Happy Canada Day, and Happy July (Not the Heat Part Though)

Today is the first of July, which means it is Canada Day, so Happy Canada Day to everyone north of our border! I hope for your sake it's more comfortable, temperature-wise. 

And for those of us who live elsewhere, Happy July 1! We are officially starting the second half of 2026, which is - at least for me - always hard to wrap my brain around. We are supposed to have temperatures in the 100+ degree range over the next 5 or 6 days, and that's not even taking into account the infamous "feels like" temperature that includes the humidity! Gah. My reverse SAD is kicking into gear. 

This morning, however, felt very very nice, so Alfie and I took advantage of time out in the garden, since the next few days will probably not be good ones to be out there. 

He was very pleased to be out there, but not so much to come back inside. But I told him that after we fill the bird feeders, we have to come in so that the birds and squirrels can have a chance to eat. He usually give me a dirty look, but then once we are actually inside, he remembers that the window looks out onto the garden, so it's all good. 

We were supposed to go to a baseball game tomorrow - our annual Pittsburgh Pirates vs. the Philadelphia Phillies - but since it's supposed to be at least 104 degrees, and we don't do well in extreme heat, we sold our tickets. I just hope the person who bought them is sensible about being prepared for the weather. Our seats are under an overhang, so at least they won't be out in the direct sun, baking away. It's extremely disappointing, but July is a crap shoot with a few nice days mixed in with mostly awful days, and this year we lost that bet.

Saturday is of course July 4, and the 250th birthday of America (as well as a World Cup match here in Philadelphia). I am beyond disappointed that Orange Foolius is in office and doing his asinine things during this special time, which I've looked forward to for years. I had already decided that I was going to ignore his plans, and enjoy being in Philadelphia instead. But now a lot of things are being cancelled or time-shortened, etc. because of the extreme heat. Which I am also blaming him for, BTW, because he makes life hell on earth, and now it even feels like it!

Oh well, we'll just have our own little party together here in the house. Happy 250 indeed. 

Speaking of the World Cup, it has been wonderful to be in Philadelphia with so many people visiting and seeming to enjoy themselves so much! Last week, I took a walk, and stopped at a neighborhood coffee shop, and while I was waiting for my order, there were two young men in soccer jerseys sitting at a table. One of them asked me if I lived in the neighborhood, and I said yes, and we spent about 20 minutes chatting. They were visiting from Munich, Germany for some of the World Cup matches. They had been in Houston for a match a couple of days before, and told me it was too hot there, and hard to walk around, with no good public transportation. But they LOVED Philadelphia! They said in some ways, it was a lot like Munich - but "not as many lakes" - and they were enjoying themselves immensely here. After here, they were headed to NYC and then back home. They were kind of disappointed not to see more matches, but until they tried to book their trip, they didn't realize that "America is so big that it's hard to get to some places easily." And I know that, but I tend to forget - especially since here in the Northeast, things are so close together. 

Anyway, they were lovely, and I was glad they were getting such a good impression not only of the city, but the country at large. One of them said, "Americans are MUCH nicer than Donald Trump." Low bar, but still. I told him to please tell people that when they got home. 

I was telling this to a friend, and she told me that she read that someone said that the New York Knicks victory parade, Mayor Mamdani's speech there, the opening of the Obama Center, and the World Cup were all the 250th celebration we deserved. I completely agree, and I'm going with that.

Someone posted on Instagram that having the World Cup in the U.S. was like having your cousins visit after you haven't seen them for years, because your respective sets of parents are no longer speaking to one another. 😄

OK enough blathering from me about all of this. I hope if you are somewhere that is too hot, or too cold, or suffering too many fires, or just whatever else is being unleashed, that you can manage to keep safe and comfortable. 

And I hope if you are Canadian, you'll have a Tim Hortons for me. (A donut or cruller, with a hot tea with milk. Or, Timbits are also good - you choose!)

Take care, everyone!

Extra Long Long Weekend

First of all, before I go any further, a wish for a very Happy Thanksgiving to my friends in Canadia!  I hope you have a really lovely holiday, and that it's full of the food, family, and friends that you hope it to be.

Whenever it's Canadian Thanksgiving, I get excited, because it means that the holiday season has really and truly started!

My weekend was a long weekend, made extra long by having the day off on Friday.  I had to have a nuclear stress test at 7 a.m., and they told me it would take approximately 4 hours.  Rather than worry about how long it was taking in the work day, and how I might feel afterwards, I just used a sick day.  It wasn't great, but it wasn't wonderful.  I finished about 1:30, came home and took a nap until The Tim got home from work - so a day off, but not full of fun and hilarity.  But meaning a four-day weekend!  And on Friday evening, I did finish the stitching of the cross-stitch piece for my niece Amanda, so framing can commence!

Saturday was the day we were headed to The Tim's brother's house in the 'burbs because his daughters arranged a family get-together for his 70th birthday.  I would say it was as good as it could have been.  The Tim asked his brother if we could bring Hamlet, and so that helped.  Hamlet had two mega-fans there:  6-year-old Fiona and her sister 3-year-old Kira, who had as much energy for playing as he did.  We stayed for about 2 hours, which was the plan, and it was pleasant enough.  

The Tim's family worked really hard to be close while his parents were still alive.  Once they were gone, since all of the siblings were not truly close, we only heard occasional updates.  It has always been a contest apparently as to who is the most well off, most successful, has the best job, etc.  The Tim was close with his oldest sister Sheila, who died a couple of years ago.  It was truly nice to see everyone, and see what all of the nieces are up to, meet their boyfriends, etc. and I did enjoy that.  They took lots of photos, so once I see some of them, I'll share them.  The weather was nice enough that we spent most of the day on the porch, and the food and drink was amazing, so I was pleased.  

I'm glad we went, because even though The Tim is not overly keen on his siblings, we made an appearance, had a nice time, and now have done our Clancy family duty for a while.  ;-)

Sunday, The Tim was at work for the bulk of the day.  I worked on some things in the house that I wanted to do, took a long walk with Hamlet, and then walked up to the Fine Crafts Fair in Rittenhouse Square (it's crowded, and going with Hamlet would have been unpleasant for both of us).  Most things are not in my price range under the best of circumstances, but I did buy one thing that I gave to the Tim to put away for Christmas.  I'll share a photo when I officially receive it, since I forgot before I handed it over.  Then I watched the Eagles lose :-(, but the Steelers won :-), so that's football.  I also finished the pair of toddler Christmas socks I'd been knitting for my great-nephew Oden, that I am saving for their own post.  

Today I hope to start another pair of Christmas socks, as well as a hat that I want to give to The Tim for his birthday in November.  I also hope to do a good clean of the second floor, and start pulling out some colder weather clothes since it sounds like fall is actually here.  I have a couple of errands to run, but otherwise, nothing that is required.  It's nice to have today off (we get Columbus Day as a holiday, which I know is controversial, but a day off is a day off as far as I'm concerned), and I plan to enjoy it.

This week will be a long week at work, even with the holiday today.  Friday night is Members' Night, which means that you go to work at the regular time, but don't get home until after 9 p.m., when the event is over and you've put everything away.  It's a LONG day and constantly busy - the only break is lunch and a short dinner break before it all starts.  It's mostly enjoyable, with the occasional grouchy person who has an axe to grind or lives to trip you up on information, but it's also really exhausting!

So that's the news from here.  I hope you had a lovely weekend, and that your upcoming week will be a good one, with normal working hours the whole time!  :-)

Have a Good One, Eh?

Happy Canada Day!

Oh Canada, you are one of my very favorite places in the world.  I have visited four of your provinces, and each one has had something I will just never find anywhere else.

To my Canadian friends and readers, have a good one!

It's July And I Don't Know How That Happened ...

How did it already turn out to be July?  I'm still back around June 17th or sometime around there, so realizing that it's the first day of the next month today was a bit of a surprise.  Though now that I think of it, June did not end on a good note for me, so perhaps it's just as well that it is on its way.

Remember the foot brace I got months ago, because of torn ligaments on the outside of my left foot?  Well, the doctor originally said I would only need to wear it for month.  It is uncomfortable, can only fit [poorly] into one pair of shoes (which are now worn through the soles, which mean that even with socks, I end up with dirty feet, or if it's raining, wet feet), and even on the nicest of days, increases my body temperature by at least 10 degrees if not more.  So you can imagine how excited I was to be getting rid of it.  No deal, he said to wear it three more weeks. So I was supposed to see him again on June 29, and wow was I looking forward to that!  I even saved up some money and made an appointment for a pedicure for Saturday, June 30.

Long story short - I have to wear it another month.  I am more than well-aware that so many people have it worse than I do, but I have to tell you that I was upset about it.  So - I guess it's good that June went on its merry way; July will get me closer to the end of it.  Or so I've been told.

Moving on, I apologize for not writing this post earlier, but Happy Canada Day!

As you know if you have read this blog for any length of time, I am very fond of Canada (or as we call it, "Canadia").  And I do hope that any of my friends north of the border have had a good long weekend.

I have finally decided what I want to make for my newest great-nephew, Parker, who was born on May 5.  His parents are not really the type who would appreciate an article of clothing or a baby blanket that I would knit for them, so I've decided to make a knitted toy, specifically, this one.  My plan is to start on July 4 - I'll be home all day by myself (The Tim has to work during the day), and it's supposed to be hot and/or rainy, so I think it will be a good time to start.  Theoretically, it won't take me too long, so hopefully I can get it ready and send it in the next month or so.

That's it for tonight.  Stay cool!