Category: Life in Ottawa

The Great Christmas Tree Quest 2010

The alternate title of this post is “In which she becomes convinced that natural trees are the best possible option for Christmas.”

It was about -10C with the faintest hint of snow in the air when we headed out to Ian’s Evergreen Plantation to find our very first not-plastic-and-metal Christmas tree. Did I mention it was cold? Free hot chocolate and a bonfire helped to take off the chill.

The Great Christmas Tree Adventure 2010

So did running around like goofballs on the play sets.

The Great Christmas Tree Adventure 2010

We took a hayride just for the sake of taking a hay ride, but one of the staff told us the best pickins’ were to be found out front of the plantation.

The Great Christmas Tree Adventure 2010

It didn’t take long to find the perfect tree. I’d worried that this part would be messy, but Beloved handled it in a manly way. “Hey Dad, don’t poke yer eye out!”

The Great Christmas Tree Adventure 2010

The boys were fascinated with the whole process, including the free “Christmas wrapping”.

The Great Christmas Tree Adventure 2010

“We are ridiculously proud of ourselves for going into the forest and hunting down and conquering this tree!”

The Great Christmas Tree Adventure 2010

It’s a little soft because I maxed out my ISO at 1600, but there’s just not a lot of natural light to be had in December. And besides, Lucas and noise just seem to go hand in hand.

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He’s almost tall enough to reach the top of the tree. How did that happen?

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This? Is worth everything.

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So here’s my final thoughts about the natural versus artificial debate — now that I’m all professional about the formerly-live trees and all.

  • It was not nearly as much work as I thought it would be to go out and cut down our own tree. Tying it to the roof, also something I’d dreaded, was a non-issue.
  • I was also pleasantly surprised by how easy it was to find a perfect tree. I’d expected to have to settle, but there were many, many great trees to choose from. Ours is perfect and full and lovely.
  • It’s easy to underestimate the size of a tree in the forest. Using Beloved’s 5’11” height as a yardstick, I was aiming for 6 1/2′ to 7′ tall. I thought we’d settled for one on the small side, but it very nearly reaches the ceiling. Did I mention it’s perfect?
  • I’m really glad we went the extra mile to actually head out into the wilds to cut our own tree, instead of just getting one from the corner lot. It was definitely worth the effort, and made the whole experience a memorable adventure.
  • I Swiffered up needles not once, not twice, not three times but FOUR times in the first four hours. I expected some needles, but yeesh! Beloved, who had expressed early reservations about the mess and amount of care required of a natural tree based on experience with them during his childhood, could not resist throwing in a few “I told you so!”s, even though he does admit to liking the final product very much.
  • The boys, who to my surprise were strongly advocating the purchase of a new artificial tree, also agree unanimously that this is the best! tree! ever! (I hope we have not set the bar too high for future years!)
  • The glorious and festive tree smell that everyone goes on about? Meh. Smells kind of like my grandfather’s car from the mid-1970s. Not bad, but not quite what I was expecting.

All in all, we definitely made the right choice and found the perfect tree. Another successful example of living my life according to the will of the bloggy peeps! 😉

Enjoy an “olde fashioned” Christmas in Manotick this weekend

Looking for a great way to kick off the countdown to Christmas? Why not come on down to Manotick this weekend and enjoy the village that has completely captured my heart?

Manotick Olde Fashioned Christmas

On December 4 and 5, the village transforms itself into a Christmas village with horse-drawn carriage rides, a crafter’s market, breakfast with Father and Mary Christmas, strolling carollers and yes, a Santa parade. There’s also a Victorian penny sale, face painting, pictures with Santa and a family Christmas party with games and crafts. Seriously, can you imagine anything more delightful? And the weather should be perfect, cool but clear and perfect for hot chocolate and apple cider! Click this link for a .pdf with the full schedule.

If you do come out to Manotick, make sure you check out some of the great little shops and businesses. There’s My Toy Shop, a great little independent toy store, and The Gingerbread Man — a bakery that specializes in, you guessed it, gingerbread cookies and houses. Yum! And don’t miss the Manotick Village Butcher for locally grown, sustainable and ethically raised meats that are completely affordable and cut to your specification.

So you know I love Santa parades, right? We find one to attend each year. But this year, the boys will actually be participating in the Manotick Santa parade, riding in their school float. I don’t know who is more excited, me or the boys! Stay tuned, I’m guessing there may be a photo op or two to be had! 🙂

Christmas Parades of Eastern Ontario – the 2010 Edition!

Edited to add: Click this link for the 2018 Santa Claus and holiday parade info!

Last leaves drifting from the trees? Check.

Halloween safely behind us, tucked into bed with a sore belly from too much candy? Check.

Weather turned cold, grey and damp — and snowy?!? Check.

Yay, it must be time for my annual guide to the Santa, Christmas and Holiday Parades of the National Capital region!!

This is the fifth anniversary of my bloggy parade preview, and it’s of one of my favourite posts to write each year. It’s a fun challenge tracking down all the big city and small town events in Eastern Ontario and the Outaouis, and gets me in the festive spirit almost as early as Costco has their Christmas trees on sale!

Here’s what’s happening in 2010, in chronological order.
Continue reading “Christmas Parades of Eastern Ontario – the 2010 Edition!”

Ottawa Family Fun: Pumpkin picking!

On Sunday morning, I wanted to give the boys a bit of a break from the chaos of half-empty boxes and moving mania so we decided to set off in search of pumpkins. Sure, we could have picked some up at the grocery store, and Farm Boy has some really unusual white pumpkins this year.

But, ever since Tristan was wee and dressed for his first Halloween in an adorable baby pumpkin costume, we’ve been making an event of pumpkin acquisition. There was a farm out at Cedarview and Strandherd for a few years, and we’ve been to the Abbeyhill Farms stand on old highway 16 for the last few years. This year, we discovered the wonderful pick-yer-own pumpkin patch at Miller’s Farm and Market – another one of Ottawa’s Hidden Treasures!

Conveniently, Miller’s is just up the road from us, on Rideau Valley Drive just south of Manotick. It’s a great little place! You can choose a pre-picked pumpkin from the selection near the parking lot, or pony up $1 per person and hop on a tractor-pulled hay wagon for a ride back to the pumpkin patch where you can pick your own.

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The kids loved the ride out to the pumpkin patch, and I loved the idea of actually wandering through the patch, stepping over vines and inspecting fat orange beauties for just the perfect pumpkin. Speaking of beauties, here’s mine on the hay wagon.

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I’d promised that we’d get three pumpkins, one for each boy. But, Beloved had to work on Sunday, and I simply couldn’t figure out how we’d keep three boys (at least one of whom posed a flight risk) AND three heavy pumpkins from rolling off the edge of the open-sided wagon. Not to mention getting three boys and three heavy pumpkins OFF the wagon and into the car! So, despite finding three perfect pumpkins in the field, we “picked” only one and chose two more suitable candidates from the pre-picked selection adjacent to the parking lot.

Pumpkin picking 2010

The staff at Miller’s were amazing. When I staggered to the “checkout” to pay for my pumpkins with one arm holding a fat, ripe beauty and another holding Lucas by the collar of his jacket, the pleasant cashier was happy to let me pay for three pumpkins sight unseen and trust me to choose the appropriate size when loading them into my car. And the prices are very reasonable — the pumpkins in the picture above would have been in the $4 to $5 range.

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In addition to pumpkins, Miller’s offers a selection of fresh produce and products including mums, apples, cider, pears, squash, gourds, ornamental corn, straw bales, corn stalks, turnips, onions, potatoes, fresh garlic, sweet corn and even cut sunflowers, and there’s a little gift shop on site, too. There’s also a corn maze and hay bales for jumping — fun stuff!

If you’re looking for a lovely expedition into the country and a great way to support local farmers while entertaining the family, I can’t say enough nice things about Miller’s Farm and Market. They’re worth the drive to Manotick!

If you go:
Miller’s Farm and Market is at 6158 Rideau Valley Drive, less than 3 km south of the village of Manotick. Hayrides are on weekends only, but the Farm is open every day.

Five places to take great fall photos in Ottawa

Last week on Twitter, Vicky was asking for recommendations on places to take great fall family pictures around Ottawa, and I told her I had a post half-written on the topic. It took me another week to get it all out there in a coherent fashion! Now that the rain has let up for a few days, maybe we’ll be able to get outside and enjoy those fall colours before they wash away!!

Here’s my recommendation for five great places to visit for fall family pictures in and around Ottawa:

1. Hogsback Falls

A favourite of mine in any season, it’s especially lovely in autumn. If you climb the hill just before you get to the Baseline overpass, there’s some terrific old ruins up there.

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2. Stony Swamp in Barrhaven

The light is gorgeous, especially if you love those rich yellow leaves. Bonus: lime kiln ruins!

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3. Majors Hill Park

Get your leafy fix with a side order of Peace Tower in the background. Spectacular!

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4. Mud Lake

If it’s nice this weekend, I’m hoping we can make it out for the hour or so it takes to hike around this gorgeous beauty hidden in the urban west end.

Fall colours and Canada Goose

5. Blacks Rapids

Easy access to a Rideau Lock station without the downtown parking trouble!

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Other great ideas that I can’t illustrate with photos from my own collection: Andrew Haydon Park, Gatineau Park, Mer Bleu Bog, Petrie Island… damn, but we live in a gorgeous city, don’t we? Got a favourite I didn’t mention? Share it in the comments!

The light is gentle and warm this time of year, and the rain has finally ceased – let’s get out and enjoy it before the (shudder) snow flies!

Our house, is a very very very fine house!

It’s official!! Conditions have been waived and agreements have been signed — come hell or high water, we’re moving to Manotick a little more than 60 days from today!!

Wanna see the new house? It’s beee-yooo-ti-ful! It’s a three-plus-two bedroom bungalow that was built in 1968, and it sits on about a half-acre of land on the northern part of Long Island. I don’t have any interior pics to share yet, but here’s the outside:

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Lookit that veranda! It stretches almost the entire length of the house. Have I ever told you that I have a porch fetish? As I was paging through the MLS and FSBO listings looking for a place, the three things I’d check were: is it a four bedroom? What does the kitchen look like? And, does it have a porch? I love love love me some porches.

Here, tell me this is not a porch to die for:

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And? And!! You can’t quite see it, but at the end of that long and lovely veranda, there’s a Separate! Private! Porch! off the master bedroom. I kid you not. When I saw that porch on the online listing, I just about fell over myself in my hurry to make an appointment for a closer look.

And if you think the porch made *my* head explode, imagine the reaction of the boys when they got a look at this back yard:

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Yeah baby, that’s a play structure AND a tree house AND a tire swing. As my mother quite rightly observed, Tristan has been asking for a tree house since he was old enough to talk. During the first showing, where we brought along not only both my parents but also all three kids, the boys ran around the house saying, “This is our dream home, this is our dream home!”

Oh yeah, and it’s nice on the inside, too! Like I said, three bedrooms upstairs, plus your usual living room (with fireplace) and dining room and kitchen (which has a patio walk-out to the back yard), all in lovely blond hardwood, and plenty of bright windows. In the basement, there’s a family room and a bedroom, and another room that can’t officially be called a fifth bedroom because it has no windows so they call it a second family room, but it will actually be used as a huge bedroom for one of the boys.

At first, the idea of putting the boys in a basement bedroom really worried me — but then I realized that since it’s a bungalow, they’re actually just one floor below me instead of two, and that made it seem much more reasonable. Plus, the basement bedrooms are HUGE! We’ve already decided that the northern half of the basement will simply be decreed “boy land” and they will have plenty of room to grow — and we have room for an upstairs office/guest room as well as a room for Lucas.

Speaking of the boys, I’m going to go ahead and register them in their new school (which has some spectacular results based on the latest EQAO testing) for the first day of school. It will be a bit of a pain during the transition phase, but less traumatic by far than having them change in mid-year — especially since Simon entering Grade One will have enough transition on his plate as it is!

We take possession at the end of October, so wish us many, many happy house-selling vibes. We list it tomorrow and the sign is already on the lawn – eek! I have a whole ‘nother post to write about the absolutely insane 10 days we just put in to get everything ready.

But for now, do you love that porch — erm, I mean, house! — or what? 🙂

On househunting (part one of many)

Those of you who follow me on twitter have already been privy to the angst, but I think I’ve exceeded the satisfaction that 140 characters worth of hand-wringing can afford me.

So, we’ve officially started looking for a new home. Okay, I’ve officially started looking for a new home. Beloved watches the endeavour in the same manner one might watch an inevitable but slow-moving disaster — peeking through splayed fingers, knowing that chaos lies ahead and helpless to avert it yet helpless to look away.

And, obsessive personality that I am, househunting is no longer just a hobby but a vocation that must be lived and breathed every waking (and many sleeping) moment. Once upon a time, just a few short weeks ago, I was content to occasionally peruse the latest listings on Grapevine, to noncommittally browse MLS a few times a month. I even managed to attend an open house or two, without igniting the white-hot nuclear fire of my obsession.

Until last week.

Suddenly, it’s all I can think about. Houses, houses, houses! School zones, property taxes, ensuite baths and finished basements — bring it! Talk to me about it, show me more more more properties, I can’t get enough about HOUSES FOR SALE!

(Don’t you feel bad for poor Beloved? While he is vaguely on board with the idea of us at some point in our lives moving to a different house, I’m quite sure that he does not want to discuss it every hour of the day. Is this a man/woman thing, or just us?)

Truth be told, I’m not even sure why I’m so fixated on buying a house all of a sudden. I love our house, I truly do. I love the location, with a park across the street and the boys’ school within view of my bedroom window. I love the morning sunlight that floods into the four windows in my bedroom like a tsunami each morning. I love the large yard (when I’m not cursing the overgrown garden, that is!) and the new hardwood floors, and just about everything else about it.

Except the kitchen. I loathe the tiny little galley kitchen with its abject lack of counter space and the fact that we can barely fit a table for six in there with no room for company. And I would really like a fourth bedroom, so the boys don’t have to share. If I could somehow think of a reno that would plunk an expanded kitchen and another bedroom onto our existing lovely townhouse, I’d do it — but it’s just not possible.

You know what I really don’t want, though? A monster house. Why are all the newer homes, built since 2000 or so, so friggin’ HUGE? Really, we don’t need a living room AND a family room AND an office AND an eat-in kitchen AND a dining room all on the same floor. I’d be fine with a kitchen big enough for a really big table and no dining room — in fact, we use our current dining room as a play/computer room.

We went to see one this week that I really loved. It was in Old Barrhaven, a neighbourhood I never really considered before but have become quite interested in lately. It was built in 1978, but was all newly decorated and very fresh looking. It had a living room and dining room and a kitchen with space to move but none wasted, and a lovely little sunken family room. It had four bedrooms, and a partially finished basement. It had me at floor-to-ceiling windows in the living room and dining room, but kept me enchanted with character and a simple modesty. And when I saw the affordable price, the circle of covetousness was complete.

In the end, though, the thing that so endeared me to it ultimately crossed it off my list — it was so modest that it only had one full bathroom. Try as I might, I simply could not imagine us functioning with five people and only one shower/bath combination — so not going to happen. Sigh.

In the past week, I’ve viewed the MLS listings for four-bedroom homes in Barrhaven so many times that I’ve practically memorized them. This one will take too much work, that one is on a busy road, this one has a truly wretched floor plan (what were they thinking) and that one just doesn’t speak to me. I need more new listings, why aren’t there any new listings, I’ve clicked on the site five times today and there are still no new listings!!

Of course, if I ever actually find a house worthy of buying, we’re farked. Even though I’ve been told that three-bedroom, three-bathroom town houses in Barrhaven are a red-hot commodity right now, I am weak with fear at the thought of the effort required to sell our house. Oh my sweet lord, the fixing and the painting and the de-cluttering and the (whimper) keeping it clean for viewings? Shoot me now. To say nothing of actually packing and moving. Me, who is neurotic with fear over change. Oy.

So if you know of anyone who is selling my dream home in my price range and who wants to buy my current home sight-unseen with my assurances that it’s a really lovely place? Let me know, please.

Until then, got a househunting story to share? I’m looking for something to occupy my attention in between clicking refresh on the real estate websites.

Ottawa’s Hidden Treasures: Andrew Haydon Park

I‘ve spent so much time this summer blogging about other places that I’ve completely forgotten one of my favourite bloggy activities: telling you about the fantastic family hangouts we’ve discovered here in Ottawa for summertime fun.

If you are looking for a fabulous free activity on a hot summer day in Ottawa, you should definitely check out Andrew Haydon Park off Carling Avenue just west of Pinecrest (about a kilometer west and on the other side of the street from the Colosseum Theatre.)

Andrew Haydon park sprawls down the edge of the Ottawa river with beautiful walking trails, duck (well, mostly geese) ponds, a waterfall, a bandshell, and several play structures. It’s anchored on one end by the Nepean Sailing Club and one of our favourite splash parks on the other end.

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Bring a blanket (but there are benches and picnic tables on site), a snack, a handful of buckets and a change of clothes (there are also washrooms on site) and expect your kids to get wet. And sandy. Very, very sandy!

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This isn’t the typical suburban splash pad with shooting fountains and dumping buckets; instead, the kids have to pump the water up (or at least throw a switch to get a burst of water) and it trails down through a series of canals and water wheels.

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There’s a mechano-lego-builder inspired vibe to the play structures and getting the water flowing that appeals to all three of the boys, and I’m always grateful to find an activity that engages all three of them equally. (It’s not always easy to bridge the gap between two-and-a-half and eight years old!)

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And best of all, it’s completely free. Bring a snack or a lunch and enjoy a wander through the rest of this gorgeous but often overlooked park and it’s marshy waddle into the Ottawa river.

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If you go: Andrew Haydon Park is located off Carling Avenue at Holly Acres Road. The splash park is near the eastern-most parking lot (and a long walk from the western-most one — be warned!) Parking and admission are free!

Blog Out Loud Ottawa rocks the house in 2010

Last night was the second annual edition of Ottawa’s premiere (and only!) showcase for local blogger talent, Blog Out Loud Ottawa. This year’s BOLO was a smash hit — you only need to skim the twitter feed to see how energized and excited and plain old happy everybody seems to be after last night’s event. I had an amazing time chatting with Angela and Amy and Justin and Rebecca and Lara and meeting Tania and Glenn and Allison and so many others.

I love events like these, because they demonstrate that we have some hilarious, thoughtful and highly creative writers and readers here in Ottawa. From Nat’s f-bomb filled rant about the wasps in her basement and her resulting multiple personality disorder to Spydergrrl’s manifesto on embracing her geekiness to Stay at Home Maven’s recounting of her trauma in the cookie aisle… we were rolling on the floor all night long.

There were more serious and introspective posts, too, like Lynn’s sweet tribute to her growing daughter (oh, I hear ya!) and Don and Jenn of FoodiePrint’s post about Food and Generosity and Amy’s beautiful story of the night she and her son didn’t see any meteors.

And events like BOLO are all about discovering the voices that you haven’t heard before but wish you had known about earlier, like Nadine from Adorkable Thespian. I loved her reading of her post “Why do you want to act” because she touched on themes fundamental to why I blog. Although she’s speaking about acting, she perfectly describes how I often feel about blogging and living the life I do on the Internet:

Acting was a lovely escape for an extroverted, exhibitionist who wanted to hide, but thrived on being seen. I never felt so sane as when I was on stage, safely tucked inside another person who wasn’t me.

“Why do you want to act?”?

“Because I’m an emotionally troubled attention whore.”

And her blog tagline is “If awkward isn’t the new charming, I’m screwed.” Love it!

If you missed it last night, or if you were there and just want a recap of all the really excellent stories that were shared, Lynn has links to everyone’s posts up on the BOLO blog. And speaking of Lynn — props to you for organizing an amazing night out. Everything ran seamlessly, and you did a fabulous job. Thank you!

BOLO 2010 - view from the stage

I struggled for quite a while to choose a post to read myself. I think one of my best-written posts of the last year was the saga of the day I totaled the van, but the story as a whole is a bit of a downer, so I went with something a little, um, different.

So not only did I stand up in front of a room of mostly strangers and read the post I wrote last year about my trip to Bra Chic and my fancy-ass new cherry red bra (oh yes I did), but for my big finish I lifted my t-shirt and showed them my still-much-loved cherry red beauty. Because once you’ve announced your band and cup size to the crowd, really, what shame is left?

Thanks again to Lynn and to everyone who participated last night, and especially to those who took the time to come over and say hi. Can we do it all over again soon?

Ottawa Rocks!

Did the earth move for you, too, baby?

That was pretty cool, eh? I’ve been through one other minor earthquake that I remember, when I was a kid, but the one yesterday centred just north of Ottawa was much stronger. It was the first quake during which I was aware at the time what was happening.

I was, of all things, getting a pedicure! I was sitting at the little table, reading my book with my toes in the little dryer, actually composing a post in my head about pedicures and having people in a servitude position and how uncomfortable that makes me. At first I thought the noise was construction or a big truck rumbling past on Woodroffe, but when the shaking was sustained I immediately knew what was going on. The tiny oriental women in the beauty shop scattered like marbles, most of them running to huddle in the doorway until I pointed out that the doorway in the middle of the plate glass window might not be a good place to be. Since none of the nail polish bottles had even fallen off their little shelves, I was more amused by the experience than anything, and it wasn’t until later that I realized perhaps I was a little too cavalier about the whole thing.

What really fascinated me, though, was watching the drama play out on Twitter. It may be a useless time sink 99% of the time, but I was hugely impressed by the speed with which information was circulated on Twitter yesterday. Within 10 minutes of the quake, I knew that people had felt it as far afield as Toronto and Sudbury. Within 15 minutes, I knew it was a 5.5 magnitude (later downgraded to 5.0) quake and the epicentre was near Buckingham, about 20 minutes north of downtown Ottawa.

What really made me laugh was that as soon as it was clear that nobody was seriously hurt and that no significant damage was done, the quake humour started. Here are my fave 10 tweets from yesterday.

From scottcoates: 5.5 quake downgraded to a 5. We did stick the landing ok, I blame the French judge.

From DenVan: Hmm. Toronto felt it too? There’s gotta be a G20 connection. OMG: it was a #FAKELAKEQUAKE

From Phillippec: Quebec is finally separating! #earthquake

From ThatsTeenTalk: “What’s that!! An earthquake?” “YES!! RUN!!!” “OMG, WAIT” *runs to the computer and writes on twitter* EARTHQUAAAAAAKE!!! #thatsteentalk

From melle: Dear California: You do that regularly? DUDE.

From jamiecalder: .@WickedLPixie We’re fine. We’re all fine here now, thank you. How are you? We had a reactor leak. Large leak, very dangerous.

From Glen_McGregor: Everyone talking earthquake and #CBC Radio is running interview with a children’s book illustrator. Memories of epic #fail on 9/11.

From thornley: RT @kylemcinnes: Ottawa government buildings evacuated. Productivity unaffected. #earthquake #smgov

From ALL_CAPS: My television fell onto my MacBook Pro and broke my DSLR. Guess I’ll have to file a claim and get new ones.

From mynameiskate: RT @RobCottingham: In solidarity with Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto, I’m wandering through the house and knocking things off shelves.

I simply couldn’t tear myself away from the computer! (Erm, okay, maybe that’s also the case on any random Wednesday afternoon, but still…) I was truly fascinated both by the earthquake itself, and by the way people were reacting to it. It took less than 90 minutes for this “I survived Toronto Earthquake 2010” t-shirt to appear. (I’m not sure if I’m more bemused disgusted by the blatantly exploitative capitalism or the branding of it as “Toronto’s Earthquake.”)

I think both the Ottawa Citizen and CTV Ottawa did an excellent job in collating and disseminating information on the fly. Other organizations were not so, um, forward-thinking in their use of social media tools in a crisis. Julie Harrison tweeted “Dear @ottcatholicDSB — it is times like THIS when you’re supposed to tweet something! Let us parents know what to do. Pick up or no?” Wouldn’t this have been a simple, easy way to reach hundreds, maybe thousands of anxious parents? No, you’re not going to reach all of them — but I personally was chatting with more than a dozen who would have appreciated the effort.

In the end, I think this comic sums up my afternoon just about perfectly. (Click on it to embiggen!)

What were you doing when the earth started shaking?