Freedom – A week-end without plans

 

This week-end was the first week-end in months during which we had NO PLANS. And by that I really mean none. We woke up Saturday morning, the sun shining bright, with a feeling of freedom, a restless energy and nowhere to be except where we wanted to be and that only meant one thing : Family outing.

It is cruise season here in Quebec City : All through September, ships from all over the world come to travel the waters of the St-Lawrence River, looking for the colors of fall only my neck-of-the-woods can offer. So we headed East to board the ferry into town and then spent the morning walking the wharves, docks and ports to admire them all. Taking the ferry is one of Little Miss’ favorite things to do. It was Little Man’s first time and as you can tell, he was pretty excited.

 

Exploring Old Quebec is always such a fun thing to do because you could come to town every week for a year and still find something new to discover every time. So many little streets and special moments, festivals, street artists, seasonal changes and views. This time, we took the kiddos (although Little Man was very much asleep in his stroller by now) down rue Sous-Le-Cap (Under The Cape Street) and quietly observed life in one of the smallest streets in the world. It was amazing to see people’s garden set ups on balconies. Containers were stacked and hung, still heavy with flowers and leftover vegetables. Showing my daughter that you can be a gardener even in the middle of the city intrigued and amazed her. How I love watching her “gears” turn and process. Little Miss also had birthday money left and opted for magic and semi precious stones over at the Toy Store. Lunch was kept simple and play was on the menu before we headed home.

 

Sunday was all about the orchards and picking apples and pears. It was another beautiful day. We set out early and picked (and nibbled on) over 30 lbs of fruit. Let me say we have a lot of canning and preserving scheduled this week : Pears in light syrup, raw packed apples in juice, apple butter, apple chips… The smell of sweet spices in our home will be a delight as we shut the windows again this week.

Yes, as I write this, the wind is blowing hard and leaves are being blown around in manic seasonal swirls. We should get rain today and then back to our average fall weather and coolness. But that is alright with me. This past week-end has been a gift from above. Short sleeves, knitting outside, warm evening walks to the park, walking barefoot in the grass one last time… Soaking up the last bit of summer this year had to offer. I hope all of your week-ends were equally beautiful and filled with joy.

Have a wonderful week everyone.

Enter FALL.