more bike riding

i'm so glad andre and i took an afternoon off to bike through the don valley ravine trail two weeks ago. that afternoon was one of the last nice, afternoons where we could take in all the fall colours.

today i drove down the don valley parkway and all the beautiful fall leaves were gone. the weather has turned colder these days too and now biking with gloves is a requirement.

i'm also glad that i lugged my camera around that day to record our epic ride (33kms!) so that during the grey days of winter, i can bring up these photos and remember how nice it used to be.

shhhhh

i have a secret to share. i have a strange nickname - it's pickle.

andre gave me that nickname because i love pickles. all sorts of pickles.

in japan there are so many different types of pickles and so many different vegetables get pickled. but my love for pickles isn't exclusive to japanese ones, i even love the lightly picked radish and carrots that you get at pho restaurants. that being said, dill pickles are at the top of my list (but only when it's home made - i hate those mushy ones at delis or sandwich shops).

so when shana presented me with her homemade, canned dill pickles in exchange for my crab apples, i could have cried.

my mom used to make homemade dill pickles but for some reason when i got into high school she stopped canning things. shana's pickles remind me of my mom's recipe. yum yum. i've been eating them as a snack these past 2 days.

maybe next year, i can sweet talk my way to get shana to teach me how to pickle!

glorious weekend

a weekend filled with lots of bike rides, dog walks, fall colours and poutine!

with the super crisp autumn air, it was a perfect fall weekend.