Virtual Walking Update

This past April, I began taking virtual hikes - called "challenges." The app I use counts my daily steps and transfers them to a Google map.

I'm currently hiking "in India." 

I find these virtual walks interesting because I can see, on Google maps, the scenery I'm virtually walking through.

My daily walking (steps taken) has also increased about 50% since I began doing virtual walks.  It's been a real motivator for me.

In 2023 I walked, on average, 8,297 steps a day compared to 5,373 in 2022. That's almost 3,000 steps more daily, as counted on the health app on my cell phone, which I carry with me at all times.

Looking forward to continuing - and hopefully increasing - my total walking steps even more in 2024.

Dead End Problems

We live at the end of a dead end street. We've lived here happily for decades. But living where we do, does have disadvantages - as well as advantages - the main one being no drive-through traffic.

When we first moved here, there was a large schoolyard at the end of this street. This road led into a large parking lot where vehicles could easily turn around. 

But when the college acquired the property, they put big boulders at the end of the street to prevent vehicles from entering the college grounds that way... (Yes, some tried!)

The problem now is that there is no "turn basin." So if people mistakenly drive to the dead end, it's not easy to turn around. They either have to turn into someone's driveway - or make a 3-point turn. And depending on the length of the vehicle, a 3-point turn may be difficult.

Two evenings ago, a truck got stuck in the ditch in front of our house, very close to the fire hydrant. It had been raining so the ground was muddy. It took them an hour to get out. 

Did they hit the hydrant? If not, they got very close.

Had the logs lying near the road across the street prevented them from going forward enough? 

I called the city the following morning: WHAT CAN BE DONE TO PROTECT THE HYDRANT?

Now I wonder how long it will take to find a solution. The wheels of bureaucracy often turn slowly. All the more so because this problem involves NOT ONE, but TWO, departments: forestry - to remove the logs; and roads - for the rest. 

A third hiccup - it's New Years weekend!

I really hope no one else comes down our street in the dark in a truck and needs to turn around...

Thinking About a Temperature Blanket

I don't remember when I first read about a "temperature blanket" - a striped knit or crocheted blanket where the colour of each stripe is determined by the outdoor temperature of the day... high, low or average - your choice. 

One example I saw included both daily highs and lows: Knit in small squares, the middle section represents the high while the border indicates the low.

However it's done, a temperature blanket involves 365 stripes or squares.

It takes about 9-10 colours. I wonder if I already have that many in my stash!

I'm going to have to check my stash to find all the colours I'll need. Then create a legend to refer to every day.

I wonder if I'll stick to the discipline of doing it ... every day!

History Lesson

My blog post about my granddaughter's concept of an "old fashioned " phone led to my not-yet-40-year- old son telling his children what phones were like in his youth:

"They were plugged into the wall and you had to stand close by when you talked on them."

I must have some in the basement, I thought, heading downstairs.

When I returned with a pink "Hello Kitty" phone and a black one we used to have on the wall in the kitchen, my grandchildren were ecstatic.

Pretending that the phones still worked kept them entertained for an hour!

Seen here wearing a soccer jersey that had belonged to his dad, my grandson had no idea that he had to actually HANG UP!

(Who'd have thought that grandma's house was so full of historic relics?!)

Hand-built Clay Birds

One of the things I most enjoy making from clay is animals - and birds.

I made these a few sessions ago, but only glazed them recently.

Whenever I make a clay animal, I make sure the base is heavy enough to support it. It seems obvious, but it isn't always easy to achieve.

After all that work, you really don't want it to topple over and break - a lesson I learned early on.

Breakfast at the Miller's Oven

One day last week, Terry suggested we head over to the Miller's Oven in Manotick for breakfast - early - so that we could also fit in a walk at the mall before lunch.

We had placed an order for several of their "home-made" chicken pot pies and Tortieres (Quebec-style meat pies) and wanted to pick them up. (And the volunteer-run tea room is closed between Christmas and New Year's.)

We arrived shortly after they opened, so the place wasn't busy.

There was a dusting of snow on the ground.

A pleasant way to begin a winter morning!

Great Family Dinner

Thinking back to last Christmas and our wonderful family meal!

Natalie’s roasted her first turkey!

It turned out perfect! 

So many helping hands!

Noam helped…

Terry gave free advice…

Ivy created a beautiful charcuterie board!

I stayed out of the way!!

Jericho helped unwrap grandpa's present...

A lovely 💕 day in every way!

(I wonder what this year will bring!)

My Mother's' Childhood Christmas

This old fashioned Christmas picture reminds me of stories my mother told me about her childhood...

These days, children go to bed early on Christmas Eve so that Santa can deliver toys...

Not in my mother's childhood years! Instead, on Christmas Eve, the whole family would pile into a horse-drawn sleigh and head to church for a special Christmas service. When they eventually got back, around midnight, they'd eat a special supper of roast goose.

Roast goose at midnight?! I'd exclaim. Who wants a big meal at midnight?

I didn't ask if someone had to stay home to tend the oven... You surely wouldn't leave the house for several hours - with a roast bird cooking - would you?! Maybe you would! 

After eating, they opened gifts. 

(I don't know when they finally all got to bed?)

Everything Old is New Again

Walking through the mall, I stopped...

Wide sweater sleeves... are back in style?!!

Years ago I knit this green sweater with baggy sleeves. It was very comfortable - but I haven't worn it in ages...

Just last year, I pulled it out, wondering if I  should trim some of the sleeve width. 

Just as well I didn't... if wide sleeves are back in style!

Shortest Days

This past week, here in Ottawa, we have been experiencing our shortest number of daylight hours... 8 hours and 43 minutes. It stays like that for about a week.

Sunrise and sunset have been closing in on each other since the summer. 

(These pictures were taken between 4:30 and 4:45 in the afternoon... By 5 o'clock, it's dark.)

Soon - on December 25 - our hours of daylight will begin slowly spreading apart!

How I look forward to those lengthening days!

An Old Fashioned Phone

When I'm old enough to get a phone, I want an old-fashioned one, my 7-year-old granddaughter told me.

Old-fashioned? You mean one that plugs into the wall? Where you turn a dial to call someone? I asked.

She looked confused. No, one with a circle in the bottom.

I think she means an iPhone 8, my daughter explained. (See above!!)

When were they new? I wondered. Hmmm: 2017... The year my granddaughter turned one! Yes, they would probably be "old-fashioned" to her...

To compare, I looked up what phone came out the year I turned one. It was the black phone above. 

Phones looked like that much of my adult life - though eventually black phones were replaced by coloured ones and rotary dials were replaced by push-button dialing.

TO ME... an old-fashioned phone looks like this! A box on the wall with a bell, and separate components for talking and listening.

I remember using one at my uncle's house. They had a shared "party line" - shared with half a dozen neighbours in the country.

Each family's number had a unique ring. One long or two short - or any combination of long and short rings. If any of the neighbours were talking on their phones, we could lift up the receiver and hear the conversation. But we couldn't make or take a call unless the line was clear. 

So many changes!!

Another Medal Arrives!

The medal marking my completion of the 298 km Cabot Trail virtual walk has arrived!

When I signed up for these virtual walks, I was looking forward to the scenery (as seen on Google maps). But I really did not expect to enjoy getting these "awards"... In fact, had there been an option to pay less and NOT get the medals, I'd have chosen that!

But it IS fun to look back and view these reminders of real steps taken - in my case, adding up to 1385 km since April!

So few of my daily efforts are counted... I have no idea how many meals I've prepared, beds I've made, loads of laundry I've done - or (to be fair) how many hours Terry has spent vacuuming the house, cutting the grass or shovelling snow this past year!

Would getting a medal of appreciation from time to time made these tasks feel less onerous?! I wonder!

December Day Trip

Last week's warmer weather inspired Terry and me to take a few day trips. One to Perth, Ontario, was particularly successful...

We walked...

Had a great meal...

(Right after the noon hour rush, the restaurant was quiet.)

We also did some shopping - with hot chocolate on the side.

A perfect day!

New Virtual Walk

Immediately after completing my virtual Cabot Trail walk, I signed up for a longer walk ... in India. 

India is a country I've never visited, so the scenery is of particular interest to me.

I wanted a walk that would see me through the winter - and this walk, near the border with Nepal, is about the same length as the Camino de Santiago, which I followed last summer.

I expect it will take me about 4 months if I walk about 5 miles a day.