Summer Wrap-up

I can't believe it. How did it happen already? Summer is over and school is starting up again next week. I had a different kind of summer this year with no big trips, but instead lots of time spent with the family. Here's how it went down.  

I visited my parent's Haliburton cottage lots - for probably half the summer when you add all the days together.

I made one trip to the family cottage on Georgian Bay.

And went on one trip to Letchworth State Park in New York State (which you can read about here).

We visited Fort York again as we now had two guards (Kate and William) we wanted to see doing their maneuvers.

And the biggest surprise was that I did lots of art for the first time in my life.  I took a Sumi-e (Japanese Brush Painting) course at the Haliburton School of the Arts which you can read about here.

I sketched on several trips.

I spent a fun day with my Aunt discussing art and visiting a waterfall in Haliburton that we sketched and I later painted.

In total I painted five landscapes. 

Given that I have only painted seven paintings in my whole life this has been a very productive summer for me.  

A painting of my parent's Haliburton cottage that I gave to my Dad for his birthday

A couple of weeks ago I bought myself some brushes and five colours of acrylic paints and some canvases.  We also re-arranged the master bedroom so I could have a table by the window and paint in the light.  I'm learning lots about painting and it has me excited for the possibilities for this coming year. 

I'll be spending this weekend helping our youngest two get ready for university with last-minute clothes shopping, haircuts, packing of bags, and hopefully not-too-tearful good-byes.  Then after a couple of trips to the airport, we will be empty-nesters.  I remember sending them off to kindergarten and now the last one is heading for university.  Sigh!

A Mason Jar Picnic

Doesn't everything look better when it's put in a mason jar?  I have been reading about people making mason jar meals (which you can read about here and here) and I loved the idea.  I just knew salads and berries could be taken to a whole new level if they were put in mason jars. Last week I was taking Kate and her friend to Wasaga Beach for the day and thought this would be the perfect opportunity to have a mason jar picnic.

I bought two different sizes of mason jars and got some groceries to make the following: a salad; berries; blueberries with yogurt; guacamole with tortilla chips; banana chocolate chip muffins; juice; and water with ice.  

We loaded everything in the cooler and headed off to the beach. 

We set the table with pretty tablecloths and matching paper napkins.  I chose a red and yellow colour scheme as I thought it looked very summery - and I happened to have tablecloths in those colours that seemed a good size for a picnic table. Tablecloths are my favourite thing to thrift and both of these came from thrift stores a few years ago. 

We laid out our feast and dug in - well not before snapping a few photos.

I made bean salad to use in the mason jar salad meal.  It included the following:1 can wax beans, drained1 can green beans, drained1 can chick peas, drained1/2 vidalia onion, chopped1/3 cup canola oil1/2 cup vinegar1/4 cup sugar salt and pepper
The trick to mason jar salad meals is to put the dressing at the bottom of the jar and then add vegetables into the dressing that are firm and hardy and can benefit from marinating.  Then layer the more delicate vegetables - like lettuce and spinach - at the top so they are not in contact with the dressing and not getting squished by the heavier vegetables.  Shake the salad just before eating to mix the dressing with the rest of the salad.  The mason jar meals can last several days in the refrigerator and some people have been making a bunch of them to use for lunches all week long.
To make our mason jar salads I put some of the bean salad at the bottom of the jar along with two tablespoons of the oil/vinegar mix that the bean salad was marinating in.   Then I added the following (in order going up):1/4 cup chopped walnuts2 tablespoons sunflower seedschopped carrotssliced cucumberchopped red peppers
When I tried the salad at home I added a sliced egg on top, but I had run out of room in the jar on the day of the picnic so I just brought whole hard-boiled eggs along to eat with the salad.  

We also ate blueberries and yogurt for lunch.  Later in the afternoon we ate the berries, the muffins, and had the guacamole and tortilla chips.

We had juice and iced water to drink.  The ice also helped keep everything cool.

  

I had no idea that playing in the waves for several hours could be so exhausting.  There are no photos of the beach as it was very windy ... and wind is good for waves, but bad for cameras since there was sand in the air.  


The combination of a great picnic lunch and swimming in wild waves made it a perfect summer's day.

Have you ever made a mason jar meal?  Do tell.  I'm dying to try some other ones.

Linked to Summer Link Party at Ginger Snap Crafts,
Show and Share at Southern Lovely,
Inspiration Friday at At the Picket Fence,
Simply Creation's Home Party at Simple Home Life,
Flaunt it Friday at Chic on a Shoestring Decorating,
Sunday Showcase at Under the Table and Dreaming,
WOW us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style,
Fridays Unfolded at Stuff and Nonsense

Canada Day Weekend

I'm kind of working backwards here and am only now getting around to posting about our Canada Day weekend. It was a lovely weekend, though, and definitely worth remembering. 

The weather was amazing so we went swimming and canoeing. There was a lot of lounging on the new dock and even some yoga was happening down there by yours truly. I relished in having the warm sun on my back and the cool water to jump into when I got hot. 

I read the latest issues of my two favourite magazines and even started reading a book.   

Weekends at the cottage always seem to involve a lot of good eating and this weekend was no exception. The desserts alone included some of my favourites - chocolate chip cookies, strawberry shortcake, and Prince William's Chocolate Biscuit Cake (you can find the recipe here).

We had a campfire too.  Don't you love how the campfire ring is tucked away at the end of my Mom's garden - which was looking fantastic.  We had s'mores  ... and if you missed my tip on how I have perfected making s'mores you can read it here (I wouldn't want anyone to miss out on how to make a good thing better).

It really was a great summer weekend. I'm hoping there will be a few more like that before the end of the summer.

Summer Is ...

Kate at Centsational Girl is having a series called "Summer Is" where she has invited people to write about what summer means to them. I've enjoyed reading the different posts and thought I would do my own.  There is something so tantalizing about envisioning all the fun things to come in summer.  I happen to love summer - I love the warm weather, I love being off from work, and I love summer for all of these reasons too - 

Spending time at the cottage.

For me summer is spending time at the cottage - swimming, canoeing, going for walks, reading, taking photos, chatting, drinking copious cups of tea on the screened porch.  Oh yeah!  Can't wait.

A slower pace of life.

I'm off work in the summer so the pace of life changes drastically.  I love that I can tackle some of the things on my to do list and still have time to relax.  

Eating fresh fruits and vegetables.

After a winter of eating a limited variety of fruit and vegetables (we do our best to eat locally or at least North American grown during the winter so the variety is not as great as in the summer), I'm ready to break out and indulge in eating all the different fruits and vegetables that are available.  I love going to the farmer's market and loading up and there is nothing better than a salad meal.

Reading books.

When I get into reading a good book I find it impossible to put the book down, so I mostly save reading for the holidays. Every year I look forward to getting through a stack of books that I have collected over the year just waiting for summer holidays.

Summer mornings in the garden.

I love walking outside in the dewy wet grass, enjoying the cooler morning temperatures, eating breakfast on the swing, checking out the flowers, and admiring the beautiful soft sunlight through the leaves and trees.  

Getting projects accomplished.

I love that I have time to actually get some things done that I don't have time for during the school year.  Since summer holidays start in one week, I'm making my list and checking it twice of things I would like to get done around here this summer.
What do you love about summer?

I'm Leaving On a Jet Plane

I set this post to publish just as hubby and I will be taking off on a plane bound for France.  


The two-weeks in France at the start of the summer will be loads of fun and I'm looking forward to spending time with my husband and visiting with our French friends.  The last time I was in France I was eighteen years old, so it has been awhile, to say the least.  I am so looking forward to soaking in the food, architecture, scenery, fashion, language ... everything!


When I fly from France to Bangladesh I start the more difficult part of the summer - a month that is equal parts excitement and worry.  While I am thrilled to be helping train future Speech-Language Pathologists in a developing nation and am equally thrilled to soak up some South Asian culture, there are many thoughts and worries that crowd my mind and make me wonder how I will do.   Will I make all the flights and connecting flights?  Will I catch some awful disease in Bangladesh? Will I be carried away by the monsoon floods (my kids suggested I wear a life jacket the whole time)?  Will I know how to teach the material so the students can learn what they need to know?  Will I be able to withstand the heat and humidity (at least my hair will look good - my hair loves humidity as it gives it more body)?  Will I find something to eat that is safe and not too spicy (I am travelling with five containers of salted almonds and lots of granola bars to tide me over)?  


I'm leaving you with this blast from the past photo of our family flying home from Nigeria when I was about seven years old.  

I hope you think of me sometimes during the summer and continue to drop by here as I have a whole roster of guest bloggers lined up to take over while I am away.  I also hope to put up some "snapshots from ..." posts when I have time, energy, and electricity/internet access.  


The adventure begins!  Wish me luck.

Help Needed

As many of you know I will be away for most of the summer traveling to and working in Bangladesh (you can read more about it here and here).  I've been pondering what to do with my blog for the seven weeks I will be away.

I'm hoping to be able to upload photos and write some posts while I am on the road and teaching.  However, I can't guarantee that I will have electricity, internet access, or time and energy to do regular blog posts.  Thus I'm coming to you, seeking volunteers to write some guest posts.

I would encourage you to consider being a guest blogger as it is a good way to find other blogs and have other people find yours.  I thought it would be fun to have the guest post give us three glimpses into your home, along the following lines:

• the oldest thing in your home
• the favourite thing you have made (or made-over)
• the favourite room in your house and why

I will need to have the post sent to me by the middle of June so I have time to upload it and it is ready to publish before I leave.  If you think you would be interested in volunteering to be a guest blogger this summer please drop me an email at aliasgracie@gmail.com

I'm looking forward to hearing from you.
XOXO

I Did It!

I have a headache.  It took me all afternoon.  I'm exhausted.  But it's done.  I finally booked the airline tickets to Bangladesh and am so excited (and to be honest, nervous).  My friend Kim and I are now set to go. 

You might think we just get on a plane and go from Toronto to Bangladesh, but oh no - it is much more elaborate than that.  Since we have to stopover somewhere along the way to get to Bangladesh from Canada, hubby and I decided that I would make that stopover in France.   Then he would come along for the first part of the trip and we could spend a little over a week together in France in celebration of our 30th wedding anniversary (from this past February).  We will be staying with our French friends for most of the time and see the sites in and around Normandy.   

So here is how the summer is looking:

First I go to France for a little over a week.

Wikipedia

Then I'll be flying to Bangladesh via Abu Dhabi, where I will  meet up with Kim who is travelling directly there from Toronto.

Traffic Jam in Dhaka, Bangladesh (Indiamike)

We will be teaching at the Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed just outside of Dhaka in Bangladesh for a month. 

CRP

Then Kim's husband and daughter will be joining us and the four of us will travel to India for a week. Our plan it to go to Darjeeling in the Himalayas - for a cup of tea (haha).  Seriously though, we hope to travel on the Darjeeling-Himalayan Railway, which is a narrow-gauge steam train built in 1880 and is now a UNESCO world heritage site and do some hiking in the Himalayan foothills.  

Photo by Arne Huckelheim (Wikipedia)

Then for the last two nights we hope to stay at the Glenburn Tea Estate, a working tea estate and boutique hotel, just outside of Darjeeling.  When Malcolm saw the pictures of the Glenburn Tea Estate on a previous post (see here) he asked if we would be going there, because that is where the tea shop he goes to near the University of Waterloo purchases some of their tea.  I was flabbergasted that Malcolm would have heard of this tea estate that I will be going to half-way around the world - amazing!

Glenburn Tea Estate

It looks like it's going to be a busy summer - but an amazing one!

Windy Weekend on Georgian Bay

We just got back from our windy three-day visit to our Georgian Bay cottage.  Did I mention that it was windy?  Thankfully the cottage is on an island so on the first day, which was actually warm and sunny, we could go to the calm side of the island and bask in the sun and swim.  I swam twice that day, just because it was likely my last swim of the season.

Even in the wind and rain it is a majestic setting. 

It was Christie's first visit to this cottage and she enjoyed it despite the wild weather.
 

The stormy weather stirred up some dramatic skies.

Sometimes there was so much rain

that there was nothing to do but stay inside and relax - Juno's favourite activity!

Other times, though, we could get out and explore.  There were only a few cardinal flowers this year, but they were lovely as ever.

I love finding puddles that are turned red by the colour of the algae in them.

and cannot get enough of the beautiful rocks.

 
There were signs of fall around the island.  From berries,

to goldenrod,

and aster,

and even a few coloured leaves.

 Oh, and polar fleece sweaters to ward off the chills.

Sigh!  All good things must end - even summer.  Sniff, sniff.  One last photo of a magnificent windswept tree.

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Just a warning - it may be the end of summer vacation, but I have a few more blog posts about summer activities that I will be posting this week and maybe even next.