On the way home

Since we got away late from Quebec City, we found we were unable to drive all the way back to Ottawa on Monday. We decided it would be the better part of valour to stop and spend the night on the road. We were tired from the walking and heat and just not up to facing Montreal traffic. We stopped just some kilometres out of Montreal. We laughed since the name of the place we stopped was Mt. St. Hilare, and one hotel we stopped at was $250! Hilarious, but fortunately there were no vacancies and we were spared the embarassment of saying we were too poor. It was a great looking spot along the river, so we decided we might return there on our 25th wedding anniversary. This was a big tourist area, so it was hard to find a place that we could afford, but at least we stopped at what looked like a typical 1950ish motel, where we got the last cabin. It was a cute little 2 bedroom cabin, which was nice for us. Again, we tried in vain to find something open for supper after 8:00PM. Ended up eating fast food, alas. At least we had something in our tummies.
On the way home the next day, we decided to take a drive through Montreal, since Sissy had only seen it under several feet of snow. We even stopped at the Olympic Park and went up in the tower (largest of its type in the world) to get a good view of the city. It was a cool cable car ride up. We even pretended we were Olympic gold medal winners!
We took a drive down through old Montreal, downtown and ducked by McGill University before getting back on the expressway.
Our new old car, did a great job on the highway and was very comfy as well as easy on gasoline (and considering it was $1.15 in Montreal that was a relief!). The air worked like a charm, which made all the difference in the world.
When we saw our little house, we were glad to be back home again. As my mom always said: "The best part about travelling is coming home."

Quebec City

Since Sissy is in her last week here, we thought we would like to take her to Quebec City, so we took off Sunday afternoon. We decided to wing it, leaving late, but surprisingly finding it an easy trip, arriving before it was too dark. We found a nice (read cheap) hotel and slept well after hunting everywhere to find anything open for supper. We found something, but wished we hadn't. Not too good... But the next day we had a wonderful time in old Quebec. We just loved the city.
Although they had predicted rain, we had a hot, humid day. On the left João is at the Royal Plaza, that made us feel like we were int he 18th century. On the right, I am at the beginning of a great shopping street, with tons of people. I especially enjoyed the flowers in all the windows. Of course the Chateau Frontenac was one of our favourite spots - we just kept looking and taking photos. This is Sissy and her dad looking down on the hotel from the Citadel. We walked more than we had walked in a really long time - we counted about 12 kilometres, and most of it up and downhill. We started the whole day down at the docks you can see down by the water. On the right you see a few of the steps we climbed in the process. I think I made everyone tired by oohing and ahing over everything. It was a feast for the eyes and we learned a lot of history in the process. By the time we got around to the cathedrals, we were ready to just sit and be quiet. I especially enjoyed the Anglican Holy Trinity Cathedral. There were so many beautiful churches in town. Finally we just had to stop and eat and think about heading out of town. We found a charming little restaurant where we sat in an open window/door and enjoy a delicious full course lunch. Of course, being french, the quantities were microscopic! But the atmosphere was great and the view was terrific. In the end, we had to bid adieu to the lovely walled city. It was a lovely, lovely day. Tomorrow I'll write about our trip home from Quebec City.

Thousand Islands

Today we finally got around to getting down to Brockville to take the 1000 Island Cruise. We couldn't have chosen a more beautiful day. It was sunny and bright and warm. It was a quick drive down to the St. Lawrence River and then a short wait to get on the boat. It was a smooth ride, but so relaxing to see the islands, water and big blue sky. It wasn't crowded, so we could wander around the boat and just generally enjoy ourselves. Since it was only an hour ride the time went by way too quickly. We saw lots of nice homes as well as people who were camping on islands. It really was a lovely way to spend the morning. On the way home we just HAD to stop at the Hershey's Chocolate Factory. It was a very busy place today. We got to see them making lots of candy and of course brought some home. Sissy doesn't have much time left here, so we have to make haste to have fun while she's here.

We took me out to the ball game

Here in Ottawa we are home to the Baltimore Orioles farm team, the Ottawa Lynx. The stadium and field (to left) are really quite nice, although evidently the sport is not too popular here in town. Every year there is rumbling about the Lynx leaving. I suppose there are just too many immigrants. I tried to get a group from the church to a ball game and there was very little interest. I gave up. But Sissy and João and I did go to a game this afternoon. It was a great day. Very sunny and moderately hot ( we actually switched seats since we felt like we were roasting where we were.). I tried and tried to explain the game, but although they understood a few things, it was pretty useless. Despite their confusion on when to cheer and when to boo the umpires, and a 7-4 loss, we did have a good time. It was a fun way to spend the afternoon. I enjoyed being taken out to the ballgame, even if there were no crackerjacks or peanuts!

Coffee maker

I am currently an enthusiast of my new hobby. Since coffee, which I really do enjoy, although am really not addicted, causes me so much grief (heartburn), I don't drink it much. One day I read, if you roast it fresh and grind right before perking it, it won't bother you. That peaked my curiosity and I had to discover... how do you roast coffee at home? After lots of research on the internet, I learned about the process. Next step? Buy green coffee beans (not so easy to find). Then the hunt was on for an old air popcorn popper (and not just any old one, it had to be a kind where the chaff wouldn't fall into the motor and catch on fire.). Found one at Value Village and another at the Salvation Army - dirt cheap (much better than professional coffee roasters than run hundreds of dollars - after all, who knew if I could enjoy doing all this). When I assembled my equpment, my big question was: would it work??? Yep, it did. Here (on left) you see the beans as they are just starting to brown. It only takes about 5-6 minutes depending on how dark a roast you want. After roasting, I have to immediately find a way to stop the roasting process. The smell is so delicious. You have to toss them around for a while in a metal basket to stop the roasting. Now supposedly they have to "de-gas", or get rid of the carbon dioxide, for several hours. The best place to store them is in a ball mason jar, so I found some old ones I have and voilá - de-gasing coffee beans. I only do enough for a couple of days, so I always have fresh beans. Of course, the trick is to be patient enough to wait to make your coffee when you can smell that heavenly fragrance of freshly roasted beans. Torture. I usually have to make some fresh coffee on the spot. Grinding just one spoonful of beans is enough for two cups of coffee. Now I'm no gourmet, so I don't have any of these fancy coffee machines. I just want that fresh coffee taste. And I get it. It is so smooth that even I (queen of half coffee/half sugar) can drink it with no sugar. Look closely, you can see the steam rising and almost smell the fresh - really fresh coffee. Now steam some milk, add a shot of vanilla syrup and a dash of cinammon and you are in coffee heaven. Join me in a cup? The whole process only takes about 30 minutes or so. Isn't it worth it?

Sound and Light Show

Since Sissy only has two more weeks with us, we are trying to do a few more things together. Tonight we went to see the Sound and Light Show on Parliament Hill. It was so well done and creative. It really was a show for the ears and eyes. Sissy took her camera and got some great shots and she generously shared them with me, who was too dumb to take her camera! Cool, huh? Don't you wish you were here? It was chilly though. We huddled together to stay warm. Reminded us that fall is definitely just around the corner. It's at 59 and should get down to 50. Nippy out there!

Greek Fest

Last night we were off to the Greek Fest here in town. Seemed like a good portion of the city came with us. What a crowd. We had a very interesting tour of the Greek Orthodox Church (very beautiful) which was quite educational. Not many people participated in that, of course. Then we ate Greek food. I think the main thing they really do well is quantity. Lots of food. In vast quantities. Then we squeezed our way into the watch the dancing. The people come just to participate in the dancing I think. There is a live Greek band and folks just love to do the circle dance. Couldn't find anyone to join with me, so I stayed seated :). Guess we just needed some of that 80proof ouzo. At the end the men do the zorba dance, throwing around and breaking plates and drinking ouzo and throwing about the cups. It's a lot of fun.

NEW OLD CAR

We took the two-tonne challenge and lived without a car for five months. It was a great experience. I learned the bus system, got in shape riding my bike (and got a good tan in the process) and saved a lot of money. Still, when we thought about doing that in the winter, it was not a pleasant thought. About a month ago we began to look at cars and I began to do research.
Last week, we finally narrowed things down and even found a car we liked. After more work and research and some negociation, we made a deal. Today we picked up our 1998 Toyota Corolla - new to us - old to someone in Buckingham, Quebec. We are very happy.
Cute, isn't it? After we brought it home, I kept asking everyone if they didn't need to go somewhere. I was dying to take it out for another spin. So we did a little arm-twisting and Sissy agreed to eat a Blizzard at Dairy Queen. Then we went grocery shopping where we stocked up. When we came out of Loblaws, João went to the wrong car. I laughed! There was another Corolla, same colour just two spots down. I had already memorized the first 4 letters of our plates, so I knew which one was ours. Funny!!! He says the car handles and drives quite well. He drove it on the Queensway on the way home, and had a hard time keeping the speed down. So he put it on cruise control. So we are happy with our new old car.

Mama Mia!

Last night I went out to see Mama Mia that's here in Ottawa for a couple of weeks. I went with a women's group from another church. What fun it was. Of course I knew almost all the ABBA songs as they had been so popular in the 70's. I suppose the vast majority of audience were women about my age. Everyone laughed and giggled and had a really good time. At the end, the cast came out and sang a couple of ABBA songs. By that time everyone was on their feet dancing and singing and clapping. It was such good fun. I really had a blast. I felt like I had been there about 15 minutes when the whole show was over. I didn't have a hard time catching a bus home and as I walked up our street I saw Sissy and João sitting out on our porch. I thought: "How sweet they missed me and were anxious to see me arrive." Nice thought. Not true. The two of them had locked themselves out and were anxious to see my keys (not me) :). It was after 11:00, so they had waited for 2 hours. Isn't that funny? I made pizza and we got to talk about the day. We all just about fell asleep at the kitchen table.

Flowers

Not too much is happening around here these days. Things are pretty quiet. Tonight I was with my favourite little girl and she "helped" me water the dahlias. She just drinks in information and pours it back out again. There is nothing more precious than seeing her grow. Tonight we sang (in portuguese) "Who made the pretty flowers... I know it wasn't me! 'Twas our heavenly father." Soon she could sing it to her parents when they came, as she showed them the "pretty flowers."

She always reminds me of the joy of being alive! Look at this face. I hope you feel this alive too!