What's Up Wednesday: June 2020

Welcome to What's Up Wednesday for June. For context, our province is just starting to open up regionally. Thankfully, we're in one of the regions which can open a little more so I got a massage a couple of weeks ago and our pool will be opening next week. And as of a couple of weeks ago, our library started doing curbside pickup. Whoo hoo!!! We can gather in (socially distant) groups of 10. We can't yet go to church or have larger gatherings but I feel like we're headed in the right direction.

image from here

What we're eating this week... We've had our first two CSA (community shared agriculture) pick ups. So last week we had salad with fresh greens and ate steamed bok choy a few times. YUM!!! We're just so happy to have fresh, locally farmed veggies again! Yesterday I was able to chat with a few friends but it sure does feel different. And inspired by a What's Up Wednesday post I read last month, we also grilled some cauliflower a few weeks ago and it was so good!!! I have to remember to add cauliflower to the grocery list so we can have this again soon.

What I'm reminiscing about... Three years ago today we were enjoying the first day of a two week trip to Kenya to visit our friends. During that time we went on safari, climbed a volcano, and made so many great memories. You can read more about that trip, starting here. We've been talking a lot about that trip recently and have been grateful that we took the opportunity to travel while we could. Eventually we will travel again but we know it could be a long time coming... I am sad for those of you reading this who had to cancel big trips this year.

Riding on the roof of our friends' vehicle -- the better to spot zebras!

Eating lunch with a giraffe in the background.

We climbed the volcano in the background.

We went on safari and visited a Maasai village.

Giraffe kisses!!!

What I'm loving... Inspired by a woman in the US, my friend took on the project of diversifying the Free Little Libraries in our area. I've been so excited to support her by buying books and printing labels for the books going to the libraries as a part of this project. You can check out the original project (which is US based) on Instagram here or you can check out our local project here. (Since we live in Canada it doesn't make sense to support the US project due to cross-border shipping and the exchange rate which is why my friend started a separate local one.)

What we've been up to... Since some restrictions have lifted, we've been up to a lot.

Getting fresh library books (and returning old ones)!!!

Making an (unsuccessful) attempt at tie dying with food colouring.

Celebrating Rachel turning 9!

Going into the school to do a small bit of work, mask and all.

What I'm dreading... Almost every day since the beginning of June, I've had a headache. I need to take a nap (and Tylenol) to feel better. I am so sick of not feeling well and I don't really know how to get good answers as to what's going on. So I dread my daily headache and just not feeling great. Boo :(

What I'm working on... We haven't done a lot of take out during this time but now that the weather is nicer we're working on taking more walks and supporting local businesses.

This was a walk for ice cream. Mine had lavendar and something else.

This was a walk to take things to the thrift store with a stop at a local bakery. I had a chocolate croissant. Deliciousness!!!

This was a walk to the library, with a stop at the local bakery/cafe around the corner.

I LOVED my strawberry-basil gelato.

We should probably be working on getting more exercise without stopping for treats but that doesn't seem to be happening.

What I'm excited about... DID YOU HEAR BASEBALL IS RETURNING?!?!!?!?!?!?!? Is there really anything else to be excited about?!?!?!?!?! If you missed this news, you can read it here.

image from here

What I'm watching/reading... I haven't been watching much of anything lately. We did watch a couple of the new "America's Got Talent" show but then it fell off our radar. We watched Coco as a family on Friday night and we all loved it. We're kind of boring lately.

In terms of reading, after months of light, fluffy quarantine reading, I've been trying to delve into books with deeper topics. I read Know My Name by Chanel Miller on Sunday. And right now I'm reading I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou.

What I'm listening to... Flies buzzing in our house. We have a fly problem right now and it's so frustrating. ARGH. One has been buzzing around me while I've been writing this post. This seems to be a new problem this year so ugh...

What I'm wearing... I bought a palm tree printed headband and I've been wearing it a lot. It's really fun and is helping keeping my hair off my face. Of course, I might not be wearing it as much after next week when I am getting a haircut!!! Whooo hoooo!!!!!

What I'm doing this weekend... We might do some yard work. We might put our new BBQ together. We might do some housecleaning. Dave and I might have a date. We really don't have any concrete plans. We should probably figure that out.

What I'm looking forward to next month... Swimming at our pool!!! And now the return of Blue Jays baseball!!! Whoooo hooooo!!!!!!

What else is new... On Monday, Dave and I will be celebrating our twelfth anniversary. HOW has it been twelve years already?!?!? If you want to read about our wedding, I wrote extensively about it in July 2012. You can find the first of those posts here.