Feeling "Eco-Anxiety"

A friend who is an avid gardener told me that she had been standing near some flowers in her yard and, without thinking, removed a few dead petals.

Later on, she saw that she had an insect bite on her leg. It didn't look or feel like a mosquito bite. Had she been bitten by a tick?

She didn't normally worry about things like this - but her husband recently had been bitten by a tick in a wooded area.. So she went to the nearby drugstore to ask the pharmacist if she should be concerned.

Well, there  are ticks in our neighbourhood, he told her, so it's possible.

Ticks never used to be a concern here in the city, she told me. But as our winters get milder, they're moving farther north.

Now I'm afraid to do any gardening without being covered up from head to toe, she said. It's awful! I guess this is what they mean by "eco-anxiety."

Anxiety spreads! Now I wonder if I should be concerned about bug bites now too?!!

A Real Mom!

If this is true... I guess I'm a "real mom" - several times over!

Merry Dairy ❤️

Terry is always on the lookout for "the best" homemade ice cream.

We recently discovered the Merry Diary, which we pass en route to our daughter's place.

Not only do they they have great ice cream flavours - they also have lots of seating, too..

Jerusalem Souvenir

My mother was a traveller - and a keeper of souvenirs. 

Going through her things recently, I came across this visitor card she picked up at a small church in Jerusalem in 1966.

While visiting me, she had attended a service at the Baptist Church.

I didn't attend the church at the time, but I later became a regular attendee. 

Seeing the picture brought back memories of people I met there who became dear friends. The power of a simple souvenir!

Nepean Museum Fun

Last Saturday, my youngest son suggested we head to the Nepean Museum to learn all about Nepean, the city he proudly grew up in.

Nepean no longer exists: it was later annexed - "kicking and screaming" (as they say) into the city of Ottawa!

While he and his wife read the history of the area...

... the kids enjoyed the challenge of building a toy log house.

I stopped to admire a toaster that resembled one my parents used for the 50 years of their marriage. (Memories!)

Our visit ended with fun in the park. 

What a great place to visit - only a few blocks from home!

Yes, There Are Skunks!

Our neighbour, Kim, took this picture recently as she was leaving for work... at 5:30 AM.

A gentle reminder that one has to be alert when walking at dawn or dusk. We do have skunks in our neighbourhood ... and that's when we tend to see them. They roam at night and sleep during the day.

I don't usually worry about them: They leave you alone if you leave them alone. But I also don't get too close!

Problem Solved!

A few days ago, I mentioned that I had encountered a problem uploading photos to my blog. My free photo storage was apparently full...

One solution was to purchase more storage space on Google.

But when I clicked on the second option - to delete files - it appeared that I had quite a bit of storage available, as I had been busy deleting photos that were no longer important to me. Yet somehow this fact hadn't registered with Google because I was still receiving warnings and I was still blocked from uploading photos to the blog.

I consulted (complained) to various family members who offered various suggestions:

• Pay the $3 monthly fee to get more storage
• Create a new email account and email all large files (eg videos) to this new account. Then delete them from Google.

I tried unsuccessfully to contact SOMEONE at Google who might help me - but to no avail. There was an invisible wall between their help desk and me... It was just so frustrating and such a waste of time...

(But - on the positive side - it did show me how important my daily blogging was to me. The idea of giving it up was really crushing!

After yet another unsuccessful attempt to post a few photos to the blog, I (yet again) lamented to my daughter that I didn't know what to do. 

Have you tried deleting cookies? she asked.

I didn't know an iPhone had "cookies," I  replied. So she led me step by step ...

• Go to Safari and find the book icon at the bottom of the page. Click it.
• Next, click the clock icon
• Then delete your history...

I did it - I deleted it all... and "lo and behold" the problem was gone! I have no idea what I was doing or why... But I could again upload photos to my blog!! Problem (FINALLY!) solved!

Mobile Hair Salon

In my childhood, I remember milkmen and bread-men delivering food to the door in the city. Did my parents have to sign up?  I don't know - but I still remember my mother leaving a quarter in a glass milk bottle to pay for a quart of milk. 

The back door was left unlocked in those days, and the delivery man just stepped in, unannounced, to fill the order.

These days we have courier delivery people delivering parcels from Amazon.

And recently on our street, I noticed something I'd never seen before: a mobile hair salon. One of our neighbours has apparently been having her hair done regularly at this mobile salon ever since it opened during the pandemic...

Great idea! But strange that I've never noticed it before!

Life Changes!

Our family life is changing ... again!

The pandemic brought changes to all of us  - as we distanced ourselves from each other, at least inside buildings, wearing masks, working remotely via computer from home.

Our daughter was one of those office workers who stopped going into the office, doing the same job through the internet and her computer at home. 

(And it worked!)

Eventually she decided to move back to Ottawa - to be closer to us. After all, her company didn't care where she lived, as long as she was sitting in front of her computer from 9 to 5 every day. We enjoyed having her nearby.

But now, two years later, life is shifting again. Some companies are again bringing employees back into the office. Are they trying to fill empty buildings? Or will productivity actually increase? 

My guess is: time will tell.

So... our daughter will soon be returning to the office half time - two days one week, three days the next...

It's a big shift for us all - as she moves to an apartment closer to where she will work (which happens to be a five-hour drive away in Toronto!)

National Ice Cream Day?!!

Yesterday was "National Ice Cream Day"...

Yesterday was also my mother's birthday! She was born 105 years ago in Ukraine. 

She and my dad loved ice cream - so I know she'd have been thrilled to share the day... and some ice cream!

Great-grandma Meets Ivy

Today I remember my mother's birthday...

My daughter-in-law reminded me that 8 years ago today - on my mother's 97th birthday, Ivy met her great-grandmother for the first and only time.

I want to hold her, my mother said. Put her on my lap. That moment was captured in this picture.

Holding her, she marvelled at her tiny fingers and toes!

We were all laughing! Even Ivy, two-and-a-half months old, was smiling! What a joyful day for us all!

Happy Birthday

Happy birthday to our youngest son...

Amazingly, Google recognized him in all these photos... And they were right! How do they do it?! 

A Problem!!

I've had a problem uploading photos to the blog this past week.

I'd get a message saying that my free Google photo storage is all used up. Buy more - with a monthly fee...

Or delete photos (lots of them!)

I think that not posting photos would totally change the blog, I told Terry, who agreed. 

I really do enjoy blogging... and I don't want to give it up!!

WHAT TO DO?! That's my current dilemma! If you see any blog posts without photos, that will probably be why...

Never Before!

There are all kinds of commercial vehicles out on the roads - but I've never seen one like this... A van transporting worms - or "vers" in French.

I assume these are worms sold to fishermen. I've occasionally come across stores that sell plastic cartons of them in the country...

So many questions come to mind:

Who in the city sells worms? Is it a lucrative business?!

Who packages them? (And how?! I can't imagine the worms would just crawl into the plastic cartons...!)

Where do they find these worms? Or do they  "farm" them - the way fish are "farmed" in ponds?

How long are they "good"once packaged?

Is there a "best before date" that expires?!

One final thought: As a former teacher, I imagine that a worm packaging plant would make a memorable field trip for kids... with a lot of animated discussion to follow. (But hopefully no "free samples" to take home on the bus!)

Finally, I googled the company name; it appears to be a thriving business.

(And to think, I would never have wondered about any of this had I not noticed the van!)

Is There a Problem?!

I was outdoors admiring the flowers, a few evenings ago, when a fire truck came down our street, lights flashing.

(My first thought was: Oh no! They've taken a wrong turn!)

A few minutes later, a second arrived.

An alarm was going off in a neighbour's house...

A few of us congregated outdoors. After half an hour or so, the fire trucks left. In the end, nobody could find what had set the alarm off...

I was thankful...!! 

Thankful ...

• that we have fire stations nearby...
• that we didn't have to evacuate, had they had found a cause for concern, like a gas leak.

But at the same time, I do hope that they will find out what made the alarm go off...

(Never a dull moment!)

Neighbourhood Yarn Store

Whenever Terry and I travel to southern Ontario, I secretly hope he'll want to eat ribs at Camp 31, a restaurant in Paris, Ontario.

There's a well-known Canadian yarn store a few kilometres away - and we always stop in.

Occasionally I remind myself that they may have the same yarn - and patterns - at a yarn store in our neighbourhood as well. 

Recently I stopped in, just to see..

And they did have some of the some yarn. 

In fact, this sweater is made of the same patterned yarn I'm currently knitting, only in a different color.

I came across another interesting sample - this thick and thin yarn in red and orange.

I'd better leave before I break down and buy some... I definitely would if I didn't have half a dozen unfinished items in the house already!

Time to finish them all!

Soccer... Everywhere!

There has been a lot of soccer in our family over the past few weeks!

Terry has been watching Euro 24 and COPA matches on TV day after day...

I've noticed that the nearby college has been busy with tournaments and training programs..

Close to his home, Jericho has been spending his days at a kids soccer camp - come rain or shine!

What Drives You?!

I recently came across this thought in a book I'm reading: 

"Beware what drives you on... What we long for regulates our actions, shapes our motives, determines our relationships, directs our hearts, consumes our lives. What is it that consumes yours?"

It made me stop and think...

When I was a teenager, I couldn't wait to leave home and "see the world." Where did that all-consuming desire come from? I don't know - but I'm sure it was fuelled by the books I read and movies I watched. 

My mind jumps to the present: What do I long for now?! I still like to "see the world" but, this past year, most of my "travel" has taken the shape of virtual walks in places like Mexico, India and Spain. (In reality, I'm rarely far from home.)

I long to live a quiet life, at peace with friends and family... 

Creativity - whether in pottery, painting, gardening, blogging or fiber arts (like knitting and quilting) also gives me great joy.

"What drives me?" is an interesting question to ask ourselves from time to time... I wouldn't say "BEWARE" but "BE AWARE" ... (unless you're UNHAPPY with your life.)

PS "What drives you?" is an interesting question to ask others, too... 

(BEWARE, Terry, I'll probably ask you!)

Learning About Illinois

A few weeks ago, I started my long virtual trek along the highway called Route 66!

Starting in Chicago, the highway culminates in Los Angeles. I expect it will take me between 18 and 24 months to complete... if all goes well!

I did have to cut back on my daily walking a bit when I developed a sore foot...

But I'm hoping it won't slow me down significantly in the end.

In the few weeks I've been walking along Route 66, pausing to look at the scenery around me, I'm most surprised by the flatness of the land. It's more like the prairies (where I lived as a child) than the forests of Ontario and Quebec... and the eastern United States.

That surprised me!

What a Difference!

What a difference a year makes!

Last year, in 2023, the white cat my older son lives with would run and hide when children appeared. 

Only the older brown cat, who grew up with children around, enjoyed hanging out with the kids.

But this year...

Jericho became friends with the white one, too. 

Glad to see it happen!

Happy About the Weather

Life was simpler before we had weather apps on our computers and phones. Most days we just headed out to work, come what may. Now, we not only check the weather forecast - we stare at the weather radar to watch it and arrive at our own conclusions.

Ate we happier knowing so much more?! 

(Or are we simply more stressed?!)

I recently came across this little story from back in the day, when times were simpler*:

A traveler asked: "What kind of weather are we going to have today?" And the old shepherd said: "The kind of weather I like."

"How do you know it will be the kind of weather you like?" the traveler scoffed.

"Having found out, sir, I cannot always get what I like, I have learned always to like what I get. So I am quite sure we will have the kind of weather I like."

_____

* Anecdote found in "The Psalms: Meditations for Every Day of the Year" by Joan Chittister.

Early Summer Mornings

I love early summer mornings - especially if the air outdoors is fresh and cool... 

I open all the doors and windows to let the cool morning breeze flow in.

Sometimes, if I'm lucky, I see baby bunnies hop out of the front flower bed, where I think they live.

Early morning is also the time I see birds, squirrels ... and an occasional skunk, returning home to sleep after hunting for food (tearing up lawns to find grubs to eat) all night.

Sore Neck...

For weeks now, I've had a sore neck. Finally I've decided to make some changes to deal with it...

Switched pillows - no change!

Changed purses... (Mine was heavy.) So far, no change. (Wondered if it was pulling on my shoulder.)

Am I  spending too much time looking down: knitting? reading? or looking at my cell phone?!

So far, the only things that give quick relief are this bag of cherry pits, warmed in the microwave for 30 seconds, (used as a warm compress around my neck).

Also... I switched out my regular pillow for this neck rest I bought to sleep sitting up on planes. It seems to be helping, too.