Monthly Musings

 

I always say I love summer, and that’s true, but then September rolls around and I remember that this is a pretty great time of year. The weather is fabulous and there seem to be a lot of fun events happening right now. 

1. Apple or pumpkin pie?

I’ll take both please!

2. Favourite fall recipe.

I like to make French Onion Soup at least once in the fall. It is a real treat. I make Julia Child’s recipe, I shared that recipe back in 2015.

3. Do you decorate for fall?

Yes, I have a few items that I put out during the house. I usually get them out for Thanksgiving (the second weekend of October here in Canada).

4. Pumpkin spice latte or apple cider?

They are both fine but I don’t drink either of them much.

5. Favourite thing to bake in fall?

I like to make those aforementioned pies, and I usually get a can of regular pumpkin for a loaf or muffins. 

6. Do you like fall scented home products such as candles and cleaning products?

Not really. I have a couple of scented candles, but they aren’t “fall” themed, nor do I burn them very often. 

7. Name a fall food that people love that you don’t.

I like all of the fall foods. I’m not as into everything pumpkin spiced as other people seem to be though. 

8. Candy corn - yes or blech?

Not sure I’ve ever had a piece, but I don’t think I’m missing out.

9. When do you decorate for Halloween?

Mid-October I will put out the few things that we have. Pumpkins aren’t purchased until a few days before and carved the night before. 

10. Do you use mums, pumpkins, or other fun things?

Mums, a small hanging skeleton, ghosts, and a few carved pumpkins.  We do not go all out for this holiday, but I love seeing what other people do!

Life Lately

I didn't get a Friday Favourites or a Weekend Recap post put together but I have wanted to still keep track of what we have been up to. 

It was baseball playoffs time at High Park. Q and I went to watch some of his friends play last Tuesday night in the first round.  It unfortunately got rained out halfway through, but still time for us to get french fries!

Meanwhile E had been invited to a Blue Jays game with his friend.  It was the last Loonie Dog Night so he had a few hot dogs. 

We got some new grass for our backyard - artificial turf.  Dave has tried for many years to get grass to grow back there but it is too sandy and too shady. We finally gave up and went with the fake stuff. It has been great so far. We love that can actually enjoy the yard without feeling like it's so dirty. I even did a stretching workout on the grass, no mud, no bugs, so comfortable to lay right on it.  

Looks pretty real!

Q's team started in round 2 of playoffs on Friday night. It was a tough loss for that first game, but luckily it was a double elimination format so we could still fight our way back into it. 

Q was catcher for the last few innings and did an amazing job blocking some wild pitches and being ready to throw out a baserunner who was trying to steal. He got a lot of accolades from his rep coaches and others, and he got player of the game. His team is the Knights so you get the knight helmet. 

The team had its next game on Saturday afternoon which they won. After the game we went home to get changed and went back up the street for Ukrainian Festival. Q likes the tornado potato!

In the dart game, he won a stuffy :)

Dave tried to win a big stuffy at the basketball game but was unsuccessful. 

The next baseball game was Sunday afternoon. It was a beautiful day. E climbed this tree. 

Another win meant the team was into the finals on Monday night. Q pitched a couple of innings and did a great job! And he had a couple of nice hits.

Q was back behind the plate for a few innings.

Unfortunately even though we came back and tied it up to go to an extra inning, we were not able to pull out a win. That meant second place and the end of the season.

However because we had finished first overall in the regular season, there was still a trophy to celebrate with.

Great job!

It was such a fun weekend. The High Park Little League community is a great one to be a part of!

Gratitude Journal Prompts

25. What talent of yours are you most grateful for?

Cooking. I am not a master chef at all but I can put together a meal. There are lots of people that don’t have the knowledge or confidence to make food, or good food at that, and I am grateful I can do that. I credit my mom, grandmother, and uncle for this! 

26. What personality trait of yours are you most grateful for?

I am grateful that I can let stuff go. I certainly get annoyed, worried, and anxious about things from time to time, but mostly I can accept whatever it is and move on. You could interpret that as not caring, but I think there is a difference. I can care about something but if I don’t think I can do anything about it, then I can’t let it consume me or focus on it for too long. 

27. What food are you most grateful for?

I thought of many different answers for this but I have finally settled on bread. And thank goodness I don’t have a gluten intolerance. Bread is the accompaniment for many meals, but even a humble slice of bread with butter on it can be enough at certain times. 

Weekend Recap

Just a few photos from our weekend. It was the end of the first week of school so everyone was happy to see Friday.  Some of Q’s rep teammates were playing in house league playoffs that night so we ordered a pizza and took it to the ballfield to watch their game. There were lots of people there and it was a great night!

Q had a game on Saturday morning, which they won. 

We hung out a bit after his game but then had to get home to go golfing.  Q and I were golfing with his friend and mom at Centennial. Dave and E were golfing together too. Cuties.

Then we took J to the golf club for dinner on the patio.

Dave and E were just finishing up their round so the boys went down to watch them putt on 18.

That night we watched the new Ryan Reynolds movie on Apple TV, Mayday. It was pretty good, I like Kenneth Branagh. I even stayed awake for the whole movie!

On Sunday morning one of our friends asked if we wanted tickets to the Blue Jays game and of course the answer is a YES! 

E didn’t bring a hat so he tried on this one, haha.

Great seats and a beautiful day at the ballpark.

And what made it even better was seeing Vladdy’s first homerun at home! It was the middle in a back to back to back and it was pretty great!! It was almost as good as Barger’s grand slam in Game 1 of last year’s World Series, almost!

We stopped in at the new Hall of Excellence. They have done a great job!

We got home in pretty good time, stopped by the grocery store to get ingredients for smash burgers, and then got ready for the week ahead. 

Friday Favourites

I can't let the day go by without acknowledging 9/11. It's not a day to celebrate, certainly, but a way that we recognize the day is to listen to the Come From Away soundtrack. It's a great reminder of the ways people helped each other out that day and the days that followed. 

These photos are from last Friday. I took the boys out for dinner Queen Margherita Pizza, we walked there, and enjoyed our meal (Dave was golfing).

We took our bikes down to the river on the weekend and the baby turtles were out and being collected and protected. 

The kids went back to school on Tuesday - Grade 5 for Q and Grade 10 for E. Traditional photo shoot on the front porch!

Some ladies were walking by and offered to do a family photo, which turned out well!

The Grade 5 French Immersion boys. 

I ordered some things from The Ordinary last week. I have used a few of these products before but added a toner this time. 

Last night I went to the golf club for the last ladies' night, and although did not play a round, I did participate in the chipping contest. And then we had our first choir practice of the season. It is nice to be back singing with a group, instead of just me in my car.

Linking up with Andrea.

Let's Look

 

Linking up with Let's Look for this month's topic - free things that bring me joy. 

As noted in the meme above, it is hard to do anything for free, and things are getting increasingly expensive. Here are some things I enjoy doing that don't cost money:

Reading books from the library. 

Doing the Globe and Mail crossword puzzle and New York Times Connections. I guess technically I pay for the Globe and Mail subscription, but it's a very low cost and since I do the crossword everyday, the price per use is very low.

Singing in the church choir. 

Watching baseball at High Park. Aside from my own son's games (which again are technically not "free" since we have to pay for the registration fees, equipment, and travel) there are games happening there from May to September, and it is free to watch.  

Using my bike as transportation. Yes, the bike cost money originally, but using it for transportation means I don't need to pay for the subway or parking.

Swimming in city pools. Sure, they aren't fancy, but they are a refreshing place to spend a summer afternoon, or to get some exercise in winter.

Enjoying nature. It is free to appreciate flowers, birdsong, sunsets, views, changing seasons.