Monthly Musings

 

1. Favourite thing about spring?
The warm weather, flowering trees, and birdsong.

2. What are your spring traditions?
We usually go to see the cherry blossoms in High Park (although we didn't get to go this year), we get the bikes out and ready for the season, and I sort through our clothes to change seasons. 

3. Favourite spring outfits?
 Usually I can stop wearing nylons with my dresses/skirts about now.  I may be able to lose the jacket, and wear sneakers more often instead of boots.

4. Favourite springtime meal?
We start BBQing more in the spring, so burgers is one of the things I like best. 

5. Spring rain...love or loathe?
I love it. Especially this year, we had a very dry winter and the more rain right now, the better. 

6. Favourite spring flower?
Lilacs

7. Do you get seasonal allergies? Best remedies please!
I don't get seasonal allergies but when I am feeling a bit stuffy/congested, I take antihistamines. 

8. Favourite springtime beverage?
Rose. I drink white wine all year long, but the rose comes back out in the spring. 

9. Do you change your home decor for spring?
No.  We have some Easter decorations but it's been put away now.  Nothing else changes in the house with respect to decor. 

10. Lemon meringue pie or strawberry shortcake?
If I have to choose, I would pick strawberry shortcake.  But to me, cherry pie says spring. 

Linking up with Patty and Holly.

What's Up Wednesday

What we're eating this week...
Sunday - Jerk Chicken, Beans and Rice, Coleslaw
Monday - Chicken Fingers, Sweet Potatoes, Roasted Broccoli
Tuesday - Hamburgers
Wednesday - Out
Thursday - Quiche and Salad
Friday and Saturday - not sure yet

What I'm reminiscing about...
When we went to the Blue Jays game last week, I was reminiscing about previous times we did the Jr. Jays base running.  The first time that we did it with E, he needed me to run the bases with him, which was fun for me since they don't usually let the parents run around.  Then Q and E got to do it together a few years ago.  

What I'm loving...
The episodes of Jam Session on the Ringer Dish podcast.  Amanda Dobbins and Juliet Litman just talk about current pop culture events, and since they are similar in age to me, so I tend to agree with a lot of what they are saying.  This week they of course were talking about Taylor Swift's new album; they thought it was mediocre, which is pretty much what I thought. They also mentioned Victoria Beckham's 50th birthday party which is also something I was very excited about this week.

What we've been up to...
Getting ready for baseball season.  Dave is the head coach for Q's team and I am now the manager for E's team.  

What I'm working on...
We are continuing to put our house back together after our major renovation.  We got some desk chairs, and Dave built some shelves in Q's room for Lego display.  We want to buy a sideboard for the dining room and we want to hang some pictures.

What I'm excited about...
Golf season.  I decided not to go join the ladies' league I played in last year but I'm still hoping to get out a few times.  E got some new golf clubs and he has already played a few rounds.  And we won't mention Dave who is currently golfing in Scotland! 

What I'm watching/reading...
Dave and I are watching The Gentlemen on Netflix.  All of us are watching Amazing Race, and of course playoff hockey. 

I am still slogging through the Outlive by Peter Attia. I know it's popular but I'm having a hard time reading it, it's a bit too textbook-y to me but I'll stick with it for now.

What I'm listening to...
Some recently listened to songs - You're So Vain by Carly Simon (eclipse reference), exile by Taylor Swift and Bon Iver (my favourite T. Swift song), Both Sides Now from the movie CODA, I Dreamed a Dream by Susan Boyle (I never tire of this one), Augusta the Masters Theme, Deep Depression by Lyriq Luchiano (Shazamed from someone playing it on the streetcar).

What I'm wearing...
Hopefully wearing shorts soon.  I have a couple of Zella shorts but I am looking at a few from Aritzia and lululemon. 

What I'm doing this weekend...
The only thing on the calendar is Q's ball hockey game on Saturday morning but it may be raining that day so we'll see if it happens or not.  

What I'm looking forward to next month...
Tball and Baseball starting up for the boys, Mother's Day, Victoria Day long weekend, our anniversary, and some golf.

What else is new...
I've been on a good streak of working out everyday in April.  I didn't really start out with a goal on this but after the first few days I realized it was something I could achieve.  Soon I'll be able to start riding my bike to work so I won't be able to keep the streak up for much longer, but I'm happy with what I've done for now. 

Linking up with Shay.

Weekend Recap

 On Friday Dave left for Scotland and my mom arrived.  We ordered pizza and had an early evening.

On Saturday Quinn had his first ball hockey game of the weekend.  It was not very spring like!

Ready for a new season!

He volunteered to be goalie.  Although they did not win, he had a number of good saves.

Meanwhile we tried to keep warm.

And even some white stuff fell from the sky

We had plans to go over and see the cherry blossoms while we were at High Park but it was so cold we just went home.  I even got the electric blanket out!  We rested a bit on the couch before I had to take E to a birthday party and then I got some groceries. 

Then I took Q over to a friend's house because my mom and I had tickets to see Nathanial Ratliff at Roy Thomson Hall. He was performing Leonard Cohen music.  

We grabbed dinner at The Library Bar at the Royal York Hotel.

As usual their lobby was looking good for the season.

It was a great show and a real treat to hear the entire symphony. 

On Sunday morning we went to church.

In the afternoon E went golfing with his friends, and Mom and Q and I did some errands and I did some cleaning. 

We made jerk chicken, beans and rick, and patties for supper. I love this meal!

Earlier in the day Q and Mom had made brownies and decorated them for Earth Day.  We enjoyed those with ice cream after supper.

These are the sheep the boys had made at Sunday school earlier. 

Meanwhile, Dave was enjoying some golf in St. Andrews.

Friday Favourites

Happy Friday! Everyone in our house is over our colds, which is good timing for Dave as he departs on his golf trip in Scotland today.  

We had a couple of warm days at the start of the week so on Monday we took the opportunity to bike to the ball diamond to practice some baseball. It was such a nice evening to be outside. 

Last week OJ Simpson died, and I was reminded of how big his trial was. I was glued to much of the trial, and I remember exactly where I was when the verdict was read.  Everything to do with that trial, including the fame of the Kardashians, is so fascinating. I enjoyed the various tweets about this (and one them said, now we know what Twitter would have been like if we had it in 1995), and I came across this clip of Dave Chappelle talking about the times he met OJ.  I love Dave Chappelle, good content.

I started a new notebook at work this week which is always a favourite.  Yes, I still use a paper notebook to jot stuff down in, and I have a paper list.

We went to the Blue Jays game last Sunday, and I posted about that here.  We were also happy to see the Jays win the series against the Yankees. 

We got our taxes done this week, yay for us!  We are expecting a refund which is always nice :)

In case you missed it, I also shared my favourite Canadian TV shows, a pretty niche topic, but some of you will appreciate it.

Have a great weekend! We have Q's first ball hockey game and the cherry blossoms in High Park will be out!

Linking up with Andrea and Erika.

Canadian TV Shows

On Peter Mansbridge's podcast the other day, he asked people to write in with their favourite Canadian TV shows. It brought back lots of memories for me as I grew up without cable until I was in Grade 6 (I think) so my only choice of television was Canadian content, and I am grateful for that. 

Some of the ones that stood out for me on that list:

Mr. Dressup - Casey and Finnigan were Mr. Dressup's friends when I started watching. I loved that he always had exactly the art supplies and costumes he needed, and that he made drawing look so easy. What a Canadian treasure. 

Fred Penner's Place - Another one of those weekday morning staples. Fred crawled through the log and then he was in this special part of the forest where his guitar was hidden and Word Bird showed up each day. I once saw Fred Penner at the airport, it was a highlight of the trip!

Polka Dot Door - This was actually on TV Ontario so I only remember this from before we moved to Nova Scotia when I was four. Polkeroo is still a reference I make. He was a character that was only ever around when the kids were there, but no adults. And then when the adults came back, Polkeroo was gone. So the reference is sort of like when someone is elusive. 

North of 60 - This was a one hour drama series, taking place in a fictional Dene First Nation (north of the 60th parallel).  The main characters were the RCMP officers - one white man, and one local Dene woman, and the various people that lived in the town. It was ahead of its time I think, and something that I didn't quite appreciate at the time was that it featured indigenous actors as real people, not just stereotype roles.

Wok with Yan - This is an obscure one, but I loved it. Chef Yan cooked up lots of good stuff in his wok, and he always had a new apron with a funny wok pun.

Street Legal - I could credit this program for my career, as I watched it when I was very young.  It was actually set in a law firm in Toronto.  They seemed so glamourous in their '80s and early '90s power suits. I think they mostly did trial work (which I do not do), but something likely inspired me.

Anne of Green Gables - This was a made for TV movie (and then it had a sequel) and I watched it so many times.  It was just perfect, the setting, the cast, the puffed sleeves, Matthew!! Anne with an E was pretty good, but nothing beats Kevin Sullivan's production. And then of course Road to Avonlea was a weekly Sunday night staple.

Much Music - This was our version of MTV, but it was actually mostly music videos even up until I graduated high school (in 1999).  Tuning into the Countdown on Friday night was a highlight of our weekends.  

The Red Green Show - This was on every day after school so I watched it a lot. It was always funny and had some great catch lines "If the women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy." and the Man Prayer "I'm a man, I can change, if I have to, I guess". Brilliant stuff.

And some honourable mentions - Danger Bay, The Friendly Giant, Degrassi High (pre-Drake), and The Raccoons.

I know I'm missing some, but it was fun to take a walk down memory lane. What Canadian shows do you remember?