The Timeless Ritual of the Class Photo

Margot got her class photos back today. She looks very sweet (little do they know haha).

Margot is wearing a sweater as she spilled raspberry juice on her shirt!

Ah class photos... they are one of those things that our society ensures is done every year. I'm not sure why, but they feel important. "Don't miss school today, it's class photo day" is something that is heard in households from coast to coast.

Maybe the reason they feel important is that, despite the constant change that is occurring in society, the ritual of taking photos is pretty much the same as before. Here's my grade four class photo:

I'm the cool dude in the middle with the snowflake sweater

(Sorry for all the white space - that's my scanner's fault). Class photos cross all cultural boundaries in Canada. French or English, rich or poor you get 'em done. The world would be a better place with more class photos. Unfortunately I wasn't able to find Glosette Girl's Grade four photo but I was able to dig up this little gem from 1991:

Nice tie sweets!

Permanent Darkness

November in Ottawa is a harsh mistress.

You wake up to this:

6:38 am. Cock-a-doodle doo!

And, after a hard day's work where you may never step outside, you come home to this:

5:15 pm - right about the time I come home

Never seeing the sun can be very depressing. That's why I, suspect, people are so eager to turn on their Christmas lights, buy gifts, and put up other Christmas paraphernalia. As for me, it's probably the reason I try and get out with Margot and Glosette Girl on the weekend and do lots of activities.

An added "bonus" to November this year is all the snow you see in the photos. That's unusual and very early. Now, on the one hand, snow reflects light, which lightens up the night a bit. That's nice. On the other hand, if there's one thing Ottawa is not short of, it's snow. Le sigh.

Neighbourhood Kids

It's fair to say that Margot has lots of friends. She is a happy kid and always seems to find someone to play with at recess. However, oddly that doesn't seem to translate into too many after school playdates.

I think there are a couple of reasons for this. One, many parents these days (myself included) seem to put their kids in a lot more extracurricular activities than in the past. That results in less time for free play. Two, Margot doesn't have too many friends within walking distance of our house. Many are what I consider to be "driving distance" away, which makes random play much less likely. Finally, a big difference between a downtown neighbourhood like Hintonburg and surbubia is that kids just don't run wild in the street here like they do in the 'burbs'. It just 'aint done!

Fortunately there are a few exceptions to the lack of playdates. Just around the corner live the twins, E and S, who are some of Margot's besties and are always up for fun. Just a little further away lives another friend, L, who also likes to come over and hang out at our house.

It was cold enough to freeze your bones but you wouldn't know it from these monkeys!

That's what happened today. L came over and pretty much had a jolly old time. They didn't even want to watch Netflix! Instead, they played in the snow (yes, we have tons of snow and it's only November [sob]), played with Panda and then put on a puppet show for me.

It wasn't quite random (we prearranged the playdate with L's Dad) but I don't think Margot minded!

Exploring the West: Chipmunk Trail

This past weekend "classic" autumn died and "late" autumn began.

Classic autumn is the autumn of postcards (think an explosion of colours in trees, apple picking and Halloween). Late autumn is the autumn no one talks about but is a big part of the year around here (think short days, dark nights and the colour grey).

Even though the forecast looked grim, I took a chance and visited the Chipmunk trail with a few visiting family members. And I'm glad we did!

Haunting beauty

The woods were filled with a sublime but beautiful light. The floor of the forest was carpeted with recently fallen leaves. And because it had just rained, we had the entire trail to ourselves. That's unusual because the trail is usually a family favourite. The reason for its popularity? The incredibly tame chickadees, which eat right out of your hand!

You would think they call this the chickadee trail...

Because it's a bit short for my liking (2.6 km) this isn't a trail I hike very often anymore. But for a quick breath of fresh air only 15 minutes from my house, it's not too shabby.