Great day today, unexpectedly.
It was an early start with a hockey game at 10:45, game being half an hour away and needing to be at the arena an hour before. With all three kids in tow we left the house at 9:06. I, as usual, wanted to stop at Tim Horton's for a fresh coffee for the rink which adds a few minutes to our commute.
Snce it is Thanskgiving Day tomorrow, the kids (and Paul) encouraged me to prepare my regular Thanksgiving Day dinner. This means we needed to get groceries, and what better time than while Isaac is getting dressed for hockey! After dropping Isaac and the jersey's off (Paul manages the away team jerseys) we headed to the nearest President's Choice to pick up a turkey and other odds and ends. My thankful dinner of giving is fairly hefty: an 18lb turkey (with fresh gravy), breakfast sausages, oven-roasted potatoes, mashed carrots with brown sugar, mashed squash with brown sugar (looks great together in a dish -- remind me to Insta that tomorrow! @jfaure23), traditional stuffing, cranberry sauce, and dinner rolls. Each and every item is made from scratch with the exception of the dinner rolls... and is absolutely fantastic!
So we arrive at the grocery store, and I am immediately impressed by the dim lighting (untraditional), smooth flooring with squeaky clean shopping carts (untraditional) and an abundance of fresh produce and staff. In the butcher section there was an entire refrigeration unit dedicated to dried beef roasts. The baking department had layer upon layer of fresh, sweet looking deities. The shelves were stocked and clean. Employees were everywhere ready to assist. A two piece string band was there as well, playing in front of a display of a hundred or so perfectly piled pumpkins. I mentioned to Paul about five minutes into our venture that I thought we needed to move in order to be closer to this grocery store. They even wooed the kids with fresh crepe and smoothie samples. Best shopping experience ever. Turns out it was their grand opening (who knew!?). Paul and I are now committed to sourcing out each and every grand opening event there is. Plus 10K bonus PC points for spending $100... that's $10 savings! So impressed.
We arrived back at the rink five minutes before game time. The game was close, point for point. Each time was terrific at delivering offence and with taking the puck back on defense. Closely matched, the game was 2 to 2 as we entered the third period. A quick goal in the third gave us a lead, which we managed to keep for the rest of the game. This means that for this tournament we are 2 wins, no losses. Isaac received an MVP for his goal-keeping for the game, and the team solidified their place in the finals. Very proud!
Following this we headed to IKEA as little Geoffrey is now wanting to sit at the counter with his older brothers. This means, we need a new stool. Also, Isaac has been using the same dresser I've had since I was a young girl and is getting tough to open. We decided we would get him a new one (nice parents we are). Shopping was excellent as we got what we needed, had a delicious IKEA restaurant lunch of meatballs and pasta then headed home for naps.
At home Isaac helped peel the many dozens of apples we have while I made pie crusts. The idea is to prepare apple pies that I can bring to friends' houses for dinner, or when hosting other dinners. We also had a wonderful chat while we prepared the food and it was very nice.
All in all, it was a superb day. Sure the kids still fought, and there was still lots of work to be done, but it was certainly enjoyed by all.
Nighty night,
Peach
