Ottablog - Part the third
Once we got to Lee and Sandy's it was more relaxing. The first thing upon pulling into the driveway, Lee was waiting there for us claiming he was just out for a stroll in the dark. Not at all excited to see us. We disembarked and were greeted by a little toad who was hopping through the nearby flower bed. We thanked him for his welcome by picking him up and terrorizing him as he was passed from hand to hand to hand. We finally released the exhausted amphibian and went up to bed.
I will not distinguish the individual days that we stayed in Ottawa. They were slow paced, relaxed and fun. A typical day was like this...
Leora and Anwyn were too hot, too scared, or too awake to sleep well. They got up several times each in the night, making me a bit grumpy and leaving me just as tired as all the driving had already made me. The girls got up at about 6am local time and woke everyone but me. I was lucky enough to sleep in until 8:30 or 9am!
By the time I got up, Leora would have already been feeding the Coy out in the pond for an hour or so. This she did every day for several hours or more in 30 degree heat with no shade. It was by far her favorite activity. The fish would take food right from her hands or nibble it from between her toes.
Anwyn preferred the Jacuzzi. She would already be shriveled and pruney before I was even awake. The kitchen has windows looking onto the jacuzzi and so it generally fell to grandma to keep an eye on her while she was in there. It is a good thing that Sandy loves to be in her kitchen sooo much. If Anwyn was out of the water for more than an hour she was asking to be back in.
When I did drag my sorry butt out of the guest room, Sandy made me coffee in her Tim Horton's coffee maker. Our coffee tastes seem to be similar and we were able to have much bonding on the subject. After seeing Anwyn's latest Jacuzzi flip, spin, or breath holding maneuver, and discussing which of Leora's fish had been eating the most and from which of her appendages, we would often go for a group walk somewhere in the neighbourhood.
One such memorable trip was out to what everyone calls "The Old House", which is as it may sound, old. Greta had a professor date some of the pottery fragments at about 1890. It has trees growing inside and virtually no remaining roof. Old.
Other things to note:
--Lee and I saw an exellent exhibit on Pompeii and Vesuvius.
--the girls loved playing with the doll house
--we visited IKEA and Lee Valley
--we went to the Canadian Museum of Man and Nature
--Lee gave the girls the riding mower ride of their lives
--Grandpa and girls rescued (at least temporarily) the lives of nearly a hundred little fish.
The return trip was relatively nondescript. We drove until we could drive no more and then slept for an hour or so in the van. We did stop in Thunder Bay again for me to sleep. The rest of the family went to Old Fort William. I missed going, but the sleep and quite were good.
It is hard to express how wonderful it was to be back in Saskatchewan. There is so much sky here. The roads are straight (and smoother by compare than you might think). The air smells nicer and doesn't stick to you all day and night. In short, it really is home.
I will not distinguish the individual days that we stayed in Ottawa. They were slow paced, relaxed and fun. A typical day was like this...
Leora and Anwyn were too hot, too scared, or too awake to sleep well. They got up several times each in the night, making me a bit grumpy and leaving me just as tired as all the driving had already made me. The girls got up at about 6am local time and woke everyone but me. I was lucky enough to sleep in until 8:30 or 9am!
By the time I got up, Leora would have already been feeding the Coy out in the pond for an hour or so. This she did every day for several hours or more in 30 degree heat with no shade. It was by far her favorite activity. The fish would take food right from her hands or nibble it from between her toes.
Anwyn preferred the Jacuzzi. She would already be shriveled and pruney before I was even awake. The kitchen has windows looking onto the jacuzzi and so it generally fell to grandma to keep an eye on her while she was in there. It is a good thing that Sandy loves to be in her kitchen sooo much. If Anwyn was out of the water for more than an hour she was asking to be back in.When I did drag my sorry butt out of the guest room, Sandy made me coffee in her Tim Horton's coffee maker. Our coffee tastes seem to be similar and we were able to have much bonding on the subject. After seeing Anwyn's latest Jacuzzi flip, spin, or breath holding maneuver, and discussing which of Leora's fish had been eating the most and from which of her appendages, we would often go for a group walk somewhere in the neighbourhood.
One such memorable trip was out to what everyone calls "The Old House", which is as it may sound, old. Greta had a professor date some of the pottery fragments at about 1890. It has trees growing inside and virtually no remaining roof. Old.
Other things to note:
--Lee and I saw an exellent exhibit on Pompeii and Vesuvius.
--the girls loved playing with the doll house
--we visited IKEA and Lee Valley
--we went to the Canadian Museum of Man and Nature
--Lee gave the girls the riding mower ride of their lives
--Grandpa and girls rescued (at least temporarily) the lives of nearly a hundred little fish.
The return trip was relatively nondescript. We drove until we could drive no more and then slept for an hour or so in the van. We did stop in Thunder Bay again for me to sleep. The rest of the family went to Old Fort William. I missed going, but the sleep and quite were good.
It is hard to express how wonderful it was to be back in Saskatchewan. There is so much sky here. The roads are straight (and smoother by compare than you might think). The air smells nicer and doesn't stick to you all day and night. In short, it really is home.
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