a peek inside the fishbowl

I hardly know where to begin this post because there has been a lot going on here at Casa Fishbowl lately.

First, I must take a moment to look back at Mother’s Day. This year, Mother’s Day weekend fell on the same weekend we’d normally celebrate our eldest daughter’s birthday so it was a combo deal. Emma got to pick the menu for dinner (ribs and waffle fries) as well as dessert.

This is what gets written on a cake when celebrating a teenage birthday as well as Mother’s Day:

I was amused. :)
For Mother’s Day we had a lovely breakfast (which always must include bagels from the Bagel Shop and smoked salmon!) and the girls made me lovely cards:

The eldest daughter turned 18. 18! I promised myself I wouldn’t write a mushy missive outlining my love and pride, so I’ll leave it there, with OVERWHELMING LOVE AND PRIDE. To celebrate the occasion we took her across the river to Gatineau so she could order a drink with dinner. We went to Les Brasseurs du Temps. Have you been? They have a very good menu and many craft brews on tap (try Le Pommee!). Make sure you don’t miss the beer museum while you’re there.

Let the record show that our newly minted 18-year-old wasn’t asked for ID when she ordered her MELON ROND (Grey Goose, liqueur de melon, ginger ale, limonade & lime fraîche). She says she liked it but I’m not 100% sure.

I was so stuffed, I waddled back to the car. Thankfully, things settled down a bit before we reached our next destination, the new Stella Luna location in Hintonburg. I am not exaggerating when I say it’s probably the best gelato I’ve ever eaten in my entire life.

Another new fan of @StellaLunaCafe here. Still thinking about the treats we enjoyed last night! ?????#Ottawa pic.twitter.com/xMhpVtonpl

— andrea tomkins (@missfish) May 16, 2017

I will be back! Maybe I should make it a special jogging destination? It’s about 3 km there from our place… hmm. ;)

It was, understandably, pretty big news that the eldest turned 18, but we received even BIGGER news the next day. She was accepted to her university program of choice and will be attending Queen’s in the fall. She got a nice little scholarship too! (A few of you will remember this post about teens, work, and university application. Clearly, I was worried when I wrote it.) As you can imagine, Mark and I are thrilled and excited for her.

What else? This week I’ve been slowly getting back into gardening. I know myself, and I know this enthusiasm typically starts to wear thin the moment gardening becomes another chore that needs to be taken care of around the household. (Say, July.) But for now, I have been planting, dividing, and happily admiring and arranging things in the backyard again.

The girls went to Comicon on Sunday morning so Mark and I checked out a Friends of the Farm plant sale at the Experimental Farm. While we were there we bought a new hosta (one of the most forgiving plants in our yard!) to add to our collection:

We also bought this Primula Marginata from an alpine garden group at the plant sale. I love alpine gardens! The tiny plants! The rocks! Their inherent toughness! I just hope this one is tough enough to survive ME:

I planted some morning glory seeds today and have decided I going to try my hand at growing garlic this year. I am happy to be happy.

What online comments can reveal about the person behind the keyboard https://t.co/iiEuP9GkU9 From @WencyLeung

— The Globe and Mail (@globeandmail) May 13, 2017

• DC Comics superhero: “All Star Batman” author Scott Snyder on politics, diversity and comics in the Trump era, salon.com
• How Dove Ruined Its Body Image, theatlantic.com
• How Google Took Over the Classroom, nytimes.com
• The Birth of a Mother, nytimes.com
• The Shape of Clothes to Come, epochs.co

On the nightstand: The Best of Adam Sharp: A Novel

To review: every other Tuesday is my day off and I’m trying to use this time to recharge my batteries. No work, no meetings, minimal errands. Last time I went for a bike ride to Mud Lake!

This week has been a little bit hectic in the work department and I’m QUITE happy it is Friday. It means I can stop and breathe a bit. Last night I woke up at 3 a.m. thinking about work and if you can believe it, the soundtrack to Lala Land was playing in the background of my work thoughts.  Tuesday is a blur now, but I’m glad I took a bit of time for myself. My destination: Dow’s Lake. It was still chilly, and I knew most of the tulips weren’t out yet, but I went anyway.

Thankfully, it wasn’t busy. How not busy was it? VERY not busy, as you can see:

Can you believe the ice cream vendors were out? Brr. Frozen treats were the furthest thing from my mind but I gladly would have bought a hot coffee!

Funny thing: I was approaching of one of the flowerbeds when I noticed a hubbub with a large golden doodle. The dog was barking up a storm but I couldn’t see why. Within a minute or two, it suddenly became clear:

This dude was skulking amid the tulips, and THEN he honoured me with his company while the dog was unceremoniously hauled away to the other side of the park. I admit, I did feel a little special to be The Chosen One while other humans looked on jealously.

Since Tuesday, the sun has finally shown itself. It’s as if someone pressed the fast forward button on Spring. I’m sure the tulips are out in full force right now, just in time for Mother’s Day. I’m glad I went to Dow’s Lake, even though most of the flowers were still green. There’s something to be said for enjoying the calm before the storm.