Sob Sob!

Every year at this time I lament the passing of summer. The leaves have turned and some trees have become quite bare. Hallowe’en decorations abound in stores and Christmas gear is slowly emerging. Although Labour Day tells us to put the summer stuff away, the last day of summer is officially the end. I push it to Thanksgiving because the weather is often still warm and fresh and flowers and vegetables are still bountiful. I’ve been meaning to write this post since then, but I’ve been busy gearing up for a season of craft fairs, recuperating from a holiday in Las Vegas (a post will eventually follow), and trimming back the garden.

As sad as it is to see the diminishing sunlight – shorter days and an increase in rain, I have made a point to go out and enjoy summer whenever I could. It never seems like enough though. As my health has floundered a bit this year, I’ve come to realize that I missed out on some things in life and I wanted to enjoy what I could. Some surprises followed.

A fabulous wine was introduced to me by a friend and I could not get enough of it. I did have to draw the line, but I enjoyed it as much as I could. Sometimes I would steal away to our makeshift backyard and enjoy a glass or two with a magazine.

We took some day trips here and there enjoying the beautiful weather and great views.

We often had some company on our walks by the river. This little guy would come when called and trot beside us then dash back into the bushes when it pleased him. I nicknamed him Bel because we could hear his little red bell on his collar and knew when he was near.

When my mom was in town we took in the Chicken & Rib Festival. I’d always passed it up, but since I’d moved to the dark side I can enjoy the carnivorous delights. Believe it or not, many of the trucks had gluten-free sauces so food could be devoured worry-free.

 

A BBQ sauce my sister enjoys also happens to be gluten-free.

And slices of salmon were often cedar planked on the BBQ this summer.

Many of the outdoor markets had gluten-free vendors. We discovered Owma Bakes in Kanata and were pleased with their products. Whoopie pies are good, but like cupcakes, I just don’t get it.

One of the highlights was the first craft beer festival. Not normally thrilling for a celiac, but Nickelbrook was there with their sorghum beer. Yes, these two guys kept me happy throughout the evening (and my wallet feeling lighter). I didn’t even have to ask, these guys knew what I wanted (gushing about the beer and them and taking their picture helps too!).

Finding out about lavender lemonade made me feel posh and special. Really?! Who wouldn’t with a glass of this fine deliciousness.

I also devoured more than my share of ice cream. Normally a major ‘no-no’ thanks to my disgruntled tummy a friend introduced me to So Delicious, which makes a coconut milk ice cream (no soy!) and their cookie dough version was gluten-free. How awesome!! Thankfully, once it went back to regular price my waistline and wallet were pleased.

I wrapped up my summer with a trip to the Cupcake Lounge. I pop in once in a while when wandering around the market and on a recent visit they actually had a gluten-free cupcake. A lonely little guy sitting there in the display case calling me out (It was a shock really, as I’m always told I need to order a half dozen, which doesn’t make sense since I only want one. I only want one because if I wanted more, I’d make them myself, and if I had more, I’d eat them all – yesssss all of them. That’s why I only want one! I digress.). I can see why people love this little place; it was a good cupcake. Worth the $4, but I’d rather not lose half the icing to the paper wrapper because I look like a little piggy licking it off the paper. Plus, I could do without the Smartie, which I don’t believe is gluten-free.

Of course, summer always passes by too quickly. I bought a new bike, at a friend’s suggestion, which should allow me to ride with less arthritic pain in my wrists and I must say it was a joy to zip around the paths. I only wish I had done it earlier in the season. With the wind and rain appearing more and more recently, my biking days are numbered. There’s always next year.

Look Ma! Balloons!

When we first moved into our house one of the things we encountered early one morning was a ‘whoosh’ sound. After digging a garden, reassembling our shed, your usual unpacking and whatnot, we were looking forward to sleeping in. This particular morning it wasn’t going to happen and when I looked out the window I saw why; lots and lots of balloons in the sky. Labour Day weekend is the Gatineau Hot Air Balloon Festival and every year, for a short period one morning, they fly over our house. To see one or two is everyday, but to see dozens and dozens flying overhead is cool; not to mention hearing the whooshing of the flame even though they seem so far up. This past Saturday was no different and when I heard the first ‘whoosh’ up I got and picked up my camera. So if you were driving through Westboro/Hintonburg and saw some crazy lady on her front lawn taking pictures of the sky while still in her jammies, that was me. That’s the best view I get with trees surrounding us.

This will be the closest I get to a ‘Wordless Wednesday’ post so enjoy. Oh and I finally found a downside to living in the city – hydro lines. They made an appearance in almost every shot.

 

 

Cat Days of Summer

I know the expression is supposed to be ‘Dog Days of Summer’, but well, Zoba’s not a dog. We’ve been lucky to have great weather lately, albeit sometimes a little too hot, but it’s better than snow and -25°. The Honey and I have been keeping quite busy, either with work, work, and more work, or trying to get some time in with those we haven’t seen for a long time.

Teacher training has finally wrapped up for the summer program and I’ve been busy getting things done with my regular student. The Honey has been busy putting in overtime at work; one of the few departments that actually received some funds in the last budget. And we’ve been busy vacuuming too. As you can see, Zoba has been just lying about in the hot weather (What a rough life!). You can also see the fur that she seems to endlessly shed. It usually stops mid-spring, but not this year. With the fur flying around The Honey is vacuuming every few days.

We’ve been doing some gardening and The Honey has done a fabulous job getting everything looking so nice. Our peonies have finally bloomed – not many, but they’ve bloomed! It has taken 3 years and having to be happy with the gardens at Maplelawn and the Experimental Farm. But it just isn’t the same when you’re not in your own backyard seeing your own hard work pay off.

We’ve also been meeting friends for whatever reason because it had been just too long. Some of those will have a post, hopefully not too far off in the distant future.

We’ve also been trying to get in some walks. It’s always difficult when it’s too hot out or there are dark clouds looming overhead, or when you’re just too darn tired. But we’re always happy on our walks; talking about whatever and seeing what nice surprises await us. Friday night we saw a late hatchling along the river. While the goslings seem to have reached their ‘teenage years’ (that awkward moulting stage where they don’t have any feathers but they are still a little awkward in walking and trying to use their wings – it’s not that pretty) we saw one lone youngin with a pair. But he was getting along just fine so we weren’t worried.

(The picture of the big brood is from a few weeks ago – couldn’t resist)

Fall

Tomorrow is the first day of December and probably the beginning of winter. We had snow last week and there was potential for it this afternoon (thankfully it passed us) even though it is technically still fall. Some of the past few weekends have been so nice and sunny that it seems like a bit of a joke that winter is around the corner. The leaves have finally fallen from the trees, including the neighbour’s. It didn’t seem fair that we were raking up leaves when our tree still had most of its leaves. 

We had a visitor a few weeks ago – a little woodpecker. I could hear him and then I finally saw him. I enjoyed watching him hop along and stopping to drill away, thankfully in the neighbour’s tree. We found a small hole in our tree a few weeks before, and while our tree is not the best looking around, we don’t want to replace it yet. I was happy to see the little guy pecking another tree and not mine. 

 

With the days becoming shorter I haven’t been seeing my little bunnies on my way home. Normally there’s one on the neighbour’s lawn (he has better grass than us) and some across the street along the transit way (again, the grass is in much better shape than ours). 

 

This summer there was a little guy who I would see every morning. It was nice to see him grow as the weeks went by. You might have to look closely, he’s really little.

I’m going to miss going to the market for my produce. It was always so hard not to come home with more than I needed. It always looked so good, and of course, fresh.

The Parkdale will be reopening soon, albeit with Christmas trees and winter greenery. In the last month or so I’ve often left work when it was getting dark and getting groceries after the sun had set didn’t seem the same. And even though the supermarkets will still have Ontario produce for a bit longer, you can get some cool things at the market, like purple carrots or cauliflower.

There are a few upsides to fall (many if you love winter). I don’t need to battle with the squirrels over my tulips. They won’t get annoying until April.

And there are pomegranates. I love pomegranates and always have. I found some at Farm Boy the other day and I couldn’t resist picking them up. I know there are many ways to have them – salad, juice – but I like them eaten right out of the shell. I usually do it alone as I feel a bit like a savage, bent over my plate with a tea towel draped across my front and juice dripping from my hands. The Honey saw it once and he wasn’t impressed.

No more BBQing. 

No more watermelon.

And no more days eating in the backyard.

Bye bye summer.