Savouring August (Friday Favourite Moments)

So as you know I've been trying to "savour August" as opposed to wishing it away or rushing through it to get to September. I have to be honest with you -- since going back to work on Monday, I've been way too tired to savour August. I thought I had found some low key ways to still be intentional about August but it turns out that anything that required any sort of energy whatsoever after 6pm was a no go for me this week. So I'm going to write about the few things I have done to enjoy August this week but it hasn't been every day.

1) Picking flowers and apples with a friend

Rachel, our friend, E, and I went to a farm where we could walk through the sunflower field, pick a bouquet of flowers, and pick apples. It was so much fun!!! And the flowers having been giving me a boost of joy while I've been so tired this week.

 

 

2) Food trucks and disc golf

On Friday night, Dave, Rachel, and I went to small town near us. We enjoyed a food trucks supper and then we laughed our way through a round of disc golf.

 

3) Muffin baking

On Saturday Rachel and I baked a ton of muffins (four different kinds) and I made some applesauce. It was a rainy day and we just enjoyed a few hours of being productive in the kitchen.

 

4) Brunch with goats

A farm near us does something called "bubbles 'n brunch" and after you get to visit with their goats. We went to check it out with Dave's parents. I had the mimosa flight and it was so good! And afterwards, it turns out I was the goat whisperer. They loved me!

5) Summer puzzle

 

On Sunday evening Rachel and I started a summery puzzle. And we finished it on Monday evening, after our long day of work meetings (for me) and volunteering at dance camp (for Rachel).

So that's what my week of trying to enjoy August has looked like -- a few big events, some smaller happenings, and recognizing that sometimes sleep takes priority! We have some fun plans for this weekend which will help us enjoy these last few days of summer break and I'm really looking forward to them! Happy Friday everyone!

What's Up Wednesday: August 2026

August is always a bit of whiplash around here as I start the month on summer break and end it by getting back to work. The kids are still on break though so it's a few weeks of juggling schedules. This year our schools start a bit later, due to Labour Day being really late, so I'm just heading off for my third day of work today. Sam is up at camp and Rachel is volunteering for dance camp this week. Did I mention it's a bit "what's going on now?" around here?!?! Anyways, on with 'what's up Wednesday.'

Answering these questions monthly helps me reflect on the past month and I really appreciate having a record of what we've been up to. The questions come from Shay at Mix and Match Mama and Sheaffer at Sheaffer Told Me Too.

image from here; since I'm posting late, I can use the new graphic :)

 

What we're eating this week... Rachel and I spent a bunch of time this weekend baking muffins. I always like to do a blitz towards the end of August so we have easy breakfasts and snacks to get us through the first weeks of school. This year we made pumpkin cream cheese, lime, zucchini chocolate chip, and chocolate chip muffins.

It's also bean and tomato season with our CSA so I've made my bean salad recipe. I made it up and you just boil the beans, cool them off, and then add tomatoes, cucumbers, feta cheese, and avocado, if you have one on hand. This year I've also been adding fresh basil. I use balsamic vinagerette dressing and it's so good!

 

What I'm reminiscing about... In two weeks Sam starts Grade 12. I can't even believe it. It doesn't feel like all that long ago he was starting Junior Kindergarten. So I've been reminiscing about Sam's school career. It's gone by really fast.

 

 

What I'm loving... I've been looking for ways to not rush through August and soak up all the August fun. A few weeks ago, we were with Tim and Janice and they recommended we go play a quick round of disc golf. Dave and I had forgotten how much we enjoy disc golf, and how many courses there are around us, so we played again with Rachel this past Friday. She had so much fun, we're going to try and play again this weekend. We're not good at it but we laugh a lot!

 

 

What we've been up to... August was full of all the fun things!!! Sam and I started out the month in Saskatchewan.

Since coming home, we've seen two movies outdoors -- one on the side of a barn and one at a drive in.

We've enjoyed things in our city like the Night Market at the library and a surprise concert at sunset.

 

We've enjoyed playing games with Tim and Janice...

...and quiet moments in our back yard.

We enjoyed a flower farm and apple picking adventure with a friend...

,,,and a brunch with goats with Dave's parents.

Did I mention August has been full of fun?!?!?

What I'm dreading... Well I started back at work on Monday so I'm no longer dreading the end of summer break; I'm slowly easing back into work. So I don't know if I'm dreading anything right now. It's a nice place to be :)

What I'm working on... My August project was to deep clean our laundry room after the renovation. And I did it!!! Dave helped a lot too. It was slow going but our laundry room has never looked better!

This was after I'd been working for an hour. Absolutely everything had to be wiped down and every piece of floor had to be swept about three times.

  

Look how clean and fresh it looks now! We just need to figure out how to hide the pink walls as we can't paint them... That will be a future project!

What I'm excited about... I'm excited about having the kids put together IKEA furniture! We had to buy a few more things from IKEA in July and I got the kids to assemble it! Sam did a shelf for our music books and Rachel did a table for our reading nook.

I'm also excited to spend some cozy winter hours reading in this nook we've created in a corner of our bedroom. I really need to stack some books on that table now!!!

 

What I'm watching/reading... I've been watching some Blue Jays baseball (are they going to snag the last Wild Card spot?!?!?!?) and we watched Spider Man: Brand New Day at the drive in last week. Other than that, I haven't been watching much of anything.

 

As for reading, last week I read Lily and the Octopus by Steven Rowley (who I just figured out wrote The Guncle!!!) I loved Lily and the Octopus but I don't know who to recommend it to as it's going to be too heartbreaking for anyone who really loves dogs...

 

What I'm listening to... I didn't know what sounds defined August (maybe "quiet") but, as of yesterday, I know I'm going to be listening to a lot of Dolly Parton. I didn't realize how many of her songs reminded me of my childhood.

What I'm wearing... This week, I'm easing into wearing work clothes by wearing capris with fun t-shirts. Next week I'll be meeting with families so I'll have to step up my game a bit but this week it's more casual. Thankfully the weather has gotten cooler so I'm not missing my shorts too much.

 

What I'm doing this weekend... We're picking Sam up from his last stint at camp and then spending some time with friends. We'll probably try and play some disc golf and watch some baseball! Then we're sending Rachel off on one last summer adventure. It's going to be a full weekend.

 

What I'm looking forward to next month... We always hit the ground running in September and every weekend is booked! I'm looking forward to LUMEN, a festival of light and technology in our uptown. I'm looking forward to Gathering Sunday at church and the High Holidays at the synagogue. I'm looking forward to seeing what our fall routine looks like. September brings a lot to look forward too!

 

So that's what's up with us this last Wednesday in August -- a lot of summer fun and some hints of fall. I hope you have a good Wednesday and listen to a classic Dolly song today. For me, it's going to be "9 to 5" in honour of heading back to work this week :)

10 On The 10th: August 2026

Well friends, as of today, my summer break is over :( I have a full day meeting today and then the rest of this week, I will be at the school -- sorting, organizing, catching up on emails, and generally getting ready for school to start. In a month, I will be back into routine, but as of today, I'm just dreading it. Blah.

At the same time, I know so many of you don't get a long summer break from your jobs and I am so thankful for mine -- time to rest and recharge, time to get stuff down around the house, time to spend with my family, and time to have a lot of fun. So I go back to work today with mixed emotions.

Today, on the blog, I am looking back at a couple of weeks ago, how I spent my day on August 10th. I've been doing "10 on the 10th" posts for awhile and I take ten pictures of the 10th day of the month (and sometimes the 11th day of the month or the "weekend of the 10th" of the month but I digress...!).

This day started with coffee-hot chocolate on the deck with Dave. This is always one of my favourite parts of the day.

I love having ivy on our house; however in August it drops all its seeds. So I swept up four shovelfuls of ivy seeds. I have to do this about two or three times over the course of a couple of weeks and then its done.

I don't know if I've mentioned this on the blog or not but in July 2024, we lost our doctor when they closed the local office. We were without a doctor until this past February. We finally have a doctor again and both Dave and I have had minor health issues checked out this summer. So I was at the doctor's office. Yay?!?

After my appointment, I weeded some of the day lily bed and then ate some leftover salad on the deck.

My July project was unpacking boxes in Dave's office and my August project was deep cleaning the laundry room as it was still covered in renovation dust. This was an intensive project which involved going through things, wiping absolutely everything down, and reorganizing. I spent about an hour starting this project this day and made some progress.

This was one week when both kids were around so I gave them things to do each day. Sam assembled an IKEA shelf for our guest room while Rachel made lasagne from scratch for supper. I LOVE having helpful, older, kids! 

After supper all four of us walked up town and volunteered with a local venture for a bit. Then we stopped at Starbucks for a treat for the walk home. The local chamber orchestra was performing an outdoor concert in our square so we listened in for a bit.

I took a picture of Rachel taking a picture of me on the path! Hahaha!!!

 

And that was my August 10th -- getting things done and enjoying a slower pace of life. It was a very good day.