Summer Freedom 2019 Playlist

Summer Solstice was on Friday. The warm weather is here. My family has opened up our pool for the season (although I still haven't gone swimming yet). Yes, Summer has finally come to Northern Ontario. That means that it is time to turn up the music and have fun while soaking in the beautiful sun before it disappears again for half the year. For me, Summer brings the feeling of freedom so I decided to base my Summer playlist this year on that wonderful feeling that anything is possible! Also, I like making my Summer playlists a bit longer so this one has 20 songs.

Check out the playlist on Spotify here: Summer Freedom 2019 Playlist

Cheers,

Kaylie

Seasons and Feelings

Seasons make us feel a certain way. We feel certain emotions and associate the seasons with certain things or experiences. We look forward to some things during certain seasons, and there are some things that we don't look forward to, but I want to talk about what I love about each season and what I associate with each one. First off, I think I should mention how I rate each season since this will give a better understanding of which seasons I like the best. Fall is my favourite season. Summer and Spring are almost tied but I'd say that Summer takes second place with Spring coming in third. Winter is in last place, although I do like the beginning of it. I'll explain more about the parts of Winter that I like in the rest of this post, along with what I like about the other seasons.

Spring

Spring is a new beginning. It is a time to wake up and enjoy the little things in life. The world starts to come alive again. The snow melts away and plants start to grow. It's fun to explore and see which plants are starting to poke up out of the ground. The sun starts shining way more and the cold starts to go away, allowing us to spend more time outside without freezing. To me, Spring is magical. We don't know what to expect when the snow melts and everything that disappeared during Fall and Winter comes back. Spring is full of surprises. When I think of Spring, I think of bunnies, flowers, rain, and innocence. The days should be filled with tea parties and prances through fields of wildflowers. Spring is a time of pretty things.

Summer

My birthday is in July, so naturally I love Summer, even though my favourite season actually comes after summer. Summer is a time for swimming and lounging by the pool. It is a time for gardening and eating fresh fruits and vegetables. Summer is very established. Sure, things continue to grow and there are still surprises, but it isn't as unpredictable as Spring. The right place to be during the Summer is outside. Meals should be eaten on a porch, or better yet, at a picnic. The days should be spent on road trips. The nights should be spent camping in a tent or stargazing under a magnificent starry sky. Summer is the time for adventures.

Fall

Fall is not too hot and not too cold. It is cool enough to get to wear sweaters but not too cold that you have to wear a whole lot of layers. The mosquitoes are dying away and it is the perfect season for spending time outdoors. You won't get too sweaty and the bush doesn't feel so crowded anymore since the plants are drying up and the leaves are falling off of the trees. It's especially nice if Summer decides to hang on for a little while longer while Fall slowly comes in, giving you that perfect combination weather. Fall is a very cozy season. I tend to think of it as dry and earthy. It's a spooky time of the year, but spooky in a good way. Fall and cemeteries just seem to go together, because Fall seems old too. I love thinking about my ancestors during this time. It's the perfect time to look at old photos and documents. Libraries beckon us inside and an evening in a cabin with a wood stove is a necessity. I love harvesting and seeing what we can still get out of our garden. Herbs, pumpkins, and squashes come to mind. Fall is the time for being thankful.

Winter

Oh, Winter. You're so crazy but you're wonderful in the beginning. I love Winter during the month of December (even though I realize that it doesn't officially start until less than a week before Christmas). The beginning of Winter is nice because the snow is just beginning to fall (hopefully it is or else you might end up with a green Christmas) and it's pretty. The first snowfall is magical, even it is light. When it comes to Winter past January 1st, I find that it's just too much. I tend to stay inside a lot during the Winter since I get cold more easily than other people and it becomes uncomfortable and even a bit painful, in a way. Winter is all about curling up with hot chocolate and a good book, with a fireplace video playing on a computer or laptop (or a real fireplace). The Christmas season brings warm, happy feelings, especially when it gently snows the first few times and the snow is just so pretty sitting on tree branches. Winter is a time of love and patience.


Sometimes, I feel like I just move through the seasons without fully celebrating and enjoying them. I am not Pagan but I do think that the Wheel of the Year that most Pagans follow to celebrate the seasons is very interesting. I think it would be great for paying more attention to each season, like people did in the past. Seasons were important in times when there wasn't as much as there is now. Farmers had to pay close attention to seasons and the seasons often determined whether or not something could be done. I want to enjoy seasons instead of always looking forward to the next one. I want to live in the present moment of each season and appreciate each one for what it offers.

Cheers,
Kaylie

Afternoon Tea on the Canadian East Coast

In August 2016, my family's summer trip took place. Where to? The East Coast of our beautiful country of Canada! We had been to Nova Scotia together before along with my aunt, uncle, and cousins (on my Dad's side) to visit my great-aunt (also on my Dad's side) who lived there when my brother and I and our cousins were little kids. Of course, we mostly visited with my great-aunt while we were there and my brother and I don't remember everything anyway because we were so young so we decided to go back to visit Nova Scotia but also to visit some of the other provinces too. We ended up visiting the province of Prince Edward Island and we also visited Campobello Island which is located in New Brunswick and is right next to the state of Maine.

We ended up camping in parks and campgrounds most of the way and did many tourist activities. One of my favourite things that we did, besides the Anne of Green Gables attractions that I experienced, was going for afternoon tea in each of the provinces that we visited. What follows are descriptions of all of our lovely afternoon tea experiences on the Canadian East Coast. I hope you enjoy and consider visiting the East Coast to have some lovely afternoon tea experiences of your own.

Afternoon tea at Dalvay-by-the-Sea:

On Prince Edward Island, we went for afternoon tea at Dalvay-by-the-Sea. It is a national historic site protected by Parks Canada and it is located in Prince Edward Island National Park. My Mom had read about the afternoon tea that you can go for at Dalvay-by-the-Sea and we were all interested since we all love tea. We had to book a reservation ahead of time (we only booked it 1 or 2 days ahead) and it cost $100 since we were a group of four people. Our table was beside a window with a view of Dalvay Lake. We each got to choose a type of tea and were brought small individual tea pots with our chosen tea flavours. Two stacked plate display towers full of light snacks and goodies were placed on the table with enough for each person to have one of everything. There were some savoury lunch items on the bottom plate followed by desserts on the other two plates. Since these were all finger foods, I remember thinking that I could eat everything but all of the small items really get quite filling after a while. The room had other tables where other people enjoyed their tea and snacks. The building itself was beautiful both inside and out and we made sure to explore a bit before we left.

Rita's Tea Room:

In Nova Scotia, we went to Rita's Tea Room in Big Pond on Cape Breton Island. Rita MacNeil was a famous Canadian singer. She bought an old schoolhouse to convert into a house for herself in her hometown of Big Pond, Cape Breton Island and would invite her audiences to stop by for tea if they were ever in the area. So many people took her up on the offer that she decided to convert her home into a tea room. Visiting Rita's Tea Room was very special to me since I am a big fan of Rita MacNeil who unfortunately passed away in 2013. I knew that this was one of the places that we absolutely, without a question, had to go to during our East Coast trip. When I first stepped inside, I instantly felt a feeling of coziness and friendliness. We looked at the lovely museum section all about Rita's life and achievements before sitting down at a table. My Dad and brother ordered tea and lunch items while my Mom and I shared The Old School House Strings which included enough tea for two along with a plate of small desserts. The tea was Rita's Tea Room Blend and we made sure to buy a box for ourselves and a box for my grandma in the small gift shop. I also made sure to buy a Rita tea cup, identical to the tea cups used at Rita's Tea Room, because I had promised myself that I would buy one. The two ladies that we encountered who were working there were so wonderful and there was just so much warmth and happiness in that beautiful place.

Tea with Eleanor in Roosevelt Campobello International Park:

In New Brunswick, we attended the Tea with Eleanor program in Roosevelt Campobello International Park on Campobello Island. When we visited the park's visitor centre, planning on visiting the Roosevelt cottage that Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt owned and stayed at with their family which is free to visit, we found out about the free Tea with Eleanor program and decided to participate in it. We were given tickets and later made our way over to the Wells-Shober Cottage when it was time for the tea to start. We were part of a whole group of people participating in the program and we all went into a room that had several tables with chairs. On one wall, there were photos of Eleanor and on another were copies of some of her My Day newspaper columns. My family had a table all to ourselves and everyone in the group enjoyed tea and cookies while listening to two lovely ladies tell us all about the life of Eleanor Roosevelt. They explained that the reason that this program was set up was because Eleanor Roosevelt always had afternoon tea every day with her family and it was very important to her. Afterwards, we got to see some rooms of the cottage that were set up with old furniture before heading over to see the Roosevelt cottage which has its rooms set up to closely resemble what it looked like in 1920.


After this trip, I absolutely adore the idea of afternoon tea. Stopping in the afternoon and taking a break from everything in order to drink tea and maybe have some light snacks just seems good for you, even if it's just a solo afternoon tea just for you. For one thing, taking breaks is healthy. Working on something for too long can become stressful or tiring. Drinking tea and just concentrating on that really makes you focus on the present moment and helps you relax. Of course, if there are other people, then it becomes social and I know that even I need to be social once in a while even though I'm an introvert and am fine being on my own. I've had afternoon teas of my own with family once in a while but I'm thinking that I might need to do it more often. It just feels right, especially for a tea drinker like myself.

Cheers,
Kaylie

Our Flowering Crabapple Tree

The property that my family and I live on, along with the house, pool, garden, and everything else on this land, belonged to my grandparents on my mother's side. When my grandparents were still alive, my grandma once received a flowering crabapple tree in the mail from Quebec. She hadn't ordered it. It was a bit of a mystery. She planted it in the yard and it ended up growing into this big beautiful tree that grows gorgeous blossoms every year.

It used to grow blossoms all over it when it was younger but now it only grows blossoms on one half of it. We had some family portraits taken beside it when I was younger, back in its days of looking like a big snowball. The tree has spread to grow another tree right beside it and that one leans and sort of acts like an umbrella. I'd like to put a small table and chairs underneath it someday.

When it blossoms in the Spring, the flowers first grow as little pink and magenta balls until they start to open and they turn white. It's a really beautiful sight and I love clipping some of the branches to put in vases inside the house, especially if some of the blossoms on the clippings haven't opened yet and can open in the house.

There's usually a lot of bees around the tree when it flowers so I get a bit scared when going near the tree since I have a severe phobia of bees, hornets, and wasps. I'm thankful for the bees though (I love honey!) and I'm glad that this tree provides for them.

This tree is so lovely and the mystery behind it only makes it lovelier. It only blossoms for a certain amount of time in the Spring though, so we have to enjoy it while it lasts.

This tree is really a very magical sight and I'm so glad that it's in our yard. I don't know if this tree being sent to my grandma was a mistake but I like to think that it was destiny. I like to believe that my grandma was meant to receive this dreamy tree and that it was meant to be here.

The garden decoration that I bought at the Sudbury Gardening Festival this year looked perfect in the crabapple tree while it was blooming!

We have a little garden area set up underneath the crabapple tree. We have a bench, a swing, a birdbath, various garden decorations on the ground and hanging in the surrounding trees, as well as a few plants that grow well in the shade. We call it our "zen garden" even though real zen gardens look completely different.

The area looks so pretty when the petals from the blossoms fall on the ground. It's like Springtime snow!

Thanks for letting me show you this magnificent tree!

Cheers,

Kay

Our 2016 Garden

My family and I ended up planting our garden a bit late again this year but not as late as last year. This year we planted around the beginning of June. Most of our plants were bought already growing from a greenhouse but some were bought as seed. As you can see, our garden is quite large. We have 10 rows as well as a section beside the last row on the far end of the garden where we are growing vine plants and perennials. The photos in this post were taken when the plants and seeds in the garden still hadn't grown very much and there weren't many weeds (that's why it looks so "clean"). This gardening plot had been used for years by my grandparents on my mom's side (who owned the property for years after my great and great-great grandparents) and it was used a bit during the years after they passed away so I am happy that we are using the full garden again! It was a favourite hobby of my Poppa (my grandfather) and it is a hobby that I enjoy as well!

While we were preparing and planting the garden, the mosquitoes were pretty bad because of the time of the year. I told my mom that Spring is, of course, the best time of year to plant a lot of plants but it is also the worst time of year because the mosquitoes just make it so difficult. One day, however, there were tons of dragonflies flying all over our backyard and we hardly noticed any mosquitoes. It was so nice and it was absolutely magical to look up and see all of those dragonflies darting around in the air!

I think it's very important that people learn gardening. In the past, basically everyone used to grow gardens during the nice weather because they had to for food. Nowadays, we don't necessarily need to because we can just buy everything at a grocery store but growing your own garden is still very beneficial because it can save you a lot of money while also giving you organic vegetables that you grew yourself, therefore giving you the knowledge of exactly what has happened to the vegetables. You know that they haven't had any weird pesticides sprayed on them or that they've been sitting in a truck for a long time while traveling to a store. Also, maybe someday we'll all need to use this skill again so why not learn it now, just in case. If prices go up or if pesticides cause too many health problems, you'll be glad that you know how to grow your own food. Also, there's just something satisfactory about growing your own food and it always tastes so much better!

Here are all of the plants that we have growing in our garden this year: onions, green beans, yellow beans, carrots, radishes, beets, tomatoes, peppers, spinach, romaine lettuce, swiss chard, celery, kale, broccoli, cauliflower, early cabbages, watermelon, honeydew melon, potatoes, peas, cucumbers, zucchinis, butternut squash, jack o' lantern pumpkin, strawberries (bought from the Sudbury Gardening Festival 2016) rosemary, thyme, oregano, peppermint, spearmint, parsley, basil, dill, curry, chamomile, lemon balm, and eucalyptus. We also have chives growing in a short wooden barrel planter near our driveway and we have lavender and bergamot (or bee balm) growing elsewhere as well (none of these are pictured in this post). 

The chamomile and chives actually grew back from last year which was pretty exciting. We might try covering up our perennials in the Fall to ensure that a lot of the others grow back again next year. We have to cover the strawberries with straw anyway, or else they will freeze during the Winter. I'm excited to try using peppermint, spearmint, lemon balm, chamomile, and bergamot for tea since we are all tea drinkers in my family. We also want to try making pickles so we made sure to buy some pickling cucumber plants and dill.The plants that I'm most interested to see growing are the honeydew melon, watermelon, and eucalyptus because I'm not sure how well they'll do but I'm hoping that they'll make it.

Cheers,

Kay

Dreamy Summer 2016 Playlist

Summer solstice was on June 20th!! I am so happy that it is finally Summer! It seemed like it was never going to come but we are having beautiful weather at last! We were having a heatwave here in Sudbury last week but then it changed to stormy weather and now the weather is perfect! Not only does Summer bring nice weather here in the North, but it also brings feelings of possibility, opportunity, and pure bliss.

For my Summer playlist, I decided to make it extra special and double the number of songs. So, instead of the usual 15 songs that I add to my seasonal playlists, this one has 30 SONGS!! Woohoo! Lots of songs to enjoy all Summer long! You'll need them too... for listening to while you hang out by the pool... while you lie in the grass and watch the clouds... while you work on all of those Summer hobby projects that you plan to do... the possibilities are endless! All of these songs remind me of Summery things: beautiful weather, the great outdoors, lots of fun, and the feeling that anything can happen!

As always, I made this playlist using Spotify so make sure that you have a Spotify account! I hope you enjoy my Dreamy Summer 2016 Playlist!

Enjoy,
Kay

Finnlegh: Joe Pye

There are lots of different flowers, wildflowers, plants, and trees on our property where my family lives so I love taking photos of Finnlegh outside! He's beside some Joe Pye here. This picture was taken during the summer. We've been having snow and rain here lately and it's been cold. This photo makes me long for summer again but I remind myself that I must enjoy all of the seasons that we get here in Northern Ontario. Although, we've hardly had a spring, summer, or fall this year so I hope that Mother Nature gives a nice winter (not too cold, good weather for going outside to do winter activities).

-Kaylie