Monthly Musings: Summer Travel And Traditions

It's the last Thursday of the month and time to link up with with Holly at Pink Lady and Patty at Good, Better, Best for their "Monthly Musings." I love this link up so much and am so thankful that Holly and Patty continue to host it.

 

1) Share your summer plans.

Our summer plans include some housesitting and volunteering for the kids and relaxing and getting things done around the house for me. And work for Dave -- hahaha!!! We have a family vacation planned (a road trip where we'll see some friends and some family, we'll do some of our favourite things, we'll hit some of our favourite places, and we'll explore some new places -- it's going to be great!) and Dave and I have a trip planned for just the two of us which I'm incredibly excited about!!! The kids have a week of sleepaway camp and Rachel will attend a few local camps. Sam didn't want to attend any day camps so he has some different fun of his own planned.

I'm realizing that this summer my kids feel "older" with their own plans. Between volunteering and some paid work, they're definitely not in the "little kid" stage anymore. Time flies.

2) What are your summer traditions?

I answered this question in my last Monthly Musings and you can find it here. Since there were two #3 questions this time, I'm wondering if this question wasn't supposed to be here...

3) What is your favourite summer destination?

My favourite summer destination is one we're not getting to this year -- Saskatchewan!!! I love spending time in Saskatchewan in summer but we just couldn't make it work this year :(

Me in Saskatchewan, July 2023

3) Do you prefer the ocean or a lake?

I prefer the ocean. Although the Great Lakes which are closest to us are huge and feel more like oceans than lakes -- they have very sandy bottoms and lots of waves!

At Lake Erie, June 2021

4) Do you have any pool time planned?

Yes! We need to get to the pool more this summer. We've been a couple of times and I'm hoping to go more once I have more time during the day.

Pool time, Summer 2021

5) Best travel or packing tip?

This sounds dumb but my best travel tip is "plan the travel, take the trip." I was talking with a co-worker and she said, "I love to travel but we never plan it so it doesn't happen." We're always talking about travel around here. We dream about our next destinations, we talk about where we're going, and where we've been. The kids even have their own travel "bucket list destinations." If travel is something you want to do, then talk about it, dream about it, and do what you can to make it happen!

We're already dreaming about our next March Break trip and have booked a big trip for next summer. Like I said, we're always talking and dreaming about travel around here :)

6) Favourite summer movie?

I have a hard time answering this question. I don't love movies in general and I really don't tend to watch them in the summer.

7) Beverage that says summer to you?

A G&T. I love a good G&T, especially if my dad makes it! I also love homemade decaf iced tea with mint and lemon.

With my dad and a G&T, July 2023

8) What songs say summer to you?

Last year a blogger mentioned the Summer Hits of the 80s on Spotify and I've got that on repeat. I love 80s music and this mix just hits all the right notes for me! I also love listening to a Blue Jays baseball game on the radio outside in summer, even if it's not music :)

Folding laundry while listening to the Blue Jays (radio, bottom left), May 2023

9) What do you like on your burgers or hot dogs?

I don't love hot dogs (unless we're at a baseball game) but give me a good veggie burger (as close to fake meat as possible) topped with tomatoes, pickles, BBQ sauce, and lettuce. YUM!!!

10) Charcoal or gas grill?

Does propane BBQ count as "gas"? That's what we have and we use it A LOT in summer.

Dave with our new BBQ, August 2020

Okay, I am sooooo ready for summer! Like I said above, even though this summer will look different than other summers with the kids "more grown up" plans, I'm excited for lazier days, longer nights, some good family time, and the new adventures this summer will bring!

I'm looking forward to reading all of your posts but it probably won't happen until this weekend because... it's the last days of school and work before summer break begins around here. Cheers to summer!!!

What's Up Wednesday: June 2024

Oh my word. Will this school year ever end?!?!?! (Yes, yes it will. Tomorrow for the kids and next Tuesday for me. Phew.) It's been crazy and I am not my best self right now. And I am more than ready for summer break. Four more work days left -- I can do this right?!?!?!?

I really do love answering the What's Up Wednesday questions every month. I like how they help me reflect on the past month and I love having a monthly record of what we've been up to. I go back and re-read these posts often.The questions come from Shay at Mix and Match Mama and Sheaffer at Sheaffer Told Me Too.

image from here

 

What we're eating this week... A main theme of this post is "my parents were visiting us" and that is definitely reflected in our food. Mom and Dad cooked some amazing meals (hello BBQ skewers!) and when Rachel said she wanted cinnamon buns for her birthday, my mom whipped up a batch. The cinnamon buns were delicious and why do mine never taste half as good?!?!?!?

We also celebrated a belated Father's Day for my dad and Dave this past Sunday and made a low country boil up for supper. We love low country boil and we ate sooooo much food! So we've had some pretty delicious eating around here lately.

What I'm reminiscing about... As I may have mentioned a time (or six!) around here, Dave and I are taking a trip just the two of us this summer and I am soooo excited!!! So I've been reminiscing about our last trip together when we went to Iceland for five days for our 10th anniversary. This was in July 2018.

While we have some exciting travel plans this summer, sadly, we won't be going to Saskatchewan (which I'm very sad about) so I've also been reminiscing about last summer's vacation in one of my favourite spots in the world.

 

What I'm loving... My mom made some really beautiful bouquets with flowers from our yard and I have been loving them. I am also getting a flower share this summer through our CSA and I picked up my second bouquet yesterday. The lighting isn't the greatest but these flowers are bringing me much joy!

What we've been up to... June was a blur. We spent the first weekend enjoying baseball, yummy food, and hanging out with friends in Toronto...

Then, Dave, Rachel, and I all got Covid and lost a week of our lives. Seriously, it's all a blur.

Rachel turned thirteen and got a special handmade blanket from Janice, among other things...

...and Dave flew to San Diego for a work conference and my parents came to visit and to help keep things going while Dave was gone.

  

What I'm dreading... These next few days of work are going to be crazy. I am just holding on until summer break.

What I'm working on... When we haven't been recovering from Covid, we've been working on our yard. We planted a new hosta bed, we did a ton of weeding, we planted more annuals. It's been all yard work around here, with moments of enjoying the fruits of our hard work too.

 

What I'm excited about... My lilies are blooming!!! I'm so excited about this!!! Sadly, they have also been infested by the scarlet lily beetle so I am also spraying them with soapy water every day in hopes that I can get rid of it. Some of the plants absolutely won't bloom this year so I'm thankful for every one which has.

 

What I'm watching/reading... We were watching the Edmonton Oilers in the Stanley Cup final but unfortunately, they lost the Cup in game 7. That was sad. It was fun to watch the final game in our public square with lots of other people though.

 

As for what I've been reading, not a lot. I am looking forward to being on summer break from work so that I can focus on reading a bit more. I'm going to be reading quite a few library books which are just slightly overdue :)

 

What I'm listening to... Right now I'm listening to the sound of silence and savouring it. The school is really loud right now with excited kids -- they're having fun and singing loud (off key!) karaoke -- but it sure is hard to concentrate :)

What I'm wearing... Later today I'm going to get Dave to take a picture of me wearing my new favourite skort which I picked up at Costco. Hahaha! However, I forgot to get him to take a picture of me last time I wore it. Anyways, if I'm not wearing work clothes, I'm probably wearing my skort.

 

What I'm doing this weekend... It's a three day weekend before I have one last day of work. My and Dave's anniversary is on Saturday and we have some plans to celebrate it. Otherwise, I'll be enjoying our back yard (weather permitting) and trying to deep clean a few rooms in our house. We have no exciting plans and I'm good with that :)

What I'm looking forward to next month... Summer break! Family vacation! Lazy days! Reading in our back yard! Relaxing! There's a lot to look forward to in July!!!

That's all from me today. Tonight is Grade 8 grad and tomorrow is our end of year staff party so hopefully I'll be able to catch up on your blogs this weekend. Happy Wednesday!

Alive and (Not) Blogging

Hello blog world. Sorry I've disappeared off the face of the planet internet. It's been a continuing cycle of health woes over here (haven't I been singing the same tune since the beginning of May?!?!?), and Rachel, Dave, and I are just getting over a really bad case of Covid. I was off work for a week and Rachel is on two inhalers so it's been good times around here.

Here are a few more reasons I haven't blogged lately, and likely won't for a few more days yet...

1) Rachel turned 13 on Monday! Yes, I am officially the mother of teenagers. Yikes!

She wanted a Starbucks drink and she got a beautiful blanket from Janice.

2) The yard work is out of control. Dave and I put a ton of work into our yard as we started to feel better and, while I've loved most of it, it sure takes a lot of time to go from...

...this to this...

...and this to this...

...and this to this, among other things! I really loved doing it though and can't wait to tackle a few last problem spots.

3) End of the school year. 'Nuff said! Sam has been working on school work for weeks, Rachel is slowly starting to catch up, and I am finishing up this year while simultaneously starting work on next school year (yes, already).

4) The laundry is out of control. I basically ignored it while the yard work took priority and now I'm paying the piper (aka "folding every spare minute I have"). (Although to be fair, my mom folded three baskets yesterday and now things are much better! Thanks Mom!)

5) Dave left for his annual work trip to San Diego yesterday. Since he's not missing our anniversary and the last week of school, I'm less bitter about this trip than I was last year. Hahaha!!!

And most importantly...

6) My mom and dad are here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This might also be contributing to why I'm less bitter that Dave is leaving. Reinforcements are here and I couldn't be happier!!!

So with all that being said, I'll pop in again when I can (and catch up on all your blogs too), but for now, know I'm still around and just trying to keep up with life as best I can.

I miss you and will see you again soon :)

April & May Reading Update

It's been awhile since I've written a book post. I read a whole ton of the In Death books by JD Robb for awhile there and I just couldn't write book reviews on those! Anyways, I decided to join up with Jennifer,Joanne, Marilyn, and Tanya for their Share Your Shelf link up. (Click on each name to go to their blog.) Today I'm sharing about the non-In Death books I read in April & May. I'm also not sharing about the books I read during the readathon I participated in in April. You can read mini reviews on those books here.

Okay, I loved this book. It's one of the best books about adoption I've ever read. In case you dpn't know, I am adopted, and to me, it felt like a book which finally told my story. Now, this book does not tell the story of every adoptee, and even my siblings would have very different stories, but to me, this book told one I can relate too. My adoption wasn't full of trauma -- it was full of love and joy and it still is. So, read this book. It's not trauma porn for adoption and I am here for it.

I saw the mini series of this years ago (when I was watching the entire DVD series of Friends and they mentioned in a director's cut that David Schwimmer was missing when Monica and Chandler got engaged because he was filming this series). I'm so glad I saw the mini series before I read the book (and I rarely say that), because the book made a lot more sense with that background. 

This was a re-read and I really enjoyed it. I really need to re-read the rest of the series now. My principal had been reading this series and we were discussing it and I just wanted to read it again! 

 

 I bought this book about Shakespeare & Company, the English bookstore in Paris, at Shakespeare & Company, the English bookstore in Paris! Hahaha! This book was okay, but not as amazing as I'd hoped it would be. It left me feeling slightly flat. This was my lunchtime reading at work and I wasn't ever that excited to pick it up which was disappointing.

 

 I read this book in one sitting and cried and cried. It isn't a very deep book but a love story about grief and finding love again. This would be an excellent beach read!

 

 The next few books are ones I had leftover from The Decades Reading Challenge I participated in last year. (You can learn about that challenge here.) This book was fun to read in that its main character kept travelling back to the 90s. It fell a little flat for me though as I've read other time travelling books which I've enjoyed much more (The Time Traveller's Wife for instance).

 

 This was another Decades Reading Challenge book. It takes place shortly after 9/11 and is about a Muslim teenager who wears a hijab and how her classmates treat her. I read this in one sitting while I was recovering from Covid. I think this book would be great for teens, or possibly young adults, but it felt a little young to me.

 

 I picked this book up because I was intrigued by the premise. I found it interesting to read about white power and how, even though it became a lot more prominent during Trump's presidency, it actually started becoming more of a factor right after Obama was elected. I had been unaware of that. I thought this book really interesting and not dry, like I thought it might be.

 

 This was another Decades Reading Challenge book and I loved the story of three women, their friendship, and the town they lived in. This book covered a lot, considering it didn't seem all that deep at first. I really liked how the story unfolded slowly, but not in a boring way, if that makes sense :)

 

This was my book club book for May. My grandparents escaped The Ukraine shortly before the events of this book took place. I found this book, told in two timelines, hard to read because the story in the "present" (where "present" equals late 90s/early 2000s) was not as engaging as the story in the past. The story taking place in 1929 was very hard to read because of what was happening and the "present" story felt a little... boring.

 

 Considering how much I enjoyed this book, it took me a very long time to read it. It was quite dense so I read it quite slowly. However, I would highly recommend this book, based on a real person, because it was so beautifully written. I was this close to rating this book five stars on Goodreads but I couldn't quite give it that. It was definitely a 4 1/2 star read for me though!

 

 I re-read this book and it was just as good as the first time I read it. I loved the puzzles through out and it was fun to remind myself what all happened in the first book after I'd read all the other ones.

 

 This was an interesting book that I read quickly. Sally Hepworth doesn't write scary novels but they are suspenseful and I want to know what happened. This one didn't end they way I thought it would (do they ever?!?!?) but I did like how it ended.

 

 A book about spring training in baseball?!!? Sign me up. But in reality, don't, because this is a book of short stories and I'm really not a fan of short stories. It doesn't really even have all that much to do with baseball as the stories are more about some of the characters surrounding a baseball team as opposed to what actually happens on the field. I was left disappointed by this book.

 

 This book was so good, and so unexpected. When I got to the end, I was like, "What just happened here?" I would highly recommend this book except for the fact that Brooks is a white author and I am hesitant when white people tell the stories of people of colour. Some of the things I want to discuss about this book have nothing to do with the book and everything to do with "who is telling the story?" (Think American Dirt and the premise of Yellowface.)

I loved this book which is odd because it's really a book about city planning! Hahaha! However, the author, who is a city planner, is writing about how to make cities "walkable" from a planning perspective. I found so many of the points he made interesting and he definitely turned some of my assumptions on their head. For instance, more highways do not help alleviate traffic congestion. Having separate paths for bikes doesn't help alleviate bike accidents. This was my lunchtime reading book and I couldn't wait for lunch each day to see what I would discover next. And when we were walking around Toronto this past weekend, I kept noticing how things were laid out in the city and relating them to what I'd read.

So those are sixteen books I read in April and May which weren't In Death books! I've already read two books in June so we'll see if I share a "midway through June" reading report or if I'll just wait until July and join in with this link up again. Over the next couple of days, I'm looking forward to reading the other posts in this link up and discovering more great books to read.

Happy Reading everyone!!!