Saturday morning swim with friends

This is becoming something of a ritual. Get up way too early on a Saturday, then drive across town to swim with a gang of buddies. It’s now warm enough the Candace and Filippo have joined us. Today three people brought buoys, so the keeners set up a triangular 250m course. It was definitely a little more interesting than the usual back and forth between the rocks. Nadine had posted posted a funny story about forgetting her swim coat and needing to stop for gas while wearing only her bathing suit and towel the day before, as well as a memory of me in my Star Trek bathing suit. That led to lots of jokes and promises to wear our respective Star Trek gear this morning. I remembered, but her Uhura bathrobe is still hanging up at home, and she (once again) has only a towel to wear home





Tom decided set himself the goal of swimming 3k, which is the same distance as Bring on the Bay, a huge open water even that would normally take place in just a few weeks, going right past our spot. We are thinking about doing our own version soon, with those who are super keen doing the King Wolf swum (either 5 or 11 K) instead. Nadine is the race organizer for that one, so it would be a fun way to make up for an event we all enjoy but won’t be doing this year due to COVID restrictions.

There was a lot of chatting this week, even in the water. I think the social isolation is getting to all of us.






Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Shedding junk in my work space

Image
I probably shouldn’t use my bedroom as my workspace, but it is big, with two large windows and a little balcony. Plus, I share the open-concept main floor with my daughter, who is doing her university courses on-line, so we often need to be in different areas to be able to concentrate to conversations on our computers. My bedroom is also my favourite crafting space, and it is where we store things that need to go to the charity shop, So it can get pretty junky if I’m not disciplined (and frequently I am not - have you ever met a crafter who didn’t have a stash or two of yarn, fabric, or whatever?). Today, though, I made a serious effort to deal with both my bedroom and my back-up work space, the kitchen. I took down my old curtains and hardware an installed a new rod and curtains that have been sitting in the bedroom since I bought them before Christmas. Now the stepladder, the curtains, miscellaneous screwdrivers, and the storage bags can go away, while the old curtains and hardwa
Read more

The COVID-19 new normal?

Image
I went to my second-last swim practice for a while. There was more social distancing than usual as we didn’t all crowd into the showers afterwards - opting instead to wait our turn while talking about measures being taken in our workplaces. That’s when you realize just how complicated running an economy can be. One colleague works in government procurement so her office is scrambling to acquire everything from medical equipment to additional secure bandwidth so employees across the country can work from home. Friends from the barn where Fancy lives have posted that there are lots more walkers on the streets and hiking trails. It appears that families are looking for things to do that allow social distancing while getting some exercise, especially for the kids. The introvert on the hiking trails found it a little crowded for her comfort, but the extrovert said the neighbourhood felt much friendlier than usual as everyone passed greetings as they walked. Local media are even starting t
Read more

The World Without Us - Thoughts for Earth Day

Image
I walked down the street to get take-out food tonight for the Wednesday Canadian Kitchen Party in support of Canadian restaurants (it’s happening again next week on Facebook, with some well-known Canadian musicians - join if you can). It was at the end of what would normally be rush hour, and it was eerie. There were few cars and fewer pedestrians. I could hear leaves rustling along the street, papers flapping on a construction site and even the sounds of bicycle chains against the gears as cyclists went by. There were lots of bird songs on a street where birds are rarely heard (though over the years I have spotted a woodpecker and a sharpshinned hawk). The sky was clear. It got me thinking about The World Without Us, by Alan Weisman. It’s a frightening but beautiful exploration of the earth’s recuperative powers after various disasters that take humans out of the equation. As I work towards next steps for my own staff, and for development assistance programming in hard-hit countries
Read more