Summer

Beaver watching at Miquelon Lake Provincial Park

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Earlier this week, we spent three days camping at Miquelon Lake Provincial Park. We hiked a little over 9 km (5.6 miles) one day and about half of that the following day, but by far the most fun we had was an hour spent watching a family of beavers hard at work. We came upon them quite by accident while enjoying an evening stroll alongside the Grebe Pond and stayed until my camera battery died! Of the many photos that I took, this one is my favourite.

The North American beaver, officially Canada’s national animal, is this continent’s largest rodent. The saying “busy as a beaver” is very apt. As we watched, the industrious critters constantly crossed the path in front of us on a well-worn trail from the water’s edge to the hillside above us. There we could hear them using their long orange incisors to busily cut branches from the trees that they felled before dragging them down to the shoreline.

Look at the size of the load that this one was hauling!

We’ve encountered a beaver in the water several times when we’ve been kayaking. If we get too close for comfort, it slaps its tail on the water with a thunderous splash and dives beneath the surface. At first, these ones were clearly surprised to see us watching them from just a few feet away, but they didn’t seem too bothered by our quiet presence. The young ones were the most cautious, first sitting still in the edge of the brush and peeking out before quickly scooting across in front of us.

With its big, webbed hind feet and its rudder-like tail, it’s no wonder that the beaver is such a good swimmer. Not only did they drag the branches down to the water’s edge, but then they swam across the pond with them to add them to their lodges on the other side.

We had thought that this would be our last camping adventure of the year, but we had such a good time that we’re thinking of trying to squeeze in one more. As I mentioned in my last post, I’m never quite ready to let go of summer!

How can it be fall already?

/ edebock / 7 Comments

Do you remember when you were a kid and summer seemed to go on forever? Me too, but now it seems to fly by in a flash. I have a love/hate relationship with fall. I love the crisp autumn air and the changing colours, but fall means winter is just around the corner and I’m never ready for that!

I try to hold onto summer for as long as I can, but the signs are all around me. Days are getting shorter and leaves are beginning to change colour. Teachers and students are back in school and soon our regular fall/winter activities will be in full swing again. Still, I have a hard time accepting the changing season. Reality definitely hit this morning though. When I first looked out it was -1ºC (30.2ºF) and there was frost on the roofs across the street! Frost in the first week of September!

For me, summer seemed to go by faster than ever this year. Perhaps that’s because with all the traveling we did to far flung places like Armenia, Germany, and Alaska, we didn’t spend as much time doing the things we usually do during the summer months. We did manage to fit in a fair amount of golf and we hope to do more of that in the few weeks before the course closes, but we’ve only spent 11 nights in our trailer, less than half our usual 25 or more. We are planning to get out for one more short trip, but after that it will be time for hubby to winterize the trailer. We’ve only had the kayak on the water four times, so I sure hope we can do that again too.

As a retired teacher, the beginning of September always feels like the start of a new year to me. As such, it’s a good time to set some goals or make some “new years” resolutions. Sharing them with you will make me more accountable and help me actually accomplish them, so thank you for that!

When I think about this summer’s golf and kayaking season, one thing that stood out to me was the fact that over the past few years, I’ve lost strength in my shoulders and upper arms. No surprise, as I used to lift weights all winter. Doing that is more than I can handle now, but I need to do something, so I’ve decided to add some work with dumbbells to the morning exercises that are already an established part of my year round routine. This website has some good information and exercises for seniors, so I’m going to do a set of the 5 upper body weight training exercises every morning Monday to Friday.

It’s been ages since I last published a Fashion Friday post, so that’s also something that I plan to resume doing on a semi regular basis. I haven’t shopped for clothes in quite awhile, but I have been paying attention to what’s on trend for fall and here are a few things that I’ve been noticing…

  • chocolate brown, lots of chocolate brown
  • off-white and neutral tones
  • blazers with jeans
  • bulky, oversized sweaters
  • capes
  • dark wash jeans in almost any style, but not torn or distressed
  • suede boots, shoes and handbags
  • loafers and mary janes
  • statement belts
  • statement necklaces
  • scarves, both silk and knit

While lots of these are very wearable and make me want to rush out and start shopping, my first step will be my semi annual closet changeover (but not until after that last camping trip!) At that point, I’ll take a close look at what I already have, then figure out what, if anything, I actually need. Then I might look for a few pieces that fit with my existing wardrobe and that I’m likely to wear for more than one season, pieces that fit my style adjectives… classy, comfortable, casual, confident, and authentic.

What about you? Are you happy or sad that summer is over? Do you have any goals or plans for the new season? Will you be wearing any of this season’s trends?

What I wear during a heat wave

/ edebock / 2 Comments

logo-by-samHere in Alberta, we’re enjoying (enduring?) a stretch of unusually hot weather. Midday temperatures are hitting the low to mid 30s C (mid 80s to mid 90s F). I know that this might not seem overly hot to many of you, but for those of us who live in an area that is described as having a cool, continental climate, this is hot! The heat warning issued by Environment Canada calls this a “prolonged heat event” and suggests that “very high temperature conditions are expected to pose an elevated risk of heat illnesses, such as heat stroke or heat exhaustion.”

Personally, you won’t hear me complaining about the heat. I often feel cold when everyone around me is warm, so I don’t mind a bit of heat for a change. Golfing this afternoon with barely a breeze moving the flags on the course was just about enough for me though! So how do I dress during a heat wave?

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A lot of women my age (I’m 71) aren’t comfortable wearing shorts and/or sleeveless tops, but when it’s hot, you’ll find me wearing both. Light colours reflect the heat and loose fitting tops are more comfortable than something form-fitting or clingy. Although the top I’m wearing in the photos is a made of a polyester blend, a breathable, lightweight fabric such as linen or cotton would be an even better choice.

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A wide-brimmed hat and sandals complete my outdoor wear. I exchange the hat for a ball cap when I’m golfing, hiking, or kayaking.

You’ll notice that, except for a simple pair of earrings, I’m not wearing any accessories. When it’s really hot, I don’t want anything extra against my skin. If you looked really close, you’d also see that I’m makeup free. When it comes to cosmetics, I’m a minimalist at the best of times, but when it’s hot, I prefer not to wear any at all. Of course, If I was going to an event, especially an indoor event that required a higher level of dress, I would probably add a necklace and/or bracelet and some makeup.

Finally, for outdoor wear, regardless of the event or activity, there’s one item that is absolutely essential… sunscreen! The dermatologist I saw recently recommends a minimum of SPF 30, but I always wear one with SPF 50+.

Why I write about fashion

/ edebock / 7 Comments

logo-by-samLately, especially on weeks like this one when writer’s block seems to have set in and I have a hard time thinking of a topic for Friday’s post, I’ve been pondering why it is that I choose to write about fashion. After all, I was the awkward teen with zero fashion sense who, even when I stretched my babysitting and allowance dollars to buy what the “in” girls were wearing, felt self-consciously out of place and wanted to fade into the background. Fashion just wasn’t my thing and I certainly had no idea back then that there was such a thing as personal style or style adjectives. 

It wasn’t until about 15 years ago when fashion blogging became popular, that I began to take an interest in the topic. In those days, it was mainly seen as a hobby, a way for fashion enthusiasts to share their thoughts and ideas with the world. Eventually, after following several of these blogs for awhile, I found myself looking for a topic that would keep my blog active when I didn’t have anything more exciting (aka travel) to write about. Why not try my hand at fashion, I thought, and Fashion Friday was born!

With the passage of time, fashion blogging has changed. Some of the blogs that I originally followed eventually disappeared, but as others became more visible and gained a greater following, opportunities to monetize arose. Advertisers and brands began to recognize the value of these voices and reached out to engage with them. At first, popular bloggers were offered free merchandise in exchange for positive reviews, but as time went by they started to earn commission on items that were purchased through links on their blogs. Some even saw this as an opportunity to make fashion blogging a full-time career.  

I’ve never had any desire to move in that direction. I’m still very firmly in the blogging as a hobby camp and the more I see, the happier I am to stay there. One of the bloggers that I’ve been following for many years recently wrote about the fact that she never buys any clothing for herself that she can’t link to on her blog. As a result, her personal style has taken a hit and where she once found joy in fashion, she no longer does. On a recent trip, she visited several local boutiques and had the opportunity to buy some unique pieces, but didn’t because she couldn’t earn income from them. How sad! Others lament the fact that they no longer feel free to be their authentic selves. Instead they’ve created an image that they need to keep up and, in some cases, it’s taking a toll on their mental and emotional health. 

So why do I continue to write about fashion? I sometimes wonder if it isn’t a bit narcissistic, but I try to avoid too many “look at me” posts by also delving into a variety of fashion related topics like sustainability and shopping ethically. I’ve learned a lot about the fashion industry, but also about myself. I’ve figured out what my personal style is. I know what I want my clothing to say about me and I’ve chosen the appropriate adjectives to help me build the right wardrobe. These are the kinds of things that I want to share with you, my readers. After all, connecting with other women with a common interest and being part of this community has been the best part of writing about fashion! That’s really what keeps me doing this. 

Throughout the summer, however, I will be indulging some of my other passions… camping, hiking, kayaking, and visiting with family. I have no more medical appointments until the middle of August and I intend to take full advantage of that! For significant periods of time, I will be without internet access. I’ll blog when and where I’m able, but it will be sporadic and there will be some weeks when Fashion Friday doesn’t appear. Don’t go away though. It will be back!   

 

The 3rd piece rule

/ edebock / 2 Comments

Logo by SamIt’s been an unusually hot summer this year and I’ve spent most of it in shorts and sleeveless tops. Lately, however, there’s been a hint of fall in the air, especially first thing in the morning. I sometimes find myself putting on longer pants and reaching for a third piece.

Though you know that I’m not a follower of fashion rules, there is a “3rd piece rule” that actually makes sense a lot of the time. The idea is that for an outfit to go from good to great, it needs three key elements. Usually, your top and bottom (skirt, pants, or shorts) are the two main elements and the third piece is something extra that finishes the look. It could be a blazer, sweater, vest, scarf, or hat, but for me, it’s often an unbuttoned shirt.

Here’s just one example from my closet. All three pieces have appeared on the blog before. 

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During the hotter part of the day, I’ll break the 3rd piece rule and abandon the overshirt. For me, the third piece is more about warmth, than style. 

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You might be wondering about shoes and how they fit into the 3 piece formula. Apparently, they don’t. Shoes, boots, or sandals definitely add interest to an outfit, but they aren’t counted as a third piece. In today’s photos, I’m wearing the ECCO walking sandals that I bought back in May. Although they still look new, I’ve put a lot of miles on them over the past 3 months. As I mentioned then, I challenged myself to walk 350 km between May 1 and October 31. At the halfway point, the end of July, I’d walked just over 200 km! 

Dressing for a heat wave

/ edebock / 8 Comments

Logo by SamAs a Canadian, I know all about dressing for extreme cold, but dressing for a heat wave like we experienced here in Alberta recently is much more challenging for me. If I lived where these temperatures were the norm, I’m sure I’d have a wardrobe full of cotton and linen, but alas, I do not.

Day after day, I wore shorts and sleeveless tops on repeat. Thankfully, I have plenty of both and was able to mix and match to create numerous different looks from casual to dressy.

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Of course, there are those who say that women my age shouldn’t wear shorts, but you probably know by now that I don’t follow fashion rules, particularly those related to age. When I was younger, I was self-conscious about my skinny legs and knobby knees, but not any more. I actually don’t think they look too bad for 70!

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Most summers, I wear shorts mainly for golfing which is why I have several pairs. I prefer them to hit just above the knee and to be loose enough to move comfortably. For a dressier look, I wear those, like this black pair, that  are slightly more tailored looking.

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In addition to shorts and sleeveless tops, I’ve been living in sandals. Again, I have several pairs. My new Ecco walking sandals have been getting plenty of use as have my golfing sandals. In addition to those, I have dressier as well as casual pairs to choose from.

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Perhaps the most important thing that I wear during a heat wave though is sunscreen. Before I leave the house to play golf, go for a walk, or work in the yard, I slather on a good layer of a broad spectrum SPF 50+ lotion to protect my delicate skin from the sun’s damaging rays.

It doesn’t look like I’ll need to do that as often for the next few days though. As soon as I started working on this post, the weather changed! It’s much cooler now and we finally got some of the rain that we’ve been needing so very badly!

New walking sandals

/ edebock / 10 Comments

Shortly after returning from our latest trip to Mexico in February, I found myself dealing with metatarsalgia in my right foot. At first, I didn’t know what it was. It felt like I had a pebble in my shoe and was particularly bothersome when I walked barefoot on the hard floor. Thankfully, the symptoms didn’t show up until after we got home, but they were likely caused by the amount of walking that I did on uneven surfaces in less than adequate footwear. I had my good Asics sneakers with me which I bought specifically for walking, but on hot days I chose to wear sandals or flats instead. Unfortunately, they didn’t have as much cushioning or support.

My foot is better now, but it became very obvious that I needed to buy a good pair of walking/hiking sandals, especially since I’ve challenged myself to try to walk 350 km between May 1 and October 31! This week I found exactly what I was looking for.

I’m a frugal fashionista and I love thrift store shopping, but good quality footwear is something that I’m willing to spend a significant amount of money on. I first saw the right sandal at Atmosphere, “Canada’s Outdoor, Hiking, Camping and Adventure Store” but they didn’t have my size, so I went directly to an ECCO store. Not only did they have the right size, they had it in six or seven different colours including a couple that don’t even appear on their website! I wanted something neutral that I could wear with anything and, as the very helpful salesperson pointed out, the ones I chose look great with my gold summertime toes!

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Most of the hiking sandals that I looked at had closed toes which would definitely be an asset on a rugged trail, but I’ll continue to wear my trusty Merrell hiking shoes for that. The sandals will mostly be worn to pound the pavement in and around town and on easier trails.

The last camping trip

/ edebock / 5 Comments

Every year, as summer winds down and the camping season comes to an end, I yearn for one more outing with the trailer. This year, that last camping trip took us just a little over an hour from home to Black Nugget Lake, so named because the park and the adjacent Coal Creek Golf Resort were built on the site of a former coal mine.

Our youngest son and his family joined us for the weekend and together we enjoyed games of ladder ball, bocce, and tether ball. Nate also got both of his older kids out on the lake in our kayak. If you look closely, you can see him and our grandson, Yari, in this photo.

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Lots of time was also spent relaxing as demonstrated so well by our granddaughter, Harlow!

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After the family left to return to the city for work and school, hubby and I stayed on for an extra day to do some hiking and kayaking. Unfortunately, the trails that were promised on the campground map were unmarked and badly overgrown. We followed one of them as best we could for about twenty minutes before it petered out entirely and we returned to camp.

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Kayaking was much more successful. The long winding lake, a haven for waterfowl, was fun to explore.

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In addition to Canada geese and a variety of ducks, we saw numerous Greater Yellowlegs, a fairly large shorebird, as well as a stately Great Blue Heron. “Hank the Heron”, as Harlow dubbed him when she and Nate spotted him from the kayak, was standing guard on a tiny gravelly island when we first saw him. When we got too close for comfort, he flew off, but landed on the lakeshore where I was able to get close enough for a few more photos.

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Greater Yellowlegs

Great Blue Heron

Great Blue Heron (with a Greater Yellowlegs in the foreground of the first photo) 

We managed to spend a total of thirty-five nights in the trailer since the first week of June this year. Although we don’t expect to take it out again this season, we do hope to do some day trips that will include more hiking and kayaking. Fall is definitely in the air and nights are getting chilly, but I’m hanging onto summer as long as I can!

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Something new

/ edebock / 5 Comments

Logo by SamHappy Canada Day! 🇨🇦

As we gradually emerge from the pandemic, I’ve finally been doing some shopping! Regardless of what the authorities tell us, I don’t believe that Covid is completely behind us yet, but we are moving forward with caution.

One of the first things that I needed to do was shop for new bras. I absolutely hate bra shopping! I always have, but while we were in the city for a church conference a couple of weeks ago, I managed to fit in a bit of shopping and I got the deed done. It was gruelling, but I came away with three new bras that fit me well. But enough about that!

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I also bought this, a simple cap sleeve crew neck t-shirt dress, something casual but a little bit dressy for summer. I often wear a medium, but in this case I chose a large because the medium was too clingy and showed off the jiggly bits that I’d rather keep hidden.

When I first saw it online, I thought the colour was a warm brown. The ad called it Marron which my Spanish lessons have taught me means brown, but it really isn’t. It’s somewhere between brown and maroon, a colour that I’m calling smoky rose because I have a lipstick by that name that’s almost exactly the same colour.

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I’ve always thought that it must be fun to be one of those people who name lipstick, nail polish, or paint colours! Pink is never just pink, it’s Blushed, Heartthrob, or Pink Giggles. Red might be Love is On or Cherries in the Snow and brown is Iced Mocha or Choco-Liscious. Some of them even sound good enough to eat! But enough of that. Back to shopping!

After a long awaited visit to my dental hygienist, I did a bit of browsing and discovered an independent boutique that I hadn’t visited before. It survived the pandemic, but like many others, business was clearly slow and the discount racks were full. This little top caught my eye and ended up coming home with me. The colours fit my wardrobe perfectly and the asymmetrical hemline adds interest. It will be a great  addition to my summer wardrobe and a good layering piece when the weather is cooler.

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As I mentioned in my last post, I’m going to be taking some time to recharge over the next few weeks, so Fashion Friday probably won’t appear as regularly as usual. It’s not going to disappear completely though, so stay tuned!

Musing about sandals

/ edebock / 11 Comments

Logo by SamWhen I took my sandals out of storage this spring, I realized how worn they were getting. That’s not surprising considering the fact that the newest pair is at least five years old! I only know that because I’ve been keeping track of all my clothing, footwear, and accessories purchases since the beginning of 2018 and there aren’t any sandals on the list!

I have a couple of pairs that are still quite serviceable, but really, it might be time for this girl to be thinking about buying some new ones!

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Fishermans sandals are very much on trend for 2022, but something about a closed toe sandal just doesn’t sit well with me. They’re great for women who are self-conscious about exposing their toes for any reason, but when I wear sandals, I want my golden summertime toes to show.

Then there’s the recent popularity of fishermans sandals with socks. That one is a definite no for me! I haven’t spend all these years teasing hubby about wearing socks with his sandals to succumb to that fad!

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What about you? Are you a fan of this look? I always say that, first and foremost, we ought to wear what makes us happy.

I’m not a girly girl, but if I do go shopping for sandals, I’ll be looking for something a little more feminine looking than the closed toe fishermans sandal; something more like this pair from Naturalizer. I like a sandal that’s casual, but a little bit dressy looking, and something that I can comfortably walk a long way in.

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Sadly, the Naturalizer stores in Edmonton closed last year and I’d have to order these online. Not only do I much prefer shopping in person, but I have very narrow, difficult to fit feet. Ordering shoes online just doesn’t work for me. So, for now, until I have an opportunity to shop and try on, I’ll just continue wearing my old sandals and musing about new ones.

And then…

As usual, this post was written earlier in the week so that it would be ready to post first thing this morning. Yesterday, after getting my monthly injection, I stopped at one of our local thrift stores to drop off a bag of books that I’d finished reading. Of course, I had to take a look around and guess what I found? Sandals! Almost brand new Clarks in my size for $2.00! Similar sandals online sell for $110 and up. I’ll still be keeping my eye out for a dressier pair similar to the ones above, but in the meantime, I’m delighted with my find. They’re comfortable and supportive and the soft sage colour goes well with my summer wardrobe.

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On a totally different topic, I recently had the privilege of writing a guest post for the parenting blog, Leaf and Steel. I hope you’ll pop over and check it out here.