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.