Monday, September 1, 2008
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
The Morning After....
December 16th
The morning after the storm/party was amazing! It had dumped over 30 centimeters of snow that night and everything was covered in it. Apparently the party went on until 7am in the morning!
I was reminded of the days when I was in university at Bishops because the winters there has sooo much snow every year. There were mornings where we had to dig out the front door so we could get out and go to class LOL.
We planned to leave and drive home tomorrow once the trucks had time to hit the highways with salt so in the meantime we had an extra day in snowy Montreal to go meet Pat & Caroline for brunch, get some shoes and see Evelyn, Pat & Mike's store, "Bark & Fritz" on Sherbrooke St. If we can dig out the car that is...
The morning after the storm/party was amazing! It had dumped over 30 centimeters of snow that night and everything was covered in it. Apparently the party went on until 7am in the morning!
I was reminded of the days when I was in university at Bishops because the winters there has sooo much snow every year. There were mornings where we had to dig out the front door so we could get out and go to class LOL.
We planned to leave and drive home tomorrow once the trucks had time to hit the highways with salt so in the meantime we had an extra day in snowy Montreal to go meet Pat & Caroline for brunch, get some shoes and see Evelyn, Pat & Mike's store, "Bark & Fritz" on Sherbrooke St. If we can dig out the car that is...
Monday, January 14, 2008
Ottawa visit...The party in Montreal
December 15Th
We hit the road not long after leaving Jan and Sizwe so we could squeeze in a very short visit to see my cousin Kate and her daughter Alexianne aka "Lexi". We had to go so soon in order to get the best light and try to beat the worst of the storm on the way to Montreal.
(photo of Towa, Lexi, Kate)
Lexi is nearly the same age as Tavaris and is so adorable with her bilingual chatter to Mummy and the cutest eyes ever. Kate is pregnant too and is nearly a month ahead of me but it doesn't show at all. Her husband Eric is in Bali or Fiji with the Governor General attending the environmental conference and Lexi and Kate miss him lots.
Oh, so Kate sent a note by email that morning telling us that Lexi has come down with Scarlet Fever! Can you believe in the 21st century that kids are still getting Scarlet Fever???? She was on antibiotics and not contagious in any way, but she wanted me to know in case I still wanted to pass on the visit, being six months preggers n' all! Needless to say, we went anyways....had to see my cuz and it had been ages since I'd seen my niece.
Funny, they also live in the bottom of their duplex. We both have tenants above and are pregnant in the suite below LOL! We just barely manage to fit our family in ours with Tavaris, Donna and visiting guest on a regular rotation but they are a lot tighter due to the layout of the house. So they are looking to buy in another area of Ottawa and rent the bottom suite. Just like I've been planning for a year. So cool.
Had to hit the road way too soon, not even enough to brew a "cuppa" but we had to come by and say hi.
THE SURPRISE PARTY!
We had been secretly planning this leg of the journey with my good friend Evelyn Couture (red headed, Irish/French Canadian) who went to Bishop's with me. We were a tight crew and a lot of us were going to be gathering at Pat's house to surprise him for his birthday.
Photo: Evelyn, Towa, Mike
His girlfriend, Caroline, had set up a whole Casino theme and ordered poker tables with Croupiers to man the tables, real Karaoke from the 80's to sing along to and a gorgeous million dollar home to play in!
Greg played my chips for me, together with his own, and had a ball. My school mates got to meet him and everyone thought he was one of the gang (yippee for me). Isn't he handsome?
Mike and Pat (BFF's 4ever) had a blast on the song machine. Here is Mike belting out, was it the Beastie Boys, "Tricky"...the hip, hop golden oldie LOL.
The upstairs poker table was a hot one...Pam's husband took the pot for largest take of the night off this table.
Another one of the "Girls" from Bishop's, Patty was there holding down the poker tables with her happy man Chris..it was sooo good to see her smiling and happy. What a pair!
My boys took a second out of the festivities to toast "Junior" in my belly! They can't wait to have someone to spoil but I have to admit it was strange to have the party queen sipping Perrier and holding her tummy all night. The party hard chick was gone and the "NUN" was in effect. Didn't stop the party from going until 7am though!!!
We hit the road not long after leaving Jan and Sizwe so we could squeeze in a very short visit to see my cousin Kate and her daughter Alexianne aka "Lexi". We had to go so soon in order to get the best light and try to beat the worst of the storm on the way to Montreal.
(photo of Towa, Lexi, Kate)
Lexi is nearly the same age as Tavaris and is so adorable with her bilingual chatter to Mummy and the cutest eyes ever. Kate is pregnant too and is nearly a month ahead of me but it doesn't show at all. Her husband Eric is in Bali or Fiji with the Governor General attending the environmental conference and Lexi and Kate miss him lots.
Oh, so Kate sent a note by email that morning telling us that Lexi has come down with Scarlet Fever! Can you believe in the 21st century that kids are still getting Scarlet Fever???? She was on antibiotics and not contagious in any way, but she wanted me to know in case I still wanted to pass on the visit, being six months preggers n' all! Needless to say, we went anyways....had to see my cuz and it had been ages since I'd seen my niece.
Funny, they also live in the bottom of their duplex. We both have tenants above and are pregnant in the suite below LOL! We just barely manage to fit our family in ours with Tavaris, Donna and visiting guest on a regular rotation but they are a lot tighter due to the layout of the house. So they are looking to buy in another area of Ottawa and rent the bottom suite. Just like I've been planning for a year. So cool.
Had to hit the road way too soon, not even enough to brew a "cuppa" but we had to come by and say hi.
THE SURPRISE PARTY!
We had been secretly planning this leg of the journey with my good friend Evelyn Couture (red headed, Irish/French Canadian) who went to Bishop's with me. We were a tight crew and a lot of us were going to be gathering at Pat's house to surprise him for his birthday.
Photo: Evelyn, Towa, Mike
His girlfriend, Caroline, had set up a whole Casino theme and ordered poker tables with Croupiers to man the tables, real Karaoke from the 80's to sing along to and a gorgeous million dollar home to play in!
Greg played my chips for me, together with his own, and had a ball. My school mates got to meet him and everyone thought he was one of the gang (yippee for me). Isn't he handsome?
Mike and Pat (BFF's 4ever) had a blast on the song machine. Here is Mike belting out, was it the Beastie Boys, "Tricky"...the hip, hop golden oldie LOL.
The upstairs poker table was a hot one...Pam's husband took the pot for largest take of the night off this table.
Another one of the "Girls" from Bishop's, Patty was there holding down the poker tables with her happy man Chris..it was sooo good to see her smiling and happy. What a pair!
My boys took a second out of the festivities to toast "Junior" in my belly! They can't wait to have someone to spoil but I have to admit it was strange to have the party queen sipping Perrier and holding her tummy all night. The party hard chick was gone and the "NUN" was in effect. Didn't stop the party from going until 7am though!!!
Visiting Ottawa friends
It was great to go to Ottawa and see, just around the corner from where I had my first lifeguarding job, Jan & Sizwe's house!
Seriously...I used to spend all summer watching the boys play basketball and playing with kids as a City Camp leader and life guard at this park. My best buddy, Peter Murray lived up the street on Gladstone and my house was just down the street on O'Connor.
Sizwe has grown into a strapping, confident young man who is really talented on the piano and vocally. His father is an accomplished Jazz musician in South Africa but Jan has done lots to keep his mind fed with musical notes and possibilities!
Seriously...I used to spend all summer watching the boys play basketball and playing with kids as a City Camp leader and life guard at this park. My best buddy, Peter Murray lived up the street on Gladstone and my house was just down the street on O'Connor.
Sizwe has grown into a strapping, confident young man who is really talented on the piano and vocally. His father is an accomplished Jazz musician in South Africa but Jan has done lots to keep his mind fed with musical notes and possibilities!
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Headed to Downtown Ottawa
December 15 2007
The plan is to drive to see my Dad's old girlfriend JoanAnn Nolan who lives downtown Ottawa to see her and her son Sizwe. I haven't seen him since he was about 7 years old when they used to live in South Africa around the time I lived there with Dad.
Sizwe is now an accomplished musician who excels in piano and voice. Funny enough, he is going to the same Junior High that I went to when I lived in Ottawa - Glashan! He even has the same Gym teach (Mr. Desclouds) who remembers both Andrew and myself. What a small world. Anyhow, Sizwe it turns out has inherited his musical skills from his father, Jabulani, who is a world class Trombone player in South Africa!
The plan is to drive to see my Dad's old girlfriend JoanAnn Nolan who lives downtown Ottawa to see her and her son Sizwe. I haven't seen him since he was about 7 years old when they used to live in South Africa around the time I lived there with Dad.
Sizwe is now an accomplished musician who excels in piano and voice. Funny enough, he is going to the same Junior High that I went to when I lived in Ottawa - Glashan! He even has the same Gym teach (Mr. Desclouds) who remembers both Andrew and myself. What a small world. Anyhow, Sizwe it turns out has inherited his musical skills from his father, Jabulani, who is a world class Trombone player in South Africa!
Ottawa reunited
December 14th 2007
The snow is on our heels all the way from Toronto. Greg is an outstanding driver in both snow and rain (ask me about driving "Fern Gully" in Jamaica one day) so I'm 100% confident in our arriving safely.
We headed out to my best girlfriend Andrea's as she lives about 20 mins outside of Ottawa in a lovely yellow farmhouse in North Gower. It will be an awesome visit as I missed her wedding to Paul in September while I was in Jamaica.
Andrea and I lived together at 654 Queen Street for nearly 5 years when we were having our wild party days LOL. Now I'm nearly 6 months pregnant, she's happily married and we both have TYPE II Diabetes...what a change a gwaan.
Photo: Andrea & Paul Winter's gorgeous yellow farmhouse, North Gower the morning after the storm hit Ottawa
We timed it perfectly so that the big storm hit during the night while we were at Andrea's so we woke up to some gorgeous scenery.
Photo: Greg all relaxed at Andrea's house after the long drive from Toronto.
The snow is on our heels all the way from Toronto. Greg is an outstanding driver in both snow and rain (ask me about driving "Fern Gully" in Jamaica one day) so I'm 100% confident in our arriving safely.
We headed out to my best girlfriend Andrea's as she lives about 20 mins outside of Ottawa in a lovely yellow farmhouse in North Gower. It will be an awesome visit as I missed her wedding to Paul in September while I was in Jamaica.
Andrea and I lived together at 654 Queen Street for nearly 5 years when we were having our wild party days LOL. Now I'm nearly 6 months pregnant, she's happily married and we both have TYPE II Diabetes...what a change a gwaan.
Photo: Andrea & Paul Winter's gorgeous yellow farmhouse, North Gower the morning after the storm hit Ottawa
We timed it perfectly so that the big storm hit during the night while we were at Andrea's so we woke up to some gorgeous scenery.
Photo: Greg all relaxed at Andrea's house after the long drive from Toronto.
Roadtrip meets BIG SNOWSTORM!
December 10th 2007
Had a good visit with my cousin Mike Schatzky from Montreal who dropped by to visit us. He was in town last week for my cousin Paul Tough's Toronto wedding reception. They got married in New York so a lot of our family couldn't attend.
Photo (Towa, Harry M Beer, Mike Schatzky)
December 13th 2007
Greg is still sick and we were at the hospital last night making sure we could get the all clear for him to travel. Doctors think it will clear up on it's own and that we are ok to visit as long as he's not hugging and kissing everyone (which I will ensure does not happen LOL).
We had to leave on the 14th instead of 13th as planned so we will not be able to visit the Schatzky's or with my other "MOM", Aunty Marianne as she is headed out to see her 90 year old mom for her birthday.
There is a huge snowstorm to hit our exact path soooo it could be an interesting trip! Thanks to Greg's sister Cheryl, we will be able to rent a nice car for the drive up in comfort.
Had a good visit with my cousin Mike Schatzky from Montreal who dropped by to visit us. He was in town last week for my cousin Paul Tough's Toronto wedding reception. They got married in New York so a lot of our family couldn't attend.
Photo (Towa, Harry M Beer, Mike Schatzky)
December 13th 2007
Greg is still sick and we were at the hospital last night making sure we could get the all clear for him to travel. Doctors think it will clear up on it's own and that we are ok to visit as long as he's not hugging and kissing everyone (which I will ensure does not happen LOL).
We had to leave on the 14th instead of 13th as planned so we will not be able to visit the Schatzky's or with my other "MOM", Aunty Marianne as she is headed out to see her 90 year old mom for her birthday.
There is a huge snowstorm to hit our exact path soooo it could be an interesting trip! Thanks to Greg's sister Cheryl, we will be able to rent a nice car for the drive up in comfort.
Roadtrip!
So my honey has promised to drive me to Ottawa and Montreal to see my old friends from University as my big Christmas present. LOVE HIM!!
Here is the draft schedule so far...
Thursday Dec 13th - Afternoon visits with family (Hooper family, Kim Burke, Schatzky family). Meet JA Nolan & Sizwe at Glashan after school, link with Marianne after work to stay overnight in Manotick.
Friday Dec 14th - noon drive to Ottawa (5 hr drive) to Mrs Andrea Winter (nee "Hanson") in North Gore. Spend day/overnight there.
Saturday Dec 15th - Visit with JoanAnn & Sizwe (lunch), visit with Kate & Lexi Richer (2-5pm), drive to Montreal, arrive at Evelyn & Mike's (7pm) for overnight, Pat Eggar's (Westmount) surprise party!
Sunday Dec 16th - visit Evelyn Couture (Bark & Fritz store in Westmount), visit with Uncle Jim/Aunt Agathe (lunch), Mike Schatzky (afternoon) then drive back to Toronto!
Here is the draft schedule so far...
Thursday Dec 13th - Afternoon visits with family (Hooper family, Kim Burke, Schatzky family). Meet JA Nolan & Sizwe at Glashan after school, link with Marianne after work to stay overnight in Manotick.
Friday Dec 14th - noon drive to Ottawa (5 hr drive) to Mrs Andrea Winter (nee "Hanson") in North Gore. Spend day/overnight there.
Saturday Dec 15th - Visit with JoanAnn & Sizwe (lunch), visit with Kate & Lexi Richer (2-5pm), drive to Montreal, arrive at Evelyn & Mike's (7pm) for overnight, Pat Eggar's (Westmount) surprise party!
Sunday Dec 16th - visit Evelyn Couture (Bark & Fritz store in Westmount), visit with Uncle Jim/Aunt Agathe (lunch), Mike Schatzky (afternoon) then drive back to Toronto!
The Search for New Tenants begins
December 8 2007
Well my brother, who lives upstairs in our duplex has decided with his wife to find larger accomodations. To a pregnant-diabetic this is a huge challenge...actually, it would be for anyone trying to keep stress free LOL!
We have to find tenants in the month of December when most people are thinking about presents and parties or we will be stuck with the mortgage twice this month. (grrrr)
The situation has mellowed since they agreed to pay the December rent on Saturday if the space is not taken by then. It is in their best interest to get it rented asap so they have done a spectacular job moving mountains of junk to make the space presentable for appointments. Check out the website Jennifer built here http://apartment.smartygirl.net/
Here is the small room on the top floor that was used as my nephew Harry's nursery.
The upstairs master bedroom presents very well and I'm positive we will get a higher price for the rent as I'm listing it as a 3 bedroom...this is the master bedroom on the top floor.
I have learned a lot during this and will keep these lessons close to my heart.
Well my brother, who lives upstairs in our duplex has decided with his wife to find larger accomodations. To a pregnant-diabetic this is a huge challenge...actually, it would be for anyone trying to keep stress free LOL!
We have to find tenants in the month of December when most people are thinking about presents and parties or we will be stuck with the mortgage twice this month. (grrrr)
The situation has mellowed since they agreed to pay the December rent on Saturday if the space is not taken by then. It is in their best interest to get it rented asap so they have done a spectacular job moving mountains of junk to make the space presentable for appointments. Check out the website Jennifer built here http://apartment.smartygirl.net/
Here is the small room on the top floor that was used as my nephew Harry's nursery.
The upstairs master bedroom presents very well and I'm positive we will get a higher price for the rent as I'm listing it as a 3 bedroom...this is the master bedroom on the top floor.
I have learned a lot during this and will keep these lessons close to my heart.
Life with insulin & colds
December 8th 2007
(email excerpt to my Zambian cousins Towani, Yaliwe & their Mum)
My life exits in 2 hour cycles already and I'm not even doing night feedings yet LOL...seriously, I either test my sugar or take insulin every two hours and the novelty is quickly wearing off. The needle is not so bad, it's making sure I have needles, insulin, test strips and enough food that is very exhausting.
My house is down with cold (me) and flu (Greg) and it is quarantine time. We got sick from Greg's little son Tavaris who he was baby sitting for two days last week because he was sick, now T's mom is sick, his daughter Donna is sick and we are both sick. I am on the mend faster (thanks to years of bronchial issues my colds are accelerated and hit my chest fast) but Greg is down with a very high temp and lots of aches and pains. It's kinda scary how sick he is but I'm listening to my mom and giving him lots of fluids (clear tea with lemon and garlic), a tylenol for the fever and hot water bottles, a touque and heating pad to sweat it out tonight.
Baby is great! aka Syaba (peanut) from big sis Mbone, he/she is kicking me from the inside but no indigestion, constipation or anything else freaky. I did pick up a prescription today for a bladder infection that I have no symptoms for, but it showed up in my blood work. My heart ultrasound was on Monday and went well I guess, the results have not been sent to my diabetes Dr as yet but it was weird and fun at the same time to see all those images and my heart thumping away on a big screen.
Have been seeing my diabetes team at Mnt. Sinai every other day to work on my carb counts and insulin levels and all seems to be moving along well. I have to get a fancy scale around Xmas to help with the counting of carbs but until then, I am to have some very specific numbers at each meal and I call in my results so they can adjust my insulin levels....sigh. This is a full time job!
The baby shower is planned for late February at my friend Stephanie's condo party room on Lakeshore West where we'll have underground parking, a fireplace, kitchen and suites for those travelling from out of town.
OK...back is tired and I have this numbness in my leg now from certain sitting/lying positions so I'm going to hit the sack. It's time for Greg's vitamin C and pain tablet.
(email excerpt to my Zambian cousins Towani, Yaliwe & their Mum)
My life exits in 2 hour cycles already and I'm not even doing night feedings yet LOL...seriously, I either test my sugar or take insulin every two hours and the novelty is quickly wearing off. The needle is not so bad, it's making sure I have needles, insulin, test strips and enough food that is very exhausting.
My house is down with cold (me) and flu (Greg) and it is quarantine time. We got sick from Greg's little son Tavaris who he was baby sitting for two days last week because he was sick, now T's mom is sick, his daughter Donna is sick and we are both sick. I am on the mend faster (thanks to years of bronchial issues my colds are accelerated and hit my chest fast) but Greg is down with a very high temp and lots of aches and pains. It's kinda scary how sick he is but I'm listening to my mom and giving him lots of fluids (clear tea with lemon and garlic), a tylenol for the fever and hot water bottles, a touque and heating pad to sweat it out tonight.
Baby is great! aka Syaba (peanut) from big sis Mbone, he/she is kicking me from the inside but no indigestion, constipation or anything else freaky. I did pick up a prescription today for a bladder infection that I have no symptoms for, but it showed up in my blood work. My heart ultrasound was on Monday and went well I guess, the results have not been sent to my diabetes Dr as yet but it was weird and fun at the same time to see all those images and my heart thumping away on a big screen.
Have been seeing my diabetes team at Mnt. Sinai every other day to work on my carb counts and insulin levels and all seems to be moving along well. I have to get a fancy scale around Xmas to help with the counting of carbs but until then, I am to have some very specific numbers at each meal and I call in my results so they can adjust my insulin levels....sigh. This is a full time job!
The baby shower is planned for late February at my friend Stephanie's condo party room on Lakeshore West where we'll have underground parking, a fireplace, kitchen and suites for those travelling from out of town.
OK...back is tired and I have this numbness in my leg now from certain sitting/lying positions so I'm going to hit the sack. It's time for Greg's vitamin C and pain tablet.
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