a peek inside the fishbowl

Archive for the ‘Easy ways to make kids happy’ Category

When our daughters went away to university I discovered I liked making care packages for them. Here’s one package, and another, just to give you a sense of the kinds of things I sent. Of course, these were created and sent in the Before Times. It was a process. Building a care package took time, dare I say, […]

I thought I should share an update to this post. Our praying mantis babies actually hatched soon after I wrote it. It was all very exciting and there was much yelling and merriment by yours truly. After they emerged from their ootheca we kept them indoors, in the jar, for two days before releasing them […]

If you follow me on Twitter you may recall a thread I posted last year about a praying mantis egg case I bought at Costco, and the results of said egg case. Well I bought one again this year and I realized I never wrote about it here on the blog. What has prompted me to do […]

09 Jul, 2019

Diamonds and hot dogs

Posted by: andrea tomkins In: - Ottawa for kids|Easy ways to make kids happy|Ottawa

I am posting this from Thailand (!), reason being that I wanted to get it online before the bulk of summer gets away from us. If you are looking for something fun to do in Ottawa this summer, read on!  I’m not a very sporty person but I’ve certainly played my share of organized sports. […]

Who else is scouting out ideas for Christmas? I live in Westboro, and one of the things I really like to do is walk over to the main street and poke my head in the shops and see what’s shaking. I tend to spend a *lot* of time at Mrs. Tiggywinkle’s*. There’s always something fun and […]


Archives

Me and my pet projects

Ottawa Bucket list

Subscribe via email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.


  • green: come by the whole shebang is detached, I apprise, people you command not feel! The entirety is bright, thank you. Everything works, say thank you y
  • together: buy the whole shooting match is detached, I advise, people you command not cry over repentance! The whole kit is bright, as a result of you. The who
  • politics: come by the whole shebang is unflappable, I advise, people you command not be remorseful over! The entirety is sunny, as a result of you. The whole
  • Renee: I just saw one yesterday on a small patch of grassy land near the Mann Ave 417 exit near Lees Station, Ottawa, ON. I had no idea they came in black!
  • Tisha: I just created 2 bee baths on Sunday, and when I went outside yesterday to check the water levels, the exact same scenario greeted me! One single mar
  • Jennifer Jilks: I don't have a bucket list. I sorta live day to day!
  • Aj: Each peach, Everybody puts two feet in, king counter will say the following rhyme as they count around the circle: "Each peach pear plum out goes

The Obligatory Blurb

My name is Andrea and I live in the Westboro area of Ottawa with my husband Mark and our dog Piper who is kind of a big deal on Instagram. We also have two human offspring: Emma (24) and Sarah (22). During the day I work as a writer at the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre. 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'd like to contact me, please use this form. If you're so inclined, you can read more about me here. Thank you for visiting!

 


Connect with me at these places too!

Still calling it Twitter