a peek inside the fishbowl

I love ice skating, but I’m not very good at it. I would probably want to skate more often if I had good skates, but my skates are pinchy, stiff, and deeply uncomfortable. Every year I promise myself that I’ll replace them, but I don’t. I’ve had them since high school! (I know. I can’t believe it either.)

That being said, I’m still convinced that Skating is A Wonderful Thing. And it’s so Canadian too, isn’t it? It’s something many of us do growing up. The sound of the blades slicing along the ice, the smell of the indoor rink, the feeling of the glide (and the stumble and resulting fall)… it takes me right back every time.

Skating is active, outdoor, social… and it’s one of the cheapest activities you can do as a family. We’re spoiled for choice here in Ottawa as there are many places to skate for free.

Here’s something new: Ottawa residents can skate for free at local arenas on weekends. The City and RBC recently announced a sponsorship agreement that’s worth $200,000 over three years. This agreement will support free public skating in City arenas on Saturdays and Sundays at all scheduled free skates from January to April and September to December. You can read more about that here.

If you live in Kitchissippi (meaning: McKellar/Highland Park, Westboro, Civic Hospital, West Wellington, Hintonburg et al.) you should check out the guide to outdoor rinks that was published in the Kitchissippi Times recently. The writer of this section, Anita Grace, did a really nice job summarizing each rink, and this special section also includes a rink ranking, as voted by KT readers. I’ve already had a few people tell me they cut it out of the paper and stuck it to their fridge because they’re planning on skating their way through all ten rinks. (I love that!) The rest of Ottawa can find their local outdoor rinks listed online right here. (Related: Ottawa Rinks is a volunteer website which publishes current and up-to-date outdoor skating rink conditions. It’s worth checking out!)

Winterlude has started and the Rideau Canal Skateway is open. Mark skated home from work the other day and said that the ice was great. You can check conditions online right here.

There’s also the Rink of Dreams. Have you been? It’s another free place to skate here in Ottawa. Weather permitting, it’s open daily from 6:00 a.m. (!) to 11:00 p.m. and heated change room are open 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. There are Beavertails to be found there too… sadly, these are not free. :)

And last on my list, but certainly not least, is the historic outdoor ice rink at Rideau Hall. It’s such a fun experience. It feels like you’re stepping back in time, and it’s also free! I’m itching to go again before the skating season is over.

Are you a skater? I’d love to hear about your favourite skating hotspot in Ottawa if you have one.

We have spiders in our house. They’re everywhere right now! I’m not sure if they’re just slowly making their way back post-renovation or if we’re in the middle of spider birthing season.

Our household spiders are small and beige, a relatively inconspicuous shade of neutral that seems to blend into every shade of paint we’ve used in our entire house. I was in the shower earlier and noticed one hanging around in there (a peeping tom spider!) and it got me thinking about the presence of spiders in our lives. Spiders have a bad rap, but are actually quite beneficial when you think about it.

1) Spiders are helpful around the house. All spiders are carnivorous: they eat flies and other insects such as mosquitoes, and apparently, baby cockroaches. (!)

2) Spiders make good literary subjects. Charlotte’s web, for example, featured a pretty smart spider. At our house, spiders are all given the name of Rosie because of a story the girls and I wrote together when they were small.** This used to make the spiders hard to kill when they were in the room. (“Noooo! Rosieeeeee!”)

3) If you look past their creepy appearance, spiders are actually pretty cool. You could always consider each visit by a spider to be a science lesson.

Here’s a question for you. If you see a spider at home, what do you do? Leave it? Kill it? Or get someone else to deal with it?

**Edited to add: I found the story we wrote! Copied below:

Rosie finds a new home

It was wintertime, and Rosie the spider was cold. She had spent most of the season snuggled deep in a pile of leaves underneath the front steps at [our address] but then a curious squirrel came along and disturbed her cozy nest, so she had to find a new place to live.

She crawled out from underneath the porch. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight … all eight legs were getting cold and snowy.

“Brr,” said Rosie. “I need to find a new home, and fast!”

Suddenly she felt a warm breeze. Where was it coming from? She looked around, and there, holding a door wide open and letting all the warm air out of the house, was a little girl with blonde curly hair.

“Ah,” thought Rosie. “That’s the place I want to live!” So she snuck up to the edge of the doorway and waited. She didn’t have to wait too long, because a second little girl with curly hair soon came along and held the door wide open a second time.

This gave Rosie ample time to scurry inside. But once inside, she didn’t know where to go. She’d never been in a house before. Should she crawl into a boot? Into the mittens drying near the heating grate? Find a spot inside the hat lying on the floor?

Just as she was considering her options, Rosie heard a big scary sound coming from behind her.

BOOM BOOM BOOM!

There were two giant winter boots! Look out Rosie! She hurried away in the nick of time. She almost got squashed! And just when she thought she was safe, the smaller curly-haired girl crouched down to get a closer look.

“Look mom!” she shouted. “A spider!”

 The little girl’s voice was so loud that it made the spider shake. Luckily the girl walked away (no doubt to find her purple lanky) and so Rosie the spider took the opportunity to climb up up up the wall to a safe place where no one could reach her. Not even a dust mop.

She stayed there for a while and decided that even though the two curly-haired girls were a little loud for her delicate spider ears, they were awfully cute, and very nice and very funny as well. So she decided to live with them until the spring. 

I haven’t been keeping a tally of my moments of bliss for some time now, but one found me this morning and I had to jot it down before I forgot about it.

If I’m really honest with myself, I have to admit that winter is not my thing. It’s Generally Unpleasant and messy and cold and requires Extra Layers At All Times. But somewhere amid the white of the snow and the fresh crisp air, there is joy to be found. I take a deep breath. The air tingles all the way down. The moment is clear as the ringing of a bell. This is what it means to feel alive, and this feeling is the most valuable thing we own.