Guess where?

 Back in July - before the cross-country trek - we did a Guess Where tour. It was a lot of fun!

Wanda ordered it on line a couple of weeks before, and it came with 5 envelopes. You open the first one before you start - it tells you what to expect (e.g. prepare for walking, bring bug spray). Then, when you're ready, you get in the car and open the second envelope.

This envelope tells you about your first stop - where to go and what to see there. Our first stop was Merrickville, so we read about the ruins as well as some notable shops to visit. 

When we were done there, we went to our second stop - a short hike in Limerick Forest.

After that, it was back in the car for envelope #4 - the Spencervill Mill.

The last envelope was Kemptville for an antique store and another walk, but we were all tired so we left it for another day.

Summer by the numbers

• 8889.2 kms (road trips)

• 9328 kms (flying)

• 42 nights away from home

• 13 first cousins (everyone on moms side, 2 on dads side)

• 3 Great Lakes: Huron, Superior, Ontario

• 9 hotel rooms: (Oceanview Rocky harbour, Hotel North St Anthony, Oceanview Rocky harbour, Sinbad’s Hotel and Suites Gander, The Capital St. John’s, Super 8 North Bay, Super 8 Thunder Bay, Motel 6 Sault Ste Marie)

• 7 Provinces: Ontario, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Manitoba

• 10 nights in a sleeping bag

• 4 aunts and uncles

• 5 door knobs replaced

• 209,304,989 trees seen (estimate)

• 2 National parks (Gros Morne, Terra Nova)

• 3 Provincial parks (Buffalo Pound, Blue Lake, Sandbanks)

• 7 flights

• 2 compensation claims under the Canadian passenger bill of rights (+ 2 appeals, one successful, and one report to the Canadian Transport Authority)

Totality

 I've had the eclipse in my calendar for years. I bought glasses months ago. 

But I wasn't sure I was going until Monday morning - was it worth it if it's cloudy? Who would go with me? 

So on Monday morning, I booked the afternoon off. At noon, my niece and I got in the car and drove an hour south. The traffic was slow leaving Ottawa, but picked up as we got farther away.

We found a park on the St. Lawrence and settled in to watch. Somehow, we were surprised at how cold it got, but we stuck it out. 

When we hit totality, the crowd cheered. (I guess they were team moon?)

We got stuck in a parking lot on the way back, and decided to hang out in a grocery store until the traffic died down, so we didn't get home until 7 or so.

It was worth it. 

The end of the Mazda 5

 Back in 2013, I bought a used Mazda 5. It was great. It had storage space or seating, and I took full advantage of both.

When my mom brought the 3 ten-to-twelve year olds to visit, it picked them up at the airport. 

When I started building furniture, I hauled 8-foot-long boards home in it. 

It was there through Halloween parties, road trips, injuries, renovations, storms, COVID, picking up the puppy, and everything else that has happened in the last 10 years.

It was hard to find a replacement! The Mazda 5 had a lot of storage, not to mention the flexibility of the 6 seats. But it was time, so on Friday I traded it in.

It was a good car.

Derecho!

 Almost 2 weeks ago - on Saturday, May 21 - Ottawa was hit by a derecho (intense wind and thunderstorm). 

The power went out as the storm hit, and we all hung out in the basement. It didn't last long, and we came back upstairs to find a tree had blown over:

The tree was lying on the power lines, but didn't do a lot of damage on its way down.

Others weren't so lucky - one of my neighbours had 2 trees land on his house.

A lot of trees were down in the neighbourhood.

And still we didn't have power. 

My cousin - who lives about 20 minutes away - got power back on Monday night, so Tuesday morning Wanda and I headed to her place to work. 

Her cat was not impressed. 

They cut the tree off the power line on Friday, and Saturday night - a full week after the power went out - we got power back. 

The freezer had thawed but was still cold, which was impressive. Wanda cleaned out the freezer while I cooked the thawed meat. 

And then on Wednesday, the company I'd hired came to remove the tree. They pulled into a driveway with a crane and pulled it out over the house. Then they cut off the branches and left it there for the city to pick up. 

And then yesterday the city showed up to dispose of the tree

End of summer

 The new walkway is done. They sloped the walk so that we were able to get rid of the stairs near the driveway, and covered the steps in the same stone. There is also a small patio beside the stairs now. 

Mom and Miss B. came to visit. We went to Baxter conservation area, and enjoyed the trains and the ice cream boat. We mostly stayed outside for obvious reasons. Ms. A moved in and starts university today. 

The work in the back yard continues. It will hopefully be done by Thanksgiving.

And Pathfinders starts tomorrow. I guess summer is really over.

Two-dose summer

 I went to the movies on Friday. (Black Widow, which was good, BTW.)

In a few weeks, I'm going to a cottage with friends.

Life is getting back to normal, but day-to-day life hasn't changed much. I'm still working from home, and I'm still at home most of the time.

I've discovered a buy-nothing group in the neighbourhood, and I love it. I am getting rid of so much perfectly-good stuff that I don't need anymore. It's great!

Soon my front walk will be re-done. There is a gazebo being built in the back yard. Things are a little chaotic, but good. 

Goodbye, 2020

 This has been quite an unusual year, so I wanted to look back on what happened.

In January, my Girl Guide trip to Yellowknife was (finally!) approved, and we started fundraising. We had a craft night in February, and started running escape rooms. 

And then in March, the pandemic hit. I started working from home; Girl Guides were not allowed to meet. I created new escape rooms online, and we continued running those until the end of June.

I changed jobs in April, and now work with a bunch of people I've never seen in person.

In May, Wanda and I painted the living room/dining room/hallway, which is always a huge job. Shortly afterwards, I painted the upstairs bathroom, which is much easier.

I got other stuff done around the house, too - I recaulked the kitchen and upstairs bathroom; I glued down the tile that's been loose for a long time; and I built a hammock stand.

And then, in July, I gave in and got a proper desk to work from. It was well worth it. It's a floating desk, and I set it at standing height. I also bought a drafting (i.e. tall) chair. It's working well.

I recertified my first aid, did a psychological first aid course online, and finally did the boater's course. 

Pathfinders started up in the fall, and we started meeting outside in my backyard. That's working well - we may stay outside even once the pandemic is over. 

I bought new living room furniture (which will arrive on Saturday), bought a Nintendo Switch so I can spend time with my friend Luigi, bought more takeout meals than ever before, and bought a pair of slippers that I love.

I've eaten all but 2 meals at  home since March. (I ate in my car during the first aid course, and I ate lunch at a Pathfinder day camp in November.)

This is the first time in my life I haven't traveled for Christmas. 

I've started playing board games online with friends.

I made a quilt for the friend I do Pathfinders with.

I had several trips planned for this year; none of them happened. But I had vacation time to help a friend with cancer, and I had time off to recharge.

I miss socializing in person, and restaurants, and movies. But I'm doing OK.

Bring on 2021.

What I've been doing when I'm not here

I spent Remembrance day (and the day after) doing a First Aid course, so on Saturday night I went downtown for supper and went to the war memorial and then over to the Parliament Buildings to see the poppies they were projecting on the Centre Block. It was nice - there were more people paying their respects than I expected, but it wasn't crowded, and it was impressive to see all of the poppies left on the tomb of the unknown soldier.

That's also the weekend I started my Christmas project. You see, there is a family in my community that is having a hard year. My friend decided to organize a Christmas basket for them. I said I'd make blankets, so I spent a month making a quilt for each of the 5 kids, and one for the adults. (6 quilts in 4 weeks. It was ridiculous.)
    

  
(Each child's quilt is a different colour; the adult one is a combination of the children's colours).

Then it was Wanda's birthday, so we took the dinosaurs out for Vietnamese food on a Tuesday night.


 


And then we went back down to the Parliament Buildings to see the rink and the Christmas lights.

Home sweet cabin

Well, let's start with the stuff I've failed to share. A couple of weeks ago I made the trek to Maverick donuts. The donuts were good, but I prefer Suzy Q.

Last week I did another    Nite, and then went out for ice cream.

And this weekend I rented a cabin at Riverside-Cedar campground. It was cold and it rained all day yesterday, but we had a good time anyway. The cabin consisted of a bedroom with a bunk bed and queen bed, and another room with a fridge, stove, table, benches, and a futon. There was a water tap just off the deck as well as 2 adirondack chairs, a BBQ, and a fire pit. The bathroom was a bit of a hike, but otherwise it was nice.