A busy week!

 Despite tornado warnings, it didn't hit us. One between us and Ottawa. I was with a client, and we watched the skies.

Busy days. Hubby had his quarterly PSA blood test, and it only took one bandaid! The results are good. We are pleased.

I went back to have my eyes retested, after being diagnosed with floaters and secondary cataracts. (Yes, I'll need a touch up sometime.) Otherwise, all is good, but it is difficult to see as I write this! Fortunately, I had a driver.

On the drive into town, two cute little doggies.

I guess this post is in reverse order! In the morning, I mowed the lawn. There are large wood frogs everywhere, as well as leopard frogs both green and brown. This one kindly hopped onto the sidewalk.

 

Another Viceroy butterfly near Fred's burrow entrance.

I love the quaking aspen. Our little forest is growing. The previous owners cut the grass here. With the sumac dying in this patch nearby, I am happy something is growing. 

2022

2023

The Fearsome Foursome Flyers Drivers drove around a snowstorm, which delayed their arrival at their next destination, they changed plans. I guess the good news is that in winter, few of the scary critters are out and about. Josephine adores reptiles and amphibians.

What should have been a 2 1/2 hour trip – they revised to avoid the bad roads. They had to change accommodations, as well. 

On the way there, they had pit stops, of course. And stretch breaks.

Formula E: racing & New Zealand!

🛺 We watched Formula 1 racing on the weekend. I went to a Nascar race once-upon-a-time with a boyfriend I dated between husbands. He was quite the character. He lost his job and dumped me. No loss! The really interesting race on the weekend were the Formula E cars. Electric race cars! 

After just a few laps, they all were pulled off the track as it was pouring rain. The teams are amazing. The pit stops are a baller orchestration of cooperation, speed and efficiency. By the time the car hits the pit, it is about 3 seconds to change tires and refuel. 

The electronics in the car must be worth a fortune.

They used a hair dryer to dry the helmet. Well, it looked like a super duper hair dryer, to dry the inside of the helmets.

The had human and mechanical resources to get the water off the track.

The tires have little in the way of treads, and you can see why they had to clear the track.

This affable lad was interviewed during the break. The journalist pointed out another team reducing tire pressure, or building it up, I forget which. Bird thought that a good idea!

It was a hoot seeing this journalist. It looked like she could pop any minute. Who else remembers the days when only men reported on sports, and women never appeared pregnant on TV?!

They sound like a dentist's drill, according to JB. This is what it sounded like.

formula e from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

The Fearsome Foursome Flyers made it to their next destination, Whakarewarewa. They made it to the hot springs. It was wonderful, with Indigenous interpreters.

It looked amazing.

 

We watched a New Zealand TV show mystery series that showed hot springs and a Maori ceremony. It might have been One Lane Bridge, I'm not sure. There are several TV shows made in New Zealand. IMDB has good information on that. A lot of them feature the Māori language interspersed, as well as examples of culture, traditions and values.

We visited the Whakarewarewa Māori village in Rotorua. 

This is their marae - a traditional meeting place.

From here to New Zealand!

 I spotted this on Twitter X and I thought it a hoot. I looked up the Nova Scotia map. Maritimers have such a fabulous sense of humour.

Henri (below left) brought us a parcel. What a nice man! He was happy and cheerful, and we wished each other well. All of them are really positive and outgoing. I like that! We always make a point of thanking them for this service. They wave back.

Ta da! Angel's Trumpet in bloom.

A chilly few days, I sought the sunshine. Sitting on the back deck a bee bounced off the window and into my water glass! It was doing the breaststroke. I threw it over the railing and I'm sure it was fine!

bumble bee from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

🚗 🚗 🚗 🚗 🚗 🚗 🚗 🚗 🚗 🚗 🚗 🚗 🚗

"I’m at a stage where I know I’ve got more behind me than ahead of me. I have no time for worrying. You’ve got to get up and do things." – @MrChuckD

The Fearsome Foursome Flyers are traveling by car. They are doing a fabulous New Zealand tour. Some scenery reminds them of their 2005 honeymoon on Cook Islands! They were at the Otorohanga Kiwi House.

🥝 From there, the kids went glow worm cave tubing. They wore wetsuits, because the air and the water was about 12 C.! They weren't the only ones. What a hoot! 

From there, they stayed in a cute cottage, and visited Whitiora Stadium.

Soccer, Hobbiton, Home Sweet Home

We've had fun watching sports as armchair warriors. It's been so hot. This morning it was 9 C., a cold front. There was swimming and diving in Japan. Women's soccer has been on in Australia and New Zealand. Canada is out of the tournament, which is stunning. The inequities between men's and women's sports are not resolved. We need a professional women's soccer league, with funding they can depend upon. 

⚽  The kids went to a game between Costa Rica and Zambia. We've both attended our fair share of amateur soccer games as parents. It is interesting to see the professional stands from this point of view. 

Our kids are visiting New Zealand and went to a World Women's Soccer game: Costa Rica vs. Zambia. July 2023:

soccer game from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

From Hahei, they drove to Hobbiton. They are fans!

"Hobbiton is a movie set location for the fictional Hobbiton Village created in the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies. Located on a farm near Matamata, the Hobbiton movie sets and Hobbit holes have been left set up and are a popular tourist attraction with regular tours available." You can view a 360' tour!

 🏡 After sharing the recent news about the family travelers, back to our little world! Things are quiet here. I built a cabbage salad, weeded, filled the fountain, did the kitty litter, did laundry, watered my hanging baskets, trimmed around Fred's burrow. (I am hoping for little Fred videos as much as my faithful readers!) I spotted Fred standing up yesterday, and I am not convinced they are lactating. 

Fred July 27 from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Hubby brought us breakfast from the Saturday market, as well as our regular Saturday's dinner: Korean kimchi from Jiny. I reheated it and threw in some diced roma tomatoes from our planter out front.

I cooked 6 shish kabob skewers of chicken, as well as preparing a spinach salad. I burned my arm on the BBQ, just a small one, but heck it hurts, especially after I scratched it absentmindedly. How silly. We ate two skewers worth, and the rest I out into a casserole with veggies and noodles. Three meals out of that! Susie Homemaker or what?!

💉 With the recent uptick in COVID-19 cases, I'm still following some of the experts.  [Professor Raywat Deonandan. Epidemiologist, Health Sciences, uOttawa. ] You'll recall we visited the Stewart Park Music Festival July 14 - 16th this month. It was sad to read that there have been reports of a couple dozen COVID-19 breakouts amongst musicians, volunteers and attendees. The far right has been saying that symptoms are worse if you've had a vaccine, but that is such nonsense. 

The key these days is to watch the wastewater reports. Healthcare is a provincial responsibility. Many of us are fed up with the provincial leadership.