Growing, growing, growing

Who stretched this gal's legs last night?!?!?! 

Middle school = a locker!

Taste testing

We have a joint party coming up, so we thought that we should tackle Blog TO's best cake slice list...

Cake balls are a good testing size

very nice (double chocolate)

but even better (blueberry and lemon)

Friends from childhood and through the ages

Brighton buddies

Splendid Sunday

Once we had persuaded the teen with the negative attitude to actually get up and get out in our fair city, we had a pretty great Sunday. It included:

Some 2nd hand clothes shopping at city-famous Black Market (owned by our friend John)

Sophie was hunting for "band t-shirts" and both kids needed jeans for those growing legs, plus tops to celebrate "Think Pink" day 

Lunch was on the go, so Ms S indulged in ramen noodles

In the afternoon, we headed to Word on the Street - or THE Word on the Street as Sophie pointed out. Mr M ran into many many people; this rest of us did not. We didn't buy any books weirdly. But we did renew 3 magazine subscriptions and pick up some titles for a library run. And we got some tickets to a live orchestra event in November (more on that later). Oh, so this book haul was from our local church's annual sale. AND I should mention that it was also Soapbox Science down at Harbourfront - so we listened to university research explain their work in 3 mins or less. Very fun and full of props.

Mr Cool and Ms. Enthusiastic take on Toronto
While at Nathan Philips square we saw the incredible VR project Biidaaban - check it out of you can!

Anyone know this (slightly older) man?

He appears familiar but in an unfamiliar setting...

Anyone know this young man?

What I can't get over is that his shoulders fill the picture frame!

Catching up with the youngest

Ummm, so it's not only her brother who is messy

Modelling her grandmother's hand-stitched apron from approx. 1952

Fits nicely

His dream

Well, one of them: getting behind the wheel of a Tesla

Not such smooth sailing

2nd time out on Lake Ontario. We had bought him a fancy life jacket but were under the impression that perhaps a wetsuit wouldn't be needed this month after all...

He went in - far from shore - and they struggled 45 minutes to right the boat, repeatedly failing. Eventually he went into the coach boat and came to shore. It was windy and there were white caps and he hated it. But he knows that these things happened and is set to sail again on Tuesday.

But I took him for a Subway sandwich and then a hot chocolate. xo

Words to start a new school by

Someone knows our kid - plus she is intelligent and a great runner and loyal and loves to dance and speaks French and reads up a storm and...

When we think of Summer 2018 in Issigeac...

It centers on this...

People weighing in on if and which artificial grass to lay

  There has been no decision yet; in fact, we want to winter on it.

Finally to the Lake District

The main reason for a 2nd week in England was to get the children to the Lake District - and to see where Swallows and Amazons was set. We were warned that despite how Arthur Ransome depicted the weather, it always rains in the Lake District. And it did. But not endlessly - and wow, does it make the steep hills green! Again, like the Basque territory, I was reminded of how self-sufficient this region was/could be: sheep (meat, wool, milk), minerals, fish, fresh water, timber / logging industry. It's a special place and I hope to get back to it - with or without kids. Even as a mobile senior, who could shuttle between hostels using the double decker local buses (about 5 pounds for a sr's day pass and what gorgeous routes it takes you!)

We based ourselves in Grasmere and walked as much as we could

First day was a ramble around the lake in light rain, but we treated ourselves to a pub lunch

Mike took advantage of the kissing gates

Even the teen swooped in for a kiss

Who or what did this sort of a damage? we wondered

pooh sticks

The Wordsworths' Dove cottage

It really wasn't that bad!

Day Two was for Swallows and Amazons

A walk around Lake Windermere - where we discovered some incredible peanut free fudge

The farm that Ransome wrote into S&A - and where the 1970s film was shot

A delicious lunch was had overlooking the Lake and the Old Man

and then they both fell asleep!

A gal and her dad ramble (we climbed up that hill ahead before buying pies for dinner from the local corner store)

A converted barn

Sophie's task was to spot the cutest sheep - this one won - there was a lot of competition

Day Three was for sailing (and shopping at the UK's largest mall - in Manchester - a weird combination)

Think this! For Sebastian skippered and Sophie handled the jib on a marvellous 3 hour sail of a "Trad/itional" boat. Seb's docking skills even earned the praise of the sailing centre's manager!

Ullswater where we sailed (despite the once a day screaming fighter jet that practices...)

We quenched our thirst at every opportunity

The hostel had some fine ales and was a lovely spot to stay