You're beautiful it's true...

I know I'm a teensy bit biased but really, my children are the most beautiful children on the planet...

really likes pogos

(Or as my American friends call them - corn dogs)

I often amuse myself by peeking in other peoples' carts at the grocery (and wonder what they must think of my shopping habits too!) but this one had me giggling. There were more than 50 boxes in this cart (at the Costco) and each box has 40 pogos in it. That'a lot o' corn dogs!

C guesses they must own a chip truck.

Goodness from the garden

My first two zucchinis, fat and firm (but really thin skinned, I don't know why they're so thin skinned compared to the zucchinis I buy at the market?). So far these, and a handful of strawberries, are all I've gotten from the garden. The cucumbers and squash are rotting on the vine it's been soooooo wet, and the tomatoes won't ripen in the absence of sun. Oh well, there's still a few more weeks before the frost returns. I hope.

The forecast: all bad

That might be a bit of an exaggeration (as well as blatantly stolen from C) but this really feels like the year summer forgot us. How will I get through the winter if I'm not receiving my sunshine quotient now?

Stippling

Still working on little J's quilt, at 66 x 90 it's whopping HUGE (for me) and I really feel it in my shoulders and wrist (this endless rain doesn't help either). I'm about 1/3 done with stippling it, so I should have that part done by the weekend. Then I'll have to bind it (which I'm incredibly slow at). It seems likely he'll get it before he's 40 :)

Stretching her wings

Off she goes to sleepaway camp. She comes home weekends (camp runs from Sunday evening to Friday afternoon) but that's still 5 sleeps away from us. It's hard, especially in this day and age where it feels more and more difficult to keep our kids safe. I miss her already.

Rhythm

Little time to blog with the everyday rhythm of work and commute and family. More rainy weather too, which tends to drain my creativity. Perhaps summer will finally join us soon in earnest. In the meantime, during a rare sunny break I strolled to the market with my SIL and encountered this lovely little band of mounties playing across from Parliament. Life in this crazy city.

18 years

I'm the mama of an adult. My first baby turned 18 yesterday (at 6:35pm to be precise). C took him to the casino in Gatineau to celebrate his adulthood (the legal age for pretty much everything in Québec is 18).

I can't figure out how I blinked and this cute chubby-cheeked little monkey

Became this handsome, fiercely independant young man.

I think I'm still in denial.

Summertime... at least for today

A reprieve from the cold, wet weather we've had nearly my entire vacation, today was hot and sunny. A perfect day to enjoy the pool. Oh the pool water is pretty cold still (noooooo sun will do that!) but we spent 5 hours in there anyway :)

Then, when dusk fell, a bonfire and s'mores.

Can you imagine a more perfect day?

Scrapbooker, the next generation

I can't tell you how happy this makes me :)

Yes, the A/R in me wants to straighten the photos, but she's preserving memories - HER memories. What a treasure her little scrapbook is, our story, her story, her perspective.

Strawberries

It's an annual tradition, our trip to the strawberry farm to pick our own strawberries. I was really worried we wouldn't get to go this year, a late frost delayed the crop and more than a week of heavy rain has threatened to rot the ripe berries on the plant. Today the sun peeked out and away we went...

They were certainly smaller than in past years, but sweet and yummy and there were lots. The kids had their fill and we brought two baskets home :)

Don King hair

We had a bonfire tonight, just C and I, after the bits were in bed :)

After the marshmallows were gone I amused myself taking long exposure shots of the sparks rising from the top of the fire and the effect on 'film' of looking like the hair on a treasure troll. Or on Don King

Another step closer to adulthood

My last baby lost his first baby tooth today (and really lost, we think he probably swallowed it though he swears the cat stole it!) His new smile is SO CUTE! I keep chasing him with the camera, asking him to smile :)

Happy Canada Day

Turned out to be a pretty great day. Happy Canada Day everyone!