Five On Friday - This Week's Pictures from My Phone

Wow! What a week we've had! I has truly been a whirlwind with swimming, softball, soccer, school events, professional learning and pet adventures.  

I am so glad to see the weekend on the horizon -BBQs, books and a day at the amusement park. 

But before it arrives, I wanted to take part in Amy's photo linky party, Five on Friday.

Once again, here are 5 photos from my phone that show you how my crazy week shaped up!

Number One: A winery tour in the Niagara Region

One of the ladies on my school staff put together a wine tour, complete with bus to drive us around, a boxed picnic lunch and stops at 4 wineries and one distillery.  Kevin joined me and 20 fellow teachers on a day-long adventure involving much wine and laughter.  Throughout the day, we tasted wine of all kinds, mead, gin and Canadian whiskey.  After every stop we were VERY glad there was  a sober bus driver to get us from place to place.  I can handle a drink or two, no problem, but 10 or 12, even part glasses was way too much for me!

Number Two: Cake of the Week: Spiced Applesauce Cake

This is my eighth week baking a "cake-a-week" and this time I chose THIS RECIPE which was almost a perfect match to the one my Oma used to make.  The frosting was amazing and I will definitely make this cake again!!

Number Three: A pile of baby blankets

Whenever I crochet I tend to end up making a baby-sized blanket.  I think this is because I have some kind of "crafting ADHD" and I can't stick to any one project for too long.  On the other hand, I have a touch of OCD as well, which means I can't leave a project unfinished.  So the way I deal with this is to make just enough afghan squares to create a small blanket so that the project can be finished quickly and I can move onto something else.

 Doing this, however, leaves me with many, many small afghans and lately, not many of my friends are having babies anymore.  The pile is growing much quicker  than I can give them away.  

So this past weekend, I went through my stack and sent more than half with my mother so that she could put them up for sale in a local shop.  I won't make much $$$ for them, but at least they'll be going to new homes quicker than they would here, sitting in my closet. 

 

Number Four: My softball girl

I was a softball player growing up.  So were both of my sisters and my father always coached us.  Even though he never had any sons, my father involved us in as many sports as he could always telling us that we could play just as well as the boys.  My sisters and I excelled at softball and reveled in our time on the diamond. 

When it was time for our three kids to pick their sports for the summer, both the boys jumped at playing soccer again , but Afton, our daughter, wasn't so sure.  Instead I suggested softball, told her the ins and outs of the game and let her know how much I loved it as a young girl. Afton was very excited to join in!

She played her first game this week and covered first base, was catcher for an inning and even tried pitching.  She seemed confident and excited to try EVERYTHING and came home from the game quite excited for the next one! 

Number Five: Casey's Diagnosis -LYME DISEASE

This past week I took Casey, our beagle/shepherd cross for his first visit to the vet.  Dr. Manjit checked him over and ordered some regular blood tests to ensure Casey doesn't have heartworm or any other doggie illnesses. Unfortunately, when the results came back, it turned out that Casey has Lyme Disease.  Luckily we have caught it in its earliest stages and we can treat him with anti-biotics and then a preventative afterwards.  The family is also being tested for Lyme because anyplace Casey could have met a lyme-infested tick, we could have, too.

Apparently Lyme Disease in pets is on the rise and is showing up more and more often in humans, too. 

What should you do?

Read up on ticks, know what they look like and how they effect the body.  Check yourself,  your children and your pets after walks in long grass, shrubbery and nature reserves. Knowledge is the greatest  power. 

 

Sorry to be a bummer with such serious-ness at the end of my post, but honestly, people know so little about Lyme, it's important to get  the word out!

 

 

Have a wonderful weekend everyone! I hope the sun shine bright in your neck of the woods.

 

Much love to all,

 

XOXO

Bronwyn