Sarah went to bed the other night with this sign on her chest:  Gawd that cracks me up. I feel the same way Sarah, I really do. Mark and I spent the entire day cleaning and yet, amazingly, we made very little visible impact. How does that happen? Clean the basement and the closets, that’s […]
Archive for the ‘Misc. life’ Category
22 Dec, 2007
Gifts for the squirrels and birds
Posted by: andrea tomkins In: - Ottawa for kids|Easy ways to make kids happy|File under crafty|Misc. life|Photography
When I planned the activities for our family advent calendar I forgot how busy we tend to get in the leadup to Christmas. We’ve had to postpone a couple of items. The gift-making for our resident birds and squirrels was supposed to happen on the 20th. We didn’t finish until today, two days later. We hung […]
Below is the (new) mantra I chant when I’m: – trudging through knee-high snow on the way to/from school, to/from the post office, to/from almost everywhere – feeling the sting of cold wind on my face – scraping ice off of a frozen car – using all my strength to pry open a car door that’s frozen […]
I write about...
- Challenge me, challenge you (76)
- dog stuff (58)
- Easy ways to make kids happy (648)
- File under crafty (192)
- – Mail art (43)
- Fishbowl patrons (159)
- Giveaways and product reviews (174)
- Guest postings (33)
- Home/reno (103)
- Links and other procrastination (20)
- Memes/blog awards etc (35)
- Misc. life (1,112)
- Moments of bliss (26)
- Multimedia experiments (56)
- My media (sideblog archive) (492)
- Oh! Things! (366)
- – Found objects (11)
- – Thrifty is nifty (9)
- Ottawa (647)
- – Ottawa for kids (182)
- – Westboro (120)
- parenting (108)
- Photography (340)
- Pinteresting challenges (3)
- Please finish this sentence (23)
- Publishing/writing/career stuff (137)
- Recipes and Food (398)
- – iKnead (10)
- – Meals under 400 calories (4)
- Shopping Embargo (12)
- Sponsored posts (8)
- Swaps (8)
- technical stuff (9)
- The business of blogging (36)
- The Trust Experiment (1)
- travel talk (191)
- Uncategorized (9)
- Weekend reading (320)
- Yaktivism (202)
- – Know More Do More (28)
Top recipes on the Fishbowl
Search
- Spring is a time of transition (and peonies)
- It’s in you to give
- Ottawa summer bucket list 2026
- Rum punch
- Archery in Ottawa: Try a beginner lesson at the RA Centre
- Winter ramble to the Mill of Kintail, Almonte
- The Mental Hygiene Challenge
- Friday things
- A postscript from yesterday’s road trip to Kemptville
- Working our way down our 2024 summer bucket list
- Jeanie Maennling: I spent many wonderful days visiting my cousins and Uncle Herb and aunt Eleanor at the Farm in the 1950's. Mycousin Skippy (Sharon) and I got into l
- alex: For a classic Canadian treat for valentine day , try a BeaverTail (a fried dough pastry) there its yummy
- Juliet Luiz: I was at this park today and saw the foundation and historical sign which got me curious and let me to your blog post! Great information:) too bad t
- Rowyn Tape: Hello, I was sitting at Easter dinner with my grandmother and she was telling me this story. She is Herbert Lytles daughter who eventually bought the
- Bernie: I freeze ball sizes of bread dough for beavertails each winter season.Easy to thaw, roll out and fry. Best winter treat!
- Jen_nifer: I feel very much the same about my SUP. Floating with snacks is fantastic! When I go on water with some current, I make sure that I paddle into the cu
- sam: Great article. This is very insightful. Thanks for sharing
The Obligatory Blurb
My name is Andrea and I live in Ottawa with my husband Mark and our dog Sunny who is kind of a big deal on Instagram. During the day I work as a freelance writer. I am a longtime Ottawa blogger and I've occupied this little corner of the WWW since 1999. The Fishbowl is my whiteboard, water cooler, and journal, all rolled into one. I'm passionate about healthy living, arts and culture, travel, great gear, good food, and sharing the best of Ottawa. I also love vegetables, photography, gadgets, and great design.
If you're so inclined, you can read more about me here.
I've deactivated the commenting function as well as my contact form so if you want to get in touch, please drop me a line at quietfish@gmail.com. Thank you!