Looking for an easy Ottawa summer adventure? Try locking through one of the beautiful and historic Rideau Canal locks in a kayak or canoe! We tried it recently for the first time, and I had no id...
On a muggy May day that felt more like August, I explored Kemptville Creek for the first time. I started at Anniversary park, having heard they have a special kayak launch attached to the small b...
http://danigirl.ca/blog/2021/05/22/adventures-in-kayaking-kemptville-creek/
I spent most of the summer of 2020 kayaking around the Rideau with a few side adventures and writing blog posts in my head about my adventures, but never quite got around to posting them. I figur...
http://danigirl.ca/blog/2021/04/21/kayaking-in-ottawa-cranberry-and-stevens-creeks-at-kars/
About five years ago, I was taking my in-laws on a tour of the Rideau Canal. We watched a pair of skaters zoom by us, pushing some sort of wood contraptions on skis. I was immediately fascinated,...
http://danigirl.ca/blog/2021/02/20/winter-adventure-kicksledding-in-ottawa/
It’s been a weird summer, hasn’t it? Thanks to COVID, we didn’t do half as many little day trips and family adventures as we usually do, though I am grateful that my pre-teen and ...
http://danigirl.ca/blog/2020/09/04/ottawa-family-fun-day-trip-to-brockville/
In the decade we’ve lived here, I’ve harboured a not-so-secret covetousness of other people’s boats. Many Ottawa folks don’t know that half of the village of Manotick is on an island in t...
http://danigirl.ca/blog/2020/06/21/adventures-in-kayaking-manoticks-back-channel/
How have you been faring during these days of pandemic lockdown, friends? We’ve been very lucky in that we’ve had the means and ability to hunker down and wait things out, and after seven wee...
http://danigirl.ca/blog/2020/04/26/in-which-she-shares-her-secret-passion-for-tarot-cards/
I mentioned a few posts back about discovering a passion for knitting about six months ago. It’s hard to believe that it’s only been six months – I feel like I’ve had ...
http://danigirl.ca/blog/2020/03/02/my-fandoms-blanket-nine-squares-in/
I have been a fan of Ottawa’s Andrew King for a long time. He’s a talented painter with a delightful whimsical streak, but he also loves Ottawa’s quirky side as much – if not more! – th...
http://danigirl.ca/blog/2020/02/19/views-of-a-village-a-new-art-exhibit-at-a-new-cafe-in-manotick/
I turned 50 back in August, and for my birthday I asked for some supplies to re-learn how to knit. I wanted to take up knitting for a handful of reasons, but mostly it was to have something other...
In my last post, I mentioned that if I chose to go ahead with blogging (which I’ve clearly decided to do!) there would be less emphasis on the kids and their stories. And then don’t...
http://danigirl.ca/blog/2020/02/08/in-which-they-grew-up-while-you-werent-looking/
It’s been about six months since I published a blog post, and in the year before that I only posted a handful of times. I’ve been wondering: is it time to shutter the blog? The kids...
http://danigirl.ca/blog/2020/01/24/bloggy-thoughts-should-i-stay-or-should-i-go/
Almost 10 years ago to the day, after our Dodge Caravan went up in flames in my one and only serious car accident, we bought my ‘little blue car’, a 2009 Mazda 5. It was so long ago that one ...
http://danigirl.ca/blog/2019/08/18/saying-goodbye-to-a-trusty-old-friend/
Longtime readers of the blog know that we’ve been obsessed with sea glass for many, many years. I was first introduced to the idea when we visited Bar Harbor, way back when we were a famil...
http://danigirl.ca/blog/2019/08/12/the-one-with-the-radioactive-sea-glass/
Have you checked out the newly renovated and freshly amazing Canada Science and Technology Museum lately? We went last week on an adventure to celebrate my birthday, including a stop at the speci...
This has definitely been the year of all things Harry Potter in our lives. I’ve been reading the series to Lucas for more than a year (we’re about half way through the Half Blood Prince), and...
http://danigirl.ca/blog/2019/02/15/in-which-lucas-gets-his-hogwarts-acceptance-letter/
What’s that old expression, about never working with children and dogs? Clearly, I never got that memo. I was looking back over the last year or so of my photography clients and realized that m...
http://danigirl.ca/blog/2019/02/03/going-to-the-dogs-photographically-speaking/
Over the Christmas break, I found myself with enough time on my hands to try a funky little photo tutorial I’d found online. (I mean, I could have done something productive like housework, but ...
If you’ve been reading the blog for a while, you know that Chef Michael Smith is my food bae. I credit him for pretty much single-handedly empowering me to cook, something I’ve grown to love ...
http://danigirl.ca/blog/2019/01/08/photos-of-the-day-red-hot-chili-peppers/
I found a great Shepherd’s pie recipe a couple of years ago, and it became one of my Dad’s favourites – so much so that I stopped making it for about a year after he died, just because it r...
http://danigirl.ca/blog/2019/01/07/our-favourite-shepherds-pie-recipe/