A November to remember ...

It is one thing to have such a good time that you would want to repeat it. The time I had was SO good, that I would put it on a loop, to be able to relive it over and over and over again!

After picking up my man at the airport on a Thursday, we made a beeline to the Aloft, our new favorite getaway. Because we were only going to be in Montreal for about 2 1/2 days, it was a flurry of activity. We squeezed in a trip to Lafleur's (a Montreal boy needs his fix, after all!) and two visits to his babcia. We brought her homemade borscht, which she wolfed down, explaining that the food at the Polish home lacks seasoning. Another evening, we headed to Old Montreal and ended up at Papillon, a sweet little place serving French and Italian food. The food was pretty good but the place was ... well, because my honey and I are hooked on the Food Network's Restaurant Makeover show, we had ample opportunity to 'make over' this restaurant. (Top of the list? Ditch the paper napkins and table covers for cloth and get rid of the individual plastic butter containers too!) That Sunday, we hit the road for Toronto. Never have 5 1/2 hours flown by so quickly or so enjoyably! While I will spare you all most of the details of the rest of our trip (mainly because my kids and my dad read my blog!), here are some of the highlights:

My honey made sure to feed my craving for Chipotle, as he always does. I have come to realize that he is like a drug dealer - first, he gets me hooked on the place and he is now the one who takes care of getting me my fix. (By the way, here is a really cute video that explains the Chipotle ideal.)

Our pizza-and-Rummy-500 night saw me get a promotion; I went from having my first win be an 'isolated incident' to now having my second win be a 'coincidence'. One more win and I become a 'trend' ... and then the Rummy 500 crown will be mine. Mine, I tell you ... all MINE! *insert evil cackle here*

Our trip would not have been complete without seeing my Robbie. Our toothsome threesome took place that evening at Fabbrica, While a little too much time was given discussing the perceived weirdness of the men's washroom (don't ask!), the food was terrific. The guys swarmed over the three types of crostini; I was saving my appetite for my orecchiette with rabbit and rapini. (It was divine!) We laughed and drank and laughed and ate and laughed s'more. Budino di cioccolata (a flourless chocolate cake) and cappuccinos were the perfect ending to a perfect evening.

One of the new loves in my life ... Chocolate Mmmmmmartini!

Time to pull out all the stops (and the high heels!) because it was 'Date Night'. And OH ... EM ... GEE ... what a date night it was! We head to the TD Bank Tower and up to the 54th floor. (I love a good elevator ride, don't you?) As the doors open to Canoe, there seems to be a change in the atmosphere - this place is posh with a capital WOW! We are led to the bar while they ready our table (restaurantspeak for 'please spend money at our bar'). Reading the drink menu, I am tempted by the suggestion of a chocolate martini and order one up. HOLY SMACKAMOLY! Two sips into the delectable concoction, I decide that when I die, I want to be embalmed in this heavenly elixir. Someone needs to expand the English language, because there are no words to describe how succulent this drink is!!! Eventually, we are led to our table where we sink into incredibly comfy club chairs. The view is simply spectacular and we soak it all in as we finish our drinks. Our server appears and we settle on the tasting menu, something my guy and I have both become enamoured with of late because it allows you the chance to sample a wide variety of dishes without become overly stuffed. And because we choose to go all in with the wine accompaniment, we are virtually assured of perfect pairings throughout the meal. Here is what we had (wines are indicated in brackets):

• Amuse Bouche (Izumi Jaja-Uma 'Crazy Horse' Saké, Ontario Spring Water Saké Company, Toronto)
• Qualicum Beach Scallop Ceviche, Apple Cider Seaweed, Horseradish, Fresh and Preserved Apple (Tawse Quarry Road Vineyard Reisling, Vinemount Ridge, Ontario 2010)
• Jerusalem Artichoke Soup, Crispy Artichoke, Sunflower Seed Oil, Maple Braised Pork Belly (Antolino Brongo Cryomalus Iced Apple Cider, St-Joseph-du-Lac, Quebec, 2010)
• Intermezzo (this was a serving of palate cleansing granité, presented in a Japanese soup spoon but I can't remember what flavour the granité was)
• For the main course, I chose to have the Purdy's Deep Water Char, Molasses Glazed Salsify, Cookstown Beets, Cranberry Shallot Compote and Borscht Jus (Keint-He Vineyards Pinot Noir, Prince Edward County, Ontario, 2007) ... my date chose to go with the Green Alder Roasted Venison, Spaghetti Squash, Chestnut Tourtière, Huckleberries (Stratus Cabernet Franc, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, 2007)
• Caramel Poached Niagara Pears, Birch Caramel, Almond Cookie, Pecan and Wild Flower Ice Cream (Cave Spring Vineyard Reisling Icewine, Beamsville Bench, Ontario, 2008
• Petit Fours

Top all that off with a couple of cappuccinos and we were done! The service is impeccable; everything is presented with understated flourish and described in the greatest of detail. Glasses are refilled without you even noticing and plates seem to magically disappear. We took our sweet time over our dessert and coffee, eventually looking up to notice that we occupied only one of the two tables left busy in the whole place. We had been there for three hours but never made to feel rushed in the slightest. People, if you have a special occasion to celebrate, this is THE place to do it. And if you are a foodie, put this one on your bucket list - it is touted as being one of the best restaurants in all of Canada.

The view from Canoe Restaurant, Toronto, Ontario

At some point during this trip, my guy decided he needed to extend his stay (yay me!) True, it was sort of a working vaykay for us both but I was not at all disappointed to see a 9 day trip turn into 14 days of togetherness. *happy dancing*

Another evening, my guy whisked me off to Unionville, a charming place I definitely want to return to see during the day. We walked through the doors of Il Postino, where we were immediately greeted as though we were family (I love that about Italian restaurants!). The service there is so attentive and friendly, all without being overbearing. From the roasted butternut squash soup (I had to hold myself back from licking the bowl!), to the snow crab ravioli in a lobster cream sauce (it was so scrumptious, I almost licked my plate!) to the (and I quote) 'traditional cheesecake with a touch of maple syrup, served with a warm, wild blueberry compote spiked with a splash of Grand Marnier'. OY! I begged my honey to look away so I could (you guessed it!) lick my plate, but he wanted to watch ... so out of embarrassment, I refrained. *sigh*

On our last evening in TO, we headed out to Al Casale. Located in a home originally owned by an ancestor of today's Rogers family, the restaurant dishes up really good Italian food, served by an older waiter who fawned shamelessly over me and jokingly glared at my date. Veal marsala, a nice bottle of Chianti, cheesecake and cappuccino ... and the greatest dinner companion ever. What else could a gal wish for?

The next day, I popped off my honey at the airport and headed back to Montreal. Amazingly, I didn't snare myself a speeding ticket thanks to my decision to make use of the cruise control. (Be warned: the Ford Edge is VERY sneaky because it makes 140 kms feel like a mere 100!) Before I knew it, I was back in la belle province and reacquainting myself to driving on snow covered roads again.

Comme dit Gilles ... 'Mon pays, ce n'est pas un pays, c'est l'hiver.'

Things I've learned (so far) today ...

1.  It IS possible to hit your own self with a shopping cart. And then to ram your forearm into the shopping cart later. Twice. With the same arm.

(1a.  The biggest threat to me ... is ME!)

2.  It would seem that the posted 30 kms/hr in a school zone applies to everyone but the police. The one I was following whizzed through it doing over 50 kms/hr. (Yeah, so I paced him for a lil while!)

3.  The postman doesn't always ring once (much less twice!) before leaving you a notice of a parcel on your front doorknob. I know this because when I went to pick up the item at the post office, the Canada Post employee there told me that they don't. Nice.

4.  I've also learned that Jack is a canine rock star judging from the attention he gathers wherever we go. I take him on almost all my errands. It's a muggy day today so I have the back windows cranked open all the way. Coming out of the post office, I find him flirting with a two older ladies, who immediately start gushing at what a handsome dog he is, the whole while stroking him under the chin and behind the ears. One even bends down and goes nose to nose with my dog! I accept the compliments on his behalf and start talking to him in English. Both ladies immediately express amazement that he can understand English! *eyeroll* I tell you, if I could train him to sign autographs, I could retire on the profits!

And the day's not over yet ...

You should . . .

People, there is a distinct difference between giving someone advice and giving someone an order. Advice is a suggestion and does not have to be taken. Especially when no one asked you for your lousy and let me repeat, u-n-s-o-l-i-c-i-t-e-d advice!

I pull into a parking spot at IGA to dash in for some sugar. Opening up the back door, I start to roll up the window while Jack waits for me to clip on his leash. I hear a woman's voice; straightening up, I look over the roof of my car. A woman is calling out to me from her car. Crossing the two empty spots between us, I come to her car where she tells me that I had better move MY car because she also has a dog in her car. Errr ... huh?!? (Two empty spots between us, remember?) Because I don't even want to try to figure of what the hell she's talking about, I explain that I'm taking the dog with me. 'Your dog is much too big to bring into IGA!' I look down at what I'm wearing, wondering if I left the house wearing a t-shirt that might say 'STOOPID' or something of that nature and for reasons that I can't explain, I continue the exchange with this deranged woman. 'I'm not taking him into IGA, I'm going to tie him up in the shade outside IGA,' I explain slowly, enunciating every word. 'You shouldn't do that if you're only going in for a short while - just leave him in the car and roll down all your windows,' she commands. I look up at the blazing sun and back down at her. 'It's too hot to leave a dog in the car on a day like today!' I walk back to my car and retrieve Jack, lock up the car and head to the store. Looking back, I notice she's glaring at me, as though I'd made her eat shit or something. She was still there, still glaring at me when I walked Jack back to the car after making my purchase. (Oh, she must make someone's life SO happy!)  For the record, the high today was 24°C (75°F). Then, factor in the humidity. Then, multiply all that by a hot, stinking car. And that's how I do dog math, stoopid lady!

I was reminded of my children's grandmother, who after bottle feeding 5 children of her own, thought she would teach me how to breastfeed Jordan (the second child I was nursing), who howled incessantly when we would visit every Sunday. She wasn't all too impressed when I didn't take her 'advice'. (For the record, he had a world record setting case of colic that lasted a blessed 5 1/2 month period and it wasn't 'my milk' making him cry. So there, Grandmaman!)

So, to summarize: go easy with the advice, people. It's nice to wait until yours is asked for, and then, be nice about how you offer it. But in the end, it's still advice ... and this being a free world, no one is obliged to take it. If you want to order someone around, get married. (Just make sure you're the wife!  *smirk*)

Dude ! Where are your manners ? ! ?

Alright, I admit it - I have ranted and raved about this subject before back when I was Laynee (on my previous blog). For those of you who read it, feel free to move along, nothing new to see here. I was compelled to reblog about it, however, because sadly the situation still exits ...

Back last week when I was headed home following Jordan's skydiving adventure (see previous posting), I decided I would take the scenic route. It was a stunningly beautiful day - hot, bright and sunny. Jack was hanging out an open window and Van Halen was pounding out of the speakers. I came around a slight curve and saw an old man walking on the road up ahead. Naturally, I slowed down and gave the man a very wide berth. Checking my rear view mirror, I start to slide back into my lane only to notice the old man is still hugging the side of the road. I keep watching the rear view mirror and to my amazement, he whips it out. Yes. IT! He did! Once again, yet another man has decided to take a whiz in the great outdoors. While this is hardly the first time that I have been privy subjected to seeing a guy take a leak outside, I am still shocked when it happens. That particular day, once I got over my initial amazement, I tried to rationalize this stranger's behaviour. He's an old man, I thought, maybe he couldn't wait until he got home. Then Logical Elaine kicked in (she always does!). When, I asked myself, was the last time I saw an old woman hiking up her dress and squatting to void her bladder roadside? NEVER! For some reason, women have come to realize that the world is not our toilet, a fact that seems to escape a great many of the male gender. I have no problem with the idea of stopping on the side of the highway to hustle a young child out of a vehicle so they can pee; I have done it on occasion when my own kids were small. The point is, kids have not yet mastered the art of self-control. Adults, on the other hand, are supposed to have achieved that level of physical and social development. Yet all over the planet, there are scads and scads of men who apparently still need their mom, girlfriend, wife, fiancée, roommate, best bud, boss or whoever to ask them if they remembered to go pee pee before they head out. C'mon guys! Go tinkle BEFORE you go out. And if the urge hits while you're out, find a bathroom or gee, I don't know ... try holding it? (Umm, for those of you who can't, they have bladder control that looks like underwear these days, ya know!) Failing all that, you risk grossing out women everywhere ... and descending a rung or two down the evolutionary ladder ... not to mention, a hefty $365 fine!

Now, if you'll pardon me, I'm off to the powder room ... to, umm, powder my nose!  ;-)

It's a bird . . . it's a plane . . . it's JORDAN!

Jordan called me from work last week, Excitedly, he asked me to guess what he'd be doing on Tuesday of this week. Knowing he was going to be on vacation, and remembering that it was Jordan who was asking the question to begin with, I knew the sky was the limit. Coincidentally, he announced he would be going skydiving! I asked if I could come and watch and he agreed. I was SO excited for him! He had initially brought up the possibility back when he was 16, although he says earlier. I'm all for people fulfilling their dreams and I was delighted he would scratching one off his wish list.

Tuesday, I packed up Jack and off we went. It's a lovely drive there, about a half hour away from the house, and I highly recommend the scenic route to the highway one. I arrived to find la belle Érika, his girlfriend, waiting there along with my Julia and her boyfriend, Philippe. I looked around while Jack went bananas - it's a new place with tons of new places to pee on, after all! It wasn't long before Jordan came out, looking positively dashing in a red flight suit and black harness. I know you're probably all fed up of hearing me say this by now, but DAYUM! I made some incredibly good looking kids! I asked Jordan whether he was nervous, already knowing the answer. 'No, I'm just excited about going!', he replied, almost jittery with impatience to board the plane. Within minutes, he was called into the building and only minutes after that, out trooped a lot of about a dozen people, who boarded a small aircraft. He turned, grinned and gave us the thumbs up sign before hopping aboard.

The plane took off from a short runway and in the matter of a couple of minutes, we could still hear the plane but it was too high to be seen. We joked, watered Jack and talked some more until suddenly, la belle Érika announced she could see the jumpers. We all looked up to see a smattering of specks in the sky, which became increasingly larger as we stared at them. As we stood there, wondering which one might be Jordan, Julia announced with certainty that her brother was the one with the grey parachute. Now, you all have to understand that these two have a freakish connection. The day I called Julia to tell her about her brother's plans, she told me that she had a vision of parachuters before I even told her where he was going! As I told Érika that day, Jordan and Julia are twins who were born two years apart. As we stood there at a picnic table adjacent to the landing strip, I suddenly heard a loud 'whoosh!' and three single jumpers flew over our heads before landing nearby. The tandem jumpers were a little longer in coming down, probably to ensure they get their money's worth. As they neared the ground, Jordan became easily recognizable ... in the grey parachute. Julia beamed, reminding us all that she had known all along. Jordan and his co-jumper came to a beautiful landing - Jordan's knees barely buckled but that's my Jordan ... anything Jordan has ever tried, he has succeeded at with minimal to no effort. He is his father's son.

After getting unbuckled from the actual parachute, he and his co-jumper headed our way. After I had thanked the other guy for not killing my son (yeah, I really did!), I turned my attention to my son. His cheeks were pink with excitement and his eyes were shining. He jabbered on about how exhilarating it had been, giving us details we couldn't possibly have seen from where we stood on the ground. He left to get rid of his flight suit, returning with his certificate and a request for sponsors ... because now, he wants to take skydiving classes!

After hugs and kisses, the kids all headed off. I walked Jack back to the car and looked up to see them all waving to me from their cars. I was immediately struck by one thought ... I wish Kevin had been there too.

In his excitement, Jordan forgot to pick up his pictures before he left, so the following day, I returned to Parachute Montréal to pick up the CD. I got a chance to speak to their on-site photographer while I waited. The company has been operating for four years total, two years at the present location. There are between 10-20 flights that take off per day, obviously more on the weekend than on the weekdays. Weekends can find them with as many as 400 parachuters in a single day! Safety-wise, they have never had a crash, no jumper fatalities and injuries have been limited to the extent of sprained ankles and such, mostly to the newer single jumpers, she informed me. I think based on his experience, Jordan would highly recommend their establishment!

The following day, I talked about it on Facebook. I'm not quite sure just how she managed it, but my bestest friend from elementary school, Sandra Sergeant, managed to get me to agree to jump next year, to commemorate our milestone 50th birthdays. "Friends from the beginning of our lives 'til the end!", as she put it. (Insert nervous laughter here!)  Funny girl, that Sandy!

Several of my friends have since remarked about how glad they were that their kids haven't wanted to skydive or how scared I must have been. Well, I really wasn't. I was almost as excited as Jordan was! I'm delighted that my kids are all adventurous and for the most part, fearless. I'm all for having dreams but what kind of a life is it if they only remain dreams? Life is meant to be lived, not just dreamt about.

And now, enjoy the slew of pictures of my gorgeous son, Jordan  :)

The plane

Suit up!

The confident wink

Suited up!

So confident, so Jordan!

Eager to take off

All aboard!

Which one is MY kid???

Julia was right - he IS under the grey parachute!

Almost down now ...

Could he look ANY happier?

Julia makes sure that Jack stays in the shade

2011's first (and counting) . . .

'If it doesn't make you smile, bring you joy or isn't useful, get rid of it'


That's my new mantra. New year, new outlook. Lord knows, the old way of doing things has produced eff all. I won't call this a new year's resolution (a, because I never make those and b, because the few times I have, I never kept them, ergo reason a!)


So let this be a lesson to you all ... make me smile, bring me joy or be useful ... or hit the road, Jack! (Well, no - not Jack! He makes me smile, brings me joy AND is useful. He also listens (for the most part), loves me unconditionally and doesn't drool, which is more than I can say for many men I've known in my life.)


If I were going to make a resolution (and I'm NOT!), I'd say that I will sincerely make an effort to de-clutter. My surroundings AND my life. I'm getting too old for a cluttered life and as I age, I imagine not having to maneuver around useless shit will make more sense.


It's a Monday so I'm feeling inspired. I'm waiting for people to call me back so I have some time on my hands. Laundry's up to date, but I feel a cooking bug coming on, so I think I'll head to the kitchen and make stew. 


Of course, if I were TimBit, I'd just sleep all day ...