Tricia — Page 92 — You are in My World Now

Midnight and Molly – tug of war

July 16, 2008 by Tricia

Wordless Wednesday

The other weekend we took our Lab puppy to the beach for her first swim in Lake Ontario.

While we were there we met a lot of other dog owners and their dogs. We also ran into the couple that we had first met in April when we brought Midnight to Cherry Beach for the first time.

When we first met this couple and their puppy Molly both dogs were a lot smaller – yet close to the same size. As you can see from the photo above they look quite a bit a like (Midnight is on the left in the red harness) and they are almost the same size.

Trouble is … Midnight is almost four months older!

Midnight is slightly taller than Molly and she’s a little wider but otherwise it would be hard to tell the two dogs apart if it weren’t for their different colored collars.

Molly is going to be a lot bigger than Midnight soon!

Looks like we’re expecting guests

July 16, 2008 by Tricia

Well as usual my brother in law’s done it again. Almost every year he visits us here in Toronto. He drives up from Chicago with one or all three of his kids – depending upon who’s going to hockey camp or whatever other reason the visit is about.

He just called us a few minutes ago to let us know that he’ll be arriving here sometime Friday evening. My husband just spoke to his brother a few days ago and there was no word of a visit this summer at all yet out of the blue here we go again with another unexpected visit and a house full of guests.

Yes he’s bringing all his kids. His daughter will probably arrive with a ton of Johnston and Murphy luggage like she did last year. I swear she brought enough stuff for a weeks visit to last two months! Her luggage literally filled the tiny spare bedroom we have upstairs.

It’s not that I don’t have fun when they visit it’s just that I end up with like 10 extra people milling about my house with no notice! I say 10 people because Chris’ parents, sisters and their husbands and kids usually show up all at once too.

Don’t you hate *almost* unexpected guests?

Ontario Native Plants at The Brick Works

July 13, 2008 by Tricia

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Rather than posting photos of my own flowers for this weekends Green Thumb Sunday post I thought I’d post some pictures of the lovely flowers that were growing at the Brick Works last weekend when we went for a visit to this nature preserve in the heart of Toronto.

I’m thankful everyday that I live in this great city with so many things to do – there’s nightlife, movies, film festivals, street festivals, great parks, a bird sanctuary by the lake, great beaches and so many things to do or learn from thanks to Toronto’s diverse cultural population. I just love it.

Who would expect such a beautiful Oasis in the center of the city?

Along with hiking trails, woods, small water falls, ponds and marshes visitors to the Brick Works can go to plays held in the old buildings or visit the Farmers Market each weekend where they can buy fresh produce, baked goods, plants for the garden or home and arts and craft type items like pottery – my fav!

There are all kinds of native plants growing in the old quarry and around the ponds and marshes, but the Brick Works also has a garden at it’s entrance displaying what I believe are also all native plants.

I’m not sure what this plant is … perhaps a native phlox?

And these I believe are daisies – please correct me if I’m wrong or if you know the proper name for this flower:

This is Butterfly Milkweed. It appears that not only does it attract butterflies and moths but also bees and wasps!

If you are visiting Toronto or if you live in the area I highly recommend a visit to The Brick Works. It’s around the Don Valley and Bayview Avenue area. You won’t be disappointed! Oh and if you want to read a little more about our hiking tour and see some more native plants visit my gardening blog to read todays GTS post.

Gardeners, Plant and Nature lovers can join in every Sunday, visit As the Garden Grows for more information. GTS participants remember to check in at As the Garden Grows each week so that we’ll know you made a new post!

Do you ever buy things and then not use them?

July 11, 2008 by Tricia

Last fall I bought and Elliptical machine so that I could get in shape. As it turns out I haven’t used it much in the 8 months or so that it’s been here. Isn’t that terrible?

Do you ever buy things that you end up not using? You know things like buying exercise equipment or some new gadget for your kitchen?

I used to do that with fitness club memberships. When I first moved to Toronto everyone I met had a fitness club membership so I joined the gang and bought a membership too. Only trouble was I never went. I hate that gym atmosphere. I prefer to either exercise alone or to do things outdoors like walking, hiking, biking and things like that. I think over a five year period I bought two or three memberships that I didn’t use before I finally got it through my thick skull to stop spending money on something I was never going to use.

Now I’m not saying that I won’t use the Elliptical. It’s just that I bought it when we got Midnight and she was a tiny sick little puppy and I was also sick with my Crohns (still am) so that made it hard to get into a routine and well … now that it’s summer I’m busy doing things outside. Perhaps this fall …

Interesting resting place for this cat

July 11, 2008 by Tricia

What I’d really like to know is how on earth the cat got up there!

It’s resting on the mounted deer head and there doesn’t seem to be anything close by that the cat could have climbed to get up on top of the head.

So how did it get there? Did it climb ninja style along the ceiling beam?

What’s your thoughts?