Rested, Refreshed, Ready

Or at least really close to all of the above, but you know how I like alliteration. To start something one should finish something else, but because life is really a series of multitasking events, most of us leave a little trail of breadcrumbs that need sweeping up on occasion, clearing the boards for whatever comes next. 

Here are some of my breadcrumbs.

Backofthefridge breakfast burritos

I think Jonny's happy

We did a few driveabouts in neighborhoods featuring everything from charming cottages to reconditioned trailers to lakeside mansions to lakeside 'been there forever and won't ever fancy up' types of homes. There were at least two neighborhoods I felt like I could walk into 70% of the homes and feel like moving in. 

See the seaplane?

What a great way to commute!

Yes, another old bridge

Michael drove very very close to the water to show me the what there is to see.
I'm not very used to hard surface ramps and exited the car before we sunk.
Which wasn't going to happen. Don't challenge the Universe, say I!

Just your average home. Turned into a club.

Peeking at the neighbors

I've never seen metal shutters on a home before. It is kind of a cool look. 

Another backyard neighbor

Gravity is the law

Here is the story of La Maison Trestler

Yes, it really is a log cabin. An old one too.

Once upon a time mailboxes for the neighborhood

Where's the porch swing and lemonade?

Cheery yellow door(s)

Summer cottages on a point.

There was nothing I didn't like about this place.

So easy to love in summer

Another log cabin!!

So smart! Instead of cluttering up the lakeside with private condos/homes etc.
the city built a skateboard park. A really BIG skateboard park.
On this fairly gloomy day there were quite a few kids there. Outside. Playing.
Just say yes.

I was really going for the tinsel horse, leaning out the window backwards.
But the bikes work too. See the horse?? See him? Um, is that a zebra?

This whole house had purple roofs so I wanted to take a shot for Francie.
But we were moving faster than I thought. And going back when there was
so much ahead? Wasn't going to happen. It was pretty amazing though.

Someone didn't get the 'your house has to be perfect' memo

There was shopping to be done whether we needed to or not and this store, Provigo Le Marché, was on the list. Under its first name(s) it wasn't doing so well - sold and sold again the new owners came up with a pretty smart plan. Rename it and re-market it (pun unintended) as a bundle of upscale shopping. They held an international design contest and some Aussies won. The wow factor is immediate and the thoughtful layout comes as you start shopping. 

They even carry a line of clothing in there and damn them, it's pretty nice and not crazy priced. The sale prices will get your cc warmed up.

There would be a lot more photos but I got busted pretty much immediately.
Some stores don't care if you photograph, in fact most stores don't.
The ones that do? They are not kidding around. So here you go!

There is a lot more to the name thing if you are wanting to get the story, you can check it out here. A funny story goes along with one of the names but it's just too auditory necessary to try writing it out. I can tell. 

This car was pulling in as we were getting ready to go. 

The man driving it told me it took him five years to restore it. I asked what he had to work with and he held up the key. "This was pretty much the only thing that didn't need work."

Nice job, bud!

B-b-b-bridges

Back at the house, Carroll had been busy harvesting from the garden. Yum. And more yum.

Anyone who knows me knows I do not like cooked greens.
No matter how they are cooked.
Guess what? This is the year I do.

Future on the menu they aren't just to look at anymore greens

A garden candy bowl

Shuckin' and jivin'

Carroll used a recipe from her grandmother (I think, maybe her mother) -
making a basic whitesauce and using simple seasonings.
It was really, really really good!

 We saw the gladiolas opening.

And the POPPIES too!

A bit of living lace

I don't want to say Jonny was begging for dinner but...

One more time for dinner

It's Fiji, the elusive cat!!! It took the whole week to get this close.

More garden art

This is a terrible photo but I'm including it to share the blow your
taste tip top high-ness of lemon and basil sorbet.
Yes, an ice cream machine helps. No you don't need one to make this.
Just make sure to use plenty of basil, it's amazing.

This family is traveling the world in their camper. I don't read French,
 but it looks like quite an amazing journey if you feel like checking it out.

Tomorrow will wind up the trip, in photos at least. In memories, it will last a lot longer.

Have a time tripping Tuesday. Do something traveler-ish.

A Montreal Day and Night (yes, there is more food porn)

I woke up in the morning still full, and sadly had to let Michael know I couldn't eat the omelet he was offering to make (that might be different today, it is rainy and not a jump out of bed sort of morning). Nonetheless, food was one topic in our day planning, as we'd be going to the Atwater Market before going to see Aunt Mimi. Atwater Market isn't the biggest market in the world, though anything it lacks in size it makes up for in variety. Even with it being a Tuesday during what is called the Contruction Holiday, there were plenty of vendors offering their wares.

Please, just coffee. Thank you!

The awaited red day lily opens

This narrow raised bed supports a lot of veggies

The trellis at the back is one aluminum or stainless piece making the frame with netting stretched across it. 

On the netting are peas, tomatoes, Lebonese cucumbers and something else I think. In the raised bed is garlic and a big variety of greens. Herbs are in another garden area. 

A butter keeper. Water in the bottom, butter in the top.
Put the top on and it stays good on the counter. I think it might not work at home though.

Some garlic to hang

Michael has a wire hanger method of hanging them. I
 just used to braid the tops and be done with it but this would probably be a 'dryer' way.

We took a rainy drive into Westmount, an old neighborhood in Montreal where my brother and I lived with our aunts for a year when we were very young.

Climbing up the mountain we could see the dome of St. Joseph's Oratory, the church building at the end of the street we lived on.

Aunt Mimi's house, now with a third story and new wings added after family moved.

Aunt Bev's house across the street. Of course, it is long since not Aunt Bev's house
and has also had additions made. It was still fun to remember when.

 There is a wonderful place to stop that overlooks the city of Montreal, actually an island. Even in the rain it was pretty splendid.

The homes along this winding road are amazing, feeling as if they are rooted into the mountain itself, stone and stone and more stone. The ones below are very small examples. One, it was raining and two, I didn't have a panoramic lens to catch the huge ones. If you want to see some stunning homes in dramatic settings, this is one place in the world to go.

We think this knight was somehow sending a message to the neighbor. 

 It was time for Atwater Market. 

This tank was probably 10 or 12 feet long and 4 or 5 feet wide,

and filled with New England lobsters. One of the men working there told me that particular shop sold over 2000 pounds of salmon a week, well farmed with no colors or antibiotics and that this tank got replenished twice a week, completely turning over the lobsters. It was kind of incredible.

Berries. Berries. Berries. Yes, they really were this bright.

Everything was displayed so beautifully.

Some things just had to be bought because they were gorgeous.

Including these purple kohlrabi. Quite the Monty Python effect here, Michael.

How to make garlic into art.

Cherries and more berries

I've seen a lot of cities with posters posted but never so tidily

The bakery. 

There were a lot of butchers and cheese makers around. Some of the cuts of beef looked like dinosaurs. I was assured they were not dinosaurs. That's a good thing.

Aged organic beef. Very pricey.
A chicken was over 20 bucks (Canadian), so it's all relative.

Dino steaks

I don't know what this was, probably veal, but I'd never seen a meat flower before.

Butchers at work

What I first noticed was the kangaroo meat. Then the other meats.
Then the cuts of the meats. Exotic sandwich slices? What?

What was this? Michael then pointed out the obvious (which I often miss), that this was all prepared meat for fondue. How could I not have caught on to that? Especially with the sign right in my face? Even for me, the thought of that whole idea simply wasn't working. Trying the meats? Absolutely. An exotic meat fondue party? Not so sure.

There were a few shops where it was very hard to leave. Ok, most of them were very hard to leave. We had sooooo much fun!

A special way to start your day

Because nothing says home on the range like quinoa and cinnamon in your chili

Ok, I give up, what is yuzu juice? Um, what is a yuzu?

One out of three walls of tea. I had to just walk away.

Jonny and Carroll not walking away

Carroll checking out some cheeses. And that's when the trouble started...

Carroll checking out one of the many cheese displays

I'd been wanting/looking for a cheese I'd had the last time I was here. Of course I couldn't remember the name of it, I just knew what it was like. Now I could taste my way through the market and just maybe find the cheese (there wasn't really any trouble, except eating my way through every cheese store). 

It went like this - describe, taste, describe taste. No, but that was good, yes, I'll take some of that. Repeat. Until I met this young lady.

She found it!!! I was very, very excited. I think she was pleased (get the crazy
American lady out of here, I'd be so pleased - that sort of pleased)

In case you ever want to try a good cheese.

We were meeting another cousin for lunch at the market. There was a satay place where we thought we'd eat but it was closed. We found another spot with a big choice of dishes, good but how fair to compare to what has been on offer back at the house? Not fair at all. 

I'd made my selection and went to hold the table.
This delivery truck was parked outside but what I noticed the most was this
GREAT sign. You don't have to speak French to get the message.

Our cousin Denise

 And then we were on the road again, on the way to Aunt Mimi's.

Are we in England?

The first thing (and I so wish I'd bet money on this, because I predicted it) Aunt Mimi asked me was, Where did your brown hair go? Because I am a good niece I didn't say a few things. But when your hundred year old aunt gives you a run for your money in the aging department, it can give you pause.

Stealth conversation

I had to let go long enough to steal a photo. She is NOT into photos.  Too bad.

A copy of a painting of my grandfather. The painting was very big and scared
all of us cousins because he was ALWAYS looking at the viewer, no matter
where in the room one stood. He wasn't a guy you wanted staring at you.

Aunt Mimi and Uncle Maury a long time ago

Aunt Mimi's building has a rooftop sitting area with plexiglass windscreens. It overlooks all of Montreal. Spectacular. The rain had stopped and the sun was out. We stayed up there for a good while.

Mont Royal

The city and the river

With lots of promises to see her again soon, Jonny and I found our way to the Metro and the train and back to the house. That sounds easy and actually ended up being pretty easy, with good directions and lots of asking to be sure we were headed in the right direction. But until we were absolutely sure, most of the time we were pretty sure we were screwed and would end up in Vancouver. 

By the time we got back all the goodies from the market were either put away or being prepped for dinner. Pasta and clams and corn on the cob. But first, hors-d'oeuvres. 

Michael scorched the skins of the peppers and then put them in a brown paper bag.
It's a trick that really works!! The skins came off in one piece; it was impressive.

Some of the cheeses and olives...and yes, we still managed most of dinner.

I'd never used soy sauce as a dip for roasted peppers but it was a great combo

With the rain and the sun, the red day lily was beautifully open as far as it could possibly be.

I wandered inside and outside, Jonny did whatever he did and Michael and Carroll chopped lots of things. 

Every time I looked at the counter it was like a still life

Time for the clams!

The fish guy suggested this can of surf clams. We weren't real sure but went for them anyway. Carroll and I took a tentative taste and wow! These are great! In they went as well.

Another lovely dinner. Again.

While the corn was an addition because it was irresistible in the market,
somehow we managed to make a dent in our cobs.

I'm not sure how Carroll came to bring out her very cool JOI light, but it entertained us for quite awhile. I want one. Technically, it is an outdoor thing but I think it could be used inside with plenty of air and caution.

A tea candle lights up LED lights. How awesome is THAT?

Definitely enough light to read by and you can read all about it here.

The coffee has been on and I'm pretty sure I just heard another round of beans being ground...time to start another day. The rain has ended, the sun is out. Life is good. Yes, indeed it is.

Have a wield your wonder well Wednesday. Do something with a whistle.