Canada Day odds & ends

• It's Canada Day #152.  My country is not perfect... but it's more perfect than a lot of places on this planet, lol.  ;)  I feel incredibly lucky to be here. 
• It's been a busy few days. (I am EXHAUSTED.) Saturday was the gender reveal party for Older Nephew & his wife's baby.  It was mostly just an excuse to get together with family, eat & then cut the cake to see what colour the filling inside was. 
• They're doing ANOTHER reveal in two weeks for her side of the family -- various issues made it difficult/impossible to hold just one party -- and they asked us not to share anything on social media (or elsewhere!) until that one's over. I know it's not likely anyone would find out via this blog... but I'm going to hold off, just in case.  ;) 
• It was mostly fun, especially just being together with the nephews & their wives, although all the baby talk does wear me down after a while. The hardest moment, for me, was when everyone started talking about how much fun it's going to be to have a baby around at Christmastime. I remembered telling my mom I was due in mid-November, and her rapturous sigh: "A baby for Christmas!!" 
• It was also their dog's 3rd birthday. :)  Dh & I brought him a present -- 3 cucumbers, tied up with a ribbon (his favourite treat -- SIL cuts them up into little cubes for him and puts them his dish, and he gobbles them right up).  He's brought so much joy to the family in these past three years!  :)  Dh & I have vowed to give him some extra spoiling once the baby is here... we're all wondering what his reaction is going to be to this new addition to the family...!  
• Yesterday, dh, BIL & SIL & I went to see.... "Yesterday," a rom-com which imagines a world where only one person remembers the Beatles & their music -- and then proceeds to make those amazing songs famous all over again. (There's a couple of other things that are different about the world too, that are kind of funny.) It's the kind of movie where it's best not to think too critically about the hows & whys, and just enjoy the ride. ;)  And there are a couple of scenes towards the end -- one in particular -- that pack an emotional wallop. (I needed Kleenex.) I often read a lot of reviews, etc., before I go to a movie. I didn't get around to it before this one (although I knew the movie's basic premise), and I'm kind of glad I didn't. (Past Beatles-related posts here.)  
• I found out my aunt is in town (well, on the other side of the city, about an hour's drive away), visiting her son/my cousin (my only relative in the vicinity). We were in the throes of dealing with FIL's illness when she was here last year, and weren't able to meet up, and we have lots to do between now & when we head west in a few weeks.  If I don't get to see her here, I hope to see her there...!   

You can find more of this week's #MicroblogMondays posts here.