Our little neighbourhood is just a super buzz of activity lately. When we decided to pick this apartment, we really had no idea about activities in the area but with stoop sales and fairs right through summer Halloween last week and then the marathon this weekend, we are really enjoying the community spirit of the area and love living here!
Marathon Sunday started with an extra special treat – the extra hour of sleep that daylight savings finishing brings. I don’t know about other people but I almost feel that sleep wise, this is the time when I feel ‘normal’. When I sleep I sleep well and I awake refreshed. While daylight savings is happening I just feel a little out of sorts. The minute the time corrects itself I feel that everything is right. So strange!
So with that, we got up and went to early Mass and then, seeing the buzz of activity already, we quickly came back home for some breakfast and to get into proper attire (ie – gloves, scarfs and coats!) to cheer on the marathoners. Bill made some yummy eggs and also for me to go, the most decadent hot chocolate with cream. We bundled up and headed to the corner of our street.
For the next two hours we cheered and screamed for the marathoners and it was great fun. We had a great position for lots of hand slapping and with the high school band playing and so many people in the crowd it was a great way to spend the morning.
As you can see, we still have some decent foliage in our neck of the woods –
The sun was out but it was chilly to the bone –
You can get a great view from a stoop… and there is Queen of All Saints further back –
This is the spot we decided to call home and cheer away. We got a great view and it was less crowded –
Adding some high tech gadgetry to the marathon, we were tracking the runners on the Marathon iPhone app so we knew how far away they were from us… this allows you to track friends running and is fantastic!
The anticipation was building when the truck came past…
And here are the front runners!
This is what a lot of the runners would have seen from us… we hoped it helped them achieve their dream!
We ended up moving to the sunny area to try and defrost my feet. So many people out and about made our street such a happy place with lots of cheering!
So that was the Marathon!
We came back home and had a relaxing afternoon. I admired Bill’s self-control in bowl licking as he finished off making a big batch of what we are now calling Five Chocolate Ice Cream. This is for dad for when they get here next weekend. It is the creamiest chocolate ice cream with smashed up Tim Tams and Flake swirled through. Yes, it is as good as it sounds! Then Bill moved on to making a big batch of home made pappardelle pasta. I made a nice basic tomato sauce to have over it and it was the perfect Sunday night dinner!
Making pasta is a wonderful task and Bill is super patient at it so that makes a huge difference. We pick up our semolina flour for the best price from Buon Italia at Chelsea Market and find the difference in taste and texture makes what can be a boring meal, spectacular.