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| They come bilingual too! |
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| I hope people don't mind the strange man taking photos of their windows... |
So keep on drawing kids!
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| I bee-lieve! |
Monday, April 27, 2020
Coronavirus in Hintonburg: Week Six - Communicating through Windows
One of the bright spots right now is all the nice window art that has appeared on neighbourhood houses since the current crisis began. Whether it's messages of support for first responders, pictures of rainbows or just cute images, these images offer a bit of colour to an otherwise grey season.
It's not just here in Hintonburg either. This appears to be part of a Canadian, no global phenomena. Thank goodness for kids is all I can say. It's not just the window art either. Yes, working from home is brutal at times. I feel guilt when I'm working that I'm not helping Margot learn enough and guilt when I'm teacher her that I'm not working hard enough. However, despite all the stress, without Margot's good cheer I think the current situation would be so much harder for me.
So keep on drawing kids!
So keep on drawing kids!
Wednesday, April 22, 2020
Coronavirus in Hintonburg: Week Five - Nature is Sanity
So we're well ensconced into the shutdown now and time trudges forward. Unlike some of the chirpy morning show radio hosts or local journalists who make it seem that crafting or "online field trips" can somehow equate to real world activities, I view the current crisis pretty dimly. It's boring, it's never ending, and for many people, it's physically or economically life threatening. In other words, not fun at all.
There is one thing that keeps my lil' family going through all this though: walks! Canada isn't as strict as other countries when it comes to walking. We're not in a lock down like other countries where you are only allowed outside for one specific task: grocery shopping or a visit to the pharmacy. Also, Ottawa isn't as dense as bigger cities like Toronto or Montreal. The parks may be closed for playing but there is still lots of forest space to walk through and enjoy.
In fact, because of the light traffic on the roads these days we can get to a lot more walks very quickly from our house - including walks in the relatively deep woods of the greenbelt.
So far we've hit up:
And these are just the ones within 20 minutes of our house!
Honestly, these daily walks are helping me keep my sanity. Walking through the forest, kicking up leaves, and just listening to the birds makes me feel normal. Maybe the Government will close these trails down eventually but until they do, we're walking!
There is one thing that keeps my lil' family going through all this though: walks! Canada isn't as strict as other countries when it comes to walking. We're not in a lock down like other countries where you are only allowed outside for one specific task: grocery shopping or a visit to the pharmacy. Also, Ottawa isn't as dense as bigger cities like Toronto or Montreal. The parks may be closed for playing but there is still lots of forest space to walk through and enjoy.
In fact, because of the light traffic on the roads these days we can get to a lot more walks very quickly from our house - including walks in the relatively deep woods of the greenbelt.
So far we've hit up:
- Fletcher Garden (near the experimental farm)
- Watt's Creek (near where Margot goes horseback riding)
- Shirley's Bay
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| Letting the day's cares flow away |
- Lime Kiln Trail
- The Jack Pine Trail
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| Walks bring out great smiles |
Honestly, these daily walks are helping me keep my sanity. Walking through the forest, kicking up leaves, and just listening to the birds makes me feel normal. Maybe the Government will close these trails down eventually but until they do, we're walking!
Wednesday, April 15, 2020
Coronavirus in Hintonburg: Week Four - Maintaining a Schedule for Margot
Being a parent is tough at the best of times. But during a pandemic? Yikes.
As the weeks have dragged on Glosette Girl and I have had to be creative to ensure that Margot isn't bored or worse...scared. After a couple of disorganized moments at the beginning of this crisis we've come up a decent schedule revolving around four mini "classes" with Glosette Girl and I each giving two classes to Margot per day.
I take care of: English, Math and, amazingly (to me) Music.
Glosette Girl takes care of: French, Social Science and "miscellaneous" Cooking.
Each class is relatively short, maybe 30-40 minutes. However, because both Glosette Girl and I work remotely, and are constantly interrupted by videoconferences and other distractions. So, in practice, even giving four short classes to her takes pretty much the whole day.
It's fairly modest but we've found that even these four classes, plus giving Margot some time to talk to her friends online, and her normal TV/Netflix schedule (two episodes in the morning and two in the afternoon) has allowed us to keep our sanity without just sticking her in front of Netflix all day. And maintaining a schedule for Margot seems to be helping her maintain a sense of normalcy. We don't teach her on the weekends, which keeps them special for her and for me. Best of all, she still seems to be the same happy go lucky kid I've come to love.
It really is fortunate that Glosette Girl and I have jobs that allow us to work online. I'm getting sick of the day-to-day grind of all this remote work, but I know it could be a lot worse.
As the weeks have dragged on Glosette Girl and I have had to be creative to ensure that Margot isn't bored or worse...scared. After a couple of disorganized moments at the beginning of this crisis we've come up a decent schedule revolving around four mini "classes" with Glosette Girl and I each giving two classes to Margot per day.
I take care of: English, Math and, amazingly (to me) Music.
Glosette Girl takes care of: French, Social Science and "miscellaneous" Cooking.
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| Tuesday's schedule |
It's fairly modest but we've found that even these four classes, plus giving Margot some time to talk to her friends online, and her normal TV/Netflix schedule (two episodes in the morning and two in the afternoon) has allowed us to keep our sanity without just sticking her in front of Netflix all day. And maintaining a schedule for Margot seems to be helping her maintain a sense of normalcy. We don't teach her on the weekends, which keeps them special for her and for me. Best of all, she still seems to be the same happy go lucky kid I've come to love.
It really is fortunate that Glosette Girl and I have jobs that allow us to work online. I'm getting sick of the day-to-day grind of all this remote work, but I know it could be a lot worse.
Wednesday, April 8, 2020
Coronavirus in Hintonburg: Week Three - Empty Parks
We are well into the coronavirus universe now. The parks around here are closed and empty of kids. The city shut them down a week ago and posted signs everywhere.
We can still walk through the parks, which is something I suppose.
Truth be told though, these park closures don't affect my family that much for a few reasons.
First, as you can tell from other blog posts, we like to walk a little further afield - in Ottawa's green belt or even further. It's quieter and more peaceful. Also, even though we only have a small urban house, it does have a little private backyard. So that's something too if we're craving a bit of sunshine.
We are really lucky in that respect. I can't imagine how social distancing works in more dense environments. Another "lucky" thing is that March and Aprils tend to be pretty miserable in Ottawa. We'll see how well people's discipline holds up when the warmer weather hits.
If this last longer though, which is what people are predicting, I think the Government will need to come up with creative solutions. I don't see telling people to stay inside for 18-months to be a viable solution. One cool idea I've heard of is that other Canadian cities that have turned their streets into pedestrian only spaces where people can have more space to walk apart. Nice to see someone is thinking outside the box.
We can still walk through the parks, which is something I suppose.
Truth be told though, these park closures don't affect my family that much for a few reasons.
First, as you can tell from other blog posts, we like to walk a little further afield - in Ottawa's green belt or even further. It's quieter and more peaceful. Also, even though we only have a small urban house, it does have a little private backyard. So that's something too if we're craving a bit of sunshine.
We are really lucky in that respect. I can't imagine how social distancing works in more dense environments. Another "lucky" thing is that March and Aprils tend to be pretty miserable in Ottawa. We'll see how well people's discipline holds up when the warmer weather hits.
If this last longer though, which is what people are predicting, I think the Government will need to come up with creative solutions. I don't see telling people to stay inside for 18-months to be a viable solution. One cool idea I've heard of is that other Canadian cities that have turned their streets into pedestrian only spaces where people can have more space to walk apart. Nice to see someone is thinking outside the box.
Wednesday, April 1, 2020
Coronavirus in Hintonburg: Week Two - Support Local Business
One thing that I am grateful for is to have a steady income. I've been at my company for several years and our revenue isn't really dependent on sales. Further, Glosette Girl's job is unionized so that provides us with an extra level of security.
A lot of other people aren't so lucky. The newspapers are full of stories of Canada's economic meltdown. However, that's just telling me what was already obvious from simply walking the streets around here.
So to try and help others, at least in a small way, my family recently made a few donations to charities we felt could use a bit of extra help, including our local food bank and our church.
But charity is only half the battle. The other half is contributing to the local economy by buying stuff online when we can. A lot of good people have poured their life's work into cool local stores who, despite having no revenue, must continue paying expenses like their rent. So here is a short list of some stores who do allow you to make online purchases:
It is easy to forget people are struggling to make a living at this crazy time. But if those with steady jobs can help them out, maybe we can give them a bit of hope that they'll survive this crisis with their livelihood as well as their health.
A lot of other people aren't so lucky. The newspapers are full of stories of Canada's economic meltdown. However, that's just telling me what was already obvious from simply walking the streets around here.
So to try and help others, at least in a small way, my family recently made a few donations to charities we felt could use a bit of extra help, including our local food bank and our church.
But charity is only half the battle. The other half is contributing to the local economy by buying stuff online when we can. A lot of good people have poured their life's work into cool local stores who, despite having no revenue, must continue paying expenses like their rent. So here is a short list of some stores who do allow you to make online purchases:
- Flock Boutique - mostly funky women's clothes but they also sell cool men's t-shirts. Fortunately I now my size. And guess what? Delivery is free in the Ottawa and Gatineau area.
- Wabi Sabi - if ever there is a time to take up knitting, it's now!
- Librairie du Soleil - many book prices are identical whether you buy it from Amazon or a local book store. So support your local! Librairie du Soleil is Ottawa's only french book store. Margot has a treat on the way!
- World of Maps - maps, maps and more map! If ever you are in the Wellington West area, check this store out. But in the meantime, this is a store worth supporting.
- Further afield, sugar shacks like Fortune Farms will allow you to pre-order online and pick up your purchase when you arrive. Margot and I did a special run to Fortune Farms on Sunday and they informed us that contrary to what you might expect, they don't sell in bulk to grocery stores and instead they heavily rely on their walk-in retail customers.
- Where I thrive - Glosette Girl has continued her subscription to her barre studio and they are producing daily videos. She's enjoying the classes a lot! Technically her studio is in the Glebe, another Ottawa neighbourhood, but we like them so we'll let that slide ;)
It is easy to forget people are struggling to make a living at this crazy time. But if those with steady jobs can help them out, maybe we can give them a bit of hope that they'll survive this crisis with their livelihood as well as their health.
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