Sunnybrook

This is the first thing i noticed when i walked into the waiting room intended for the families of surgical patients.  The tacit message; "Welcome, busy your hands, and quiet your mind."

_

Mum has just entered surgery, and i will certainly have enough time to get started on a nice little woolen toque for her...

my puppies

it is aways nice to be greeted by someone when i return home...

either in the street, or at the door.

what took me so long?

mini rave

bought $10.00 of glowy bracelets, sticks and doodads, and sent out the invites one day before...

invitations to neighbourhood parents who don't mind the kids being out after dark.

we all met at a local park just at dusk, passed around the glow-stuff

and enjoyed the fun...

crisp cool air, running bodies highlighted by neon green, red and purple,

 the comfortable sounds of adults catching up, and children catching each other.

an hour or so later, the gang wound down and headed home,

but the event made the shorter days seem pretty exciting.

next one?  mini glowsnow-rave.

birdfeeders

  a few of the greenbelt trails are excellent for having a closer relationship with chickadees and nuthatches...no, not just these two; i mean the feathered kind as well.

we walked a loop of a very promising trail, but didn't meet any winged friends...

until the very last few metres of our return leg.

a great spot to sit, take a break, be peaceful, and enjoy the little birds' company.

more candles, please!

we celebrated my handsome and talented husband's birthday last week quietly,

but with cake!  candles on fire are second in importance only to the birthday cake itself...i figured everyone should have a little bit of both.  the kids decorated the mini cakes with candy and sprinkles,

although it seems david would have also enjoyed that task!

happy birthday, my darling.

novel reading

a quiet afternoon of reading Captain Underpants books with Capitain No-Underpants.

hitting the trail

we bundled up and headed to the visitor centre at

gatineau park today,

to learn a bit more about our local flora and fauna, and to let off a little steam!

adjacent to the visitor centre is the sugarbush walking trail,

 about 700 metres of mostly gravelled light hiking.

 there is also a short, more rugged detour offering some hands-on experience!

the girl was pleased to be able to find a spot of colour in a land prepared for winter sleep.

and david was bold enough to ask the professional photographer we encountered on the trail

(clearly hired by a cold but happy looking couple to provide engagement-type photos)

to take a quick snap of us; "free, and in the wild".