Today is my mother's birthday.
A while back, I came scross these photos from 2010, taken on her 91st birthday.
My three kids were there - together with my daughter-in-law, Natalie.
A group of us had lunch with her at her retirement residence.
My brother and his wife had brought along, from Texas, my sister-in-law's niece and her new husband.
My brother always liked to bring friends with him. He enjoyed showing off Canada!
Fun times! Great memories!
Today is our younger son's birthday!!
Where have the years gone?!!
I look forward to celebrating with him and his family later today... We always have a fun time!
In the midst of the chaos of our summer - chaos that started with the July 1 flooding of our basement and the subsequent weeks of cleanup"...
I find solace in nature:
...the flowers I see around me...
... and especially the amazing sky!
My home may look and feel different indoors.
But outdoors, nothing has changed!
I've long been curious to try a "croque monsieur" or a "croque madam" sandwich - traditional French sandwiches made by dipping ham and cheese sandwiches in a mixture of egg and milk, then frying them, as one would fry French toast.
I was under the impression that the "croque monsieur" had ham and cheese between the slices of bread but "croque madam" only had cheese...
So I made what I thought was a "croque madam" - because I had no ham.
But I was wrong! Turns out that both croque monsieur" and "croque madam" have ham and cheese in them. But "croque madam" has a fried egg - sunny side up - on top!
I need to try that!
But I did use the leftover egg and milk mixture for a small serving of scrambled eggs - which I drizzled with homemade strawberry jam...
A delicious dessert!
Last week Ivy went to "beach" volleyball camp in the mornings...
No beach! But they played barefoot in sand!
(I remember playing volleyball in the school gym in high school. I wonder if the rules are the same...)
It was fun to watch her skills develop.
After camp, there were various options - including shopping!!)
One day I drove her to a friend's house. Another day we went to a mall.
Yet another day, we met up with her father. His car was in the garage - so we ended up going to pick up her brother at his soccer camp as well.
We all had a good time!
Fun to hang out with my granddaughter... And for me, a well-needed break from the post-flood chaos at home!
Once the wet carpeting was removed from our basement, we had to work on drying the floor and walls.
Several carpenters cut out the bottom 2 feet of all the drywall...
Before doing that, all shelving has to be pushed into the centre of the room.
Then fans and industrial-sized dehumidifiers are brought in to dry everything - floor, wooden framing under the drywall - everything!
As it dries, the wood is sprayed several times with an anti-fungal solution.
After everything is dry, the next step is to rebuild. In the meantime, boxes of books and things retrieved from the basement fill every vacant corner of the upper two floors of the house!!
The past day or two, we've had slightly smoky skies from forest fires in Quebec.
Smoky skies make the sky look pink...
The sun actually looked red - like the photo below - though in some of the photos it looks faded, almost white.
My son and I ran here and there in the yard, hoping to capture the perfect picture...
Some are lovely - but it's impossible to match the beauty of the "real deal" - the beauty of nature!!
One of the early tasks we needed done after the July 1 flood was having the waterlogged carpet removed before mould appeared and it began to smell...
It was hard to find someone to do it...
Restoration workers were in high demand.
So we were thrilled to find one recommended by a neighbour...
And we breathed easier once the carpet - and the smell - were gone!
Came across this on Instagram...
Good to be reminded!
Found this on Instagram's "easy fitness over fifty" (from Newfoundland, I think). She has a lot of easy exercises as well!
But did they buy clothing ready-made? Or did a seamstress or tailor take their measurements and sew them by hand!
I wish I had asked.
Seeing this ad for summer knitting reminded me of the first (and last!) time I mixed sunbathing and knitting...
I was knitting a lacy white sleeveless acrylic top. I didn't realize that the sun was turning the yarn on my needles yellow! I only noticed that when I resumed knitting indoors!
I never knit in the sun again! My mother, who was a high school teacher at the time, wore the two-tone top with delight. If anyone noticed, there was a story - and a lesson - to share!
We have been busy clearing water from the basement...
And carrying out waterlogged and damaged possessions...
Sad as it is to say "goodbye,"...
It will be good to see it go.
Last Wednesday - Canada Day - we had a lot of rain here in Ottawa.
My son took these pictures when he got off the bus after work, to walk home...
Then he saw security tape - the ceiling in a nearby passageway was already coming down!
As the song goes: "The rains came down and the floods came up..." in a large number of buildings - homes and public places, like our local library.
We had a flooded basement, and have been cleaning up ever since... Eight or more homes in our block have water in their basements. Some also have no hot water or AC. Fortunately we have both.
At our end of the street, people have been very kind.
When the time came to open our freezer - which Terry had unplugged when the water was rising - our neighbours Mary and Earl found room in their freezer for the things that we couldn't fit into our fridge.
Another neighbour offered us a pump to help remove the water that was covering the basement floor. (We had two pumps of our own, but a third made a big difference.)
Our older son took 2 days off work to help us move things out of the basement. Our younger son brought over 2 dehumidifiers to help dry the carpet and floor.
When it is all over - and the cleanup done - I hope that these kindnesses will be what we remember most.
Flowers in our front garden bed reach their peak in early July.
There's a mix of orange lilies...
... white daisies...
... yellow coreopsis...
... and mauve-blue flowers that seem to grow wild - making the front flower garden look like a giant "bouquet."
I wish this mix of flowers would last longer.
But like most perennials, they move on - replaced by a new wave of blooms.
The coreopsis do continue to bloom a bit longer...
... together with the blue geraniums that grow near the overhanging pine tree. They lie closer to the ground, so they are not as noticeable as the taller flowers.
