Happy Mothers Day!!

Yes, it's Mothers Day here in Canada. No idea why it is different but there you go. Fathers day is the same here as in Europe....
Anyway, as it's Mother's Day, I'll work backwards through the week and start with today. Deborah requested Cinnamon Toast for breakfast, which is basically Eggy Bread sprinkled with Cinnamon Sugar. Actually not as bad as it sounds...Matthew liked it, Emma had it without the cinnamon. We then decided it might be prudent to get out in the garden and do some work before the Blackfly started. We actually got quite a lot done, and even though they were there, they weren't too bad. We've enclosed the bottom of the Deck with Trellis which gives it a much more 'finished' look. We've also planted Sweet Peas along the base of the trellis, so we'll have a great display of colour and fragrance in the summer. We'd soaked the seeds in water beforehand and they'd all started to sprout, so they've got a good start. We also planted them in a mixture of manure, soil and compost. Sweet Peas originated in Wem where as you know I went to school, so I have a bit of a soft spot for them. Let's hope Bella doesn't eat them before they get established.
I finished mowing the lawn (and I use the term 'lawn' in the very loosest sense) this afternoon. I started it last night around 8pm when the flies had gone, but ran out of petrol (gas). So a quick trip down to the gas station to buy some more, followed by a quick collect of two 'Turkey Bacon Club' sandwiches from Tim Horton's and it was ready to roll again. Have to say, by the time I'd finished the flies were really getting on my nerves!
As you can I have stripes on the 'lawn' which I'm rather impressed with... I've decided I don't need to cycle to work, mowing the 'lawn' is quite exercise enough thanks! It takes a good two hours to walk it. We really couldn't justify the expense of a ride-on and besides the lot is too rough. Needless to say we've left a large portion to 'naturalize' which is quite nice as there is a lot of wild strawberries and viola's growing there. You can see the white flowers to the left of the picture of the front garden - those are some of the strawberries. I've also included a picture of the new mower - lean green mowing machine. So easy to push - it's self propelled, adjusting it's speed to your walking pace. Matthew, Emma and myself went on a bike ride this afternoon along with our neighbours. It's a beautiful day, so thought we'd make the most of it. Have to say Matthew and Emma were particularly slow. Need to get them out more often, build up their stamina.
Yesterday was Cub Fun Day. Now the forecast was excellent with lots of sun, so we went armed with sun cream and hats etc. but we also took coats and gloves as the coast can be notoriously unpredictable. Good job we did - it was freezing. It took place at York Redoubt - an Historic Canada site at Purcells Cove. It's situated 60m above the sea on the narrowest section of the entrance to Halifax Harbour. This makes it an ideal place to guard the harbour and so the British built a fortress there back in 1793. Since then it has been modernized and expanded to meet the changing requirements of the defence of Halifax. It's an impressive place and has great views over the water to Dartmouth. The view came and went with the sea mist and in fact we saw very little sun. Deborah stayed at home with the dog and did loads of work in the garden. However, she had to come inside at one point as it was so hot! And there we were in hats,gloves and coats! Matthew and Emma had a good time, and I helped run the 2nd Wellington position. The theme was 'Winter Olympics' and each cub pack in the region had to have an activity for all the cubs to enjoy. There were 12 activities in all and over 180 cubs attending. The pictures give you some idea.
Thursday night was Toastmasters of course. I was actually doing a speech, and despite the fact I wasn't as prepared as I should've been, I won the Best Speaker award. I was really pleased as it was totally unexpected! The speech was on Cockney Rhyming Slang, it's origins and current use. It was peppered with examples which had the audience in stitches. In fact someone suggested I hone it and enter the humorous speech competition next year...mmm don't know about that...
Work plods on and in fact we have two new people starting Monday. One is Chinese and the other is a local guy, just out of university. It will be interesting to see how they fit in. Apparently the office is much more relaxed since I arrived and they have more laughs, which can only be a good thing.
Anyway, another glorious weekend draws to a close. We have a long weekend next weekend, so hopefully we'll get out and about. Only 5 weeks until Charlie & Karen arrive.