Adventures in Gardening Part 1

On Monday, my husband, dad, brother, sister and I all got together to plant a vegetable garden (my mom would have been there too, but she was out of the country on a business trip). My brother and sister are moving into a new apartment in July, and their landlord is very nice and allowed them to plant in May, because planting in July would have been silly. We started with a trip to Home Depot where they bought a variety of plants, earth, and manure. Then we headed over to their new apartment.

To be honest, I was a bit discouraged when the landlord showed us the piece of land we had to work with. It seemed really hard and was full of rocks. We all worked together to turn the soil around and pull out the weeds that were there, and in less than an hour, we had something to work with! I pulled too hard on a root though, so I hurt my lower back, but I knew I'd be fine in a few days. Also, we found a few treasures (what looked like part of a teacup) while we were digging around, but thankfully no bones or other creepy things! At this point, the 'garden' looked like this:

Everybody working together!

We added some leaves that the landlord had kept since the fall to use as compost and we also added the earth and manure. The garden now looked like this: 

Kind of an inside joke

We then planted the various vegetables (and other things) my siblings had picked out. There was: green lettuce, reddish lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, tomatoes, raspberries (not pictured), chilli peppers, cucumber, pickling cucumbers and calla lilies. Here is the final product:

Watering the calla lilies

I am hoping to update the garden's progress during the summer and letting you know if it was successful!  Also, during this afternoon, we had the cutest little visitor! A baby squirrel that had not yet been corrupted by the big bad humans came up to us and even climbed on my dad! Here are a few videos. Enjoy the cuteness! 

Climbing on dad:

Eating nuts: 

A visitor from Boston

After a busy week, it feels so good to have a three-day weekend to relax! We had a friend visit from Boston this weekend. She was our neighbour in Mexico and is originally from Washington state. On Friday after work we went for a picnic on Mount Royal with some friends. Actually, we only knew one girl there, but we met lots of her nursing friends and we had a great time. We sat right by Beaver Lake.

On Saturday morning, C came to work with me. I don't know if I've mentioned this before but I lead groups of small children (they are about 2 and 3 years old) in basic gymnastics skills in order to develop their sense of balance, hand-eye co-ordination, etc. It's called 'Le tour du monde de Karibou' and it's great fun!

We then went for lunch at a place called 'Kilo' in the Village. It was AMAZING!!! I have to say, it was a beautiful sunny day so the terraces were open and people-watching was fun! We had sangria and sandwiches and everything was delicious!

Afterwards, we walked to the Old Port to get some ice cream and walked and walked some more. We saw a street entertainer and watched him for a while, we walked to Notre Dame church and then back home. We rested for a while and then went out for dinner at La Banquise, which apparently has the best poutine in Montreal (there's a picture here if you don't remember what poutine is), but I was a bit disappointed this time. I've been before and liked the food, but this time it seemed like the fries were cold, the sauce wasn't salty enough and the cheese hadn't melted. Honestly, I prefer the poutine from the small pizza place that's just around the corner by my house!

Sunday morning we went to Chez Cora for breakfast, of course and I had the usual: a crepomelette with spinach and cheddar. We then walked along St. Catherine's street, went into various stores and visited the underground mall. I bought shoes. I think I have a little problem with summer shoes. They are just so pretty!!!

My friend C had to go back to Boston, but the fun didn't stop there! We went over to our friend's for a lobster dinner last night, which was amazing. I LOVE lobster! I had forgotten how good it was. It tastes like the ocean, and with the garlic butter dipping sauce he had made, it was perfect!

The plans for today are to help my siblings plant a garden. We'll see how that goes!

First things first

Here is the IOU:

I don't know if anyone else is an iTunes freak like my husband and I, but we like to have all of the song information on iTunes. Last weekend I decided to go through my iTunes and double check that every song on there had the artist, song, album, year, and wasn't a duplicate. It was time-consuming, but rewarding.

Then, I think I won about a bazillion brownie points for being a good wife. Last Saturday was a rainy, grey, dreary day and it must have been about 10C outside (which is COLD for May). And of course, there was a rugby game to go watch. Sometimes my hubby and I aren't too bright. We drove and drove in circles about three times before realizing the rugby game was at the same college my sister studies at, and we could easily have got there by metro. Anyway, we got there and the game hadn't started yet, so we waited in the cold freezing rain. When the game actually started I was disappointed. The games I have seen have all been played on nice days, so the players run fast and play hard. A rugby game in the rain is like watching everything in slow motion. They kept falling down because of the mud and the game was much slower than it usually is. So here is where the brownie points end, because I got bored. I was wet and I was cold. So I went home. Husband got a ride after the game with a friend so it was OK.

This has always been my favourite rugby move, since it reminds me of cheerleading!

Oh my goodness people, I know you're Canadian and it's May, but it is NOT flip-flop weather!

On Sunday, my sister and I took my mom to the spa for a Mother's Day massage! We all got the 'thermal' bath treatments, so while my mom got her massage, my sister and I caught up in the sauna, the hot tub, the relaxation room and the cold waterfall. It was an awesome afternoon and I recommend it if anyone is looking for a spa near Montreal! http://www.skyspa.ca/

IOU

Here's an IOU... I haven't had time to write this weekend. I have been too busy cleaning up my iTunes, being an awesome wife, hanging out with friends and going to the spa. I'm sure you can't wait to hear all about it. I'll update you ASAP

À la ville de Montréal

J'ai eu une très mauvaise expérience ce matin dû au ménage du printemps. J'ai stationné mon auto vers 16h30 mardi après-midi et je comptais repartir mercredi matin à 8h pour me rendre au travail, vu que la période interdite affichée est de 9h à 10h les mercredis. À ma surprise, ce matin (mercredi) à 6h50, la sonnerie de la remorque m'a réveillée. Je me suis préparée et je suis sortie à 7h30, juste à temps pour récupérer ma voiture. Surprise, je leur ai demandé à quelle heure les panneaux orange avaient été affichés. Ils m'ont dit ne pas le savoir et de me diriger vers la Ville de Montréal pour plus de renseignements. J'ai vérifier sur le site internet et j'ai trouvé cette information 'Les panneaux orange seront installés la veille des opérations, entre 15 h et 20 h.' Je trouve ceci inacceptable et je suis certaine que je ne suis pas la seule dans cette position très stressante. Je vous suggère de placer les panneaux orange AU MOINS 24 HEURES avant l'intervention de nettoyage. Ceci éviterait sûrement plusieurs mécontentements de la part des résidents. Merci de prendre le temps de lire mon message et d’y répondre rapidement.

the sun is up, the sky is blue, it's beautiful and so are you

My husband tells me I'm ridiculous. Apparently I'm a loser for loving weddings, especially royal ones, and then sharing my thoughts about it on Facebook. Well so be it. I'm not ashamed about my loser-ish ways. I love life and I'm a happy go lucky person and if I like something, I'll tell you. (Also, this pseudo-rant might be brought on by the fact that we just watched the Glee 'Born this way' episode, which was amazing).

Life is really grand. Spring is in the air and I just love it! I've been substituting in a Kindergarten classroom this week and I'll be there next week as well and it is just amazing! I've had a great weekend too. Friday was my brother's birthday and we went to the restaurant to celebrate. Afterwards I went to my friend MM's birthday party and got to meet loads of really interesting people.

Saturday, Paul and I went rollerblading along the canal. We started out near Atwater market (where our potential condo will be - more on that later) and went all the way to the Old Port, where we stopped for lunch and ice cream.

Photos courtesy of Paul (view his blog here)

Beautiful day

Old Port of Montreal

So there you have it! Have a great week!

Easter with mexicanos, gringos and Frenchies

We had friends visit from Friday morning to Sunday night. First to arrive were P&Em; we went to the airport to pick them up at 8am and I only circled the pick-up area five times (the airport security men are very serious about the 'no-waiting' zone). We headed home to drop off their suitcases and to meet up with our friend H, who also lives in Montreal but is part of this crazy friend group because... OK maybe you need a bit of background info before I continue.

Where we all met in 2006

So Husband and I met in Mexico in 2006. We met through mutual friends at a rugby party because he is a rugby player. I spent the majority of my time in Mexico in my study abroad year (2006-07) learning Spanish with rugby players, so I have a foul potty mouth in Spanish, which is surprising to most because I almost never swear in French or English. The cast of characters of friends who came to visit are all related to rugby playing in Mexico. P studied with Husband and played on the team. Em is P's girlfriend, she is French and met P studying abroad in 2008. H is Spanish from Spain and was studying abroad the same year I was and also played on the team and now lives in Montreal. T is French and was also studying abroad and playing on the rugby team. J is American and lived and played in Mexico before any of us met, so he is kind of the founder of everything and the reason we all met (kind of). To summarize:

P-Mexican, lives in Monterrey
Em-French, P's gf, lives in Monterrey
H-Spanish, lives in Montreal
T-French, lives in NYC
J-American (aka gringo), lives in Boston
me & Husband, live in Montreal

The boys at Mount Royal look-out

Walking in the Old Port

Ok, back to the story. After dropping off the suitcases, we walked to the bus station to pick up T and then we all went out for breakfast right in front of Place des Arts (a must-see in Montreal). Then we walked home to drop off T's suitcase and walked up Mount Royal (another must-see). Em & I had great chats on the way up about Mexico, living abroad, and life in general. We were lucky to have a beautiful sunny day and a great view of downtown. We then walked down to the Eaton Center and the underground city toward the Old Port where we stopped to have beers and lunch. It was a great long lunch and we talked and laughed and reminisced about the good ol' days in Mexico. We then walked around the Old Port and walked along the St. Lawrence river. We walked back home and then went to H's house for dinner, where J met up with us. He prepared his famous paella (I may be biased but I do think it's the best in the world) and we had some wine and were merry.

H's paella

poutine

Saturday morning I had to work, but the rest of the crew woke up late and had a breakfast of champions (French toast) prepared by Husband. We met up at the Olympic Stadium, where they went up the elevator thingy that overlooks the city. H & I stayed behind and looked at the Olympic swimming installations. We were going to go to the Biodome as well, but the wait was 45 minutes and we decided it wasn't worth it. But if you are visiting Montreal with children, I highly recommend the Biodome, which is like a zoo but separated into different ecosystems. We went to the Eaton Center again, where P tried poutine for the first time. He said it was just OK. I say it's delicious, but it does look gross. Em wanted to buy shoes and they don't have Aldo in Monterrey, so we went and she bought awesome black heels. We then went to Peel Pub to watch the hockey game. The Montreal Canadians were playing the Boston Bruins so J was the odd man out in the pub, being from Boston and all, and the Bruins ended up winning so the hardcore Canadians fans were that much more hostile towards him. Thankfully nothing serious happened and thankfully I wasn't there to get stressed out about it, because Husband and I had tickets to a play that Santa had given us at Christmas, so we missed the game but caught up with our friends afterwards. After our play and after the game, we went to St. Laurent, which is a happening street in Montreal full of bars and clubs. We first went to a place called Upstairs (which is where we went last time we went out). It has pornographic art on the walls, OK music and a very young crowd: mostly university students. After a drink there we got sick of the pushing and shoving and debauchery and decided to go elsewhere. We went to Ballroom, which was a lot bigger and had great old school rap playing. I loved it! Oh and MM met up with us, another Montrealer who studied abroad with us in Mexico.

Walk around the lake by my parent's house

Sunday morning we all went out for breakfast at Chez Cora, which is the most amazing breakfast place ever. J had to leave us at this point, so we parted ways and after a delicious meal we decided to go ice skating at the Atrium (it's an indoor skating rink). An old 79-year-old man who does crazy figure skating there taught me how to skate backwards, but also told me that I wasn't that good at skating in the first place so I should probably just focus on going forwards. My parents had graciously invited the whole crew over for Easter dinner. We made it to the suburbs and I was amazed that the crazy animal rugby players I know were able to be civilized gentlemen around my parents. T even cut carrots (an amazing feat for someone who 4 years ago was unable to eat an orange properly). My siblings were there with their respective partners so all in all there were twelve of us. We had turkey, carrots, yams, turnips, potatoes, and colourful eggs (my dad always makes dyed eggs for Easter). We went for a walk around the lake and then had desert (hot crossed buns, obviously). We dropped T off at the bus station, then came home and watched The Hangover. H went home, and P & Em left at 4am to catch their flight.

It was an amazing weekend. They are truly great great friends and I can't wait to see them again! This weekend also made me realize how amazing Montreal is. I LOVE Montreal and I think more friends should come visit and discover how great it is! Hint hint...