paddling pool weather

I know I shouldn't complain, but the heat here is ridiculous! There was a new record set on Monday that previously dates back to 1976, 45°C (108°F) and it's been holding pretty close to that temperature for 5 days now. Our air conditioner hasn't stopped running since Sunday and Lilah asks me every morning now, "Is it hot today again?". And when I answer her yes, she reconfirms, "Same as yesterday?". Oh yes girly!

All that being said, we've been just hanging in the house, keeping cool. Yesterday I finally decided it was way past time to haul the paddling pool out of our basement, to the front porch. I mean we could go to the splash park or the wading pool down the street, but the humidity is suffocating and the UV index is so high I wouldn't feel comfortable having Lilah out in the sun for any period of time. Anyway, she was just as happy and thrilled indeed to get her paddling pool out.

I took the photos in this post with my new lens that arrived in the mail this past Monday. The new lens I've acquired is a fisheye macro lens adaptor that I bought on ebay and paid around $55... cheap, compared to a 'real fisheye lens' that costs about $800. And considering how specialized the lens is, I know it wouldn't be worth the big dollars, which is why I went for this one. The photos are certainly fun and I really like the super wide angles and macro, however I find the black lens circle around the picture is kinda cheap looking, but then again, I got what I paid for! Maybe I should just crop them all, like I did with the one above.

[ more pictures here ]

wordless wednesday

goodbye sandbanks

We went to Church this morning, had our lunch in the 'Lake on the Mountain' restaurant and headed home. The little ferry ride always adds to the excitement of this holiday! There will be plenty of naps in Lilah's future over the next few days, she's missed most of them this past couple of days and lets just say the excitement has kept her high, but there's a possibility she might come crashing down - a pretty high possibility! I just love watching her sleep, she looks like a little angel.

the sandbanks, day two

We didn't plan on going to the beach today again, but the weather was so amazing we did just that!

We went a little later because there are a few things that we have to do in Picton, they are a must! One is visit the bakery, where tea is served in a china teapot along with sugar cubes! Really, who uses sugar cubes nowadays? ...other than the Queen. Lilah enjoyed 'building towers' with them. And she may even have eaten one, just maybe! The selection of pastries and breads are always second to none in this little bakery.

It isn't obvious that we are all about the food is it? ...keep reading, you might change your mind!

For supper this evening we went to 'The Painted Peppercorn'. Everything on the menu is homemade, right down to the choice of vinaigrette. The lady even told us that the raspberry vinaigrette was made with the raspberries from her own garden. We had lentil curry with samosas, delicious. And the deep dish peach and blueberry pie - well I can't even begin to describe it. No sweeteners added, just naturally yummy.

In and around all that eating we did actually go to the beach today. I have posted the evidence below. You'll see sandcastles with broken seashell 'sprinkles' and Dora the Explorer's 'mud mountain'! Colin also got the little trike out for Lilah and tied a piece of string onto it so he could pull her along the beach, through water and all. Let's be honest, he's glad he brought it out for the last hour, because otherwise she'd have had him pulling her around all day long. And Baba can't easily say no, which he likes to remind me, ...like you know, when *I* asked him to marry me. Heh! It sure was a fun day at the beach.

I forgot to mention that we dropped into the dollar store today and I got Lilah a much longed for water pistol. (Our neighbours children have one and Lilah actually asked me if I'd buy her one sometime - I don't think she's ever asked me to buy her anything before, so I kinda felt obliged!) Well what was I thinking? She actually knows how to work that thing. There is a picture below of her pointing it at me, and yes, it hit my camera lens dead on! I think she thought it was rather funny having two adults run away from her soakings!

[ more pictures here ]

the sandbanks, day one

Well today we did exactly what we'd promised Lilah, we headed down to the sandbanks beach for the day. I don't think we've ever had as nice weather here before - the sun beat down and there was a wonderful breeze that kept us all nice and cool. We sat pretty far back in the soft sand as Lilah loves getting buried in the sand and it is a more shaded area. She enjoyed paddling in the water pulling her little boat behind her and playing with her little fishing net she bought in the dollar store yesterday. She was also invited to join with the group sitting next to us, it was their daughter's 4th birthday party. Lilah got to dig for treasure and was given all sorts of nice little pressies. Lucky girl.

It was a super day and we finished it off at our favourite little fish & chip shop in Picton, called Schooners. Fresh halibut and shrimp were both on the menu. Oh so yummy! Oh yes, and we had homemade ice-cream too, in a little ice-cream shop in Bloomfield. Lilah had banana & strawberry flavour and Colin and I had rhubarb & ginger flavour, yummy-yummy!

[ more pictures here ]

canada's birthday... rocks!

We decided to go away for a few days over this Canada Day long weekend. The Queen is in Ottawa for Canada Day and as much as we'd love to see her, we just know Parliament Hill would be absolute chaos and our chances of catching a glimpse of Her Majesty would be pretty slim.

So we booked a trip to Picton. Lilah, my dear, she was *so* excited to be going on a holiday! To a hotel AND the beach, no less! There is nothing better than that in our little 3 year olds books. She was simply bouncing off the walls and reminding us every two seconds that Piggy and Blanket had to come too! As if we'd leave home without them!

I packed a picnic lunch and we stopped into a little town (about half way to Picton) called Gananoque, for lunch. We've never been in Gananoque before, but I know we'll be back, it's such a beautiful little town. We had our picnic and then walked up the town to enjoy a little of their Canada Day festivities. It was lovely, the weather was perfect, and after I told Lilah that her shirt said 'Canada Rocks', that's pretty much what we heard for the rest of the day... "Tanaday ROCKS!" There was a fun little tricycle area set up and she loved riding around with the other kiddies. She was given a couple of Canada flags and we walked up the town to a little bakery for a cup of tea where she scored herself a sugar cookie too! On our walk up the street she had me take a picture of her standing beside and hugging each of the fire hydrants - I have to laugh that she'll find and point out little photo opportunities for me/her now!

We then drove on to the hotel, lazed around, played in the park, had supper, enjoyed the view from our room and tonight we had a spectacular view of the fireworks (in Belleville), right from our hotel room balcony. It was great end to a fabulous Canada Day. We are very proud that Canada is now our home, it really is a privilege to live in this country.

[ more pictures here ]

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O Canada!

Our home and native land!
True patriot love in all thy sons command.

With glowing hearts we see thee rise,
The True North strong and free!

From far and wide,
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

God keep our land glorious and free!
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.