Friday Favourite Moments Week #35

Since August is over, I am back to just "regular" favourite moments from the week. These were my favourite moments this week.

1) Busker Festival

 

Rachel headed uptown with friends on Friday night so Dave and I decided to take check out the Busker Festival. We had a food truck supper and then we decided to stay for one act. These twins were here from Argentina and their act was so fun! I loved the various tricks they did with hats. For the finale, they were both blindfolded, one brother standing on the other's shoulders, and the top one was juggling knives. I often wonder, how do you get to this point? Were they just goofing off in the backyard one day and now they're doing this?!?!?!

 

2) Camp pickup

 

We picked Sam up from his last two weeks at camp. He was volunteering with day campers the last week and he got to stay in "a shack"! This was his spacious accommodation! I think he liked it. We stayed for the paddle ceremony where the camp honours counsellors who have worked at camp for five years. It was our first time to see it and it was so moving. Afterwards we enjoyed catching up with some of our favourite counsellors.

 

3) Jays' game with friends

 

We went to a Jays' game with good friends. We were so excited because our friends' son, who is 5, wanted to go to his first baseball game and they wanted to have it happen with us. I was remembering taking Sam and Rachel to their first game when they were four and six. It was the start of our Jays obsession! Hahaha! You can read that post here if you want a throwback :)

 

Back to this game though -- the Jays won, they hit a home run, and we had the best time!!! We can't wait to attend a game with these friends again next season.

 

4) Work perks

 

I'm mostly adjusted to being back at work and I've really enjoyed catching up with all my co-workers as they've returned from their summer breaks. I've been reminded how much I really do enjoy my co-workers and how great it is to see them all again! What hasn't been a favourite is having a bat in our school (at one point it was flying from the front entry, past the office, and down the gym hallway), but I'm super appreciative of my one co-worker who was brave enough to open doors to try and get it out. I was in the office and shrieked so loud they heard me on the third floor! Hahaha!

 

5) Cousin phone calls

There's been some family stuff I've been sorting out (nothing bad!), and some of the conversations have just been easier to have on the phone, rather than through text. I've gotten to talk to one of my cousins a couple of times this week and I've really loved those phone calls. This cousin and their family live across the country from us and we don't get to see them near often enough.

6) Sunsets from the cottage

 

Rachel is at the cottage with her bestie for a few days and she keeps sending us amazing sunset pictures. While I wish I could be there with her, getting these pictures from her are the next best thing! 

 

So those were some of my favourite moments from this past week. This weekend we have a three day weekend so I know a favourite moment will be getting a lot of stuff done at home! Whoo hoo!!!

Currently: September 2026

It's the first Wednesday of the month so it's time for "Currently" hosted by Amy at Coffee and Cocktails at the Casa You can find Amy here. I've been back at work for about a week and a half but the kids don't start school until next week so we're in a bit of a mixed up couple of weeks where the kids are still on summer break but Dave and I are working.

[Adjusting (to)]

I'm "adjusting (to)" being back at work and having to wake up early again. I'm "adjusting (to)" having less time at home and being extremely tired when I am home. I'm "adjusting (to)" spending less time on our deck. Sadness.

I'm also "adjusting (to)" the kids doing their own laundry. This has been the biggest change in our house. Both kids independently said, "We want to do our own laundry now." Sam wants to dry his in the dryer, so it's softer (which is his impetus! Hahaha!!!) and Rachel still hangs hers up. I know it's probably a good thing for them to do their own laundry but I saw a video this morning about how you need to make time to do the things that bring you joy and one of the things which really brings me joy is hanging laundry. So having the kids do their own has been an adjustment for me.

[Baking/Cooking]

Other than the back to school muffins Rachel and I baked a couple of weeks ago, we haven't been "baking/cooking" much of anything around here. We never did grocery shop a few weeks ago and then this past weekend we were out of town. So Dave just went grocery shopping for the first time in about two weeks last night. I have had popcorn for dinner a few nights over the last week or so because I've been too tired to make/eat anything else. We will get back into a better cooking routine but it just hasn't happened yet. I think tonight's plan for dinner is frozen pizza as Dave is out of town for the day. All that is to say, it's a good thing Rachel and I baked when we did!

[Decorating]

While yesterday was September 1, it was also 38C (100F) with the humidex. The kids haven't started school yet so, between that and the weather, it really doesn't feel like fall. My favourite greenhouse opens for fall today so my mums will probably make an appearance soon. I did buy a seasonal towel and some pillows a couple of weeks ago so I did put those out last night.

 

I'm excited to have mums along our fence again this year after having to skip getting them last year, due to our renovation. This picture is from a few years ago.

[Balancing]

I am "balancing" upcoming, exciting transitions for people in my life with my own emotions about how things are changing. Over the next months and year, a few people close to me have big things happening which will effect my life. I'm super excited for the people who have the transitions happening but sad for me as to how things will change. There are a few things I can't talk about yet but Sam starting his final year of high school next week is definitely a big one!!!

 

His first day of school doesn't feel like it was all that long ago...

[Learning]

I am "learning" that the more I do this school start up thing at work the more I know what I'm doing and the less stressful it is. I was expecting to be so stressed at this point and I'm just not. My principal and I keep asking each other, "Are we missing something?" Our response is always, "Nah, we're just pros at this by now!" Don't get me wrong -- I'm still tired, but I'm not stressed. Whoo hooo!!!

So that's what's going on "currently" around here. Fall is coming. School is coming. More independence is coming. Better nutrition is coming (I hope!). But it's not quite here yet.

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.

Weekly Hodgepodge (On A Friday)

If all goes according to plan, Sam and I arrived home very early this morning (like 3:30am) and are still sleeping while you're reading this. Hopefully, our flight was smooth. *fingers crossed!* I'm linking up, a few days late, with Joyce at From This Side Of the Pond for the Weekly Hodgepodge. Find Joyce here.

1. What's something on your August calendar you're looking forward to? Or dreading if that's easier to answer. 

Even though it's later than usual this year, I always dread my first week back at work after summer break. Only the secretaries are required to return two weeks before school starts so I'm alone in the building (except for the custodians who work all summer). I'm able to ease into my work days but it's much better the second week when the principal and the librarian (and eventually the teachers) return. I really do appreciate that I get a significant break from work in the summers as I know so many people don't, but I wish all educational staff had the same breaks. 

2. August 5th is National Oyster Day...do you partake? How do you feel about pearls?

I've never had an oyster, and honestly, I'm not really inclined to try them. I have a set of pearls which I got when Dave's grandma died and they are really special to me. I should find more occasions to wear them as they're very sentimental.

3. Tell us about a time when you felt like 'the world was your oyster'.

I looked up the meaning of this phrase and it means, "a time when you felt anything was possible." I think for me, that time was pre-Covid. Our province was locked down for so long during Covid (almost a year and a half) and, once that ended, the kids were pre-teens and just needed different things from us. Plus, both Dave and I were working full-time and it just meant we had less time.

In January 2020, we went on a cruise with my parents and we were all so carefree. It was just so fun! Then we came home to school strikes, which led to disrupted school and work schedules, and then Covid hit.

4. Trip Advisor lists seven islands in the US that require no passport (for US citizens). If you're answering today from outside the US you'll still need to produce yours. An-y-way, have you been to any of the seven? Let's pretend you get an all expense paid trip to one this month...which one do you choose and why? 

Catalina Island California~Martha's Vineyard Massachusetts~Mackinac Island Michigan~Key West Florida~South Padre Island Texas~or Kauai Hawaii

We visited Key West on our first Disney Cruise and loved it, although our time there was short. We *almost* made it to Kauai with my parents, but then my mom had some health issues and we had to cancel our trip three weeks before it happened. While I'd still love to visit Hawaii, I think of all of these, I'm most intrigued by Mackinac Island. A place with no cars?!!?!? Sign me up! Since Mackinac is not all that far from us, this might even be a possible vacation some day. I'm also intrigued by Martha's Vineyard, which again, is not all that far from us.

5. Sylvia Plath is credited with the following- 

"August rain: the best of the summer gone, and the new fall not yet born. The odd uneven time."

Agree or disagree? In other words, how do you feel about this month?

In the weekly newsletter from the synagogue, our rabbi included this quote from Dr. Kate Bowler:

Bless you who still have popsicles to drip, tomatoes to slice, books to leave facedown for just a minute longer, and evenings that don't yet know they are numbered.

May you resist the annual migration toward freshly sharpened pencils, color-coded calendars, and the familiar lie that next month deserves more of your attention than the one still sitting in front of you.

Bless you who linger over one more meal outside, one more chorus of cicadas, one more porch sit, trusting that ordinary rituals are already a life well lived.

May you savor what remains before you begin rehearsing what comes next, because August has always been generous with those willing to stay exactly where they are for just a little while longer.

I have a habit of rushing through August; it's one of my least favourite months. However, this quote reminds me that there is still a lot of good to soak up in August. So I'm going to try and do that this month. Instead of seeing it as "the Sunday of the year," as Sam once referred to it, I'm going to try and see it as still full of lots of good things yet to come; lots of things still to savor.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

I'm finishing this post, sitting in the airport in Saskatoon. Our original flight was cancelled, due to maintenance issues, and now our rescheduled flight is delayed by an hour. As I mentioned above, if all goes according to plan, Sam and I will have made it home by 3:30am. Travel is such a privilege, but also irritating when things don't go according to plan...

So those are my hodgepodge thoughts... I'm looking forward to reacquainting myself with our house today! I've been away from home for almost three weeks!

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!

Friday Favourite Moments #12 2026

Woot! Woot! It's finally Friday! And the Jays play their first game of the official MLB season today! You can count on our family watching the game tonight and we can't wait!!! Until then, here are some of my favourite moments from this past week. Spoiler alert: It's a lot of "post-renovation work."

1) Tulips

Yes, the tulip love is still going strong. These bring a bright spot of sunshine to our otherwise grey, early spring. I will probably stop buying tulips soon but until I have some flowers outside to brighten my days, I will continue to enjoy them :)

2) My yellow office

 

Painting my new office a bright yellow was a favourite this week! As I've said before, there is very little natural lighting in this room so I wanted it very bright. This yellow was the perfect fit. It looks very empty still as we haven't yet emptied out our storage unit but imagine it with a desk, a cozy place to sit, and a rug, and I think it will be perfect.

 3) Rachel working on her room

I've mentioned this before too but Rachel fixing holes in her walls and painting her new room with her bestie, S, was a definite favourite this week. These two girls were so proud of all their hard work. Dave and I did the second coat of paint but other than that, these two taped, primed, and painted the first coat. They did an awesome job!

 

4) Sam and Rachel's new rooms

Both Sam and Rachel are now partly moved into their new rooms. While there is still some setting up to do, and some furniture to acquire, the fact that they can both sleep there is awesome!!! Since Sam's room is brand new, he got to choose his paint colour but didn't have to do the work of painting it! Hahaha!!!

 

5) CAN-Struction

We took a small renovation break and went to check out CAN-Struction last weekend. It was fun as always! All these structures are built out of food which is then donated to the Food Bank.

left: Mario Kart; middle: sushi; right: Stitch from Lilo & Stitch

 

6) Our friends rock!

 

On Saturday, our friends and their son came over and helped us move furniture, helped us move Sam down into his new bedroom, and helped us move all our boxes from our neighbours' basement.

 

A few evenings ago, Janice came over and helped me dust for a few hours -- we cleaned off the rest of Sam's shelf, a shelf of books in the living room, and the shelf of canned food and boxes in the dining room. Janice even helped me fold a couple of loads of laundry. Our friends have been so supportive and helpful throughout this whole renovation process and I am so thankful for them. 

7) Coffee at work

One of my co-workers had won ten free coffees through the Tim Horton's Roll Up The Rim to Win promotion. Yesterday she brought coffees for a few of us. I've been so tired this week from working and unpacking/cleaning after the reno, that I very much appreciated the extra caffeine boost. 

So those were my favourite moments from this week. It's Thursday evening as I'm writing this and I know another favourite moment will be in a couple of hours when I can crawl into bed really early. I'm tired.

 

How has your week been? Do you have a favourite moment?

10 On The 10th: March 2026

March 10 ended up being a glorious spring day and I was so happy all day!

Making coffee-hot chocolate with our new induction stove. Sam thinks our stove is a little “intense and scary” and he’s not wrong!

I was excited to see some green shoots poking up in our yard!

A gorgeous walk to work always makes me happy.

My coworker bought me a coffee-hot chocolate. I’m so thankful for my co-workers.

It was so nice at lunch I ate outside.

Our electric car charger was installed this day. Dave is really excited about this; I am less so!

I love that Rachel still gets excited about being a “bag monster” (as we call it!) and opening the yard waste bags!

Our nicely cleaned up front bed. The reno has made a mess of our yard and we’ll have some clean up to do.

The new microwave (complete with a fan and overhead light) is ready to go!!!

I finished the day reading the rest of my book club book

in bed.

It was a very good, springy, March 10!