Summer is here!

As usual, it felt like summer was never going to get here and now I can't believe that it is already July!!  Where has the time gone? We have been keeping busy and like always, we try to get in a fair amount of fun day/weekend activities to pass the time.

For me, one of the most exciting things so far is that I have finally purchased a new car. It has been over 3 years that I had to say good bye to my little blue civic hatch back and now I am the proud new owner of a 2010 Civic EX-L. Apparently we were destined to be a white civic family.

 


Last weekend was the long weekend which gave us an extra day of fun. We did a day trip to Hamilton and we played a round of black light mini golf which Robbie had won with one of his on line contests that he is always entering. Then we went for a short hike in Spencer gorge conservation area which has two fairly impressive waterfalls; Tews Falls is about 40 meters and Websters Falls is a tiered waterfall. Afterward we ended the day by going indoor Go Kart racing. It was actually a lot more fun that I thought it would be despite the building and location being pretty sketchy. I wouldn't have been surprised to go out and find my car stripped and on blocks but thankfully it had been left alone and  we both got on the list for fastest times of the day!! Sunday we met up with the Coleman clan at the Cross Roads restaurant in Elmira. It has a fabulous breakfast and lunch buffet that is made up of all homemade dishes, the desserts are the best! We also went strawberry picking and then spent our afternoon cutting and freezing berries. I made a very small batch of jam as an experiment not using any pectin and it turned out well so I will have to make a larger batch later on.

 

 

 

Just this past weekend we went mini golfing again, this time in Mississauga as we still had free passes that had to be used up before August. We are now mini golf experts haha!!  Then we went into Toronto and did a short walk down by the waterfront. It was especially hot and humid so we cut our walk short and stumbled upon an outdoor pub called the Duke of Westminster. We had to put in time before dinner reservations so we had a few cold beers and were entertained by a solo guitarist who played a good set; a little bit of everything from the Tragically Hip, Neil Diamond, to the Lumineers. Our dinner reservations were for a restaurant called Far Niente (http://www.farnienterestaurant.com) which we had selected because they were offering a "Summerlicious" menu.  Every summer (and winter also;Winterlicious) for a limited time, a selection of Toronto restaurants puts together special menus where you have a selection from three different options for appetizers, mains and dessert for a set price. The food in our experience has always been good and this place did not disappoint. It is a good way to eat at places that would normally be out of our price range. As Robbie likes to say, the rich really do eat better! He had pork belly, pan roasted rainbow trout and a fudge cake with panna cotta and I had a watermelon soup, squash tortellini and the same dessert as Rob. Delicious!