a peek inside the fishbowl

In my previous post I wrote about the second wave and what we’re doing to get ready for it. This past summer I’m sure you heard about the global shortages of inflatable pools, kayaks, and bicycles. I think we’re now looking at shortages of skis, snowshoes, and wool socks as people get ready for a long winter ahead.

How are we going to weather the second wave? I guess the trick is to think about what we enjoy doing, or might enjoy doing, and go with that.

We’ve always been bird nerds here at Casa Fishbowl, which is why upgrading our bird feeder(s) and bags of seed was a good idea for us.

I received a new window feeder for my birthday this summer. It’s attached to our family room window and it’s amazing to see how many birds come to that thing. It’s a parade of cardinals, chickadees, a few different kinds of finches, nuthatches and woodpeckers. We have recently been discovered by this rather bold blue jay.

We also have a bird feeding station with three different feeders hanging from it. (YES. We are clearly over the top.) We invested in the patented Advanced Pole System (APS): “a revolutionary concept and the foundation for successfully attracting birds to your backyard” and I love it. We bought it at a local biz, Wild Birds Unlimited. It’s very sturdy, and totally expandable/customizable. We are using our own feeders and bought a few different types of seed designed to attract different kinds of birds.

We also bought a baffle (so the squirrels won’t climb the pole and eat all the seed) and a plug-in water warmer (!) for our ground-level bird bath, which we’ll install when it gets a little frostier outside. This might sound extreme in terms of creating a better backyard habitat for our feathered friends, but there’s a pandemic going on folks, and I am looking for alternate forms of entertainment. And I have to say that when I’m working in view of the feeders, it’s nice to take a moment to focus on something that is not a computer screen. It’s restful, both for the eyes and the soul.

Of course, if you want to build a better habitat for birds you don’t have to throw money at it if you don’t want to. There are a lot of good ideas out there if you’d like to do it on the cheap, eg. smearing stale bagels or pine cones with crunchy peanut butter and hanging them from a tree, making feeders out of milk cartons etc.  I like the idea of making suet & seed wreaths and will probably do that again this year.(In fact, this is something I wrote about for Canadian Family Magazine awhile back.)

Hello weekend family project!

I should point out that it took a few weeks for the birds to get used to our new set of feeders, so if you want to be entertained this fall and winter, you better get started!

Birding is a really lovely thing to do as a family. Even our grown-up kids enjoy seeing who shows up at the feeder. You would be forgiven it you thought that backyard birding was boring, but it’s anything but. It’s not just nice birds coming to have a nice quiet snack before flitting off to other places. There is often comedy or drama involved! We’ve seen a gang of birds viciously beat up a smaller one (this was later ruled to be a homicide.) We see finches bully chickadees into giving up their spot at the feeder. Sometimes we spy a tender moment between Mr. and Mrs. Cardinal. We’ve watched dishevelled toddlers pester mom and dad for feedings and then feed themselves, acrobatic swoops, noisy arguments, and blissful wing stretching, preening, and sun bathing.

It is lovely, to be sure. I am almost looking forward to staying home. ;)

Ottawa has some awesome fall hiking trails! Here are some of our favourite spots to get outdoors this fall ? https://t.co/B4JHVDIvlr #MyOttawa pic.twitter.com/Z0n7zuhyxu

— Ottawa Tourism (@Ottawa_Tourism) October 1, 2020

• Why Facts Don’t Change Our Minds, jamesclear.com
• ‘It’s Decorative Gourd Season, Motherfuckers’ Will Never Die, theatlantic.com
• Rashida Jones: ‘I didn’t know if I was coming or going, theguardian.com
• What’s the trick to a great apple pie? theglobeandmail.com
• Subway bread is not bread, Irish court rules, theguardian.com
• ‘The Crown’ reveals first look at Princess Diana’s wedding dress, mashable.com

We cannot control the wind, but we can adjust our sails. This was something that came up in an interview for an article I was writing for work recently and wanted to share it with you because it resonated with me.

There are lots of things we can’t control. Every mental health expert I’ve spoken to about this agrees that it’s a good idea to focus on the things we CAN control, rather than spend too much time worrying about things that are beyond our control. This is especially true during hard times, like say, a pandemic. 

One of the things I can control is what we eat, and how we get our groceries.

Right before the big shutdown in early March, Mark and I were at the grocery store with a cart that was so full of groceries they were almost slipping off. News about the coronavirus was looking grim so I thought it would be smart to stock up on a few things so we wouldn’t have to go back out for awhile. As we stood in line at the check out we realized we were the only people with a massive grocery order. We felt a little silly and wondered if we were overreacting.

As it turned out, we weren’t overreacting at all, and every two weeks after that – and this lasted for months –  we placed a massive order online for pick up. It wasn’t until this past month or so that we started going to the store in person again.

After dinner the other night I did a big grocery shop, in person. It was almost, but not quite, the kind Mark and I did together back in March. At that time I was buying loads of pasta and canned vegetables but this time around, I was a little calmer. I bought one large package of TP and doubles of other things, such as evaporated milk, chickpeas, and canned tomatoes. As I wandered the aisles trying to dodge people who were coming too close for comfort, I decided that now that the second wave is upon us I’m going to start doing our shopping online again.

Mentally, I think I’m ready for a second wave. We’ll hunker down, keep to ourselves, and focus on things around the house. For my own mental health, I try not to think of staying home as deprivation. I try to frame it as (a) staying safe (b) enjoying the things we have, and (c) protecting others.

That being said, this is the time to think about what we need for the coming fall and winter.

What do you need to work from home? Noise-cancelling headphones? A new desk chair? Also important to consider: what will make you HAPPIER while working from home? Pencil crayons? A cork board? Framed photos? (e.g. something fun from Social Print Studio for example, like a poster using your Instagram photos ? Use my promo code and save five bucks!)

What do you need for your comfort? A cosy sweater, slippers, or fuzzy onesie? New pillows or bed sheets or blankets? 

What do you need to expand your entertainment? A Spotify subscription? An exploration of podcasts? A library card? 

What do you need for winter, especially since many of us will be spending more time outdoors. Snow pants? New boots? Snowshoes? LAYER UP MY FRIENDS.

What do you need for your health? Vitamin D? A S.A.D. light? New running shoes? Maybe it’s a matter of not using your treadmill as a drying rack this winter… :) Related to this: now is the time to schedule dental/doctor appointments. What have you been putting off?

This may sound frivolous but part of my pandemic planning includes puzzles. I never used to enjoy puzzles, but I’ve come around to it over these past few years. I just bought a stack from Tag Along Toys to help us get us through the darker months. It’s something to do that isn’t Netflix.

Also: These past few months we’ve also really greened up the place with a lot of indoor plants. You can do this the spendy way by buying new at full price, OR you can do it on the cheap by swapping plants and cuttings of plants. We’ve done a combination of buying new and propagating. We also bought some plants in need of rescue from the Ikea as-is section (!) earlier this summer. Our plant pots are from a bunch of different sources including Homesense, Ikea, second-hand shops, and also include a few lucky curb-side finds.

It makes me strangely happy to have green things to care for. They keep my busy, but not so busy that I’m overwhelmed.

There is one other thing we decided to spend a little bit of extra $$ on recently. I will tell you more about that in my next post but in the meantime, I’d love to hear what you are doing to prepare for that second wave.