a peek inside the fishbowl

For the past five years or so we’ve been visiting Upper Canada Village during the winter. This was the year we finally revisited during the warmer months. (We also had freebie passes and wanted to use them before they expired.)

It was Mark’s idea. It was his birthday yesterday and so this particular outing was his choice. And the weather has been so lovely I had to agree. It was the perfect day for a road trip to see how the pioneers lived, worked, and played.

We were all quite taken by the gardens. It was probably the best part of our visit (other than the trip on the river barge, which was great too). We met a great fellow who showed us all his heirloom veggies including a wonderful buttery type of lettuce called Deer Tongue, as well as beans and carrots:

Here’s Sarah, looking for green beans:

There is a lot to see at Upper Canada Village:

Tips for visiting:

• It’s a big space. Bring comfy shoes. And band-aids in case of blisters.
• Check the website ahead of time to see if there are any special events (they often stage old fashioned weddings and funerals).
• If you’re planning to visit, do note that they’re only operating until October 11 (and then again around Christmas, but that’s a different kind of experience).
• You’d be smart to bring water and pack a picnic lunch. There is lots of food available for purchase. I wasn’t too impressed with my $7.00 vegetarian panini: sliced bread with tomato and onion (they basically used the “condiment” veggies to make it.
• There are some sweet little shady places to break bread (and feed the giant carp).

Speaking of which, we stumbled upon what I secretly hoped was a magic storybook carp. The poor fellow was trying to give us a key (photo here!) but was completely out of our reach. We hope that one of the Upper Canada staffers can fish him out (no pun intended) and get the key and figure out what the fish has been keeping it for.

Fish-issues aside, it really is a neat place to visit with kids. It gives us all some much-needed perspective.

You can’t leave a place like Upper Canada Village without poking around the gift shop. We walked away with a 10lb bag of flour (milled on site!), maple candy, kettle corn, and a couple of pressed pennies – which I think is one of the least expensive and most interesting souvenirs you can find. These will be nice additions to our collection:

After an exhausting afternoon of pioneer life we made our way to nearby Crysler Beach, which we discovered was actually closed to the public. We were puzzled. Why couldn’t they keep it open until after Labour Day? Hot and sticky, we walked around the riverbank near the marina (which was open) for a bit before we packed it in and made our way back home.

Dinner was on the rooftop patio of Milagro’s in Westboro. I didn’t realize how pretty it was up there. I think it’s going to require a return visit. Maybe for lunch?

All in all it was a pretty good day. It made me realize I need a new pair of walking shoes. I have an exciting little trip coming up and I’m going to need them … but more on that later. ;)

How much did you spend on back-to-school stuff this year?

I lost track. We bought school supplies, clothing and footwear, and new lunch bags because last years still smelled rather funky even though I washed and bleached the living crap out of them.

It is sad to think that there are children in this world who can’t afford any of this stuff. No clothes. No shoes. Not even a pencil and a notebook. In some schools, students must return a pencil stub in order to receive a new pencil.

We have plenty and many have none.

It’s important to give something to those who are struggling. Not only because it’s the right thing to do but it teaches our own children that it’s the right thing to do too.

Ten Thousand Villages is organizing a school-supply drive. It’s very easy to participate. First of all, here’s the supply list.

• 4 spiral notebooks or notebooks with perforations (about 21.5cm x 27cm and 70-80 sheets each)
• 4 unsharpened pencils
• 1 ruler (flexible plastic; indicating both 30cm and 12″)
• 1 box of coloured pencils (12 or 24)
• 1 large pencil eraser

THAT IS IT.

No highlighters, markers, scissors, calculators, binders with iPod holsters, gluesticks or sticky tape. I bet you can pick up all the supplies on the list for under $10.

Volunteers have sewn up stacks of reusable drawstring cloth bags. You fill it with the supplies on their list. That’s all there is to it.

You can:

1. 1) Pick up a bag at a Ten Thousand Villages location and bring it home to fill or
2. 2) Bring the supplies in to a Ten Thousand Villages store and they’ll pop it in a bag for you.

The kits will be delivered to Ten Thousand Villages’ parent organization, the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC).

According to their website, this year they will be providing supplies to children in Iraq where families are unable to afford basic school supplies due to years of conflict and war. Kits will be also sent to places where conflict and famine persist such Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Jordan and Ukraine.

For more information about this program click over here. Deadline is September 30. Edited to add: both Ottawa locations are collecting school kits: 371 RIchmond Road in Westboro as well as 1174 Bank Street in Old Ottawa South.

My personal goal is to have TEN people agree to make a donation of school supplies.

What do you say Ottawa? Can we help?

Sarah and I were on the front steps this morning, watching for hot-air balloons. (It’s the weekend of the Gatineau Hot-Air Balloon Festival). The sun was up and shining. The day was clear and beautiful. I felt rested and happy to be sitting on the step chatting with my youngest daughter.

I took a swig of coffee. Hey, I thought, what’s this in my mouth? I immediately thought it was a largeish crumb of bread. But then again, it was rather large to be a crumb, maybe it was a piece of crust. It was mushy and undefined like a piece of wet toast. But how could a piece of bread get into my coffee?

And that’s when I fished the dead fly out of my mouth. I threw it into the front garden with the kind of energy that comes with absolute disgust.

I looked at Sarah. “I ALMOST SWALLOWED A DEAD FLY,” I said, feeling more revolted with each passing second.

“What’s that on your tongue?” she asked.

I frantically licked the cuff of my hoodie, hoping to wipe off whatever offensive pieces of fly corpse were on it. I looked at my cuff. There was a leg. And who knows what other microscopic fly material.

Sarah started singing the refrain of “there was an old lady who swallowed a fly” while I sat there in total disgust.

“Don’t worry mom,” she assured me. “I won’t tell anyone.”

“Thank you Sarah,” I said while taking a long drink of my coffee to wash away whatever was left in my mouth. “That makes me feel a lot better.”