PD Day Videos

I guess the saying is true: "It never rains but it pours."

After recently thrusting a video of JJ's hockey practice upon my unsuspecting public, I present you with three clips from PD Day last Friday. I may go back into hibernation afterward.

Of course, I don't expect too many casual dropper-inners to invest too much time on them, but at least I know they're here if I need a quick reference.

The first ↓↓ is of their skating session. It starts with me holding Danica's hand because this was only her second time on ice. She soon got the hang of it and managed on her own. JJ was enjoying showing off his skills. Hockey twice a week is paying off.



This next series ↓↓ is from their climbing up and sliding down the snow bank next to the rink,


Finally, Buppa joined the kids in a little game of floor hockey. I confess that I really sat down on the job. ↓↓

Birthday Boy

It's hard to believe that my youngest grandchild is five years old, but he is — today.

Where has the time gone? It seems like he just came bawling his way into the world, not that he was really much of a bawler. He was a pretty placid baby and is a pretty darn, great little boy.

Last year for his birthday, I put together a collage of JJ over the years on this post.

This year I have chosen a photo from each month of this past year (below). I hope that he, Mom and Dad, and you like it.
 

JJ at Hockey Practice

Last week, I showed some pictures of JJ's hockey practice. After a week, I finally got around to putting a few video clips together.

PD Day

We were on duty for a PD Day with the kids on Friday. After a quiet morning around the house, we decided to take them skating at the outdoor rink. As expected, JJ did fine (see blue helmet on the other side of the net) after all of his hockey practise, but this was only Danica's second time on skates.

I held her hand a few times; then just walked beside here as in the picture below. After that, she did fine on her own.

Of course, there were a few falls, but she didn't seem to mind.

There was quite a mound of snow beside the rink, just from clearing the parking lot. So a'climbin' they did go once they were done skating.

Portraits at the top, ready to slide down.

Wheee!

Meanwhile, the older, hockey boys were glad to have the wee ones off the ice, so they could let loose. They were pretty good while the kids -- ours and others -- were there, but I wonder if they would have been so nice if it hadn't been for adult supervision. But maybe it would have been fine.

A post in which AC sounds like he is totally falling apart

Apparently, when I run out of pictures, I also run out of blog material.

I had intended to write a book review of Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth by Reza Aslan. I got it for Christmas and quite liked it. But I waited so long to get around to it, that it just feels stale.

We are minding the grands today because it's a PA Day. They have been playing on their tablets for awhile. Babysitting is certainly easier than it used to be. We'll get them out and about later. I am sure that a visit to Tims (coffee and donuts) will be on the agenda, and maybe some exercise of some sort. It's relatively mild here today — just a little below freezing — so an outdoor activity should be acceptable. It's a nice change from the brutal cold of the past week or so.

I have had three medical appointments in the past week, which is weird because it has been months since the last one — sometimes it's almost a year between visits. Two were long ordained appointments that just happened to fall in the same week.

The urologist was most rude and gave me the finger. Which he probably felt that he had every right to do after I gave him the bum's rush — so to speak. Yes, I guess we're even.

The other specialist was testing out my decaying knee and suggested that I purchase a brace, which I did yesterday. It isn't likely to help a lot, but it's worth a try. They were not able to fit me for the kind which she recommended because my leg has gone sort of pear shaped. Knee problems have caused my quadriceps to shrink on my left leg: the result being that the brace that fit my quads would barely pull up over my larger calf muscle. You see, it's supposed to be the other way around — the quad being larger than the calf.

Yes, I am weird — so weird that the calf on my right leg is actually too small due to problems with my right foot. So ... the left knee problem has diminished the size of my quads, and the right foot problem has diminished the size of my calf.

No wonder I walk funny.

Oh ... and the result of the third appointment is that it is time to do my annual poop test. What fun!
 

JJ Being a Canadian Boy, Eh

Doncha just love that ↑↑ pose. After a long layoff, we finally made it to one of JJ's practices. He greeted us excitedly, and when we told him that we wanted to take a picture, that's ↑↑ the position that he assumed. How cool.

Then the boys hit the ice ↓↓, and he is certainly doing a lot better than the first practice that we attended. He's not setting the pace for the team, but he has improved greatly.

I wandered here and there to take various angles, while dad and grandma ↓↓ parked themselves under the most welcome heaters.

They had a bit of a scrimmage toward the end of the session. JJ is in the middle of both of these frames.

Then, we went home to get ready to go and see the "Desolation of Smaug." The resemblance between the book and the movie was sparse at best. I have laughingly renamed it to the "Desecration of Tolkein."

A Cold Mist off the Mississippi River

The other day, I was asked to take the kids home after school. When we passed by Riverside Park, I saw a pretty mist coming off the water. I hurried home to grab my camera and drove back.

It was frigid with temperatures around -25°C/-13°F, so I wasn't about to spend much time outside the car. I did hop in and out a few times, and just about froze my fingers off. Man, was it cold!

Here are some of the results from the shoot.

The mist is quite visible in this one, with the setting sun lighting it up.

Actually, this was my first picture, or one of them anyway.

Our favourite spot to park is in front of this tree.

Same tree. Different shot.

From farther down the street, looking through the trees.

A parting shot. Home to get warm.

For newcomers to this blog, there is a Mississippi River that flows through Carleton Place. It is not related to the Mighty Mississippi of the same name.