Craft: Keepin' it Scouse

So I married a Scouser. More commonly referred to as people from Liverpool :) They have some lingo that is common to the area, or has unique spin when said in the distinct accent. When I first met Tom he would walk into a room and ask me if I was alright. Every time. I started to ask him what he meant? Did I sound sick? Was I breathing like Darth Vader? Well he was just asking me if anything was new/how's it going. I'm still getting used to it, and can do a pretty horrible impression, but for now I just make art. I've got some ideas to make this a bit better (i'm thinking of making it in sharpie and not in paint). Here goes version 1.0:

Book Review: I Haven't Done This In FOREVER Addition

Now because of my full-time teaching gig, reading for pleasure is really a summer time occupation. Don't get me wrong, I read, but finishing a book take a long time. This summer I binged. Here are some thoughts:

Chocolat: I had seen the movie a long time ago, so I had a little idea of what to expect. It was a cute and easy read. I really liked how they had the Priest as a sort of nouveau-Philistine. A Philistine who ends up rolling around in chocolate like a PMS'ing woman. I also like the liberating of the woman from the abusive relationship. 

And Then There Were None: I read this book when we were at the cottage. Which was a hilarious coincidence as we were on an island, and the whole book is an island murder mystery. I looked at Tom sideways the whole time (that's a bad joke by the way). This is quite possibly one of my favourite books. I have read it several times. We did a book report on it in High School and I remember it completely fooling me the first time I read it. A fooled me, need to reread some of it to fill in the blanks, wonderful twist. I love that Vera Claythorne isn't your typical smelling salts/swooning girl of Christine's other books. She is a fighter who isn't too afraid to stand up to a murderer. I won't say too much about the plot, as I don't want to ruin the ending for anyone.

Not Quite the Classics: Tom and I watch a lot of Whose Line on YouTube. I love me some Colin Mochrie. This is an improv meets classic literature delight. He takes the first and last sentence of famous books and rewrites the middles. Whether it's Conan Doyle's "Study in Scarlett" being about Sherlock Holmes learning what funny means, or "The Cat in the Hat" about surviving the zombie apocalypse, I giggles the entire read through. Plus, they are short stories, so you can enjoy it in small doses. I will definitely read this one again.

Happy Handmade Home: This is a crafty book written by the talented bloggers at A Beautiful Mess. It's all about special touches you can do to make your house unique. I'm definitely going to be trying out some when we finally buy our own place.

Boneman's Duaghters: Oh Ted Dekker. You spooky spooky man. I've been reading his books for probably 10+ years now, and I love it. I describe him as the "Christian Stephen King". This one is about a serial killer who kidnaps teenage girls and breaks their bones to kill them if they don't prove to be a loyal "daughter". The main character is Ryan, who is just back from Iraq where he had a traumatic hostage experience. His daughter gets taken by Boneman, and he tries to save her. The FBI start to think that he might be Boneman, and well, it gets complicated. As per usual I finished this in a few days as I just could not put it down. 

Craft: Matryoshka Dolls

One of my students got me a craft kit as a teacher gift. It was a paint your own Matryoshka Dolls kit (such a cute/thoughtful gift). Unfortunately because of the Calgary climate the smaller ones were stuck shut, so I could only paint 3 of them. They sure turned out cute though! Here's a picture:

Family: Mom Keeps Everything

I love the fact that my Mom has kept some of my toys from my childhood. I spent some time reminiscing when we were visiting:

Shirley my Cabbage Patch Doll in full 90's clothes:

Jo from New Kids on the Block, Troll Barbie, and Pocahontas:

Third Grade photo. I'm in the red shirt and overall-skirt thing:

Family: The Cottage

After Niagara Falls we took off to the Woltz family cottage. I've had friends ask me where it is, but my GPS was like ??? when we were there. Georgian Bay area-ish. It was absolutely beautiful! We spent two days filled with hummingbirds, chipmunks, boating and outdoor showers:

Family: Windsor/Niagara Falls

We came back from Windsor a few weeks ago, and instead of writing a reflection I went and organised the ENTIRE apartment! Label ALL THE THINGS! Anywho, we didn't spend as much time in Windsor, but road tripped it with the Mom and Mark. When we landed this is what the forecast said (EEEP), and praise the Lord for air conditioning!:

We did a family BBQ in the backyard, as Tom and I melted. The locals did a bit better than we did. My Mom has this beautiful backyard, and I'm kicking myself for not taking any pictures! Next time. On the Monday we took off to drive up to Niagara Falls. We stayed at the Oakes Hotel, which I have to say, wasn't the best hotel I've stayed in. The view was beautiful (see below), but the room was meh.

Tom was a sweetie and did the "Maid of the Mist", also known as the Hornblower Tour (I don't want to call it that), with me. We got soaked and rocked a poncho:

We went to the Keg for dinner for delicious delicious stakes. Pretty good time overall: