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 ÃŽle-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…;)

Mommy was very glad Daddy installed the gates before he left,,,

We played with the cats…at least tried to…it was hot so they weren’t really interested…

We watered the plants on the deck.

Look! There’s finally new oranges growing on the potted orange tree. The little plant is confused from the weird seasons we’ve had…

New growth on the tropical plant, too…

We tended to the herbs, which are doing well…

Mommy was excited to se ethe Bee Balm that she planted on Mother’s Day had flowered…

Mommy contemplated what to do with this tree growing right beside the house…

We took a bath…

Sophie played with her toys…

While Mommy still contemplated decorating her room…

We took naps, like Penelope here…

We watered the house plants…

We fed the cats…

We had fun over all. Mommy got to read her book as well, and Sophie was pretty easy on Mommy during meal times. Hurray! Now hurry up and come home, Daddy!