A new store is coming to the shopping centre where I do my daily walking...
Seeing the signs, Terry regularly asks me if they're open yet...
Not yet - but its getting close...
Lots of boxes of clothing have arrived. Next step, I suppose, is putting things on the racks!
I took these pictures at daybreak 10 days ago - after we had our last snowfall (which, thankfully, disappeared quickly).
Today we mark another hour of daylight added to our lengthening days of spring. It has taken 20 days to gain that hour.
Sunset comes later, too...
We now enjoy 14 hours of daylight as we head towards our annual maximum: 15 hours and 40 minutes - at the rate of about 3 minutes more sunlight per day.
(Four months ago, at our lowest point, we had only 8 hours and 43 minutes.
For people like me - whose mood is greatly affected by sunlight - it does make a difference!
Years ago, my daughter got some "Hello Kitty" pajama pants... (Hmmm... Spell check wants me to spell it pyjama!)
That was my introduction to "Hello Kitty" - a Japanese cartoon character, who this year turns 50 years old! I had never noticed "Hello Kitty" until my then-teenage daughter started getting a few things.... Later a "Hello Kitty" phone was added to the collection.
I was alerted to this cartoon character birthday / anniversary by a sign in the mall where I take s daily walk.
The thought occurred to me that the creator of this character could have lived well all her life off the earnings of her art... but possibly not. Wikipedia tells me that she was an employee of a company that made plastic shoes decorated with cartoon characters. I wonder if she was fairly compensated before she left the company..,
So there seems to be a wave of nostalgia - as I'm seeing Hello Kitty everywhere. My favourite is this journal.
But 50 years?! How is it possible?! A reminder that time flies!
My daughter recently sent us this picture she took...
Yikes!
The story behind this picture is that these two people were patiently waiting for their daughter to decide which plants to buy.
Standing is tiring - so they looked for somewhere to sit. Finding no bench nearby, they sat on the only seats they could find.
(Then the picture was taken!)
Lesson learned: Even pictures don't tell the whole story!...
(Though, had the store been empty, Terry might have enjoyed taking the vehicle for a spin.)
And now the second of my four bulbs has started to bloom.
It was lovely to see the three flowers begin to emerge from the bud...
Now one has dropped down...
Tomorrow it may open up even further.
It's happening so slowly... that I'm able to see it bloom - as if in slow motion!
My daughter noticed a small visitor on her car.
Not enough branches in our neighbourhood?
As long as you don't plan to build a nest...!
I haven't made them in a while...
Our little corner of the world has yet another sign of spring.
During the winter - the most tantalizing visitors on the other side of the window were wind-blown leaves and large fluffy snowflakes...
But NOW my daughter's cats are excited to see REAL wildlife visitors ... flying BIRDS!
The napping basket holds no interest when this action is around!
I wonder if most teachers start their lives as big sisters (or big brothers).
First they model the task... Then they teach.
I see it as a natural progression.
"Do you want to try to stand on your head?"
"Let me help you..."
"There, you did it...!"
Helping a younger sibling builds confidence - both for the "teacher" AND the "student"!
Last Monday was a big day here in Ottawa: a total eclipse of the sun was expected, clear skies permitting.
Interestingly, Dallas, Texas - where my brother lives - also expected a clear view of the solar eclipse.
Should we even try to look at it? Terry and I wondered... We didn't want to risk damaging our vision by staring at the sun. We decided to watch the coverage on TV instead.
Local schools cancelled classes - so our grandchildren were home for the day. Terry and I volunteered to drive there - 35 km away in the country - but still within the city limits.
So we went and watched them play.
Our neighbor Earl took this pictures of the sun at 2:30 in the afternoon.
But, 35 km west, where Terry and I were waiting for darkness to occur, NOTHING happened. It was just another sunny spring day!
How small and specific the area experiencing total eclipse is!
My neighbour Mary has been busy quilting - and she shared her latest with me. The colours remind me of sunrise and sunset...
Another really beautiful quilt! Here's what she said:
In my last pottery session (January to March) - a hand building studio - I tried to make larger pots - ones that would hold some of my indoor potted plants.
I was only partially successful. Only three of the four are wide enough.
And even the large blue one has the plant pot sitting on top of the rim. The opening would need to be wider for the whole pot to fit in.
One of the potters, an 88-year old neighbour named Dina, showed me how to make "eyes" on my clay using a little ball of white clay topped with a dab of black clay, then rolling them in... (Yes, with a rolling pin!)
The result - the brown vase with the eyes in the top picture - could hold cut flowers (or knitting needles!) but not a round pot.
More practice needed!
