We sent off for Canada on March 26. The green and the roadside daffodils and blooming trees were all gone by the time we hit New York state. We saw a bit of snow after passing through the border. We stopped for a Tim's coffee and cookies and a break. After three days of driving, we arrived at Linda and Larry's. We haven't been in Canada for 7 months. We are in our usual transition phase when we change locations. It is lovely to see them and have a visit for a few days. We went to the International Restaurant with them and had a lovely meal. Our waitress was very bubbly and fun and offered to make Banana Flambe for us as it was available but hadn't been on the menu. A few shakes of cinnamon in the flaming rum made lovely sparks. We had many walks, played cards and just enjoyed being together.
Our first Canadian adventure happened this morning. We had plans to meet Grant for lunch and then take the car to have the tires checked. Well, the left rear tire was a tad low so George filled it before we left. On the way, we stopped at the tire place and the tire was low again. So we decided to leave the car there and take a cab downtown to Grant's. When we arrived, we discovered we didn't have enough Canadian cash to pay the driver. We had scrounged up $17 but needed $21. So we added an American $5 bill to make up the difference. We had a great lunch and then went to the bank for some Canadian dollars. The Shoppers we visited had no O Henry eggs left so alas, we will not likely get any more until next year. Except later in the week at another Shoppers, I was able to buy 10 O Henry eggs. Yum.
We are settled into our next place--it is in the Market and right in our old stumping grounds. It has 14 large windows on two sides so we have a great view towards our old apartment building and the windows of the condo to the south. The wall windows also let in a lot of sunshine, so we usually extend our sleep by wearing sleeping masks. Grant joined us for dinner and we got takeaway from Shawarma Palace. Yum! Always great to spend time with Grant. He is off to Seattle and San Fran for some days. We drove him to the airport at 6:00.
We are in our transition period between endings and beginnings. Great to reconnect with people here. Went to church. Spent a relaxing afternoon--watched a couple of movies and began to begin to paint. I have a few projects and there is a good place to set up here. Thanks to Noah and the Apple TV he gave us, we can connect my computer to the TV and watch "Murdoch Mysteries.". Yay. We had a snow storm on April 6--yuck--I can't say that I missed snow at all. It is lovely to be in the downtown. Karen came for a Shawarma dinner and we looked at the photos from Portugal and had fun reminiscing about our trip together. Today, Sunday 10, was sunny and we went to the Travel show and then walked in the Market. Bought a olive baguette for dinner.
We have many appointments. Today we went to Question Period. There is quite a change in the atmosphere--the Speaker chastised the members and spoke about appropriate behaviour. The Minister of Defense stopped a member from the opposite side in her tracks when there was an attempt to suggest that the Liberals hated the military. M of D. said, "Let's not play that sort of game" and sited a discussion that was held on the very topic of the questioner's question and the other member knew the answer. I felt proud and delighted to be in the House and view our government in process. Seemed to me their is a feeling of cooperation in the House. Yay Liberals. The next day there was a photo in the news of a Liberal MP who was sitting behind the questioner and his eyes were nearly rolled into his head.!
George had lunch with Paul today and I had lunch with Karen. It was lovely and we had a nice walk through the Market. Then I painted and painted and feel pretty good about the results. I am working on a project to paint shorebirds that we see in OKI and Karen G. sees in Florida.
The Writer's Fest in on. We enjoyed an evening listening to Hugh Segal. It was held at the back of a restaurant on Sussex. I was impressed with his ideas around solving problems using his thinking about freedom from want and need. Must read that book! Then I attended a session with Karen called "BlogOutLoud". Interesting group. The highlight so far is the GovGen's session about letters he wrote to Canadians. He expressed Canadian views around caring and peacekeeping. And his grandchildren call his wife "Granny". Yay.
Yesterday, we were on the Hill and encountered 4/20 which is a pot smoke-up which happens in many cities in North America on that day. It was a great place to people watch and have our first Spring hotdog. Some were wearing flags with a marijuana plants which resemble the Canadian flag but have a marijuana plant instead of the maple leaf in the center. There was a haze of smoke above the heads of the participants.
Another week of appointments and fun. Frank and Brenda arrived by train for the weekend. We had a busy and fun time. George and Frank went to the Aviation museum, while Brenda went to a storytelling event and I stayed home and painted. Sunday was a day to wander and wonder--lovely sunshine.
Had many face time sessions with Claire and Brienne and with Sheryl. Technology at its finest. While visiting with M & W, we wanted to show them how it works, so we called Claire. When Brienne saw the screen, it was me and M & W, two people she didn't know. She was somewhat fearful and whimpered until George took over. He is her new favourite and she happily smiled at him. George made a photo book of Brienne during our time there in February and March which is wonderful.
People who work at Chapters are magical. I asked a fellow where to find "The Alchemist" and he said upstairs on the right. When I got to the top of the stairs there was another fellow who said, "you are looking for "The Alchemist" and here it is". My look said how did you know. He showed me earbuds. What great service.
We are at the end of our time in Ottawa. Had dinner with Grant and a couple of his friends who will house our car while we are away. A few more dinners and appointments and we are off to Toronto for a couple of days. Grant drove us to the train station and we are off. (Grant won the competition for Procedural Clerk, YAY.
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