Summer Holidays!

Earlier this month, Grant & I went on a road trip reminiscent of the summer holidays of my childhood. Part of the reason it felt like old times was because we visited some friends I made as a kid. But I'm jumping ahead of myself.

The first week in July we headed east to Ontario. We stopped for supper in a lake-side town in Michigan, and ended up running into the Habitat for Humanity Cycle of Hope group from our home town, with whom we've done a couple of cycling trips. It was neat to chat with old friends, and we ended up bunking down with them at the local elementary school on the gym floor, just like old times. It was a short night

Our first destination was Ottawa to visit Grant's grandma and aunt. We spent a week there, helping out with various projects, running some errands, and playing games with them. One Sunday we took a drive out to the country; Ontario is so pretty. After an enjoyable time with family, we headed for Niagara Falls for some site-seeing. Grant had never seen the falls before, and I was only a kid when I saw them, so it was fun for both of us. We spent one day in Niagara-on-the-Lake, a cute little town with lots of shops, although we didn't buy much other than a few gifts. We also toured some local wineries, which was very interesting. It was neat to compare a small farm to a large, more commercial operation. Also enjoyed the riverside drive, and stopped several times at the look-outs.

After a couple of days to ourselves, we made our way to southern Ontario to visit some of my childhood friends. It was great catching up on old times! We even went to a restaurant I vaguely remembered going to when I was young, and they still serve the same creme de menthe parfait I had about twenty years ago! I had to have one for old time's sake   It was also neat because the couple is in the process of building a house, so they are living in a Winnebago with two children. We stayed in a tent on their yard. Thankfully it cooled off for the night; the daytime temps were very hot while we were there!

Finally we were off to visit the newlyweds in Ohio, my niece Rosanna & her hubby Ryan. We spent a couple of enjoyable days hanging out with them, initiating the Scrabble game we'd bought for them, watching their honeymoon video, and going out for Chinese one evening.

Then it was time to make our way back home. We stayed for night close to the Albertville MN outlet mall, and did some shopping there one day. Also checked out the huge Cabellas store nearby. Stopped for supper in Fargo at Famous Dave's (yum yum!), popped in at the Christian book store at the mall, then hit the road for our last few hours of the trip.

We had a great holiday, but it was good to get home, especially because I'd picked up a cold along the way, and my sinuses were really bugging me. I ended up calling in sick the first day I was supposed to go back to work, but that was more due to the pinkeye I got the night before than the cold. Strange feeling waking up with an eye "glued" shut! So I went to the dr instead of to work that day. Things are getting back to normal around home and I'm catching up on the paperwork at the office. Hard to believe July is practically over. *Sigh*

Oh, and a p.s. for those who've wondered about my tiny garden - we were thankful our neighbours watered it faithfully while we were on our trip because there was no rain for at least 3 weeks. So we came home to ripe peppers, some cherry tomatoes, and lettuce. And we've also been using some herbs I planted out there, especially the cilantro and rosemary. I love fresh produce!

Enough blabbering for this time. Happy summer!

*Disclaimer* I'm actually reading Eat, Shrink & Be Merry by the same authors, but amazon couldn't find it. It's been out for months, but I guess because it's a Canadian cookbook, they don't bother to update their system.

Okay, I've got that out of my system now. Oh, but seriously, if you can find a copy of the book, I highly recommend it. Yummy recipes!!

Anway, it was a Slurpee day today - so warm it felt like summer!! Got to spend a good chunk of time outdoors today, so I didn't accomplish the housework I'd planned to do. Oh well, the work's not going anywhere, but the nice weather might not stay, so I figured I'd enjoy it while I could

Wow, can't believe it is only two weeks until THE wedding!! I'm really looking forward to it! (The driving, not so much, but the family time - yes!) Sounds like it'll be worth the drive just for the food!! Yum yum.

So my latest gardening update...  I did get it planted this past Monday; it was a lovely evening. In addition to the pre-started plants, I sowed some radishes (for Grant) and two kinds of lettuce. The radishes are already poking through!!! It's so cute. The other plants have been through some ups and droopy downs. Guess I didn't soak it quite enough the first evening, and most of the plants looked rather sad when I got home from work on Tuesday. Added some Miracle Gro on Wednesday, and have been keeping a close eye on them. Some of the leeks are okay, some still look a little flat. Three of the four cilantro plants look very unhappy, but if the one survives, that's better than none. I'm thinking rosemary must be a relatively hardy herb, because it's looked great ever since i planted it. Sorry, to go on and on; you'd think I've never planted a garden before. Oh wait, I haven't  

Well, that's the extent of excitement for me this week, lol. Pretty mundane life, eh? Oh well, as they say, no news is good news. Ciao!