Friday Favourites

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

To begin, I wanted to be serious for a minute - I didn't even watch the video of Philander Castile's girlfriend after he was shot by police, but I heard part of it, and along with knowing that there was a four year old in the car at the time is enough to break my heart.  It seems absolutely unfathomable that this is a reality in one of the most progressive nations in the world, in 2016 no less!!  But not only is it fathomable, it is an almost daily occurrence that someone is shot by police, and the risk is so much higher if you're black. 

Most of us don't get it and we can't get it.  We don't know what it is like to be black in America (and Canada) and we never will. But that doesn't mean that we should ignore it.  This is our society, and change is required but it will be slow and it can be hard to figure out what can be done.

This article from The Atlantic talks about police training and that seems like a tangible change; it's not enough, but it's a start.  Recently the Ontario ombudsman examined police training in Ontario with respect to how officers deal with people with mental health issues.  The recommendations were basically more training on de-escalation methods.  See an article about that here, and the full slate of recommendations here.  This type of thing should be applied in all scenarios, clearly this isn't just an issue for people with mental health issues, it's a real issue for black men in particular in the US.  The Atlantic article says that cops shoot first because they are afraid of hesitating and losing their own life.  If they are properly trained, then they will feel more comfortable employing these tactics and you'd think they would be less likely to reach for their gun or taser. 

So instead of just having your heart broken by these events and just being empathetic, try doing something. Write a letter to your city council person, your mayor, your sheriff's department, your county office, etc. and demand better and improved training for police officers.  That alone will not sovle the problem, but it helps, and it something you can do, since you can't wipe out racism by yourself.

I saw this picture on Twitter and thought I'd share.

Now, onto some more fun Friday Favourites!!

E has been enjoying summer camp at High Park this week.  They got to go on some hikes to look for plants and animals, made salsa from garden ingredients, went to the splash pad and other fun things. 

This was the first day.

This morning our Canadian tennis star is playing in the semi finals at Wimbledon against Roger Federer.  This has been a great tournament for him but it's not over yet, would love to see him in the finals!!

Earlier this week I shared photos from our camping trip.  The post is here.  We had such a great time enjoying the great outdoors!

I love the hot weather, but you know it's hot when the weather network gives up on the temperature!! (remember these temperatures are Celsius!)

Have a happy Friday and weekend!

Hosting a small group

I love to host a dinner party and our large Christmas open house, but I also love having just a few people over for a casual get together.  Last night I hosted our book club.  Each of us host once a year and when we do we serve some casual snacks and drinks.

Here are some tips for hosting a small group:

Keep the food simple.  I have found that people tend to eat less than you think they will.  When people come for book club, they have usually just eaten dinner so nobody is looking for a large meal. I like to make one savoury dish and one sweet thing with some fruit on the side.  I try to be conscious of dietary restrictions like dairy and gluten, and have some options available, although I know it is impossible to make everything gluten and dairy free.

This time I made this recipe for a mozzarella and tomato appetizer.

I also made these cookies and served some strawberries and mango on the side.

Offer a few different drinks, but again, keep it simple.  I bought a couple of bottles of wine and made a pitcher of fizzy lemonade.  This is another instance where people tend to consume less than you think they will.  Not that wine ever goes to waste in this house, but it's a consideration.

Provide some nice things to eat with.  People want to feel comfortable to take lots of food and not make a mess.  I have these nice plates and cocktail napkins from Crate and Barrel that always work well for a small group.

Make sure there are places to put drinks and plates down.  We have some nice trays that we can use on our ottoman and couches, and a few table surfaces.  The piano bench also works as a makeshift table.

Plan ahead and set everything out before guests arrive.  Since it is a small group and they aren't there for a long time, your absence will be felt, so you don't want to be in the kitchen the whole time.

Media Wednesday

This month's book club selection was Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty. 

This was the first book I had read by this author and I didn't know what to expect.  It was introduced as a murder mystery, which is fine, but I don't typically read books like that.  Although the murder is introduced right away but not revealed until the end, I still wouldn't think of it as your typical murder mystery.  It was a light and easy read that happened to have some outstanding questions that keep you guessing throughout.

The story takes place in Australia and centers around the parents of a new kindergarten class.  This was very timely for a few of us in book club as some of our kids were in JK this year and others will be entering JK next year.  Aside from the underlying death and wondering who would be killed and how, it was a very interesting commentary on how parents relate to each other now.  There were some obvious exaggerations in the story for the sake of emphasis and plot, but it is very true that when you get a group of parents together, there will be judgments and comments.  I am guilty of it too, although I do actively try to avoid speaking out loud with judgment.

I haven't had a lot of experience with other parents since I didn't do daily pick up and drop off at the official start and end of the school day.  Rather Dave and I shared this, and E attended the before and after school program so we didn't see the same parents all of the time.  The day after I finished the book, I did go to school slightly suspicious of the other parents - I wondered if there was this whole other world that I was missing.  I could only imagine what they were saying about me, the working mother who doesn't volunteer in the classroom and whose husband seems to be doing a lot of the work!!  The horror!! But then I figured out that first of all, it doesn't matter what other people think, and second of all, I don't think the stay at home moms really gather around at 9:00 am and talk about all of the other parents...or maybe they do and I'll find out all about it next year when I am on mat leave and I become one of "them".

But I digress, the book was very entertaining and well written. I would recommend it.  The characters were all well developed and I could really get a sense of their personalities.  I liked picking up on little clues throughout and thought I was so smart when I figured out a few things on my own.  I'd like to check out her other books too. 

Show and Tell Tuesday

Linking up with Andrea for Show and Tell Tuesday. Today's topic is who do you do life with and how did you meet them?

Obviously the most important person that I do life with is Dave.  I bragged about him on his birthday last year.  Without him, I would not be able to do half of what I do on a daily basis - and that includes daily chores, enjoying our home, and having fun.  We each bring our own strengths to the relationship and we put up with each other's weaknesses ;)  I shared how we met and how we got engaged here.

This is a cliche but it works - "We may not have it all together, but together we have it all!"

As for girlfriends, I don't have one big group of friends, I have several friend groups.  This is a symptom of attending two universities and now living in a new province.  True to the stereotype of all Canadians knowing each other, some of the friends in these groups do overlap.  I often have to stop myself before telling a story to remember if that person knows the person I'm talking about. 

I keep in touch with people from high school, but mostly through Facebook and Instagram.  The nice thing though is when we do get together, we all still get along and it feels very comfortable.  I grew up in a small town so our friends were the people we went to school with.  

I also have friends from Dalhousie where I lived in residence (Newcombe House!) and made some life-long friends.  I keep in touch with some more than others but we will always have those memories of our younger years in undergrad. 

Law School at the University of New Brunswick introduced me to a few more friends that I am still close with.  The law school group that attended my wedding. 

In Toronto, I am lucky to work with some great people, and we have a lot in common.  They are more than co-workers, they are friends, and without them, it would make going to work a lot less enjoyable.  This is just some of them from my birthday lunch last year. 

I have other friends in different places - book club, family members, neighbours, the wives in our couple friends, and others. 

I always say that we go through different seasons with our friendships.  Sometimes we see or speak to each other a lot, but other times we go through periods where our contact is less frequent.  Although I would love to be in constant communication with my friends everywhere, I know that isn't possible so I do the best I can while still knowing those friends are out there to catch up with again on another day.

Weekend Recap

Whew! What a long weekend and a fun one!  We already had the Friday off for Canada Day but we also took Thursday off for an extra long weekend.   We went camping at Algonquin Park at the same campsite we went to last year, Pog Lake.  Our friends met us there on Friday.  

In the car and ready to go on Thursday morning.  E actually got car sick shortly after this photo was taken but we were able to easily pull off at a truck stop and clean him up.  He had just done too many car games before we got too far and the colouring and drawing got the better of him.  

Like last year, we stopped at Weber's for a cheeseburger and fries.  I love this tradition. 

Then after a quick stop at the new Beer Store in Huntsville, we enjoyed our second tradition of an ice cream cone at the Kawartha Dairy on Highway 60.

We set up our tent at our campsite and headed down to the beach.  It was a beautiful day.

We made some campfire nachos for supper and they were so tasty!!

Waiting for them to cook

Just one burnt corner, but otherwise a success!

The next morning we had an easy breakfast of muffins, yoghurt, and cereal in little boxes.  The best part was little clean up.

Happy Canada Day!

We were expecting some rain later in the day so we wanted to get down to the beach right away.  We all went swimming

But then the rains came, starting at 11:30.  We enjoyed our new spacious tent and I made lunch while E and Dave played cards.  Then we all had some quiet time. Although E doesn't really nap, he did rest a little bit and then worked on his math workbook.  The rain didn't let up all day :( but our tent held up well. 

Our friends arrived during a brief break in the rain so they were able to get their tent up and then we set up their tarp so we could make supper and enjoy the fire. 

S'mores make everything better!

Sparklers for Canada Day!

Everyone else was putting kids to bed so I enjoyed the fire by myself.

I didn't take a lot of pictures on Saturday because my phone was not fully charged and I usually left it behind.  I did get this one of the brave chipmunk who scampered around our site looking for breakfast scraps.  He even tried to climb up my back to get to the bowl of nuts. I just about lost my mind!! 

The weather was not great on Saturday.  It was sunny but so windy so the beach wasn't that enjoyable.  We had a nice sheltered campsite but the kids wanted to be at the beach.  We still went swimming and not too bad when the sun was out but it could have been much better. 

The boys rented a canoe and took the boys out for a post-dinner ride. 

I always love to take photos of the trees above my heads.

On Sunday morning after breakfast, they went out in the canoe again while the moms cleaned up our site to get ready to go home.  It was another breezy day down by the beach but we still enjoyed the sunshine. 

Love this guy!

Before we left we roasted all of our leftover hotdogs for lunch, packed the cars and then headed home.  The traffic wasn't too bad and we were home just after 6:00.  We definitely like this campsite and we are getting more familiar with the sites and which ones would be the best to book.  There are some that have access to the water which is nice but are still nice and protected from the wind, we will try for one for one of those next time.  We go camping with these same friends at the end of the summer at a different campground, and we are looking forward to that!!

Hope you enjoyed your Canada Day weekend as much as we did!

Friday Favourites

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

To celebrate Canada Day, I am sharing my favourite Canadian You Tube clips for your enjoyment:

Everyone's favourite beer commercial.  It's 15 years old, by the way. 

A favourite Heritage Minute.

My song of choice for Canada Day,  Wheat Kings by the Tragically Hip.

2010 Olympic Gold Medal Hockey Game when Canada beat the US with Sidney Crosby's overtime goal.  I'm not allowed to share the video from YouTube though so you'll have to look it up yourself.
#stupidIOC

And finally from last fall, Jose Bautista's bat flip.  I know a lot of people who are fans of other teams (particularly Texas) were not happy about this, but it was a big moment for us and I can't help but love it!

I'm sure after I post this I will think of many others, but this is a start to get you in the mood for Canada Day!  Enjoy your day off :)