Life

Sunset at Wasaga Beach

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Wasaga Beach features prominently in my memories of childhood - sweltering, humid summer days spent swimming from sand bar to sand bar, splashing in waves, burying ourselves in warm sand, running, screaming, laughing.  Siblings, cousins, friends - large groups enjoying life. Charcoal and barbecue. Sunscreen. Hot sand. Cool water. Walks down the boardwalk. Ice cream in town. Crowds. Music. Sunshine.

A visit in April is different than one on a scorcher of a July day but wonderful, nevertheless.  A walk along fourteen kilometres of sand, the largest freshwater beach in the world, empty but for a handful of people. Bare feet in sand and water for the first time this year. A few intrepid boys in summer clothes frolicking in the water. Frisbee. Baseball with a log and stone. And to top it all off - a sunset to rival all sunsets.

Spring, where are you?

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Seems we are paying for the amazing December we had by getting storm after winter storm these past weeks. Spring officially started weeks ago but it sure hasn't felt like it.  The weather man is promising warm days later this week though...hopefully he can deliver.

In the meantime, a few pictures of spring to get us through the last (hopefully) days of snow and sleet.

The New House - Breaking ground

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One weekend in June, our beautiful niece informed me that she was sleeping over at grandma's and grandpa's with me for the weekend.  So we packed up her bag and off we went on a grand adventure. We visited the new building lot (read more here) and watched the tractor break ground. An exciting step in any new building project - it signals the beginning of something new!

We skipped down forest paths, planted seeds in the garden, jumped on the tree tent, climbed hills, trees and trailers, walked through fields where the grasses were as high as her shoulders and played in the mud and sand (shh - don't tell mom and dad).

Summer was just beginning - the trees and hills were still lush and green. Wildflowers bloomed. A storm rolled in later in the day, bringing rain and interesting cloud formations. I can't wait for summer to be here again!

Leveling the building lot

The kids almost always run or skip along this path - they rarely walk

At day's end



Day trip to Collingwood

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Collingwood is a cozy town tucked up along the shores of Georgian Bay. An easy day trip from Toronto, there's plenty to do all year round. In winter there's the skiing of course - Blue Mountain and other resorts attract skiers and snowboarders from near and far.  But there are many other activities as well - snow tubing, snowshoeing, snowmobiling, caving and much more.

The Sunday of our visit was grey and overcast. We didn't have a plan - well, the plan was to explore. There was to be no skiing this time.  Starting out with coffee at the Ashanti Coffee Cafe in Thornbury, we stopped in Craigleith to view the turquoise waters of Georgian Bay and then drove to the top of the Blue Mountains to view the city from above. Later we explored the area around the old grain terminals and Millennium Park and ended the day with dinner nearby.

Venturing outside on a cold winter's day

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When the wind chill pushes the temperature below -30 or colder, it takes a special reason to venture outside into the Canadian winter.   Like visiting the cows. Or experiencing a golden sunset. Maybe just to roll around and throw some snow in the air. Layers and several hats make this all very possible - but only for a few moments. Because as every real Canadian knows, the crunching snow and winter scenes are beautiful - until you no longer feel your toes, your eyelashes and facial hair are frozen and every breath brings you closer to becoming a human icicle. 

Sledding - a favourite Canadian winter activity

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One of our favourite winter activities is sledding - a pastime we've enjoyed from early childhood. On our summer hikes we make note of the big hills that should be visited when winter comes and snow covers everything.

Sometimes the hills are big - terrifyingly fun going down and muscle-burning tough getting back up. Big hills or small, it's always a grand time - flying snow, freezing temperatures, laughter and tears.


Christmas Eve at the farm

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Christmas Eve was beautiful - sunny and warm. Up north, the winds were blowing strong - shingles and siding flying everywhere, trees uprooted and power lines down. It appeared the North was going to have to celebrate Christmas without power - no heat or lights, no electricity to make Christmas dinner. As I loaded up the car in the dark, I was happy to be headed south to Toronto to spend time with family.

Our Christmas is always a mix of Finnish, Canadian and family traditions. This was the first year that we didn't all fit at mom and dad's for Christmas Eve so the girls at Dear Heart Events decided to host Christmas dinner at the farm. They did a gorgeous job - setting a charming and warm mood for us all to enjoy.

As the ladies prepared dinner, the kids took a look around the farm - visiting the horses, exploring the barn and climbing on the equipment. We ate dinner by candlelight - enjoying numerous Finnish casseroles, turkey, ham and deer roast - topped with delicious sauces and jams. As the boys cleaned up, the kids played games and explored the farmhouse. Everyone gathered to sing Christmas songs - ending with joulupukki - a song to Santa Claus.  Before the last notes stopped ringing, the kids ran to all the doors to see if pukki had found us at the farm - shrieking and laughing with excitement on discovering the gifts outside. Mayhem ensued as the gifts were brought inside, handed out, opened and enjoyed.