NYSF 2013

In what has become an annual tradition, we again spent a week of summer vacation in the Syracuse area, camping, shopping and visiting the New York State Fair.

As always the trip wasn't without its, uh, challenges (our car getting hit in the mall parking lot by a woman driving her new car for the first time, a kid singing the most forlorn version of 'Crazy Train' over and over at an ungodly hour right outside our tent, heatstroke and torrential rain on the same day...) but it was a great trip and we all enjoy camping together and poking around the fair too. Just being together.

Ringing in the New Year

So happy to have James with us to ring in the new year. We started the evening with a trip to Mongolian Hot Pot, one of our very favourite places to eat out. We stuffed ourselves senseless, then went to the theatres to watch Worlds Away, the Cirque du Soleil movie. We went in having no idea what it was going to be about (and came out having no idea what it was about) but it was really cool, the acrobatics were amazing! Personally I don't think it really benefited from the 3D treatment, I found it more of a distraction than enhancement, but the kids love the 3D experience. We, of course, had to play a few games in the theatre's acrcade before heading home to play cards and wait for midnight. My idea of a perfect evening, all of us together.

Date Week 2012 - Date #5

For today's date night C and I took in the last concert of ChamberFest, a French quartet called Quatuor Ebène (along with guest pianist and violinist). The concert took place in gorgeous Dominion-Chalmers United Church, which has acoustics to die for!

A man seated beside us kept complaining about the musicians' interpretation of the pieces they were playing (which was very fresh and different, quite exciting!). He said "it doesn't even sound like Tchaikovsky, Tchaikovsky should sound prayerful". I wanted to tell him that prayer doesn't have to be solemn, that prayer can be joyful and uplifting, but I didn't have the balls. He moved during the intermission anyway so I didn't need to endure his critique of the Chausson piece (which was one I'd never heard before, and it was crazy good!).

And so ends date week 2012. It was a wonderful week, filled with tons of fun things, but the best part was just being with my honey.

(FYI: Quatuor ébène means 'ebony quartet'. You're welcome)

Date Week 2012 - Date #4

Tonight's date was a bit of a ménage à trois since Big J was in town, but no less enjoyable. We started off having dinner at Buffet des Continents, then we had reserved seating for Les grands feux du Casino du Lac-Leamy, which is an annual international fireworks competition.



We saw Zaragozana perform, representing Spain. Their theme was 'A cruise on the Mediterranean Sea', the soundtrack featured music and sound effects meant to evoke the various countries along the Mediterranean. It was FAB-U-LOUS!!



It rained earlier in the afternoon, which meant for the evening performance the humidity was gone, we were dry and comfy.

We have been to this fireworks competition in the past, but have viewed it from the beach (general admission) or from a bridge nearby (aka for free), seeing it in the reserved seating, so that the music was perfectly timed with the explosions, so that the presentation faced you and could be viewed as intended, oh it was just a whole new level of amazing!

Date Week 2012 - Date #3

For date #3 we took a loooooong drive. First we stopped in for lunch with my parents (it'd have been rude to drive right by them without stopping n'est-ce pas?) Then we drove into Toronto. The whole city is like one big flashback to my formative years...

We met up with friends of C's for appetizers and drinks, at Jack Astors. We sat on the patio, chatting and people watching, it was quite lovely.

Then we had tickets to see WarHorse at the Princess of Wales theatre, It was so wonderful!

I've been a theatre buff my whole life, but theatre in Ottawa is twice the price of theatre in Toronto, for far, far fewer shows (and often of lesser quality). I don't miss living in the GTA, not really, but I do miss the theatre.

10 hours round trip is kind of crazy just for a show, but 10 hours of chatting with C, with no one in the back seat bickering or offering up an unsolicited opinion was a rare and lovely treat.

Date Week 2012 - Date #2

Can't really call this one date 'night' :) It's a statutory holiday today in Ontario, but not in Quebec, so we started our day together with a very romantic trip to Costco in Gatineau :) Hehehe.

Afterwards, we went back to the cinema to try our luck at seeing The Dark Knight Rises and found it far less crowded (it was early afternoon). Surprisingly I really enjoyed the movie. And the popcorn was fantastic. I'm not a huge fan of theatre popcorn, it's generally greasy and gross, but this was just perfect.

We came home and spent a quiet evening in, eating butter chicken in front of the tube while watching DVRed episodes of Swamp People. Date week rocks!

(The French version of The Dark Knight Rises is called L'ascension du Chevalier noir, which is kind of sexy sounding. Now you know!)

Date Week 2012 - Date #1!!

Put the bits on the bus at 6:00 tonight for a week of sleepaway camp (at Camp de l'amitié, just like in 2011, and Katie alone in 2010 and 2009), and just like last year when both went away we are celebrating date week!

As soon as the buses pulled away C and I headed out for our first date of Date Week 2012. We had a Dealfind voucher for a little Italian restaurant downtown called Dantessa. It was dim and moody, and had a pretty good house red :) The waiter was strange, really strange, but the food was excellent. I had fettuccine in a cream sauce with spinach, red onion, tomato and shrimp (I wanted the lobster stuffed agnolotti but alas, they were all out. Next time...). We enjoyed an unhurried meal where no one once said 'put your bum on the chair' or 'use your fork'.

After dinner we headed out to the cinema with the intention of seeing The Dark Night... along with 2/3rds of Ottawa it seems. The theatre was jam-packed and the movie sold out! So a quiet night in it was, curled up on the couch watching Thor (aka über-hot guy and the hammer).

I might have a little bit of a crush on the actor who plays Thor. Ahem. Also - I'm a reasonably intelligent person and I have no idea what the heck was going on in that movie. Not that it really mattered since über-hot guy took off his shirt.

A perfect start to date week 2012, me and my honey.

And über-hot guy. :)

Me and my guy

Ridiculously unseasonably warm weather... bring on the soft serve!

Woo-hoo!

I won a giveaway on the delightful Katy's blog- an Accuquilt GO baby! And 3 dies! And it came today! And I'm freaking out a little 'cause it's sooooo cool!

I'm going to dig through my scrap bins and play :)

Date Night #4

Date Night #4 at Jean Albert's Soul Food, in Ottawa. Yummy! C has been dying to try this place for a loooong time, and it was definitely worth the wait. Fun, laid back, down-home atmosphere; friendly, attentive service; and super delicious food. What could be better?


(Our appetizers: "Chik-n-waffle", perfect chicken breast piece on a stick, battered in waffle batter, deep fried and served with table syrup. Yummmmmmmm!)

Date Night #2

Dinner at Mongolian Hot Pot. Broth fondue with all of the ingredients buffet style in large coolers lining one wall. We talked and ate and talked and ate, and I was SO FULL afterwards (but we were there nearly 2 hours so no wonder!). No one played with the burner controls on the table. No one had to go potty 15 times. No one whined 'I don't like that'. No one spilled anything (though in the interest of full disclosure I somehow managed to splash myself in the eye with the broth. The little Chinese waiter was horrified. Can't take me anywhere). Another fabulous date night! I'm enjoying this!

Date Night #1

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. In 3D! With popcorn! No one talked at us through the movie, no one needed to go potty 15 times, no one spilled anything. Perfect date night!

V-Day Surprise

We don't usually celebrate Valentine's Day (apart from helping the bits make cards for their classmates) but this year C surprised me with hockey tickets, and good ones, in the 100s, right behind the visitors net.

The return of Chris Kelly to Ottawa after being traded last week. Bittersweet for sure. We lost the game, but it was a great game nonetheless.

Little miracles

I've always been a believer in little miracles. Not the big cancer curing lottery winning plane crash surviving sort of miracle, although I believe in those too, but the little gifts that come just when you need them, the little reminders that God (or fate, or Allah, or the force, or Gaia, or whomever or whatever you choose to believe directs these things) is there.

I won a giveaway at Becky Higgins' blog, a sweet laptop bag. I don't really need a laptop bag, the old plain black bag my laptop lives in now works just fine, but what I really did need was a pick me up after a couple of weeks of trying times. And this is just such a lovely pick me up indeed. A little miracle.

Fairy Tales, they come true, it could happen to you....

Today my dad drove 4 hours to bring me a piano. Tomorrow he'll drive 4 hours back again.

I have the best dad in the world :)

I have wanted a piano for a really long time. My dad found this beauty on Freecycle, and today drove it to me in the back of his truck. It's an oldie, from 1934, but with great sound. A good tuning and a little TLC and this old girl will be loved and enjoyed for many more years to come.

Katie has already taught herself to play 'Old McDonald' on it. I do believe we'll be taking lessons together.

Dreams do come true.