Long Weekend

We just enjoyed a very nice long weekend, thanks to Queen Victoria's birthday. Most people see this weekend as a 'go-ahead' to plant all their flowers and vegetables in their gardens without worrying about them being killed off by frost. I don't know how this year the plants will do after the May long weekend, as we are still experiencing a lot of cool weather yet.

We didn't do a whole lot of planting. Well, we didn't plant a single thing. But we were still busy with a few "firsts" for the upcoming season as well that makes us pretty excited about summer being around the corner.

The weekend started on Friday with the smell of baking bread in my home. I had found a recipe for Whole Wheat Homemade Bread (without using a machine!) and sent it to my sister, 'cause, well, she's the homemaker, not me. Or so I thought. But alas, I decided to try it as well:

Oh, can't you smell it?! So good!!! Especially eaten with homemade jam and cheese (that is not homemade....I have my limits :o)

Actually, I lied a bit. While my kids and husband can't get enough of this bread, I've had to get used to bread actually having a flavour. I'm getting there. I never realized how bland store-bought bread actually tasted! If interested, here is the recipe: Whole Wheat Bread. What I love about this recipe is no machine is needed. You can use a mixer if you'd like, but good ol' hand kneading works as well (and if you have any stress in your life, what a way to get that stress out!!). I did not use a mixer or bread machine, and it worked.

On Saturdays, I often find myself cleaning up the house. I usually do this on my own (which I really don't mind), but lately I've had some helpers, which of course makes the job lighter.....but definitely not faster! :o)

What makes a long weekend really fun is having visitors. While we did have company this weekend, we only got a picture of one. And we had the privilege of watching him enjoy what we had to offer: our fish in the pond. We actually saw him catch one and eat it whole!

The weekend ended on a very high note, one that we didn't expect to happen at all, but we are absolutely thrilled. Someone now owns the driveway very confidently....without training wheels!!

It took her all of 10 seconds to get the hang of it. Unreal!!! We give FULL credit to this little red bike we bought her a month ago - it has no pedals. So the child uses their feet until they go fast and then lift their feet up and bike. Doing it this way helps with balance, so that they get the hang of it before they go on a bike with pedals.

So proud of her!!!

(and yes, she now wears a helmet :o)

So bring on summer!! We are ready!
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see you on Thursday for our 3rd week of our Book Talk: Chapter 4. I hope to have the Talk ready by Thursday morning, but have a very busy day and night tomorrow, so I  might not be able to get the post up until Thursday evening. If you haven't started the book yet, do! It is a very easy to read book and so you will be able to catch up fairly quickly.