Monthly Musings

Linking up with Patty and Holly.

1. What do you do in the winter that brings you joy?

Piling in the car to go skiing each weekend. We have our little routine of juice/coffee and breakfast sandwiches enjoyed in the car and music playlists for everyone.  On the way home, we sometimes stop for Tim Horton's and Q may nap.  I know these are core memories for the kids and I love having this time together. 

2. How do you stay warm and cozy?

Dressing for the weather.  A cozy Barefoot Dreams scarf, a toque, and Artizia down mittens, along with a warm coat and boots. 

3. What are you looking forward to this winter?

This year I was happy to be enjoying our new living room - insulated, no draughty floors, a warm fire and a comfortable couch. 

4. Favourite wintertime activities?

Downhill skiing. 

5. Favourite months of winter?

December. The first snow brings such excitement, the Christmas lights made the darkening evenings more tolerable, and cozy winter foods start making an appearance.

6. Favourite dishes to make in winter?

Beef stew, turkey dinner, chili.

7.  Gas or wood burning fireplace?

We have two gas fireplaces, but nothing is better than a wood burning fire, especially if it's outside.  

8. Favourite winter hot beverage?

I really only drink coffee as a hot beverage.  But when I am not feeling well, I enjoy a hot water with lemon, honey, ginger, and whiskey.

9.  Favourite winter movies?

The Hunger Games movies

10.  How do you stay healthy in winter?

We get our annual flu shots, and now COVID booster.  We make sure we get enough rest.  And we use a humidifier at night.  This year hasn't been very cold out and I think that has resulted in less illness as well.

As a bonus, a few weeks ago I wrote into one of the favourite podcasts, The Bridge with Peter Mansbridge, to answer the question "What is your favourite thing about winter in Canada?".  This is my response:

Someone else's letter that I have been thinking about a lot said their favourite thing about winter in Canada is that we just got on with our lives despite the cold and snow.  And yes, there are times when the snow is too much and people are storm-stayed, but mostly we go about our lives, going to work and school, doing errands, etc. driving carefully with snow tires, dressing for the weather, and taking up winter hobbies. 

 

What's up Wednesday

What we’re eating this week…

I am in Timmins this week for work so my menu is Boston Pizza heavy (but I’m not complaining).  Dave and the boys have tacos, macaroni and cheese, chicken stir-fry, and meatball subs on their menu for the week.

What I’m reminiscing about…

Previous visits to Timmins. It’s always nice to see my colleagues up here and the time always flies by.

What I’m loving…

Since I’m travelling this week I am loving the charger that I got for Christmas that does my phone, AirPods and watch altogether. And I love having my own iPad that I can easily get out to do work and watch some downloaded shows.

What we’ve been up to…

Making sure the boys are registered in the right sports for summer and hoping there are few conflicts.

What I’m dreading…

This weekend is supposed to be 10 degrees (Celsius) which is not good for skiing, and not good for our planet in general. 

What I’m working on…

On my list this week is booking lift tickets for our trip next month.  We know which days we will be skiing, and we have some discount codes so I need to get this done and then I don’t need to think about it anymore.

What I’m excited about…

The Oscars.  I have only seen a handful of the nominated films, but I have a few favourites I’d like to see win.  Jimmy Kimmel should do a good job as host. 

What I’m watching/reading…

We are watching Mr. And Mrs. Smith, Fargo, Masters of the Air, and Drive to Survive.

I am not reading anything at the moment.  I am still waiting for the library catalogue to come back online so I can place some holds.  

What I’m listening to…

Most of the time I really just want to listen to country music, Chris Stapleton, Zach Bryan, Morgan Wallen. It’s reliably good every time. 

What I’m wearing…

My new skis :) 

What I’m doing this weekend…

Last official weekend of ski race training for the boys, and it’s the Club Championships with banquet on Saturday night.  We have a hotel booked for Saturday night so that will cut down on the driving. 

What I’m looking forward to next month…

March Break! We are going skiing at Mont Tremblant in Quebec.  It’s also Dave’s birthday, St. Patrick’s Day, and Easter.  And I have a work trip to Lima Peru.

What else is new…

I am participating in a Lenten series at church. There have been five videos and a study guide, and the first discussion session is taking place tonight via Zoom.   I have done similar things like this before and I always enjoy the discussion.  Our minister is very good at finding thoughtful material for us to consider. 

Linking up with Shay

Weekend Recap

Friday was exciting, Dave and I both got new skis!  We bought our skis back when we moved to Toronto in 2008 and we bought them at a ski show.  It was time for an upgrade. We did not get new boots and poles yet, but maybe next year.

Q attended a birthday party at a skating rink so it was fun to dust off the skates and take a few turns around the rink. 

On Saturday it was back to the ski hill.  It was cold that day, but the snow was pretty great. I joked that the amazing conditions came with the new skis! :)

E with some of his buddies at lunch.

See how my new skis match my outfit, this was a prime consideration when picking them out.

Dave’s skis also go with his jacket.

Q had a t-ball assessment that evening so we left as soon as race training was over. 

The assessment was pretty quick. He was cracking the ball off the tee, ready for summer!

On Sunday morning we dropped E and Dave at The Heights for E’s race and then Q and I went to our regular hill for Skidaddle, a fun race for the U8s and U10s. The kids could dress in costumes.

A few practice runs before the race.

I was volunteering with coat running and it was a bit hectic get up and down the hill and trying to catch Q’s runs. And I didn’t manage to get any photos. All in all it was a fun day for the kids.  Q finished 9th in his age group.

Podium dreams.

Meanwhile E had a great day for racing too. He placed 23rd out of 40 racers.  

The snow is hanging in there although ski season is nearing an end.  It’s definitely a lot of work to go up and back on both days in the weekend, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything. 

 

Friday Favourites

We are flying through February, it's the last Friday of the month!

We had some friends over for supper midweek.  The kids enjoyed their burgers and fries at the counter.  We are going to Mt. Tremblant for March Break with this family (and others) for March Break so we chatted about plans for that trip.

I took E to swimming this week and snapped a photo while we were waiting.  He said "you can't take pictures at the pool!" But I said it was okay since he was the only one in it.

Dave returned from his golf trip he was on last week.  He had a great time with some old friends.

On Wednesday I shared photos of our new living room.

I finally finished Derry Girls.  I loved it.  The characters are so funny with amazing Derry accents and sayings (that I sometimes need subtitles to understand) and it has music from the '90s sprinkled throughout (who doesn't love Dreams by The Cranberries), and is quite touching at times as it relates to the Troubles. I'll be watching this again.

Linking up with Andrea and Erika

New Living Room

Today I wanted to show you our new living room.  

This is the before.

During

Insulation!!

A room full of trim.

And the finished room (pre-furniture).  We opened up the two entries into this room, they had previously been the size of double doors, but we took out the doors and moved the walls out and up.  It really has an impact on the feel of the room.

Come on in to our cozy living room.  We actually like hanging out in here now.

We still need to buy a few more decorative items, something for the mantle, top of the piano, and the walls. We may add a coffee table but we aren't sure what we want yet.  I am sort of leaning towards no coffee table, as I like the open path to the couch. 

If anyone is interested:

Hardwood Flooring - AA Floors 

Fireplace - Marsh

Fireplace Tile - Centura

Mantle - Wayfair

Rug - Ruggable

Leather Chairs - Crate and Barrel

Couch - Crate and Barrel

Blue Chair and Ottoman - Monte (old, from when E was born)

Side Tables - Article

Lamps - Article

Painting - Souvenir from Peru, framed at Frame It on Bloor

Pillow - Homesense

Weekend Recap

We had a long weekend here, a holiday Monday for Family Day.  The kids also had no school on Friday.  Q went to the YMCA for the morning but then I picked him up mid-afternoon so he could have a friend over. They finally got out to use the sleds.  E had been outside all day with his friends so by this time he was inside.

He also had a friend over, and he stayed for supper.  We ordered from Pizzaiolo, it was good!

Dave was away this weekend, so it was just me and the boys up at the ski hill. I skied with our friend Gayle all Saturday morning.  It was cold but the snow conditions were pretty great.

This was our afternoon crew.

When we go home I had to change the batteries in the smoke detector because it was beeping.  And I had filled up the windshield washer fluid.  Look at me adulting without Dave around!! Haha.

We rested on the couch for a bit and then I made macaroni and cheese for supper.

Then I set up the laptop in our room and we watched a movie upstairs.  It made getting to bed afterwards easier.

We left early for skiing on Sunday morning because snow was expected.  It did snow but the roads were fine.

This is Q with one of his buddies.

Leftover pizza and leftover macaroni and cheese when we got home.  Do I look tired after two days of solo parenting on the hill!?!  It was early to bed for me.

On Monday we got to sleep in and take it easy in the morning.  The boys watched a few movies and I did some puzzles (crossword and jigsaw) but also vacuumed and did laundry. 

We went to Tim Horton's for lunch.

And then a walk in High Park.

As usual these kids did not want to leave the house, but then did not want to get back in the car to go home.

I wanted to go out for dinner.  There were a few places that were closed (since Monday is their usual night to be closed, even though it was a holiday) so we ended up at the Crooked Cue.

Then home for a somewhat early bedtime.