The Kings town

Glosette Girl and I decided to take advantage of a big blank space on our calendar this weekend to jet off for a one night getaway to Kingston, which is about 2-hours away from Ottawa. What made this trip extra unusual is that we did it sans Margot!

It's pretty crazy but we haven't spent a night away from Margot was just over..3 years -  in March 2018! Before that, it was April 2017, and before that.. perhaps a few years before when we did a trip to New York City without her. 

In sum: we were well overdue for a parent vacation and Kingston fit the bill.

Kingston is a small city near the same thousand island region where we went last year (with Margot). However, unlike the town we visited last year (Gananoque), which is much smaller, sleepier and tourist-focused, Kingston is a mix of university students, retirees, and aging rockers. Actually, if there is one word I would use to describe this town its "Rock" - the place definitely is a bit rough around the edges. It also has plenty of history, including plenty of 19th century manor houses and military fortifications. 

Don't interpret this as a sign I'm jumping for joy for being parentless for 24-hours

This electic mix of history and rock made for a fun short trip. In 24-hours we hit up a couple of patios, stumbled upon (from a distance) an Anti-vaccine protest/concert of some sort, and generally meandered amongst the downtown core wandering into stores and restaurants as we felt like. 

Ahh meandering. If there's one thing I love about not walking around with a kid is the ability to meander. We even found time for a quick jog along the shorefront, which was very healthy of us. But don't worry, we counteracted the healthiness with some beers and wine later.

Taking care of the body...

...and the mind!

I wouldn't move to Kingston (a bit small for my tastes), but for an overnight day-trip from Ottawa, you can't go wrong!

p.s: little trivia for you: Kingston really was called Kings Town (after King George III) until 1788, when the name was shortened.

Lemons into Yoga

When life throws you lemons...Glosette Girl takes those lemons, squeezes them, mashes them and turns them into something  better than you could imagine.

June has been a rough month here in Ottawa for school. When the Provincial Government decided to keep having virtual school for the remainder of the academic year, I think a lot of kids (and their parents) simply gave up. Their hearts just weren't in it. 

We were gutted about that decision but Glosette Girl turned her anger into something real: a new project to teach kids - all kids - at Margot's school about mindfulness and yoga.

She's been doing this for a few years now, but only ever for Margot's class. However, for the month of June, Glosette Girl threw open the barn doors and volunteered to give these virtual sessions to every class that wanted them. And want them they did! 

As soon as word got out about Glosette Girl's offer, teachers started emailing her left, right and centre to have her give  virtual session. I think they see a fellow kindred spirit in Glosette Girl's program. At a minimum, it gives kids something new and different to look forward to.

Anyways, I'll let her say a few words about the program:

 

Fun, huh? Well...the interviewer thought so!

Just outside of Zoom range

Ever wonder what happens just outside the Zoom screen?

Well, I give a lot of presentations for my job and often that involves me dressing up so I look presentable for my legions of fans (haha, yeah right!).

Anyways, on presentation days I shave and wear a coloured shirt. These days, that counts as fancy.

However, today I went the whole nine yards and wore a suit jacket as well. To those online, I looked quite debonair. However, as you can see, looks can be deceiving:

Hairy legs + suit jacket = stylish

Luckily, I didn't have to get up so no one noticed my shorts as I was presenting....or did they? Maybe there is a video out there somewhere like this poor sod. Or maybe I just outed myself on the Internet. Oh well :)

The "Night" Market

It's nice to see something new popping up these days!

Our local Parkdale farmers market is trying something innovative this summer: a "night" market! Normally the market focuses on fresh vegetables and fruit and closes at 5 pm. But for the next couple of months, on Wednesdays, some extra stalls will appear at the market selling things like craft beer, Lebanese (and other types of) food, ice cream, baked goods and other knickknacks. Glosette girl ended up buying lots of baklava and other Lebenese treats, which she's going to chomp into this weekend. 

Ottawa is so beautiful at night

The name "night" makes me laugh as the sun sets at 9 pm around this time of year. It's a very bureaucratic Ottawa-ish thing to do to try and call something sexy like the night market, while not actually making let the market stay open at night. But I'll take what I can get.

It was also kindof surprising to see so many people outdoors enjoying themselves. Not a very common sight these days. But again, I'll take what I can get!

10,000 hours of Expertise...give or take

Some have claimed that if you spend 10,000 hours doing anything you'll become an expert in that activity. Although that claim has been questioned by some experts recently, I can definitely see the benefits of hard work and practice in Margot's horseback riding recently.

For most of the third-way lockdown, horseback riding and walking have been the only activities that Margot can do. And as much as I like taking Margot on a good hike, Glosette Girl and I decided to double down on horseback riding for the month of May and increase the amount of times she goes to the tables from once a week to three times a week to make the month much more manageable for Margot's mental health. 

And it's been a great success! 

 

Not only is Margot having the time of her life but her skills have really improved. She's even jumping over some low barriers now, which is something that that I was surprised to see her doing already.

It's actually a miracle that of all the activities we could have put Margot in (at her insistence!), the one she is doing, and the one she loves above all, is the one that's never been completely shut down.