Yesterday was one of those rare days here in the Alberta foothills where you wake up to sunshine (that’s not the unusual part- that happens all the time) and then the sky stays clear.  All.  Day.  Long.  That is unusual.  Our normal pattern is for the clouds to start rolling in right after lunch.  Just after you have made it to the lake.  The kids will be playing.  The cooler is stocked.  Then the wind will kick up.  Blankets and towels will start to blow away.  Everytime a cloud passes under the sun it drops 10 degrees.  Sand gets in your lunch.

But not this day.  It was perfect.  It started hot.  It stayed hot.

This is how it went.

I love to read the newspaper.  It is a treat for me.  Who has the time during a normal workday to read a whole newspaper?  But to read one outside?  With coffee and a bagel?  In the sun?  Heaven.  I bought two!!  Please ignore the landscaping in progress behind the chair.  You can see that I positioned it so that I can.

No.  The dog did not fetch the paper for me.  We live out of town or I’m sure she would have.

After an hour or so of newspaper bliss, we decided to head to our little pond with the dinghy.  Here we are boating around.

Yes.  My son loves Nickelback.  We were the coolest parents in the world last year when we took him to the concert.

There is a little island on the pond.  So pretty.

Then our faithful little dog swam out to meet us.  She needed rescuing.  Yes.  We are buying lifejackets that fit tomorrow.  Including for the dog!!

What better way to finish off the perfect summer day than with a wiener roast?  And a menu written on a rock with a burnt stick.  We are very fancy here in case you haven’t noticed yet…  One of these posts I will give the recipe for Calico Beans.  You will be thanking me for evah!

Our amazing fire pit.  It’s actually the cone out of a gravel crusher.

I feel relaxed and happy.  I am grateful for perfect, special summer days like this.

-C