There are several dozen things I could be doing right now, but I’m basking in the delight of watching France get thrashed in the first half of the France-England match.
Harumph. It took me a while to write this post: Mbappé has now scored—TWICE—and I’m hoping Messi can score a whole bunch of goals tomorrow and still claim the Golden Boot. It’s not looking good.
There are 10 minutes to go and France is right back in the game and I am doing a lot of screaming at the TV. Does it help? It feels like it does!
I’m not ready for this World Cup to be over; it’s been such a fun event for our whole family. We were disappointed when Portugal and Canada were eliminated, but we’re all big Lionel Messi fans, so we’re feeling excited for the final tomorrow.
SATURDAY REST
This particular Saturday most of us hit a proverbial wall. My Energizer Bunny of a daughter, who basically never yawns or gets tired, has been curled up like a burrito on her bed, napping for hours. This NEVER happens.
Camp is exhausting. She got home last night and heads back tomorrow afternoon. She can’t wait. She’s asked for more weeks of camp. I hated sleepaway camp as a kid but Belle—like John!—loves it with every fibre of her being.
I hit my own wall mid-afternoon. I said to John I feel like all I’ve done this week is go, go, go. So many errands and lists and loads of laundry and so much time in the car going hither and yon, including all of Saturday morning and early afternoon.
When I got back from yet another set of errands, I took to my bed and set a timer on my watch for 20 minutes. I fell asleep and decided five more minutes of napping would be nice. When that timer went off, I set it again. Just 5 more minutes. The next time I figured I’d rest for a few more minutes… and proceeded to fall asleep for another hour. We shall see how bedtime goes tonight.
A MONTH AGO IN WALES
The first week or so after getting back to Nova Scotia, I couldn’t shake a feeling of deep melancholy about having such a massive adventure behind us. The last few weeks, I have felt much more settled and content to not be living out of suitcases!
But then I read Rachel’s post and it is MIND BLOWING to me that this time last month, I was still a five-minute walk from her house. I’m… sad! I want to be five minutes from Rachel again!
Last month, we were on the opposite side of the Atlantic Ocean. Wild. And on this exact day a month ago, Indy and I slid down the longest slide in all of Wales (Catherine Gardens).
Just outside the park was the CUTEST little mail topper. I’ve heard about these crocheted scenes but it was the first one I spotted in the wild. (Here’s a BBC article all about postal art in the UK!)
Apparently one epic slide isn’t enough for my kiddo. We made our way to the top of Bute Park. There had been some hint that there might be a zipline at one of the playgrounds. Alas, no such luck and while it’s a perfectly fine park, it’s hard to compete with the slide we enjoyed earlier in the day.
Look at this epic tree we spotted on the walk through Bute Park!
We met up with John (Belle was happy to have alone time!) early in the afternoon just across from the entrance to Cardiff Castle.
Indy had fallen in love with milkshakes when we were in Edinburgh, so we ponied up for an Oreo shake. He approved!
Next, we went to Cardiff Market looking for some lunch; I got a vegan bao bun and it was DELICIOUS.
We finished off our afternoon adventures by going back to the National Museum Cardiff. I’d already taken the kids here to explore, but John was keen to see the Impressionist Gallery.
This picture CRACKS me up. Indy looked at the art for a few minutes and then plopped down within throwing distance of a Van Gogh, a Renoir, and several Monets… to play Geometry Dash on my phone. Fair enough.
I’m especially keen to look at art depicting Venetian scenes!
Now let’s fast forward a month…!
A KEEPER
Last year John and Indy started fishing for striped bass. They go to a popular location very close to our house. They’ve met people who have been fishing at this spot for years (and years) who have never caught a keeper. (By law, the bass has to be 27″ or longer to be kept.)
Their first time out this season… and guess who caught a keeper.
INDY!!!
A massive 31-inch fish. He very proudly stopped fishing after that—you’re only allowed to catch one keeper a day. This is a big deal and very rare!
Home and all rinsed off.
Less than two hours later, he was eating his catch; we cooked and broke up two fillets to make AMAZING fish tacos. He was very excited and proud, rightfully so.
He asked if I could “please write about this on your blog” and I am here to do just that!
Gah. We’re in extra time and it’s 5-4 for England and I do not handle sports stress well at all.
NO! Now it’s 6-4 and this. game. is. OVER!!!!!! Can you hear me cheering???
Your turn.
- When’s the last time you took a nap?
- Who in your life would you call an Energizer Bunny?
- Have you been enjoying the World Cup?
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That’s a mighty fish! Congratulations to Indy- definitely bloggable!! Did he clean it himself?
My college daughter is definitely energizer bunny, but she knows the value of naps. She goes, goes, goes, and then curls up for a well deserved rest.
No naps for me, but I gave up and went to bed at 8:15 last night on the couch under the ceiling fan.
No world cup- I generally watch sports only if my kids on the team. I’m binging on a gentle home renovation show right now- no yelling at the screen necessary.
You deserved those extra minutes of nap- if you slept, it meant your body was signaling that you needed it. If you get too worn, productivity and attitudes slump anyways. You’ll feel better after a nap and a treat.
John and I cleaned it up and here is where I admit our skills in breaking down a fish have a LONG way to go. Julia Child would have been horrified. The end result was delicious, though.
GO INDY GO!!! You know what they say about teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.
I almost never nap simply because I can’t fall asleep during the day. But last week there was an exception. I’d slept really well the night before, and after lunch I thought “hm, I’d like more of that” so I got into bed and actually did fall asleep for 20 minutes. It was magic!
I’m so not a sports person, so to me the World Cup is something that everyone else on the planet is talking about that’s just gone over my head. I’m happy for the folks that enjoy it!
The only other time we’ve had fresh-caught fish for dinner… YOU were at our house <3
A good nap really is like magic. That said, I was groggy for hours because I slept so long yesterday afternoon. But I managed to sleep a full night as well, so I was definitely making up for a sleep deficit.
I mostly feel that way about American football! I'll watch the Superbowl, but also don't care if I miss it.
OMG that 3rd place game was so ridiculous and ridiculously entertaining! We watched the first half during our dinner break and it seemed like any time one of us went to the bathroom, England scored a goal. I only got to watch the first half because I had rehearsal, but I covertly followed along with the NY Times Live Blog in between sending people onstage. (We actually re-arranged our rehearsal schedule Sunday so that we aren’t rehearsing during the final – at the request of our conductor, who is from Spain.)
I feel like this post should have the subtitle “Adventures with Indy.” He looks like he is living his best life.
It was SUCH a crazy game. Very entertaining and fun to watch. I was so happy for England.
He really is living his best life. Speaking of Energizer Bunnies… when I was collapsed on my bed yesterday (after running him to/from tennis with a friend while also running Belle to/from errands to get ready for some camp things) he asked if we could go off on a fairly significant afternoon adventure. Um… NO! This kid likes to do fun things all day long. Thankfully, the fishing is quite stationary and I usually ship him off with John.
OMG yesterday I was literally thinking about you all and how much It would have been a perfect day for Belle to pop over and hang out with us! In fact I tried to use Belle as a bribe the other day, I was talking to Lily and said “oh x thing is my favourite, it’s also Belle’s favourite! is it your favourite?” (I wasn’t lying, I just can’t remember the thing but I know Belle said she liked it… I am having groggy morning brain). I also cannot believe it was a month ago, it feels like yesterday and forever.
I also thought of you yesterday because I was in Caerphilly and that castle is just so cool. And around the back I found a mini stonehenge and thought you could have filled everyone’s dreams in mini version there! Next time.
I’m glad you got a nap and WOW I am excited for your child free days coming up. If kids love camp that’s awesome! There are a lot of articles around now about the cost of holidays and feeling bad about sending kids away to camp but my kids LOVE camp. In fact, I asked if on a Friday they wanted to spend the day with me or at camp and they asked for camp. Maybe if they had camp for 3 months straight they would get tired of it, but they’re already sad that they only get 2 weeks of each camp this year. And of course, camp or not, I’ll feel guilty about it at some point…
Have a wonderful week next week!
For some reason it’s really hitting me this week. I guess because we’re getting close to the 1-month mark of getting home. There are so many things I’m thrilled to have access to back in Canada (my own laundry! Joy! our church), but it is also hard to believe that last month we were in a completely other country and it also felt routine.
Ha! Use Belle for bribes ALL you want. She would 100% approve.
Caerphilly was amazing. I am itching to see more Welsh castles one day.
I’m so glad your kids love camp. I feel zero guilt about sending mine away for this week. In fact, I wish Indy could go a second week!!!
I stoppe watching after 2:0 last night, quite embarrassing to see how France fell from among the favorites to this level. sigh…. and I agree that I don’t want World Cup to end, love making part of summer life! And yes, super excited for today. Messi is our hero as many other players in the team, all outstanding and supportive of Messi.
Naps…. I haven’t taken one for a while. I love taking naps while it’s raining. it’s so cozy.
Glad Bella loves sleep away camp. Sofia too.
When it was 4-0 I figured the game was over, and then it ended up being a nailbiter right until the very end.
I hated sleepaway camp as a kid and said I’d never force my own kids to go. But, thankfully, they love it!
That’s an incredible fish Indy caught! I love that he wanted you to blog about it.
A lot of people think I’m an energizer bunny. One friend in particular tells me a lot that I am . I of the opinion that the energizer bunny is probably not this tired most of the time. Naps are fantastic but I can easily make it so I don’t sleep well/have a very difficult time falling asleep so have to be very careful with them.
Ha. No one has EVER accused me of being an Energizer Bunny 🙂
I do sometimes struggle with night sleep if I nap too long. Not last night. I was TIRED. I needed that nap + a full night of sleep.
That certainly was a crazy game last night. We are very proud of the way England dealt with the crushing disappointment of our defeat to Argentina on Wednesday and 1000% behind Spain tonight (as Argentina are our bogey team and their persistent fouling and aggressive style of play turns me off) and hoping for Mbappe to win the golden boot over Messi. Isn’t it weird how national allegiance can change one’s point of view!
I just think Messi is such a great player and so classy. He doesn’t seem arrogant, despite his incredible achievements. He feels like a “guy next door” and so I’m rooting for him for the Golden Boot, but I’m assuming it’s Mbappe’s at this point.
It was SUCH a hard loss for England. I was feeling so sorry for them, and what a dramatic win!
That match last night was the best of the whole tournament! Messi is amazing but I am not an Argentina fan so at the moment I am glad that Mbappe is winning the Golden Boot!
Oh wow! Your daughter must have really been tired, it sounds like she is enjoying camp though. I hope you managed to sleep well after your nap!
It sounds like you had such a wonderful time in Wales and that post box topper is so cute! Wow, that tree is huge and the fish too! Well done to Indy!
That was quite the game – I was reading while Rob watched, and he was like “wow, England’s got this in the bag.” And then. AND THEN. But of course you know how it went. What a high scoring game, it was kind of crazy!
I think I am the Energizer Bunny in my life! I rarely nap, basically only if I’m sick! I also loved sleepaway camp so…am I Belle? I mean, I wish. What I wouldn’t do for her hair!
I just checked my line-a-day calendar and one month ago I was at a game’s afternoon with my girlfriends. And I just hosted one this week so I guess we are doing well at our “monthly games.”
What a huge fish! I’m sure it was delicioius! I actually wouldn’t have a clue about how to cut, clean, and cook a fresh fish! I like to sneak in a little nap after lunch every day! Or sometimes I sit down in my chair and accidentally fall asleep! I’m one of those who has paid zero attention to the World Cup. I have never been an Energizer Bunny. I’ve always been someone who needs lots of rest. I don’t think I know anyone who I’d call an Energizer Bunny right now.
[…] I mean… why not turn This Time One Month Ago into a little series, right?? […]
Ha! Well, I napped today. And, I wish I had gotten into the World Cup. Everyone seemed to have so much fun with it! I didn’t even know the last game was today until my husband told me.
No one in my family is an Energizer Bunny… we’re a family of nappers. At least we understand each other on that point!