Hey Lucy!

It isn’t very often we need to get the leaf out for the dining room table. This weekend was an exception. From late Friday evening until early Sunday afternoon we entertained two families from out of town: our friends Buck and Bonnie/David and Vicky and their kids. The total sit down count for dinner was 10! What an eye opener that was. Just trying to keep up with the cutlery and dishes was a challenge in itself. Friday night was pretty low key with everyone arriving so late. Saturday’s big event was a trip to the aquarium. Yes, the one I was just at. It was different going with bdot and all the kids of course, and being there on a congested, gridlocked Saturday. Gah. Claustrophobia anyone? Traffic was surprising not an issue and the weather was beautiful outside so… it was a great day to be in downtown Toronto. We remarked at how nice the parks along the Lakeshore are and how we need to come down some time in the future. The kids seemed to really enjoy the aquarium. By the end however everyone was starving.

Finding food in downtown Toronto is fortunately like shooting fish in a barrel. BBB scoped out a place called Hey Lucy. I was too hungry to object and query alternatives so… sure. It ended up being a good choice. The staff was friendly, we sat in open air with a nice breeze and the food was exceptionally good. It looked like pizza was their specialty so that is what I went with. It was delicious. I polished off the entire pie. The ‘women’ attacked a few pitchers of sangria – which seemed to evaporate. Full and satisfied we ventured home. The evening was fun and full of laughs (and Ove glove love). We ended up having dinner really late. I BBQed *gasp* six tenderloins. Which was way too much food. Bdot and I will be eating leftovers all week. Interestingly, we did nearly polish off two cookie trays of rosemary potatoes *smirk*. In spite of the numerous Gordon Ramsey’s in the kitchen, everything turned out fine. Eventually everyone succumbed to exhaustion and it was a somewhat early night to bed. Brunch was an equally impressive endeavour. Scrabbled eggs (22 eggs! *gasp!*), two packs of bacon, several bags of bagels and fruit. All the bacon disappeared and nearly all the eggs. Phew. Unfortunately BBB and Buck had a sudden home emergency (flooding in the kitchen… their cat somehow turned the faucet on while trying to get out a window…brutal) so they had to leave right after eating. David and Vicky (who live about 4h away) also took off shortly after brunch. It was a busy but fun weekend. After cleaning up the chaos we both chilled for most of the evening.

Bdot reminded me that I need to mention the Limoncello cake from Cappuccino bakery we got for David’s birthday.

We did however have a visit from a possible vendor for our background renovation Sunday afternoon. Bdot has met him before but it was our first meeting. It is older guy that has been doing patio work for over 20 years and has great references. I think he is clearly the leading candidate. He seems confident, flexible and capable to address some of the issue the backyard has; most significantly, the drainage issue. So… we might be looking to September to get this done. Exciting! It is a major reno evolving the entire backyard. The main backyard patio will be redone, sidewalks on both sides, the front entrance way, finally stairs from the sliding door and replanting (and new soil) for the entire backyard. I think the features (the gazebo and water feature) may have to wait. We’ll see….

I did get in some Divinity Original Sin Sunday afternoon. I think I’ve turned the corner on the game. I’ve found some money, won a few battles, gained a few levels, upgraded some equipment… combat is really fun, and very challenging. The addition of elemental damage from fire, poison etc. really adds an interesting dimension to the game. So getting my first ranged fire spell made a huge difference. Sure I’m still getting owned periodically. Apparently wizards and clerics burn too easily…. But overall I think I’m learning how to best use this new combat system. I’m still lost with the questing system and the camera is locked to a stupid 45 degree limited rotation…. Arrgghhh… but otherwise I’m making some progress and enjoying the game. I love all the little musical references as well. Nine inch nails? *smirk*