rainy summer and adventures in baking

this summer really hasn't been much to write home about, so far. i kept waiting for it to "really" start, then all of a sudden we're past the beginning of august and i find myself having to wear a sleeved top and non-sandal shoes when i go out in the afternoon! also, lots of rain, which sometimes (at 7 a.m., on days i know i can go back to sleep) sounds great tapping on my skylight...some other times not so much. hard to reconcile this montreal daily weather with the apocalyptic foggy pics i see of vancouver these days, or with reports of terrible dog days in romania. personally i've been fine with the non-extreme temperatures, less fine with the precipitation level.

also, lazy. i've been living in this dress and 2 other outfits (one of which involves jeans) for about two months now, and my major free time activities have been marathoning "breaking bad" and sometimes a walk in the park. though "the park" is usually parc jarry, i.e. 15 minutes away from my place, in this pic it's parc de l'ile de la visitation, a place i'd been told about by some former students.

so yeah (this is early june), after some months of me bringing up the plan, one day we finally committed to undertaking this journey of walking by the river at henri-bourassa, i.e. 30 minutes away from my place, as oppposed to 15. with "picnic" that included cake and a blanche de chambly, pictured. unfortunately, our attempts at picnicking on the grass under some trees were thwarted by....catterpillars falling on our heads! we have the worst luck with picnics.

former mill in the park, which is now supposed to be a restaurant, with a nice terrasse above the water, but was sadly closed when we got there.

by this time (i.e. post- b's application for residency) i think we are pretty good at taking pictures just as proof of being in a certain place/at a certain time. with brief description of context and exact date, if possible. ugh.

my favourite view from ile de la visitation. there are supposed to be a lot of bird-watching opportunities there, but that was kind of lost on us.

who lives out there? idyllic-looking house with field of...weeds, i presume, almost right by the water

interlude: bragging about bread-making. ever since we came back from our holiday, b. has been making bread at home - mostly whole wheat, see above, cause it's healthier etc, but once he made white too and it looked absolutely professional quality, inside and out. this was probably among the first ones he made, it usually turns out a bit flat, but on a second thought i think it's an okay shape for a big/round loaf. as a side effect, now b. is the baking expert in our house, even if i work in what is basically a bakery/cafe, lol. i mean cookies and muffins and sweetbreads i do, but anything with yeast is challenging and makes me scared. cue to conversations about yeast/sugar proportions and resting time for the dough, blah.

other stuff our oven is good for: spontaneous pizza on the equivalent of naan breads, with every  ingredient we found in the fridge. also (not pictured) : burgers!

one of my favourite things in summer: improvised small veggie/flower gardens right on the sidewalk. the greatest one i know (in our neighbourhood) is still at place de castelnau, but in the 4 summers that i've known it (already!) it has become large and established enough for me to take it for granted. this one (on rue foucher? close to jarry) is a very new addition. i love the mini-neighbourhood these people created!

complete with fencing, indicators, bird houses and mini-bench

parc jarry, best site for summer birthday celebrations, especially kids' parties, but all ages accepted

another proof that i do get out of the house sometimes, and that i own more than one skirt. as i remember, this was on st-jean (june 24th)

kids in the park, when the evening was still bright until after 9

and bad pic of kids playing at the back of THE tamil temple in montreal. we pass this place by almost every time we go into parc ex, and i've always been curious...apparently they give you foods inside too, which only makes b. more determined not to go in, lol. this time there obviously was something going on there, and i tried to peek a bit through the open back door, but i was too ashamed to achieve a better view

mini birthday cakes for me, from Mademoiselles Gateaux, as per request (i.e. whining for like 2 weeks beforehand). this is raspberry with a coconut base,

...and this is a sort of cheesecake (more like cheesy-cake, cause it's much lighter than the standard) with a lemony thing on top. and those rhubarb decorating bits, i was a bit suspicious about them, but they were crunchy and soaked in sweetness. anyway, each cake was exactly 2 portions, excellent, and that is where i'm going to order fancy treats for special occassions. (for everyday we have IGA moka cake!)

not pictured, though they are/were extremely picturesque:
- finally finding the new leonard cohen mural (right off st laurent, on napoleon st), on a midnight walking around with lora. in absence of a camera, we sat down on a stoop and just admired it at will.
- birthday brunch with lora at santropol! (lora was in mtl for the jazz festival, and i went with her on one night, but festival crowds are not fun to photograph). i hadn't been to santropol in probably 3 years, and i'd missed their oversized sandwiches and charming back garden. everything was as expected, very satisfying.
- a bunch of other murals i've seen just walking in the lower Plateau (usually at night too, so they might need daytime appreciation).
- so many bright color-coordinated flower explosions i pass by every day.
summer is still pretty, even with me being too lazy to document.