Our Final Run

It has been three years since we took the kids sledding. Back then, we would have them for a Snow Day (school cancelled), and so, we'd usually get to the hill once a winter.

Times change, and we are no longer their before and after school drop-in centre, and we have missed having them on snow days. However, due to circumstances, they had the day off yesterday. We picked them up in late morning, fed them lunch, and took them to the hill.

But this post isn't about them. It's about us.

Both Sue and I wanted to do at least one run in our seventies. We were both 69 on the previous outing.

We shot video to memorialize the event, but it didn't work out very well.

I went first, but Danica wanted to be the videographer. The trouble is that she zoomed and moved the camera mercilessly. Out of however much footage she shot, I managed to salvage a few seconds.

This is my run. I could hardly get my body on the toboggan, but I persisted and made it down the hill.

But Sue was even less fortunate. In the cold, I thought I had pressed the video button, but I missed and only discovered that when I uploaded the event when I got home.

Sigh.

(No doubt, there will be further sledding posts.)

Suddenly Winter and Blue Monday

It has been a relatively tame winter for the most part hereabouts, but things have changed in the past week or so. Last week, we had two dumpings and it also got colder with daytime temperatures often being ~10°C and nighttime closer to -20°C.

I had meant to go out to some prettier spots to get some winter/snow pics, but life gets in the way. Of course, sometimes, life is just simple cowardice and the disinclination to face the cold. Alas, I am a pathetic creature.

What I did do, just for y'all, y'understand, is to pop my head out the door long enough to grab a few quick snaps. I do this as a service to you, so y'all can feel better about yourselves in your environment. You are welcome.

Looking back to ours from the street.

The fire hydrant across the street.

Up the street.

This was on Blue Monday, January 20, supposedly, the most depressing day of the year. I don't know about that, but in the morning I had to trek to an out-of-town hospital to undergo certain probes which I shan't describe. And Shauna said that things were weird at work. Then, the referees didn't show up for JJ's hockey game.

The game was held in an arena with stupidly uncomfortable seats, so I chose not to use them and watched, while standing at rinkside. But that meant that I was away from the pathetically poor heaters that were over the stands. Who but Canadians who choose to spend part of an evening in an ice house on a very cold day?

And I didn't bother to take my camera because I wasn't feeling it. Nope, all I felt was discomfort and cold while I watched the team lose another game. They remain winless in league play. The other team scored on two breakaways, which Jonathan would have had a good chance of preventing had he been playing defence because he is very conscientious about covering his zone, Alas and alack, he was playing forward last night.

So yeah, I guess it was kinda like Blue. Eh?

About Me and Maybe You

A newer blogger friend has posted questions to help get to know one another. Here we go.

1. Where do you live? (Cite, State, Country, etc.)

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Actually just outside of Ottawa, but that's what I say to make any sense of my location to others.

2. What is your favorite way to communicate with others? (in person, telephone, eMail, text, etc.)

Not telephone. This is only partly due to hearing loss. I just don't love the phone. I will usually drive to something not far away when someone else would do it on the phone. For example: I will drop in to make an appointment to change my tires, which happens twice a year. I do the same with the audiologist. I will, however, phone the doctor for an appointment. You just can't drop in all friendly-like there.

Apart from that, anything will do, whether it be email, texting or social media. Texting, whether on messages (phone) or FB Messenger (phone or computer) is replacing email at quite a clip.

3. What is your favorite breakfast?

I suppose it is bacon and eggs, but we seldom do it. I don't think I ever fry up bacon for breakfast at home. We did go out for breakfast last week where I had bacon, eggs, hash browns, pancake and toast. 

This morning, I had oatmeal. They say that it is very good for you, but I confess to never studying up on the matter. To make it even better for my body, if not necessarily to taste, I usually make it with half water/half apple juice. I then add cinnamon and raisins and not brown sugar This makes me feel quite virtuous. I note, however, that just for today I am having it with brown sugar.

4. Do you have kids?

Well yes, two, but they are older than I was when we had them: quite a bit older as a matter of fact. At my age, you ask if you have grandkids. Yes, two: one of each. We live in proximity and see them fairly frequently.

5. Are you considered outgoing or introverted?

Oh, I am definitely the latter and have written about it.

In fact, when I did a search of my own blog, I was surprised by how often I have referenced it. There were 13 related posts. https://anvilcloud.blogspot.com/search?q=introvert .

That search (above) was primarily for my benefit as are the four that I highlight here. Introversion, The I of ISJT, Body on the Grass, I'm an Innie

I hasten to add that I am, a friendly enough person and am not particularly shy. Some of the posts above explain the difference. Try I'm an Innie for example. Heck, here's a snippet because no one will click.

Outies tend to require social activity to feel good while innies require a calmer, more reflective environment to feel good.

So, you see, we innies are simply wired differently. It is my understanding that introversion has nothing to do with nurture or being shy; it has to do with internal wiring. Introversion and shyness, apparently, have little or nothing to do with each other. Shyness has more to do with fear than with basic personality, and it is quite possible for extroverts to be shy.

6. Would you rather parachute out of an airplane or go “deep-sea-diving”?

I am not sure. I think I would like to go diving, but I am referring to just scuba diving such as looking at reefs and not deep sea diving. The other doesn't interest me. Neither does parachuting, for that matter.

Feel free to pick up the meme if you are so inclined. I am sure that most of us have written similar posts in the past, but both we and are readers change over time, so it doesn't hurt to do it again.

Inexplicable

We had a reasonable snowfall midweek and have been experiencing an even bigger one this weekend.

This time around, our contractor has been pretty good about clearing it in good time.

But he doesn't do the sidewalk, just the driveway.

Our neighbour two doors down has a snowblower, He does his driveway as well as his immediate neighbour's drive. It makes sense since they are attached.

He clears his sidewalk and the neighbours. but he stops when he gets to ours. Check the photo.

Actually, he went farther into ours this time. He usually stops on the exact invisible boundary between the two properties, which is where it gets narrower in the photo.

This time he went a little farther than usual, but he must have thought better of it, for he didn't go as wide. Then, he stopped abruptly and completely about three feet from our driveway.

I truly find this inexplicable. He has a snowblower, and I can't for the life of me figure why he won't push it a few feet farther to help a senior, neighbour.

He's a friendly guy. We chat outside, and I have twice recently met him at the grocery store, and we've had a nice conversation, so this baffles me.

Caturday 14: The Abnormal Lacey Gets a Cave

Thing 1: Cats like boxes. This article suggests that boxes offer a sense of security.



Thing 2: Sue gets very attracted to cutesy thingies.

So when Sue saw a soft cat cave at the pet store, it was pretty well a foregone conclusion that it would have to come home with us.

This, however, leads us to ...

Thing 3: Lacey is one cat that has shown no proclivity to get into boxes.

Therefore, I was skeptical that the cave would work for her.

But Sue is a very determined lady, so she put it on her lap when Lacey came for a visit.

Next: she put it on my and Lacey's favourite chair.

Eventually, she entered.

But I must say that she never seemed all that comfy in there. She didn't drift deep into slumberland; every time that I looked at her, she was peering back at me. She did come closer to the front and seemed happier, but still didn't seem to be totally relaxed.

It is my chair too, so I put the cave on the floor. She got on top and beside, but that was it; she did not go inside.

That was days ago. Her soft cave awaits her, but she hasn't revisited. If that changes in the future, I will get back to you.

She is not a normal cat.

Update: Of course, it had to happen. After writing that  she had not revisited, I found her tucked inside one evening. Then, Sue found her on top — again. In both instances, she moved on as soon as she was caught in the act. Later, however, she spent quite a lengthy time like this. ↓

Bad Day Photos

It was a dull day with no fresh snow: not the type of day that calls for photography. But I went out anyway, briefly. I dropped Sue off at her exercise class and went to the old railway/new trail bridge. This photo, looking upriver toward townhall, was acceptable (to me) once I turned it into a monotone.

Just a little later, I stopped at townhall and liked this setting with the barrier and the venting smoke behind it. Also monotone.

Just getting out and shooting, which I haven't done much of, was pleasant, and while the results weren't earth shattering, they satisfied some sort of creative need within.

Although I have titled this post, Bad Day Photos, there are those who say that there are no bad days; there are always opportunities. Maybe that is true.

PS: I always get told by spellcheck It is wrong to spell townhall as one word, but I like to do it anyway although I sure wouldn't spell city hall as one word. BTW, spellcheck also doesn't like spellcheck as one word.

Game Photos: JJ Gets Attacked

We almost forgot JJ's hockey game this week, but the phone saved us by posting a reminder when I happened to check it for some other reason with only 40 minutes to go until gametime. We were about to have supper, but it was just a toast night, so we were able to down our food and still get there with plenty of time to spare. The arena is only about 5 minutes away.

We had remembered earlier and made a plan to go but then, both of us being elder citizens, we  forgot.

We do try to attend most of the home games to show our support. Goodness knows the team needs it since they never win — not in league play anyway although they did win one tournament game.

Please note the wonderful writing above with 3 consecutive paragraphs beginning with "We." Sheesh! 

On to the photos.

The first one is my choice for Game Photo. The goalie sprawling like that is a great moment, and it is well focused with his face being clear. It is a bonus, I suppose, that Jonathan in also in the frame although it might have been a stronger photo with just the shooter and the goalie.

A few non-JJ pics that I like. I note in passing that I take a lot of non-JJ pics. The team has a FB group, and I post many photos there for parents to enjoy.

A few more Jonathan pics to end the post. You can see his expression very well, especially on the second one.

I asked Jonathan about team spirits since they never win, but he said they are good.

I also asked him what he must have done to provoke an opposing player so much. The guy was ready to go after him, but Jonathan didn't engage, so the other guy got a penalty. JJ said that he had blocked the guy a bit in front of the net. You probably aren't supposed to do that at this age level, but it tends to be overlooked when everyone is scrambling for the puck in front of the net and it is difficult to avoid contact with so many bodies fighting to get at the puck.

I am not sure when the next hockey posting will be. I think their games for the next few weeks are on the road. We usually only attend the home games.