Weekend Recap

I mentioned last week that E was at the golf club helping with the junior camps, so on Friday I met him there when he was finished and we did some practicing and then had lunch on the patio. The smoke and humidity had cleared and it was very nice. 

Being silly down at the practice area.

We had the practice green all to ourselves.

Then I did a bit of work before it was time to pick up Q from his nature camp. Every week they give a camper an animal that they are like - Q was named a red squirrel because he is so active and curious. (Intriguingly he has has been named red squirrel at this camp in years past so he is consistent!).

Dvae also arrived home from his trip and took Q right to baseball practice. Then we made smash burgers for dinner along with homemade burger sauce, they were delicious.

On Saturday Dave got his golf round in before the rain, which was lucky! Meanwhile we watched some old baseball movies (Angels in the Outfield and Sandlot). I did a few errands with E and we watched the F1 qualifying and some Blue Jays baseball. I made a focaccia loaf and we had that for dinner with some meat and cheese. 

Q had a baseball game early on Sunday morning, an exhibition game with his rep team. It was early with the game starting at 8:30 but a beautiful day to be out at the ball field. And they won so that was nice. 

E went to watch the World Cup finals game with friends and the three of us got nine holes in, and of course dinner on the patio!

Summer Top Three

 Here are my top three summer themed things:

Activities

Riding Bikes

Swimming

Golfing 

Treats to Buy at the Gas Station/Convenience Store

Ice Cream Sandwich (with the chocolate chip cookies)

Drumstick

Rocket Popsicle (there flavoured)

Ice Cream Flavour

Mint Chocolate Chip

Coffee

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

Drinks

Aperol Spritz

Whispering Angel Rose

Gin and Tonic 

Things to BBQ

Burgers

Ribs

Rotisserie Chicken

Patios in Toronto

Islington Golf Club

Amsterdam Brewhouse

Cactus Club Rooftop

Summer Songs

Wheat Kings - Tragically Hip

All Summer Long - Kid Rock

Summer of ‘69 - Bryan Adams

In Season Fruit

Peaches

Cherries

Muskmelon (from Ontario only)

In Season Vegetables

Corn

Tomatoes

Yellow Beans

Sports to Watch

Baseball

Wimbledon

Golf 

Summer Olympic Sports

Gymnastics

100 m/200 m/Relay Running

Rowing

Summer Blockbusters

Top Gun Maverick

Twister

Armageddon 

Movies that Take Place in Summer

Dirty Dancing

Stand By Me 

The Great Gatsby 

Summer Uniform

Shorts

Tank Tops

Birkenstocks

Least Favourite Things About Summer

Wasps

Having to apply sunscreen constantly

The feeling that it’s too short!

Friday Favourites

 

Happy Friday! Dave was away this week so it was just me and the boys so this picture sort of summed up our week.  It was also the only photo I took. Some highlights:

- First of all we had two smoky days in Toronto which meant a cancelled baseball game, and a day of cancelled summer camp, but my thoughts were really with the people in Northwestern Ontario that were directly impacted by the forest fires, and lost their homes and businesses and needed to evacuate. Every year we see part of our country burn and it has been NWO before and it is them again. Devastating! 

- Q attended one of his favourite summer camps - Pine Project. They do a lot of exploring in the woods and by the river, they learn a lot of nature, make crafts, and carve sticks. 

- E helped with the morning camp at the golf club this week. It meant early mornings but he was done by noon so on a couple of days he did some golf practice and then went to the gym. 

- I golfed on Monday and Thursday, and I hit some good shots, and not so good shots, but my favourite part is really the glass of wine and meal afterwards :)

- We enjoyed the Home Run Derby and All-Star Game. We liked seeing our Blue Jays represent. 

- We did not enjoy seeing both France and England lose their soccer matches. 

- After Q’s baseball practice on Tuesday, which was kept short due to the high temperatures, the team all went for a swim at the pool right next to the field. I couldn’t resist so I also dipped in. I love that our pools are free and accessible to all. 

Linking up with Andrea and Erika

Let's Look - Summer Selves

 I am a week late on this link up, but liked the topic so here we are. This month we are talking about our “summer selves”, how we are different during this season. 

I run. I love going down by the river in the summer, particularly before it gets too hot, so a morning run is the perfect way to do that. I only run once a week but it’s a great way to get my activity in. 

We bike everywhere. It’s so convenient to bike to baseball, work, to do errands, or just for something to do in the afternoon. I love not having to drive and find a place to park.

I work outside. I usually take my laptop outside first thing in the morning to start my work day. It’s so pleasant in our backyard and I’ll stay here until I get annoyed with only having one screen and then I’ll head inside. 

I eat ice cream. We don’t eat a lot of dessert in the other seasons, but I very much enjoy getting a cone or popsicle in the summer. I also like buying ice cream treats for us to enjoy at home. 

We see more people - at the golf course, ball field, in the neighbourhood. It’s easy to stay tucked away at home when the weather is colder, but I feel like I’m always running into people in summer. I should note that I see lots of people at the ski hill in winter, so we aren’t complete hermits year round, it’s just more locations in summer. 

Our meals are less structured. It feels like someone is always out for golf or baseball and those things happen around dinner time so I am less inclined to put together a complicated meal. Salad with chicken nuggets is common, so are quesadillas, burgers, and sausages.

We eat more fresh produce. I know that you can get fresh produce of any sort year round, but there are some things I just won’t buy if they aren’t in season - berries, melon, corn on the cob, asparagus, stone fruit, etc. They do not have any flavour in the winter so I stick with more root vegetables, frozen fruit/veg, or apples/pears then. We are spoiled in Ontario with amazing summer flavours so we get our fill now. 

I shower a lot. I remember hearing the phrase “earning your shower”, meaning have you gotten dirty/sweaty enough for when it’s time to take a shower, and I can definitely say I earn my shower in the summer, sometimes two showers a day. 

Weekend Recap

Hi, thanks for dropping in today to see what we did on the weekend. 

On Friday I picked up a few treats at my favourite little market - Freebird. We had a simple dinner of a salad from there and some BBQ’d hot dogs. We also tried to figure out the rotisserie feature of our new barbecue. We could find all of the parts except the spit, we wondered if we had thrown it away because it was in the all of the cardboard, and then if we could just order the spit instead of the entire rotisserie kit. Fortunately, when Dave went to the store where we bought it, they told him that the spit is stored in the grease tray, and yes, there it was! 

I left home bright and early on Saturday to go and pick up the boys from camp (and E’s fried too).  I drove the electric car up and left myself with enough time to charge it for 45 minutes before the camp gates opened. It worked out well.

Requisite photo by the camp sign.

Then we drove into Bala and stopped for something to eat at Jack and Stella.  It is so lovely there on the water. 

We got home around 3:30, I had a nap, then we got the rotisserie chickens ready (although I neglected to take a photo), and we watched the England v. Norway game. Meanwhile Q was out a birthday party, a swimming one no less, so he was very tired when he got home and was asleep quickly.

He requested pancakes the next morning for breakfast so I obliged and we ate them outside.

We also walked up the street to get a few groceries and then we rested until it was time to go to High Park. 

Q had a baseball game and since we need to be there at least an hour before the game, I took the opportunity to take a swim. I cooled off, read my book, and then dipped in one more time before the game was getting started. 

‘

Number 5 at bat.

It was just an exhibition game for the rep team, but it was fun, they won, and they had some learnings.

We biked home, had some leftovers for dinner, watched Amazing Race Canada and got to bed!

Sharing Our Lives - Favourite Room

Happy Monday.  I’m linking up with the Share Our Lives crew for this month’s topic - favourite room in the house. 

I like most parts of our house, fortunately, but I’ll choose the living room to tell you about today. 

When we did our renovations a couple of years ago, I posted about the living room transformation Here. A few changes since then, so here are a few updated photos. 

We still haven’t purchased any artwork for above the chairs. I have decision paralysis when it comes to that sort of thing, I just need to pick out something.  There are many inexpensive art places online. Dave and I don’t always agree on what would look good. I think the stuff he chooses is weird and he thinks mine are too simple (or boring may be a better term). I also love a landscape but I want it be meaningful. Like a beach scene from Australia or mountain in Utah mean nothing to me, even if they look nice. At this point I should just go to Home Sense and pick out something.

Honourable mention to the backyard for the summer. I love sitting out there to work, read, and eat (until the wasps come around). We don’t often get to invite people over, but when we do it works perfectly for hosting.

Linking up with  Adrienne, Dara, Jen, and Joanne.  

Friday Favourites

 

Happy Friday!  

We had a lovely week of weather here, hot and sunny, but not unbearably humid. I took advantage and worked outside every morning (until I’d get fed up with only one screen and needed to go to work at my desk inside). I am pleased that we have this nice backyard, where even though I do hear traffic, construction, airplanes, and other people at times, it is still very peaceful back here. 

Our children have been at camp this week so it means we got in some extra golf knowing we didn’t have to be home to pick anyone up, go to baseball, or make a meal. I golfed on Monday with friends, and Dave and I golfed on Wednesday.  Monday was an extra special treat because we go to go swimming afterwards at one of the ladies’ pool.

Dave and I also took the opportunity to go out for dinner on Tuesday downtown.  We chose The Frederick, and of course I had to order the Harbord Room Burger (iykyk).

Tomorrow I am excited to pick up the boys from camp and hear all about it. And then I get to cosplay as a cottager and have lunch in Bala on the way home. I’m also looking forward to the England vs. Norway game on Saturday evening. I will be cheering for England.

Linking up with Andrea and Erika.