Weekend Recap

Friday was a cold day, but I started it off with a yummy breakfast.  I stepped up my avocado toast game with avocado on a bagel and topped with tomato and fresh basil.  Delicious.

Q and I braved to the cold wind to walk to the gym.  Then we went out to Mississauga to have lunch with my work friends.  Dave was also out in Mississauga so we did a few errands and then picked him up.  

On Saturday morning, we played with some toys while Dave went for a run and Q napped. 

Then I picked up some groceries with Q and Dave and E went to our friends' house to help spread some gravel over their laneway.  

The truck delivering the gravel

Between gravel deliveries, the boys took the opportunity to visit Henderson Brewery. 

We had some neighbours over for supper and started our night with some local brews - Henderson, Bandit Brewery, and Junction Craft Brewing.  

I forgot to take photos of our evening, but E took this one!  I made chicken drumsticks with our favourite spice rub (1 tbsp salt, 1 tbsp paprika, 2 tsp crushed black pepper, 2 tsp onion powder, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper), roasted vegetables (marinated in olive oil, the juice and rind of one lemon and one lime, salt and pepper) over salad greens, and this couscous salad (I doubled the salad recipe, but not the dressing recipe).  And for dessert we had brownies with ice cream and strawberries.  This was a simple spring/summer meal and I will be making it again. 

We celebrated Palm Sunday at church with the children leading the opening hymn and then marching around the sanctuary with their "palm branches" (green craft foam cut into a palm frond shape).

We scurried home from church (leaving early actually) so we could get to High Park for the Colbourn Lodge Easter Egg Hunt.  This was the first year I had heard about it, so we weren't sure what to expect.  Some friends of ours were coming into town for the day and so they managed to get wristbands for the kids for the 1:00 hunt time.  This was key because the hunt was sold out by the time we got there.  

Despite the popularity of this event, I don't really know what all the fuss is about.  It was $3 for each kid, and they didn't have to hunt for the eggs at all, they just had to pick them up off the ground.  Then they exchanged the plastic eggs for a bag of chocolate eggs. I think next year, we will try to organize something with the neighbourhood kids instead.

After the hunt we walked down to the playground and the zoo.

Three war plants flew overhead, probably in celebration of Vimy Ridge day.

We had leftovers from the night before for supper.  I love going out all day and then coming home to a dinner that's already prepared. 

We enjoyed the Masters, so happy to see Sergio win, and then went to bed early.

Friday Favourites

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

It's Masters weekend!  We love golf around here.  I remember I used to be bored watching so much golf with my family when I was growing up, but now I love it.  There are so many good people to watch, but our favourites are Rory, Rickie, Bubba, Adam Scott, Jason Day, and I always like to see Phil in the hunt.  It's too bad that Dustin Johnson can't play this week; I don't love him, but he is number 1 in the world so it's disappointing to see him out of the tournament.

Q had his first swimming lesson this week.  I of course use the term "lesson" loosely since he doesn't really know what he's doing, but he enjoyed himself and the whole ideas is really just to get him familiar with the water.

We enjoyed one of our favourite meals this week.  I shared the recipe at the end of this post last year. Corn and cheese pancakes topped with lots of yummy things like avocado, bacon, and tomatoes. 

I have a new favourite Instagram account - it's @living_europe.  It has the most beautiful shots of European cities and my travel bug is flaring up again.  I try not to just like every one of their posts, but I can't help it!  They are all beautiful and I want to visit them all. 

Yesterday I posted about our Easter decorations.  The placement of the Easter tree on the floor by the TV may prove to be a mistake.  Although Q can't move well enough to get at it yet, and E has been warned not to touch it, but Dave (!) has been poking around by the TV with a new cable so it may have to be moved. 

This wekend is the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge.  You can read about it here.  I have always enjoyed war history, and Vimy Ridge is of particular importance because arguably it was the birth of the nation of Canada.  Although Canada as it's own country was fifty years prior, it didn't really come into its own until this battle and World War I.  Our Prime Minister and many other Canadians will be in France this weekend to celebrate this anniversary. 

(This is the memorial at the site)

I finished the S-Town podcast.  I won't talk too much about it here since I don't want to spoil anything for those who still want to listen.  I will say that I really enjoyed it.  It was not as good as Season 1 of Serial (will anything ever measure up to it?), but it kept me engaged for all seven episodes and I am still thinking about it.  Most of us only get to see a small part of the world, and this podcast showed me what a small town in the Southern US.  It helped me understand a bit about how Donald Trump could be elected, how people think, what their priorities are, etc.  It also introduced me to someone who felt like a fictional character from a Faulkner novel, a real life tour de force.  There are so many people in this world and we can't possibly know them all, but podcasts like this will give us a small glimpse into others' lives and I think that exposure to people who "aren't like you" is so useful.  When people are sequestered in their own world, it's hard for them to empathize with others and then we see tensions spring up.  If you haven't listened yet, I think it is worth listening to.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Easter Decorations

Sharing photos of our Easter decorations.  Like I did with my Christmas decorations, I decided to just start putting stuff around, making up new ideas, rather than looking at last year's post or the year before.  I know I'm kind of reinventing the wheel, but I don't want to get bored with the few decorations I have, so I'm mixing it up. 

The kitchen window.  The red paper tulip was a craft that E "made" at school (he wasn't there when they made it so the YMCA staff gave us an extra one they had made).

I moved this wreath here after Christmas.  The framed photos and the "Love" were added for Valentine's Day, and now the eggs and bunnies have joined in for Easter.

Last year when I put up the "Hello Spring" sign, Easter was early and I think there was still snow on the ground, but this year, it's alright.

I wasn't sure what to do with the pink and blue branches this year so put them in the window so you can see them from the front porch.  Maybe the mailman appreciates them!

A cozy friend and fresh spring coloured blanket

I clipped a branch from the park on our walk home from school (I even brought clippers with me) and decided this was a good spot for it.  Usually the family room doesn't get any decorations so this will brighten up this corner.

One of the eggs I painted with the kids last week #sotalented

The egg garland made it to the stairs this year. 

We will dye some eggs this weekend, but then eat them.  I also picked up a package of plastic sleeves that can be fit over some eggs, they look like Ukrainian eggs, which is fitting for our neighbourhood.  I'll let you know how those turn out next week.

Media Wednesday

This month's book club selection was When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi.

We have only read a couple of books this year, but this is already one of my favourite books.  This is a non-fiction book written by a man diagnosed with cancer.  He was doing his residency in neurology when he got this news.  Although familiar with illness and death, he of course had to face this challenge as a patient, not as the doctor.  There are a few things I liked about this book - his reason for why he chose medicine for his career and then why he chose neurology as his specialty, his thought about his role in the lives of his patients and their families (how he breaks bad news, how he can contribute to their decisions, etc.), and how he managed his cancer while still practicing medicine.  I love hearing intelligent people speak (in this case write), and how they process information and how they clearly communicate their point of view. 

Two passages still stick out in my mind - one is about how he can be a man of science and believe in God.  The other passage is the last paragraph before the epilogue and I don't want to give anything away so just read the book and you'll see what I mean.   

I would recommend this book to everyone. Most of us have been or will be patients at some point,  and some of us will be confronted with cancer.  He writes so candidly from the perspective of both a doctor and a patient - what is important to be said and what can go unsaid; how people should be treated and how their families are involved or not involved in the decision making.  

This is a short book and a very easy read.  I would recommend not being in public when you're reading the second half of the book.  I was sitting in the waiting room at Kal-Tire waiting for our snow tires to be changed when I was finishing it up, and I had to furtively wipe away tears (if I had been at home, I probably would have been sobbing).  So yes, it is a sad book, but worth it. 

Weekend Recap

On Thursday evening, my parents were flying through Toronto on their way back from a cruise in Florida.  Their flight was cancelled so they ended up at our house for the night.  Although it is always nice to travel without incident, we were still happy to have this impromptu visit.  It worked out really well because I had a dentist appointment on Friday morning so they could watch Q and Dave could just drop E at school and go to work without having to worry about Q.  I did some errands with Mom in the afternoon and after supper (BBQ'd hamburgers!), they went back to the airport to finally go home.  

Dave read some books with E before bed. 

It was dry and warm on Saturday so as soon as Q went down for his nap, the rest of us went outside to clean up the yard.

Before coming in for lunch, E made this birthday cake.

After lunch we went to get E some new shoes and pick up some ingredients for supper.  Then Q went for his afternoon nap and we went outside again.  Dave cleaned up the front porch and I cleaned the inside of the car.  Then we walked down to see our neighbours and hung out there for a bit before going home to make pizzas for supper. 

On Sunday morning I went for a little walk.  I got some cash at the bank for the bake sale at church and some tulips.   I snapped these photos of the flowers for sale.

We went to church and then after Q's nap, we went back to our neighbours to decorate some eggs and hang out.  It was not as warm as we had hoped but it was nice to be outdoors with friends. 

I came back to make supper.  We had steaks and then I used up a bunch of things in the fridge - roasted red potatoes, sweet potato and butternut squash, and fried mushrooms, red onion and green pepper for the top of the steak.  I also used up most of the kale for a simple salad.  

We ended our evening with the Raptors game and Big Little Lies. 

Little Things - Part 10

Celebrating the little things, that are really the big things when you think about it.

Morning Light.  I am up early most mornings, but it has been cloudy recently.  The light blue and yellow skies, with some pink sometimes, are so pretty.

Matching PJs.  E and Q got matching pyjamas for Christmas and they wear them occasionally at the same time.  When we were in Blue Mountain we all ended up in the same bed. Q had trouble getting settled down, but E held his hand as they both drifted off to sleep.  The matching PJs just made it even more special, my heart was full. 

(These are the PJs, but this photo is from January)

Folding laundry.  I am happy to fold little shirts and pants, and match little socks together.  

New conditioner.  I bought the Shampure conditioner from Aveda the other day.  I love opening a new product and the smell is like I've just come from the salon.

New spring growth.  We cleared away some dead leaves and trimmed the old branches from the garden this weekend.  New life is showing through.

Nature in the city.  In our backyard we have a family of chipmunks living in our backyard, a pair of cardinals, woodpeckers, many squirrels, the occasional raccoon (or four), and other chirping birds.  It can be quite the scene at times and that's just our yard, we are lucky we can go for a walk by the Humber River for even more wildlife.  

You can check out my other Little Things posts here.