxed amaryllis.

It's called an Amaryllis Rozetta: 

When we first got it it was 8" tall.  Every day it grew, at least an inch, to a total of 18 inches and then it started to bloom.  

This one has four flowers and each flower is about 6" in diameter.  

The flowers are so large, and having four of them, they seem to be crowding each other. There is also a second stem so I will be having another bunch of flowers for January.  

Like me, Mary is hoping for a long flowering season. Beautiful flowers - and pictures!

Waxed Amaryllis Bulbs ... Everywhere!

I had never heard of waxed amaryllis bulbs until my neighbour Mary told me she had one... Now I'm noticing them everywhere!

I saw these cute little ones at the entrance to Walmart  - as I was doing my regular mall walk. A few days later, they were almost all gone.

Is this a new flowering fad?! Or did I simply not pay attention before?!

Christmas Memories

Today is Christmas! 

Thanks to photographs, I'm reminded of so many special Christmases past...

Like the time my youngest son was a shepherd at a church Christmas pageant many years ago.

He's carrying a sheep "stuffy" that I made. (We still have it - somewhere, I think…)

I wonder if he remembers!

Going farther back in time to the mid-1950's, a few more Christmas memories thanks to these old photos... My grandmother (my mother's mother) must have been gifted a radio one Christmas. She's smiling - and someone is plugging it in to try it out. 

This Christmas dinner was held at our house in Red Deer, Alberta. My mother's parents and siblings had driven 100 miles to spend Christmas with us. My mother (wearing an apron in the photo below) looks preoccupied. The table extends from our kitchen into our dining room. My father is sitting at one end of the table, my grandfather, Hugo Bartz, is sitting at the other.

I wonder if that's the year 19 people slept over at our 2 bedroom house. I remember stepping over sleeping bodies - and counting them. Most had only a pillow and a blanket and slept on the floor!

As I scan those sitting around the table table, I can't see my grandmother or me. Was she busy in the kitchen? And was I the one who took these pictures with my newly gifted first camera - with a flash?! (The flash allowed us to take pictures indoors!) 

Exciting times for a child!

Storm Watching

Much of the continent seems to be in the grips of a winter storm...

Terry was out shovelling the driveway yesterday. I was disappointed: I need some snow grip for walking, I told him...

But I needn't have even mentioned it... Blowing snow is covering the driveway again!

A bigger problem is happening few blocks away, where a large section of our neighbourhood is without power. 

We live near the tiny dot on the right of the city's power outage map above. Apparently 52 homes are without power. 

Unlike last May, when we were without power for 4 days because downed trees had fallen on electric wires, we'd have to leave our house because of the cold.

Winds are expected to pick up soon. It's 2:45 am as I sit here, unable to sleep. Maybe I should just go to bed!

As I Walk...

My main exercise these days is "mall walking." 

It could be boring - but it isn't. There's always something new to see. I often snap a quick photo and "message" it to one of my kids to get their reaction. Hopefully it will make them smile!

Not long ago, I send pictures of Grinch-themed lounge wear to my daughter, who used to be a big "Grinch fan."

Her reply came quickly: "Take it back!! I don't want that for Christmas!"

"Hahaha," I messaged back.

Recently I sent my son a picture of this sign outside a skateboard shop... It was so brutally honest! It reminded me of my kids as teenagers... around the time I started giving them money and gift cards instead of presents for Christmas and birthdays.

That was WIN-WIN!

They had the fun of deciding how to spend the money .... and I didn't have to worry about giving a gift that "sucks"!

So much easier for us all!

Pre-Christmas Fun

My granddaughter wanted to talk to me about Christmas... She obviously had Christmas on her mind.

Why not come over and help me decorate the tree, I suggested.

She was happy to help!

While her brother played with toys, she put all the ornaments on the tree.

I think she did a really great job!

Playing Outdoors

I like to have exercise equipment around - bikes for the summer...

Sleds, cross country skis and snow shoes for the winter... in case someone wants to "play" outdoors.

It's always gratifying to see them used!

Amaryllis Progress

It's interesting to see how quickly the waxed amaryllis bulbs I brought home in November are developing.

The one on the right has been blooming for s while. The one on the left looks almost ready to bloom, and the one in the middle isn't quite there yet...

In the same north-west facing room, last year's bulb is much farther behind... Only a tiny shoot has so far appeared. Still a long way to go!

Each bulb produces three flowers. I see the one that's already blooming will soon have a second flower. With all these bulbs at different stages, hopefully I'll have flowers to enjoy until spring!

After the Snowfall

It's nice to see blue skies again - after several days of snowfall.

I'm now looking forward to the sun evaporating the snow on the road... The ice, as well.

The last time I saw my doctor - the specialist who monitors my bone density - she said something unsettling...

Looking at the information before her on the computer screen, she said: You're about a year away from a broken hip.

I was so shocked, I didn't know what to say. Next time I see her, I'm going to find out more. Does she mean, my bones are getting thinner, so I'll be at risk for a broken hip? Even that is concerning.

I've slipped and fallen on ice quite a few times in my life. But now I really have to do all I can to make sure it doesn't happen again.

Church... At Home

During most of the COVID pandemic, Terry and I have been "doing" church from home...

We enjoy it... No leaving the house. No fear of getting - or giving - germs. 

In fact, it may be too easy... I bring my morning coffee over, sit on the sofa - and we tune in,  via Terry's computer.

It does lack one really important aspect of in-person church involvement - being part of a community.

But for now, I'm glad it's an option for us.

Lots of snow!

We just had our first major snow fall…

Sticky, heavy snow. Lots of it. Pine tree branches were hanging low from the weight of it.

More snow was on the way…

Terry went out to survey the yard and check for broken branches.

After noticing one branch - broken off by the weight of the snow, he proceeded to clear snow off other ones.

He always finds something to do - even in the midst of a storm!

Do They Look (vaguely) Alike?!!

This is the squirrel pose I had in mind when I tried to shape a wet bit of clay into a squirrel...

The real guy is taking a rest, lounging on our front deck...

And  here's the piece I made. 

It's not often they stay still!

I wanted to made a sitting squirrel - but the clay was so wet and limp - all I could do was to let it lie down!

Maybe I need to work on creating "furry" texture. There's always something new to learn!