My Golden Girl

Cuppa seems to be contemplating something significant. Perhaps she is thinking about officially becoming a senior citizen today.

Sixty-five years ago on this very date, a baby girl, who was to become my bride, entered this world. And made it a better place. She certainly made my world a better place, and I can say that I am totally happy to be married to a senior citizen.

!! Happy Birthday Cuppa !!

May all of your days be GOLDEN

The Weather and Being Under It

It's been quite a weather week hereabouts. On Wednesday, Ottawa set a new record high for March. On Thursday, we set a new record for the 22nd by mid morning.While we typically get one or two splendid days in March, giving us a foretaste of times to come, this year we have had much warm weather. Yes indeedy, we're cavorting about in summer attire and still feeling too warm.

More than once we have enjoyed our after school snack, outdoors in shirtsleeves.

The weather has made the boy very happy.

However, the rest of us have been under the weather a bit despite the fact that it has been so nice. Both Amma and Buppa have had significant colds and the girl has succumbed to an ear infection. Here, she lies on the couch with her bad ear down, frequently asking me to turn up the tv because she isn't hearing very well.

On my way home after babysitting, I stop at the lights and snap this picture of people eating in the courtyard of the restaurant. This is a common sight despite the fact that there is no view and lots of fumes at this busy intersection. A few hours earlier, a sign just beyond this point indicated that the temperature was 32°C/90°F. While I think the reading was off, it does indicate that it was pretty doggone warm. Officially the high temperature was only 27°C/80°F.

My Room

Since you asked, I am posting the photo that Cuppa was taking as she made the comment about my messy room. Yes, it is, but I think you might agree that it is a pretty doggone crowded place. About all that could have been changed here is the pile of clothes on the chair.

The picture is blurry because the flash didn't fire, but I think you get the point. Please see the previous post for the prose version.
 

It's Crowded in Here

Cuppa took a picture of the little fella doing something or other in my den and opined on how messy it looked it here. Well, yes dear, but it's a pretty crowded place. In a space of something like 10x12, perhaps a little more, I have a whole slew of furnishings.


Such as:

• 4 bookcases, two of which are wall unit size
• 1 fridge, bar-size but a fridge nevertheless
• 1 tv with satellite box on top of the fridge
• 2 computer tables, one large and one older small one where I keep paper and items to be filed
• 1 computer chair
• 1 visitors chair in case someone else needs to be able to view the computer
• 1 big filing cabinet
• 1 little roll-about set of drawers
• 1 recliner chair
• 1 little table beside the recliner
• 1 lamp beside the table beside the recliner
• 8 pictures/painting hanging on the walls

So, yes that's a whole lotta stuff in the littlest room in the house, so it tends not to look a little stuffed in here at the best of times. Of course it doesn't help when I leave a few items of apparel dangling from the [visitors] chair or when the little fella decides to spread his toy pizza all over the floor for the purpose of play-feeding his Buppa. Then, more often than not, I have a camera case and a book bag taking up floor space along with a pair or two of slippers and/or shoes.

Basically, when I'm home, this is the room in which I reside ... and it shows.

If you come to visit I'll want to make a good impression, so I'll do what I can to seem not too slovenly by clearing the surfaces such as to remove any clothes dangling from the chair. I'll do my best, but I can't promise miracles. Basically, it is what it is.

More Mill Pics

I have a few more photos to post from our visit with Lorna and Dave at the Mill St Brew Pub last week. The first was taken indoors from where I sat at the table; the others were taken outside, next to the mill, where there is an old wall standing right next to the mill and a generating station next to that.

Part of the somewhat edited and enhanced view from my seat in the restaurant

Part of the old walls beside the restaurant

No. 2 Generating Station of the Ottawa Hydro Electric Commission

Peeking at the generating station through the window frame

A Blogger and a Beer

We hadn't met up with fellow blogger, Lorna and her guy, Dave, since the summer. Ergo, now that they are back from California, it seemed time for another meetup now that we were free of the grandkids for the remaining days of March Break. It's about a forty-five minute drive to their place in Ottawa, and after saying that we'd plan to arrive at 12:30 give or take, I found myself turning off the ignition outside their place at exactly 12:30.

Both Cuppa and I suffer from the punctuality disease; we always strive to be on time, and we have passed this curse onto our children. Thesha was just telling us that all her friends are always late for everything. Perhaps that's the way to be in life, but we Clouds can't seem to manage it. Somehow, although we can accept of modicum of it in others, tardiness goes against our grain.

A new micro brewery/pub had opened up across from Dave and Lorna, and this was the intended destination for lunch. The Mill Street Brew Pub stands on the site of an old mill next to an intake by the Ottawa River. It's near the War Museum and about a mile west of the Parliament Buildings.

Just for a change, I have pictures to show you. I hope you can keep from fainting over this departure from the norm. :)  (Why doesn't Blogger give us the option of inserting real smilies?)

Cuppa and Lorna play with Cuppa's newly created rings before we head out for lunch.

The Mill Street Brew Pub

Cuppa makes an important point while Lorna listens with rapt attention.

Meanwhile, AC looks around and takes this photo (and others) of the actual brewery.

Upon departing, AC takes a few more photos, this of the No. 2 Generating Station just outside the pub.

Day 2: Mom and Mickey Dee's

On Day 2 of March Break was another, lovely, snow melting kind of day. However, we had expected rain, so our special event was planned to be an indoor one: visiting Mommy at lunch and going to McDonalds for lunch. This McDonalds is one with an indoor play area that the kids love.

The kids are dressed and ready to roll

With Mommy in tow, off we go to McDonalds. Nikki Dee is usually charging ahead while Zach tends to lag. Zach was playing Robin Hood on that day.

Lunch was consumed. At the cost of $36.57 for three adults and two kids, I hoped they liked it. Sheesh!

He smugly peers down from his lofty perch.

She obviously needs to learn how to be enthusiastic about life.

He needed consoling from Amma after he was stuck up top with a nose
that badly required wiping. What a trauma!

Not to be outdone, she was soon seeking succor from Amma after being bonked on the head.

Spirits were restored and more climbing was on the agenda.

With a clear nose, he was also feeling much better about life.

Day 3 with the kids was rainy and spent indoors at their place, so there is nothing to report, and that's it for March Break with the grands as we will be without them for the the final two days of the this holiday. However will we survive?

A Spring Break Outing

It is Spring Break this week, and the weather man has chosen to compensate all locals who weren't able to escape to parts south. On Day1, Monday, we headed out to play and picnic at at the park. Although you will hardly be unable to notice the snow in these pictures, you may also observe a lack of winter attire. Indeed, in the first photo, there I sit with my light, spring/fall jacket unbuttoned. I imagine that there is much less snow, if any, left there today.

Coffee and timbits (donut holes) at the picnic table.

Amma is also dressed for the balmy weather.

Zack peeks thru the play equipment.

He's was in a real peekaboo mood.

Time to swing on the tire

What fun!

Nikki Dee remains highly motivated to climb trees but needs a hand up and then
hangs on for dear life, looking mighty cute all the while.

Of course, whatever sister does ....

On the Catwalk

In the six-plus years that we have lived in this place, I am pretty sure that the neighbor's (several doors down) cat takes the same route — every day. He or she comes up  our driveway and front walk and across the lawn working its way home — or vice versa if its coming from home. In winter whenever there is fresh snow, we see the tracks. In summer we often see the cat amble by while we are sitting in the porch. I can't understand why the critter uses this route in winter because it must traverse mounded snow because that's where I dump it when shovelling the walkway. I guess, like most us, it's a creature of habit.

Old and New

Our new bed arrived last week, and, ever since then, Cuppa has been busy getting everything in order. For now, at least, she has decided upon various old adornments that we've kept all these years. Some, as in the case of my grandmother's cross-stitching and embroidery, are quite old indeed, perhaps a century or more. I think this tie to the past is just great.

The actual bed is another story, which I am not up to the telling right now. Let's just say that it does not meet expectations.

My grandmother's cross-stitched pillow cover. A bedspread my mother bought along with an afghan that she crocheted.

A closer look at my grandmother's cross-stitching.

Cuppa's aunt crocheted the afghan on the chair upon the birth of Althegal almost 34 years ago. She had made one for Thesha six years earlier. We still have that one too.

We step across to the guest bedroom to find more treasures, and this is a good one. My grandmother embroidered this, probably about a century ago.

Not ancient, but special, is a quilt by Cuppa's friend: totally hand-made. Remarkable.

And just because ... looking out my den window on Saturday morning
after it snowed in the night. The forecast says that it will soon be gone.

March Break Coming Up

Nikki Dee before the onset of winter

The weather is beginning to change here as winter's cold, icy fingers begin to be pried from the thermometer. At the beginning of the week, the kids were able to play in a modest snow fort that I scooped out during the previous week on the top of the mound out front of the house where we pile snow that is shovelled from the driveway. By Wednesday, the fort was gone and the pile greatly reduced by the warm weather. We were able to see more lawn than snow where we hadn't thrown shovelled snow on top.

Of course, the spring flowers will remain wisely underground for quite awhile yet because winter doesn't let go without a mighty struggle. In point of fact, it gave us a little blast last night and has presented us with a winter wonderland of freshly fallen snow this morning. However, the forecast is good, and both the new fall and more of the old stuff will be gone by the week's end.

We had a good week with the grands. Zach was in an unbelievably good mood on Thursday — just delightful. By that I don't mean that he is normally grumpy, but he was exceptional that day. Nikki Dee gets a little upset sometimes when she realizes that Zach has been over here for the day while she has been at school or that we have taken him out shopping or whatever. She hates to miss out! To that extent she suffered a little breakdown, and I promised that we would soon have her over for a sleepover. We thought that would be tonight, but Mom and Dad are heading out and will leave the kids with a sitter that they like, so we'll postpone the sleepover. Next week is March Break in these parts, so we'll have both charges to entertain, and we'll try to so a little something special with them to keep everyone happy. Cuppa and I will have Thursday and Friday off to enjoy our own tiny March Break. Yippee!

Back Where I Started

I suppose y'all are wundrin what the Ole AC is up to ... or not.

Well ... when I closed down the original The AC is On, I couldn't seem to get Dear Ole Blogger to import those posts. I didn't want to lose them, so at the time I made a new The AC is On hosted by Wordpress. But I always thought that I might come back to Blogger, and I mentioned it at the time. Now, we have a third The AC is On site — right here. I could change it in future, but I wanted to maintain a tiny amount of continuity through these migrations.

In addition to having a generalized yen to return to Blogger, I also really like the way that the new Blogger templates present photos. Just click on one in the body of the post, and you can see it larger without leaving the page. You can also click or scroll to any other photos in that post. I don't know if you have tried this handy dandy, lil feature when hopping around from post to post, but I think it's bloomin neato, especially for a guy who likes to feature numerous photos.

BTW this is the also old Raindrops site; I simply changed the name as well as the appearance. All of the old Raindrops posts are here; it's just the year+ posts while I was experimenting elsewhere that aren't present. I could have started a brand new Blogger blog rather than revive Raindrops but decided it was unnecessary.

While I have y'all here, I just might as well show you a photo or two. Eh?

Thesha and Nikki Dee at a recent baby shower

Cuppa on porch at Wheelers a few weeks ago on a nice day despite the snow. Since then we've had more snow and some cold weather, but the past few days have been milder, and the snow is disappearing.

Antique Thresher at Wheelers

Chainsaw Museum at Wheelers. This is fewer than half the total number of chainsaws on display.

Skis on the roof at Wheelers form some poor soul who had an errant ski jump