Tag Archives: Canada Day

Hello July! And Summer!

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I’m a day late because Wednesday was Canada Day, which means Wednesday I thought it was Friday and Thursday I thought it was Monday. Now I have no idea what the actual day is. Welcome to summer!

Back to Canada Day. All I have to say about the 1st of July is I’ve yet to appreciate the whole and very complicated history of my beloved country. I’m listening and learning and reading and I like to think I’m more knowledgable today then I was yesterday.

I live, work, and love on traditional lands referred to as Treaty 4 Territory, which is the traditional lands of the Cree, Ojibwe (OJIB-WE), Saulteaux (SO-TO), Dakota, Nakota, Lakota, and on the homeland of the Metis Nation.

The first day of July was a beautiful summer day. The perfect kind. With sunshine and birdsong and dips in the pool. There was also food. There’s always food. My husband smoked ribs and I made a rhubarb/strawberry/nectarine galette. It all turned out mighty fine.

The only thing missing was ice cream, which I forgot to buy, but we did have whipped cream and that was delicious too. Also, I may have baked it too long as I wasn’t sure how to tell if it was done and the last thing I wanted was to dig in and find a soggy crust at the bottom. But I’ve learned baking takes practice and that practice makes better. Just like writing.

One of my favourite recipe books for desserts is All The Sweet Things by Rene Kohlman who is a Saskatoon chef and food blogger. She’s busy working on a vegetable cookbook. Follow her blog or on Instagram as Sweet Sugar Bean.

12 Canadian First Nations Recipes: an across the country sample of recipes from First Nations, Inuit, and Metis people. The list was put together by Sharon Bond-Hogg and it makes me think I need to take a trip to Kelowna, British Columbia and the Kekuli Cafe! If you’re in the area this summer make sure and check it out.

Until next time…

Have a favourite summer dessert recipe? I’d love it if you’d share!

Channeling Ferris Bueller

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This Thursday on our travelling blog we talked about our favourite places. So, as a tie into that I thought I’d blog about playing hooky. Come on, we’ve all done it! Maybe it’s a mental health day from work? Bowing out of a social engagement? Or skipping out of Sunday supper with the extended family? A class?

We all have a little Ferris Bueller in us!

We don’t make a habit of it and the reason has to be a very good one. But if you’re not comfortable telling a little white lie to your boss, friend, or family member, there are ways you can take some time to yourself without the guilt. Take a paid one-day holiday from work, send the rest of the family off to supper without you, give your tickets away to someone else who’d really enjoy the show but might never get there otherwise.

Sloane: What are we going to do?

Ferris: The question isn’t “what are we going to do,” the question is “what aren’t we going to do?”  

Now I don’t know about you but my favourite way to play hooky is to hideaway with an awesome book. The book that I’ve been eagerly waiting for and counting down to until release day. All I want to do is call dibs on the living room couch and settle in to read. Then I pretend I’m invisible. And deaf.

Bueller?… Bueller?… Bueller?

The fact remains that it would have to be a pretty special book to go to all the trouble to carve out considerable hours of your hectic day to indulge. So what book would be worth skipping out of something? For me that would be JR Ward’s next installment in her Black Dagger Brotherhood series. I can’t wait for Blay and Qhuinn’s story. Can. Not. Wait. Maybe it would be JK Rowlings next offering. Thankfully, the possibilities are endless.

 

Added to that summertime is the perfect time to play hooky in my neck of the woods. The hot weather is here. Today marks the start of Canada Day weekend. Let the festivities begin. Here are a few facts to prove just how vast of a country Canada really is!

  1.  The border between Canada and the United States is officially known as the International Boundary. At 5,525 miles, including 1,538 miles between Canada and Alaska, it is the world’s longest border between two nations.
  2. At 3,855,103 square miles, Canada is the second largest country in the world, behind Russia.
  3. Alert, in Nunavut territory, is the northernmost permanent settlement in the world.
  4. Canada has the longest coastline of any country in the world at 151,600 miles.

But my personal favourite fact is this one:

  • Cryptozoologists claim that Canada is the home of several cryptids, including Sasquatch, a giant sloth-like creature known as the beaver-eater, a cannibalistic wildman named Windigo, and a number of lake monsters, such as Ogopogo in Lake Okanagan, British Columbia.

Find more interesting Canadian facts here

So grab a mickey, or a 2-4, some Timbits and lets get this party started. Happy July 1st to my fellow Canadians and Happy Independence Day to my American friends! Feel free to share an interesting fact about your place in the world.

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