Reading Material

The days just march past me, one by one, until I finally sit up and notice that tomorrow is AUGUST! Whaaa? Here are some tidbit reading material. Happy Last Day of July!

Cocktail Commandments for the socially inept.

So THAT'S why they looked at you funny in Italy.

Learn about muscle memory and how to help it along.

I'm a little late to the festival game, but festival fashion is what we enjoy all summer long.

Writing doesn't HAVE to consume your every waking moment.

Flea market finds are the best.

Kindness is Key

When we arrived home after nearly a week of camping and volunteering at the Manitoba Agricultural Museum, I was mysteriously brimming with energy. But instead of focused movements, I was running all over the place and after putting most things away back in their proper place, I went out into the garden to take stock on what was happening with our vegetables.

The peas were more than ready to be picked and there were two overgrown zucchini calling my name. After plucking the food from their vines I weeded in between plants until I got bored, then brought everything indoors. After panicking for a single indecisive minute, as I didn't want to let the vegetables just sit there on the counter, I decided to bake a chocolate zucchini cake and cook a cauliflower salad.

After checking to make sure I had all the necessary ingredients (I did) I set about boiling the cauliflower and eggs as well as getting the cake batter ready for the oven. I don't know what possessed me to do all this. I was in a tizzy! Between my time in the kitchen, taking care of Little C and trying to catch up on blog posts, the whole day was frazzled, the total opposite of relaxing.

Truth be known, I love to cook and bake. It's a creative outlet that many people enjoy and it's something I do for myself. Big C is a picky eater and is known for rejecting many a culinary masterpiece if it's not plain steak and potatoes. Although I am slowly and gently nudging him toward a more open mindset, sometimes just by adding herbs and spices to otherwise mundane dishes, he does not eat anything 'mixed' like casseroles or anything with a sauce. Gravy or soup is OUT. How crazy, right!

With all this baking around the house, I've been snacking unnecessarily on junk food. To my shame I've been ignoring the delicious fruits and vegetables in my fridge in favour of cookies and brownies. I am not happy with the way I am acting. Treating myself poorly is not the way I envision living. I know I will have to make a conscious effort to be kinder to myself. Perhaps I will document this journey? We will see.

This isn't a food and exercise blog. I am by no means an expert. Ha! Not here! This is my beginner's guide, my buckling legs, if you will, to treating my body kindly. I am not rigid, of course not! I seek pleasure all the time, which is why I am in this predicament in the first place. Somewhere along the way my brain decided cookies and other sweets were the answers to my pleasure prayers. And although it's perfectly fine to indulge once in a while, everyday three times per day is not an indulgence, it's a bad habit!

So, Kindness is Key!

Reading Material

When the heat wave rises against us, and when the temperatures dip dramatically, I often remember the movie 'Cool Runnings'. The first time I saw this movie was in school, and although for the life of me I can't remember why our teacher let us watch this in class, I am grateful she did! A stand out moment in the movie is when the character Sanka Coffie (I know, right!?) declares that he must delve into his reading material...which happened to be comic books/magazines.

So, for the love of all kinds of reading material, here are some links to enjoy!

• Always wanted to see what happens behind the scenes on those famous movies?
• I love it when a blonde can pull off mustard.
• What is a good dog?
• A unique way to use the whole thing!
• A taste of Italy
• SPEECH!

Wednesday Musings

After putting the baby down for his nap I walked into the kitchen to continue doing the dishes (housework is a never ending story). All our windows are open to let the breeze flow through the house. There's a storm brewing, I can smell it. I can hear my husband mowing the lawn and as I put our cutlery back in the rightful spot a breeze carries the scent of freshly cut grass. In this moment I feel pure pleasure. This life of mine may be quiet, but I am content with it.

Monday Musings

On Saturday Big C and I spent the morning relaxing indoors with Little C in our air conditioned house. We dressed for the day, tidied the house then packed our car and drove to the next town over for Big C's Grandpa's (we'll call him GB) 80th birthday party.

It was a backyard affair, with 2 tents erected for shade so all of GB's friends and family could visit as pleasantly as possible in the searing heat (+38 C with the humidity). I enjoyed visiting with my sister-in-law, and watching the little cousins play with the sprinkler and the slip n slide. Little C got passed around so often, that besides feeding him indoors and glancing around once in a while to see where he was, I never saw him! Babies have that effect on people ;)

On Sunday, again we relaxed in the morning.The heat wasn't too bad, or at least not as bad as Saturday. We are a bunch that is used to cold weather 6 months out of the year, so when it changes dramatically for the other 6 months, we're not used to it! People talk about the weather here a lot, because it is certainly not constant. Heck, in one day it can go from snow to rain to sunny skies and bathing suits (mostly in the springtime this happens, and I'm not exaggerating). So it is a wonderful ice breaker, because there's so much to talk about!

On Sunday afternoon I packed up Little C and I in the car and we drove to the Manitoba Agricultural Museum (MAM) to help out my mom and sister gather vintage clothes to prepare for the fashion show that they put on during the Threshermen's Reunion. Big C was helping my dad work on the 110 Case steam engine that they run during the Reunion. I used to help operate it as well, before I had Little C. Now I'm not sure when I'll go back to it, as I don't want the baby around all the wood/coal smoke and hot boilers. Maybe once Little C is not dependent on me for food someone else can look after him while I have some fun on the 110. But until then I am trying to find my niche in the Ladies Building.

 
Big C and I in front of the 110.

Sunday was a special day, as it was my parents' 40th wedding anniversary! My sister and I walked with my mom to the little chapel where our parents were married, she walked down the aisle and reminisced about her wedding day.  We ate supper in the open shed beside the steam engines and my parents talked about their wedding, which was the first one to take place on the museum grounds.

All in all, it was a lovely weekend!

Happy Canada Day!

Right now the house is quiet. Both Big and Little C are still sleeping and I get a few hours all to myself! I was up late last night preparing for a small dinner party that we're hosting today. My sister and her fiance, and my parents are coming over to help celebrate Canada Day! Not sure if there will be fireworks tonight, as the weather is still wet and rainy, but nevertheless we will have fun together, we always do!

I will post a few pictures of our party tomorrow. It's not super fancy or impressive, but that's not the point of having a party. We're just here for a good time :)

Happy Canada Day! We're so lucky to live here in this diverse, bountiful, peaceful country.

Monday Funday

Whew, we are being Rained. Out. here in what is typically Sunny Manitoba. Since this spring was such a slow melt (ie. the snow took it's time to melt in slow stages) we had minimal flooding and everyone thought they were off the hook. Now we've been deluged with stormy weather and these prairie plains are not equipped to handle this much moisture in one weekend. Between the wind and the rain there's been quite a lot of damage around these parts.

Just outside of Brandon, MB

Cottonwood Campground (Treherne, MB)

Outside of Virden, MB

 (source: Facebook)
 

Although Manitoba does have many freshwater lakes, these areas are nowhere near them. This is all farmland that has been flooded.The wind has been clocked at everything between 74 to 96 km/hour all over the south of the province. Rural homes everywhere have been without power for a few days now, Winnipeg homes are experiencing brown water problems, Brandon is declaring a state of emergency, and it's all just a big wet mess.

However, Big C and I are very lucky compared to some. We are experiencing wind and rain, but it's relatively 'dry' here (our village is located in the hills, not a valley), we have no water in our basement, our power stayed on and we're snuggled in our home, safe.

On Saturday, Big C had plans to help my Dad get the steam engine he adopted ready for the Threshermen's Reunion at the Manitoba Agricultural Museum (this is a whole 'nother blog post) but when the rain started, they decided to postpone until it was dry. We stayed indoors and just hung out for the most part, watching movies and playing with Little C.

That evening the rain had let up and I took Little C with me to a book party. It's like a makeup or jewelry party, but for book nerds! A friend was putting it on for an acquaintance of hers who is selling children's 'Barefoot' books. After ordering 6 books (and winning one more) I had to curb my shopping impulse, chat with the other women who came, thank the hostess, and leave. It was a fun evening and I'd do it again in a heartbeat!

On Sunday it was storm day, so Big C and I hung out inside. He parked his bum on the couch to watch an 'Animaniacs' marathon (even 30 year olds need to revisit their childhood!) and I caught up on some blog posts. We played with Little C while he was awake, and while he was napping, brought out our new juicer to learn how to make fresh orange juice (FYI it's really easy). Using the juice, I whipped up 2 different concoctions for us to enjoy! The night ended with us starting to sleep train Little C (which basically involves not rocking him to sleep anymore, just cuddling for a bit then putting him down and letting him go to sleep on his own). We're very lucky with Little C, he's an amazing sleeper and he just talked to himself for about 30 minutes and then fell asleep. No crying involved! Still, it tears at my heart that our little baby is not so little anymore. Every step of independence is a step away from me, and I'm not quite ready to give in to that yet!

Hope everyone has an amazing week! I'm off to plan a little Canada Day party for tomorrow!