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Of course, there are often errands and appointments to take care of over the weekend like dental cleanings, getting this year’s flu and covid vaccines, grocery shopping, mailing off birthday cards to relatives, or buying a new shower curtain. My assumption this week is that we’re focusing on fun things we do on weekends instead of the necessary grownup stuff.
I’ve already talked about a lot of my interests in previous Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge posts, so I’d imagine this isn’t going to be a particularly surprising post for anyone who has followed me for a while.
How I spent my weekends depends on the season. If it’s spring or autumn and rain is not in the forecast, I like to go outdoors and enjoy places like walking trails, parks, or beaches (which, aside from the general lack of waves and saltwater creatures, look and feel a lot like Pacific or Atlantic beaches because of how huge Lake Ontario is. You can gaze out upon it and see nothing but water shimmering from here to the horizon. It’s spectacular.)
Toronto Island is a particularly fun place to visit because of how much there is to do there. They have an amusement park, a maze made from large trimmed evergreen bushes, beaches, petting zoo, cycling trails, golf courses, haunted lighthouse, and so much more. It can be an expensive day if you want to ride all of the rides, but it can also be a free one other than the cost of your ferry ticket and whatever food you pack for a picnic. I love versatile options like this.
Nature is so soothing to me.
Late November is a tossup when it comes to enjoying the outdoors. It might be relatively warm and dry (about a high of 10 Celsius or 50 Fahrenheit) on the odd day, but it can also easily be snowing, sleeting, foggy, raining, and/or bitterly cold at this time of year.
On damp, chilly days, I do things like:
- Go to the library for bookish events or to visit their free little museums of vintage books
- Buy a tea or a vegan donut at a coffee shop
- Do dance, kickboxing, yoga, or weightlifting workouts at home
- Watch Spanish films (I’m understanding a lot more Spanish now!)
- Take short walks out in the snow if it’s only moderately cold
- Go out for coffee or dinner with a friend
- Get all holiday shopping done ASAP so I can avoid the huge crowds next month
- Take a nap
- Play board or card games
- Spend too much time on social media (If we’re being honest here 😄)
- Find fun, free cultural events like food festivals, musical events, art shows, vegan Christmas markets, etc. They’re not as numerous now, but they do still happen!
- Visit museums that have cool new exhibits. A couple of years ago I was lucky enough to see some of Picasso’s paintings, one of which I included in this post. It just depends on who they have in the gallery.
My holiday shopping was done and wrapped by the end of October. You may have guessed that I have ‘that’ personality type. Though you just reminded me I do need a new shower curtain!
Good for you, George! Have fun picking out a new shower curtain.
I imagine Lake Ontario’s beaches are closer to Pacific waters than Atlantic — how do they warm up during the summer? I have a friend in Oregon who says the ocean never warms up there enough for the kind of swimming that people take for granted in California and so on.
Yes, I’d say they are.
They take a while to warm up. You probably do not want to jump into the water in May or June even if it’s warm or hot outside unless you love chilly water.
By July and August, swimming is more comfortable. September might be okay, too, depending on the temperature. So it’s a short season.