Newfoundland

 In June, my Girl Guide travel group made it to Newfoundland! We'd been planning - and fundraising - for two years, and we were very excited to go!

We flew into Deer Lake, and visited Rocky Harbour (Gros Morne), St. Anthony, Gander, and St. John's.  

We went to L'Anse Aux Meadows, the Newfoundland Insectarium, and the Arches.

We saw Come From Away in Gander, toured a search and rescue facility, and went cod jigging. 

We met up with local Pathfinders, painted a picture of a puffin, and went to The Rooms.

It was a good trip.

Still outside

Back in 2020, my Pathfinders moved outside (like everyone did, since inside was far more risky). Over the past couple of years, most groups have moved inside.

We haven't. We still meet outside all year - and we have no intentions of ever moving back to indoor meetings.

We've built sand castles in the snow, built a quinzee, identified trees, used power tools, and found constellations in the sky. And we're more active - there are chairs available, but most of time we're standing or walking or playing.

In some ways it's harder - it does get cold in the winter, but the worst days are the cold, dark, rainy nights in March and November, when there is little snow on the ground.   

And in three weeks, we start again. 

Well, 2022 is over!

 Well, it's been quite a year.

• 5 vaccinations (3 of them COVID)
• 1 new puppy
• 1 new human in the house (my niece moved in for school)
• 7+ days without power due to a storm
• 1 downed tree (that I had to deal with)
• 7 days in Yellowknife
• 3 Girl Guide camps (all in tents)
• 1 new dishwasher
• so very many masks

Here's hoping 2023 brings health, happiness, and an end to the pandemic.

Yellowknife!

 After 3 years - and 2 postponements - my Girl Guide travel group finally made it to Yellowknife. You can read about our trip here. 

It was a great trip! 

COVID made it a much tricker situation than we'd planned. We'd originally planned to go in March of 2021 and sleep in the Girl Guide cabin outside of town.

COVID cancelled that, and we rescheduled for March of 2022. We couldn't do that either, so we rescheduled for July. And, also due to COVID, the cabin was out, so we booked hotel rooms.

We had to do COVID tests the day before we went - all 3 leaders and 15 youth. I warned them in early July to be diligent about masking, because if they tested positive they couldn't go.

We had to figure out what we'd do if someone got sick while we were there (move two leaders into the same room, put the sick youth into their own room). We also had to figure out which leader would stay behind if someone couldn't fly back.

Everyone tested negative, and all 18 of us got on the plane. And all 18 of us got on the plane back.

Luggage tags

 Today I made 18 luggage tags for my Girl Guide travel group. 

I started by cutting out two pieces of fabric, 4.5 inches x 7 inches. I then ironed interfacing onto one piece - the one intended for the inside of the tag.

After that, I cut a piece of plastic 4.5 inches x 5 inches and folded it in half so that it was 4.5 inches x 2.5 inches. I then stitched along the fold.

I folded the inner piece of fabric in half, and lined up the stitching on the plastic with the middle of the tag. Next, I unfolded the fabric and stitched around the three sides of the plastic that hadn't already been stitched. 

 

 After the pocket is attached, fold 12" of the strap in half and put the open end in the middle of the opposite side of the fabric. Add the fabric for the back of the tag, face down. Sew around 3 sides, leaving the side at the bottom of the pocket unsewn. 

Clip the corners and turn the luggage tag right side out. 

Take a 3" piece of bias tape (or strapping). Fold in both sides of the unsewn end. Pin the bias tape into the opening so that the two ends have a small gap between them. 

Sew around the luggage tag, starting with the open side, and then end by sewing the open side a second time. Make sure you are catching both ends of the bias tape.

Fold the luggage tag in half and push the strap through the bias tape look. That's it!

A belated welcome to 2022

 So I've been meaning to update since the beginning of the year. Maybe even the end of last year.

I had planned to go visit the family for Christmas, but omicron convinced me to cancel my trip, so it was a quiet holiday here. Lots of video games and relaxing. I'd been needing a vacation, and I really enjoyed that one. We did go to a drive-through light show here, which was enjoyable. 

Once January hit, life got back to the new normal. We'd stopped our Saturday hikes at the end of November, and finally restarted them this past Saturday.

Last week, we got a lot of snow (48 cm, followed by another 5 or so a couple of days later). My Girl Guide travel group persists, although we don't know when - or even where - we will be able to travel. Our current travel date is in March, and that's looking pretty risky.

But 2022 has begun, and only time will tell what it brings.

Not quite Thanksgiving, but thankful none the less

In my last post, I hoped the gazebo/shed would be done by Thanksgiving. That did not happen.

We got the excavation dirt picked up the last Friday in October - which was also the absolute last day for it to be picked up. 10 1-metre-cubed bags on the driveway was not something I wanted to have around all winter! That weekend, the patio went in. 

The following weekend, we got the cupboard doors on. On November 9, we got the siding, and it went on the following weekend. The final inspection was last Tuesday.

The left side of the shed is a typical shed. There's one shelf, and storage for a few other things. The double doors on the right cover three shelves, also for storage. Below that compartment is a section you can reach from the right side of the shed; it's made to fit the lawnmower. 

I'm very glad it's done.

And this past Saturday, my Girl Guide travel group ran a day camp for other units. It was a really good experience, and I was really tired when it was done.

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.

Thanksgiving

 It was a quiet weekend, for the most part. I did some cleaning, made Thanksgiving dinner, had some zoom calls with friends and family.

My cousin and I have been doing weekly hikes, so we did that on Sunday morning. I'm really enjoying them - it's a way to get outside and enjoy the weather.

My Pathfinders are still meeting outside, which also gives me a chance to get outside more. The girls are great - we have a big group (15 girls, which is a good size for this age group) and they're all lovely kids. And they strongly prefer outdoor meetings to online meetings, so we will stay outside until public health or Girl Guides tell us to stop.

We're also selling mint cookies; if you're in the market and you live in Canada, you can support us by buying here: https://secure.girlguides.ca/site/TR/E-Cookies/Region-ON?team_id=2964&pg=team&fr_id=4491

Halloween, just a few weeks late.

On Halloween, my Pathfinders built and ran a haunted house for the local community association. We prepared in advance, and planned to start setting up at 8 a.m. on Saturday.



On Friday night, I went to boxing and stopped to pick up supper. For some reason, I didn't protest when they handed me two drinks in a drink holder. I set it on the seat and drove home.

When I got home, I went to pick up the drinks and managed to flip them onto the floor. The lid of one came off and it spilled.

I went running to the house, and by the time I got there, I didn't have my keys. I banged on the door and Wanda let me in. I grabbed a towel and went to mop up the car.

Still no keys.

I ate, showered, and left to go pick up some supplies for the haunted house. (I had to borrow Wanda's keys, because mine were nowhere to be found - but it was dark, and they were either in the car or on the ground, so I figured I'd find them in the morning.)


On Saturday morning, I got up and got ready for the day. I went outside to search the car and the walk, but there were no keys to be found.  My co-leader came by to pick up the pre-assembled walls, and I went to move the car off the driveway - and there were my keys, on the top of the steering wheel.

I never put my keys there - well, not on purpose.

We went to the community centre and started assembling the haunted house. We finished in the nick of time before it opened at 1.

It turned out well, and it was really popular. We had about 50 kids go through it over the course of the event (some of them up to 10 times).

It looked creepier with the lights out.

Spring camp

Last weekend was the final Pathfinder camp of the year. (The only thing left is to finalize the financial books, which I plan to do tomorrow or Monday.)

This was the hardest camp of the program for me, because the girls plan and run it themselves. I struggle with letting them do that, even though I know it's critical that they do it.

The two girls running camps did a poor job of preparing - they needed to be prodded multiple times before the camp - but they did a great job at the camp itself. One of them, in particular, has become a much stronger camper over the past two years. A year ago she'd light a match, scream, and drop it, and this weekend she was confidently lighting fires and camp stoves with no issues.

Now to get the books done and put it all away until fall.

Yes, it's been ages

Wow, it has been ages since I updated.

Job Hunt
No job news. I've applied for a handful of jobs, but haven't had any response.  My outplacement help through my last employer expired, and I got in touch with one of the government centers. It sounded good and they set me up with a coach - which is really what I was hoping for.
I had my first meeting with the coach last Monday, and it did not go well. She asked for a copy of my resume, and then talked for 45 minutes about how I needed to change my job titles (which I'm not going to do). She's a big believer in search results, and, while I suspect that works well for someone with a linear job history, my job history is too eclectic to make that a good approach. I decided that approach wouldn't work for me so I told her I wasn't going to continue with the coaching. I may try again with another job center or I may just decide it's not valuable.


New things
I've done a few new things in the last couple of months.

First of all, I went to two career fairs. Oddly enough, I've never done that before. I have a friend who is also unemployed and we went to the first one together. We talked to employers separately, but it was helpful to have someone motivate me to get there. The first career fair was ... kind of a bust, as there were very few employers there. The second one was high-tech specific and was much better.

I also went to a "Women in Technology" evening. It was interesting - there was a general meet and greet, then a short talk, then organized networking where everyone picked a table and discussed the topic that they provided. After 20 minutes, everyone switched tables and discussed a second topic. After another 20 minutes, we switched again and discussed the third and final topic.

I also made mozzarella cheese. I had tried this at my mom's at Christmas, but we didn't have a proper thermometer so it didn't work well. I tried it again and it turned out surprisingly well. 

And Chris at boxing guilted me into trying the warrior workout, which is an optional set of exercises after boxing class. I don't do the chin ups or pull ups (my shoulder is still weak and I'm lazy) but I do squats, lunges, push ups, and tricep push ups after class. And then I end up really hungry and start trying to bribe people to bring me cookies.

Quilt
It's getting to the end of the Pathfinder year. Since we meet on Mondays, it seems like the last couple of months always end up being a ridiculous rush. We don't meet during March break, then we take a meeting to sell cookies, then we miss a meeting for Easter, and then it's practically the end of the year.

And this year, one of my Pathfinders had surgery that will put her in a wheelchair for a couple of months. We spent a few meetings this year making polar fleece blankets, and I ended up with the leftover polar fleece. Since this girl is a Harry Potter fan, I used it as a backing for a wheel-chair-sized quilt.

 

Weather

I currently have sandals, winter boots, shoes, and hiking boots in my front hall. What will I need tomorrow? No one knows.  

Yes, again

Last Thursday, I was laid off.

It wasn't a total shock - no one has been able to tell me what I'd be doing this year, and I knew changes were coming.

Unlike the last couple of times, I'm still expected to work u til the end of the month. I like being able to transition things, but three weeks is a little longer than I'd like.

I've got an appointment with the outplacement service next week, and I plan to get my act together job-hunting wise on Tuesday. 

But first, I need to get through winter camp.

Where I've been

This is another "wow, I haven't updated in a month" update. Let's see if I can remember what I've been up to.

The pathfinders went to a glassblowing class. We did a birthday party package, and it was interesting, but I was hoping we'd be able to do more of it ourselves. (We picked the colours and blew the gass, but didn't gather or shape it).

The resulting ornament was really heavy.

Wanda went away for a weekend and I proceeded to do exactly what I would have done if she'd been here.

I went to Montreal to go Christmas shopping. Uncharacteristically, I bought a gift. (Don't worry, I'm not done.)

There were layoffs at work. Not me, at least not yet.

The pathfinders did a craft activity at a community event.

I took three days off work but still had no time to relax.

I went to a work Christmas party. 

I slipped on some ice and hurt my wrist (not seriously). I went to boxing anyway and, for added fun, forgot my shoes. I persevered.

Speaking of boxing, they've started added an exercise between every station. Two weeks ago, it was jumping split squats. I was sore for four days.

Canoe camp

This weekend was canoe camp. We travelled on the Rideau canal: http://www.rideau-info.com/canal/map-waterway.html

We left on Friday from Edmunds lock station and paddled to Kilmarnock.

Saturday morning, we got up and went through the lock on our way to Merrickville. It was a little cold and it rained on the way, but we persevered. By the time we got through all three locks in Merrickville, it was 4:30. The girls went off on a scavenger hunt in town.

Sunday morning, we were back on our way. We went through three more locks on our way to Burritts Rapids and arrived before one. By 2:30 we had everything packed up and the girls started to leave.

It was a good trip.

Two down, one to go

I mentioned that my Pathfinders were in Toronto last weekend.

That wasn't the end of our year - just the beginning of the end. This weekend was canoe training- 9-5 both Saturday and Sunday. 

Naturally, I started getting a cold on Tuesday. By Friday afternoon, I was miserable. Yesterday morning I woke up feeling ok, but by noon I was not doing well. I mad a point of doing my canoe over canoe rescue yesterday in case I didn't make it back today. (The hardest part is getting back in the canoe, but I did it!) 

This morning I felt worse, but the cold medicine worked well and I survived. It even waited until I was on my way home to wear off, which was great.

Next week: canoe camp.

And then we are done.

I told my co-leader that if she calls me on the 21st and tells me I have to do something for pathfinders, I will cry.

A wild weekend

This weekend, my Pathfinders travelled to Toronto for a rally with 8000 other Girl Guides. We left on Friday and stayed at a camp about 75 minutes from our destination. 

I typically don't sleep well the first night,so I was awake at 4 when some local cows started mooing. One of them sounded odd, but I didn't think about it too much since it was 4 am.

I also heard the crows, but I missed the coyotes.

When we got up in the morning, we found out that we had been visited by a moose - which when you are awake, don't sound very much like cows.  And then one of the girls got up and said that when she went to the bathroom in the night, she saw a dog come out of the woods. Apparently, it looked like a husky.

Probably not a dog.

All in all, more wildlife than I'd expected for a trip to Toronto.

This is my last free weekend until June 21.  The next three weekends are booked solid for Pathfinders.

It starts on Friday. We're getting on a bus and heading to Toronto for a province-wide rally all day Saturday. ("All day" means we leave the camp at 7 am and get back at 11 pm - it will be exhausting).

The next weekend is canoe training - 9-5 both Saturday and Sunday.

The weekend after that is canoe camp.

All of these are going to be good events, and I definitely want to  go to all of them, but man I wish there was a free weekend in there.

At one point, my manager was talking about us going to India on June 16 - i.e. the day after canoe camp - and I almost lost my mind. Luckily, that was moved to August.

I spent my last relaxing weekend finishing up the various house projects that I started before Easter. I hung blinds in the second bedroom, made another Roman blind, and put an empty bin downstairs. I even started getting organized for next weekend (although I'm not done by any means).

I also took apart a desk I made in high school.

I like it, but it takes up a lot of space. Wanda wanted the desk part, and it (finally) occurred to me that if I removed the sides, they could be used as separate book shelves.

Of course, it wasn't that easy. Each of the two sides had 2 casters, not four, so they wouldn't stand up without the middle section.  Thirty seconds after I realized that, I was on my way to Rona to buy 4 more casters.

Except, of course, I made the desk 25 years ago, and I suspect the casters were scavenged from somewhere by my dad, so they were even older. Rona had nothing the same size, so I removed 2 casters from one side and put 4 new casters on that side, then moved the 2 from that side onto the other side. Simple to do, and now most of the desk is downstairs (and one side remains upstairs).

It wasn't a super busy day, but I got a lot done.

Winter camp

My Pathfinders are going camping next weekend. There is a building on site, but we're planning to spend a lot of time outside.

Any other year, that would be fine, but this year ... well, let's just say that it's been a little cold.

(One day last week I told my colleague in India that it had warmed up from -25 C to -22 C. He did not think that was considerably better.)

Because it has been so cold, Wanda has been wearing my snow pants when she takes the bus. It works well ... except I'm taking the car AND the snow pants to camp.

I went and bought another pair of snow pants.

And then I realized that my winter jacket isn't really warm enough to wear outside for two days.

I went and bought another jacket.

We might sleep outside on Saturday, so I will be packing almost every blanket I own. We have to bring our own water, so I have to pack that. Then there's the food, and the crafts, and the stuff for a treasure hunt/survival activity, and my Dutch oven, and ...

It's so much easier when we camp in my back yard.

Where I've been

Remember this? A week and a half after my car stopped in the middle of the road, the check engine light came on.

Again.

It was time to start car shopping.

I've been saying for about a year that I want a Mazda 5. No, it's not the SUV or the cute little lime green car - it's the shrunken minivan that looks kind of like a station wagon.

A couple of weeks ago - on a Tuesday night, immediately before 2 days where I worked from 3 am to noon, and three days before Pathfinder camp - I dragged Wanda out to a Mazda dealership. We both drove a Mazda 5, and the salesman ran some numbers (that came in at $6000 more than I got from going to their website to price it out). He came down to a final number that was only $2000 more, and I walked away.

And then I had no time to do anything about it, due to the crazy work hours and Pathfinder camp.

(Camp was lovely, BTW - we managed to pick the nice weekend in between 2 rainy weekends, and the wandering bear we were warned about must have moved on.)

I was off last week, and one of the things I wanted to do was go car shopping.  (Actually, the list of things I wanted to do but didn't do could fill a ... well, a list. It's on my fridge.)

On Friday, I decided I should do something so that I didn't waste the entire week, and I went to one used car dealership.

I pick up my new car on Tuesday.

Yes, it's a Mazda 5.