Southampton and Tobermory

Summer vacation...two of the loveliest words, don't you think?

The girls and I just returned from a week spent with 3 friends and their daughters at the most lovely cottage in Southampton. Despite some rainy and cool weather, we loved it ...words cannot capture the many adventures, giggles, dramas and delicious meals we experienced this week so the rest of the post is dedicated to some photos from the week for our friends and family to enjoy. (The pics are loaded small as there are so many - click to enlarge.)

My personal favourite...loved sitting in the muskoka chair listening to the waves roll in from Lake Huron. (Can you hear them?)

The museum in Sounthampton - pics of an old school house and a fantastic dinosaur exhibit are shown here - what a contrast!

Taking a page from their cousin's adventures last month, the girls were excited to add their mark to the main street of Southampton on Canada Day.



Canada Day celebrations with tattoos and cake.

From Big Tub Harbour at Tobermory, we took the fast Zephyr out to Flowerpot Island (happy that the sun joined us for this adventure - the five girls thanked the Captain with a "You rock!" (S, the girls are excited to take you on this fun ride...)

Hiking through the National Park to see the flowerpots...Uncle D, we all kept saying that you are going to LOVE this place!

A clip from aboard the Zephyr back to the mainland...according to the girls, the BEST part of the trip!

Sun again for a final beach day...



P.S. More pics of our week's adventures will soon appear on our friends' blogs...keep an eye on these links over the next little while:

http://macshaslife.blogspot.com/
http://devinedetails61.blogspot.com/

Food, glorious food!

Just lately, I have been obsessed with food for some reason...it started a few weeks ago when we visited our friends the Ramundos in London and Nick made the most delicious appetizer with some crusty Portugese bread, fresh basil leaves, olive oil, sea salt, tomatoes and bocconcini cheese. Oh heavens, it was wonderful...I have made it myself a few times since and am hooked on the stuff.

Now bocconcini has a permanent place in my fridge...I throw it in salads, on sandwiches, everywhere...look out everyone who comes to my house, you'll be served it!

Then there is baking.

I don't love cooking, but baking is fun when I have the time...I think it's more to do with the art of it and appeals to my creativity. Now, granted, baking is a challenge in my house because I work with a mixmaster that is going on 40 years old and belonged to my grandmother - there really aren't 12 different speeds anymore on the poor thing...more like 3 with various sounds of protest as you move up to the whipping settings.

However, I still manage to whip up my favourite chocolate meringue torte on that mixer and, believe me, that is one delicious creation.

And last night, it was moon cakes. It was Bryanna's turn to provide treats for the end of year class party and she has been begging for moon cakes for months. Mind you, I had no idea I would be making 4 and 1/2 DOZEN of them last night before my yoga class, but despite the insanity of the kitchen for a period of time, we managed.

As I slid a final tray of the cakes in the oven, I bit my lip so as not to laugh as I listened to the dynamic duo discuss my culinary skills...

B: "Mom is the BEST!"

C: "She is the perfect mom!" long pause...

...."well, her COOKING skills are perfect."

Hmm. ;-)

Serendipity

Gentle sunshine gifted us with a delightful afternoon...

Later, after a long day full of errands, I walked upstairs to throw some clothes in the washing machine and was caught by the sight of my bedroom...sunshine fell through the windows, a whisper of breeze lifted the curtains and suddenly the laundry was forgotten...

I was drawn away from the laundry to sit in that patch of sunlight for half an hour, a book across my lap and the sounds of birds and children laughing spilling in through the open window.

It was a gift.

A little this, a little that...

Hi all ~

This is a quick and dirty post to catch up on several weeks of happenings. It has felt like a roller coaster lately...many ups (visits with good friends, the simple joys of childhood) and downs (the departure of a much loved leader at work, work challenges, and the unexpected feeling of exhaustion after the completion of a huge project).

I seem to be on an upward swing again, with time to breathe, so am posting some fun stuff from the last month...in order of occurrence...oldest events first and ending with yesterday.

Enjoy - glad to be back!

Bryanna's Art

A month ago, some good friends and I spent four wonderful days in Chicago. One of my tasks there was to take photos of paintings by Georgia O'Keeffe at the Art Institute for a project Bryanna was working on. This is the result...original by Ms. O'Keeffe above and Bryanna's reproduction below...

Visiting the Coulmans and Sellecks in Keswick

Long time good friends (the Coulmans are Bryanna's god-parents and Jane, Joanne and I were apartment mates in another lifetime) who we see far too rarely. Allie, Jessica and Megan (all grown up - how did that happen?!) were wonderful with the dynamic duo - who were delighted to find that their birthday was celebrated one more time!

Uncle John's shed...


Kite Flying
Kites from the April birthday bash were finally flown with nanny and papa last weekend - wow, did they soar!

With Spring, come the bunnies (thank goodness we don't have vegetables...),

and gardening...

A couple of weeks ago, my dad brought his tools and added some boards along the bottom of my fence so I could extend the gardens. Then we went and bought 40 bags of soil and spend the afternoon carting and dumping it!

All in preparation for the gardening that was done yesterday...the girls were a great help and loved having their own knee pads, trowels and garden gloves.

and fort building...

Yes, this is THE favourite new activity for the dynamic duo. They spend hours in this thing and they brilliantly fashioned the fort around the TV in the basement so that they can watch DVDs while relaxing. The first day they built it and I said they could carefully eat a bowl of popcorn inside, Cassidy came upstairs and while jumping up and down declared, "I am SO happy!" hee hee. I made them take it down yesterday so I could clean but it's back up again (and bigger).

and Roast Beef.

Roast beef? Well, I needed a conclusion and the Sunday dinner I made yesterday WAS phenomenal and a great end to a productive weekend!

Really... a good meal, working with your hands, friends, family and simple pleasures...sometimes I forget that life is really good.

Oops!

Yeah, this is the outcome of having a tiny! lesion removed from my finger. I was expecting something along the lines of a bandaid! Several hours later it is still somewhat frozen and my dexterity is pathetic (don't ask how long it is taking me to type this).

So good old Dad drove me home and is staying over to help me out and drive me back to work in the morning (where we left my car).

I already know that a week from now I'll be ready to rip this thing off and hurl it out a window.

(hee hee)

Lianne

Universal Truths, Part 2

If you follow my sister's blog, you'll understand this title. I loved her list and felt compelled to continue the thread.

Once you pay off your debts, something will occur to plant you squarely back in the red. Like, the wooden balcony off your balcony and the various other tiny bits of wood on the exterior of the house were so poorly treated when the builder did the original paint job that the wood is now rotting and will cost me ONE THOUSAND dollars to scrape, sand, fill, caulk and paint it again.

If you are really tired and finally sleeping through the night after months of overtime, something that moves will take up residence in your walls or attic. Don't ask. I have to call one of those people who makes a living crawling around searching for things like that.

If you buy your kids a guinea pig, you will be cleaning squished poop off the ceramic tile and cleaning pig urine off the new laminate floor. Enough said.

If you buy your kids breathing puppy toys, suddenly life seems extraordinarily sweet. That sounds weird, but it is amazing what a puppy - even pretend ones - can do.

Oh yeah, and universal truth number ONE - my kids love me a LOT and that makes all the other not so nice truths completely bearable.

Lianne

Chicago!

I'm in Chicago with my good friends! I am not posting pictures myself but you can see pictures on the blogs of my friends Anne Marie and Shauna..

Anne Marie: http://devinedetails61.blogspot.com/

Shauna: http://macshaslife.blogspot.com/

Home on Sunday night!

Love Lianne

Sweet sounds and now we're 10

This week was Education Week and to celebrate, Osprey Woods P.S. held a performance on Tuesday night. As a member of the Recorder Club, Bryanna played five pieces with a group of about 25 kids.

Now it's true that Bryanna has been taking Recorder for 2 years and she does seem to pick up the melodies very quickly (I can always recognize what she's playing), but I sat in shock - honestly - as I listened to her and her peers weave some absolutely beautiful music in the rather unimaginative atmosphere of the school gym. I kept recording clip after clip on my small digital camera, just so I could share how beautifully they played!

Have a listen (yes, that's her on the right)...

The rest of the week was spent in anticipation of Bryanna's 10th birthday.

10 !

Yes, the double digit birthday has arrived. I, myself, decided not to dwell on that in case I became overly emotional...that's it...that's all I am going to say on THAT topic.

The hilarity and, yes, slightly chaotic event of the combined birthday party for the dynamic duo - Monsters vs Aliens 3D movie outing - easily took my mind off the potentially melancholy mood I might have been tempted to dwell in. From dealing with the movie projector guy who forgot to flip the "3D" switch until 10 minutes in, to fitting 17 children and a number of adults into a room meant to comfortably hold 12, from the generosity of friends (mine and the girls') to a dinner together later with Shauna and MacLean, and Nanny and Papa delivering gifts and well-wishes from Auntie Kim, Uncle Damian and Sophie... it was a packed but joyous day (not to mention that FREAKY storm that landed around 4:30).

Another April of birthdays and celebration. All sweet. All good. How fortunate we are.

Enjoy the pictures! (There are many more, thanks to friend AM, but a recently turned 7 year old is asking for a bedtime story!)