Apple Adventurers

Since moving to Ontario I've tried being Ontarian. I've got my OHIP card, my Ontario drivers license, and my voter card, so for all intents and purposes, I am, but that's not really the same as being from here. My mission: Find out some Ontarian specific adventures and go on them. 

Some of my lovely lady friends were into the idea of apple picking. Being from Alberta, I have never been to an apple orchard. (Trees? What are these 'tree' things? ;) ) It seems to be a very eastern Canada thing. Sold. 

I did a bit of research (this site was really helpful) and found two orchards reasonably close to Toronto. I was surprised that some orchards charge entry fees so we found one that didn't: Pine Farms Orchard. (The entry fee later made sense as some orchards, like Chudleigh's, is entire day experience, with a petting zoo and restaurant etc. Some orchards even let you drive right in and up to the trees!) 

Pine Farms was INSANLY busy. When we got there people were parking on the side of the road. Eventually police showed up to direct traffic. It was truly nuts busy. Unsurprisingly, on the lovely sunny sunday afternoon we went, the patrons were mostly families, young and old. My lovely lady friends and I wandered around a bit to get our bearings. There wasn't much signage as to what to do but we figured it out: Get a bag, pick apples, get them weighed at the main cabin, pay and away! So we hunted for some bags and got picking. 

I had grand master plans for apple pie and apple butter and apple sauce so I needed about 22lbs of apples.  They had Cortlands, Gala, McIntosh, Honey Crisp, and more ready for picking. Needless to say, I got picking and within a half hour I had "enough". (Turned out I don't know how much a pound of apples is.... specifically, I bought 40 lbs of apples... oops. Haha. Half-Assery Engaged!)

After the picking we decided to get our Impromptu Picnic on. Fresh and hot apple pie in tow, we sat and ate in amongst the trees in the sunshine. It was absolutely amazing. Afterwards, before the orchard closed, we wander walked around the back of the orchard. It was the perfect day. Highly recommend. 

And now I've got all the apple posts to put up too! Stay tuned! 

-Andrea

The Half-Assed Hobbyist

Photo Op(eration)

In an effort to home-ify the apartment, I decided to put my loved ones faces on a wall! Nothing says "I love you" like a collage of memories, right? I originally got the collage idea from my friend Marley, who at some point over the last year posted a how-to article about hanging groups of photos easily using a paper templates. (Engage foreshadowing with the use of the word 'easy'. Check.)

So I planned out what photos I wanted to print. Turned out there were 27 of them. It was time to cull the memories! Awkward! Instead I decided to head to IKEA for all the chea... I mean modern style frames. Success! 17 frames for under 100$. (I assume that's a good deal. >>) 

Now that I had my number of pictures picked out, it was photo printing time! Back in AB, it was easiest to do a 1-hour photo print at the LDs (London Drugs) buuuuut there is no such thing in ON apparently. Luckily-ish there were instant kodak print machines at the grocery store that would serve their purpose. Only had one minor issue with one of my prints: The Matrix bled through. 

After writing dates and peoples names on the back of photos (cause I'm 98), I got all the photos in their frame homes. The article said to lay out the photos the way they will hang on the wall and trace their size and positions onto paper. Which I obviously kinda only did half of. Foreshadowing achieved! I laid out the pictures and then, working in lines, hung them up using the frame edges as spacers. Worked very well actually! Yay!

Now I have many a smiling face staring at me when I leave and come home. Miss all y'all. <3

Cheers!

-Andrea 

The Half-Assed Hobbyist