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Archives |
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Wednesday ~ July 1st
Photo courtesy of Dark Light Writes
Happy Canada Day! Hope you have a wonderful time celebrating today & tonight. |
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Monday ~ July 6th
We celebrated Chris' birthday on the weekend. It was a really good weekend.
One of the things I love about Chris is how he opens presents. People just love to watch him, anticipating his reaction because he's always so genuine & appreciative & funny...
Here he is opening up his present from his Uncle Gary & Auntie Skye.
After he discovers what it is, he hugs his present...
And hugs it again...
Then he hugs his uncle & soon after his Auntie...
And then he kisses the present because it's so awesome...
And then he does the robot dance of happiness because it's a remote control flying helicopter! But I best not show that picture for fear he'll be embarrassed.
He's just so sweet! And so was the beautiful Turtle Cake that Auntie Skye made for him with roasted pecans & dulce de leche in it:
Speaking of sweet, check out Jen Gray's wonderful post from today marked July 6th. And pictures of bubbles! I love bubbles. |
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Wednesday ~ July 8th
I was wondering what to get my brother for his birthday (June 30th), when I came across an email from a friend who mentioned that her sister started a spice company, called The Silk Road in Vancouver. I went to the website & was so impressed by the huge selection & the wonderful details regarding each spice that I thought I would put together some spices & rubs for my brother. And since Chris' birthday was fast approaching, I thought I would also get him a whole bunch of dried chilies. I put my order in & within 1 day, no kidding, the spices arrived, beautifully packaged in gift boxes, one for my brother & one for Chris. I couldn't believe the excellent service!
And while I was shopping, I picked up a few spices for myself too. I love the fleur de Sel, it's the best salt I've ever tasted & they have good quality saffron & vanilla beans & the West African Citrus spice really brightens up soup & grilled potatoes. I'm already planning out Christmas gift boxes! |
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Friday ~ July 10th
Another snapshot in which Nu, my darling yet somewhat vexatious cat, races in for a little attention, but I have to admit, her eyes do look striking next to the pink vibrancy of the peonies. They have finally popped open (the peonies, not my cat's eyes) & I can barely stand the beauty of them. Summer time. There ain't no better time than Summer time!
However, it was windy, cloudy & rainy for the last 4 days & there was a moment yesterday where I actually got confused & thought it was autumn, but this morning, all is forgiven. It's sunny, calm & everything looks & smells fantastically fresh. Finally, my lilies will have a chance to open, I hope.
And this weekend we are up to some serious summer fun (that, I believe, is an oxymoron). The farmer's market for some fresh blueberries & salad cucumbers, a few garden tours, canoeing down the river, a golf game & barbeque at the lake & a little bit of yard work thrown in for good measure.
Summer time.
By the way, yesterday, I went to the movie Public Enemies, & though I really don't know much about John Dillinger & probably should have done a little research about his life before going, the movie was a dud, d-u-d. I'm sorry to say that, I usually love the movies that Johnny Depp stars in & you, of course can judge for yourself, but just a fair warning. |
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Monday ~ July 20th
What a storm we had Saturday night! Chris & I left my mom's after a family get together & arrived home just in time to watch it all unfold. As we drove, the sky behind us seemed to be closing in, a murky charcoal that whipped itself into a pitch dark backdrop so fast that when I looked in the rearview mirror, I couldn't determine whether it was the shadows of night materializing or a huge, menacing cloud encroaching. It was indeed a cloud, a black mass almost directly above us as we pulled into the driveway & within it, a long, horizontal band of fiery red. It was such a strange sight ~ eerie & hair-raising.
We went inside & within minutes the winds kicked up, gusting to over 100 kilometers per hour. We opened our front door to watch. Our trees were tilted sideways in the wind, a giant piece of siding from a nearby school tumbled down the street & just seconds before the power went out, we saw sparks shoot out from a transformer in the distance. By this time we were actually sticking our heads outside, fascinated by the strength of the storm, but when our neighbor's tree uprooted from the ground, I became scared & dragged Chris inside with me. Shortly after, the hail started, pelting down from the sky so hard that it blurred the outside transforming a summer storm scene into a winter-like blizzard. I ran around the house, looking out each window trying to see the gardens better, wondering how my lilies & pumpkins would hold up, dreading the aftermath of it all... And when I ran into our bedroom, there was Chris, lying on the bed, sound asleep. I couldn't believe it! What a gift it is to be able to fall asleep instantly & to sleep through anything.
In the morning, we went out to survey the damage. All along our avenue, a mess of tree limbs & debris. Giant Spruce torn in half, Elms completely mangled & Poplars toppled over.
And here, above, my neighbor's beautiful Russian Olive tree, the one we saw uproot.
And my neighbor's not so beautiful Manitoba Maple dumped one of it's filthy branches into our backyard, squashing my lupines, but luckily, just missing the lilies. Stupid tree.
Finally, our sweet Schubert Cherry tree, still slanted from the wind, two days later. |
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Saturday ~ July 25th
Stars in the yard
Chris is officially on holidays as of Friday & we've already packed in a bunch of summer activities. We've gone to Taste of Edmonton, soaked in the hot tub with the heat turned down low so it feels more like a pool, bought & assembled patio furniture, drank beer under the shade of trees with friends, walked around the Capital EX carnival & sampled pineapple ice cream & mini doughnuts & checked out a rodeo (my first ever) outside of town to see Chris' famous Uncle, Ricky Ticky, the Rodeo Clown. While we were there, I bought some 50/50 tickets & won! What a start to the holidays.
We have much more in store ~ we're putting in a pond, camping in the badlands, checking out the Edmonton Folk Fest & visiting friends at their cabin in Southern Saskatchewan for some canoeing. Also, I am going to attempt to finish the book that I'm reading called, The Monsters of Templeton, by Lauren Groff, which is such a good book but has taken me forever to get through.
No beads for awhile, it's just too darn hot. |
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Thursday ~ July 30th
Gone Fishin' ~ be back in a couple of weeks. |
