Rain!!

We haven't had a lot of rain this summer... I can't say I missed it, though the grass was turning yellow.

But it POURED one day last week - while we were driving...

Then, after the rain...

... came the calm.

New Restaurant to Try!

Terry and I were recently in Almonte, where we stopped for lunch with our son who lives nearby.

We'd never eaten in this pizza restaurant before - overlooking the waterfall...

The food was delicious!

On our way back to the car, we paused to remember that Almonte is the hometown of James Nasmith, the inventor of basketball!

It was nice to be out and about again - now that the weather isn't quite so hot!

Beautiful Evening!

Terry is and I recently headed to Andrew Haydon Park, on the Ottawa River, for a walk - and to hear the Nepean Concert Band play in the bandstand, which they do several times in summer.

I don't know why I didn't take a picture of the band - but I did get one of their appreciative audience - most of whom had brought folding chairs.

The paths had been cleaned...

We noticed that there weren't as many geese as there often are...

Sailboats were returning to the marina.

Such a beautiful - peaceful - place to be at the end of the day... 

Interesting! Beauty is always found in the mix of sun and clouds, light and dark.

Oatmeal Cookies - No Sugar Added

I recently came across this recipe online - and since there are very few "no-sugar-added" cookie recipes - and I had 2 over-ripe bananas - I decided to give it a try.

A few people commented that the cookies in the picture bear no resemblance to those made by the recipe - and that's true! Not sure why someone would post a totally different picture...  unless they just want you to click on a link... 

So, if you come across this recipe photo elsewhere online - don't click on any accompanying links!!

I did a screengrab of the picture above only. When I made them, the cookies looked like this...

They are very dense and ... I  guess "tough" is the word. But otherwise, they weren't bad! My father would have happily dunked them in his coffee!

I did modify the recipe a bit, using regular milk instead of oat milk. Two bananas only. I also added a "pinch" of baking powder, hoping to make them lighter in texture. Not sure it had any impact.

I also baked them in my silpat muffin forms. Next time, I'll just drop spoonfuls of dough on my silpat cookie sheet. I think they'll hold together.

So, if you're trying to live an added-sugar-free life, these cookies may be something you'd like to try. Raisins or chopped dried fruit would make them totally free of added sugar - but I did the chocolate chip version on this my first try!

Trekkin' Along!

I can’t believe that in just over a year, I've walked the equivalent of the distance between Chicago and the Arizona-New Mexico border along historic Route 66. To be honest, I didn't think I could do it...

I'm now 2/3 of the way between Chicago and Santa Monica, California on this virtual walk. One third of the way to go!

I find it exciting and gratifying to see that modest daily walks of 10,000 to 13,000 steps add up to 5 to 7 kilometers daily  which, in turn, add up to several thousand in the course of a year!

I'm looking forward to passing through Flagstaff, Arizona - a place I really visited a few years ago. I have great memories of restaurants we ate in and the kind people we met.

Maybe I'll even recognize some of the scenery!

Eighty-one Years Ago

I love these pictures - taken eighty-one years ago today...

The happy faces... 

These wedding pictures were taken at my mother's parents' home in rural South Edmonton - where the reception was held. It's hard to recognize many of the faces - but I do see several of my mother's brothers surrounding her and my dad, the newlyweds: Erhardt, Ted, possibly Bill, possibly Herb.

I never got to know my mother's two bridesmaids - but the flower girl / junior bridesmaid,  is my cousin, Eleanor, my father's niece. I knew her well. She and her family even attended my wedding in Montreal years later.

I often wondered if this picture of my mother next to her wedding cake - a cake she decorated herself - superimposed on the picture of her in her wedding dress... (like a ghostly apparition) was an accidental "double exposure"... Or was it planned?!

She kept the top layer of the cake in our "China cabinet" for many years. I used to ask her about it: Do you really plan to eat it sometime?! 

I think she decided not to take it with us when we moved from Red Deer to Kelowna. By then it would have been 15 years old!

Today, my thoughts are there with them - on what would be my parents' eighty-first wedding anniversary.

More Labyrinths

Last winter I became interested in labyrinths...

I had seen them before - but they never caught my imagination. Now I like to visit as many as I can.

I searched for "Ottawa labyrinths" online and discovered that there are quite a few in our community... enough to keep me busy for a while. I'd like to visit them all!

So a few days ago, Terry and I drove half an hour away to a "quiet garden" in the nearby town of Richmond - to St. John the Baptist Anglican Church...

The church here was built in the 1800's...

Wandering through the garden , I found not one, but two labyrinths. 

One looks much older than the other. It's quite a bit smaller, and needs some tidying up to make it easy to follow. 

Crushed rock has covered the brick in a few places. 

I walked them both.

This is the newer, larger one - a path of bricks in grass. It's well maintained.

I'm curious to know when they were built in this quiet garden between the church and its cemetery - and why. 

What motivated people to take the time - and the effort - to create them? That's something I'm interested to know...

My Fun Day "Off"

I got very few pictures... but last Sunday I enjoyed a meal - with all the "men" in my family. 

It was nice... but it definitely felt different!

They did all the work... (Why wasn't I outside at the barbecue at least taking pictures?!) They did all the clean-up...

As a mother and grandmother - I'm used to being responsible for getting food ready...  So it was unusual to see them bustling around doing everything... And I was amazed at their skill...

(Terry and I must have done a few things right!)

Wish I had taken more pictures - apart from the cat looking cute...

... and Jericho wondering what life was like from a cat's or a dog's perspective...

All I did was relax and enjoy the action around me!

Last Flowers?!

The summer has flown by! The weather is still very warm, so it doesn't feel as if we're moving into fall.

So many perennials have come and gone  - and now I notice that the Japanese anemones are beginning to open up!

I think of them as my last summer flowers.

They're so beautiful - I love them! But they bring a certain sadness, too. I don't want the blooming season to end!

Rubber Plant Update

The day after bringing my new rubber plant home - indoors - into my sitting area, I noticed that my wrists were itchy.

I didn't think much of it until the next day, when the itchiness continued.

Why am I itchy? I asked myself... Have I eaten anything new? Used a new product for laundry? Or a new hand cream, perhaps...?

Nothing new in my environment except this new plant sitting across from my chair.

Could I be allergic to the rubber tree plant?! Allergy to plants has never been a problem for me before - but I know someone who is allergic to nuts - and also to nut trees. She discovered the tree allergy after moving into her first house - which happened to have a large nut tree in the front yard. (She eventually moved...)

I looked up "allergy to rubber trees" and discovered that there was indeed a known allergy- to natural latex in the sap.

Not wanting to risk further issues, I took the plant outdoors... Would my itchiness now go away?

It's now sitting next to a potted geranium and an indoor olive tree - while I figure out what to do next!

My plan now is to leave it outdoors till September or October, then bring if indoors again and see if the itchiness returns.

What Now?!!

I was excited to see this plant - the LAST one on a givaway box in Old Ottawa South. Terry and I were heading to the Green Door restaurant for lunch...

I'm going to pick that up - if it's still there when we go back to the car, I said - hoping it would be... 

And it was!!

Does it need to be repotted?! It's overflowing leaves indicate perhaps "yes."

Online research indicated that they needed heavy pots - so that they wouldn't topple over. But not necessarily larger pots. In fact, the maximum size pot a large plant should have is 12 inches (30 cm) in diameter and in height.

And this was a small plant - in height.

I've never had a rubber plant before. But my former colleague, Vera, has one that belonged to HER grandmother... and Vera is now a grandmother herself! So rubber trees can live a long time!

Maybe it’s time for me to call Vera for some expert advice!

Work ... or Play?!

I happened to look out the window when a rabbit and a squirrel were in our back yard eating... 

Or maybe hunting for food?

They totally ignored each other as they jumped around in the grass.

Were they working  - or playing?! 

Perhaps a little of both...?

Though the hyperactive squirrel seemed to be having more fun!

Impressionist

It rained hard - for an hour...

Afterwards I took this picture of the view through the window - and sent it to my daughter.

Looks like an impressionist painting, she replied...

Impressionist? Maybe I should try to paint the scene. I haven't done a painting in a long, long while.