Hello August and goodbye July! July was a fun summer month filled with warm days, plenty of leisure activities, a family trip to Regina, and a blogger meeting. Let me share my July highlights with you and I invite you to tell me yours.
JULY 2019
ARTS
I visited the 58th Toronto Outdoor Art Fair where over 300 artists participated and displayed their arts for sale over three days. It’s a wonderful annual event to see so much artistic talent in one location.
On one of my outdoor walks, I saw the Ordinary Men sculpture exhibit by Thomas J. Price who lives and works in London, UK. This is his first solo exhibition in Canada. His sculpture ranges in size from small busts to monumental bronze statues.
BLOGGING
I had a fun walk along Toronto’s waterfront with my new blogger friend Joanne (My Life Lived Full). I wrote about where we explored and what we had for lunch here. We saw a number of interesting public art installations during our 5 km walk.
BOOKS
I read five fine books in July. Although there is a lot of human suffering, especially in the first three novels, all of them show human resilience, love, and all have a hopeful or happy ending:
- I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou.
- A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini.
- The Kite Runner also by Khaled Hosseini.
- Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez (translated from the Spanish by Edith Grossman).
- Little Beach Street Bakery by Jenny Colgan.
CONCERTS
I attended five outdoor concerts in July. Simply great music of different genres and powerful vocals heard in an urban setting on warm summer days. I always feel so fortunate to have easy access to these free events:
- Jordan John & Denis Keldie
- Sara Dell
- The Métis Fiddler Quartet
- Tyler Yarema & Allison Young
- Joanna Majoko
FAMILY
My family clan held a get-together in July. It took place on the weekend that we had a heat wave so we were all thankful for air-conditioning. As usual, we enjoyed good food and fun conversations. I love chatting with my siblings, nieces, and nephews. Our next gathering will be in August.
FRIENDS
I did a gym workout with one of my friends and met two other friends by the farmer’s market for coffee catch-ups in Toronto. I also had fun catching up with our family friends in Regina when we were there.
HEALTH
In July, I meditated and walked daily. I also completed seven yoga classes, fourteen workouts in the gym, and four swimming sessions. On warm and humid days I tried to do my physical activities early in the morning before it became too hot. I missed two instructor-led yoga classes when I was away and made up for them by practicing the yoga poses by myself.
LEARNING
I did my French and Spanish lessons every day in July. There is always something new to learn, from the daily language lessons that I take on Duolingo, to what I learn from my health and leisure pursuits.
MOVIES
I enjoyed watching the new Spider-man Far from Home movie in the theatre, and two in-flight movies The Mule and How To Train The Dragon II.
TRAVEL
My family went on a trip to Regina in Saskatchewan. Regina is about 3 to 3.5 hours west of Toronto by plane. We spent some time catching up with our friends and enjoyed our visit to the beautifully landscaped Wascana Park surrounding a 120-hectare lake located in the heart of Regina. More on this trip in a future post.
OVERALL
I enjoyed July very much. It was a summer month packed with fun activities with family and friends. If anything, it went by a bit too fast for a month of thirty-one days.
How was your July? What good things happened? I’d love to hear your comments.
Copyright © 2023 natalietheexplorer.home.blog – All rights reserved.
Natalie the Explorer 
I’d say you had a fantastic July from the sounds of it! I’m so happy to have been a part of it 🙂
How did I not know that Toronto had an outdoor art fair?! Next year I will have to pay more attention.
Hope August is already off to a great start for more adventures!
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Hi Joanne – I’m happy you’ve been part of my July, too 🙂 The Toronto Outdoor Art Fair is usually on the second weekend in July at Nathan Phillips Square. August has been good with glorious weather so far. Here’s to more fun adventures!
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Thanks – I’ll have to pay more attention next year!
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Hello,
You have a great blog site! Found you on Lisa Dorenfest site. We will follow your adventures!
Cheers,
John and Susan
Medellin, Colombia
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Hello John and Susan – Welcome to my blog and thank you for your kind words! I look forward to reading more about your adventures in Colombia.
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Looks like a pretty good July!! #Lifethisweek
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I hope July was good to you too.
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It was pretty amazing actually! #MLSTL
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Right on. Thanks, Lydia, for stopping by.
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Your July sounded very jolly indeed! How good was A Thousand Splendid Suns? I can’t wait to read The Kite Runner and Jenny Colgan is one of my favourite authors. I haven’t seen any movies this month but I’m looking forward to catching up with the ones I missed on my long haul flight to London! Hope your August is awesome!
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A Thousand Splendid Suns was very good. I liked it even more than The Kite Runner. Lots of suffering in both books so Little Beach Street Bakery was a sweet change. Hope your August is off to a fabulous start.
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What a fun and busy month you had Natalie! I loved both those books by Khaled Hosseini, they showed how different life can be and what suffering goes on! Love your sunflower pic! #lifethisweek
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Hi Debbie – I had similar thoughts when I read Hosseini’s two books. Thank you for your comment.
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Back for #mlstl and sharing Natalie!
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Thank you, Debbie. Have a great day!
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What an exciting month, Natalie! Impressed at all the time you devoted to your languages and all the concerts you were able to attend.
SSG xxx
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Thanks, SSG. Hope August is going well for you.
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Looks like a wonderful July! My sister lives in Toronto too – I need to see if she has been to the art fair as she loves art. How good are the Khaled Hosseini books? I loved both of them so much! Hope you have a wonderful August!
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Hi Sanch – July was great. Hope August is going well for you, too.
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Natalie, sounds like a well-spent July! #SeniSal
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Thank you, Jean, for your kind comment. I try to use my time wisely.
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I think you and I must have the same taste in books. I have read all the books you did. “Love in the Time of Cholera” was one of my favorites! Sounds like a very good July!
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Hi Laurie – Those books took me to faraway places like Afghanistan and Colombia and back in time. Thank you for stopping by.
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Sounds like a fabulous July! A great selection of books you read, some of my favourites. #SeniSal
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Hi Darlene – I was so pleased to pick up those books from the library and enjoyed reading them. Thank you for stopping by.
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Hi Natalie – well you’ve certainly had an interesting and social July. It always seems so strange when other bloggers are experiencing the opposite weather conditions to mine. I’m all snuggled away in my warm house (being fairly anti-social) while you’re out and about in the heat (or inside in the air-con). Glad you had such an enjoyable month.
Thanks for linking up with us at MLSTL and I’ve shared on my SM 🙂
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Hi Leanne – It’s strange for me to read about the opposite weather conditions, too although it’s useful when I plan for my travels (e.g. go somewhere warmer when it’s winter here). Hope your August is off to a fabulous start.
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Sounds like a tops time was had by you. Bloggy friend(s) catch ups are great. I had one too! As is the essential of air con on hot days. Couldn’t live without it here either.
Thank you for linking up for Life This Week. Next week’s optional prompt is 32/51 What Makes You Laugh? 12/8/19. Hope to see you there too! Denyse.
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Thank you, Denyse, for hosting. Sounds like you and Sanch had a fun blogger catch up. I look forward to next week’s link-up. Have a beautiful week!
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That sounds like a wonderful July! I did awful at getting my workouts in… I have such a hard time getting motivated to workout early in the day and beat the heat.
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Thank you, Joanne, for your visit and comment. The humidity slows me down for sure. It’s a good thing sunrise is earlier in the summer here so it motivates me to get moving.
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What a wonderful July you had. Im sure August will be just as amazing. #mlstl
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Thank you, Bree, for your kind comment. I’m enjoying the warm weather and summer events in the city. Hope your August is off to a great start.
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Hi, Natalie – I am still awe-struck by how many wonderful events and activities that you fit into one month?
Here!s to an equally enjoyable August!
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Hi Donna – I love receiving your comments and this one made me giggle. Toronto has so many free and wonderful events in the summer. I was just doing the ‘easy’ version and skimmed the surface in July. Here’s to a fun-filled August!
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Natalie, I love your litany of things you do complete with numbers and pictures! It makes me want to start documenting my own things better…and maybe take some photos! I never take photos. Ah well, I’ve no great longing o be a photographer, although I do love seeing other people’s picture. Visiting from #MLSTL
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Hi Pat – I enjoy taking photos and try hard to include only a few in each blog post. You could make it a fun ‘try new thing’ activity (e.g document one of your day/ week/ month and include some photos). If it doesn’t sound like fun to you, move on to something else 🙂
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I always look forward to your wrap-ups and this was no exception. I noticed that a Jenny Colgan was on your books list – I loved that one…actually I like most of hers. Here’s to a great August.
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That was my first time reading Jenny Colgan and I enjoyed her book very much. Here’s to a great August!
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Hi Natalie, I always enjoy your monthly wrap posts and love how you make the most of every area in your life. Thanks for being part of #MLSTL and hope you have a wonderful August. xx
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Thank you, Sue, for hosting and for your kind comment. I intend to have a variety of fun activities every month. Lucky for me, the city is full of free and interesting events in the summer. I hope you have a wonderful August!
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Wow Natalie, that is a very busy month, but it looks like you made the best of it. I really enjoyed reading the Kite Runner as well, I will add the Thousand Splendid Suns to my to read list. Also, yay for Regina! I am always intrigued to know what other people do in my city when they visit and what they think of it.
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Thank you, Dani, for your visit and comment. I have a post coming up in two weeks about some activities I did while in Regina. I enjoyed my visit and stayed near the city centre. I think Regina is a very nice city, easy to navigate, and Wascana Centre is a gem.
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Sounds like you had a great month.
I’ve been feeling a bit in a routine recently, lacking visual stimulation… or something! But what a place art has in that – giant busts along a walking trail would certainly be visual stimulation.
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Thank you, Vanessa, for your visit and comment. The giant busts are certainly eye-catching and the Cover Up statue is actually huge in real life. Maybe there is an art event or gallery or public art installations that you can explore in your city?
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That was a fabulous July Natalie! My July has been far less eventful but I can’t complain as I have had a few little getaways in recent months and will soon need to organise a trip north to visit my daughter in September. I am sure your September will be eventful and full and I look forward to reading your wrap up for that one too! #TeamLovinLife
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Hi Min – Planning the trip north to visit your daughter sounds like fun. I hope you can stay there for a while and enjoy time with your daughter.
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Hi Natalie, I cannot believe it is time for July wrap up, already. The “Ordinary Men” exhibit is almost eerie with lifelike sculptures. You capture the vibrant colours of the market. I will be interested to read more of your trip to Regina. Thank you for sharing your amazing energy with your readers:)
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Hi Erica – July seemed to fly by. I hope you’re having a fantastic summer. Thank you for your kind comments. They always make me smile.
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It is so fun to meet up with blogger friends. You are lucky to have done so. And what a busy month! You must feel a great sense of acheivement
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Welcome, Amanda, to my blog and thank you for your comment! July was enriching and fun. I hope August is going well for you. I’ll visit your blog shortly.
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You are very welcome to pop over to my blog any time that you like! I hope you find something that interests you there!
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Looks like you had a really fun month filled with lots of interesting things to do and see. Those art installations are amazing!
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Thank you, Deb, for your comment. Thomas J Price Ordinary Men installations look real. I’m glad he decided to bring his exhibition to Canada.
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Sunflowers, fresh produce, art, music and time with family and friends; what is not to love?!? Great imagery. May your August be just as wonderful 😍
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Thank you, Lisa. This summer has been fabulous. Plus I got to visit Devil’s Island via your blog and gorgeous photos. Wishing you a wonderful August, too.
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🤗😘 So far it is grand. Ahoy from the bus to Medellín
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Oh my goodness! That totem pole at Little Norway Park is magnificent!!!
I enjoyed all the goodies you share on your post, but really, really, really am happy that I got to see the totem pole. I know. Silly. But I love seeing wonders that I’ve never known existed and you bring that to us with your posts.
Thank you!
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You’re very welcome, Trisha Faye. I’m happy to share my photo of the totem pole with you. I’ve seen more colourful totem poles on the West Coast of Canada. Regardless of the colours, I think they’re all beautiful. Thank you for stopping by.
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Wow, what a fabulous month you enjoyed. You are always so devoted and so successful to your meditation, walks, foreign language studies. How did you like the movie The Mule? I thought it sounded good. But we tabled it until it comes out on Netflix. I need to keep a running list of movie I want to watch when they are released on Netflix.
Heading over to read about your meet up with your first blogger. I haven’t met a single blogger yet. No one lives close to me!! Dani Park, who links up with us for bucket lists, and wellness wednesday and sentence a day, lives in Regina. You could have met your second blogger IRL while you were there!
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Clint Eastwood and Diane Wiest starred in The Mule. It was a good movie that held my attention to the end. Next time I’m in Regina, I’ll reach out to Dani for a meet-up. Thanks, Leslie, for stopping by.
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