3 for 1

Okay…. So as usual, I am behind in blogging. Too busy doing stuff I guess. But let’s see if I can catch up.

Pride! Aqua on Saturday had beautiful weather…unlike last year. It was sunny, hot and the sunscreen was flying. The boys were out in their finest swimwear and CJ joined us for the first time. Being the responsible citizens we are, and not wanting to drink and drive, we had a few G&Ts at the dollhouse before mounting our bicycles, Daphne and Josephine) and heading to Sunnyside. Quite pleasant and very civilized really.

With the on-going strike, I was left holding the bag so to speak. There was no access to the pool where one would usually lock up your extra belongings. Oh well, my red PV trunks were accented by a little sailor hat and white flip-flops and that kept the focus off my backpack (which eventually went to live in a corner somewhere). I noticed a trend towards long, surfboard type shorts. That is not a trend I am in favour of…Papi just got me used to shorty shorts! People really need to make up their minds. Kerouac took care of our cravings but pulling sandwiches out of his pockets. Not sure where he was keeping those things, but they were good.

Sunday, the weather was not as good, but it was still a relaxing day. Bit of a walk around the village and then we parked it in a beer garden. It stopped raining just before the parade and then was rather nice until 9:00 when mother nature apparently decided we had had enough and made it pour rain again.

I have officially decided though that I need a pride outfit every year. One year I wear one, find it to be a pain, and the next year I skip it. But then I find I miss having one. I love looking at other people’s get ups and long to have my own. Kitkat says we are attention whores and it’s not the costume we like, but the attention we get. He may be right, but I already have next year’s idea drafted in my head. And that reminds me, I need to start planning for Halloween.

Canada Day! Happy Birthday Canada! I usually view this as strictly a “yay, I am getting a day off” type of thing. But with my brother in a war zone this year, I have to say I did a lot of thinking about him and what he was doing for our country. Just before he left, there was a party for him up in Lindsay and he said that he “truly believed that if we can make Afghanistan a better place, we can make the world a better place”. I know he is working on making it better, keep up the good work. We are very lucky to live where we do.

This is also the day that the Canadian soldiers get their TWO BEERS. That’s it for the year. Two! Not even pints. Just two bottles. He said he is going to keep them on his desk for a while as a memento. I would mail him some extra, but I don’t think they would travel very well.

Cherries! This is light and flaky after all! The season is here and making Agent Cooper’s favourite kind of pie has never been cheaper. Kitkat found cherries in Chinatown for $.99 a pound! At that price, I am getting some to keep for Christmas. I came across Martha Washington’s method for keeping your cherries fresh:

“to keepe cherries yt (so that) you may have them for tarts at Christmass without preserving; take ye faryest cherries you can get, fresh from ye trees, without bruising, wipe them one by one with a linenn cloth, yn (then) put ym (them) into a barrell of hay, and hay them in ranks, first laying hay on the bottom, then cherries, then hay..”

She then says something about sticking them under a hay mattress to keep them warm? I think she got confused with eggs. Between her and Mrs. Beeton though, I am ready to open a retro-housekeeping camp.