1. Canadian Tire and other stores are all pushing Muskoka chairs and coolers and outdoor furniture.
2. Everything in the meat section of the grocery store has one of those BBQ stickers on it.
3. People have been using their lunch breaks to get supplies for the weekend.
4. Everyone with a cottage is getting ready to open it.
5. Everyone else is thinking about who they know with a cottage, or how to rent one, or which park they will make their home.
6. If you own a cottage, you're dealing with an avalanche of emails, texts and other messages from friends who casually ask if you are opening the cottage this weekend.
7. Skirts, sundresses and other long-forgotten clothing items are getting back into daily rotation (even if they smell musty from storage).
8. You trade Sorels for sandals. And then freeze your toes for wearing them too soon.
9. Provinces where you can buy beer and wine at the corner store have dedicated a questionable amount of square footage to beer displays. And rosé is everywhere.
10. You spend a lot of time staring at booze displays while waiting in holiday alcohol-buying lineups.
11. Unlike the last few months, your barbecue can get hot and stay hot.
12. Really bad drivers become insanely bad drivers thanks to all the stuff they are towing behind them.
13. Any outdoor seating area that provides food and drink service is suddenly the best place ever, in spite of that frost warning.
14. Everyone is happy and friendly and walking and smiling and hey let's love each other forever because summer is herrrrrrre!!
15. There are no Canadian teams left in the NHL playoffs :(
16. Your friend Dave announces that after months of lab testing he has perfected a new ribs recipe that will be unveiled this weekend.
17. You know it doesn't matter what Dave does to those ribs, they will taste amazing because it's the May long weekend, you're eating ribs cooked by your friend and each weekend from now on will only be better.
