Frantic City, Frantic City!

Ahh, October. The beginning of one of my favorite seasons and another reason to jet off ...

Day 1, Tuesday, October 4 - I head off to Dorval to catch a flight to Philly. Arriving earlier than my friend's flight, I have some time to explore this HUGE terminal, staffed by some of the friendliest staff I have ever encountered in an airport. After his flight arrives, we head to the funky Aloft Hotel. Just walking into the reception area, with its hip bar tucked away into a corner of the lobby, tells you this is a different kind of hotel. Walking into the washroom into your room confirms it. Once you wrap your mind around the idea of a sliding bathroom door (?!?), you marvel at the size of the glass and tile shower, which could easily accommodate me, my friend, the bellboy and another two people from room service. (Yeah, don't ask how I know these things, ok?)
Day 2, Wednesday, October 5 - I am treated to lunch at Chipotle, which is only fitting seeing as my friend is the one who got me hooked on the place. That afternoon, we hit the highway for our road trip to AC. Atlantic City, a vacation spot of my childhood; the last time I was there, I lost Jordan (but that is another story for another day!) We check in at Caesar's and get ready for our dinner with Terry and her hubby, Tom. We celebrate Tom's upcoming birthday at Bobby Flay Steak at The Borgata.What a night! Besides getting to see Terry again, finally meeting Tom, we dined like royalty! I start with the lobster-crab cake (a baseball-sized delight) served with a basil vinaigrette and lemon-habanero tartar sauce, then go on to the porterhouse lamb chops, served with a red wine sauce and mint pesto. (My mouth is watering even as I write this!) My date and I share a sweet potato gratin and creamed spinach sides before we battle forks over a key lime pie. Great food and even greater company. It was a terrific evening and one I look forward to repeating again.

Day 3, Thursday, October 6 - We check out and head over to Mickey Dee's to leech off their free Wi-Fi. I overhear some Quebecers speaking French at the next table over ... it really IS a small world! My friend and I head to the boardwalk for a leisurely stroll, making our way to the beach and the water's edge. The water is warmer than I imagined and there were even people surfing! We head back to the car, off to the airport and onto a plane ...
Day 4, Friday, October 7 - Ahh, Montreal. We enjoy a leisurely lunch at Arahova and then cross the street for a mandatory stop at St-Viateur Bagel. Later, we drop in for a visit with my friend's babcia before heading back my my neck of the woods to see Jordan and Julia. We continue eastward and sup at L'Ange Cornu in L'Assomption. (I had the monk fish (which I have since discovered to be THE ugliest fish ever!) on a plate that easily measured a foot long. Deeelicious!)
Day 5, Saturday, October 8 - After lolling around, we head off for another road trip, this time to St-Sauveur. We lunch at the original location of Moe's before continuing onward to Mont-Tremblant. We battle through the traffic, comprised of the entire population of Quebec (because everyone in the province was there that day, I am sure and not doing too brilliantly at all with the roundabouts!) After parking, we hitch a lift halfway up the mountain on one of the gondolas and start to make our way through the village, stopping for a beer on one of the many terraces. Before long, the afternoon sun is fading and it is time to think about dinner. We happen upon Coco Pazzo, a lovely Italian place that is tucked away but doing a healthy business. I pig out on linguini pescatore (spelt flour pasta with shrimps, scallops, clams and mussels in a reduction of white wine, anchovy, garlic and clam broth). Thankfully, there is room for dessert because the torta di cioccolata (a heavenly creation of marbled dark chocolate and white chocolate truffle ganache) is something I would drive up there for daily. On a bicycle. With a flat. While in labour. It was just ... that ... freakin' ... good!
Day 6, Sunday, October 9 - We meet up with friends for lunch at Lawrence. A tiny hole in the wall of a restaurant with a nonstop stream of customers. The wait for a table was 45 minutes but the weather outside was nice and we don't mind. (The owner pops out from time to time with chocolate-filled beignets, which doesn't hurt!) The servings are generous and the food is great. Before too long, it is time to make our way back to the airport for our flight to TO. Dinner that evening is at the Lion and Firkin, which just happens to be hosting a 'Who is the worst karaoke singer?' contest. (Note: everyone was a winner!)
Day 7, Monday, October 10 - After popping by my friend's office for a quick boardroom meeting, we dine on monkey brains at Cynthia's for dinner. The service and presentation at this place are impeccable! Back at the hotel, we watch The King's Speech. (Great, great movie - watch it if you haven't already.)
Day 8, Tuesday, October 11 - Quick lunch at the Sunset Grill and I am stuck with the song in my head for the rest of the afternoon. That evening, we pick up Robbie for dinner and discover Cava, a Spanish tapas restaurant on Yonge Street. We make the wise decision to let the waiter run with the menu; he makes excellent choices for us, a few of which are even brought out by the chef himself. Some of the things we sample: pincho of gamay-poached foie gras with plum mostarda, papas fritas (spicy french fries with sage and rosemary), grilled squid with fingerling potatoes, green onions and romesco, and roast quail filled with chicken and served with moorish chickpea stew. We all dig into a warm, chocolate lava cake and a puffy, clafouti-type dessert. Service is terrific; the waiter appears with my jacket before I can even ask for it!
Day 9, Wednesday, October 12 - We stay in for the evening for our traditional pizza/Rummy 500 night. I win for the first time ever but I think it's because my friend's too sick with a cold to mark the deck.
Day 10, Thursday, October 13 - Quiet day; dinner at the Lion and Firkin, where not a karaoke'er is to be heard.
Day 11, Friday, October 14 - Lunch at Mary Brown's. (Think the Colonel before he started serving everything but the kitchen sink with his chicken ... but better!) Then (sadly), off to the airport and home. (Then again, considering the way I ate on this trip, it was prolly for the best - I'll need a complete wardrobe overhaul at this rate!)

It was a whirlwind of a trip this time around - two states, two provinces, two countries ... and all over too soon ...

My 22 year long love affair ...

Back in 1989, I was as big as a house while carrying the first of the three children I would bear. Most every person I have ever spoken to has always said the same thing - 'Oh, I don't care whether it's a boy or a girl. As long as I have a healthy baby.' I was not at all embarrassed to admit that I was pinning all my hopes on having a boy. While I passed on having the ultrasound technician tell me what she thought I might be having, I spent every waking moment imagining a male infant, surrounded myself with blue objects and generally refused to entertain the idea of having a daughter. Having been raised in a household with 2 sisters, I had longed for a male sibling - but not just a brother, an older brother ... someone who would have protected me when I was little and then supplied me with friends of his that I could have dated when I was older. Mine was not an ordinary pregnancy; my last month of pregnancy was spent in bed under doctor's orders. I was bored to tears and counted the days to my due date. Kevin's father and I watched a lot of TV during that time and Kevin ended up being named after the main character on The Wonder Years.

Kevin made his way into the world a whole 8 days ahead of schedule, taking less than four hours to meet his adoring public. I don't think I slept much that first night in the hospital; I could not stop staring at his beautiful face; the way his little lips were pursed, how his long lashes rested on his round, pink cheeks. I am actually surprised that he managed to sleep, what with me running my fingers over his soft skin, stroking the little bit of hair he had on his head and touching his teeny ears over and over again.

A lot has happened in the 22 years since that evening. He is still beautiful but now he is also all the other things a parent would be proud of in a man. Kevin is living in town, working and has found a terrific young woman I am happy to consider as a friend.

And my love affair continues ...

Kevin Alexandre Sawchuk Brodeur

English 101

Modern technology is a wonderful thing. It has allowed us to reconnect with people from our long ago's and answered many a 'I wonder what happened to so-and-so?'. I have been lucky to find people from my old neighborhood, elementary school, high school and past jobs and it has been great fun catching up with people I thought I would never see again.

Facebook put me back in touch with my grade 10 English teacher. Miss Golfman was a young, pretty and fashionable addition to the group of adults who were put to the task of molding my young mind. I looked forward to her class, knowing it would be interesting and entertaining. While she had a no nonsense approach to the material she presented, you would often find her smile lighting up her face. Miss Golfman, along with a few other beloved English teachers, were the matchmakers that led to my love affair with the written word.

Last Friday, I had the chance to thank Miss Golfman in person. She had messaged me and suggested we meet during her trip to the city; I was only too pleased to accept. We caught up over lunch and I was delighted to see that her smile still makes a regular appearance on a face that has barely changed in the past (dare I say it?) thirty-four years. I was glad for the opportunity to tell Miss Golfman how much I had appreciated her as a teacher. I know I'm not the only one of her students to feel that way.

I drove her to her next engagement and as she hopped out of my car, she clued me in to why she had wanted to see me. I'm holding on to that but she made my day in a big way.

Thanks, Miss Golfman. For everything.  xox

With this ring, I (would) thee wed ...

Marilyn Monroe-Joe DiMaggio wedding ring to hit auction block

Pretty freakin' far!

Just another manic Monday ...

1.  Do some organizing? Check!
2.  Have bananas ripe enough to bake with tomorrow? Check!
3.  Learn that Julia scored a 93% on a psych test? Check!
4.  Have my ex show up on my doorstep and he actually says hi AND bye to me? Check!
5.  Make an EIGHT POUND lasagna? Check!
6.  Discover some new music? Check!
7.  Smack my foot into the coffee table? Check!

So, time for me to attempt some math. Culinary math, so it seems less, umm, icky. Here goes (bear with me!) ...

8 lbs = 3 628.738 96 gms
Most frozen lasagna servings run less than 300 gms and will cost you at least $2.50. (I'll be generous and round up to 300 gms.)
3 628 gms/300 gms = 12 servings
12 servings x $2.50 = $30
(Hmmm ... maybe I'll start charging the kids per serving!)

Oh, by the way ... MY lasagna is four layers high, has 3 types of cheese and a chunky rockin' sauce that my kids eat out of the pot on bread. Suck on that, Stouffer's!

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 ...

My Robbie ♥

Ahhh, Robbie. Recently, I described Robbie to a friend of mine. I told him that Robbie is my 'go to' person - the one I can call at all hours of the night or day, the one who will help me dispose of the bodies without asking any questions, the one I can always go to for advice, knowing it will be blunt and raw and lacking in all candy coating whatsoever. He is my rock and sounding board but he is also my mirror, who instead of reflecting back what I might want to see, reflects back what truly is. Robbie is the place I call when I need a shoulder; I've spent 6 hours driving there, talked his ear off for 4 hours and then driven another 6 hours to come home. He is 'Uncle Robbie' to my children and he has graciously shared his 'Ma' with me - I walk amid his family where I easily feel like one of them.

Ma & Robbie - 31/08/2011

Robbie was in town in late August, giving us a chance to celebrate our birthdays, albeit belatedly. After picking him up at his mom's, where we had an impromptu photo session, we headed to Old Montreal. We roamed the cobbled streets, then explored the Old Port until it was dark before finally settling in at Les 3 Brasseurs for a drink. (I took the advice of our server, Sebastien and had a raspberry beer. Interesting!) We sat and talked and people watched and laughed uproariously (as we usually do) until they started packing up the tables and chairs on the terrace.

Robbie & me - Old Montreal, 31/08/2011

As is always the case when I'm with Robbie, the time flew by way too quickly. I drove him home (he'll maintain that I sped him home but what does he know!) and we may have woken a neighbor or two as we laughed our way through our g'nites. Thankfully, I get to do it all again next month when we wreak havoc on Toronto!

I love you, Robbie!

A day in the life of my 18 year old . . .

My children are pretty self-sufficient. If I were to drop dead today, I know they wouldn't starve, they would continue to have clean clothing and could drive themselves around. But every now and then, they still seem to need me.

Julia is now a full time day student at CEGEP. Her morning routine is back to a flurry of getting ready before I drive her to the express bus for her ride into the city. Typically, I throw her together a lunch of sorts (depending on her schedule and mood), making sure to hang it over the front door's handle, so it's not missed during her exit. This morning, Julia had to make a stop at the ATM. As she's getting back into the car, I look down and ask, 'Where's your lunch?' Julia makes her typical 'oops-sorry-don't-be-mad-you-know-you-love-me-because-I'm-cute' face (which usually works on me) and I start to head back for home. Julia tells me not to bother because she can't be late for this class - she has an important assignment to hand in and the teacher deducts marks off your grade for the assignment if you come in late. We have the time, so we go back and she gets her lunch. After dropping her at the express bus stop, I head to the supermarket to pick up a couple of things. Parking the car, I look down and see the neon orange Koodo bag full of Julia's lunch. I sigh and text her to tell her what an ASS she is. 'Oops', she texts back, complete with a :)  I continue with my shopping and just as I get to the cashier, my phone rings. It's Julia and she forgot her assignment in the car. I offer to drive it to her at the metro and she happily agrees, apologizing profusely. 'But hurry, Mom - I can't be late for this guy's class!' Down the 40 I race, make it to the metro and we do the hand off right there on Sherbrooke Street. I drive away with her 'Thanks, Mom!' ringing in my ears.

Getting back home, I'm making coffee when I get another text. It's from Julia saying the power went out in the metro and she's going to be late despite our best efforts to get her assignment in on time. I suggest she explain it to the teacher and hope for the best. She continues to grumble about him and his rules.

Eventually, another text - 'he said I won't get 10 (marks) off'. Another day, another crisis averted. And this is only the first day of September ... *sigh* ...

Polishing up my Canadian/US relations . . .

(Caution: extended reading required!)

Earlier this month, after a much anticipated evening with some great friends (Sandy, Terri and Gary), I left to board a flight for TO. After lugging my bags through the public transport system of the MUC, I learned a valuable and interesting lesson - the better dressed the business man, the lesser chance you have of them offering to help you with a cumbersome piece of luggage. Give me a guy in jeans and a t-shirt any day, those are the gallant ones!

After arriving in TO, we spent a quiet evening watching Hell's Kitchen and had dinner at The Lion and Firkin. The next day was pretty gloomy and drizzly but that mattered not because I was lunching with my Robbie! I drove into town that morning and after parking in some lot, headed to Indigo. Bought a couple of books (on sale, yay me!) and then went to pick up Robbie. He looked smashing (as usual!) and I had a great time (as usual!) but time went by too quickly (as usual!) and he eventually had to head back to work. I headed back to the underground parking garage, which I easily found. Finding the car? Not so easy. In my excitement to see Robbie, I dashed off and forgot exactly where I had parked my friend's car in the garage! (Of course, it didn't help that for the first 10 minutes or so, my befuddled mind was searching for my raggedy ass ol' silver Civic instead of the snazzy new red Mazda 6 rental!) I found them after about 15 minutes and headed back out of town. That night, I was taken to see 'Midnight in Paris', my very first Woody Allen film. (It was hilarious!) Later, we supped at Koganei - if you're looking for sushi in TO, look no further than this place. The next day was a quiet one - running errands and an evening in with a pizza, bottle of wine and what I believe to be a marked deck of cards, which resulted in me losing yet another Rummy 500 match. (This now concludes the Canadian portion of my summary. Please take a large step to your right straight over the border to continue ... )

Friday, we headed for the airport. I was curious to see how this flight would play out; after all, the last man I flew with was a bit of a tight ass slightly neurotic a tad anal wound really tightly not a lot of fun to fly with. This time around proved completely different. We had the very last seats in the back - I mention the location only because it meant that the flight attendant was buckled in right beside my friend for both take off and landing. She immediately started flirting outrageously chatting him up, despite him offering only short responses to her barrage of questions. She continued to try to engage him in conversation throughout the flight and only spoke to me when she passed with the beverage cart. I was nice; I even complimented her on her earrings but I might as well have been decked out in invisible clothing because her attention was focused solely on my traveling companion. We landed in NYC, where my luggage arrived while his did not. (Personally, I think the flight attendant snuck off with it!) After being promised delivery to our hotel in the next couple of hours, we hopped a cab to the Marriott Marquis, right smack in Times Square.

Click here to see a daytime view of Times Square

Click here to see a nighttime view of Times Square

After dropping off our stuff in the room (33rd floor overlooking Times Square!), we headed out for dinner at Dock's. It was a great meal, topped off with a stupendous Key Lime Pie. We headed back to the hotel, meandering through Times Square. For those of you who have never been, walking through Times Square is like walking on Ste-Catherine Street ... except Ste-Catherine Street is on steroids ... and you've taken a mega hit of LSD ... and so has everyone you come across. Add a healthy dose of neon everywhere and you have Times Square. And because it is Times Square, you inevitably run into the Naked Cowboy. (We saw the newer, younger version; apparently, you can apply for a franchise!) We also came across the *shudder* Naked Cowgirl. A word of advice: pasties, applied to body parts dangling at waist level, are NOT sexy. I'm just saying. (On a related note, we saw the newer, younger version of the Naked Cowgirl the following day - she grinned at my friend but totally ignored me. Serves me right for wearing my invisible clothes again, I guess!)

Day 2 - The errant luggage finally showed up shortly before noon. Lunch at Chipotle, shopping at Macy's, and a stop at Starbucks where I was schooled on how to email my kids from an iPhone. On the way back to the hotel, we passed a huge billboard for the Pompeii exhibition. I mentioned my childhood obsession with Pompeii to my friend and five minutes later, we are standing in line and waiting to buy tickets! What an awesome exhibition! So much to see and no one to rush you through either! A great day ended with a great meal in Little Italy at Pellegrino's, whose wait staff has to be among the most attentive and respectful in the whole city.

Day 3 - Crappy weather, so I didn't venture very far or do very much. But then evening came and we were off to see STOMP! I have wanted longed dreamed of seeing Stomp every since catching a performance on TV back in the 90's. IT ... WAS ... AMAZING! A truly mesmerizing blend of cacophony. Never has an hour and a half passed so quickly! I'm really thankful that the weather spared me a migraine! After the show, we dashed through the drizzle a few buildings over and ducked into the Ukrainian East Village Restaurant (suggested by my friend, Terri). The décor is very reminiscent of every Ukie hall I have ever been in. The food was great and made me wonder if they had some Ukie baba stashed away in their kitchen. Our server was a handsome young Ukie boy, who did a great job. That's the good news. The bad? Watching them haul a pile of full Hefty garbage bags on a dolly from the kitchen right through the dining room, past the diners. Wanting to make a pit stop before heading back to the hotel, we found we had to be buzzed into the stairway leading to the washrooms. Yeah, buzzed in! Exiting the washroom, I invited my friend to come back in with me so he could help to identify the wildlife I had found there. It seems I had met my first live cockroach. In a Ukie restaurant, of all places! *hanging my head in shame*

Day 4 - I explored Manhattan a bit, ending up in Little Korea at one point. It's fascinating to walk around Manhattan but you need to be alert. Yellow cabs are abundant (you can't spit in any direction without hitting at least 2-3 of them!) and their drivers are ruthless in their pursuit of a destination. Pedestrians might have the right of way but someone forgot to tell the cabbies that! You've been warned!

Click here to see the plethora of yellow cabs in NYC!

Headed back to the hotel to get ready for our 'dress up date', a recent tradition. Morimoto is nothing short of phenomenal. The decor is slick and chic. The bathroom alone is well worth a visit. It was so beautiful in there, I could have eaten my meal in there! At the risk of being crass, they heat their toilet seats! (I thought that was really nifty until I related the fact to Julia, who promptly pointed out how gross that would be considering she couldn't be sure if the seat had been heated by the restaurant's system ... or the previous user!) I discovered a new drink - Snapdragon - and I want to be pickled in it after I leave this world. My friend ordered the Omakase, an 8-course tasting menu meant to highlight the chef's cuisine. Whoa! In a nutshell: toro tartare, accompanied by a seasoned soy sauce and five dipping options (wasabi, sour cream, kelp paste, avocado paste and Japanese crackers) ... a lightly seared sashimi of skip jack tuna, served with shimeji mushrooms and micro greens ... assortment of vegetables and tempura liver accompanied by a miso paste served in a warmer ... an oyster and foie gras with teriyaki jus (a warm bite of heaven, in my opinion!) ... a plate of assorted nigiri (Outstanding! My fave was the squid) ... homemade ginger ale (meant to be a palate cleanser, but if they had been selling the stuff by the case, I would have been buying!) ... waguyu beef (kobe beef - it keeps following me around!), set atop potato sticks (fancy french fries) and a lobster tail with garam masala ... tofu cheesecake (not ever having had tofu before, this struck me more as a tofu custard but it was deelish!) I'm certain royalty does not dine better than we did that evening.

Day 5 Our last evening in the Big Apple. Dinner that night was at Frankie and Johnnie's, a no nonsense steakhouse who, judging by the autographed head shots on the wall, sees their share of stars. That night, we saw 1/2 a star. After dinner, we went for a walk and came upon a crowd outside the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, where the Broadway musical production of The Addams Family was playing. We stopped and waited along with everyone else until Brooke Shields and Roger Rees came out. And no snobby star airs either - both stopped to sign autographs, pose for pics and talk with their fans.

Click here to see Brooke Shields

Click here to see Roger Rees

We then stopped in Times Square and sat at the top of the bleachers for a while, taking in the sights and sounds. Another fantastic evening ...

Click here to see a view of Times Square from down below

The next day, we made our way to the airport. After waiting in an enormous line to check my bag, I get to the agent behind the counter and made the mistake of asking the gentleman how he was doing. As though he had been waiting all day for that very question, he launched into a tirade lasting several minutes, leaning on the counter and just complaining about how badly things are run (very badly!), how much longer he had until retirement (ten excruciatingly long months!), how deeply his boss' head was lodged up his ass (pretty deeply!) and the whole while, I can feel dozens of pairs of eyes burning holes in my back while everyone waits in line. Hey, what can I say? People just seem to like to unload to me! I head off to board the plane and lo and behold, there's the very same flirty flight attendant, who looks right through me, even though she had positively drooled all over my traveling companion a mere five days earlier. Later, during the beverage service, I smiled and complimented her on her earrings ... again. *grin*