to market, to market, to buy a fat *moose*?

James got a jump on everybody for 2008, resolving to make health & fitness a priority. In conjunction with going to the gym, he's subscribed to a service which includes menu plans and grocery lists. I must grant that it's convenient from my perspective, because I never have to wonder what's for dinner--or supper, as we who hail from hardy Manitoba farming families like to call it. Now if only I could eliminate the guesswork re: who is to prepare it 9/10ths of the time.

James is very adventurous about trying new cuisine, and rarely is there a dish he dislikes. Greyve, meat crackles, currently ranks #1 on his "steer clear" list as far as I can tell. However, given that we do not head to the ByWard Market on a regular basis (and perhaps even if we did), it can be a little difficult to locate flounder and red snapper in seafood aisle of the local grocery chains. Fortunately for us, the menu service allows us to hit a "swap this meal" button if we see something that seems unreasonable. There's also the equivalent of an "I don't want to see this meal again" option. I thought the flounder presented itself as an excellent opportunity to cash in on the swap. Well, whoever designs this particular Web site has cosmopolitan tastes beyond my wildest dreams: along with pork, chicken, & beef to satisfy commonplace palates, one finds antelope, beaver, wild boar, horse, moose, squirrel, and water buffalo--raw or roasted, one's choice. Scratch the wildest dreams. I dreamt of a rabid squirrel last week. I wasn't eating it, but it was gnawing on me. Or maybe it was a just a metaphor I was contemplating for poetic purposes. There's only one way to conclude (you know it): Bon appétit!

back in time

A few months ago, October 21, to be exact, my guy & I drove over to the Chapman Mills Conservation Area about an hour before dusk to take a quick walk. The CMCA is only a few minutes away. (I would have suggested that we cycle there, but James didn't discover the whereabouts of my bike helmet until November. I may have forgiven, but I haven't forgotten.) There's no gate, but a sign at the entrance advises visitors to avoid the paths after dark--probably because nobody wants to be liable if anyone falls off the boardwalk into the Rideau River.

We made it in and out in the nick of time: you can see a yellow moon a-risin' in the background. Really, it was no small feat, because instead of walking the trail north and then heading back south along Prince of Wales Drive to where we'd left the vehicle, we had to turn around very close to what we had expected would be the end of the road, all because of a broken bridge. Made it out before coyotes came a-callin' or skunks came a-sprayin'.

This little getaway spot was already in place the last time we lived in Ottawa, but it's undergone development. For instance, the map at the link above advertises the "stonedust pathway," which was not in place previously--and which I think lends a touch of romance to the place. (I mean it's easier to focus on your significant other when you're not concerned that there may be roots and branches waiting to trip you up.) I'm not quite sure what the promoters mean when they write "a passive recreational area." Did they mean placid? I really don't think "passive" is the right word; come to think of it, "placid" might not be it either. I can still picture the time about 5 years ago when Nicole and I stopped on the boardwalk to admire the sweet ducklings paddling about, and the ferocious mother duckie burst out of the reeds and rushes to defend her vulnerable babies! Nothing placid or passive about that experience.

post for perry

"More cats," he said. He requested current (2008) photos. I suspect it was just to make sure that I haven't yet killed them with kindness (or cruelty). Not all of these are 2008, as you can see by the summery polish on my toenail if you enlarge the first picture (which I wouldn't necessarily recommend doing), but 2/3 are relatively recent.

Top (l-r): Darth regally reclining between kitchen and hallway; Curlicue sleeping like a baby on the back of the couch.
Middle (l-r): Curli goofing off as I vacuum; Darth's personal water fountain (too bad he can't turn it on & off himself).
Bottom (l-r): Bookend kitties; cuddle time (a fight's about to ensue over who gets the back of the chair)

then & now: mountains & molehills

Last week was my first week back to work. The good news is that the term has brought with it more hours (and consequently, more pay, oh happy thought); the bad news is that the posts here will likely be (even) more intermittent. So because I'm too exhausted to entertain you with stories, here are some pictures of the bizarre winter weather we've been experiencing.

Dec 16 ~ Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow
The view out the front door the Sunday that James and Dave shovelled the driveway twice.

Dec 18 ~ view out the patio door

Jan 1 ~ our driveway & front door
The snowbank between our driveway and our neighbors' was taller than James.
Let's just say we've gotten good at slinging snow.

Jan 13 ~ we had rain, we had sun, we'd two seasons rolled into one
The view looking towards our front door (1st photo) & across the street (2nd). Yes, that is grassy lawn you see poking out all over. I'm pleased to report that visibility all around is much improved since Friday, when the City trucked out the snow that had been accumulating on the far side of the sidewalk. Also, our mountain has devolved into a molehill.

New Year's reflection on 2007

Caution: this post may be subject to updates over the course of the next few days as other memories occur to me.

The Blessings Christmas Catalogue 2007 featured an excerpt from author/humorist Phil Callaway, entitled “Skipping Christmas Letters.” In the piece, he purports to be “weary of receiving letters from people whose lives are perfect,” and claims that if he sent out a letter, it would resemble the following:

Merry Christmas!
I was hoping to tell you of our wonderful year.
Then January hit.
With love, The Callaways

(For those of you who didn’t catch the Blessings version, a minimally different version of Callaway’s article appears here.)

I remember chatting with a friend about Christmas newsletters a few years ago (remember, L?), reflecting that any letter of mine that year would say something to the effect of:

Dear Family and Friends,
Nothing’s changed since last year, other than the location and contestants of this season’s Survivor, which we watch religiously every Thursday.

This year, of course, I can go one better. And I'm pleased to say we've kicked the Survivor habit. (We replaced it with Heroes and House--until the writers' strike kicked in.) Here begins my "2007 in review."

January

• After having completed 4 years of gruelling studies in Dec '06, James was finally a free agent.
• I was working at the Learning Technologies Centre, desperately coordinating preparations for a one-day symposium at the end of the month.
  
• In addition, I spent many evenings a week assisting the director of Godspell, in preparation for the three-night run at our church (also end Jan). James was recruited at the 11th hour to work the lighting.
  
• Somewhere in there I was supposed to be participating in an online course re: U.S. copyright. (Hey, celebrate the small victories: I logged in to one discussion forum!)

February

• Mid-February James got The Call – a call from a former manager asking if he’d like to work out east again. Thus began the packing and preparation.
• I delivered a number of copyright presentations, including one to Manitoba Editors' Assoc.
• The last Saturday in February we first went out for supper with Duane & Celina, a last hurrah before we moved (again).
  
• Later we headed over to Solid Rock Café where we listened to Shezza croon, while we indulged in cake that we'd brought to share (in honor of James's birthday and new position).
  

March

• I managed to book a dental appointment with Dr. Harnett. (Believe it or not, I always looked forward to visiting my dentist. He took care of the cleanings himself – practically unheard of – and I always looked forward to hearing about the places from which he’d just returned or to which he was soon traveling.)
• Mid-March, James left for Ottawa, having packed most of his possessions. The very afternoon he landed, he went to view, in person, the townhouse we’d picked out online. He called me a few hours later to say he was signing the papers.
• James flew back to Wpg at the end of the month for the ENGAP Graduation Banquet. His parents, his sister, my parents, and I all attended as guests of the graduand. We were so proud of him: he maintained a straight A/A+ average and won numerous scholarships and awards throughout his program in Electrical Engineering.
• That weekend was a crazy one: James arrived Friday morning, we had reps from two moving companies in to assess our stuff that afternoon, then the banquet Friday evening, brunch with James’s family the following morning, appliance shopping at Sears Sat. afternoon, and finally, the COTR evening service before he flew out Sunday morning.
• Other than all that personal stuff, year-end financial transactions kept me preoccupied at work. Oh, and tendering my resignation and posting my position; I think we interviewed and hired someone before the end of the month (for a May start date--my director believed in being proactive).

April

• I honestly don’t remember much about April. There was Easter. Then there were a few doctors’ appointments. (It just about broke my heart to say good-bye to my GP, Dr. Groenewald, and dermatologist, Dr. Haydey, two of the best doctors ever.)
  
• In addition to my full-time day job, I was computer interpreting at the College on Tuesday evenings. My rationale was that it couldn’t hurt for me to make money when the opportunity presented itself, since I was planning to take a few months off in summer. Plus, I had established a rapport with that particular learner in other classes.
  
• I signed the papers so the Dollaramaroncini family (not their real surname) could take over the apartment. (Latest reports indicate that the bearded dragon lizards are flourishing in their new habitat.)
  
• I attended the Rosenort School’s production of Annie and couldn’t stop singing, “The sun will come out tomorrow…” for the next 3 days.
• The movers came to load up our worldly goods.
• April 25th: possession date of our townhouse. (Jason & Amy deserve a really huge thank-you for hosting James until he could get into our place.)
  

May

• I made a quick trip to our new home the weekend after the movers unloaded our stuff, primarily to fly the cats out and unpack most of the kitchen.
• After I flew back to Wpg, it was a matter of getting through the Media Festival and training my replacement at work; on the social side, it meant quickly catching up with friends, including brunch at the Club Regent Casino (a first) with Celina before...
• James flew out on the evening of May 31st to pick up the Pathfinder with me in it and drive us home.
• Worthy of note: when the carpet cleaner came to clean our apt., he asked if we were minimalists. (I'd lived for a month with a small TV, 2 stacking chairs, a TV table, a microwave, and a foam mattress; it was sparse, but do-able.)

June

• The first three days consisted of driving. According to my notes, we had the “quickest supper in the world at Pizza Hut” in Dryden, Friday, June 1. (In, ordered, ate, and out in 30 min. Tell me that is not a first for Pizza Hut!)
• Sometime shortly after our return, we began watching Lost. (We'd been out of the popular TV loop--except for Survivor, as I mentioned--for about 4 yrs.)
  
• A friend of mine from my St. Vital E.M.C. days married a man from this part of Ontario in 2006. The Sunday after James & I arrived home, we arranged to meet Shirley & Dave for brunch at a local grill.
• Much of June we spent obtaining our Ontario I.D., that is, drivers' licences, vehicle insurance & plates (that's always a catch-22 dilemma: can't get plates without insurance, can't get insurance without plates), vehicle emissions & safety checks, OHIP cards.
  
• We also bought things for our house (furniture, floor mats, garage door opener) and shopped for curtains (think it took 'til Sep to hang up that task).
• I finished off two transcriptions of conference presentations for a former employer.
  
• On Father’s Day we visited Merrickville, described as a “quaint” Victorian town about 45 min. away. The first thing we did was dine alfresco at a local café. (Is there a word for grazing between lunch and supper parallel to brunch? Lupper?) We overheard the owner telling her table of friends/family that Stephen Harper had been in town the previous day, something to do with the 175th anniversary of the Rideau Canal and the opening of a special exhibit at the Blockhouse Museum. Apparently he had come into the shop, flanked by bodyguards, to order an ice cream cone. What had impressed her was that he paid for it himself: she confided to her listeners that she had felt guilty charging the Prime Minister of Canada for an ice cream, and had gone so far as to mention it to Mr. Harper, but he had reassured her that he is no different in that respect from any other citizen. That little anecdote kept us entertained while we waited for our meal to arrive. Afterwards, we toured the museum, walked up and down the streets, and browsed in shop windows. Many shops were closed on that particular Sunday afternoon. One sign in a shop window – it might have been at What a Girl Wants – caught my eye in particular. I don’t remember the precise wording, but essentially the idea was that the shop is open on a Sunday afternoon at the whim of the shopkeeper. It delighted me because I thought the sentiments perfectly reflected the store’s name.
• I believe it was Sunday, June 24th that we got together with Barry, Charles & Lisa, and Doug & Andrea & children for lunch at Montana's. It was good to reconnect with them.
  

~ "And now, for the rest of the story," as Paul Harvey would say. ~

July

• With some creative driving over the sidewalk on James’s behalf, we found an unparalleled parking spot from which it was a reasonable walking distance to Andrew Haydon Park, one of the sites for Canada Day fireworks. From our down-river vantage point, we even caught a glimpse of the fireworks up on Parliament Hill a few short minutes before our own show touched off.
• My parents and brother came for a (very) brief visit at the beginning of the month. We toured them around, and celebrated my parents’ birthdays and anniversary, with a trolley car tour of downtown and Turtle cheesecake. At departure time, my dad remarked what an enjoyable week it had been; it may have felt like a week to him, but they were only visiting for 2½ days!
• July 7 - Evan & Camille hosted a BBQ for the product verification group employees & their families.
  
• Sunday, July 8, James & I took in a bit of the Bluesfest. The White Stripes were playing at 9:30pm on the MBNA stage. Knowing that streets would be blocked off and the parking crazy, we took OC Transpo down to LeBreton Flats. Got there around 6:30pm, set up our chairs, read our books, ate long-coveted spicy samosas (not like those bland ones Farm Boy sells) from a vendor, and took in the sights, sounds, and smells (cigarettes, pipes, weed, and heavily perspiring adolescent music enthusiasts). When Jack and Meg took the stage, I confess I stuffed my ears with tissue (I know, major uncool), it was so incredibly LOUD. I gave all my concentration to making out the lyrics, so as to crowd out the claustrophobic crush of people all around me (some of them those aforesaid perspiring adolescents). Next time, I will send James with his buddies; I much prefer to retain what hearing I still have (and avoid nasty porta-potties). Still, I can cross "attending White Stripes concert" off my list of things to do before I die.
• July 14 - We participated in the neighborhood street sale. This was my first (and probably last) time doing a yard sale. We made a bit of money, which was a bonus, because the point of it, really, was to shed some excess stuff we no longer used or needed. I think from hereon in I'd just rather donate it. It's extremely humbling to spread out for strangers' scrutiny a jumble of odds & ends symbolizing small aspects of one's life, and I had to resist the urge to defend my poor little collection by informing prospective buyers of each item's sentimental significance. It's much easier to leave things at the drop-point for Salvation Army; that way I happily imagine that somebody, sifting through cast-offs, will light upon an item and exclaim, "Why, this is precisely what I've been looking for!"
  
• James & I celebrated our 8th anniversary by going out to dinner at Capone’s, one of our favorite Italian restaurants.
• July 20-21 - we got to catch up with Manitoba friends at their family’s cottage.
• July 30 - We finished watching the last episode of season 3 of Lost.
  
• July 31 – the same Manitoba friends whose family cottage we crashed arrived with their three children to do some sightseeing in the Nation’s Capital. Unfortunately for them, they chose to visit us on the hottest day/night of the year, and we don’t have central air. I must say, their kids were exceptionally good sports about it.
• Our long-awaited sod arrived (and I didn't even record the exact date, much to my chagrin).
  

August

• The Civic Holiday saw us feasting with friends at their backyard BBQ.
  
• My half-hearted attempts to find employment turned to more serious efforts.
• I managed to make my way to Britannia Beach twice.
• "They" paved our street. (I don't know "their" names.)
• I lined up new doctors out here.
  
• The Trumps (no relation to The Donald) invited us over for a BBQ birthday bash for young Myles to wind down the month.
  

September

• We kicked off the Labor Day weekend by going out for Sunday lunch with friends. I had the regrettable experience of contracting food poisoning from Kelsey’s spinach dip (Barrhaven). Consequently, my long weekend Monday was pretty much a wipe-out/wipe-up. I haven’t eaten spinach dip anywhere since, and I shall continue to abstain from it for the foreseeable future.
• I began working part-time as a computer interpreter at the U of Ottawa. It took a bit of time getting used to the campus culture. Things are organized differently here than at the places I worked in Wpg.
• I transcribed a few interview tapes for a previous employer (not the same former employer as for the June transcriptions).
• I commenced French language classes twice a week.
• Near the end of the month, I attended my first "Partini": a party (actually a bridal shower) with a martini/cocktail/mocktail theme.
  

October

• On Friday, October 5, it was as though summer had returned for one last fling. Shirley picked me up for a fantastic lunch at Feleena's, which specializes in Mexican dishes.
  
• The following evening, James’s manager invited us to his place for Thanksgiving dinner; there were eight of us around the table.
• The following Sunday Charles & Lisa invited us over for an evening visit. What an impressive collection of Marilyns!
  
• Earth continued to rotate on its axis; Julie continued to ride OC Transpo downtown and stop for the occasional Starbucks' tazo chai lattes.

November

• Nov 10 - The same day our friends left for their youngest daughter's wedding in Cuba, I was waiting in the cold for a bus to take me downtown to write government exams. I got there only to find that the tests were delayed by about 2 hours. Fortunately for the organizers, I had a book and a tazo chai to placate me.
• Nov 11, Remembrance Day - went to a baby shower for Jason & Amy's little guy, born on Halloween.
• Nov 23 - computer interpreted for a one-day conference; the level of concentration I exerted meant that once I got home, I didn't move from the couch until bedtime.
  
• Nov 24 - brunch with Barry, Doug & Andrea & kids.
  
• Nov 25 - James attended Jason's Grey Cup party at Barry's (don't ask).
• Wonder of wonders, James discovered my bike helmet, hidden away in some secret pocket deep in the bowels of the basement. I’d procrastinated on buying a replacement, and at that moment, was I ever glad!

December

• I finished up both the classes I was taking and the classes I was interpreting for about the same time. I squeezed in interpreting for a second conference (called building a clientele base, I suppose).
  
• I rewarded myself with a quick trip to Manitoba for an early Christmas, Dec 5-11. To all those I didn't get to see, my deepest regrets; maybe next time it will work out. Here's what I did:
  • Day 1 - dropped Mom off at St. Vital Centre, took GayleRama for a birthday lunch, visited at Mauro Centre/St. Paul's, back to mall to shop for Christmas gifts (to give as well as get), off to Dollarama on Taylor, dropped Mom off at WalMart on Kenaston, off to Mongo's Grill to meet with LVL Society (Ladies of Lake Village - Val, Jacquie, Jenn, Gina), back to WalMart to pick up Mom, brief stops at Superstore & McDonald's, then home.
  • Day 2 - wrapped gifts; Mom & I stopped by Aunt Elma's for a quick visit (saw the new sectional sofa); stopped in at Home Hardware, Morris, in search of TV-advertised plastic wrap cutters (no go) en route to Steinbach to have supper with Perry at Sawney Bean's.
    
  • Day 3 - went to the Co-op; later, met Jacquie at McNally's for coffee & decadent carrot cake; did a bit more shopping; went to COTR and out to Starbucks with Cindy after.
  • Day 4 - went to Rosenort E.M.C. and saw tons of people I hadn't seen in ages, and actually talked to a handful, too; had our family Christmas, minus James; Lon & Pat dropped in around 8pm, bringing with them a whole ice-cream pail of Pat's incomparable caramel corn (woohoo)!
    
  • Day 5 - went to Morris to pick up Canada Post mailing boxes; I can't recall doing anything else.
  • Day 6 - off to Wpg for a McDonald's breakfast, then a stop to mail myself the stuff that didn't fit into my carry-on, a stop at the mall to exchange Dad's gift, a quick coffee break at Tim's, and bye-bye Manitoba.
    

• Upon my return home, I felt an uncharacteristic urge to spend a considerable amount of time baking. (Probably the result of spending a week under the influence of my mom.)
  
• Dec 22 - James & I celebrated Christmas
• Dec 31 - we received passes to see Charlie Wilson's War (thanks, Dave!) with Ci, Nicole, Suzanne & Jim (Dave was operating the projector).
  

So that's what 2007 held for us. We're trusting God to see us through more adventures, big and small, in 2008. (Hopefully they won't involve moving any time soon.)

We wish you all as many blessings as your hearts can hold, and then some.

~ Julie & James