Happy Canada Day

So! I woke up this morning (woke up every five minutes starting at 7:20, but I refused to get up until my alarm went at 8:00), showered (whacking my foot on the corner of the sink - ow), had breakfast with my aunt, and sat and knit/read while my aunt and her husband went running/biking.

When they got back, I helped set up for their Canada Day barbeque: I set out chips, organized and iced cupcakes (the cupcakes are a test for my stepcousin's wedding later this month. The cupcakes themselves are excellent, but the icing is causing problems), adorned said cupcakes with strawberries, cored and sliced ten or twelve bell peppers, et cetera. I love that I was just able to jump in and not feel underfoot. I have a lot of relatives, but I don't think I could possibly have better relatives than these to live near.

People started showing up around two, about twenty-three people total. It was a little awkward at first - most people didn't really know each other - but once the food and drinks came out everything went just fine. I stayed off to the side and mostly watched, as I am wont to do (I come from a family of knitters and readers... not a family of socializers), but it was all really low-key. Have I mentioned how nice my stepcousins are?

Oh, side note: my cousin's boyfriend tried to tease me about "celebrating another country's independence day" - but he failed, because I am a Canadian citizen :)

Anyway. Later, when everybody was gone, my aunt and I cleaned up (my cousins had gone to their dad's for a bit; my aunt's husband was out). Another aunt called to say that she was in the area and the bridges were way backed up, so we hauled out our knitting and sat down to wait (and knit. And talk.).

So my other aunt came by, and brought up her knitting, and we chatted until the internet said that a bridge was open again. The travelling aunt (okay, that's a weird way to say it) took a detour to drop me off, and... here I am back home. I'll see them all on Thursday, when we fly off for my cousin's wedding (yet another cousin. I have lots of them).