Yesterday I spent the afternoon with a sleeping newborn girl on my chest and that may account for why I am feeling all warm and fuzzy today. She is the youngest Wee One and I am already particularly fond of her as her second name is in honour of me. She has peach fuzz on her head and the most beautiful pink skin-a perfect peach.

Mom, Dad and little sisters were with us this past long weekend at the lake. D and I are very close to the Wee Ones and the lakehouse is a very strong reason why. The girls love being there whether with or without their Mom and Dad. I guess that is why I was able to slip into their life so effortlessly this week, helping out while Dad stayed with Mom and baby in the hospital. (Boy things have changed since my babes were born).

J1 and J2 live in Wolseley, a nugget of streets with parks, schools, bike trails and the most neighbourly folks you would want to meet. They all new that Tuesday would be the baby’s birthday and they sent their families’ good wishes. There were neighbours who would walk the eldest Wee One to school and others who would have their nanny pick her up and feed her lunch if we were running late. Another neighbour offered up a dinner and so on and so on.

When I prepared a couple of J1 and J2’s favourite one pan dinners, I doubled the batches for a friend who has knee surgery coming up. As I drove around to drop off gifts of food, it occurred to me for the zillionth time that the preparation and sharing of food is an important love language, especially in my immediate circles.

And of course there is the most intimate gift of all. This new one naturally knowing just what to do as she found her Momma’s breast.

Kath’s quote: “A person cooking is a person giving. Even the simplest food is a gift”.- Laurie Colwin

The eldest Wee One on her first day on earth.

Love never fails.

I was content to watch the sunset from bed but it was so exquisite that I hopped into some clothes so that I didn’t miss a minute.

I love mornings best on the island. They provide a beautiful opportunity to sit with my coffee, journal, pray, read or walk.

As I strolled this path from my sunrise walk, I peaked in the gate of the Villas which are at the south end of the airport runway on the west side of the road. I am sorry that I do not remember what they were named but they are gorgeous!

D went out for a long walk and when he returned we headed into town for breakfast at Ruben’s.

We both are crazy about Ruben’s shrimp omelettes. Boo and the Frenchman were walking by and joined us for freshly squeezed orange juice.

I have never been inside the second hand bookstore but was drawn to the decor! Look at the gorgeous floor! I bought a book and spent the rest of the day in and out of the hammock to read.

This was the gorgeous sky as we walked back into town. We were off to friends’ J and B’s apartment (which we loved!) for Happy Hour and then we met up with the entire family/gang for supper at Fredy’s.  We had a hurried visit and a couple of quick cocktails with J and B. We sat at 2 tables with the surprise that Doona from home was there.

D and I split one of Fredy’s amazing porkchops and his garlic shrimp. Both were delish. Then we were off to El Patio for drinks and so that D could say good-bye to Jacob, but unfortunately we missed him. We enjoyed D’s last night cap under the stars.

Kath’s quote:“After a good dinner one can forgive anybody, even one’s own relations’.   –   Oscar Wilde

Love never fails.

Another glorious start to the day in paradise.

D cleaned up from the previous evening and rewarded himself by taking in another tennis game with D.

I enjoyed my leftovers from Olivia’s for breakfast. We often over order at dinner so that we can stretch a second meal out of the first one. The swarma was even better the second day.

With every walk into Centro, I find another image that I just have to record.

We walked to Playa Norte and enjoyed a great lunch at the Green Demon Beach Club.

We had a pretty walk from the beach to Hortenzia’s to pick up a couple of little things.

We love all the colours to see on the island from the businesses to the transportation.

We arrived “home” just in time for D to head back out again with Boo and the Frenchman to visit the Isla Brewing Company. Boo is the General Manager of a craft brewery in Winnipeg and often visits other breweries when on holidays.

So left on my own, all I had to was read, nap in the hammock and be mesmerized by the blues of the sea.

We cabbed it to Barlitoes for drinks and  a spectacular sunset

and then to Chilitoes for a fabulous paella to share.

Our progressive dinner continued to Bastos for their Hamburgera Especiale with two orders of our favourite hand-cut fries.

We were home for glasses of wine under the stars. Another reason we love Luna d’ Miel is the privacy it affords us. We spoke in whispers even though we did not need to.

Kath’s quote: Sharing food with another human being is an intimate act that should not be indulged in lightly.”-M.F. K. Fisher

Love never fails.

I enjoyed an unexpected treat recently and that was checking out a new BnB in Killarney Manitoba.

We packed up some meals, snacks, wine and crafts and we were off!

The house right across from Killarney Beach has 4 bedrooms but sleeps 10.

This is a view of the house from the beach.

The first floor rooms sleep 3 each.

The two 3rd floor rooms slept 2 each. The pillows, comforters, sheets and mattresses were chosen with cozy sleeps in mind.

The bedrooms all had live plants in each; a novel touch for an Air BnB.

One full bathroom was found on each floor with more fluffy white towels than you could possibly use. Beach towels were also available.

The great room included throws to snuggle up under as we gazed at the pelicans on the lake or watched Netflix which was provided by the hosts.

Although too chilly for our use, there was a barbeque and covered deck for el fresco dining.

The well equipped kitchen overlooked the dining room with vantages of the lake just beyond.

I am quite sure that this was not their regular practice but the host also had fresh cut flowers waiting for us along with a basket of wine, nuts and chocolate!

The thing about crafting is that you can relax and chat while learning a new skill. One of my crafts was embellishing a wine glass in blues and mauves.

We spent most of our time busy creating at that dining room table, but we did find time to eat marvellous food too.

I brought a charcuterie lunch and got off super easy in the food prep department.

This amazing seared scallop dinner was lovingly prepared for us.

The next morning we were treated to Gran Marnier French Toast.

Pork tenderloin with sautéed apples and onions was served at dinner time accompanied by roasted potatoes, tomatoes and asparagus.

Of course I had to stand on a chair to get the perfect shot of dinner.

Dessert that evening were meringues filled with custard and topped with strawberries!

Killarney has some great shopping (because no girls weekend would be complete without it). These images are from Sweet Pea & Willow Florist and Gifts.

The views of both the sunrise and sunset were stunning.

What made the house a wonderful retreat were the views of the fowl on the lake. We especially loved watching pairs of the 17 pelicans that reside there. In fact we were thinking that a unique name for the home could be “Pelican View, Killarney Lakehouse”.

Of course any adventure is only as good as the people that you share it with. In this case I would say it was a 10 out of 10!

Kath’s quote: “Being vulnerable is the only way to allow your heart to feel true pleasures.”-Bob Marley

Love never fails.

Sorry, there was no sunrise that morning to share a pic. Since I have thousands of Isla sunrise pics, I could have probably just posted an old pic and you would never have known the difference, right?

I always take a photo of Lolo Lorena’s when we walk by.

We had a lovely lazy morning on the patio at Luna and then we walked to the colonias to see if Sesso Loco was open for lunch. When it was not open, we had lunch at Kash Kuken. I had always wanted to go but never managed it. D had Poc Chuc and I ribs with white tortillas and all the trimmings. Delish.

We cabbed back to Luna d Miel to get ready for a family birthday party that evening. It was a good excuse to get our apartment tidied up.

We collected and arranged furniture to seat 12 on our patio. SIL S and J brought a basket of snacks including Hawkins cheesies which were a big hit. Sister #3 made guacamole and Australian D1 brought pico de gallo. I put out cheese and crackers and SIL L brought the taco chips and voila we had a party!

Boo and Australian D1 bought the guys birthday hats and balloons which made our little place fun and festive. Boo had rented a golf cart and Australian D2 took trips back and forth to Centro so nobody had to walk.

The sunset from the cart was glorious! We assembled at El Patio under the supervision of Jacob. He brought us to go-cups as we ended up almost chugging our drinks.

We had dinner all together in the very back palapa at Olivia’s. My D thought that prices were more reasonable that previous visits.

Brother #3 had the Beef Kabob,

SIL L the Moussakka,

me the Swarma (could only ate half),

and SIL’s Sis had short ribs.

I don’t remember who had this dish but it looked fantastic! Everyone was pleased with their choices. We enjoyed Olivia’s great staff. It was so lovely to sit next to Australian D1 and D2. We had a wonderful visit.

We were home for a glass of wine under the stars and then off to dream land.

Kath’s quote: “Mexican, Mediterranean, Italian, sushi, I love it all. Put it on a plate, and as long as I know what it is, I will eat it.”-Camren Bicondova

Love never fails.