HBD Canada!

Happy 145th Canada!


We took advantage of the gorgeous summer weather to take a jaunt down to Sarnia for an impromptu Sunday Picnic and Swim.


A tasty picnic at Mike Weir Park...

Beach Chat...

Wanna play? (Like my Rock of Ages hairdo?!)

Hold on - who's the one fetching?

Keir and Mum in the sun!

Saturday Sip

One of the perks of our new locale is that our very favourite Niagara area wineries are only a 40 minute drive away.

A few weekends ago we took a few hours to Sip 'n Shop at a few favourites: Tawse, Thirty Bench and Hidden Bench.


Thirty Bench (with Toronto hazy-lazy in the background!):

Tawse:

Hmmm...seems I forgot to get a photo of the ever lovely Hidden Bench....perhaps I should have been doing less tasting and more photo taking!

What with these great wineries so close we were able to pop over in the late morning and be back mid-afternoon - time enough for a nice sweaty bike ride along the Rail Trail!

Man! On A Wire!

Kitchy or not (ummmm, it totally was...) we made the trek to Niagara Falls to see Nik Wallenda make his now-famous walk.


A little self portrait of our motley crew...

The flying (well, carefully walking) Wallenda...

Now, if only I'd remembered to snap a pic of the calf tattoo (it was of Jesus - BBQ-ing and drinking a beer) that was on the guy standing in front of us....

Ontario Strawberries

One of the things that Ontario does very best of all is strawberries, and thankfully, it is that time of year.

Strawberry season is full swing. On Thursday my friend Faye, her two boys and I went picking (I was kicking myself that I forgot to bring the camera 'cause nothing says summer fun like a 1 1/2 year old covered in dirt 'n berries!) and then made some freezer jam.

I had just enough berries left over for this strawberry pie...


Before glaze:

After glaze:

Hmmmm...different light sources...the glazed photo doesn't really look all that appetizing so you'll just have to take my word for it that IT IS!!!!

The pastry recipe is from Lucy Waverman and James Chatto's delectable cookbook A Matter Of Taste and the strawberry pie recipe was shared with my mum from the original owner of Billy's Downtown Deli in London, Ontario. Billy's has since changed owners, but we hear that it is still the place to go to sample to fresh Ontario flavours of this pie!


Now...all we need is some fresh whipped creme...

A little hit of summer

Peppery summer garden cress from the Thursday afternoon Dundas Farmer's Market!

Rhubarb Pocket Tarts

Fresh from our garden...

and then hot from the oven!

Sadly, they aren't as "pretty" as I would have liked them to be. They look a bit gritty due to the spelt/gluten free flour combo I used. Gotta keep working on that!

Fortunately, they ARE still mighty tasty!

Perspective can be everything

Interested in a little lunchtime viewing perhaps?

In this TED talk, Rory Sutherland suggests that "the circumstances of our lives actually matter less to our happiness than the sense of control we feel over our lives". That, with just a "small change of posture" (I love that image!), one can completely reinvent the interpretation of how something is perceived/received. It truly is up to us. So, had a bad day? Frustrated with someone? See if you can't find a different perspective to take on the situation.

As Keir and I continue to navigate our way through our own job search process (or as Mr. Sutherland puts it "explore the hidden shallows of the human perspective"),  this talk is a great reminder to stay positive and keep exploring those "shallows"!