I am amazed at how many hits I get to this blog due to a post I did last year about the hottest day here in Montreal. My intention of putting the original post was for my own personal reference and interest. Since it gets so much attention here on the internet, I decided to post when the hottest day happened this year…and it was today, July 21st…two weeks later than last year, and two degrees hotter:



It’s definitely been a hot, dry summer. We are not complaining after the winter & spring we had, though! I should add I am not sure if downtown got this hot or not, as we live west of the city…but there you have it…thus far the hottest day in greater Montreal 2011. :) If I see the temp. hit higher than that this year, I will update this post. :)

…didn’t fair as well as the strawberries last year.


With all the rain we got this spring, our strawberry plants came back with a vengeance, and took over one of our square foot garden boxes completely. Since the girls love strawberries the most of the edibles we grow, we decided to let them have their own box. Only it looks like they peaked in June while we were in Nova Scotia, and the birds and other critters got to most of them.



Nevertheless, the girls had a great time searching for the small berries in the box as well as the wild strawberries that live throughout our back yard.



To experience growing and harvesting food, to see where real food comes from is an important experience for young children. Particularly today with the convenience to get whatever you want packaged in the grocery store. We can only do it on a small scale out here in the ‘burbs, but he sheer joy and excitement that a 2 and 3 year old get from having their own mini crops is encouragement enough to keep going. We planted very little this year due to a rainy spring. Next year, we must ramp up the varieties once again!

Seems we got a – “bit” of rain while we were away for two weeks…some of our plant life in our backyard went into overdrive…



Our out-of-control blueberry bush…looked like it has almost doubled in size…also note the height of the grass!



The girls’ playhouse – lovingly caressed by vines of hops. :)

Rick snapped this photo of the girls’ books. Makes us chuckle. :)

It isn’t officially summer until you can pull up to the fruit stand at the side of the road and get fresh strawberries! I have grown accustomed to the taste of Québec berries. The Nova Scotia ones don’t have the same full earthy flavour I am now used to. Mind you, Nova Scotia got a ton of rain this year – it may have affected the flavour.

Hands down we like to get our berries here locally at Quinn farm. They do not spray them with pesticides unless we have a wet season and they are forced to or lose their crop. The ones pictured above however, are from Valleyfield. One of those road-side stands called our name – our first batch of the season! :)

Our Himalayan cat truly blends in with the scenery around here…



One of these things is not like the others, One of these things just doesn’t belong… ;)



I’d color-correct the red eye here, but it accurately depicts the venom the cat had for me for kicking her off the dolly bed. :)

This year we took down our Christmas tree on New Years Eve, on account of being away the first part of January. Taking down the tree – particularly a real one – is just not as magical as putting it up, but lends to a lot of fun for young children, particularly when it comes to gathering up all the fallen needles. :)



The baby’s job was to remove all the pieces from our Advent calendar.



While our three year old helped remove the ornaments from the tree.





The tree looks a little sad now that the ornaments & lights are gone. We will miss his presence. But, he will be turned into much needed mulch for the community.



And now for the real fun…I am always amazed at what I consider work, my children consider fun! Time to pile up the fallen needles!



If you are considering a real tree vs. an artificial one, read my original post, O Christmas Tree for some ideas. :)

Getting out & playing in the snow with the girls really makes me be a kid again – and remember just how many hours I could spend outside in this fluffy white stuff. It’s a really good reminder as an adult now that the longer winter days are upon us…winter always seems so long as the snow hits us here in Quebec long before the first official day of winter, and tends to linger past the first day of spring.



What awaits just outside the garage door…





The view from my snow seat…thoroughly planted on my front lawn – near the buried Christmas lights!



Digging out the buried Christmas lights…



Little heads peeking out…





This is pretty comfy… :)



Our winter wonderland…

There is something about a first snowfall that feels so crisp and new…the bright white snow takes away the brown of autumn & makes nature pure all over again.

We woke up to our first official snowfall yesterday. Just enough to cover the ground. By the looks of the temperatures for the next few days, it will not be staying with us long.













Putting snow on your baby sister’s head…so much fun… :)



I’m glad she found it funny to have cold snow put down the back of her jacket. :)

For our family, the preparations for any festive occasion are just as important as the event it self. Here are a few snapshots from Halloween 2010.



In the month of October we talked about how there is a star inside of every apple (when you cut it open down the middle). So we cut some apple slices into star shapes to emphasize this.



These darling little orange jack-o-lanterns were taken from Taste of Home Magazine’s Halloween edition. I adapted them to have fangs rather than a whole mouth of teeth…



The oranges themselves are stuffed with orange pulp and purple grapes.



Sophie helps separate the change for the children trick or treating collecting money for charity. She did a marvelous job sorting out the pennies so only quarters, dimes & nickels were handed out.



These motherlode pretzels were also featured in Taste of Home magazine. I adapted the mixture to more our liking; more walnuts & less butterscotch. These have everything to suit every craving: sweet, salty, chewy & crunchy! Rick couldn’t stop eating them all night. Definitely will be on my Christmas list for treats.



I found gummy worms at the Bulk Barn – so I made homemade chocolate mousse for the “mud”.



Nothing like a good old fashioned race in the empty treat boxes!



I was amazed at how much my one year old enjoyed handing out treats; my three year old is far too afraid of the costumes to participate! :)

Our little ones have not ventured into the trick-or-treating realm as of yet, and we won’t push. When they can decide for themselves it is something they want to do then we will support it, otherwise we will have our own family party every year. Way more fun to make treats, anyway. ;)

The title is a line from a song we sang at circle time last month, taken from the Earthschooling pre-school curriculum.

Fall this year started with a cold snap…and then went straight back to mild. In fact, the grass started growing & growing just when we thought we wouldn’t have to mow it anymore. It took Rick & me 3 days and both our reel mowers to get it cut again. :) Great exercise – we love being outdoors in Fall. Probably my favorite time of year for outdoor chores.

These photos were taken mid-October.







Really getting into her work. :)





I wasn’t kidding when I say the grass was long!



Literally…hanging out…

This was the temperature here the past couple of days:



Next week, the prediction is even HOTTER! Is this May or July? :)

Still, we have no complaints. This long weekend the whole island of Île-Perrot is hosting a community yard sale: that’s 4 different towns! Our road was relatively quiet but we decided to put out a few things Saturday and today. We sold a few larger objects we wanted to get rid of so I am happy! Plus we received a bottle of Spanish wine from one of our neighbors as a thank you for giving him an old lawn mower!

We took advantage of the festive atmosphere to soak up some rays and get to know our neighbors. Summer here reminds us just why we moved here – esp. after cold, harsh winters (compared to normal Halifax winters!).

The girls must have gotten a lot of fresh air today -they both went to bed early, quickly & with no complaint!

Happy to say we have not turned on the central air as of yet. But with predicted temps of 32 for Monday/Tuesday (and it always seems to be a few degrees hotter here) we may have to admit defeat very soon.

I buy a hanging basket every year, & I really dislike the plastic containers they come in. I get one always with the intention that I will fill it up with my own arrangement the following year – but it never happens.

This hanging basket at D’Aoust caught my eye today…I love the unique style & I will definitely be motivated to refill it with my own creation next year!

I couldn’t help but think of the name of the U2 LP when I noticed the sky this evening. Rick promptly went out and took pictures, although the intensity of the colour does not show up in the photos. Talk about the heavens opening up!

Who comes around every so often to say hello…

I’m not sure who owns him/her but definitely not a stray as this cat is pretty fat! Usually a midnight visitor but this time caught on camera during the day. :)

Rick brought home Sophie a treat…from the grocery store…and not for eating…not yet, anyway. :)

While Rick was putting up our Christmas lights Sunday afternoon, he spotted someone watching him…

A few shots of the animals we saw at Zoo Granby…

Rick and the animal butt pictures…we’ve decided to keep this one in mind when we get our debt paid off. This will be a good one to send creditors when they start asking if we would like more credit…HA!



Sophie didn’t seem to care for the gorillas too much. She is especially shy around men, and I guess these remind her of big, hairy men…;)



Cute in that ugly sort of way…

Eeew snakes…but I just wanted to touch it nonetheless…

This was by far my favourite animal of the day! I thought it must be a panther but its exhibit said a black jaguar, and if you closely at his belly, you can see his spots like the spotted one shown above. What a beautiful cat, and much bigger than our black cat. ;)



alligators…cute in an ugly sort of way as well…:)

Red panda

A tiger leaped into a tree (not sure if it was this one) which was quite something to see, too bad we didn’t get a picture of it. So effortless, no climbing necessary. :)

Ha – oh, that pic of Sophie with the camels. See how cross she looks? This is about where she got squirmy. This is her, “I’m sleepy and had enough now face”. Ah, little peanut…

Enjoying th elephants (not in this pic, is the elephant she was looking at…)

checking out the llamas I think…

Mommy I’m tired!! Hurry up!!! Hee…

Ok. Take the darn picture. Now can I please have a nap now??? ;)

So I left this laundry basket in our bedroom for a few days, knowing I would be do laundry again the following Monday. I don’t know what it is about cats and laundry baskets, whether or not they contain clothing they seem to think they make cozy little sleeping areas. Zany made quick work of this spot claiming it as her own little “nest”.

So Monday rolled around and as much as I tried to coax Zany out of the laundry basket, she would not budge. Those of you who know this cat, know how big, fat & stubborn she is. Fine. I’ll start throwing the laundry in, and she’ll move. I filled the basket to the top, mostly with towels, which you can imagine, gets heavy. The cat didn’t budge. I started getting worried, so I dug out her head. I tried to poke, then prod a little harder, but no way was she going to get out. Then after a few pictures, she must have tired of the attention, and hopped out. :P

Cats are funny creatures.

Yes, so I know Halloween is over a month away, but with all the candy & decorations out, how can you resist? (Christmas stuff is out already, for crying out loud, but I am so not going there yet.)

Last year, being the first Halloween in our house and therefore the first one we got to give out candy, I wanted to do treat bags. But with a newborn it was just impossible to find the time. The generous handfuls of candy were a hit in the neighborhood, but even with the Costco size vat of candy the handfuls got smaller as the night dwindled on. We were so not expecting close to 400 kids!

So this year, I am prepared early. I already started assembling the bags as my time is limited so it will probably take me a month to assemble 350+ treat bags. Rick & I picked out some of our favorites from childhood: tootsie rolls, double lollies…I even found little mini pop-rocks to put in, as well as stickers.

Now…just to figure out how to explain to Sophie in coming years why SHE can’t have this candy. Not until she’s at least 5. Maybe next year we’ll have to look into passing out organic treats that don’t contain refined sugar or high fructose corn syrup? I don’t think our wallets can stomach that…;)