thank you for being a friend

Had such a good weekend. 

A few farewells: Mandy was off to Toronto early Saturday morning and then Sarah and Brandon 

went back to Scotland on Sunday evening. 

But while they were here we had fun celebrating Caitlin's birthday Friday evening, 

then later we got refused at 24 hr Celtic Hearth (unspeakable!), Subway was out of bread (unbelievable!) 

and thus had hotdogs and wedges freezing outside instead (unbearable!). 

Saturday was sleeping in, brunch with Tony, hanging out with Catherine (and Alicia) 

at her apartment watching Brandy's Cinderella (remember that one?) 

and then some late night take out from "Momma Bellies" aka "Mohammed Ali" 

nom nom for falafel pita sandwiches and Golden Girls. 

Sunday was more hanging out with everyone listed above, 

driving home in time for church, visiting a recovering Aunt Dorothy, then having soup & grilled cheese 

and a movie with Aunt Ollie & Uncle Frank.

Basically my heart is aching right now because so many of my favourite people are everywhere but here. 

I'm on moons and clouds 

where worlds wrap around

 

circlescarvesforever

I haven't figured out how to make this circle scarf look good yet.

Imma juss wear it like dis instead.

I miss taking pictures with my fraands--it leads to self-portraiture boredom.

On the surface today seemed rather uneventful, but I quite enjoyed myself. 

I had a quality heart to heart with Elizabeth; filled out passport renewal paperwork; 

tormented my puppy and kitty cats, a lot; played Super Mario Bros on Wii; 

finished off the day catching up with my friend Matt in North Carolina. 

Overall, it was a lazy feel good kinda day.

a glance out the window

christmas morning

yer grandmother's tv

Tonight a bunch of us went over to my cousin Jocelyn's house to hang out and play some games. Catch Phrase, Things in a Box and a short game of Pictionary ruled the evening. It was a good laugh. She had a large selection of treats to munch on and it wasn't the cookies or chocolates (as yummy as they were!) 

but the tray of fresh veggies that held my attention. Oh how I've missed such simple luxuries.

I probably ate half the tray myself. Her punch was amazing as well.

//Above picture was taken in my backyard; Title: Things parents shouldn't pass down//

imma be under tha mistletoe

Robyn tweeted that Christmas isn't Christmas until there is a family argument. By the responses she received from it, that's an absolute Truth for just about every family out there! I have to say, we went through our day without too much fuss. I was probably at my Grinchiest when Mom called up the steps at nine thirty this morning to wake Catherine and I up. It's tradition that I'm the last one out of bed and this year was no exception. After some warm cinnamon buns and bacon I sweetened right on up.

Elizabeth's hubby-to-be joined us this year as we opened up our stockings and gifts and it was a nice addition to our little gathering. It was nice that pretty much everything in my stocking was a surprise this year haha and Santa and his elves did a good job. Honestly, just being home was already the best Christmas gift, anything else was just extra.

I brought my family back a bunch of things that I'd gathered along my trip, but my favourite gift was to my Dad. Since he wears hats all the time, I gave him his very own Goofy hat! He had a good laugh, and so did we when he put it on. Loved it!

Turkey dinner was amazing, although I couldn't eat very much since my stomach is still not adjusted back to having quality food in its presence. Mom's Seven Cup Pudding was divine. Shortly afterwards Catherine and I retreated to the livingroom where passed out in a food coma for the next few hours.

The church carol singalong then a brief drive around the harbour was a nice finish to the evening. Catherine and I are currently back in comfy clothes and I've managed to devour an entire bag of popcorn while watching Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.

Yay Christmas.

To help me ward off this sickness, I made myself a big pot of minestrone soup. I started off using this recipe, but I added a few other things too. Soup really is one of my favourites especially on sick, rainy days. 

 I feel more comforted already.

Here's what I put in mine:

1 onion, 2 cloves minced garlic, two fresh mushrooms, can of diced tomatoes, 2 carrots, 1 stalk celery, 1/2 cup frozen spinach (thawed), 1/2 cup frozen corn (thawed), 1 cup (or so) of shell pasta, 1 can of rinsed 6 bean medley, 2 cartons of chicken broth, red pepper flakes, oregano, basil.

One thing I recently learned about onions and garlic is that you should chop them and let them 

sit to the side for 5-10 minutes to maximize flavour and health benefits. 

Worth a shot anyway. I need all the benefits I can get!

lazy day

today has been an incredibly lazy day

spent the morning reading The Hunger Games

got up long enough to eat breakfast & run a few errands

came back, discovered i'd received my official job contract in my inbox (yay! finally!)

continued reading and slept the rest of the afternoon away

i've been a little under the weather lately anyway

makes sense since our weather is so out of whack bipolar this summer
today was damp and rainy again, encouraging the sleepiness

i'm glad my bed has been my kitty's go-to nap-all-day place the last few weeks

he's been the most excellent company

morning glory

then and now.

Coming across the pictures from two years ago inspired me to take out the camera again today. It’s a beautiful afternoon, even though (as usual) the wind is a little chilly.

 Even though I’ve been a little sheltered here I’m thankful that I grew up in my small town, and that I got to live next to this beautiful view every single day. Having lived in the city for the last few years for university makes me realize how much I took/take this for granted.

I hope I’m lucky enough to live somewhere close to a body of water when I get settled. Even if it were a lake, or a river. I realize more than ever just how much the ocean is a part of me, how the gentle lapping to the crashing of the waves against the shore soothes my spirit. Listen to its rhythms under a full moon, surrounded by the stars and you’ll understand.

march

This was the view from my back veranda two years ago yesterday. March is the month when tons of ice pans come down from up north and spread across the ocean. It's amazing to see.

 But it's not here this year. Not yet. I'm still holding on to the hope that these glorious chunks of ice will make its annual visit.