Weekend Recap

The weather finally turned around for us at the end of the week and Friday was beautiful. I took the opportunity to bike up the street to pick up some food and library books, it's such an efficient way to do errands!

Dave finally got out for his first round of golf for the year. I made him pose for a photo.

Q had skating.

And then we met my aunt for dinner at Joey.  She was visiting from Halifax so we were glad we could see her while she was here.

I set my alarm for 3:55 on Saturday morning so I could get up and watch King Charles' Coronation.  I had some scones and drank my coffee out of a tea cup.  I really enjoyed seeing it all and hearing Handel's Zadoc the Priest, one of his coronation anthems, sung at the last 11 coronations.  I was wondering how a young Queen Elizabeth managed it all at her young age. 

I have this one and two others I got from my grandmother.  I chose this because of the pretty colour and the M

But didn't realize what it was from until this weekend - Princess Margaret's visit to Canada in 1958!

Then we all went to High Park for Q's t-ball league's opening day. (Note the coffee in my arm.)

Everyone getting ready for the parade of players.

Q is on the Reds (that's him on the right with his arms up).

An introduction of the teams, a round of O Canada, the players' and parents' pledges, and a few words from the league's president.  We saw a bunch of familiar faces.

They had cotton candy and popcorn afterwards.

Then Q switched uniforms and played ball hockey.  It had been cancelled for the past two weeks so he was happy to finally get started.

He's number 3, taking the face-off.

Dave had already left to go to the golf course, so then after the game we shared a poutine and went to the playground with a few of Q's friends.

We went home briefly and I had a 20 minute doze. Then we went to the Etobicoke Humane Society to drop off some donations of old towels and sheets, and while we were there got a tour of the cats they have.  I had promised Dave I wouldn't come home with a cat, but only because we are doing a reno now and that's not the best time to bring a new pet in, but I can make no promises for when we're done. 

We went to Canadian Tire to get a couple of things after that before going home.  I actually did a Peloton when I got home, even though I was tired, but my muscles were sore so I knew it was a good idea.  And then I watched F1 Quali. 

Some friends came over, they aren't allowed on the grass right now as Dave is trying to get the new seeds to grow, so the played up above.

Dave was out late.  E and I watched a bit of TV before going to bed early!

On Sunday morning we had to be at church early.  The bell choir (which I'm not really a part of but do join in occasionally when they need an extra ringer) was doing a special performance for the Sunday school kids.  Someone read the Noah's Ark story and the bells accompanied it with sound effects.  Then we let the kids try out the bells.

They also made these rainbow cookies.

E had baseball practice right after so we scooted over there.  We were prepared with our packed lunch and umbrellas, but it started pouring so we were only there for about 20 minutes before they called it off.  Then sadly E's golf was canceled too. Instead I went to the grocery store, the E made cupcakes, I cleaned out the front hall closet.

We set up on the couch for the F1 Miami race, followed by Blue Jays baseball, followed by Maple Leafs hockey.  Two out of three weren't bad!

Not Just A Mom - Pet Peeves

Happy Monday!  Welcome to our monthly link up for May.  My co-hosts are Adrienne, Dara, Jen, Joanne, and Lauren. Check out their posts and others' that linked up below.

This month we are sharing our Pet Peeves. Nothing brings people together more than commiserating over those things that drive us nuts! Another link up I participate in had Pet Peeves as its topic last month so I wrote about my work-specific pet peeves over there and saved the rest of them for today.

Grammar mistakes.  This one appeared in my list of work pet peeves too, but it's a universal complaint.  I am constantly correcting the use of "who" vs. "whom" and proper use of adverbs vs. adjectives.  Adverbs describe verbs and end in "-ly".  For example, it's "drive safely", not "drive safe" because drive is a verb.  (Okay, I'll stop now.)

Bottled water.  I know that sometimes it is necessary, if your tap water is not safe, and occasionally while travelling, but most people do have safe drinking water and there are usually places to refill a bottle you can bring from home. 

When people do not clear the snow from their portion of the sidewalk.  Sometimes the little plough will come by to do the sidewalk, but residents are supposed to clear their own walk and it's so annoying to come across a place that hasn't been cleaned.  And I'm someone with no mobility issues, it's really not good if you do, or if you have a stroller. 

When my family does not come to the table when I say dinner is ready.  The food is hot and ready to eat, get to the table! 

When someone (ahem, Dave) is doing the dishes while I'm cooking and piles up the clean ones in the second sink before rinsing them all off and setting them on the counter to dry.  Inevitably I will need the second sink to rinse something off, wash my hands after touching raw meat, or drain some hot water. (He will say, "your pet peeve is that I'm doing the dishes, poor you", but it's the placement of the clean dishes, I certainly appreciate the dishes being cleaned!!)

When people put glasses in the sink.  I am afraid they will slide and tip over and break.  I prefer them to be set on the counter (or even better, directly in the dishwasher).

Waiting. I am an on time person, and I hate waiting for other people. 

Podcast recommendations.  I feel like this is the new "guess what dreamt about last night?", I tune right out as soon as someone starts talking about this.  I listen to enough podcasts that I really can't take on anymore.

People who wear poppies after Remembrance Day.  It's supposed to be removed after 11:00 on Remembrance Day, ideally after you've attended a service and placed your poppy on the cenotaph.  I'll give you a couple of days if you forget, but as we get into December or (horrors) February, I can't forgive it.

Kids watching an iPad at a place where there is already entertainment - like at a sporting event, the beach, or whatever.  The fun stuff is happening right in front of them, have them look around! This is especially true if you've spent money on whatever it is.

People that don't move over on the sidewalk to let you go by and force you onto the grass or road.  Single file people!

I really could go on, but I'll cap it here. 

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Friday Favourites

It's Friday again! And hopefully we will see the sun this weekend, we have a full weekend of baseball, ball hockey, and golf!

A few favourite things from this week...

I picked up a frozen Pizzeria Libretto pizza at Loblaws last week. Now, it certainly isn't as good as the real thing fresh at the restaurant, but it is a decent substitute for a frozen pizza.

With the Leafs first home game of Round 2, the city as very excited on Tuesday.  This crane across from my office raised this flag. I guess no crane work was required that day.

Speaking of views from my window, I spotted a sailboat on Monday.

I decided to try out a few new things from Sephora - all recommended by Shay.  I got an under eye colour corrector and CC Cream that I thought would be lighter for summer time, and a brow lift pencil.  I'm not a huge fan of microblading, at least not for me, but I thought I could add a bit of a shade to my brows.

Spied on Q as he finished up his soccer. He plays hard!

Yesterday I posted some spring photos. 

The boys wore their Star Wars shirts for May the 4th yesterday.

I will be up early to watch the Coronation.  I've been getting up early for Royal events since I was born (Charles and Diana's wedding in 1981) so I'm not going to stop now. I truly enjoy these things and will appreciate the history, pomp and circumstance (and the fashion and the gossip, i.e. do William and Kate speak to Harry? etc.).

Linking up with Andrea and Erika

Spring Walk

Happy May the 4th Day to all who observe.

Yesterday I went on a little walk in the rain at lunch just to get some fresh air.  I appreciated the bright flowers on yet another grey day. This weekend we should see some sun, but in the meantime, enjoy these.

I always appreciate being by the water, even when it's a bit dreary.

Media Wednesday

A few media things I'm enjoying now:

Streaming TV - Shrinking, Daisy Jones and the Six, Ted Lasso (the Amsterdam episode was the best hour of TV I have seen in awhile), Beef

Regular TV - Maple Leafs hockey (in May, can you believe it?!), Blue Jays baseball

YouTube - Kardashians (I wanted to see how accurate those Tik Tok spoof videos were, the answer is very)

Library Books on Hold - Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver, Our Italian Summer by Jennifer Probst, Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel

Podcasts - Rick Mercer on The Bridge, Baku recap on Eff Won with DRS, David Sedaris on Armchair Expert

News Stories - Sudan, AI music, the Coronation 

Music Playlists - Rose On Tap, Mozart for Study, Peaceful Piano

Peloton Workouts -Tupac Strength with Adrian Williams, My Mix Tape Bike with Jenn Sherman 

Pinterest Pins - House decor inspiration

Weekend Recap

 

Q is still doing skating lessons, only two left now.  He's really improved so I'm glad we put him in the lessons.

After we got home, he had a Kiwi Crate waiting for him (a Christmas gift from Dave's sister).  He and E worked on that while Dave and I got supper ready.

My friend's niece was spending the night with us so after I picked her up at the airport, we settled in to watch some James Bond.

It was raining again on Saturday.  We watched the F1 Sprint Race and did workouts.  Q's ball hockey was cancelled again. 

We were having people over for supper so I used it as an excuse to finally use the lobster we had in the freezer from Christmas.  I made puff pastry shells (with some difficulty, first time using puff pastry and I felt like I was on the Great British Baking Show) and topped them with some lobster mixed with mayo, tarragon, and chives.  They were delicious!

We served burgers and macaroni and cheese, and then we watched the hockey game.  It was all very exciting and we let the boys stay up for the whole game.  Which is good because I screamed when the Leafs scored and won so I would have woken them up if they'd been in bed.

We had some boxes to start packing for our reno, and Q wanted to sleep in one. 

He did take it upstairs and started off in the box, but then moved to his bed after awhile.

We watched the F1 race on Sunday morning, E enjoyed a doughnut for breakfast, and then we went to church. 

I was productive in the afternoon and cleaned out my closet and dresser, and put away my winter clothes. 

The boys played outside, despite the rain, and they were muddy when they came in and needed showers before supper. 

Q worked on his reading and read Green Eggs and Ham with hardly any help.

After Q went to bed we watched Stowaway on Netflix (starring Anna Kendrick), we all agreed it could have been better. 

April Book

I read one book this month, an old favourite, The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver.  I'm not sure why I decided to pick it up again, but I'm glad I did, it was everything I remembered about it and more. 

This book is about an American Christian Missionary who is going to spend a year in the Congo in the 1960s.  The story is told from the point of view of his wife and his four daughters - the eldest, Rachel, sweet sixteen and not too impressed she needs to live in Africa for a year, twins, Leah and Adah, Leah the headstrong one desperate to impress her father and follow in his footsteps, and Adah who suffers from hemiplegia, doesn't speak much, and tends to read things backwards, looking for palindromes everywhere, and the baby of the family, Ruth May, trying to keep up with her older sisters.  Things do not quite go as planned and the family quickly learns that.  They eventually suffer an unspeakable tragedy and the second half of the book deals with the aftermath of that.  I remember I used to think this second half went on too long, but when I read it this time, I enjoyed it more, perhaps because I'm older now and see myself in the mothers and women telling that second part, rather than the teenagers/children who are the tellers of the first half of the novel. 

We get bits and pieces of what Congo and Africa was going through at that time, elections, independence from Belgium, US plots to counter communism, violence, illness, drought, etc.  The history is true and it helps to read the Wikipedia page on Congo to see how the various points of view weave this history together.  

This book is so well written, mostly because it has five distinct voices, each girl/woman with their own perspective, sometimes looking back (as the mother is always doing), and the others in the present, not knowing what is to come (and then later knowing all too well what has happened).  I wish I had read this book in university as I think I could come up with several topics to write essays on - from both a literary side, but also a look at Christianity and Africa, missionary work, etc.

There are a few passages in the book that I have marked that are beautiful and sad all at once - one is a story about what the Portuguese would have seen when they landed on the shores of Africa for the first time.  Not the stereotypical savages who needed saving (sound familiar Canadians?) but instead a thriving society, doing quite well on its own, thank you very much.  It is like a "what could have been" moment, if the people had been treated with respect, left alone, and seen as contemporaries, not less than the explorers coming from distant lands.  

It's a beautiful book, tragic, yes, but wonderful.