Quebec City

I went to Quebec City for the last week of summer break with my friend Serene. It was wonderful. Quebec City is beautiful and has such a lovely old world feel to it. Just wandering the cobble stone streets, popping into shops and eating outside in little cafes was so lovely. There were street musicians everywhere and they were really good. We actually stopped to listen to them! The food surprised me. It was delicious!! I did not eat a single bad meal and the atmosphere in every place, although different each time, was also great. We went to an English style pub, to the Chateau Frontenac, to several Italian restaurants and of course multiple cafes for coffee and pastries. We wandered the historical sites, we shopped and we relaxed. It was a great way to end summer 2025.

Marina

My posts for the last six weeks are going to be completely out of order chronologically because I have so much to write about and I don't feel like starting at the beginning, lol. I am not even sure whether all of it will end up being published. I currently have 48 drafts in my blog account, so maybe not. We'll see.

Anyway, Marina, Matias and Sarah came to stay with us in the middle of August. We had such a good time and I love spending time with my granddaughter! She was doing the cute worm crawl where she'd pull her body along the ground. She reminds me so much of Matias and of course makes me ask that old lady question of where has the time gone? I was reminded of those times when we had a baby and leaving the house was carefully timed between naps. When you had to maximize your time out between juggling naps and feedings. When leaving was never quick, and you had to bring so much stuff and just when you were ready, the baby pooped or threw up. I sympatized with Matias and Sarah since they are currently in that stage of life. Anyway, we did manage to go out for dinner to The Keg as a family and it was a lovely way to celebrate Pentti and my 26th anniversary at the same time.

Azim

Azim was my sister's father in law. He was diagnosed with cancer last month and he passed away this week. I don't know how that happens and I have serious misgivings about our medical system. But, that's not what I want to write about.

Azim was such a warm, friendly guy. As extended family, we met up at many family gatherings. He was always interested in others, asking questions and genuinely engaging with people. In many ways he was very similar to my father and they got along great. They were both engineers, immigrants and all about family. He too was a wonderful, fully engaged grandfather to my sister's kids. But Azim was also into food and often brought persian food to gatherings and even had some of his own special recipes. He loved soccer and was still actively playing just a few months ago. 

He will be missed, but praise God, Azim is in heaven. He became a Christian this past spring and I am confident that he is now more fully alive than ever and completely healed. He was a good, decent guy but that's not why he's in heaven. He's in heaven because he believed. And that means that this is not goodbye, but see you later.

Meet Lavender

So after years of Emmi's begging, we relented and got a dog. As someone who has never had a dog, I am so grateful to the people who helped me. And I am so happy that I got connected to the shelter that I did through a friend. It even turned out that I had a personal connection with the trainer who had our dog. It was all like it was meant to be. 

Anyway, we are now getting used to life with a dog in the house. I am not going to lie, it has been a tough week. Lavender is a rescue dog from the streets of California and has a fair bit of anxiety. She is lovely with us in the house, but does not like visitors or other dogs. It is proving to be more challenging than I expected....Some days I am overwhelmed and wonder whether things will ever get better. I watch dog training videos and wonder what the right approach is. Having never had a dog, it's hard to know who's advice to follow. I feel out of my depth. But, we love her and we want to help her feel safe and secure. Surely, she will eventually sense that and settle down...?

But that is not to say that there have not been lovely snuggles. Morning walks in the sunshine. Play. Emmi's joy. We press on.

July

July was lovely. It felt really long and I spent lots of time relaxing on my deck, chilling at home, decluttering and sleeping in. But, I also found time for lots of other things. It's funny how much time there is in a month when you aren't working...I tried to pick one highlight, but I couldn't decide, so here are my favourites:

I met with six other women for Bible study every Tuesday morning. We finished with a potluck on my deck and it was perfect. It is not easy to find women who would commit to studying the Bible in the middle of summer. I mean really, who does that? But my friends were dedicated and I couldn't believe that they continued showing up week after week. 

I spent five days in Hope. Going to the cabin is always relaxing and lovely. I have blogged about it many times. 

I spent quite a few afternoons on my friend Lesley's deck (or she came over to mine). 

My friend and I went to a jazz hymn swing. We had zero expectations and really no idea what it would entail. It was part hymn singalong and part jazz concert. It was amazing. We even got to sing one of my favourite hymns: Abide with me.

Emmi took an art class with her friends and loved it. On her birthday, we took a mother daughter art class with two of her best friends and their mothers. She said it was her best birthday ever.

There were quite a few birthday celebrations and we're not even done yet. Emmi and I both have July birthdays and the celebrations are continuing into August...

One of my very favourite things was the July birthday celebration with my two choir friends. We could not believe how amazing they were at Joey's on Lougheed. The food was delicious. There was free dessert and flowers and free champagne. I was blown away.

It's still early days of August and I am grateful for that, but this summer has already been amazing. And August is shaping up to be even better, Stay tuned....

next yr

I was talking to a friend of mine about next year's classes. It's August already which means that anyone who works in a school is thinking about September. They say that August is one long "Sunday night" for teachers and it's true. Anyway, I am staying at grade two, so I will not be keeping any of my students. But, if I were rolling into grade three, there is only one kid I would like to keep. He is funny and off the wall. He doesn't really listen. He comes in full of energy and never stops. He is likeable and quirky. And he is never boring.  I am ready to pass on the rest of my students, the challenging, the goody two shoes, the quiet ones; they can be "enjoyed" by their next teacher. But R, him I will miss. And if you read my previous post about Joonas, you will understand why.

Joonas

My middle child graduated this year. He is the one child for whom I would receive phone calls and emails from the school. He had been caught throwing banana peels off the roof. He had gone hiking out of bounds with his friends. He had a flask that he was using as a water bottle. He had violated the tech policy...He was also the one that told me in kindergarten that he had chosen a friend because, " I like him because he is BAD!!". It is because of Joonas that I am a better teacher. I love the crazy active little kids in my class who have spunk and personality plus. I understand them. I like them and they know it. It makes my job so much easier when I like the sassy students and they in turn like me. 

Back to Joonas. Despite his many antics, he did very well in school. I am proud of how well he did and how he managed to be successful even though I rarely saw him doing homework. He is smart and funny and I am excited to see where God leads him. Joonas graduated this year and it was such a great time of celebration. I already blogged about our family party in May. In June, there was the convocation and the grad banquet. We were celebrating not just Joonas, but also his really great group of friends, who may also act first and think later, but who are just really great kids. Joonas and his friends formed a group called the Harmonica Boys and they performed at both celebrations. They formed a fishing club which became one of the official clubs at the school. I often hear that a group of boys has invaded our basement and that the group of them are going for swim and sauna at midnight. I hope their friendships continue even though they are all going their separate ways in a sense. 

Joonas isn't sure what he wants to do yet, but as long as he's not living in our basement when he's 40, I am okay with that. Besides, he cooks a mean steak and I like having him around.