Birthday Month

It's Sue's birthday month. In another time and place, she seemed to have an ongoing celebration as different friends would have her for coffee or some such at different times. I jokingly said that her birthday seemed to last for the whole month. And so, it became a bit of an ongoing joke and tradition that we have tended to carry on to some degree.

The events or even non-events can be simple. She might say, "It's sunny out, happy birthday to me." Yes, it can be that simple. Or we might go out for coffee and even an occasional meal. Some things might be what we were going to do anyway, and a few might be added extras.

Her birthday won't be until the 25th, but I felt that we were lagging a bit this year with regards to those added extras. There seems to be only so much you can do in the Ottawa Valley in March, and most things that I might think of involve food, and I have been trying to watch my figure lately. Goodness knows there's plenty to watch.

But it was time to do a little something special, so off we went to The Glen for fish and chips. It's in the city but not deep in the city, and we can drive there in about 20 minutes. We had gone to The Glen almost 14 years ago when we first arrived here and were greatly disappointed and hadn't been back. Others, however, have mentioned it praisingly, so we finally decided to give it another chance.

I don't know what happened all those years ago, but we had great service and we really enjoyed our meal this time around. The fries were fresh and plentiful, and the fish portions were a good size. Sue ordered her fish with the crispy breaded batter, while I decided on the beer batter version. We halved and shared our portions and enjoyed both. Sue liked the breaded variation while I slightly preferred the beer batter, but we both enjoyed both,

Fish N Chips are not something we would want to do often, but we had a few good places back in Sarnia which we would visit every now and then. We've had less luck here, however. We have found one other good spot, but they don't tend to do the batter as crispy as we prefer, and it's farther away to boot.

Fifty years ago, when we were first married, and I was still a student, there was a chippie very near where Sue used to work. It was just a carry out place, where we would frequently stop on Fridays. The cost was 50¢ per order, so even as students, it was well within our budget. We would happily carry our meal home and enjoy in our small basement apartment.

Yesterday, our cost was almost $60. It was a full restaurant with good service and did include non-alcoholic drinks (coke and coffee) and one shared dessert. And then there was the 13% tax plus a fairly generous tip. But still, if I recall correctly, the cost per plate was $16 or more. What a change in 50 years! It seems harder to afford now than it was when we were poor students.

I'm glad we did it. but for the most part, sunshine and coffee dates will have to suffice for Sue's birthday month. Not completely but for the most part.

When I Heaved Away

On my mind this morning is line dancing and how much fun we had dancing when we first moved here in '05. We danced weekly for almost three years until we started babysitting full time and ran out of energy at night. It was also about that time that my ankle began to wear out, making the steps problematic.

Being brought up as a strict Pentecostal I had never really danced in any form, so it was all new to me. It took me a long time to get the hang of it. Even the very simple Electric Slide (our first dance) gave me fits, but I went over it and over it on my own and finally got it.

Thanks goodness I had the ability to break down the instructions on my own and drill the steps in my own good time. Most of the folk found it too difficult to follow the written instructions, but I found it almost easier as I could break the dance down in bits that made sense to me.

The video below appears to be the version we did albeit to a different song. Our song was Rock My World Little Country Girl by Brooks and Dunn. I think it was recently hearing another Brooks and Dunn song that began my wistful reminiscing.

Although line dancing was very foreign to me, and it took me a long time to master the first few routines, I did get better at it and, as time went on, was able to learn even more complex dances faster and easier.

I suppose I consider Heave Away (below) to be our ultimate achievement. Perhaps partly because of the Celtic vibe but also because the steps look complex and interesting, I loved it when I first saw it done. It was only performed by the more adept members of the group after the formal part of the evening was over and most had gone home. Sue and I were in no hurry to leave and would stay and watch the experts strut their stuff.

Being a difficult dance, Heave Away was deemed too difficult to be done or taught in the regular group, but Sue and I got ahold of both the steps and music and taught it to ourselves. Then we were able to join the elites in the afterglow (as it were).

Although the steps are the same, these ladies are working in tight quarters, so I think our movements were more expansive and perhaps exuberant. We certainly had fun to put it mildly.

Line dancing took place at the local Army and Navy Club where I also got my feet wet at normal couples dancing. I began to manage the waltz and the two-step, but these events stopped after a few months, so I never did get too proficient.

But line dancing went on a for a few years and was a load of fun. Learning to move my body to the music like that was a new and most enjoyable experience, especially within a group setting. There's something about doing the same moves to the same beat within a group.

Winter Yet Remains

This is winter in Canada, or at least a segment of it in our town. Fortunately the icicles are not overhanging where people might tread although someone might use that back door.

Mage asked how much snow we have. This is out front. It hasn't changed much since I took this photo weeks ago, except for being dirtier. I am referring to pile out front, not the snow on the driveway or street which is gone although a fair bit of ice and hardpack remains.

The forecast predicts that daytime temperatures will begin to go above freezing on Sunday, and hopefully stay that way, but it will still take awhile for it to be amenable out there. So, we buy cheap plants and take little pictures. This one isn't a macro, which is a bit of a change.

Lacey bestirs herself periodically. I had to grab the camera and shoot quickly. I kind of like the blur even though it was unintentional.

Mostly though ...

And that's a good way to spend these cold days, not that I can manage to even get 7 hours.

She Heard the Click

Cats and macros, macros and cats. This is just about the sum total of my life, my photographic life, lately.

She was sleeping with her paw over her face. So cute that I got the camera. I got one click, but that awakened her and she rolled a bit.

I decided to composite the two images in b&w format.

Drive to Abstraction

I thought I would try a more abstract flower macro. The idea is to emphasize colour and form over typical macro photography. It doesn't have to be sharp and detailed. In fact, it really shouldn't be. I am not sure if this photo (two versions) quite nailed it or not, but I think it was worth trying. However, I am not sure that it is worth pursuing.

We went for a stroll in our little downtown yesterday, but it was a little too chilly to be enjoyable. I took my camera but didn't remember to put my memory card in, so I missed the one shot that I would have taken of massive icicles.

Bad Dreams, Cat Naps, and Hyacinths

I had a disturbing dream before waking this morning. I was taking something like an IQ test and couldn't do it. I was on the second question after not doing too well on the first, and I couldn't track and process the somewhat intricate multiple choices very well. Realizing that dementia was setting in, I threw the paper on the floor in frustration and walked out.

Too close to home.

In his 80s, Dad succumbed greatly. I'm in my 70s.

In ways, I am a lot like my dad.

Oh well ... on to a photo or two.

Speaking of sleep and dreaming, here is Lacey on the bureau by the window. It's high key (sort of overexposed) to emphasize the sunlight.

We had though of purchasing a cat tree to put here, but at $150, we decided to move my bureau instead — at least to try it out. We wouldn't want to spend that whack of dough only to find out she wouldn't use the tree.

For awhile, she wouldn't get up on her own and would jump down fairly quickly after she was placed there. But then she began to jump up from the bed and spend some quality time in the warm sunlight. Since this works, maybe we'll just leave it here and continue to resist spending the $150.

Now for a macro: I bought a very inexpensive muscari (grape hyacinth) and tried a few photos. This, at least in some ways, is the best of the group. I stacked many photos to get it this well focused although it still isn't perfect.

The Weather

It's been quite a winter in the Ottawa Valley. These two consecutive tweets this morning summarize it pretty well.

CBCOttawaMorning‏ @OttawaMorning 20m20 minutes ago

Dave Phillips, @environmentca senior climatologist: "If I was awarding the gold medal for winter misery I would give it to #Ottawa (...) you people have dealt with the freezing rain, the ice pellets, the snow... that back and forth flip-flopping." We'll take it! #WeirdlyProud

Ian Black‏ @BlacksWeather 2m2 minutes ago

Welcome to March, and the “eventual” arrival of Spring. Feb was much colder than normal, snowier, & icy. Normally we would have around 25cm of snowpack. Today we have a whopping 62cm on the ground. It’s -19° now. The high -2° w/SE wind 10-15 under m. sunny skies. #ottnews

Then I checked the 14 day forecast and found some hope. See that? ↓ On March 11th it is predicted that the daytime temperature will rise to 0°C, and it will soon rise to the almost balmy 4°C a few days later. And on the 15th, the nighttime temperature will also rise to 0°C. I may have to get my shorts out. Suntan lotion anyone?

I hit publish and then saw this tweet to add. I am not sorry to wave goodbye to February.