Heather drops in

(Soph's post) Heather came through Ottawa in the beginning of July, and we had to take her to some of our favorite spots, one being a hike around Pink Lake in Gatineau Park. It reminded her and I of the good ol' days and canoe trips in the Canadian shield.

Halfway through our hike, we stopped at a lookout point where a couple was also enjoying the view, and they wanted to get a look at the bub hiding in the snuggly. When Ethan woke up and saw the strange couple staring at him, he started to laugh uncontrollably. It's a strange laugh, completely pure and innocent, and even he doesn't seem to know why he's doing it, but it goes on and on, keeping him entertained. The funny thing is that it's contagious, and everyone keeps laughing at him because it sounds so unique. He pulled off this stunt about a week earlier for the first time, when Sophie was walking in the park, and ran into another couple.
Seems like new people get him going.


The night prior to Heather leaving for her Algonquin canoe trip, she took us out for supper at the Courtyard restaurant in the Byward market. It was one of those characteristic summer evenings, where the weather was ideal, and the food was superb. The kind of evening you long for when winter is still threatening your sanity in March. The outdoor patio got Greg's added approval for being the only place left in the city that still had a remaining stock of Hoeggarden.


Heather liked this picture of Ethan doing the airplane, looking a bit stunned, while she kept the conversation rolling. Hey! She's a natural. It's like how I've learned to do so many things with just one hand (teeth brushing, meal prep, eating, etc)! It was great to have a visitor to Ottawa again, since the busy times of May are long gone already.

Oh, and we put in another order for a hat for the bub with Heather; he needs to have the hippest touque come winter, eh?!

Random stuff

Here's a post to clean up the last couple of months. Sophie's currently got the camera in Wpg., so no posts about the MB trip till late August (who am I kidding...it will be 2008 before a post comes out).

Back to June - Arn and Janet had us over at their farm near Ashton on Father's day for the June birthday's get-together. Most of the clan from Charles and Marie's family made it out as well for a relaxing day in the country. The hobby farm they have setup seems to be the ideal way to separate the nearby urban life from the more simplistic means of the country. So peaceful to just sit on the veranda, and overlook the wind blowing across the wheat fields in the valley below.

One of the perks of having spent most of 2007 working out of Ottawa, is that we get to have consistent weekend breakfasts together again. Nothing beats waking up on a Saturday, realizing you don't have to go in to work, and then whipping up some pancakes with Quebecois maple syrup. Our kitchen table is miniscule, but when the sun shines in, and Bub is well rested, it all seems to be just right.

The weather has been great from June into July, and so we spent as much time as possible exploring the region. Left is a photo of me testing the limits of the stroller through a bush walk on Petrie Island in Orleans. Some other highlights from that week: a late evening walk through the mystical Mer Bleue, a moss-filled bog reminiscent of a far Northern ecosystem. Sophie actually managed to spot one of the weird frogs making the "duhnk" sound, like water dripping in a deep well. My eyes are never patient enough to locate such details.

Left - We discovered a historic little town on a Northern section of the Gatineau river, nestled in amongst the surrounding hills. Wakefield is a resort-like town, with the main drag filled with local coffee shops, small pubs, ice cream parlours, and tonnes of local artisans. The entire town follows the shore on a wide expanse in the river. Upstream from the town, a long red wooden covered bridge is still maintained for pedestrian traffic. The town was especially festive the day we were there with Canada day celebrations going on.

Sophie and I finally succumbed to the Shawarma King, and picked up some Lebanese for a picnic by Lac Leamy in Gatineau. The tabouleh was OK, but baklava is now hands-down, the best dessert I've ever had. I've noticed how most cities in Canada have a prominent cultural food, the type that is sold in every other restaurant on the block. Vancouver has it's sushi, Halifax has it's donair, Montreal the smoked meat, but in Ottawa - it's all about the Shawarma apparently.

Left - Bub and I must go to the same barber.