Out of Pattern
We found out on Wednesday that the Ottawa Public Library would be giving away eclipse glasses starting on Thursday. Normally on Thursday I do my fitness class online first thing, then we go out on a quest in the afternoons. We didn't want to miss the chance to get eclipse glasses so we decided I could do the fitness class later.
Isn't it interesting how excited people are about the solar eclipse? In Ottawa we are not going to be in “the totality,” a term that sounds very sci fi to me. We will be able to experience 98% of the totality apparently. Many people plan to go to Brockville, a town a few hours away because Brockville will be in the totality. It's an event that will occur only for a few minutes but there are all kinds of adjacent activities. It's lovely to see folks finding a reason to come together to witness something joyful.
We decided to take part too. So we needed the glasses. Online purchase is sketchy. You don't want ineffective eclipse glasses.
On Thursday we slept in much later than we usually do. It was a good rest. But it meant that we had time only to eat breakfast then get to the library when it opened.
We got there just as the library opened and joined a long line. We heard they were starting to run out when we picked up our pairs. One woman was just trying to renew her library card. I've never seen so many people at the library. Another woman said that if she didn't get them, her kids were going to be mad.
The library gave away 11000 pairs of solar eclipse glasses on Thursday, all they had.
We sat at a nearby cafe and watched downtown workers pass by while we chatted about all kinds of things.
It's fun doing things out of pattern sometimes. Makes the time interesting and fun.
This is a long weekend in Canada. Some provinces have Good Friday off while others take Easter Monday off. Since Ottawa-Gatineau is split between Ontario and Quebec, federal civil servants get both days off. Some retail establishments are open today but we are cocooning at home. A dear friend is coming over for tea.