a peek inside the fishbowl

So this arrived today…

… our member cards to the National Gallery of Canada!

We had a membership many moons ago and decided to renew it this year during a recent visit to see Anthropocene. (Which was amazing, by the way.) The family membership is $105, and will definitely pay for itself within the next calendar year. Members get unlimited admission to the national collection and to all the special exhibitions. Membership has other perks too, such as a discount at the cafeteria (which is surprisingly good), the boutique, and parking.

This means that Mark, who works downtown, will be able to pop over during a lunch break. The youngest can continue to visit with friends and not have to time it for Thursday nights, which is free night. And I’m hoping that the eldest daughter, who will be home this summer, will make some time to wander over with her old mom.

Yay! I am excited.

(There’s more info about the different memberships on the National Gallery website.)

I totally needed this today. (TW: for mild prancing. May be fatal for viewers.) https://t.co/156QlVIsOb

— andrea tomkins (@missfish) March 15, 2019

• Celebrating St. Patrick’s Day in Westboro Village, westborovillage.com
• Doug Ford’s government is a government of grifters: Robyn Urback, cbc.ca
• Opposition is a caricature, and Scheer is a humid performer, cbc.ca
• Our fast fashion habit is killing the planet, cbc.ca
• Woman reunited with purse she lost 65 years ago, washingtonpost.com
• Blocking Sex Ed Puts Our Children in Danger, nytimes.com
• Vaping Is Big Tobacco’s Bait and Switch, nytimes.com

On the nightstand: A Train in Winter: An Extraordinary Story of Women, Friendship and Survival in World War Two

It’s Monday and I’m having trouble coming making the adjustment after our jam-packed weekend. The highlight of which was a glorious ski along the SJAM Winter Trail from Westboro Beach to Mill Street Brew Pub. I think it’s 14K. Mark and I have never skied so far and I’m so pleased we did it. I tell ya, it really helps to have a goal (read: a veggie burger and a pint) as well as pretty views along the way.

Would you look at these tracks:

It was very hard to leave the rest stop pictured in this next photo. Whoever thought to put a bunch of Muskoka chairs around a fire pit out here is a genius. (It’s near Remic Rapids by the way, and operates on weekends.) Not pictured: the fat bike rental station. Cool eh?

I am pretty sure I could angels singing when we arrived at Mill Street Brew Pub. I was SO DONE.

Also worth noting, the impromptu ski parking:

My veggie burger never tasted so good:

With thoughts turning toward the trip home I was a tiny bit worried about the pint of beer I ordered. There is only one outhouse along the entire SJAM (unless you count the Canadian War Museum). Would I have to pee en route home? Turns out I had nothing to worry about because I just sweated everything out. (If that’s TMI, I apologize.)

Full belly, fresh air, sunshine, gorgeous views… all in the company of my best guy. It doesn’t get much better than this:

And yes, I wore The Dress.

I knew it was a little bit crazy, but I wanted to illustrate that it can be done. I have no regrets. You can see it under my coat there.

So today is Day 17 of The Dress and I’ve been thinking more about the cost per wear. Does it ever figure into your clothing purchases? It’s something I talk about in the book about our Shopping Embargo. I’m a big fan. And I am pleased the cost per wear of this dress, which was a fair price to begin with, gets lower every day.

Consider this: If I buy a classic black cardigan for $100 and wear it 100 times, the cost-per-wear is $1.00. If I buy a dress on sale for $75 and wear it out twice, the cost-per-wear is $37.50. The black cardigan – even though it was more expensive to begin with – is the better value. My dress was $120 and if I wear it 30 times I’ll get the cost-per-wear down to $4. I’d call that a win.