Weekend Recap

On Friday night we went to E's school for their annual summer party.  It was fun and chaotic, as usual.  Afterwards, we were going to go to High Park to watch the Little League games, but it was closed to traffic for the Parapan Am Games. So instead we stopped at the playground.  E made himself busy in the sandbox.  I'm always amazing at the toys that end up there.  I guess people just take their old toys there as a way to dispose of them.  It's fine for us because then we don't need to bring our own toys. 

On Saturday morning Dave went for a long bike ride and then I went for a run.  I stopped to watch the Parapan Am athletes do the bike race.  There were people on the reclined bikes who were peddling with their arms, and others on large trikes with big wheels.  It was a little emotional watching them because of how humbling it is.  We complain about things so often, but we don't really know the challenges that so many people face.  I love watching the para-athletes, and I was happy I could see some of their race in person.

E and I walke down the street to do some errands and then we rested to get prepared for Greekfest at the Taste of the Danforth. Our neighbours invited us to go down with them on the subway.

It was so busy, as expected.

We did manage to find a beer garden and this is E dancing to the Greek music. 

The fire station had their engine out for kids to climb into, and their fire "Gator".  E was very excited.

He said "It's Marshall" (from Paw Patrol)

We had some yummy Greek food at a restaurant and then found a playground to entertain the kids before we got back on the subway.

Pape Station

On Sunday, Dave finished the shed.  Looks pretty good, eh?!?

In the afternoon we walked to High Park but had to stop for ice cream first.  Dave and E got an ice cream, I preferred a mini vanilla cupcake.

Bake Sale

E patiently waiting for the splashpad to fill up again.

Dave trying to find a live feed of the Jays game, unsuccessful. 

My usual selfie to prove I was at the park too.

Then when we got home, my dad (Papa Jim) arrived from Victoria.  He spent a couple of nights with us before heading out to visit friends around Southern Ontario.

Putting together a new puzzle

Silly faces at the table!

Playing

Yesterday I was feeling tired in the morning, the day before I had gone for a run and then we went to Taste of the Danforth in the afternoon.  I still got up early to do some work.  Then I sat with E for a bit to watch some TV and rested on the couch, but then all I wanted to do was tidy up the house and then go to get groceries for our camping trip.  I thought if I could get to the store before 11:00, I could get home for lunch and we could do something fun in the afternoon.

Dave was outside working on the shed, and I busied myself with tidying the house and putting things away.  E was playing with his Playmobil things and then said, "I want you to play with me, Mom".  So even though I was nowhere near done tidying and it was approaching 11:00, I decided to put aside my chores and play.  E's Playmobil things are a camping/safari van and a fire engine.  E wanted to "go camping" but we couldn't find the camping guys that come with that set, so we used the fire fighters instead.  We changed their helmets out for the safari hats, and removed their gloves and tool belts.

We spent a bit of time getting their camping stuff ready and then driving to the campsite.  It is really interesting to hear what E thinks up for them to do and how he laughs when I do the voices of the camping (or in this case, fire) guys.

I thought about taking a picture of the "campsite" we had set up but then thought against it.  No need to pull out my phone when I should just be focusing on playing.

Eventually of course I had to end to game so we could head to the store before the day got away from us, but we still enjoyed our time together.  We spend a lot of time getting E involved in what we are doing, cooking, shopping, fixing things, etc. but stopping to play his game is also important and we need to remember to do that too.

#letthembelittle
#babiesdontkeep
(he's not a baby, as he constantly reminds me, but the hashtag still applies)

Friday Favourites

Linking up with Andrea, Erika, and Narci for Friday Favourites.

1. Running at night is one of my favourite ways to exercise.  It is usually cooler and I don't have to hurry back to get ready for work, so I can take my time or go for a longer distance if I want to.  I went for a run on Thursday evening and it was very pleasant.  

2. I saw that Mariah Carey got a star on the Walk of Fame this week.  The first CD that I ever purchased was Emotions. It was a favourite for a long time.

3. The Daily Show has been my favourite news source for many years.  I am sad to see Jon Stewart go.  His pause and smirk at the camera was sometimes all the joke he needed.  And I wasn't always laughing at the Americans, we could still appreciate the humour when Toronto was the brunt of the joke:

4. Today is E's daycare summer party and we signed up to bring cookies. I made my favourite recipe  for chocolate chip cookies and made them extra special by using M and Ms along with the chocolate chips.  This guy helped me add the ingredients to the mixer.

5.  I've said before that one of my favourite things about this blog is keeping a record of our lives, even the small things.  One of those things happened this week.  Dave and E were playing dominos and Dave won.  E got so upset because he wanted to win.  He doesn't get upset a lot and I like to think he is so well-adjusted and grown up, but he is still a little boy.  It was a good reminder to let him be little, and know that losing a game of dominos can be a big deal sometimes. 

This is from last year but Cuddly Pal is still going strong.

Recipe - Lamb Skewers

We have a grilling cookbook that I got a few years ago that has proven to be our most used summer cookbook.  It is where our BBQ Rib recipe and rub recipe for our beer butt chicken originated.  Not bad for the $6 I spent on it years ago.

I never thought I liked lamb until I moved to Ontario, but it was only because I'd never had local lamb, only the stuff from New Zealand.  Now, no offence to NZ lamb, but if your food is travelling approximately 14,000 km, then how good can it really be (this is a rhetorical question, I'm sure I've had food that's travelled this far and enjoyed it).  So if you live in a place where they have local lamb (usually at your butcher or farmer's market, not the grocery store), then try it, maybe you'll like it, if you don't already.

Here is a recipe for lamb skewers and chick pea salad, adapted from our grilling cookbook:

Yoghurt Marinade

2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1 cup plain yoghurt (I used Greek)
2 tbsp heavy cream
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp grated fresh ginger
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp chopped fresh mint
1/4 tsp ground chilies

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well.  Set aside to infuse until ready to use.

(our mint was a little limp at this point, but still good)

Marinate 1 1/2 lbs lamb (ask for cut up pieces of stewing lamb) in the yoghurt mixture for 2 to 4 hours at least.  Keep in the fridge while marinating.

Thread onto skewers while you're preheating the grill.  (Inside tip, take the marinated lamb out of the fridge for a bit before you start putting them on the skewers otherwise they are so cold, it is like doing one of those pain threshold tests with the cold water.)

Grill on a greased BBQ, for about 10 minutes, then flip (they will probably stick even if you've greased the grill, but persevere), and cook for another 10 minutes.

Try the skewers with this chick pea salad:

1 can chick peas

1/3 cup olive oil

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

juice from 1/2 lemon

handful of fresh Italian parsley, chopped

pinch of paprika

salt and pepper

Combine all ingredients and let sit for a few hours and serve with the lamb.  

Very tasty!

Weekend Recap

We enjoyed such a beautiful long weekend.  Aside from a brief (but torrential) rainstorm on Sunday evening the sun was out, it was breezy, and the temperature was just right.  It was also a big weekend for the Blue Jays!

Even (or maybe especially) on Fridays of a long weekend it is a struggle to get out of my office early.  But eventually I got my work done and did some errands on the way home.  We had a simple supper and watched some Homeland before going to bed at a reasonable hour.  

On Saturday morning Dave went for a run, and when he got back he started working on putting cedar shingles on the shed.  E and I walked down to the library and got some food.  Then we went to the playground for a bit.  I read my library book while E played.  It was very relaxing and I loved how shady it was.

Climbing to the top of the rock wall

I was a spotter, but he got to the top all by himself.

Our locally purchased lunch, from the corn to the ham in the sandwiches.  

We were having people over for supper so after lunch I set to work getting things ready for our meal. We served tacos - with choice of toppings steak, chicken, shrimp, and grilled vegetables, along with the other typical taco items.  This was a pretty easy meal to make ahead of time.  I also made sangria.

The aftermath of the freshly squeezed juice for the sangria.

I forgot to take pictures of the whole spread, but this is everyone helping themselves.  

On Sunday morning, I went for a run.  Dave started work on the shed again.  E and I watched some TV and I cleaned up a bit from the night before.  Then we walked down the street to get some lunch, buy our groceries for the week, and do another round at the playground.  After we got back, my friend from high school who lives in Ottawa came by for a quick visit.  

The worksite

Lunch at Bread and Roses Bakery.  I had a BLT and E had roast beef.  They were both good but really you could put anything between prices of fresh bread (lightly toasted) and it would be amazing. 

Thank goodness we had an extra day to rest up.  I love holiday Monday bonus days.  We "slept in" (E got up at 7:45), and then after Dave's run, we went to Home Depot.  As with any home renovation project, you can't just go to get supplies once, it always seems to be necessary to go back to Home Depot.  

This was his face when I asked if I could take his picture.

Apparently he was just mad he hadn't had time to make his signature face.

We had thought about biking down to Sunnyside pool to swim and get some lunch at the pavilion, but we were tired so instead we tried a nice restaurant in our neighbourhood.  We went to Bryden's.  Some of our neighbours had said it was great but we had yet to try it.  We were actually pretty impressed.  They had a great selection of local beers on tap, a small but tasty menu, and a very friendly vibe.  We will be back for sure.

For those listeners of This American Life, you'll recognize this as one of their sponsors ("Keeping the pub in public radio").

Chicken Parm Sandwich,  very tasty.

When we got back Dave kept working on the shed (with the Blue Jays game playing on the iPad), and I read for a bit in my hammock.  E watched some Bob the Builder, but I don't think he was complaining.

Then I made some tea biscuits and we enjoyed some strawberry shortcake after our dinner.

Thankfully this is a four day week, and I'm taking a half day on Wednesday to attend a funeral, so this week should be a fairly easy one, at least I hope so!!

Show and Tell Tuesday

Linking up with Andrea for Show and Tell Tuesday.

Today's theme is Back to School traditions.  This will be our first year of doing "back to school" so we don't have any traditions yet, but it will be fun to think of some.  I am looking forward to reading through the link up so I can get some ideas.

First of all, I can't really believe that E is going to school.  In Ontario if you turn 4 in 2015 then you can go to all-day pre-kindergarden.  (By the way, "all day" means 9 to 3 so we still need to register E for the before and after school programs.)  When I started school in Nova Scotia, I was 5 and the cut off was September 30,  so if this was 1986 Nova Scotia, then E wouldn't be going to school for another two years.  But I am glad he is starting at the "big school" (Pre-K to Grade 8), he is ready and he is excited.  Because he's been going to daycare since he was 1, he is totally used to being out of the house with teachers and friends.  He has learned a lot at daycare and he is ready to learn more.  

We are also lucky that there are a few people on our street who go to the same school, and one of them will be in his class.  She is a few months older and it will probably be good for him. I hope she keeps him in line. 

Our school is about 1.5 kilometres from our house, so it is possible to walk or bike there, but it is uphill (both ways!! just kidding, just uphill on the way there) so it is not as easy for E.  Dave can hopefully pop him in the bike trailer for a quick ride up.  

I have always loved going shopping for school supplies.  I remember packing up my backpack days before school started and wearing it around the house.  Speaking of backpacks, I want to get this one for E.  It is very trendy/hipster-y, and I like it. 

Of course, he would prefer something like this:

or this:

So we'll see which one he ends up with.

We have not actually received a list of school supplies, but I guess for Pre-K there wouldn't be much. I really wish Target was still here because I do not want to go to Wal-Mart to buy anything, although I'm sure I'll end up there.  We also have Staples where I could get a few things.  

As for actual traditions, things I'd like to do are:

1. Take a first day of school photo on the front steps of our house.  

2. Make E's favourite breakfast of eggs on toast with some fruit.  He is used to having "second breakfast" at daycare, so I'll want to make sure he is well fed so he can make it to recess.

3.  Pack a fun and healthy lunch.  I know he is too young to pack his own lunch, but we will definitely get him involved in getting his things ready.  

4.  I'd also like to come home early from work so Dave and I can walk up together to get him.  I think it will be fun to listen to what he has to say about his first day and the walk home would be better than the quick drive home.  It won't always be possible for us to pick him up together but we can at least do it on the first day.

5. Pick a supper that we all like that could become a tradition for first day of school.  Maybe something like Crunchy Beef and Mac.  It's easy and a family favourite. 

I hope this kid likes school as much as I did!

One Year Blogiversary

I have been doing this blog thing for 1 year.  I started last August and have posted something every weekday since then.  I have a fairy consistent audience and I am grateful for everyone of you that click over to see what we've been up to.  I also love that I have this record of our special events and everyday occurrences.

In my first post I wrote about how much I love Toronto and that it would feature in my posts.  I think I've done a good job of that, but not that I've had to try to hard, since we live our lives in Toronto, it's bound to show up often as a theme.

There are still a few things I'd like to do to make this blog even better.  Stay tuned.

Thank you again for your support of this blog. I know people are reading, but it is always nice to know that people have tried a recipe or related to something I had to say.

We are still enjoying our long weekend so our recap will be up later this week.