Rounding up June 2013

Rounding up June in September... Yep, that's the kind of year it's been, and I don't see it changing anytime soon!

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1. READ

• the girls report cards - all 3 are doing fine; very well in most areas

Bees on the spiderwort.

2. WATCHED & LISTENED

TV

• NHL playoffs and Stanley Cup final (N)
• Rider game (N)
• Game of Thrones (N)

Podcasts (K)

• Katrina Kennedy's Summer Photography Tips Webinar (K)
• music instead of podcasts all month (while delivering papers)

Freshly weeded garden, and the nice privacy wall our neighbour installed (top right).

3. EVENTS & OUTINGS

The girls:

• stayed in Avonlea for the night and day after Mosaic - and Laurel brought them back to Regina (thanks!)
• went to the splash pad a couple times
• started playing often with neighbours, Nadia, Isis, and Isca (ages 7, 7, and 5; from two families)
• had playdates with Vickie and Elise (which included swimming at her aunt's house) (G); Alex and Taya W (M); Meghan (S)
• had sleepovers with Elise (G); Alex (M); Meghan (S)
• Georgia went to a horse-riding birthday party at 49 Rivers Ranch north of the city - they rode inside a building, petted animals, and had a wiener roast for supper
• Madeline went to Katepwa with Mattea and stayed there for 2 nights
• Sophia went bike riding with Meghan (in her neighbourhood)

More garden love.

School activities:

• Georgia's class
  • played outside all morning one day
  • went to the splash pad - Neil went, too
  • went swimming at the Sandra Schmirler
  • watched a movie in the gym
• Madeline's class
  • went bowling at the Golden Mile
  • went swimming at the Sandra Schmirler
  • watched a movie in the gym
• Sophia's class  
  • had a pizza lunch for doing well in Mathletics
  • rode bikes to the waterfall in Wascana, then to Candy Cane park and back - ate their lunches in the park and were rained on at one point - Sophia enjoyed it very much
  • went bowling at the Golden Mile
  • went swimming at the Lawson
  • had a pizza lunch and tech day (allowed to bring their iPods, etc.)
• all three participated in the annual walk around Wascana - they had a great day for it! about 20 C, and just a slight breeze - Neil delivered lunches to the park, as usual

The original YG school sits on the edge of Allen Park where the Summer Solstice event was held.

Neil:

• pre-season Rider game - sat with Todd and Karla for part of it and they gave him a ride home (he usually walks home)

Kim:

• attended a farewell gathering at the Freehouse for a consultant who helped me tremendously at work for several months (he's from Colorado and won't be back to SK)
• set dancing at The Pump one evening - we danced on the deck which was nice; and another evening at June and Joe's - they built a dance floor in their yard :)
• CS Ops Annual Appreciation BBQ at work
• YG Class of '88 Reunion: 
  • Saturday, June 15 - Pedicures at Jane's, drinks at Hotel Sask, dinner at Flip, and then more visiting - the four of us talked for 9.5 hours straight! so many memories and catching up to do… also, loved my food at Flip ("jerk brick-oven half chicken with dirty rice, coconut & rum-braised kale, sugar peas & pancetta, fresh lime slices" and then cran-apple sherbet with hints of cloves and lime - YUM!)
  • Sunday - we met at Fresh & Sweet for breakfast - a great finish to our reunion!
• with my work team, canoeing on Wascana for an hour - great activity! then to a coworker's house for a barbecue (we all contributed part of the meal) and games: Catch Phrase, Headbanz, and the Heads Up! iPhone app - gorgeous evening; sat out on the deck the whole time

The school playground in YG; Mom with Dash and Buffy.

All/most:

• Mosaic (covered in May roundup) - Neil worked on pavilion clean up for 7 hours the next day
• Wok Box for supper one night (except G) - I always enjoy the Malaysian Peanut curry rice box
• Mosaic volunteer and Prairie Gael year-end BBQ/potluck at the Seniors Centre on Winnipeg - we stayed inside most of the time as it was raining - more people than usual; many from Ireland
• rally for a new gym at Sacred Heart School - to support the cause and a friend who teaches there
• Summer Solstice celebration in Yellow Grass - the girls enjoyed the petting zoo and loonie dig - Mom, Dad, Robyn, Ethan, Jordyn, Kacy, and Robyn's mom were there, too (Rob was at work) - excellent pulled-pork dinner and perfect weather - fantastic event! we stayed overnight in YG at Mom and Dad's; on Sunday, the girls, their cousins, Mom and I went to the park and school playground before lunch
• I took Dash and the girls for a bike ride on the Storm Channel Pathways - I walked and Sophia rode my bike
• wedding celebration (except M) for a couple whose daughter played ringette with Sophia - it was at the Tartan Curling Club; very casual - everyone enjoyed the music, dancing, and especially photo booth which was free for all to use as much as they wanted (http://www.scootersphotos4u.ca)
• our niece's birthday celebration (13 already!) at L&B's - pizza and cake out on the patio - the girls also walked to Winners and went to the park before supper
• Sherwood Forest to watch fireworks with friends from Sophia's ringette team - enjoyed a campfire and s'mores, too - the girls stayed overnight in the cabin with their friends

Lanterns at our friends' cabin at Sherwood Forest.

4. RECIPES TO REMEMBER

• Addicting Veggie Dip - yum!
• Lil' Dipper veggie dip - we make it with fresh herbs (when available) and add about 2-3 Tbsp lemon juice
• Alton Brown's Veni Vedi Vinaigrette (GE Vol 1) - with kombucha ipo of 1/2 the red wine vinegar - fantastic! THE best, in my opinion
• Scrambled Eggs over Asparagus - not that you need a recipe for this; but here's the idea - so delicious!
• Alton Brown's Roasted Asparagus - good with or without nutmeg
• BBQ Pork Kebabs (Food Network Mag; 50 Kebabs #11)
• Oven Baked Drumsticks (or drumsticks with wing rub, grilled) - yum! so nice to have these in the fridge for a quick lunch or snacking
• wings with Chicken Wing Dry Rub and sauces: Grecian Chicken Wings and Grilled Hot Wings - 10 out of 10! (Ribs, Chops, Steaks & Wings)
• Southern-Style Brisket (Food Network Mag; July/Aug 2012) - bison
• Nigella's Macaroni Cheese (already listed, but with whipping cream ipo condensed milk - and spiral rice noodles - yummy!)
• Neil's mac and cheese - quinoa/rice noodles with ricotta, cheddar cheese, and eggs; baked

On our way to Sherwood Forest to see fireworks on June 30.

5. GIFTS

• birthday gift for G's classmate
• for Father's Day, Neil received some very nice gifts from the girls - Georgia's questionnaire shows that she knows her dad well :)
• out of the blue, I received The Fortune Cookie Principle by Bernadette Jiwa (Kindle version) from a friend - nice surprise!
• perennials from a neighbour across the alley: Solomon's Seal, small peach coloured lilies, and Elephant Ears (Bergenia)
• for the girls (for the end of the school year, I suppose): giant erasers for Georgia and Madeline; moustache tattoos and sprout bookmarks for Sophia (they picked these things at Chapters)
• teacher gifts: for G's teacher, a cute notepad (and contribution toward a spa gift card); for M's teacher, a pretty notebook; for S's teacher, a book of quotes (Simple Wisdom; b/c he loves quotes) and three silicone sprout-shaped bookmarks
• Neil received a thank-you card and $10 gift card for Robin's Donuts from the school staff
• wedding gift for Erin and Jeff: Home Depot gift card
• birthday gift for B: iTunes app card and a 5x7 photo of she and Sophia at Mosaic (in costume, walking together) in a black frame - and the girls made a giant heavily-glittered card for her

Madeline drew and painted this for her dad for Father's Day (a school project).

6. SPECIAL PURCHASES

• for the girls: flip flops, swimming suits, cover ups, nylon tote bags for swimming stuff, clear umbrellas, and summer shoes (went to Shoe Warehouse after the dentist - same as last year)
• Analog for adding filters and borders to photos on the computer (Mac) - inexpensive and fun!
• Iron Man t-shirt for Sophia's part in an Avengers skit at school (she wears it regularly, too)
• supplies for a new shelf by the back door - much more useful than the former set of hooks
• premium used trombone rental for Sophia (since she was very unhappy with the cheapest rental we got last year)
• 20 GB iCloud storage for backing up the iPad
• 1Password for Mac and the iPad app (which sync with each other) - awesome! I've entered over 100 passwords in three months - now my head won't explode
• 26" (full size) bike for Sophia - just in time for her class bike trip
• a few clothes for Sophia and me at Rhoda's
• a muzzle for Dash which subdues him quite a bit - necessary when people come to the door, which is often (should've bought it sooner)
• recycling bins from Crown - for Grocery Freedom
• a neck guard and two ringette sticks for Georgia from a neighbour's garage sale
• ordered school supplies online through School Start - slick! perhaps not the cheapest option, but super convenient

We used our bikes quite a bit this summer.

7. HEALTH

• I woke up with a crusty pink eye the day after Mosaic, so I researched home remedies and decided to try black tea, sea salt (dissolved in water), and whey from kefir, which I alternated squeezing into my eye with a cotton ball - something worked, thankfully!
• I went to physio at CBI one more time (4 times in May) and my tennis elbow improved greatly - I still couldn't lift anything heavy, and too much mousing would cause it to ache (I continued icing it occasionally), but it felt good most of the time - and I was supposed to do exercises, but I forgot all about them
• Georgia had a bit of a cold
• teeth cleaning and checkups - four of us had good results (no new cavities anyway) - Neil and I both had teeth they were watching and either the cavity went away or it was just a shadow on the x-ray
• poor Sophia had to get four fillings - three on the bottom (both sides) and one on top (two appointments) - and they were deep; she suffered all day, first with the numbness in her face and then she was in pain - we gave her ibuprofen every four hours
• I asked for composite instead of amalgam fillings for Sophia and they look good (besides the health benefit) - can't even tell she has fillings in those teeth (I'm jealous! I have so much dark grey in my mouth)

Freaky cloud right outside my office.

8. ACCOMPLISHMENTS

• Neil and I did quite well keeping the kitchen relatively clean on a semi-regular basis for some of the month (this is not our strength!)
• cleared the kitchen and hallway floors - hooray! always too much stuff and no where to put it...
• gathered the girls' shoes and reduced them by more than 50% - from 82.5 pairs to less than 40 pairs
• donated a large bag of shoes and large bag of children's clothes to the Diabetes Association - I'm happy to support them occasionally because they give me a deadline and come pick it up
• Georgia learned to ride her bike without training wheels! she ran in to tell me and said, "I went through a lot of pain to do this!" her legs were all scratched and bruised from the pedals
• I wanted a picture of me with Mom and Dad so I got Neil to take a few pictures of us when we were in YG :)
• weeded the back yard
• at school, Sophia earned a free Slurpee by not using any of the three "coupons" her teacher offered since he arrived (extension on deadline, extra 10% on mark, and skip an assignment)

This is what 82.5 pairs of shoes looks like. No wonder it seemed like we had shoes everywhere!

9. DISAPPOINTMENTS

• one of the gears on Sophia's new bike broke, so it had to go back to Canadian Tire for a few days and they replaced it with one that doesn't match the other gear - Sophia was NOT happy
• I was bummed about missing a couple of great sales (50% off), both by one day: 1Password (sale ended the day before) and Rhoda's (sale was the day after I purchased; at the time I didn't know they always have a sale on the last Saturday of every month)
• after starting out strong, we ended up very behind on the dishes and housework

Sophia's basket braid. / Lilacs in our back yard.

10. GOALS

• completed April roundup
• completed May photos *note to my future self: check all devices for photos before starting!*
• backed up the iPad to computer and iCloud
• backed up my computer
• took our family photo for June (probably our most challenging one in 18 months)

This was a lot better than the regular (non-goofy) version.

11. SPORTS

• the girls went to youth Gaelic football training a couple times
• Neil continued practicing football with the Regina Gaels
• the Gaels played a game (amongst themselves) at the Rugby Club
• Neil scored a good goal at his football practice

Neil is in the green shirt on the left - practicing Gaelic football.

12. NOTEWORTHY

• received our big blue recycling bin from the city - glad to have a place large enough to collect two weeks' worth of recycling
• Sophia learned she can torment her sisters (especially Georgia) just by moving toward them with her hands cupped together (they think she's holding a spider)
• broccoli washed in water and vinegar is still perfect nine days later
• Neil and I marked our 14th anniversary with a phone self-portrait after delivering papers
• worked on Finding Your Photo Style at BPC all month - quite pleased with what I learned in this class
• signed up for The Phone Photography Project at BPC
• received a video of Georgia's group dancing at Mosaic - so cute!
• I was reminded of my Daily Scan project on my blog in 2008 - I should do that again! (though I can't imagine having time to do it within the next 5 years)
• the start of 40-minute drives to and from work due to Ring Road repaving (double my normal time, but I'm so glad they're fixing it!)
• the girls were all obsessed with doing their hair - they love getting ideas and instructions from cutegirlshairstyles.com - I helped Sophia with a cool "basket braid"
• Sophia enjoyed babysitting at a neighbour's house (same place as her first job) - and, especially, having some money to spend
• Madeline says (and has for a long time), "by accidentally" :)
• Sophia tried dying her hair with Wilton blue food colouring - she made a mess in the bathroom and the colour came out when her hair got wet - neither of us were happy
• dogsitting: Yogi for a couple weeks; Chloe for a day here and there
• leaving work one day, I took pictures of a dark ominous cloud right in front of my office building
• first time (in 7.5 months) we delivered papers in the rain, and it rained the whole hour
• we had a major downpour one afternoon - water came in our basement and Neil shop vac'd it - water filled the underpass on Albert St. (same day as the devastating flood in Alberta)
• Georgia was so excited about being able to ride her bike; it's all she wanted to do
• the girls all wrapped their teacher gifts and made cards - and I didn't have to do anything :)
• Neil learned he won't be doing lunch supervision next year - the teachers now have to do it if they want an extra day off - end of an era! he did this for six years (Sophia's grade 1 to 6; Madeline's grade 1 to 4; and Georgia's grade 1 - in September, the girls say they miss having him there at lunchtime)
• it was the last month of our friends H and A coming to our house before and after school a couple days a week (H had been coming here for 3 years; A for 1 year)
• Sophia dip-dyed her hair with grape Kool-Aid - it wasn't very purple, but it looked good - dark, rich colour; covered all the blue/green/ blond from previous colouring
• I made my favourite rhubarb and ginger compote - the first of three batches this summer - love it with my cream kefir
• enjoyed the start of free evenings!