Seasonal Adjustments!

One of my biggest seasonal chores - which consumes a few days every spring and fall - is to bring out lighter (or heavier) clothing, depending on the season, and put away out of season clothing. I do have a lot of clothing - and not as much closet space as I need. Thankfully, we have big plastic storage bins.

Terry doesn't understand this undertaking - because he keeps his wardrobe simple. He wears jeans or jean shorts, tshirts or sweatshirts any season of the year, mixing them up daily to suit the weather of the day.

His seasonal undertaking - a large task - is "organizing the sheds" - moving snow shovels and snowblower to the back of the shed in spring, bringing out the lawnmower and gardening tools - and vice versa in fall.

Neither of us looks forward to these seasonal chores! But they have to be done when you live in a place with four seasons.

Things Do (Sometimes!) Change

In our early years together, Terry was more conscious of time than I was. Though always punctual for work, at other times I must have been "relaxed" about arrivng on time. I remember Terry giving me a talking-to about how disrespectful it was of other people's time to keep them waiting. Couldn't disagree with that... so I tried to change my ways. 

But, even as I became more punctual, Terry became more "relaxed"! Didn't expect that to happen!

Life was busy for many years and we did our own thing: I arrived EARLY at my job as a teacher - so that I could collect my thoughts before students arrived. 

He often arrived LATE at his job. But it usually didn't matter, as he then stayed late till the work was done.

Recently, things have changed again! I still like to be punctual - but, as I comment to friends - I'm lucky if I get more than one thing done in a day! I definitely try not to plan more than one.

But Terry now is has a DAILY LIST of THINGS TO DO - noted on his calendar. And he aims to get them ALL done.

I have no problem with that... If he wants to be that organized, good for him!

But very recently, he's started putting things FOR ME to do on his calendar - and repeatedly asks me if they're done yet...

I'm not a fan of that! Hoping THAT will change! I need things to do tomorrow, too... and the next day... I'm in no rush!

Saying Goodbye

A few days ago, Terry and I removed the last personal items from our daughter's Ottawa apartment and handed back the keys.

Her move happened quickly last month. With a  job offer in Toronto in mid-July and a start date in early August, she didn't have time to look back with nostalgia. She barely had time to pack up and leave!

But I was almost teary-eyed as I walked through the empty apartment, remembering how, in spring of 2022, Terry and I had hunted for a suitable place for her - showing her various apartments on Face Time as we toured different ones, among them - this one. She was living in southetn Ontario at the time, working remotely for a company in Toronto.

She had enjoyed two good years here - and spent more time with our family than she had in years. They were wonderful years for me - so I was sad to let them go.

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!)

Color Blast from the Past

Walking around the mall, I saw this sweater ... and stopped to stare...

That was so ME... when I was in my early 20's! Could I still pull it off?!

(These days, I'm more into greys...!)

Then I noticed this fleecy jacket ... almost the same color!! 

Is hot pink is coming back in style?!

Then I received an email from Ikea... advertising equally flashy colors in home furnishings.

Who makes these decisions  - about what colors will be in style?!

For someone like me, who LOVED these colors on the '60s, this is an emotional turn of events.

Church... At Home

During most of the COVID pandemic, Terry and I have been "doing" church from home...

We enjoy it... No leaving the house. No fear of getting - or giving - germs. 

In fact, it may be too easy... I bring my morning coffee over, sit on the sofa - and we tune in,  via Terry's computer.

It does lack one really important aspect of in-person church involvement - being part of a community.

But for now, I'm glad it's an option for us.

Daily Changes

On New Years Day, my mind often turns to the year ahead, especially to changes I'd like to see in my life in the coming year  - losing weight, walking more, de-cluttering, eating more healthily... to name a few.

Over the years, I've reached some of my goals. Thanks to Marie Kondo, my closets and cupboards are more organized than they used to be. Developing Type 2 Diabetes 15 years ago made me more attentive to what I eat. Although I do slip back into old eating habits, I now eat more vegetables (and less chocolate) than I used to.

A while back, I came across an interesting quote by John C. Maxwell - worth thinking about at the beginning of a new year. The quote is: 

You'll never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of your success is found in your daily routine.

Eating, folding laundry and putting things away are all part of my daily life - so perhaps changes in these areas are easier than my current goal of finishing projects I've started but never seen through to the end.

The challenge, I guess, is to make them a priority so that they do become a natural part of my daily life.

More Construction Changes

The weather is getting colder, so the builder of the two houses across the street is trying hard to frame them and get a roof on them before the snow falls...

They're focusing on one of the houses right now. 

Every day I wonder... How far will they get today? 

When will they have to dig up the street In front of our house to connect to the city plumbing pipes that are on our side of the street?

When the first framed walls go up - for the first floor - I realize that there is no way I can anticipate how tall these two story buildings look to us when they're done...

I hope they don't block out the sunlight, Terry comments... I really hope so, too!

Going Through My "Stash" of Gifts

I tend to shop for gifts during post-season sales - and on vacation... I then put my purchases away in my "stash" box - and tend to forget about them!!

I recently went through my gift "stash" after one of my sons mentioned he'd welcome socks as a gift...

(I must be getting old, he added, if I'm asking for socks as gifts!) Yes... It wasn't all that long ago that every gift he wanted had "Nintendo" in the name!

Didn't I have some that I bought a year ago, fully intending to give them to him for his birthday (which just passed...)?!

It was then I found the T-shirt I had planned to give Terry for his birthday this year: Happy belated birthday, I said (three months after the event)... I don't think I gave you anything. 

In May, when we celebrated his birthday, we weren't going out much. Were shopping centers even open? We only ventured out - with great caution - for essentials... I certainly wasn't out shopping for gifts!

Now, what about these tea towels I bought at the TATE Gallery in London the year my youngest son got married...? 

(How many years ago was that?! They have two kids now!)

In all this time, I haven't given them away as gifts... I think I'll start using them myself! They'll brighten up the kitchen!

And these souvenirs from Prince Edward Island, where Terry and I vacationed several summers ago... 

I'll use the pot holders myself...

The "potato" soap as well!

With all these things from my stash that I'm finally allowing myself to use - it almost feels like Christmas!

New Chair

My favorite spot in the house is my sunny "no-tv" room, full of windows, books and plants.

I've had the same chair for quite a few years now, but as we (the chair and I) both get older, I've had to add an Obus form for back support, and a thick cushion to help me sit higher to alleviate knee pain.

Maybe it's time you got a better chair, Terry suggested a while back... So I went out hunting.

I discovered that the "perfect" chair - whatever that is for each person - is very hard to find! But we finally made a purchase, and I consider it my early Christmas gift!

So a few days ago, I cleared the room in anticipation...

I hope it lasts a good long time!

Changing Times

My sons are in their thirties now. (So in my eyes, they're not that old!)

Recently one of them told me how.times have changed since he was a kid.

I recently saw this boy, about 10, taking the garbage out to the curb, he told me.

I remember doing the same thing at his age. I also remember that if you asked me to do it while I was watching TV, I'd wait till the next commercial.

But this kid had the black garbage bag in one hand and his cell phone in another. He had earphones in his ears.

He didn't need to wait till the commercial! He could watch the program on his device WHILE he was taking out the garbage.

(Or he could simply have paused the TV until he got back.)

Wow! Kids have it a lot easier these days then we had it!

Awaiting a New Stove

This is the second stove we've owned in the thirty-plus years we've lived in this house. The burners and the oven heating elements still work - though a number of other key elements don't (the oven light, the convection fan, and one of the outlets).

To repair (for the third time)? Or to replace?

When it appeared that the burnt out oven light had been "welded" in by the heat and we'd need to replace more than the bulb, I suggested we replace the stove.

I feel bad about it - so much of it still works... But for how long?

In my parents' day, it would have been moved into the basement until it totally stopped working... There it would have gotten occasional use - if a meal were being prepared for an exceptionally large group of people, for instance...

But we rarely have large groups over...

So we (reluctantly) called a scrap metal dealer to haul it away...

Now we're waiting for a new stove to be delivered. (And for a few days, I don't mind not being able to cook!)

Change One Thing!

I was having a spa day, getting my nails done - a rare luxury. (A mother's day gift from my son.)

Sitting there, I noticed a magazine I've never seen before (More)

The title of an article featured on the cover caught my eye: "Change One Small Habit, Change Your Life"... I leaned over to reach for the magazine - but by then my fingernail polish was wet... Was it worth ruining a manicure for?! Probably not!

So I sat there, thinking about the title - wondering if changing any habit of mine would change my life...


What about never eating dessert?! That might lower my blood sugar levels... and remove a vast array of health issues!

Maybe I should give it a try...

When I got home, I looked up the magazine article online. The author had been challenged to get up early to write rather than simply ease into his day. The idea to change his habit had came from a book I have also been reading: Better than Before: Mastering the Habits of Our Everyday Lives.

(I haven't managed to finish the book yet!)

Well, I managed to resist desserts for two days! It was hard, but I did it!

I wonder how long the author managed to get up at 5:30!

(The problem with changing habits is: We like them! That's why they're so ingrained!)

Accepting Change

"Life is a constant change" my mother says quite often, sometimes with a sigh. This little motto of hers has helped her take life's changes in stride.

Another inspirational thought she loved was found in the Serenity Prayer.

She liked it so much she created this embroidered wall hanging of it.

















We all have different ways of accepting the hard things in life.

Reminding herself that "it takes both rain and sunshine to make a rainbow" is one friend's way of reconciling herself to these times.

I'm a little simpler! The only change I'm looking for these days is the end to our seemingly endless cold weather! There's nothing like a long, cold winter to make me appreciate spring.

Maybe there's a metaphor in that, too.

Some Thoughts on Change...

This past winter has been a season of change. I have finally (after 7 years of retirement) spent time seriously sorting through things we rarely use anymore, giving - or throwing - them away. Slowly the house is feeling a little airier.

I'm getting ready for a new season in my life, as well. I need to make time - and space - for new hobbies and interests. Our house is overflowing with things from the past.  I want to look ahead.

Time to say goodbye to some dreams (and files in my filing cabinet). One dream (and file) was "teaching overseas." I'm not sure I want to teach anymore. Instead, I'd like to continue learning art. Perhaps write a little more, too - though this blog keeps me writing every day.

I recently came across a quote by George Bernard Shaw, a Victorian writer whose humor I love: The only man I know who behaves sensibly, Shaw writes, is my tailor; he takes my measurements anew each time he sees me. The rest go on with their old measurements and expect me to fit them.

It's easy to forget that we all change - and grow - every day! (Even in retirement!)

How Times Have Changed!

I recently came across this old photo of a barn raising in Brampton, Ontario at the end of the 19th century.

Two hundred people are gathered around, some high on rafters I can't imagine climbing!

That wouldn't happen today!















Later, walking downtown, I notice the scaffolding around a tower being repaired on Parliament Hill!

That typifies 21st century construction: Fewer people and a lot more concern for safety. How times have changed!

Typecasting... Ourselves

Actors complain about typecasting - succeeding in one role, only to be limited to acting similar characters ever after: Hey, I can play other roles too! Just give me a chance!

But typecasting doesn't just occur in acting. We all guilty of typecasting... ourselves. Having succeeded (or not) at something early in life, we draw conclusions about what we can (or can't) do - without bothering to give it a try.

The point was brought home to me as I was perusing two drawing books...

The first, a magnificent collection of botanical drawings and photos, inspired me when I first started to draw plants.














I soon concluded that - as beautiful as the pictures were - the book had little to teach me.














The artist's style was too meticulous, too perfect - very unlike my own.


















I was more drawn to a second drawing book, more similar to my drawing style.














That doesn't look too hard.














I've drawn shoes before, too.

It was a while before I realized that both books were written - and illustrated - by the same artist. 

She doesn't limit herself! Why should I?!

Autumn Reflection

I have been reading Esther de Waal's book, Living with Contradiction, and the following caught my eye. It seems particularly relevant to the autumn season:

"There are moments in the year... when we are made particularly conscious of the dying that is happening all around us... as the nights get longer, as daylight fades more quickly, as plants and flowers disappear and the earth becomes bare, as the trees lose their leaves and we are left with the stark skeletons of their forms against the sky, we have this yearly reminder of loss, of darkness, of death. And yet simultaneously we know that it will not last forever - that it is only the necessary precursor of growth." (pp. 123-4)

The gardener in me says: Yes!

And even as I pare down the clutter in the house - disturbing the comfortable chaos I live in - I want to see it as a kind of death that leads to new life: old interests make way for new ideas, new opportunities to bring new things into my life, to learn and grow.

When Did It Happen??!

I recently came across some of my children's elementary school pictures. Examining them, I tried for a moment to recapture the sense of who they were then - seeds of their present adult selves. It's hard to remember all the stages...














Then not long afterward, I was sent this 85-second video clip of a baby changing into a 10-year-old.

Now that I'm looking back, my children's childhood years seem to have passed just as quickly!

Thanks, Ayalah, for passing it on!

Could We Live Here... Again?

Now that Dad has retired, you two should move to Montreal, one of our kids commented not long ago.

I was surprised: Why do you say that?

Because you're always happy when you go there.

We did enjoy our once-a-year visits to Montreal. It felt almost like home...

We had lived there before the children were born, never intending to make Ottawa our permanent home. We had moved to Ottawa for a year's study... and had stayed...

Do you ever think of moving back to Montreal? I ask Terry as we leave for our annual visit.

I like Ottawa, he replies, even though it wasn't in our long-term plan...

As we drive the mere two and a half hours to Montreal, each of us is wondering: Should we think about moving back?














When we get there, we walk around our old downtown neighborhood, visiting all the familiar spots:














Place Ville Marie...














Chinatown...














St. Denis Street...














(where I discovered some interesting new shops...)














And our favorite shopping areas.














We wonder out loud: Where would we live if we did move back.














We look at the city from our hotel's rooftop garden to get a bird's eye view...














We even drive to the look-out on Mount Royal (the mountain that Montreal is built on) to view the city at night...

I really don't know...

Finally, on our way home, Terry comments...You know, I could live here again.

But I'm not so sure: I think we need more than memories to bring us back! ...

Maybe we should just visit more often!