August to early October

Well, I figured I should write one last post to get us all up to date. It will be short, I promise!

After our trip to Europe, David had a week to recuperate before taking off for a conference in Indianapolis. I think it was a long week for both of us while he was gone, but the conference went very well and it was good that he went. Most of August was pretty quiet, although we visited a fun little fair in the old port at the end of the month. It was a recreation of an 18th century public market, with hand-made goods and costumes and such. It was silly, but I did purchase a delicious jam and some old-fashioned truffles. It was a fun way to spend part of an afternoon!



At the end of the month I also made the decision to give Callie a haircut. This might not sound like big news, but let's just say it was a drastic change in style for her. I swear, the weather was hot enough to merit it... at least for a few weeks! Unfortunately the temperatures dropped much faster than her coat seems to be growing back in, so that's a lesson learned.



In September there seemed to be three themes - animals, baking, and photography - not necessarily related! I got a fish (very exciting). We also had some drama with mice - I think there were only two, and we caught one in a humane trap (using a bucket and a paper towel roll). After its release I think we worked out where and how they were getting in, and things have been quiet as of late. Here's hoping we solved the little problem.



After getting the kitchen thoroughly cleaned, I guess I was in a baking mood! In the last couple of weeks I have made apple pie, trifle, brownies, cookies, and most recently a buttermilk chocolate cake with a white chocolate frosting and raspberries on top! So that's been fun. Also I have been taking a photography class. It's a good refresher course in the basics, and it gets me out and taking pictures. Unfortunately the weather is really starting to get cold, and it seems like fall will be shorter this year than last year. We actually turned the heat on yesterday! Here's hoping winter doesn't come freezing in too soon.

Summer Vacation!

I forgot to mention in my last post that July 3rd was my last day working for the RHW Foundation. The maternity leave I was filling in for had ended, which made it easier for David and I to be able to get ready for our trip to Europe. This will probably be a long post, but it will be mostly pictures I'm sure!

On July 10th, we flew from Montreal to Manchester, England, where David's Auntie Sue picked us up from the airport on Saturday morning. We spent a few days with her and Uncle Peter, before David hopped on a train for a music conference in Durham, England. He was there from Monday to Wednesday, while I stayed with the family. He came back Wednesday evening, and we were able to stay another day before heading off for the next leg of our trip. Here are some pics (just a few) of the many things we did during our visit!

The four of us climbing the terrain near their home in Adlington, Lancashire on the morning we arrived:


Visiting Southport:


David's trip to Durham:


My trip to the lake district with Auntie Sue:


Babysitting Sue's granddaughter (David's 2nd cousin), Ellie:


And when Sue took David and I to visit Liverpool, including a tour of Anfield!


We had a great time with them and were really sad to leave. But it was a busy trip, and at something like 4:15 on Friday morning (7/17) Uncle Peter drove us to the train station, where we headed to London for a day with Garrett! He happened to be studying in Cambridge, so we all met up at King's Cross station and made the most out of one day in the city. We managed to see the Tower of London, get our picture in a red phone booth, tour Westminster Abbey, stand under Big Ben, and even do a pub crawl for T-shirts!



It was too short a day, but we had a lot of fun. David and I managed to get a couple of hours of sleep in our tiny room in the hostel, before getting back up at 3:00 a.m. to catch a shuttle to the airport! We had a 7:00 a.m. flight to Karlsruhe Baden-Baden, Germany, where we caught another shuttle that drove us straight to Strasbourg, France. From Saturday (7/18) to Wednesday (7/22), we explored the Alsace region of France with Derek, Hazel, Chris, and Laura! I apologize in advance for having forgotten many of the names of places we visited, but at least I have pictures!

Walking around Strasbourg:


Exploring picturesque villages:


Translating our way through a fun wine tasting:


Touring Strasbourg by land and water:






Even visiting the black forest!






The days were packed and we really tried to make the most out of our time together. It was great to get to see the family, not to mention all the lovely Alsatian wines! In retrospect, we probably should have brought more than two bottles back to Montreal with us...

On Wednesday evening (7/22), David and I caught a fast TGV train from Strasbourg to Paris for the last part of our trip. We checked into our really nice hotel (after we wandered about for a while looking for it) and crashed early. The next day, Garrett (who we had seen in London already) and Haley joined us in the city, and we spent the weekend exploring Paris together. Here are a few pictures from that part of the trip.

Notre Dame de Paris:


At a nice restaurant near the Eiffel tower, where we escaped the rain and all tried the escargot that Haley ordered:


Under the Eiffel Tower:


After touring the Louvre:


Sacre Coeur:


The painting we purchased at Montmartre:


We never did go up it, but we did see a lot of the tower!


After an awesome long weekend in Paris, we finally packed up our suitcases and made our way back to Montreal. We saw so many things that it feels like three different vacations all packed into one! But we had a great time, and as always, there are many more pictures on Picasa if you want to see more.

June to early July

I'd say it's pretty obvious that I haven't kept up with this blog particularly well! A LOT has happened between last May and now, so I will attempt to recap the months gradually. Bear with me!

From June 11th to 18th, we were lucky enough to have Darby and Stephen up for a visit. Even though they had just moved into the new house they're renting, and had just finished attending a long music festival, they drove all the way up here to see us! The weather was fantastic, so we tried to get them outside to see as much of the city as possible while they were here. Although we had to start in the metro, we did get to ride bikes, visit the market, and have a picnic out in the sunshine at Parc Lafontaine with Callie.









Of course we made them walk to the top of Mt. Royal for "the view," but the weather that day was increasingly ominous. After a quick look around, we hightailed it down the mountain and were lucky enough to catch a bus home just as the downpour began!





Darby and Stephen were also here on David's birthday, and they spent hours making this incredible German chocolate cake. It had many layers and toppings and was really just phenomenal. (I hear they made this cake again for Dad's birthday, and I'm sure he enjoyed it as much as we did.) After cake David opened his mountain of presents, and good times were had by all. (:







We were sad to see them go, but so grateful they were able to make it up at all! It was a fun week. The weekend after, some of our friends hosted a birthday party for David. Highlights included sangria, beer pong, landmines, and Rock Band! We had a lot of fun.



On June 25th (a few days later) David and I celebrated our 3rd anniversary. I was getting over some bug, and neither of us was feeling super high energy, so we stayed in. David did get me a bouquet of roses though! For dinner we made sub sandwiches together, in honor of the Jimmy John's subs that we had delivered late-night after our wedding in 2006. We figured since they don't deliver to Canada, we might as well make our own subs. And they were delicious of course!



In early July, we decided to host a "How to Host a Mystery" party - Star Trek edition! So on the 4th of July, six of our friends came over dressed in costumes, we ate the closest approximations of "Star Trek food and drink" that we could come up with, and we played the mystery game that was made sometime in the 90s! It was a bit slow for our tastes, but we had fun dressing up and drinking romulan ale.



About a week after that party, we packed up and went to Europe for our summer vacation, but I will save that for the next post!

Time for an update!

Wow, I can't believe I haven't updated this thing since March! It seems like things have been an odd mix of busy and slow here. In some ways not much has been going on, and we have really settled into a comfortable routine. But there have been a few fun events here and there, and we're enjoying ourselves as always!

Let's see, where should I start? I guess I'll go back to where I left off and work my way forward. In March it was still cold and there was some snow on the ground, although it was starting to melt a bit. It was very slushy outside, and we spent a lot of time inside. I had fun taking some pictures of Callie though.



I guess it's an indication that April was pretty quiet, too, as the only pictures I seem to have are of the silly birdhouse I made! I remember that in April there was still the occasional snow flurry, right up until Easter, although the temperature had obviously started going up since it was possible to sit outside without a huge coat on. The birds had started coming back to the city too, though ironically it was the seagulls that reappeared first. By the end of the month most of the snow had gone, and the temperatures started feeling human again. The highs began getting up into the 40s and 50s in the daytime, and it seemed like the entire population of the city was looking for any excuse to get outside in the sunshine, us included!

In May, I was lucky enough to get to spend a week in Arkansas, although David couldn't come because of his summer schedule. I visited Devil's Den with the family:



Had a ton of fun out with the gang on a Tuesday night:



Got to shop with Hazel and then have a nice dinner with her and Derek:



And generally I just enjoyed having some time to unwind, shop, eat, and visit all the people I've missed! It was a really great trip, and I have lots more pictures on Picasa if you're curious.

Last weekend we celebrated a friend's birthday here, and she insisted we all go out to a Salsatheque for an evening of dancing. It was my first experience with Latin dancing, and let's just say I need a bit more practice! But it was different and fun, and everyone seemed to have a pretty good time. I don't know if David and I will go back any time too soon, but hey, we tried it!



So now it's June, and the city is really waking up after the long winter. Everything is completely green, there are trees and flowers and grass, and yes, I am experiencing some allergies!



But it's really beautiful, and already winter feels a long way away. The weather has started to turn really gorgeous, and at last we can leave home without a coat or even a jacket. On Friday David and I met up when I got off work to go to Mondial de la biere Montreal 2009 - Montreal's 16th beer festival! It was right downtown in Windsor Station, and since we went at around 5:30 the crowd wasn't too bad. It was a bit expensive, but we got souvenir glasses and tried a wide range of crazy beers.



My favorite was a rose cider, but I think David enjoyed a nice Carlsberg. Neither of us particularly enjoyed a German beer that tasted like smoky sausage... very bizarre! The festival was great though; there were tents inside and out, and the crowd on the grass in the courtyard really reminded us of good times at Bonnaroo last summer!









Toward the back of the courtyard we were pleasantly surprised to find a cart selling Beaver Tails, and since I didn't get a picture from the one we got in Ottawa a few months ago, here's one so you can finally see what I'm talking about. Yum.



The longer we stayed the more crowded it got, so we eventually finished our beers and headed out. I couldn't believe the line out the door as we left, but it wasn't surprising for a Friday night. On our way out we went through a little park where we saw a very bold squirrel chowing down on some leftover fast food, which was kind of cool and sad all at once. Then we went to see Star Trek again (yaay), came home and had cookies and milk, and generally had a very enjoyable Friday.





Well, in just a few days we will have Darby and Stephen up for a visit, which we are really looking forward to. Of course, now I have to go arrange the apartment so they won't have to sleep in the uninsulated storage room... I'm sure they'll appreciate it. Anyway, hopefully I can put up some pictures within two or three months of their visit and give you all a more punctual update! Miss you all and hope it's sunny and summery where you are!

-Shannon