Our older daughter turned fifteen on Sunday.  We went to church in the morning and then came home for some lunch and gift giving.  During the afternoon we watched the weather for a break in the ever present rain so we could squeeze in a bit of tennis.  After we had played  for a short time the black clouds rolled in and the rain started falling.  On the way home we spotted a cricket match, a fairly rare event around here.  Andrew stopped and chatted to the spectators for a while to find out that the teams were made up of Sri Lankans;  Ottawa vs. Montreal.

At L15’s request we watched a couple of episodes of MasterChef Australia before our own MasterChef cooked up Shrimp Two Ways.  L15 had asked for a shrimp pasta sauce for dinner which Andrew cooked but also made a skewered shrimp entree on salad greens.  Both were delicious.  We finished with a raspberry swirl cheesecake and time to watch another couple of episodes of MasterChef.   I did mention we are a little addicted to it didn’t I.  Not only has it changed our approach to cooking, it has added to our vocabulary also.  We no longer talk about serving the dinner, instead we “plate up”.  We sit down and deliver critiques on the food in front of us, encouraging each other to ” take it to the next level”

When we were about to begin watching L15 handed Andrew and I a gift, which was surprising, it wasn’t our birthday after all.  Inside there was a beautiful card thanking us for our love and support over the last  fifteen years.  In the gift bag was a dvd, made by L15, featuring pictures of her from birth until now, with the Taylor Swift song, The Best Day, playing in the background.  I was overwhelmed.  Neither of us had any idea she had been making the dvd over the past few months.  She found all the photos she needed and did all the work on a friend’s computer so we would have no idea.   She  gathered up photos a few at a time whenever she knew she and her friend P would be spending a few hours together without me around.  Apparently it got tricky a few times explaining to me why she had to go over there, not stay here.  The end result is beautiful and as you can imagine made me cry.  It is not just the photos and the memories they evoke that mean so much to me but also her desire to thank us in such a special way.

Now as always she continues to bring us joy and bless our family.

I guess we are in the middle of summer, but you wouldn’t know it from the weather.  It has been raining just about every day.  Apparently Ottawa has already broken its own record for July rainfall. Needless to say the grass is very green and the weeds and flowers  are very tall.

L14 and A13 have been at a music camp all week, as counsellors, not campers.  The camp is for young Suzuki musicians and the girls keep track of their respective groups, supervising them in craft time and gym and making sure they get to their music classes.  They don’t actually play violin during the camp at all.

B8 has spent the week with me.  Not terribly exciting for him as I have been doing cleaning and sorting around the house.  The painting is finished but we haven’t put the room back together yet.  L14 will not move in until October as my parents will be staying with us until then.  Less than a week until they arrive!

B8 has spent quite a bit of time with his lego this week including designing a new gadget for a competition he read about in his lego magazine.  He has to take a picture and write a description of it.  He has already written a short story describing how his gadget helped an agent diffuse a bomb!  Today I suggested he make a house of cards.  He has taken over the dining room table and has so far used 5 packs of cards.

Most  evenings we  watch MasterChef Australia.  We know it has concluded in Australia but we are still working through the episodes and are down to the last seven contestants.   It continues to be a positive influence on the chefs around here.  Last weekend we enjoyed Paella with mussels, chicken and prawns.  As I write L14 is preparing Mushroom Risotta for lunch.  Mmmm.