We had a very busy July, packing in the summer activities and weekend trips. (I also forgot a few things in last month’s post…)

Read

A Tale of Two Cities was the month’s pick for my local book club. I read it almost 25 years ago! On my re-read it took a while to build momentum but I ended up reading quickly by the end. I like how Dickens shows the injustices and atrocities on both sides of the French Revolution and as usual he includes some humorous conversations. I read What the Wind Knows from my self-imposed reading list but decided I’d prefer a regular historical novel than one with time travel. Surprisingly I enjoyed Meditations by Marcus Aurelius quite a bit for my Books of Centuries reading challenge. Finally, I loved reading Gone-Away Lake to my kids (and we’ve started on the sequel).

One thing I forgot to mention in June is that I had so much fun slowly reading through cookbooks from the library. What I liked about Secrets of the Best Chefs was the the author interviewed and cooked with all different types of chefs around the country and then shared a few recipes from each. On the other hand, Food IQ is divided into different categories and answers questions about ingredients, techniques, and dishes (some language, in case you are sharing these with kids).

Do

• Five of the kids did VBS this summer and had a blast with the songs, games, memory work, crafts, snacks, and friends.
• We spent two days in Montreal when Andrew was off work for Independence Day. Highlights were the Insectarium, Botanical Gardens, Biodome, Marche Jean Talon, Mount Royal, Museum of Fine Arts, Old Port, SOS Labyrinthe, playgrounds, and of course the food (see below). On the way home our van broke down on the 401, but all things considered we didn’t suffer much. (We’re very grateful for my in-laws’ help!)
• I took the kids on a day trip to Tupper Lake and was very impressed by the W!ld Center (tip: borrow a pass from the public library to save a lot of money). We also went to Little Wolf beach, the library, and the Adirondack Sky Center before driving home (and I stopped for chocolate milk at Kunoco because we ran out of water to drink).
• We took advantage of free admission for kids and spent a few hours at the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa — great exhibits on birds, mammals, the arctic, rocks/minerals, and a special live butterfly exhibit.
• We went back to Owen Sound to retrieve stuff from the house and visit lots of friends, which was great. On the way home we spent half a day at a little cabin in Lanark with my parents — great food and conversation and the kids loved swimming, boating, and catching frogs and fish!
• Two library programs that the kids enjoyed were Adirondack Raptors (they even got to hold an owl!) and the Bubble Guy (Eleanor appeared in the local paper afterwards!).
• Last but not least we had swimming lessons at 8am four days a week — I can’t believe five weeks are almost done. (Not to mention that the Youth Garden Club has only two meetings left.)

Eat

When researching for our Montreal trip I made a list of foods to eat and we managed poutine, bagels, tourtiere, smoked meat (and brought home local cheese and ice cider). Also the kids used birthday money to choose food at the market, including sushi, cannoli, and bubble tea.

A few summery dishes we tried recently were a cabbage noodle salad, herbed barley salad, crispy fish sandwiches, and coleslaw — inspired by Jenny Rosenstrach for the most part.

Some friends at church often make chocolate peanut butter no bake cookies and I decided to Google a recipe; this one turned out great.

For our church’s themed fellowship dinner in July we asked people to bring dishes from their ethnic background or family history. We took butter chicken (since one of my grandmothers grew up in India), peach platz (her parents were Mennonites in Ukraine), and oatcakes (we have a lot of Scottish blood). My kids made flags from countries around the world to decorate the tables.

Listen

I made a Spotify playlist of bands from Montreal. Let me tell you, there are a ton!

I also discovered a podcast that includes Vinyl Cafe stories so we can still get our Dave fix (though it takes me a bit to fast forward all the intros and ads).

Play

I know I tried a few new-to-me games when we were in the Adirondacks last month, but the only one I can remember at the moment is Cardline: Animals, in which you attempt to line up cards in order based on animals’ length, weight, or lifespan. I found it tricky, surprising, and interesting, and it’s fun for kids too.

Grow

We have eaten quite a few summer squash and picked a couple of cucumbers and green peppers. We experienced some blossom end rot on the tomatoes but I’m hopeful that it’s under control now. I must admit that I was hoping for more green beans. The herbs are still going strong. Thankfully August is looking good for several different vegetables and I just started planting some more seeds for fall: beets, kale, lettuce, beans. I’ve definitely learned a few things along the way, but I’ll save that for another post!

Meditate

(I realize this is a sentence fragment.)

“being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy” – Colossians 1:11

What are some of your July favourites?