What's Up Wednesday: April 2026

Whenever I think of April 2026 I will remember all the rain. The sun shone so rarely this month and our yard was so wet. Other than the rain, we spent most of the month unpacking and settling in after our renovation.

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

 

What we're eating this week... We ate a lot of pizza this month. Dave and I are Jr Youth sponsors and we are having a weekly night with the kids. We order pizza every week and then provide baby carrots and cucumbers. Plus I get pizza weekly at work and then we may have had it at other times too :) So yes, we've eaten a lot of pizza this month. And a lot of baby carrots.

After our renovation, I decided that I needed to use up a bunch of tea, rather than keep storing it, so I've been making iced tea and we've been drinking a lot of it. I make a pitcher every day or two, and in fact, I was making one at 6am yesterday morning as I uploaded photos for this post.

 

We got this Kool-Aid pitcher in December 2011 from one of Dave's classmates and it's become our iced tea pitcher over the past couple of years.

What I'm reminiscing about... We're in spring performance week for Rachel at dance so I'm reminiscing about past years.

 

Rachel in previous years' performances. I'll be volunteering at the theatre all this week so be prepared for some more pictures in front of these same walls in the next week or so!

I've also been reminiscing about mornings spent drinking coffee-hot chocolate outside. That hasn't happened this year yet, thanks to all the rain, but I'm really looking forward to when it does!

What I'm loving... Sam and Rachel have been playing a lot of baseball (catch) outside this past week and I am so here for it!!! I love that they spend time outside, off screens, and don't fight! It's really a win-win-win!

Playing "bunny baseball" inside on a rainy day.

My parents sent us this new coffee machine as a gift and I am also loving this! I love that it's easy to use, you can make one cup at a time, and it's so much less work than our regular coffeemaker. Plus, it doesn't use pods so it feels more environmentally friendly. 

What we've been up to... We started April with Easter and Passover. At Passover I ate more than my fair share of matzoh balls and for Easter we "flowered the cross" at church which is my new favourite way to celebrate Easter!

Rachel and I went to a flower experience, and a tea time, with Janice and Tessa and had so much fun!

Sam and I put together a chair for a reading nook in my and Dave's bedroom...

...and I volunteered at another one of Rachel's dance performances, where we were accidentally twinning.

They've been doing construction on streets all around us so our street has been much busier as it's one of the few open ones, and I've spent a lot of time walking on my favourite path as it's been easier to get around that way.

We're still working on unpacking and settling in...

...and we're breaking that up with walking to errands and getting Starbucks!

We went to visit Tessa & Andrew and met their goats! We had so much fun with them! And yes, that's a goat jumping onto, and off of, my back :) 

What I'm dreading... I don't think I'm dreading much of anything right now. Maybe the late nights I'm going to have this week volunteering with Rachel's dance rehearsals and performances.

What I'm working on... We have to turn this into a guest room in the next month...

There are a lot of boxes to unpack in Dave's office...

 

... and my office still needs some work.

What I'm excited about... I'm so excited that our deck got built!!! Rachel and I have been spending as much time as possible out here -- when it's not raining and cold, that is!

We were even able to have our first outside meal a couple of days ago!

What I'm watching/reading... I'm watching Rachel's dance rehearsals, when I don't have to do a volunteer shift, and I'm reading the spring performance information to ensure we don't miss anything. It's a lot to stay on top of!

 

What I'm listening to... I'm listening to all the music in the spring performance. Sorry this post is so dance oriented but that is really the main thing that's up with us this week!

What I'm wearing... I bought myself a new Blue Jays' t-shirt. It says "American League Champions 2025." I've been wearing it a lot! We need to get ourselves to another Jays game soon so I can wear it there.

What I'm doing this weekend... Well it's my birthday this weekend but I'm volunteering for two of Rachel's dance shows and then watching another one so, you know, what birthday?!?!? On Sunday we're going to an engagement party and maybe meeting friends for lunch. I guess my birthday will be celebrated later. Maybe.

What I'm looking forward to next month... I'm looking forward to some warmer weather (I hope), to spending more time in the back yard, and to maybe even getting the laundry line hung up again post-renovation. I miss hanging out laundry. I'm also looking forward to helping host a graduation party, hopefully a baseball game, and there are a few other things on our calendar. May should be a fun month :)

 

So that was our April. It was a full month but I feel like we made good progress on getting things more in order post-renovation. We still have more to do but I'm hoping in May we'll be able to spend more time outside. After all, this is one of my favourite times of the year and I want to enjoy it!

 

Hopefully I'll get to read some of the other posts over the next few evenings. Until then, Happy Wednesday!

Renovation Report: One Final Project

Remember how I said the renovation was done, except for one final project which was weather dependent? Well, that final piece of work was to build a deck for us!!! I was super excited about this!!!

They put supports in and ground out the stump.

I think getting rid of the stump was a lot of work as it took them two days. I felt bad about that.

They put down weed barrier, a layer of rocks, and built the frame.

The joists are ready for floorboards.

Getting excited to use the deck!!!

The main part is almost done...

They built the stairs and step in one day. 

Rachel and I enjoying the deck with minimal furniture mid-last week.

This past weekend we got out both our tables, all the chairs, and I added more flowers. I can't wait to spend more time out here!!!

 

Last week the deadbolt was installed in our back door, the dirt piles from digging the basement windows were cleaned up, and the sign advertising the company doing our renovation was taken down. We are OFFICIALLY DONE OUR RENOVATION!!! All of it!!! Whoooo hoooo!!!

 

Now we just have to finish moving in and unpacking... There's still quite bit of that left to work on...

Friday Favourite Moments On A Monday #16 2026

In an effort to have this post publish in a timely fashion on Friday morning, I am starting it on Wednesday morning. We shall see if it works :) (Spoiler alert: It didn't work. Mostly due to having internet issues at home and too many evenings out of the house.) Here are some of my favourite moments from this past week.

1) Catching up on life on Saturday

After a couple of very full weekends, we finally got some much needed errands done on Saturday. We went to Costco (which was the biggest one) and just had time to get stuff done. A few years ago, Shay at Mix and Match Mama wrote a post about what makes her feel "squared away." You can read her post here. I've been thinking a lot about that lately, as I've been feeling rather frazzled. I guess, actually getting to Costco, especially, made me feel a little more "squared away."

2) Wordle in 2 on Sunday!

I got the Wordle in 2 guesses on Sunday and that felt good. I've been struggling with the Wordle lately so it was nice to have a win!

3) Reading

What with all our unpacking and organizing and sorting, I haven't had much time to read lately. So on Monday night, I decided I was going to prioritize it. I read an entire book in one sitting and felt so much better afterwards. Now if I could just find some more time to read...

4) Administrative Assistant's Day

Our school board goes back and forth on if they're going to recognize various professional days or not. For the past few years, they've been downplaying these recognition days, but this year they decided to recognize Administrative Assistant's Day. My principal sent me a Starbucks gift card and a lovely message and other staff wished me a happy day as well. When your job is more "behind the scenes" it feels nice to be noticed for what you do.

5) Time on the deck

I wasn't home much this week but I did get to spend a little time enjoying our new deck! I cleaned some chairs up and put them out and Rachel joined me out there too. I can't wait to use this more in the next weeks. Also, this reminds me that I need to write one last renovation update...!

6) Dance photos

One of the reasons I wasn't home much this past week is because it was the last week of dance classes/beginning of spring performance time. Rachel had her dance photos for most of her classes this past week. I spent some time blogging while I waited for her and she allowed me to capture one photo of her. She's promised I can take more pictures this coming week during rehearsals so we'll see if that's true :)

So those were some of my favourite moments last week. This week is going to be all about the spring performance around here so be prepared for a lot of dance favourites this coming Friday!

Wednesday Hodgepodge #650

I think I've only participated in the Wednesday Hodgepodge once before but, I've been feeling a little uninspired blogging wise, so I thought I would link up this week. The Hodgepodge is hosted by Joyce at From This Side Of the Pond and, according to her blog, this is number 650. That's amazing! Find Joyce here.

1. April 22nd is Earth Day...what's the most 'out of this world' place on earth you've ever visited? Tell us something about it.

I've had the opportunity to visit a few "out of this world" places. Some of them have been here in Canada. Did you know we had deserts in Canada? In the photo on the left, I'm at the Carcross Desert in the Yukon in August 2019. In the photo on the right I'm at the Great Sand Dunes in southern Saskatchewan. Both of these places are incredible!

 

Another "out of this world" place I've been to is Craters of the Moon Park near Taupo, in New Zealand. This place was filled with craters, steam, and bubbling mud. It felt other worldly for sure.

 

As for a less common "out of the world" place, I've also been to Mongolia. My dad and I did a trip on the TransSiberian Railway one summer and had a stop in Ulaan Bataar, Mongolia. We hired a driver for the day and they took us out into the countryside. We ended up riding camels in the desert and it was such a memorable experience! Did you know that edelweiss grow in Mongolia?!

I feel so fortunate to have visited so many "out of this world" places.

2. A favorite quote, verse, or song lyric with the word earth in it?

I love the hymn "For the beauty of the earth." 

For the beauty of the earth,
for the glory of the skies,
for the love which from our birth
over and around us lies;
Lord of all, to thee we raise
this our hymn of grateful praise.  

3. What's the most trivial thing about which you have a strong opinion?

Hanging out laundry! I think hanging out laundry is very important and, as Dave would tell you,I think there is definitely a right way and a wrong way to do it! 

4. What's your most commonly used kitchen utensil or tool? What's the last thing you made using that tool?

I have two, larger, stainless steel, serving spoons which my parents bought me years ago. They are so handy and I use them all the time. I can't remember the last time I used them but we tend to pull them out for pasta, salads, rice dishes -- we use them A LOT!

5. Marilyn (Memphis Bridges) gave me a great book of 3000 questions, and I'm going to try to use one in our Hodgepodge every week. Here is today's - 

What is your greatest extravagance?

My greatest extravagance in terms of money is travelling, especially Disney cruises!

 

My greatest extravagance in terms of time is reading. I spend a lot of time reading.

My greatest extravagance in terms of time and money is baseball, especially seeing my Blue Jays.

My daily (little) extravagance is flowers and Coke. I enjoy a Coke almost every single day and I almost always have some kind of flower around so that probably adds up to a greater extravagance than I realize.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

WHY is is still snowing?!?!? I want to enjoy our backyard and it's too cold. I'm ready for some spring warmth. Instead, I'm still wearing mittens. Grrrrrr. Although today might be warmer. Here's hoping...

Thank you Joyce for hosting a fun link up. I'll look forward to reading other posts while I wait for Rachel to have her annual dance photos taken tonight.