Yesterday was a wedding anniversary in our family…
Our youngest son and his wife have been married for nine years!
Where does the time go?!
Congratulations to them… So many great memories of a beautiful celebration! So many great memories of the years since that day!
In eastern Ontario, where I live, daylight hours are currently decreasing at the rate of about 3 minutes a day.
Shorter days mean cooler weather. Winter is approaching…
I usually feel a sense of sadness, realizing that fall and winter are near… But not this year. Not yet, anyway.
Our summer has been so hot that the thought of cooler weather brings a sense of relief… As long as it doesn’t get too cold, too quickly!
Her decision to come back to live was a total surprise to Terry and me!
The design reminds me of a cozy plaid flannel shirt. Made up of squares, the quilt is square, too.
The backing is cut from an IKEA duvet cover that shrank…
(I see I’m not the only one to repurpose bedding when looking for quilt backing!)
Quilts take a while to assemble… I’m impressed that she’s made not one, but two, so quickly! They’re both beautiful!
Summer brings back memories of salads I used to make.
One of my favourites is a simple tomato salad. The key is to have tasty tomatoes, the kind you can only find in summer.
First, crush 2 or 3 cloves of garlic, adding half a teaspoon of salt, using the flat bottom of a sturdy glass as a pestle.
This fresh homemade ”garlic salt” is so much tastier than the short-cut I now use: store-bought, crushed garlic in a jar.
I use a lot of garlic. Toss the tomatoes in this salty garlic to coat. Add a tablespoon or two of olive oil and again mix to coat.
Refrigerate for an hour or two - then serve cold.
Very refreshing on a hot summer day!
Today is my parents’ wedding anniversary. They were married on this date in 1944.
Here is a picture taken one of the few times all their children and grandchildren gathered together at their home on Lawrence Avenue in Kelowna - a small house they bought for their retirement years. Prior to that, they lived on Bay Avenue and on DeHart Avenue, houses my brother and I lived in as well. Their final home was a condominium on Bernard Avenue
As I look at this photo now, I am struck by how much my younger son, at that age, resembles his own son now.
And how much he now resembles my brother, as he looked then.
And I wonder what my older son is up to - that I’m holding him back, while Terry takes this picture… It couldn’t have been too serious - my father and I are both smiling!
It those days before digital cameras, we couldn’t just check the photo and do a retake.
The camera on my cell phone is the only one I use these days…
It’s easy - point and shoot, then edit. This is the edited version of the picture below it.
There’s another feature I really appreciate as well…
When I can’t remember where a photo was taken - it tells me. (It also supplies the date and time of day.) Both the above photos were taken in Perth… at around 4 pm on June 20.
(Our multi-purpose cell phones are visual diaries as well!)
Decorating pre-printed cookies using pens with edible paint ink.
Such fun!
Satisfying…
and fun!
Our public library has a lot of knitting resources. In it I recently found this interesting book of knitting patterns entitled HOME: 18 knittable projects to keep you comfy, by Pam Allen.
I found several tops in the book that I think I’d really enjoy wearing around the house once cold weather arrives.
Among them is this shrug that can be worn two ways - like this , in the photo, or bottom-side up so that the shrug is shorter but now has a collar.
It would be fun to discover that I had just the right yarn in my stash… but I suspect I don’t!
In the meantime, I’ll keep working on this sweater I started a few weeks ago - while I hunt for the perfect yarn.
Japanese anemones are the most recent flowers blooming in my front garden bed.
The plant seems to be spreading, so I’d like to divide it to move some of these lovely flowers to different parts of the yard…
Did I read somewhere that they don’t like to be disturbed?! I have that idea somewhere in the back of my mind.
Is it worth the risk of losing the original plant? That’s really what’s holding me back.
These pink flowers are teeming with honey bees - possibly from the hives at the college. I even managed to take a picture of one (above).
The whole family recently gathered at the home of our older son…
A home he shares with cats.
Our two-year-old grandson loves small animals…
He enjoyed getting to know the cat better…
Even pretending that he was a cat, too!
Such fun!
Terry and I headed back to Carp Farmers Market last Saturday - the first time we’ve been there this year.
It was nice to be back.
The week’s theme was “garlic”… and we saw a lot of vendors selling different kinds.
We arrived shortly before the market closes…
One should never do that! The baker I planned to buy from had sold out of almost everything. Yet Terry was still able to buy corn and maple syrup - his staples. So he drove home happy.
Next time we’ll make a point of arriving early!
We haven’t visited with friends much over the past two plus years - due to the risk of catching or passing on Covid that we or our friends might not even know we have.
But I recently decided that the time had come to start inviting friends over for coffee or a meal - as long as the weather is warm enough for us to sit outside in the carport.
So a week ago, we did have friends over. Our son and grandkids joined us.
It was fun! Our friends commented that it was the first time they’d had a meal with anyone outside their family “bubble” in over two years.
I wonder how often we’ll be able to do this… before cool weather arrives again!
Last summer, I noticed a bird house display in Brockville…
This summer I saw this one in Almonte.
It’s lovely to see outdoor art that suits the season.
What a fun hobby - building and decorating cute birdhouses!
I was glad that she was having fun learning new things… Also gaining confidence performing.
Dressing up in different costumes must be fun, too!
Little brother took it all in… I wonder if he’ll want to be part of the action sometime, too.
