Bibliomama

The weather here this summer has been fabulous (if you like weather of the scorching melting hot variety, which I actually don't, but I also don't love everyone moaning and wailing when they don't get it, so on balance....). However, it has also had a nasty habit of sensing when I'm planning to do something fun and unusual with the kids that we've never done before and dumping a bucket of crap on those plans. So we didn't get to Puppets Up in Almonte, or Saunders Farm (I know, I'm possibly the last person in Ottawa who hasn't been to Saunders Farm). Of course, the kids are usually already pumped up about doing something, because I'm - what's the word? - a moron, so we have to do SOMETHING, but it's raining, so the something almost invariably ends up being a movie. And kids movies this summer? SUCKED SUPER HARD. The Smurfs? Jayma Mays and the awesomeness that is Neil Patrick Harris, and Hank Azaria, plus little blue people? Actually ...

I'm off to not camp again, this year with son in tow - daughter decided she'd rather have some Daddy time (I believe it also had something to do with the fact that my sister is coming back to pick up her kids. Eve adores my sister. And my sister's sample case from her home jewelry selling business, which she only does to be able to write off her renovations, because she's a very well-employed pharmacist - yeah, no self-esteem-damaging comparisons there at all). Happy week-end, all. Oh, and in the spirit of the mostly-defunct (at least here) Friday funny: Enjoy this .

I hadn't done the 1000 Islands Boat Cruise since I was about Eve's age and went with my parents. Our usual crew were camping/cottaging nearby so we headed up to Ganonoque on the Saturday morning to meet them. Eve was all for the idea after she verified that the boat was big - she had a nasty almost-getting-swamped experience in a smaller boat while cottaging last summer and was not at all interested in facing her fears on that count. The tour of the 1000 islands and the various stories of people who have inhabited them (there was something about a self-styled 'pirate' who died ignominiously by slipping on some water on his dock or something) was actually fairly interesting. For the adults. The kids were mostly interested in finding the best places to ride... ...and eat two-bite brownies. The tour we took stops at Boldt Castle . This is just the boathouse: It's knock-your-eye-out architecturally, with a very sad story attached to it, about a man who was buildi...

In our league, spring ball and summer ball are separate. Eve only plays spring ball, because the glory of adulation of usually being the only girl on the team (man, the Moms who only have boys LOVE her) only goes so far. In the spring all the players are sorted out equally onto teams. In the summer, there's a competitive team that you have to try out for - they call it the A team. I remember when my husband first mentioned the existence of this team. He said they practiced almost every day, sometimes twice a day, and I was rolling my eyes saying "Cripes, that would be the only thing you did all summer. Can you believe people actually do that? Can you....holy crap, you actually want him to do that, don't you?" The first year that Angus was in Minor, he was 'playing up', i.e. playing in Minor when he was still technically supposed to be in Rookie, but his birthday was close enough to the cut-off and he was a good enough player that they let him in. We ha...

New record for me and Eve - three cottages in six days. Have GPS, will travel. First, Lyndhurst. My husband's uncle and aunt and six-year-old cousin (which the kids find extremely amusing) had rented a cottage in Lyndhurst. The boys were in District playoffs, so we were the only available family representatives. The swimming wasn't great - I tried to push Eve out past the weeds in a tube, but it turned out there really was no 'past the weeds'. But the deck overlooking the water was beautiful. And there was beer. And frogs. Next up, our friends' place where they have people up every summer and this nice man deep fries a turkey. Eve has never been able to jump into water. She has stood on the side of the pool or the edge of the dock for countless minutes, always getting really frustrated with herself for chickening out. Today, with a huge audience no less, she finally took the plunge. ...which was great, because then she could partake in the numerous cannonba...

We have a dinner party with four other couples every couple of months, where everybody makes something fancy-ish, and we rotate who does the soup, salad, appetizers, main course and dessert. It's been a big success; I really enjoy the fact that everyone only does one course -- usually I wouldn't spend all day making a salad, but when I actually have the chance to it's quite satisfying. Over the past year we've had Julia Child's boeuf bourguignon, veal osso bucco, spit-roasted lamb and satsivi (a Georgian dish consisting of chicken bathed in walnut sauce); pear parsnip soup, smoked salmon chowder and lobster bisque; butternut squash ravioli, cauliflower fritters, seared duck and scallops on pesto. And that's just what I can remember. People have cured their own pork belly, aged their own steak and beheaded chickens in the back yard (I might be exaggerating on that last one). For this party I was making grilled strawberry and fig salad . I'd actually ne...

I think I can, I think I can... Or maybe not. I banned myself from reading blogs until I blogged again. So I stopped reading blogs. Here's the thing - when you're living the Summer of Awesome , it's really hard to find the time and energy to blog about it, yanno? Let's start at the end of June. My annual end-of-the-year dinner with my book club, wherein we eat, drink and compose the list for the coming year. People bring suggestions (one for the exceptionally self-confident, five for members like me - "only if nobody minds....don't want to force this on you....I thought maybe, possibly, if it's okay with everyone.... blah, I sometimes make myself vomit). We sometimes meet at a restaurant, sometimes at someone's house. We met at Bella's twice - the food was good, but people complained that we were noisy -- which we were, but geez, it's a restaurant, not a church. And Survivor - Book Edition cannot be played quietly. We met at Biagio's...