🍀 March Break!

☘ ☘️ I've put out March decor. As a teacher, I never really did a March theme. St. Patrick's Day is always surrounded by March Break and there was no school. Over the years we learned to embrace it at home when we did Gramma Camps.  

A poem by Grampa, March, 2018 during Gramma Camp day 4.

Be gosh and Begorrah
It's already tomorrow
So sing to be happy
This story not sappy
The day is not feared
 Nor shed we a tear
For what do we hear
The wee folk been here
In the kitchen he wrote
Are items of note
Three to girl
So be off in awhirl

(You need not click on these, but Grampa might like to revisit them!)

March Break with the Grandies!

March Break with the grandies- episode 2

March Break with the grandies – episode 3

I've dressed up Guinivere. She looks sassy!

Things are emerging from the snow.

March 17, 2012

Sláinte from the Bears
March, 2022

Close Eyes, March 2012

March 2023

I could have made a snow person, it was snowball snow, but once I shovelled I didn't have anything left in me!

Jesse, Cluny, and Bryony are still skiing out in B.C. They've a two-week March Break, as I recall. I shudder at the notion of British Columbia going on permanent Daylight Savings Time. We'll be 4 hours ahead of them. It's difficult enough to catch up! 

Caitlin, JL, and Aster are on a road trip to Quebec City! What a beautiful old town. Good food, good fun. 

 

I've garbage to put out, in between rainstorms. It's going to be a mess out there again. We just had snow.

Spring Break in Montréal and B.C.

I've been having a tough time getting motivated. I know I am not alone.  It's been great seeing the flowers and brightly coloured photos from bloggers.

 Travelling vicariously is a good thing. Jesse has been  posting photos from B.C. I think ski season is over, I think. 

They were outside with Bernie, the cat, who is a hoot! 

For their March Break adventures, our Ottawa kids went to Montréal for a few days, on the train! We don't do March Break Gramma Camp anymore! They are growing up. Such young ladies.

There was walking, exploring, and much eating involved! I love them acting all cool. My grandies!

Apparently, they went to an outdoor store! There was time to kill. They have been avid campers. I have never camped!

They visited the Cosmôdome! Isabelle wanted to ride the gyro. Hence killing time in the mall.

She was always keen on rides at the local fairs! 

Isabelle at the Cosmodome from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

They are really good at posting photos for the family. I liked the Koi in their hotel in Chinatown. I guess I made Isabelle laugh.

Waiting for the train back to Ottawa! They've been back in school last week. We're going to catch up this weekend. 

 

Gramma Camp – March Break 2023

Sunday morning dawned. It was time to change the clocks, spring forward. I arose at 6:44. JB shortly thereafter. I waited. It was 8, 9, 10 o'clock and no sign of the girls! Saturday, when Isabelle came upstairs in the morning, I asked if she wanted to watch cartoons! She giggled. Or rolled her eyes, I forget which!

 Izzy arose at 11, but they were both awake. Grampa went walking, then shopping. They wanted Gramma's Meatloaf for dinner and he had a list. We've just planned meals day-by-day.

We eased into daylight savings by watching Jeopardy in the late morning.

Grampa bought some NERDS for Josephine, and licorice pipes for Isabelle's sleepover party Tuesday night.

We did our nails! 

The girls watched The Secret of NIMH while working out on the exercise equipment. Jos was feeling nostalgic! She may be a tall 15-year-old, but the good old days...!

Josephine had her shower, then we settled in. I had a text that Momma and Papa were home from Picton. Dinner was meatloaf and roast broccoli and carrots. 

After dinner, we watched Murder on the Orient Express! It was fun. It was a late night, they didn't head downstairs for bed until 10! 

We weren't sure when we would have the girls. They are 12 and 15 now, and wanted to get together with friends. It turns out Izzy has an appointment Tuesday morning, and we will deliver them to the hostage exchange Monday after work.

⛈☂Spring Break!

It is finally here. We can have some fun with the girls. No pressure, no Google Meets, no teachers. OK, except me! We're hoping to have a relaxing break with the girls. It's been a time. 

Chores

Sunday I did some chores.

We've a yellow jacket problem. I've been digging down to Timbuktu and can't find the nest. I've tried to drown them, put salt on it, sprayed a bit of Raid to protect myself. You have to dig in the dusk, when they go back into the nest, or in the morning when it is cold. It was 5 C. Sunday, I started digging, again.

Teeny tiny holes indicate the entrance.

yellow jackets from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

I went walkies with Cinnamon, Sunday, trying to see if there was a crow's nest. Nutmeg followed along.

It wasn't a quiet day, by far. This kid, on a red bike🎥, I could hear coming from a km away. Another dude went by🎥.  The crows, however, are really active. I've not heard them this much in our years here. I took the cats walkies in the back 400, just after I saw one up in the tree with a twig in its mouth. I warned the girls that they might be putting a nest in their favourite white pine climbing tree!

My favourite critter is the porcupine Apr 10 . The girls named him Henry. 

World Curling 2021

Our Grampa stayed home Sunday afternoon, since the curling was a bit of a mess with the COVID–19 scare. Prior to leaving the tournament, as well as during the tournament, all players were tested before they were allowed to fly home. I figured out that the US team's player, Chris Plys, along with 3 other men on other teams had a positive test for COVID–19 from CBC's That Curling Show, with Devin Heroux. They retested them, and they came out negative. Plys had had a vaccination. The team's National Olympic Committee fought with or lobbied Alberta Health Service, and won. They were allowed to play with masks on. The masks were pretty badly fitted. HOWEVER, TSN chose to send their film crew back to the hotel.  I figured out where to watch the delayed game on YouTube. Grampa watched the last two ends on our Chromecast (a gift from the kids at Christmas), which puts the video on the TV, while I fetched the girls!

Hostage Exchange

On the way into our hostage exchange, there were 3 OPP cars, lights flashing🎥.  It looked domestic, as I saw a woman on her phone coming from behind the house. 

We did the hostage exchange. There was another family doing the exact same thing. Then, a third family, obviously the father dropping kids off for the mother. Oh, I remember those days of single parenting!

By 5:15 Sunday night: two girls are emptying the dishwasher; they’ve chosen movies at the store (Grampa took them while I prepared dinner); roasted carrots and broccoli, and pot pie in the oven! All is well with our world.

Caitlin texted, and they were happily munching on a salad niçoise: Kalamata olives, capers, tuna, anchovies!