Oh my days, it’s already the 10th of July. How did this happen???
It was a full week but also, overall, a good one. I like weeks that are full, but not overfilled. As Goldilocks would say: just right.
This week felt as close to “just right” in terms of scheduling as I could hope for.
Indy had sports camp each morning from 9-12:30. This gave our morning structure: up, breakfast, pack a snack, hang out on the deck and drink coffee, and then either wave him off via carpool or head out for my turn at carpool.
I also ran a lot of errands. There are so many little things to do, especially after being away for so long.
Belle mostly did teenager things. She babysat four days and went out for breakfast with friends twice. AT COFFEE SHOPS. Like, I don’t know, a fully functional adult? Also, I think it’s important to note that she paid her own way. One of the perks of her babysitting is having her own money to spend.
I’m a bit conflicted. Even now, I wince a bit at spending money on food and drinks out, but she is very happy to plunk down her money. I guess since I’m not funding it—and her work currently is—it’s all a learning experience in budgeting. But I do feel like I need to sit down and rethink savings since she’s now actually earning a not-insignificant amount of money.
When I was growing up, basically every dime I earned was put into an education savings account by my parents. They contributed a bit each month and whatever I earned was added to the pot. They didn’t have much extra, but education was incredibly important to them. As was getting through to the other side with no debt. And, thanks to their efforts and forced savings plan that’s what happened. It’s all I knew, so it didn’t bother me too much to not have spending money.
I’m thinking we need to come up with a percentage of her earnings then put that into her RESP or an account with some level of interest (currently just in a basic youth savings account). Anyway, that was an unexpected tangent.
Happy Things summary: the kids were busy. Belle was making money… and spending it in deepening friendships.
GROCERY PICKUP
I did it! My first curbside pickup from Sobeys and it was everything I had hoped it would be and more. It was so easy to complete the order, and I sat in the car reading on my Kobo until it was rolled out to me.
It was also a good way to save some money, I think. First, you can sort by unit price, so instead of me comparing prices on the shelf, I could sort all the results by price per unit. VERY handy.
Also, if I spent $75—which is depressingly easy to do with the current state of grocery prices—I got $15 off my order. I was mostly buying things on sale to begin with, so I happily took the discount. And I get two more $15 coupons if I spend $75 twice more before mid-September.
Eye roll… I think I can arrange for that to happen!!
FOOD
I wrote a bit about my current thoughts about food preparation here, and things went off without a hitch.
The chicken noodle soup—which used to be my kids’ favourite meal and is now one of their least favourite meals; SIGH—was objectively delicious. Homemade stock, carrots, spinach (I used up the dregs of both veggies in my fridg) chicken, noodles, and spices. So simple and so good.
We spontaneously hosted one of Indy’s friends to watch the Portugal game (sob) and I took it as the highest form of praise that his friend asked for seconds of the soup.
We also had tuna on toast (yummy) and potato salad (which was also yummy), though neither are particularly photogenic.
I ended up freezing the meatballs because the kids weren’t hungry or ate meals at friends’ houses.
Belle made some edible cookie dough which was, as expected, delicious.
HOME MANICURE
I really love having something on my nails. This time of year, I want simple. And I think I am slowly getting my routine down perfectly.
I have never had a salon manicure, but told myself that for the price of a single manicure I could up my game. So I ordered a few supplies and have been so happy with the results!!!
The biggest issue for me is cuticle health. After just two applications of my new routine, I see improvement. (I’ll blog about it in more detail… sometime soon!)
My new favourite pale pink is from a random miscellany store from Europe (Normal). I bought it on a complete whim and I love it so much. No streaking (unlike Ballet Slippers which is lovely but a bit of a faff to work with in my opinion). It’s barely there, but enough that I feel a little surge of delight when I see my nails.
Also, I got my rings inspected (mandatory every 6 months to maintain the warranty) and they cleaned them. It always makes me happy to see them extra sparkly.
CAR REPAIRS
I wrote a whole Patreon post (free!) about some happy things associated with the breakdown of my vehicle, but noted that I was doing this before getting the diagnostic report.
Oh happy days. While the repairs are not covered under warranty, that’s because they’re relatively minor. I was expecting… something major. And it wasn’t! We need a belt replaced and a new battery. Obviously, nothing is cheap in terms of vehicle repairs, but this is pretty good in the grand scheme of things.
CAT LOVE
Indy remains obsessed with all things cats and kittens.
I remain allergic and steadfast in my refusal to bring a feline into our lives.
Thankfully, there are a number of cats that roam freely in our neighbourhood and one in particular has recently taken a shine to Indy.
This particular cat sheds like… well, something that sheds a lot. I mostly keep my distance, but it does very much warm my heart to see the two of them so happy together.
Plus, no vet or food bills. Having a neighbour with a cat (like a neighbour with a pool/boat/insert-expensive-thing-here) is almost always superior to owning one of your own. I know cat owner will disagree with this, but for our current situation it’s THE BEST.
FRIEND TIME
Both kids have spent so much time with friends this week.
At sports camp, Indy has two especially close buddies with him. He and his bestie have watched World Cup games together, gone bridge jumping, and started a little entrepreneurial car washing business. I’m suspecting the latter will be short-lived.
He’s also been to two different pools this week. My kids have such a hard life…
In addition to the two aforementioned friend breakfast dates—plus meeting another friend at Starbucks last week, using gift cards from her birthday back in March since they weren’t usable at any Starbucks in Europe—Belle ended up bumping into a friend while she was out for a walk, and they came back and spent several hours in the hammock.
HAMMOCK + READING TIME
Speaking of the hammock, guess where I’ve spent several hours this week.
This inexpensive hammock (just from Amazon) has just been THE BEST and I think this is the third summer using it.
I am getting more and more attached to my Kobo. It has taken several years for me to get to the point where I finally prefer it over paper books. Who am I becoming???
The time away cemented the deal. It really is so much easier.
I’ve had time spent at tennis lessons—they’re an hour long, which isn’t really long enough to go anywhere—so I’ve stayed, watched a bit, made some phone calls, and read books! The Kobo is particularly great because, regardless of the overhead light, it adjusts to where I’m at, and it’s so lightweight. I just toss it into my purse and go.
Side note: I know I just posted about my June reads yesterday, but I have been reading a lot so far in July. I was craving book time and I’m trying to lean into a Summer of Restoration. Reading definitely tops the list of approved activities. While there are quite a few content warnings (which I’ll cover in next month’s book reviews), Yesteryear is one of the current “it” books, and I totally understand why. It was a 5/5 read for me.
DIY SUCCESS
I was vacuuming my bedroom one evening this week and I accidentally got caught up in the curtains. Me, not the vacuum. It was all a bit bizarre and I ended up tugging on the curtain quite a bit harder than I anticipated.
I got unstuck and moved on with my day.
A few hours later, I came into the room and realized that one side of the curtain rod was drooping. It was all hanging on by a literal (screw) thread.
ARGH.
If you know me, you know I hate, hate, hate home repairs. They do not come naturally to me at all and even the simplest things feel overwhelming. But I knew this needed to get fixed.
I tried to reinforce the existing screws, which had been in anchors, but not the more robust ones we now use. No dice.
So I took the curtains down overnight because they did not look like they could survive the precarious situation much longer.
My stomach legit dropped in the morning when I woke up, saw the curtains still on the floor, and remembered I had a repair on my hands.
And, guess what? I did it and it was NOT A BIG DEAL.
To be fair, this is usually the case and is the exact same way I feel about dreaded phone calls. Almost always, the stewing is so much worse than the doing. Even still, I am a stewer.
But I put on my big girl panties and grabbed the needed drywall screw anchors (seriously the best thing ever) and within five minutes the whole thing was not only fixed, it was more secure than before.
GO ME.
Behold my handiwork.
TIME AT “MY” CAFE
I got out to my favourite cafe for a few hours, which happens to be the sliver of time when I’m writing this post. I love having a go-to place. This is my third time since coming back to Canada and I like the rough rhythm of coming once a week. It’s definitely a happy place of mine.
BONUS HAPPY THINGS
- A cool walk with Joy. Originally, we planned to fit in a little walk during one open morning, but that ended up not being ideal for my schedule. So she met me at tennis lessons. While Indy was happily playing King of the Court, we were catching up. I had felt a bit guilty about arranging a walk for literally the hottest time of the day, but we walked on shady trails and there was a delightful breeze.
- Magic Bags. I am so, so thankful we have a heat pump that can keep our house reliably cold. That said, ironically, I spend quite a bit of time in the summer feeling cold because of air conditioning, even though we keep our house around 25°C/77°F. One night I hopped into bed and my feet were cold. And then I remembered I’M BACK IN CANADA WITH MAGIC BAGS.
- Laundry. When I was reading Yesteryear, there’s a section discussing laundry in the late 1880s and it sounds perfectly horrible. What a blessing to have machines that do all the heavy lifting: washing, spinning, AND drying.
- Speaking of olden times, I loved this post of Birchie’s filled with details of her visit to Laura Ingalls Wilder Home and Museum in Missouri.
- Once again, preparing this Happy Things Friday post. These are, without a doubt, my favourite thing to write. I really appreciate having an “excuse” to focus on the positive things happening in life.
Okay. Time is up. Indy will be getting home soon, and there are things to do.
Your turn.
- Tell me a few Happy Things from your week.
- What’s your go-to manicure colour?
- How would you rate your DIY skillset? I’d say I’m a 5 out of 10?
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Belle’s way of spending her hard-earned money reminds me a bit of myself in my younger years. Oh, the stuff that I spent my money on that I WOULDN’T do now! Clothes! Shoes! Restaurants! But it was a good lesson about both budgeting and independence.
Great job on your curtain rod!! I also HATE home repairs… right now our water pressure is weirdly low, but I think we will need to call in an expert.
My happy thing is an outing we did this week for my parents 64th wedding anniversary. We went to the lake of Lucerne which was beautiful!
Lovely to see you settled back into routine. I babysat a ton as a teenager, and didn’t save a ton but having my own money was so lovely. The cats… should have let him smuggle Mr C home, he’s been yowling from 4am onward and driving us up the wall.
Teddy had a mediocre week of camp – the art camp was weirdly rubbish (like crafts and worksheets, not actual art) and the outdoor camp, which is normally great, seemed quite boring. Think it’s highly dependent on the leaders they have this summer. But his beloved older cousin (21) is here today so all is well in the world.
We tried the Indian place around the corner, and it was eyewateringly expensive with drinks and desserts but it was lovely. I’m looking forward to trying the brunch. We’re hosting A’s auntie and cousins for Mexican food tomorrow, and then T and I leave for Portugal on Sunday. It’ll be steamy hot but relaxing at least. Looking forward to swimming in the ocean and reading my book on the porch.
The kids sound like they re loving life right now.
Maybe a percentage of Belle’s earnings into savings? But let her budget and spend on clothes, coffee, etc. so she can see how easy the money flows out? Some of my kids saved too much early on, and one has a hard time spending any more and one went wild at school and ran up debt. It’s such a hard balance.
My happy thing at 4am? Holding my granddaughter after giving her a diaper change and bottle. She’s sleeping now, cuddled next to me, making baby squeak and snuffles. Long drive worth it!
send Andy to cat sit with us! hahaha… Lizzy used to be allergic to cat fur but she has grown out of it. I guess we get used to it eventually.
About money, I feel like our generation treated money very differently than our kids because our circumstances were different and wouldn’t be reasonable to ask them to do the same when they grew up in a safe/secure family. the biggest influence we have on that is to show/talk them how we manage money which is big in saving and frugal on things that are not important to us. HOpefully they will align money use with their values too. spending $ to deepen friendship, i’m fully supportive. During shopping trips in DC, Sofia keeps buying gifts for her friends and I’m so happy for her.
Happy thing #1 – Ada came for a sleepover! She loves the water, and it was super hot, so that worked. These girls are all growing too quickly! Don’s very good at DYI (he was his own contractor in building our house), which means I’m not, although I can use a screwdriver pretty well:) Off to Scarborough this weekend for Violet’s 2nd birthday, then the long drive to NS for Shannon and family’s visit. Happy summer – hope yours goes by slowly!
DIY:)
Well, this was such a happy post to read! Sounds like you are all settling back into a nice summer rhythm.
Woohoo!!! Go you on the curtain repair! (I’m sorry, though, I giggled a little imagining you all tangled up in the curtains.) It’s so satisfying to FIX something.
I am also loving your nail polish. Can you do a detailed post about nail painting please? I love having my nails done, but, a) like you, I refuse to get a manicure and b) I am pretty terrible at getting my nails to look nice, let alone STAY nice.
A NEIGHBORHOOD CAT!!! Those are the best, and look how happy Indy is!!! I love a friendly community kitty. We have one in our neighborhood and it’s so fun to encounter him out on a walk, or to see him when he comes up on our porch to say hello. You know I am a cat advocate, and my cat is hypoallergenic, so there is a way, Elisabeth!!! But he was and continues to be quite expensive, so I support your cat abstinence.
Tell me what you think of Yesteryear! I had a few quibbles but overall I really enjoyed it.
I think Belle should be able to figure out the money thing for herself; obviously sit down and discuss it with her, but it might be good for her to learn by trial and error. Going out for coffee is my weak point too! I blame it on us never going to cafes much when I was growing up 😉
Well done on the DIY! I definitely need to practice that kind of thing more; it’s not my strong suit.
I really need to get a cat soon. I cat-sat for my friend last week and remembered how much I love having a cat – I didn’t even mind dealing with the litter tray!
My big happy thing is being home for summer. I forgot to say before, but your posts about Cardiff Castle made me smile – I went there a few times as a kid. It is SO hot here right now.
I think that if you discuss with Belle, she will be open to putting a percentage of her earnings away for education savings. She’s a smart girl! But I also think that the percentage that stays with her, she should be able to do whatever she wants. The joy of buying a fancy coffee with a friend at that age! It’s wonderful! You’re only a teen once after all, and it is an important lesson in budgeting, as you say. I’m sure she will be open to a discussion about it, and then together you can decide on a percentage. It’s so important for teens to feel in control of things like this. And wow, babysitters make so much more than I made back in the 80s – I think I started at $2/ hour, and at one point upped it to $2.50. My first paying job was $4/ hour!
Yesteryear was a four star for me, but YES the laundry. I mean, I think about old-timey laundry all the time and how lucky we are not to have to use scrub boards or even wringer washers!
Too bad you don’t live close to us. We could use Indy as a catsitter when we go to the wedding! One of Angie’s friends will come in and feed them, but although she loves animals she’s also allergic, so she won’t be able to spend a lot of time interacting with them. We need Indy to come play with them while we’re gone.
The money thing is tough. I get why you want Abby to save her money- on the other hand, she is earning it, and think how sad she would be if she couldn’t go to breakfast with her friends because she didn’t have any money to spend (even though she babysat four days that week). Maybe you could encourage her to come up with a budget, which includes a percentage into savings.
I know the part of Yesteryear you’re talking about- YES. Boy are we lucky. I have clothes in the dryer right now and am very grateful that I didn’t have to hang them on a line (although- that would be the easy part. Washing them without a machine sounds TERRIBLE).
Glad you had a Goldilocks week!
Er…yes…I am pretty sure you will be able to manage to spend $75 on groceries twice between now and mid September. Lol lol lol.
The secret is out – the way to get kids to appreciate dinner is to send them over to someone else’s house to eat. The grass is always greener!
I know that Yesteryear was divisive, and I get it, but I LOVED it. Being able to read it in your hammock while the washing machine is churning away sounds ideal.
My happy thing of the week was hosting two friends for a jigsaw puzzle party last night! We had a great time with the puzzle, and they both love dogs. Doggo is really leery of strangers, but she picked up on their vibe and was a great co-host. Like Indy and his cat, they were happy to get some dog time.
I went to Luzerne in June and it was glorious!
-This was in reply to Catrina, but for some reason it didn’t post beneath her comment!
I bet you can come to a reasonable savings agreement with Belle. In a way, it’s kind of nice that she doesn’t have baggage around money and can spend it how she likes? What a gift! Some of us have such issues spending money, even if we grew up not wanting a thing (that’s the case for Phil and I who grew up solidly middle to upper middle class but have some baggage/issues around spending money). I do thing money habits a bit of a nature v nurture thing. We can try to influence our kids to the extent possible but some are more prone to spending than others. Like Paul seems to be a natural spender. He has all this cash from birthdays and Christmas but he never wants to spend it. We did get him to pay for 1/2 of the new iPad we bought him this spring, though. It’s too soon to say what Will’s nature will be, though. Granted, the kids have 529 college savings plans (although the topic of college came up this morning and Phil commented on how he doesn’t even know if college will be a thing anymore by the time our kids are 18 because of AI… thanks for bringing down the mood, Phil.)
Now onto positive things! A highlight of my week was book club. We met at a member’s house that has a pool in her backyard. We got take out and hung out in the pool after dinner. There was a heavier tone to things by the end of the night (I’ll message you about it) but it was overall a really nice night. And then last night Phil and I started watching North by Northwest as I have a goal to watch 2 Hitchcock films in 2026.
I do not do home manicures and cannot remember the last time I had a professional manicure. I prefer bare nails. I could certainly work on nail maintenance and sometimes feel a little bit unprofessional when traveling as the female sales reps usually have professionally manicured nails but I just don’t care enough to go to the trouble!
I live in the states and have never heard of MAGIC BAGS. I have mini splits that keep my home delightfully cool in the southern Ozarks heat and humidity.