Our Own Wine

One of the things about Canada that is not as great as the U.S. is the alcohol prices.  Last year, I gave J the book Boozehound for Christmas.  It it a really interesting book about the history and backstory of different alcohol and cocktails, and as a result, we decided to keep more of a complete bar in our home.

Moving to Canada, this was the wrong time to decide to diversify our drinking.  For example, Woodford Reserve Bourbon is $25 at the LCBO (Liquor Control Board of Ontario) and $18.90 at the ABC (Alcohol Beverage Control) store in Virginia, both state-run liquor stores.

Our next door neighbors offered us a fantastic glass of wine at their house. After complimenting them on it, we discovered that they had "made" it themselves at a local winery.  Here, you begin by adding yeast to the grapes and juice, and then you leave the mix in the winery for about 2 months, where they care for it.  Next, you go back to the winery where you bottle and label your wines.  Then you can enjoy.

We bottled Amarone-style wine, which goes for about $30 a bottle in the LCBO, and we've been really happy with our wine.  We named our wine "Phoney Baloney Amarone" and  "it's a terrible situation" after a story from one of J's co-workers.  We were able to get 30 bottles for about $250 and the cost of the bottles.  We can reuse the bottles the next time we bottle wine, so we don't recycle these bottles, we rinse them and save them for next time.

According to Judy at our winery, on-premises winemaking is popular in places like California, but may or may not be available in certain states, depending on local laws.  We ordered our wine from a kit, but some places may be more hands-on.  It was really fun.

I have fun pictures of this, but am having problems syncing my phone with my computer and got someone else's cloud pics so this time, no pics. But I didn't stomp on grapes like I expected either. Maybe next time.

My Mom Got A Tattoo. Really.

"What color do you want your tattoo to be?" Gabe, our tattoo artist, asks.
"Do you have Chanel pink?" my sister asks.
"No, but I have titty nipple pink."

My family is in Charleston, SC for the memorial service for my Aunt.  Her name was Kathleen Andrews, but everyone in our family called her Craze.

In honor of her crazy spirit, some of the women in our family thought we should get tattoos.  Mainly me, and my cousin Carla. We were so enthusiastic that my mom and sister may have gotten caught up in the excitement.

I don't know the last time you took your mom to a tattoo parlor, but I highly advise that you do it soon, with your entire family, if possible*.

We decided to get butterflies. It is in honor of a story that was told often by my aunt Craze, about a butterfly who needs to experience the struggle himself in order to be strong enough to be independent and free.  Interestingly, I was reminded of a parallel quote we used from the GT/AAP office about "stealing a child's struggle" and instead letting them work through the hard part to achieve their own accomplishments.

My mom and Carla got the same tattoo, pictured above. My more reluctant sister and I got this butterfly tattoo**, below:

I was pretty excited to go to get another tattoo, and I had also long wanted a daisy on my toe, so I also got one of those. It was from a camp song at girl scout camp. Ah, the lifelong positive influence of girl scouts.

The story gets better: this song is originally by the Smothers Brothers, and from an album called "Mom Always Liked You Best."

Tattoo Song:

There's a daisy on my toe

It is not real, it does not grow

It's just a tattoo of a flower

So I'll look cool while taking a shower

It's on the second toe of my left foot

A stem and flower, it has no root

Why? 'Cause that wouldn't look good!

There's a daisy on my toe

My right foot loves my left foot so! 

The actual lyrics are slightly different, but this is how I learned the song. I've wanted this tattoo for over 20 years.

Craze continues to extend her positive influence, even through she is not physically around.  I am filled with sadness and grief at her absence, and so much joy at watching the dolphins play in the water just off the water of where we are staying.  I am glad to see our family, and know that she is sitting on my shoulder, laughing with us and amazed at our whimsy.  My heart is glad to be in the place where I married J 10 years ago, and show my children the beach where we committed to each other.

I will miss Craze so much. She is the one who gave me my first Barbie doll, when my mom wouldn't. She was the fun Aunt, giving me popcorn for breakfast, taking me on adventures, letting me dress up and create parades through her house, play dog with her dog Polly, and creating another safe place for me.  She was always loving and fun.  She took this love to everyone she helped, and she helped so many.  I hope I can live my life, like her, in the spirit of love.

*Worried that I took my kids to a sketchy tattoo parlor? Don't be. We made reservations. It was a highly reputable tattoo parlor.  As far as those things go. Or, as I described it to J, a gallery of live body art.  S slept through most, E played on the phone. Do you feel better about it now? I'm probably the only person to drive a minivan and wheel a double stroller into this place.

**Worried we will regret this? My mom did. As we are driving home, mom asks, "do you think we'll regret this?"  "There isn't any buyer's remorse, mom," H says. "This s*%& is permanent."
But we're enjoying them so far.

An American Shopping for Stuffing, and other Sad News

It is very sad to shop for stuffing in Canada, especially almost two months after Canadians celebrated Thanksgiving.

I needed the very large bag of Pepperidge Farm seasoned cubes. My father's chestnut stuffing recipe is specific on what kind of bread shall be used.  Yes, I could make some sort of stale bread substitute, but it is taking a risk with a sacred recipe.

Off I went to Loblaw's.  The big one, this time, not the little one - the one that is most like Wegman's.  And I asked multiple salespeople for help. And still did not get everything on my list. The bonus for you American shoppers? Absolutely no crowds. The downside? No sales, and nothing was easy to find.

There was stuffing at Loblaw's, if you think Stovetop Stuffing would work for Thanksgiving. 'No!' I scoffed, 'There has to be something better.' I went to a specialty store looking for a candy thermometer for this recipe and stuffing, and we came home with 3 different kinds of mixes to look at and evaluate for comparison purposes. Perhaps one will live up to the expectations.

Don't get me started on asking people if they have peeled chestnuts. They do, they just don't know where they are. I did, however, find that chestnut puree is a popular item here. Hmm.  In case you need to make chestnut stuffing, the recipe follows, with more fun notes.

*******

We are thankful but sad here right now. After Thanksgiving, we'll head to Charleston to celebrate the life of my Aunt.  To put her in perspective, I've called her Craze my whole life, she taught me to sew, I played dog in her kitchen, and she would listen with love to anything I told her. I loved this woman.  I am thankful she is not in pain, and thankful I saw her before she passed, but so sad that she is gone. We laughed with her right until the end.

E was sad tonight, too.  A few weeks ago, she told me that she got homesick sometimes and she cried at night.  I didn't know that - I had seen her cry maybe 3-4 times since we moved - but tonight I caught her in her room. She was looking at some pictures of her old school and was so heartsick about not being there, and about being left behind.

While I am sad that she is upset, and I am, so very, very sad, I am at the same time so incredibly thankful for the time we had at this school.  Her teachers and the entire staff were loving and amazing people that fed her with confidence and happiness every day.  I don't think she or S would have been able to handle our move with as much poise as they did without the love and care that they received there.  There were such lessons in community and friendship and goodness and empowerment.  To think of the emotional mom-guilt coaster I was on when I was working and leaving them! Now I would leave them there overnight if I could!  E would stay with them, because that is how much she trusted them, and loved them, and felt good about being there, safe in her world, to learn and grow.  S is the same way. He walks into his nursery classroom confident that he will be treated with respect and caring, since that is the way he has been treated since he was 15 months.

When you make decisions, you don't know how they will work out.  I was a planner, and this sometimes terrifies me, but I seem, maybe, to be getting better about moving with the flow of my life.  Reflecting on the past few years, I find that things sometimes fit in ways beyond what I would have thought. (Duh?) I read today this quote, and it seems to apply, "We'd all like a guarantee before making a decision or taking a risk, but the irony is that taking the risk is what opens us to our fate." Mark Nepo

*******

Dad's Chestnut Stuffing

1 c. boiled, peeled chestnuts. If you are smart, you will buy the kind already prepared. If not, google how to do this in the oven.
1/4 c butter
1/4 c onion, finely chopped (mom pre-chops this because she likes it more finely chopped than dad)
1/2 c celery (this too)
2 tsps salt
pepper
3 c bread cubes (see note above)
2/3 cup hot water
1 1/2 tsps. dried sage (we buy a new one every Thanksgiving)

In butter, saute onion and celery for 10 min.  Combine with hot water, sage, salt, pepper and bread cubes.  Add chestnuts and toss lightly.  Stuff in cavity of turkey. Extra can go in a casserole on the side and get baked. Don't overcook that, add broth if it gets too dry.  Cook. Eat. Delicious.

We often double or triple this recipe, and Dad is often making this in his PJ's, with coffee next to him, with J holding the freezing cold, slippery turkey. Dad barks out orders. "Hold it that way. Turn it this way." This is a manly project in our house.

Remembrance Day: November 11

My Dad enlisted in the Air Force during the Vietnam War. He was stationed for a year in Thailand.  

I grew up learning that my Grandma, his mom, was the first female Marine in Wisconsin.  She told stories about working at the Pentagon to my Dad.

Right now, in Canada, everyone is wearing poppies to commemorate Remembrance Day, which is tomorrow.  Commonwealth countries celebrate it on the day of the signing of the Armistice, 11/11/1918.   America celebrates Veterans Day* tomorrow.

I am not wearing a poppy.  While I will adopt most Canadian traditions, this one feels like one I can't assume authentically.  I am not Canadian, and my armed forces are American. (Though in researching this blog, I found that Americans wore poppies as well after WWI.)  It makes me a bit sad that we see red poppies everywhere in Canada, a decidedly non-military country, and not something similar in the U.S., where we are so very proud of our military folks.  I would need to wear an American flag pin, like an American politician, and that just isn't going to happen here.  Why don't we have a visible symbol to remember our Veterans?  

Our world is getting more complicated.  One of my former colleague's husbands is in Afghanistan. One of my friend's husbands was in Afghanistan. Both are civilians - one former military, one foreign service. But still in a country with combat.  Among my military friends,  one has relocated with her family to Europe for several years, and still another spends several months away from her husband while he is deployed.  Are you a veteran if you fly drones from a bunker in Colorado? What about if you are a civilian in a war zone? What about if you are a police officer fighting terrorism? (not to be too homeland security about it)

I don't have answers, but tomorrow at 11 a.m. our family will stop, and watch the news, and stand silently, and talk about what it means to remember those who fight to protect us and keep us safe, like Paul and Papa.  And we'll thank them and be proud of them.  

"in Flanders fields" by Canadian John McCrae

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
      Between the crosses, row on row,
   That mark our place; and in the sky
   The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
   Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
         In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
   The torch; be yours to hold it high.
   If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
         In Flanders fields.

*The U.S. Government has decided that no apostrophe is grammatically correct in the spelling of this holiday.    

I'm a FSOL (french-as-second-language) parent

I began writing this post in my head as I was making pimento cheese for dinner, reflecting on my day as a parent volunteer in E's class.  As I've written about before, she's in French Immersion, and I have zero French. Zero.

We have parent conferences next week (they are called something different here, but you get the idea), and they are held universally throughout the city on a weekday evening and a weekday morning.  I received a letter from the Principal telling me there were 6 windows I could sign up for, and then I suspect the secretary will schedule them, since there are also slots for if you have other children at the school. So your conferences will be coordinated centrally.


Obviously, this was a completely new concept for me.  It still boggles my mind, that the school district is telling teachers and parents that meetings should take place at these times. No matter where you are in Toronto.

Then I got to thinking about other differences between FCPS and TDSB.  E doesn't have a homework calendar, like my friends with kids in FCPS schools. She doesn't even have homework. She gets a library book once in awhile. It's in French. I suppose if I were a *good* mother I would "work" with her on math or reading or something like that, but we color and play games and read books at night, and sometimes she gets out books she wants to read.  I keep telling myself it will come. She really likes Super Mario Brothers Wii and playing with friends. (Her friend issue has been resolved successfully, btw. Thanks for all of the suggestions.)

Then I started thinking, 'how would I even help with her homework? Google translator? I totally don't know French. Her teacher talks to me in French, I stare back at her with this stupid look on my face.*  Then she repeats it in English.  Sometimes I get what she is saying in French, but most of the time the kids understand more than me. And then it hits me. All those exercises we do with ESOL teachers, to gain empathy for parents who don't speak English?  I totally AM that parent now, albeit voluntarily.'  I would not know how to help E with her homework. She would be totally on her own. I would encourage good work habits, but if she didn't read the instructions or tried to tell me something was done, and I didn't try to translate it, I would believe her.

I think I am lucky I have a kinder teacher for E who is totally into the K experience, but I worry that I am missing out on something I should be doing, either in French or in English.  I imagine that is the concern of every parent, but particularly ones who don't speak the language their children are being taught.

Today, I am even more thankful for Christina Viscomi, Susan Amaral, classroom teachers with ESOL students and all of the other supporters of ESOL families.  What an awesome challenge and experience.



*Today I was asked, in front of the kids, if I knew the alphabet or how to count to 30 in French. Um, no.
Oops. Something to study before next week.

Your tax dollars at work

What Canada supports with tax dollars and what Americans are willing to support are two very different things.


Take public schools as an example.


There are 4 public school systems in the province of Ontario:  the French public system, the French Catholic system, the English public system and the English Catholic system.  Yes, you read that correctly.  Catholic schools are publicly funded in the province of Ontario.  I don't know why Catholic schools have been chosen as opposed to other religions, but my understanding is that it was a political decision in the 70s.  


The French system is different than the immersion program than E attends.  The French system is for Francophone parents, that is, for parents who speak French to their children at home.  And, we aren't Catholic.  (Sorry, Sylvia.)  The only system E and S are eligible for are the English public system.  


E attends a lovely French immersion program at a local elementary school. It is a half-day program (next year, all schools are scheduled to move to full day, but this transition has been problematic).  Her teacher is delightful and teaches now entirely in French, and the program is set up that she will not be instructed in English until grade 4.  Beginning in grade 4, she will receive an hour of instruction in English a day, and that will gradually increase until she is fully bilingual.  If we were scheduled to be here until she graduated from high school, her diploma would be be a bilingual diploma.  


It seems inconsistent to me, though, that they would publicly fund only Catholic schools yet include ALL holidays on their public school calendars. Shouldn't the Province then fund all religious schools? 

Maybe next year I can send E to the French Immersion Wiccan school. Or maybe I've just been watching too much True Blood.


P.S. I heart Eric Northman. And Blessings Be.

Halloween!

As I have frequently blogged, we are lucky to live on such a community-minded street.

We carved some pumpkins with friends earlier this week, allowing us a record number of 4 pumpkins carved in one year.  We are also lucky because Canadians get pretty excited about Halloween. 

Our previous tradition, and one that we were most sad to leave, was to go to our friends' street and eat dinner and trick or treat together.  

E's first Halloween on Cobb Hill Lane, as the butterfly.

Every year we would get excited, plan costumes and food with friends, and gather our kids and adult beverages and walk around the neighborhood. There were certain houses that were still too scary, but the kids had fun watching the adults go in and come running out.  

E had a few years as a bird, first as a chicken and then as a purple bird that I made. It shed everywhere but the costume was *awesome*

Ariel? She is the baby in pink crying on the far left hand side in the top picture. :)

S, the baby lobster. 

With the blue paci that probably has not been washed since that Halloween 3 years later.

We were really happy to get to see all of our neighbors and friends on our street tonight. It was a good night in Canada - it felt like home.  We saw friends from home, friends from school, and made sure we stopped at all of our favorite houses.  I was worried that this night would be a sad one, because even before we moved E and S were already asking if we could go back to Virginia for Halloween. And S only asked if we could stop by Garrett's house once. 

One of our Virginia friends sent us a picture of their gathering tonight, and we looked at our friends' costumes.  And I think we were a little sad not to be there.  But we were also glad that we have a community that is so vibrant and happy that the entire night felt like a party.  (We did go through about 400 pieces of candy. I'm not sending much in with J to work. It was a busy night.)

This is one of the weirdest things about moving. A night like this, that I was anticipating all year to be one of the more difficult nights, ended up being pretty ok. Maybe even pretty great. My kids are slow trick-or-treaters, but we ran into pretty much everybody and it was a fun night.  The days and nights that I think will be OK end up being the more challenging ones sometimes.  

I think this will begin the Christmas season up here. Remember, Canadians have already had their Thanksgiving (Oct. 9 weekend) so there is no Thanksgiving date to wait for, so I think lights may go up soon and things will begin to be festive.  There is no shortage of cold weather, that's for sure!

Our ladybug and green dragon with wings* wish you a Happy Halloween!

*Last year S was a green dragon, no wings. He wore this costume everywhere. Including when we arrived in Canada. Hello, border control officers. Yes, we have 2 adults, one child, and one small green dragon.  In fact, the title of this blog was going to be A Green Dragon in Customs, but I wasn't sure the dragon would last. I was wrong. 

Do you think they would allow a passport photo in a green dragon costume?

Strength: Tomato Pappu and Terry Fox

I have been pondering the idea of female strength lately. My own and my loved ones.  I have some fierce females around me, my friends.

My thoughts have been coming from a variety of places. It seems that a number of us have been having really tough years. People are sick. Jobs are lost or in trouble. Life is unfair or difficult. Evil is afoot. But even in the face of all this, we have earned promotions, gotten jobs, supported our families financially and emotionally, made choices that are the right ones for us, parented our children, others people's children, and supported each other - most of these at the same time.  We are wonderful friends to each other, particularly in times of need. 

Where does our strength for this come from? I am not exactly sure, but I know for me, community has helped me so very much. I am lucky to have friends that are willing to listen to me cry on skype when I was newly moved to Canada, J was in Switzerland, and I fell apart, which is still the lowest part of my time here.  I am also lucky to have new friends here, who have continued my Hyderabadi culinary education and who have introduced me to Terry Fox.

There is no greater inspiration in Canada than Terry Fox. And inspiration is strengthening to me.

Please take a few minutes and watch the clip if you are not familiar with him.

In September my sister Hil and I volunteered at the local Terry Fox run in Etobicoke, our area of Toronto. There are runs all over Canada, and all over the world*. Everything is donated and run in a very "mom-and-pop" fashion, so there are no corporate donors to give you t-shirts or a medal when you finish.  Most of the money raised during Terry's events is given directly to cancer research - an astonishingly high percentage.  The run is non-competitive and open for a few hours, so you begin when you want and finish during the open window.  Survivors, like Hil, get red t-shirts.  I realized then that Hil is still grappling with being a survivor. It is really hard to be 23 and be a cancer survivor.  It doesn't seem to go together.  As Terry knew.   

Some of you know I'm in South Carolina right now, with my Aunt who is ill with cancer. She is the Aunt who fed me popcorn for breakfast, and always made me laugh as a moody teenager, and offered me her home when I got married to J - we were married on the beach outside her home.  And now she is very, very sick.  Through this all, she continues to make me smile and laugh, and show that same kind of strong, Morrisey-woman streak the men who marry us bemoan.  It is such a honor to be a part of her female community, and my mom's, and my sister's, and my cousins', as we tend to her.  The care that her husband, her 83 year old husband is showing her, is one of the most beautiful loves I have ever seen. He sleeps on an air mattress next to her bed every night. He gets her food and drinks and her medicines. He tucks her in so gently and keeps her smiling through her questions.  

So, my strength comes from community, and family, and from myself.  I'm not sure I'm finished with this question, but it continues to interest me.  

Below, find N's recipe for Tomato Pappu, an easy peasy lentil dish. Because my community in Canada has been helping me continue my cooking lessons from FA.  YUM!

*Check out how to start your own run.

Tomato Pappu (Dhal)
Vijaya Niranjan
 

1 cup  red lentils (masoor dhal)
4 cups  water
5   plum tomatoes (canned tomatoes taste better)
3  green chillies, sliced
1  medium onion, chopped
2  garlic cloves, sliced
1 tsp thalimpu ginjalu
½ tsp paspu (turmeric powder)
1 tsp  salt
fresh coriander

Wash red lentils.  Add two cups of water, and cook on high in the microwave for 8 minutes.
Heat oil over medium heat in thick saucepan.  Add garlic and cook until lightly browned.  
Add thalimpu ginjalu, chillies and chopped onions.
When onions are lightly browned, add tomatoes and turmeric powder.  
Add lentils and mix well.
Add two cups of water, salt and coriander leaves. 
Cover and let simmer for 10 minutes.
Enjoy!

What we did our our summer vacation part 3: Ottawa

The capitol of another country is always a fun place to go.  In this case, it is adorable.  Washington D.C. is sprawling, spread out, and full of not-so-safe areas to travel.  Ottawa, on the other hand, is compact, walkable, and does not feel like a police state. Alas, I was not able to take my photo with a mountie. (Don't you think there should be a mountie in Red Serge at the capital?)

And you can still celebrate President Obama here. Because even Canadians love him. So of course we at where Obama ate and bought Obama cookies.

 The Parliament building.

These are locks. They connect the capital to Lake Ontario. I think. They are an engineering wonder. It takes 5 days to travel through all of the locks to the lake. Or 3 hours to drive it.

Doesn't this look like parts of the U.S. capitol complex?

One of the nights we were in Ottawa, we went to a light show. They actually use the Parliament building  as the backdrop for a light and sound show on the history of the country.  The entire field is filled with people watching the show, and they have interviewed famous Canadians about the history of the country.  One of the final questions was "Canada is the world's _____" Some said brain, some said other things, but the answer they used was Canada is the world's heart. And I wanted to stand up and say, yes! Yes, it is!  

When we went to the U2 concert, Bono remarked that Canadians certainly were an idealistic people, and  I think that is true.  Canadians embrace people other countries will not, like Cuba, or immigrants.  They aren't a perfect country, certainly, but I am enjoying learning about their culture. 

************************

In contrast, I was in Chicago and Michigan this weekend.  I was hit up constantly for money by homeless people, something that doesn't normally happen in Toronto.  And it was loud with sirens.  And I liked Chicago! I thought it was an alive, vibrant city. 

And really? Instead of building a fence between Canada and America? Just make people take the Ambassador Bridge. No one will want to enter America if that is how they have to enter. You can rest assured, security is tight. They were checking trunks on every other car. And then you enter Detroit. They should pipe in Eminem as you cross.  And the people in Michigan did not like my Ontario license plates. Or my Honda. 

It is hard not to draw comparisons between the U.S. and Canada, particularly when you travel back and forth between them often.  In Canada, I see a lot of common sense people who make sensible decisions and care for their citizens. What if we took all of the private money we spent on the homeless in different agencies in the U.S. and turned that into housing and aid? Would that work? Is it just that our sizes are so different that they are able to provide much better public service for their citizenry?  I don't think it is that people care less in the states, but we debate so much, we lose sight of the goal, which is caring for people. 

Interesting Day in Photos, From Toronto

I ended up capturing a lot of fun pictures today. Gynweth, on her blog, captures things like her Emmy scrapbook (yes, I subscribe to GOOP. Doesn't everyone?)  

But, me, oh no. I capture exciting things I find at Canadian Tire. Like this fabulous table.

I almost bought this table. It is metal. The center lid lifts off. You can use the interior as either a cooler, OR... wait for it... A FIRE PIT. Can you imagine a more versatile piece of outdoor furniture? Can you imagine J's reaction if I had come home with it? I feel that there is an entire group of tailgaters in Maryland that would support the purchase of this fine table.

AC/DF, if you don't get this for your renovated backyard, I may be disappointed in you. And revoke your Man-Target credentials.

Also at Canadian Tire, Princess and Cars shovels. Really? Why not? Where else would you get them? And your gun lock? And your hiking socks? And fire starters? And light bulbs?

(I got everything there today except for the pictured items and gun lock. We didn't need the gun lock. I did NEED the table. But I was afraid of J.)

This was my dinner. I didn't eat most of it. J said I was feeling my meat tooth. That was for DB and FdP.

It came with an entire jar of pickles.  

 Every day should end with positive graffiti. 

I didn't get a picture of the man walking home with the enormous beer stein/trophy.

I also didn't get a picture of the man who was campaigning for Provincial candidates to make it a crime to ride bikes on the sidewalk. He had a placard. He wanted them to be fined $2000 if they were caught, because it causes several hip replacements per year.  The placard had writing on both sides. He was kind enough to let me read both sides of it before moving on. I don't think people took him very seriously. Like J. Who said, "Really? That's what he is worked up about?" I told him that maybe he had been personally affected by the issue. I think J may be a little cynical, so the last picture is dedicated to him. :)

What we did on our summer vacation part 2: HUTTOPIA!

This is a huttopia:

 Isn't it luxurious?

It is a canvas tent on a wooden platform with limited electricity, including the mini fridge, small heater, and overhead light. It also has 2 "bedrooms," and comes equipped with most everything you need. First designed by French visitors who wanted to camp (and who had this business in France), this was a great first camping experience with our young family. J had attended a Y camp briefly as a child. I had gone to camp on Catalina Island off the coast of California for several years, and was more comfortable with the idea, but both of us want flushing toilets, especially with E and S.  The huttopia is perfect.

Unfortunately for us, the huttopia, which I first saw at a Plein Air festival in Montreal when we visited in May, is only in Quebec Provincial Parks.   If you are in France, or plan to visit, they also have several locations there as well. Canada as a whole is very good with the whole cottage culture/rustic outdoor living thing, and so there are many places to stay closer to nature. Ontario Provincial Parks also have yurts, but they differ in that they have mostly single beds. And their "comfort stations" are not as close; the pit toilets located near the yurts led us to decide to return to a huttopia rather than try a yurt.  We would car camp and buy or rent a tent from our local Mountain Equipment Co-op (like Canada's REI; now we're members of both!), but we aren't proficient enough yet to tent camp. Plus, it is getting much colder.

 Because we broke out our fleece and winter hats. In August. Because we live in Canada. 

S'mores every night before bed are VERY important when you are camping. And having the perfect stick takes up at least an hour every day, giving your parents peaceful time to read at the campsite.  If you are three, you break your stick at least twice before you find one that is sturdy enough to withstand your best efforts to break it.

The kid-size sleeping bags we purchased at MEC were zipped together to make one big kid bag. Of course, it still couldn't contain marshmallow and chocolate energy.

Our cruise on the Fjord du Saguenay.  The Parc National du Saguenay is where we camped.  It is past QC up the St. Lawrence towards the Atlantic Ocean. The fjord is popular with whales, and I am working on a short video that I will post directly on facebook with the kids.  It is astonishingly beautiful.

 Canadians are way into canoes. This is not a stereotype.

We kayaked from this beach with the kids.  Our guide was amazing in pointing out the seals just meters away, and we kayaked all of the way into the waterway of the fjord.

J and I thought that this was the best way to spend our 10th anniversary. It may have been our best vacation ever. The Saguenay area is one of the most breathtaking areas on earth, full of wildlife. We hiked, kayaked, went on boat rides, cooked and ate outside. We couldn't name all of the animals we saw, from the porcupine to the humpback whale to the gray seal to the beaver dam.

We now have a stuffed black bear named Fjord who lives at our house.

What we did on our summer vacation, part 1: Quebec City

Quebec City is awesome.  Amazing.  Super cool.

We checked into our hotel in the old part of the city and was told that there was a FREE Cirque du Soleil show that evening. It was under a highway. We had a minor snafu at our hotel with both our credit card and them losing a set of our car keys, which they later found, so them tipping us off on the Cirque show was really lovely.

The show site during the day. Note the use of shipping containers, the highway structure, and the general sketchiness of the locale. The directions from our hotel literally included: and then it is under the overpass.  What?! People normally pay hundreds of dollars for these tickets. Cirque started as a street show in Baie St. Paul, a small town an hour farther east up the St. Lawrence River, so this is very much in keeping with their roots, which was part of what made it so cool.  The show had a steampunk vibe, which seems very Canadian to me - at least, I hadn't heard of this movement in the U.S., though it appears to be global.*

 This is what you walk into at night. Good thing Canada is safe. 

 The show site, and the Ringmaster, entertaining the standing crowd, below. 

The public bathrooms in QC actually have classical music playing. And they are clean. It was surreal. I have never experienced that in a municipal toilet before.  

Part of why Quebec City is amazing is the old European city feel of the city, even though it was founded one year later than Jamestown, Virginia. (Yes, Canadians, the 4th grade teacher in me needs to tell you that Jamestown was founded in 1607, one year earlier than QC. Virginia history is taught in 4th grade, and was the first grade I taught.)  There are many, many old buildings and the fortified old city has a wall encompassing it. I suspect much of the old city has been preserved because of the difference in building materials, dictated by the difference in climate. You can see from the pictures that even in August, we were wearing pants, raincoats and long sleeves.   

There are buskers throughout QC, but there is a stage outside the most famous hotel, where the best ones perform, maybe inspired by their Cirque cousins? We watched 2 shows here.

E sometimes has inspired fashion sense.

Below you can watch the funicular that takes you from the lower old town to the upper old town. S and E loved it!

We had delicious food in Quebec City. Above you can see the picnic plate J and I shared for lunch one day with a bottle of wine. It has rabbit (sorry, Mom)**, pickled carrot and onion, tapenade, local cheese, fennel, smoked salmon, etc. It was one of my favorite meals of the trip. E and S had their own 3 course lunches at this restaurant.  J also had some pork lard spread at breakfast one day. Yum, pork lard. But it was served with baked beans, which are always delicious at breakfast.

We took the Governor General's walk along the St. Lawrence, which just proved to me that we Americans were right to rebel against the British.  It was a terrible hike of many open stairs, which S hates, so we had to carry him, to get this view of the river.  It was high. We could see far. Yippee. We ended in a park that we could have accessed easily from another direction. At least it was not icy in the middle of winter.

Next up: The blog you've been waiting for: HUTTOPIA!


*The steampunk movement reminds me of the book 21 Balloons.
**My mom had a pet bunny once. It was cooked for dinner. It is a sad story.