Hello May!

If you ever read my blog before, you might have noticed that I am not a big fan of winter (aka understatement of the year). I love green, sandals, warm air, sunshine, sunglasses, wine on the patio, long walks in the warm evening air, fresh strawberries, BBQs, sleeping with the window open, outdoor soccer, flowers, gardening and ice cream. Please note that the vast majority of my "likes" are better in the late spring/summer months. The only thing that I am not such a big fan of is my birthday (in June) but that is another story😉....

In any case, it is now May and I am feeling hopeful! I can feel a bit of warmth creeping into my bones.... finally! Hello May!!!!

Is it spring yet?

Postcards from Montreal- the birthday edition

Yesterday, I turned 51... actually, I prefer to think that I turned 25 1/2 for the second time around ;) For part of my birthday present, Andreas took me out for lunch downtown and did not complain when I stopped to take pictures. Now that is something! ;)

Happy rainy Saturday to you all xox

Last day of school 2021

Wow! The last day of school! This year was definitely packed with new experiences... things that we couldn't even have imagined before. No matter how it started, I am very proud of all the children and their teachers for how it ended up. They definitely showed their resilience, dedication, effort and strength during this past year. Now Alexander had his last day of high school and is off to CEGEP in the fall... Nicklas will be in grade 9, in the same school but a new building... and Oliver will be in grade 6 and looking forward to his own 2022 graduating year.

Here's to the last day and the summer ahead! May the next school year be a little more boring ;)

Happy boys!

Where did the summer go?

All of a sudden, I am back at work. What the heck happened to summer? Summer, I had such hopes for you! I thought that you would bring something positive to 2020. I thought that you would be there for me.... What happened? Last night, I found myself watching geese flying... and probably in the wrong direction. I am getting emails from the boys' schools. The pick up date for school supplies is next week. I am preparing my online courses for fall 2020. Where are you going, summer? I still need you!

My week plans have now been modified to include: more sitting in the sun, putting a bottle of rosé on ice and enjoying more evening walks. I need to absorb as much vitamin D as I can, while I can.

Summer, so far your visit has been pretty quick. Think you can drag it out a while longer? Much appreciated xox

Montreal in the summer....

One of my absolute favourite things is morning summertime walks in Montreal... the air is filled with energy, the sun is still gentle and you can feel the city waking up. At this time of the year, it seems quieter, more relaxed: most of the students are gone and much of the downtown morning rush is on holidays- or, at least, they are pretending to be. Add in a cup of coffee and the start of the day becomes almost magical...

Hope you are all having a happy weekend xox

So glad I caught the bird on the top right corner!

That sky!

Best form of transportation on a day like this (except for walking, of course!)

Always Leonard, watching over the Montreal streets

Morning on Sherbrooke St.

It is in the details....

The sun is also waking up

Ahhhh

Happy mornings

I 💙 Montreal

Dry

It is amazing how much dry, hot weather is affecting the world these days. Every time I turn on the news, there are terrible images of forest fires in Greece, the USA, Sweden, Canada (just to name a few). Despite two wet days last week, we have had very little rain since the spring time. Usually, I would love the summer warmth but the weather is taking a terrible toll on nature and farming. When we were in Tadoussac last week, we saw the aftermath of someone's lawn that had suddenly caught fire. Very charred and very scary!

Here is to wishing the very hot and dry places a little bit of rain... and respite!

xox

First day of holiday

Today is my first official day of holidays! Yes, I am absolutely excited and happy for it but I have to admit that I have a hard time letting go of work. This morning, I felt a bit guilty for not putting together my usual "to do" list... but I quickly poured another coffee to put me back into holiday mode. The rest of today will be spent getting the boys to and from the pool. Maybe not so much of a holiday but it works for me ;)

Happy Monday to you all xox

Last day of school

Today was the last day for elementary school (Oliver and Nicklas). Alexander has already been off for a week now (= the teenager can finally sleep in). I have to admit that I am pretty excited for the summer holidays to start... at least I am now. Ask me again in a few weeks... after the fighting starts... and I will tell you about how much I love the school year ;) For now, though, I can feel vacation coming up.... and it feels good :)

Happy last day of school xox

Alexander was sleeping when this photo was taken... lucky kid!

Things (or thing) that I dislike about summer...

I know that I write a lot of blog posts complaining about winter. I complain about the cold, about the snow, about shovelling snow, about ice.... actually, just about everything winter related ;) Anyway, I thought that it was only fair to write a blog post about things that I dislike about summer. Hmmm.... it was hard... really hard but I actually came up with 3 things: 1) fruit in the fruit bowl and bread in the breadbox go bad fast; 2) mosquitos and 3) dog fur all over the place (if you didn't know it, we have 2 dogs. Yes, I am nuts!). Yup, that is about it and, honestly, I just put the fruit and bread in the fridge and- voila- problem solved. Now we are down to 2 things and, to get rid of the mosquitos, I just permanently carry around bug repellent. Last on the list is dog fur... and, no matter how much I vacuum, there always seems to be enough fur on the ground to make another dog. Seriously, I vacuum twice a day and there is a seemingly endless supply ALL OVER THE STINKING HOUSE.... (*the house is actually not stinking but you know what I mean). The boys are able to effectively step over the fur without either realizing it is there or just not caring enough to sweep it up (I am betting it is the latter of the 2 choices). On the other hand, I obsess. Once seen, I cannot unsee it so I am endlessly pulling out the vacuum. It has become my best friend. I look like a crazy woman, permanently dragging a vacuum around the house... ALL SUMMER LONG! So, what do I dislike about summer? Definitely dog fur shed around the house.... the dogs are good... the shedding sucks ;) I still think that winter wins in the complaining department! ;)

Wishing you all a great rest of the weekend.... hopefully, vacuum cleaner free ;)

xox

Aaaaarrrrrrgh! I jut finished vacuuming and it is already back again! ;)

Post cards from Montreal... the finally summer version ;)

I am such a slacker and didn't get around to posting these earlier ;) Here they are! Sending you all love from Montreal <3