This past weekend was a long weekend- the Civic Holiday. I think this name for an exciting summer long weekend is the most unattractive name it could have. We Canadians should seriously petition to change its name, and maybe have a contest to come up with a good name. And the winner wins a ticket for 2 on the Canada wide train ride? I would love to participate in such a contest, and give this weekend a more interesting name!
I love my brilliant ideas 🙂
Anyways, I had a great long weekend. As my son is away in the bush with his outdoorsy friends canoeing and camping, us adults took off in our usual fashion to Niagara-on-The-Lake…wow was the place crowded! Parking was hard to come by, and at some point it was getting stressful, because we had a high tea reservation, and nowhere to park! But we made it in time, and enjoyed a great tea at the Prince of Wales hotel. After that we had a Shaw Festival play to watch- Wait Until Dark. I know of this thriller from Audrey Hepburn’s brilliant movie of the same name. But this was originally a Broadway show, and then a movie. I have to say, it wasn’t great. But not bad as well…the movie on the other hand, is fantastic!
Waiting for “Wait Until Dark” to begin
The next day we had some wine tasting at the Frogpond Farm Organic Winery. I loved this small and personal feeling tasting, and the casualness of it. The fancy white-gloved like service at the big wineries is kinda stressful for me. So this was perfect. And their small selection of wines was delicious!
After that we mostly just drove around the Niagara area. The hike at Niagara Glen did not happen as the parking lot was full, and it seemed really crowded. We did though, unplanned, walk into the outdoor art show hosted by Niagara Pumphouse Gallery with many artists, and even a live musician. It was wonderful to see all the different kinds of art- humans are so very creative! It lifted my heart to see all my fellow artists and to see their perspective of life in their creations. My husband and I had some great conversations with the artists. It was very uplifting.
We picked up a ton of stone fruits in season directly from the farm. Because Niagara area is known for them in Ontario, and the orchards were overflowing with fruits as we drove past them, it would have been silly to not get some fresh local bounty. We may have overdone this a tad bit…because fruit starts ripening fast in the summer, and we can only consume so much! But they will get frozen on dehydrated as they ripen. So we didn’t feel too guilty about loading our trunk half with fruit 🙂 And now my house smells of peaches and apricots!
Coming back to the city, and hanging out with our neighbor after dinner over cocktails she made us was a great delight too.
For the Monday off, we took our time doing everything. No time pressure whatsoever. This involved going to the gym, eating lunch on a patio, napping, watching a movie, and eating quick simple dinner. Fruit salad made with our acquired bounty was also consumed!
And that was our Civic Holiday weekend…This morning it was back to 5am wake-up time to make it to yoga. I was telling my fellow yogi that after this particular weekend, it feels like the countdown to the end of summer has begun. Now I’m thinking what all do I need to accomplish before regular routine of school and work makes its appearance on September 2nd…I know, I should be enjoying now, whatever summer remains, but I would also not like to be caught completely unprepared for the next busy season. If I can have a think about what’s required and get through that list slowly while enjoying the space summer gives us, the entrance to fall and all it brings easier and more relaxing. So I am not going to feel badly about looking ahead.