Gramma Camp – Week 28.3

 Thursday

Sleepy girls! It's been a long haul. Last night, two showers, and we're good to go today.

Yesterday, Isabelle stated that she has had enough of chicken noodle soup! She made herself a traditional sandwich, Grampa bought her some sliced Black Forest ham, slice of cheese and a sliced dill pickle.

This was a mnemonic device for something. I forget what. My brain is fudge!

I helped with some assignments. Poor Izzy was a tad bored, as they were explaining how to do an assignment she'd already handed in. The teacher puts a series of slides into their folder, and the kids type in the answers. 

The daffodils Isabelle helped me plant. Still thriving in our rains. 

"I've never sat on this chair before!" I usually have decorative pieces on it!

Down she runs to The Chair.

I've lost the R??!! Today, it reads GNIPS. They always liked to rearrange them!

COVID shopping...

I went walkies by myself. The girls were working, cats and JB sleeping.

This may seem a silly photo, but you can see the leaves beginning to flush out! Yay spring.

Tree fungus and green grass. OK, weeds. Can you see the heart shape in the tree trunk?

You cannot see them yet, but the aspen grove is ready to burst into leaf.

The tree house, before and after. The railings were gone, as the tree keeps growing!

We brought in dinner, Take Out from Kothu Lab. Sri Lankan, Kothu means a chopped meal. It's all made fresh, and each meal made to order: mild, medium (white man spicy!), and spicy, with a variety of spices: jafna, kerala, jerk, tandoori, thai. These girls traveled in Asia, have varied tastes, and are proficient with chopsticks. The take out boxes are recyclable cardboard. 

Isabelle pretended to lose her bean. A long story, but that's what my Dad did, while he was suffering from his brain tumour, and it was a joke. My Mom nearly had a heart attack, as Dad laid there with his head on the table, looking for a lost piece of veggie. Isabelle loves to re-enact the tale.

March 25 -  wood ducks  down at the dock

Healthcare

In the meantime, JB had a phone appointment with our GP. He was out walking when Dr. Dan phoned earlier than the planned 10:30 appointment. Dr. Dan was happy he was out walking. He phoned back later, and indicated that the recent bone scan showed calcium deposits, and bone disintegration, which explains JB's neck issues, but doesn't help. He's taking Advil, will keep on with physio to strengthen the neck muscles to support the neck. He's pleased we're working on ergonomic work systems (the new standing/sitting table), pillow supports. It's not a soft tissue issue, as there would be reticular symptoms, weakness radiating down his arm. JB is in to see him in June for his next cancer treatment.

Good news: both working-from-home parents have had their vaccines at a pharmacy in Ottawa, yesterday. They are giving 40-somethings vaccines in Ottawa. I told Isabelle and she hooted with joy!

Gramma Camp – Week 28.2

Tuesday 

We prepped for the storm last night, happily it petered out. I hustled off to bed by 9 p.m., as I was baffed. All was well with out world, girls tucked in, and peace reigned. I heard a bedroom door click, and thought it was JB. I heard a whoop! It was 9:23, and Isabelle said, "My mouth really is a trainwreck!" She'd lost another tooth, an incisor she'd been wrestling with. There was blood! 

Wednesday 

Isabelle and I figured out some information for her government assignment. Clique ici pour trouver une liste de tous les groupes au Canada.

She has to find out the leaders of the Algonquins of Pikwakanagan. Their band is near Golden Lake, and Ottawa is built on unceded land of theirs.

I sat in her knee chair, and said, "I'll be the student, you be the gramma!" I reminded Izzy of the role playing days! By the afternoon, it'd been raining all day, I suggested we do some exercises. They wanted to go down to the trailcams. Isabelle tucked her sister into her raincoat, and tightened it up, singing, "just like the raisins in a box of Kellogg's raisin bran!" 

After school, Grampa gave them a set of 10-pin bowling, and hilarity ensued.

Butch  

Apparently, the crows were scolding Cinnamon. Cinnamon + the crow  

 

Butch visits regularly. butch  

 

Butch would really like to see what is in the nesting box! wood duck box  

 

Gramma Camp – Week 28.1

Tuesday dawned...

Morning Glory muffins for brekkie, and fruit. These were a treat for the girls.

 Incoming rain,  twas dark and there was some reluctance to rise! It was dark, although it cleared off. Just a mm of rain!

Lenten lily

Out the front window: mourning doves. 

There were hugs down at the dock.

Dinner: spare ribs and roasted veggies.

Virtual Girl Guides and Isabelle did some art.

By bedtime, we had another storm roll in. Everyone was given flashlights, teeth done, last pee, lots of thunder and lightning, but it avoided us. Our total was only 6 mm.

There was a power outage farther west, so we prepared.

Butch was inspecting the wood duck nest box .

 

Contrary to the date stamp, this was April 24, 5:47 p.m. Every time I put in new batteries, it goes back and hour and a month and I keep forgetting to adjust them. crows on pond  

 

Gramma Camp – Week 28

We continue our family bubble. The kids are working from home, doing grocery pickups, and being very careful in Ottawa. We are being really careful, as well. All of the protocols are excellent in town. We've both been vaccinated, as well.

Sunday

Josephine put her puzzle together. Isabelle and I played frisbee with one her US-based grandfather gave her. It ended up on the roof! I haven't figured that one out, yet.

Izzy and I tore the porch off of the tree house. It was falling apart. The tree house is OK, though.

She climbed up the tree. 

First trillium.

Isabelle and I picked flowers, as it was going to be a cold night. I loathe seeing them bent over in the cold in the mornings.

The lilacs are beginning to show buds!

After dinner, they ran outside in their bomber jackets, passed on from Grampa, and sat in the big chair in their bare feet! 

Monday

Emergency, as the little spinny wheel on Izzy's computer wouldn't let her into Chrome. She texted Momma, who was out walking, who suggested she ask me. Iz decided to try Safari. That worked. We made it through the day.

Lunch time, and they are having fun with these jackets. Do you see what Isabelle did with hers??!!

I helped Jos with some fractions. 

Gr. 8 Math help: if a restaurant uses 2 bags of taco shells in one day, how long will it take them to use 3/4 of a bag?

Finally, we made it to the afternoon break. First stop, the chair. Isabelle photobombed the daffodils!

We went down to the pond and fetched the trailcams and saw the ducks, and a muskrat. 

The muskrat watched us, then resumed eating!

From up the hill, Josephine could see the dock. The trailcam frogpond tails  revealed all: raccoon, ducks and the muskrat bopping up from feeding.

Looking more closely, they saw the fairy shrimp and mosquito larvae.

Jos to Izzy: "Wanna go sit in the chair and chat?"

Back to school for an hour. Then, we read for awhile. Izzy got on the computer remotely with her father, who fixed her computer. 

You can see that there WERE two of these. One was chopped off. Such is life in the country!