Sentient

We had a 2:1 parent - child ratio this past weekend. The girls were invited back to the cottage for the weekend, in order to give P and H a surprise visit actually. So at home it has been a little quieter for B6, Andrew and me. B6 was a little disappointed when he heard where they were off to, but we have kept him busy and had a good time doing it.

On Saturday the poor lad was subjected to a morning of shopping, but it was in a variety of locations including Sugar Mountain! It wasn’t my idea, but Andrew’s choice of candy shows that it was strictly for research purposes. They came out with cinnamon balls, aniseed balls, cola balls, sour apple (B’s choice) and Turkish delight (to please me!). After the shopping we decided to make use of our new family membership for Ottawa’s public pools and went to an outdoor one close by. I did laps, B and A went off the diving boards.

On Sunday mornings during the summer several roads are closed off to cars so that bike riders and in-line skaters can use them. We haven’t made use of this privilege before so the three of us set off yesterday morning. Bear in mind that Andrew has been riding to work for a few weeks now, I have been averaging one bike ride a year. We had an initial hitch when Andrew promoted B6 from his cool red bike up to the next in line. It is the perfect size for him, but it is not so cool and it is purple! Convincing him that a bigger bike would make the ride much easier was not helped by the fact that across the road there was a boy riding his big, cool, black bike.

Once we were down the street, through the park and over the bridge, the tears had dried and we were all enjoying riding on the road beside the canal. There were all sorts of people out, those taking it easy, those training for the next triathlon and everyone in between. We made it down to the market and decided to wander around downtown for a while. The ride home was a little tougher; it was up hill in places and into the wind but we all made it and agreed it was manageable and fun.

The weekend is over but we still have only one child here. The girls are having a few more days away. B6 and I got out the bikes again, and rode to the pool for my laps, his jumps off the boards! The ride was nowhere near as long as yesterday so we handled it with ease.

As you probably gathered swimming is a major focus while at the cottage. Even though our hosts had their swimming lessons they were happy to swim for hours with us too. Early in the week the Bi-Lake Swim Meet was on and competitors from a neighbouring lake turned up to swim against “our” kids. B6 was too young to compete but all the girls were involved.

During the week we swam for fun, the children made up all kinds of challenges and competitions and were in and out of the water all day. N and I challenged ourselves to swim across the bay each day. We were not sure of the distance but we wanted a swim similar to the laps we do at the pool. Over the weekend, while the dads were still there, Andrew spotted for us and after that a couple of the children agreed to paddle along beside us while we swam. After a few days we increased our distance a bit and found that we were still handling it fairly easily. It was so nice to swim without having to turn around every 25 metres. If we timed it well and swam mid afternoon the top 15cm of the water was warm and it was just when we pushed our arms down and round that we felt the cold water underneath.

On Saturday the club held its own swimming regatta. This was the one everyone had been looking forward to. Although the day dawned cloudy and grey the races began and our girls and boy competed in plenty. The first and second place swimmers in each race qualified for the Tri-Lake Meet to come the following week. I’m not sure how many ribbons our crew won between them but we were very impressed with each of them. Half way through the schedule the rain started coming down but the races continued.

I had done both of mine by then, the front crawl and back stroke for over 35s, so I just stood in the rain and cheered for the girls. The final event was the long distance swim, which all four girls did before the lightning struck and the event was finally called off. Our very wet crew piled into the boat and headed for the cottage where we lit the fire and dried out.

Summer is off to a good start. We have visited four back yard pools so far. Granted it rained the whole time we were at one so we didn’t go in. We have some wonderful friends with pools but none of them live within a 35 km range of us. Not that I’m complaining, we love to see them and to swim in their pools. And of course if we’re going that far we can’t just go for a short while can we?

L12 continued her Powerswim course today; she is still enjoying it and learning new things. Immediately after she finishes the pool has an hour for lap swimming so I swam my kilometre. I should be able to do that most days this week. B6 and A10 started attending the day camp at our church today and both gave positive reports when I picked them up.

Summer time and the livin’ is easy.
Well not exactly easy, but different, refreshing and a little more relaxed. The house is getting a good “spring clean”?? The end of term became so busy during the days and evenings that the phrase, “I’ll get to that in the holidays” became common place for me.

Over the Canada Day long weekend we spent time with friends; I scrapbooked and Andrew and B6 were invited by B’s soccer coach and son to attend two of the FIFA U20 games. On Sunday we drove out into the country to one of the neatest, most ordered little farms I’ve ever seen. One of our friends, very near and dear to our girls, was getting baptised in the pool at the farm. Her church does not have a baptism tank so they hold their baptisms in the summer out at the farm of one of their members. Once again it was a delight and privilege to see a young lady we know and love proclaim her love for Christ and her commitment to follow Him always. Afterwards there was dessert and swimming for those who did not mind the chilly water.

I was taken on a little tour of the farm and I saw the huge vegetable garden with rows of flowers interspersed with the tomatoes, corn, rhubarb, peppers and other healthy looking vegies. At the end of the garden we could look out on the huge rolls of freshly cut hay and see the cows wandering in from the field in a row. The one in front mooed the whole way as if calling the others to follow. The last cow in stopped at the game and turned around to check all were in. We were sure she was going to shut the gate behind her.

I managed a little gardening at the beginning of the week, I have to do it in short bursts as my back is giving me trouble. At least I have all the herbs in. It would have been better if they had been in a month ago but I’m still hoping to be able to pick from my own basil, parsley, coriander, sage, oregano and thyme. Laura began her Power swim class today and has learnt racing turns and dives. Straight after her class we headed out to visit friends with the hope of swimming in their new pool but instead we watched the rain fall into it. Conveniently the rain stopped just as we began our softball game tonight, a good game but we lost.