Hey, it's the Weekend!

The sun is shining, the temperatures are slowly creeping up past zero, and almost all of the snow has melted.  

There's a subtle shift, as spring arrives.

Tulips spotted in stores.

The end of hockey season.

Longer days.

Omelettes, sushi nights, and green cupcakes.

With the nicer weather coming, here's some motivation to get out and walk.

And with Easter just around the corner, how about some centrepiece and tablescape inspiration.

You could make some spotted Easter eggs, and some mini egg fudge.

Or maybe a batch of bunny cookie bark.

And your Easter breakfast needs these caramel egg stuffed croissants.

Happy weekend!

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A Boy and his Dog - and his Sister

It's the perfect time of year for exploring local trails.

And for realising that you're never really too old to climb trees.

Month of June, I have high hopes for you.

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Photo a Day - In the Garden

What is it about longer days and warmer weather that has me loving my camera again?

There's something magical about being outside after hibernating all winter.  

Planting.  Noticing how much greener everything is.  Seeing the new growth on old plants.

Loving Spring.

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Friday, it's Friday!

The weatherman is forecasting 30+ degrees today...that's Celsius!  The grass is green, the trees have leaves, and we have bubbles.

Our boy is now sporting a smaller cast, in blue this time, as he continues to heal after his big adventure.

The change in weather this past week inspired a trip to the garden centre, where I lusted after all the things.

Spotted during hubby's travels this week - an iguana on the golf course in Miami, and a moose in Algonquin Park.  That man really needs to get an instagram account.

We've been eating a lot of salads this week.  To encourage healthy eating, and to accommodate a houseful of kids that prefer different salad ingredients, I've resorted to build-your-own salad nights.

I've been wearing capris and sandals.  Yay!

I've been reading The Salt Road.

The warmer temperatures are making me want to break out the popsicle maker, and try a batch of these Whole Fruit Popsicles.

We make a lot of smoothies in this house, but I'm curious about smoothie bowls for breakfast.  They look wonderful, and I've started a Pinterest collection of smoothie bowl recipes.

This Breakfast Cake looks like something I might try this weekend.

Caramelized Bananas with Homemade Vanilla Pudding, yes please!

And I think I want a colouring book.

Happy weekend all, and a very Happy Mother's Day!

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Photo A Day

Instagram lately.

Road hockey.
Greek Yogurt Jello Bites.
Clothes shopping.
Library haul.
Easter flowers.
Food and drink.

Hubby had to spend a week overseas.  And Easter was a thrown-together-at-the-last-minute affair, after our plans were de-railed due to a little emergency surgery.  

Life has returned to a semi-normal state, although we're still waiting on Spring to stick around.  There's snow in the forecast.  Typical April.

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The Promise of Green

This is the dull, in between time.  The colour has been washed away from our world.  

We rake up the remnants of last fall's leaves.

And wonder how one leaf survived the winter intact.

I know that it will be a sudden thing, when the green finally arrives.  I'll be driving, and I'll realize that the trees have a green glow about them - something that wasn't there the last time I looked.  

Then suddenly they'll have real leaves, and the grass will have transformed from brown to green seemingly overnight.  

And it will finally feel like Spring.

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Sugar Bush

The sap is running.

Which means maple syrup.

It takes about 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of maple syrup.

That's a lot of trees that need tapping.

This sugar bush has approx. 6000 taps on 80 acres.  They hope to produce 1000 gallons of maple syrup this season.

Shaw's Maple Syrup Bush

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It's June, wait...what?

I'm having a hard time getting my head around the fact that it's June.  May was a blur.  Long hours at work and a husband working out of town made for a month of just getting through the day, and then just making it to the weekend.  The weather has been glorious, although I've had little time to spend outside and enjoy it.  I'm grateful for the warmth and sunshine...something we waited a long time for this year.  And I'm happy to see so many shades of green colouring our world again.

Mother's Day was quiet.

And as busy as we are, I'm still feeling a little lost.  For the first time in 20 years no one is playing any outdoor summer sports.  No soccer, no baseball, no football.  I should be jumping for joy that I'm not running like an idiot from one field to the next, trying to keep up with their conflicting schedules... but the truth of the matter is that I miss it.  A lot.

But there's always summer hockey.  Nothing like sitting in an ice cold rink wearing shorts and sandals.

Last but not least, I have a slew of recipes to share.  I've finally managed to pull off a really good homemade,  nut-free granola bar for the kids lunches.  I've been struggling to keep their lunches interesting as we near the end of the school year, and the healthified baked goods I've been trying haven't all been well received, but these granola bars were a great success.  I've also been using my crock pot a lot lately and have a few slow cooker gems to share.   And there was sticky toffee pudding, with caramel sauce from scratch...

...which was totally worth the half hour I spent stirring.

Stay tuned.

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