On a Pleasant Day

We were downtown, and while Sue was doing her pictures, I turned the corner, spied a bench, and sat down. Do you know how long it has been since I could enjoy sitting on a bench? But the temperatures had risen into the fifties, and it was sunny, and I was dressed warmly enough, so I felt pretty happy about my situation.

When Sue came around the corner, did she catch a smug look, or am I dreaming?

That was Friday morning. That afternoon I went to the opposite side of the river from where I took the water photos the other day. But there was a fence in my way as well as scrub vegetation, so I wasn't able to add to my rushing water collection. However, I did take a short clip, hoping that you could hear the sound of the water raging through and past the dam. Blogger seems to have changed how they do video, so I don't think that I can enlarge it like I used to.

At a clearing just a little away before the dam I found a solitary goose. I felt sorry for the poor, lonely thing and took some pictures.

I also took one of town hall, deliberately putting the building well off centre. The sky was blah, so I replaced it in Photoshop. I have let my town hall project dwindle in the wretched weather, but at least I can add this photo should I choose to keep the project going, or I should say if I choose to restart it.

It was good to enjoy the moderately nice weather and to get a few shots, but according to the forecasters, that will be the last of the good weather for a week or so.

JJ and Sue do Coffee

I imagine that because of Sue’s recent birthday, our little family has rallied around to take her out for coffee breaks, just as a little, extra treat.

Shauna drove her to a coffee shop in Almonte. Danica brought coffee here, and I got in on that one. What could Jonathan do?

Well, he can drive now except he doesn’t always have access to a vehicle, and even if he does, a licensed driver still has to be in the car with him.

In the end, Sue picked him up after school. JJ took the wheel, and they drove around to add to his driving experience in a different vehicle.

Eventually, they got to Tims and went through the drive thru, where he treated. Of course, Sue ordered coffee while JJ decided on a fruity drink, for neither of the kids drink coffee yet.

Off they went with their drinks to the spot where Sue and I usually go at the edge of the park by the boat launch.(Hopefully, we will soon be able to have coffee while sitting on a park bench on a nice day or even while strolling through the park. But we are at least a week away from that happy event and probably longer.)

Sue memorialized the event.

The next day, Sue's photo prompt had to do with keys, so she was able to use this photo, which I assume she took with the meme in mind.

A Picture of Health

There has been a pre-surgery questionnaire in My Chart pretty well ever since my consultation with the urology specialist in October. They wanted it done by April 11, so I thought that April 01 would be a good time to sit down and complete it. For one thing, I had to borrow a scale in order to be able fill in the second question: my weight.

Ironically, despite being up for surgery, when I answer a questionnaire like this, I appear to be very healthy.

I answered 'No" to 8 questions about heart problems and the same for 7 problems concerning lungs and breathing. I went on to other organs and mental health, and then reported in the negative for opioid/narcotic usage. I could go on but won't.

Except for this infernal prostate thing, all of my health problems seem to be to my outer shell — bones, joints muscle and what have you. Most inner organs seem to by hanging in there, at least for a guy in year 78. We all know that could change on a dime, but so far so good.

So, I will continue to look pathetic hobbling about with my cane while, apparently, brimming with health on the inside.

Maybe not actually brimming but bearing up, as it were.

The Snit and the Cheese

They were $2.59 + 13% tax for a very small, 70g/2.5oz bag. Quite expensive, eh?  But Hawkins Cheezies are Canadian through and through, so they were worth investigating, especially since the package says they are made with real cheddar and no preservatives.

Shauna said was familiar with them from her teenage camping parties that I don't want to know anything about, but I hadn't even heard of them until you-know-who decided that America should annex Canada. That put us into a bit of a snit up this way.

I thought, "Darn the expensive. I'm going to give them a try." 

So, I did . . . try them.

My Oh My! What I have been missing‽ 

I owe it all to you-know-who.

Stupid Photoshoot

Well, it was a stupid shoot that I kept brief by necessity. Because what silly, old fool would take his equipment out at -4C and gale-force winds? In my defence, and I surely need one, it did look nice out there from the warm side of my windows. 

Here's where I was out behind town hall looing toward the waterfall and dam. After my short photographic attempt, neither of us wanted to proceed on our intended walk, so back home we went.

The whitewater way off to the right was what I was trying to capture with my telephoto lens. 

I wanted to get more rushing water photos while the river is still in spring runoff mode, so I squeezed off a few shots, before I made like a tree and leaved. (Back to the Future reference)

This photo is in colour, believe it or not: a patch of blue visible at the top of the drop.

1/5sec, f10, 339mm, ISO100

I like the flow and colour of the rushing water after the drop.

1/5sec, f10, 400mm, ISO100

I squeezed off a couple more shots of the edge of the faraway dam and converted this one to b&w with some filtering. I converted because I did not like the colour of the edge of the dam against the water.

1/10sec, f10, 400mm, ISO100, cropped

Believe it or not, we are under yet another weather watch tonight, but the day may be liveable. 

Searching Memory

Danica messaged us. For an English essay, she  . . . well, here's the message.

Does anyone remember when we started staying at dad’s and when we returned to mom’s during Covid. I would like to know for an essay I’m writing but it’s very hard for me to remember events from that time.

We started looking for the answer to Dani's question, and I first found it on Flickr. It can be easier and quicker to look up things in Flickr than in Blogger although I tried Blogger first.

Following, is the timeline that I pieced together.

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Because Shauna worked at a seniors residence, there were concerns about the spread of COVID in that tight environment, so Shauna sent the kids to the safety of their dad's house.

This is the photo that I posted to Flickr on May 16 2020 (my mother's birthday) but taken the day before, May 15 2020, after a separation of eight weeks. Their dad took this photo of their greeting after driving the kids over to Sha's house.

Once I had found the date on Flickr, I moved on to Blogger, where I had posted the colour version in addition to the b&w.

This is what I wrote on both Flickr and Blogger. I don't think there is one other example of me posting exactly the same thing on both platforms in over twenty years on both mediums.

Eight weeks ago, my daughter made the difficult decision to send the kids to their dad's place. She made this sacrifice because of the dangers inherent in working in a seniors residence at this time. However, her residence has been safe for many many weeks, and it was time for the kids to come home. Tears may have been shed during this hug, but there were certainly moist eyes here upon seeing the photo. (taken by their dad, I presume) 

I am proud of my daughter for making this selfless decision, and I am thrilled that they are back together.

As we looked back on those pictures, we all re-experienced some poignant feelings, or at least all of the adults did.

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You will probably want to stop reading at this point, for the above was all that I intended to post. However, I became curious as to what happened both before and after that reunion in the days of that viral threat, so I add the following for my personal and family benefit. 

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They were hard times in a way, for this is how we had celebrated Sue's birthday that year, 2020, just a few days after the lockdown. The kids and their stepsisters came by with signs.

Then came Danica's birthday almost a month later on April 19. We celebrated at safe social distances in the cold garage.

We also celebrated Mother's Day in the garage, but I will spare you another, similar garage photo. We followed with a safe-distance meetup or two in June, and by Father's Day, the numbers, which I tracked assiduously, were looking not too bad so we got together in close quarters in the house.

We met a few times in July and August, both in the park and at home, and we even dared to have Jonathan over for a sleepover. 

We we felt safe enough to have my September birthday at our place.

If I am getting this right, the numbers began to surge as the weather began to chill, so we were back to the fresh air safety of the park for Canadian Thanksgiving in mid-October.

Later. we had a Halloween meetup in the same park, but by December numbers were really taking off, and we were isolating once more, especially because of the fraught situation at Shauna's work. Our annual tree-decorating party was virtual. 

The town cancelled the normal parade, but a mini parade quickly swept through some of the neighbourhoods.

I had forgotten this, but that the kids isolated for awhile and then tested themselves to confirm that they were virus free. So Shauna sent them over for awhile on Christmas Day.

Danica also came for a sleepover just before New Year. We even went on a little photoshoot together near New Year.

The good times were not to last, and as winter deepened, we were back into not-so-splendid isolation. That went on for more than two months, but finally, COVID tests were taken, and we chanced quick hugs at the door. This was on March 07 2021, just about a year after it had all begun. I admit to being very emotional on that day, and I confess to feeling a bit of similar emotional right now.

I shall spare further pictures for those who have made it this far, but it was back to the garage in 2021 for both Sue's and Danica's birthdays as well as Mother's Day. Father's Day was another park meetup, and it really wasn't until July, after the first two vaxes, that life began to approach the old normal although I believe there was still quite a bit of masking going on.

It was quite a time. We were in our vulnerable seventies, so we remained very cautious throughout and did what we thought we should do in order to keep as safe and healthy as possible. 

Here we are five years later, living pretty normal and healthy lives, all things considered.

Late December 2024

Education and Evidence

It is possible that this map explains a lot. I had no idea of the low proportions of tertiary educated people in so much of the USA. I know you don’t have to go to college to be smart, but a lot of smart people do go to college, and education does affect how we think, especially how critically we think.

Critical thinking involves evaluating information, identifying assumptions, and solving problems objectively, requiring skills like analysis, inference, and communication to form sound judgments and make informed decisions. (Google AI)

The thing is that the less critical people are, the more susceptible we are to succumb to the Dunning-Kruger Effect. For example: someone might think that they know all about climate change based on one YouTube video by someone without credentials. I am sure that one could think of many more examples. 

In theory at least, critical thinkers will be less dogmatic about their opinions and also more likely to change their minds in light of new evidence. Evidence from reliable sources is key.