The Next Big Trip

Me and my sister, Pat, in June 2012

I love that picture for so many reasons:

• It was my 50th birthday
• I had a Piglet birthday cake
• My sister's visit from Oakville, Ontario was a complete surprise to me 
• Pat and I both look pretty and healthy -- and so much alike! 

Not at all a WELL cat.

Elly

This poor cat. She's only seven-and-a-half years old, but she has the body of a thirteen-year-old cat. In fact, when I brought her in last week, the vet, after a quick examination, assumed Elly was a teenager. I had brought her in because she'd been peeing around the house, had diarrhea and she'd been vomitting on a daily (sometimes twice-daily) basis.

Dog Days of Summer

"Do you smell what I smell?"

Much as I love our forest and the pathways near home, one can grow tired of the same old thing every dog-gone day. It doesn't seem to bother Kane -- there's always something new to smell -- but I like a little variety.

Fiction Friday: Out of the Frying Pan

Things improved slightly over the following weeks. Bettany was better about making dinner and pitching in to keep the house clean, but she still had no job and hadn't gone down to register for welfare.

I girded my loins to talk to her one night after Michael had gone to bed.

A Hot Day in a Cool Place

If you look at the water in the foreground, you can see two currents meeting each other and creating lots of turmoil.

Best thing about retirement: you don't have to wait for a weekend. Earlier this week -- on a Tuesday! -- we visited friends Yves and Paula who live in a gorgeous condo on the St. Lawrence River. They took us out for a personal tour of the Thousand Islands.

Old School Bestiary

The facade of the Grant School

At the end of our street and through a catwalk, there is an abandoned school. Recently, we discovered something interesting there.

Lavender's blue, dilly, dilly!

For my birthday, my sister-in-law gave me a couple of lovely lavender sachets, which I tucked into my underwear drawer. It reminded me that that the lavender in my garden was running rampant. It was time to harvest.

In Praise of Dirty Diapers

Katie on her change table.

If you had a choice to delegate all diaper changes (especially poopy ones) to a nanny, would you? At one time, I might have answered a resounding YES, but our first child taught me something.

The First Day

Yesterday was Stephen's last day in the military. Today was our first day of being retired together. I have to say: things are off to a great start!

The Last Day

Photo credit: Laurel Martin

A few weeks ago -- before our Internet provider left us hanging -- I started a countdown post for Steve's retirement. I wrote:

We've been talking about Steve's retirement for the past four years. We knew, when we moved back to Ottawa from Colorado, that this would be our last posting. 

It was in the back of our minds as we went house-hunting. It coloured my job-hunting, and factored into our financial planning. Now, here we are, mere days away from Steve's last day in uniform.

Well, here we are. When he walks in the door today, he will be ALL MINE! (Mwah ha ha ha ha!)

It's Steve's last day as an active member of the Canadian Air Force.

Broccoli Goodness

I haven't posted a recipe in quite  while, so I figure it's about time. And why not start with something that combines healthy and unhealthy foods in the most appealing way? This recipe includes lots of nuts and seeds (good fats) and cruciferous vegetables like broccoli and cauliflower (vitamins, fiber, and disease-fighting phytochemicals), but then throws in bacon and mayonnaise. But if you're someone like me (or have children like me) who like a little sweetness to bribe them into eating their veggies, then this recipe is for you.

Five Places: In the Green Wood

Komorebi in our summer forest

This is the fifth in my "five places" series based on the question:

If you had to describe your life in five places, which sites would you choose and why?

When we bought our current home, I considered the nearby forest to be a bonus, but not a really significant one. I had no idea how important it would come to be for me, especially after we adopted Kane. It is my escape, a quiet sanctuary.

Sibling Rivalry

Elly (the cat) warning Kane (the dog) not to come any closer.
(Note that Elly is poised between Kane and his water dish and Kane is respectful of Elly's assertion.)

When our second child was born, our eldest went through all the predictable stages: excitement, jealousy, anger, clinginess. I don't know why I thought it would be any different with pets -- with different species, to boot -- but for some reason, I really did think the animals would just . . . get along.

(Cue laughter.)

Making a splash

The day after our retirement party, we went to a Hansen's Garden Ornaments, just south of Ottawa, where they manufacture concrete garden art, to choose a bird bath or fountain for our yard, as a gift from Stephen's family (parents, brother, and sister).

The Big Retirement Shebang

Party decor - we could not have asked for more beautiful weather --
though a little more shade would have been welcome.

Although Steve doesn't actually perform his last day at the office until the 15th of July, we wanted to celebrate his retirement while his parents were with us. With that in mind, on the 28th, we invited friends to join us and our family (including my Aunt Winkie and my brother Doug) for a barbecue party.

Well, hello there!

At lunch before the change-of-appointment parade.

The combination of house guests and a 10-day Internet failure has meant that I've been incommunicado for about two weeks. I've been so busy that I haven't really missed it, but I have periodically felt frustrated that I couldn't share news and pictures with you.

It was a very busy couple of weeks, indeed! Rather than blasting you with all the news in a single post, I'll split the highlights over the next two or three days. Here's the first instalment.