Long weekend odds & ends

• Good grief -- I got a few spam comments recently & went into my spam folder to see if there were any more. There were 14 (!!) dating back to 2008!!! through to 2018. Seriously??  Most of them were one-word comments or brief phrases (e.g., "Perfect!" or "Amen!"). I don't check my spam folder very often, but I know I've checked it since 2018...! Blogger must have been cleaning out their servers or something...?? 
• It's the first day of school for most kids hereabouts -- and I am bracing myself for the onslaught of posts and photos on social media. (They've been trickling in from friends in the U.S. since early August! but the next few days will bring the bulk of them.)  
• As I've done for the past few years -- even though it's supposed to be a very hot, humid day outside! -- I plan to get out on the balcony for at least a little while this afternoon with a glass of iced tea and my current book ("Tom Lake" by Ann Patchett).  
• It's been a real whirlwind of activity around here lately! 
• We've been trying to spend as much time as possible with Little Great-Nephew before he starts school next week (a week later than "the big kids"). I suspect we will be over to BIL's every day this week that we can -- i.e., today & Thursday. Wednesday, his mom is taking the day off work because they have an "interview"/"meet the teacher" appointment at his school, and Friday is her usual day off.  We are going to miss him!  :(  
• Last Wednesday, the two of us, BIL, SIL & LGN, and half a dozen or so of the cousins on dh & BIL's mom's side of the family -- all either retired or on vacation -- had lunch together (at one cousin's house). We totally stuffed ourselves and had a LOT of laughs. 
• On Sunday, we headed up to Older Nephew's house for a barbecue with BIL, SIL, the nephews & their families, and SIL's family. SIL's two brothers and their partners/families had not yet met Little Great-Niece, and Older Nephew thoughtfully invited us to come too. It was a very hot, humid day, so I spent most of it in the air-conditioned comfort of the house -- albeit it's not a huge house, and with 17 people (!)(14 adults and three small children) crammed in, it still got pretty warm in there! lol 
• At the Wednesday gathering, one of the cousins who was there issued an impromptu invitation -- to all the cousins, not just those there that day -- to gather at her house on the Labour Day Monday holiday for a party (including a dip in their pool, for those who wanted one).  A Labour Day weekend cousins' gathering was an annual tradition for many years, pre-pandemic, but we haven't had one since 2019, for obvious reasons. 
• A few people already had other plans or commitments, but almost everyone eventually showed up at some point during the afternoon, and a good time was had by all. 
• It was another incredibly hot, humid day (peaking at 33C/41C humidex -- that's 91F & 106F) -- and we spent 98% of it outside (in the shade, but still...!).  I drank almost six bottles of water over almost six hours -- there was plenty of alcohol to be had, and I did have one vodka shot/"Lemondrop" but otherwise abstained -- but I still felt absolutely wilted.  Still feeling somewhat out of sorts this morning. :p  
• Something else that came out of the Wednesday lunch:  a new family WhatsApp group. (We already have one for dh's cousins on the other side of the family.)  Some of the older cousins are less tech-savvy than the youngsters -- one just got her first smartphone recently! -- but they have all taken to it like ducks to water, and our phones have been constantly pinging since then.  I haven't minded so far because the conversation is generally pretty funny, lol.  (And I'm sure the novelty will soon wear off!)(I hope??)  
• I told the cousin who started the group that she'd created a monster!  lol  
• I spent 4+ hours on Saturday afternoon making salads and goodies to take to both weekend gatherings -- and then another half hour mopping the floor after a small accident with some sticky stuff.  After that, I took my second shower of the day! 
• (I'm not used to all this socializing!  lol -- especially after so much pandemic-induced isolation!)  
• Plane tickets are now booked for a trip west to see my parents & sister for a week in October. Happily, I lucked into an Air Canada sale (even though we were going, regardless of ticket prices). I can't remember the last time I paid under $1000 (Canadian dollars) round trip for two to Winnipeg (including taxes & seat selection fees)!! (It can easily be double that, especially at Christmastime!) 
• Travel within Canada is horribly expensive. :p  It's a BIG country, spanning six time zones (here's a post I found that describes how long it would take you to drive!  depending on what route you want to take), and there are really only two main airlines to choose from:  Air Canada and WestJet (as well as a few smaller regional carriers).  It's a shame, because it discourages people from seeing other parts of their own country (which is pretty amazing!).  I know many people here in the Toronto area who have been to Europe, the U.S., Mexico, the Caribbean -- but never outside of Ontario (with the possible exceptions of Montreal/Quebec City).  
• I find it SO STRESSFUL booking travel these days. It's so expensive, and there are so many choices/decisions you have to make while doing it. I'm always afraid that I'm making the wrong ones (and that that's going to come back to bite me later).  :(    Anyone else feel this way??  
• I had a fabulous travel agent for years -- I never actually met her; I only ever dealt with her over the phone! -- but once I lost my job, and online booking became the thing to do, I stopped calling her (and paying the agency fees).  I still think about her now & then, though -- always enjoyed chatting with her;  she had a lovely voice!  If I was ever doing a more complicated trip than Toronto-Winnipeg, though, I would probably consult a travel agent again! 
• Back in 2014 and newly unemployed/retired, I wrote a post called "Kicking the bucket (list)," rejecting the idea that I needed a "bucket list" of retirement goals and activities to tick off. I thought about it when I saw this piece in the Washington Post recently:  "Why you should swap your bucket list with a chuck-it list."  (Gift link.)(The chuck-it list is the brainchild of the author's father -- who calls it by a somewhat saltier term, lol.)