Thursday, September 29, 2011

A Stent-less Day!

Well, we are home from the hospital and it was a short stay logging in at 13 hours.

The big guy had a great birthday.  There were no stents involved....just an angiogram. 

The doctor said that there does not seem to be any change since the last angiogram (Oct 2010) and that we are free to continue our adventures!

This is wonderful news because it means that he hasn't had any additional cholesteral buildup over the last year!  Now, we just need to work on getting it down.

Thanks to everyone for all their well-wishes and birthday wishes for the big guy!

Monday, September 26, 2011

It was suppose to be a camping trip - NOT

Last Monday, Veve and I took off to go camping.  We had our car packed and a place picked out in La Malbaie (in the Charlevoix region - along the St. Lawrence River).


We made an unexpected pit stop in Drummondville as I wanted to see the house that Veve grew up in.  A quick drive turned into a 2 hour visit.  Veve stopped to get a look at the house and ended up knocking on the neighbor's door.  It turns out that the neighbor from all those years ago still lives in the house.  Christianne used to babysit Veve's younger siblings and was good friends with his parents.  We spent about 2 hours catching up with her and meeting her fiance, Jacques.  It was a great unexpected stop.

Once we were back on the road, it took us a little longer than we thought to get to La Malbaie.  When we showed up at the campground at 7pm, we were surprised to find that it had closed for the season (they should put this kind of information on their website)!  We both were starting to feel the flu coming on (thank you Desjardins) so we drove 500 feet down the road and found Gite Bellevue! A cozy little place where we could sleep in comfort! We met 2 couples from Toulon, France and one man from Paris, France the next morning at breakfast and it turned out the 2 gentlemen had worked on nuclear submarines and one of the owners had worked on submarines as well.

We spent some time taking a tour of La Forge Cauchon and got a demonstration on blacksmithing.


We stopped at a great little boulangerie called Pain d'exclamation!  If anyone gets up to La Malbaie, you have to go.  We had a great lunch and fantastic coffee!

Then it was off to Baie Saint Paul but first we stopped at La Chocolaterie du Village in Les Eboulements where we picked up dark chocolate infused with lavender, sichuan peppers and salt.  They all tasted scrumptilitious and I don't normally like dark chocolate.

Once we had a taste of the Gite and me having the flu (how Veve didn't manage to come down with it, I am not sure), we decided not to camp again so we found this wonderful facility that is up in the hills surrounding Baie Saint Paul called Le Balcon Vert.  It is like a campground/cabins/youth hostel kinda place.  We had a cabin with a bed and a small sink.  We had a bathroom, showers and a community kitchen about 150 feet away.  It was quiet and relaxing.

We spent the next day on the Isle aux Coudres.  It's a pretty little island just north of Baie Saint Paul.  We toured Le Moulin de Isle aux Coudres.  There are two mills on the site - one a wind mill and one a water wheel mill. The water wheel mill is actually functioning with all the historical equipment and they are hoping to get the wind mill functioning by next year.  We actually had the opportunity to see the mill at work which was amazing.

We also went for a walk into an intertidal zone at my insistance - just had to play in the water.  The only problem was that the intertidal area was sand and mud.  It only took about 20 feet before one of my sandals got sucked off!  Veve, being my shining knight in armour, saved me and cleaned off my sandal so it was wearable again!

We also found a boulangerie that made Nun's Farts (or in Quebec - Pets de Nonne). Not only did they make them individually, but they made some kind of pie with them in it! Very strange. My Mom used to make these but I think she got the recipe from our family friend Lorraine Moncado.

On Friday, we went cheese crazy and visited two frommageries.  Not so good for us but tastes so good!

Unfortunately, because the summer season was over, the Famille Migneron frommagerie didn't have any tours but they were selling their cheeses.  They have two award winning cheeses, their Le Migneron (a semi-soft cheese that was creamy on the palate and had a wonderfully subtle taste) and Le Ciel du Charlevoix (The Sky of Charlevoix - a beautiful blue that was creamy and light).  Although we didn't get a tour, we did get to go to one of the barns and see the sheepsies!  I love sheepsies!

Then it was off to Laiterie de Charlevoix where we got an intensive 2 hour tour of not only the frommagerie operation but a methane plant that they use to power parts of the operations and a milk museum.

The methan plant is very interesting as the methane is derived from the by-product whey, from the cheese making process.  The whey is basically fermented which produces methane, the methane heats two giant water tanks (cheese making is water intensive).  The by-product of the methane process is a gross kind of water and bacteria that is then put through a bio-filtration system (ie: 7 large vats of tropical plants) to clean it up.  This cleaned up water, although not fit for humane consumption, is used to water the grounds of the property and excess is pumped into the river.  It is quite an amazing system.  There is a muddy substance as a by-product as well and it is used as fertilizer for their farm fields.

From this frommagerie we got a cheddar that had been aged 7 years - wow, it was sharp! Thankfully, we bought some port jelly that tasted great and cut the sharpness!

Then it was off to Granby to visit with Phillippe and Michelle.

Soccer Weekend

The weekend before last, we got to spend a couple of nights with the Desjardins (Francois, Regine, Herve and Edouard).  It was a look into the life of a soccer family.  Both Herve and Edouard play soccer year round and Francois is an assistant coach on one of Edouard's teams.

As it was the end of the summer soccer season, we got to see the final games for both the boys.  It was the championship match and the tension was high - at least for me.

Edouard's game was at 8am and it just about killed me to get up at 7am!  Edouard is a forward on the team and he scored 2 goals to help his team win the championship!

Herve is older and he plays defense so he did not get any opportunities to score any goals which is a shame as he is a good player.  His team also won the championship!

Herve's game was more nerve racking for me than Edouard's as the teams were well matched.  During the second half, I was biting my nails cause we were 2 points ahead of the other team and I was worried they would take the lead away from our boys. 

We also got to watch an over 35 game.  It was quite good and we had a bit of hockey break out during the second half.  There was some blows exchanged between 2 players and it was encouraging to hear the crowd screaming at them to stop! 

Sorry, all the pictures I took of the games didn't turn out!

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Itinerary Update

Just so everyone knows what our timeline now looks like.......

Once Veve has his procedure on September 29th, if all goes well, we will be in Montreal for about another 2 weeks.  This is because post-procedure, he is not allowed to do any heavy lifting for 2 weeks and the first few days will see him resting very quietly.  Because they do the procedure by going in either his femoral artery or the artery in his wrist, should he do anything strenuous, it could blow open the tiny incision and he could bleed to death in under 10 minutes. Since Iknow that you all love Veve very much, I will ensure that this does not happen!

If all goes well, we should be able to meet our committment to All Hands and arrive in Haiti on October 13th to start volunteering with them.  Our departure date from Haiti does not change as we have the committment Manchester.  We have not organized anything past that so no update on that front.

I have gotten the nesting bug so I look at everyone's house out here and think about how I would set it up if it was our house.  I hope this does not get any stronger or I might end up redecorating peoples' houses!!!! Regine would not like me doing this to her house as she is an interior designer!

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Hallelujah!!!!!!!

We have a date!!!

Veve goes for pre-tests on September 28 and has his angiogram on September 29th - his birthday!  What more could a man want for his birthday than his very own team of cardio specialists playing around with his heart!

Now I am stumped about what to get him for a present.  Maybe a custom made hospital gown? (tee hee tee hee)

Exhibitions I have known

Montreal Museum of Fine Art

The other day, Veve and I headed over to the Museum of Fine Art to take a boo.  There was some great contemporary art. Sorry, the picture quality on these is not so great - I took them with my iPod.

A great up-do!
A great piece of pottery.


A very scary rabbit.

Boom!!!!!

And then we headed into the Jean Paul Gathier exhibit.  I am not a fashionista but much of his stuff is crazy interesting so I have done up a photo blog on it for you.

Who knew you could do that with tartan?

When in doubt, wrap the model in houndstooth fabric
from head to toe and then all of her accessories as well!

How to make your winter boots work for the summer - cut
holes in a pattern to create ventilation.

Naughty Jean Paul!!!!!


Who needs the Lindsay Project when you can have people dress up like their insides!!!
(sorry, this reference is for Heather and Benedikt)


OK, don't laugh but I want to make a pair of these
for work when I get back.......no, I am serious!

It's only funny until someone looses an eye!

I love these and intend to do something like it just as soon
as I find a pair of tan boots at Value Village!

Just loved the hair on this one.

World Press Photo Exhibit

Every year there is a photo competition by the photo journalists from around the world.  The photos are amazing and a form of art of their own.  The winning photos create an exhibition that then travels.  I saw one in Amsterdam many years ago and when I found out there was one here, I had to go.

For those that can't go to the exhibit, you can view the entire collection by going to the World Press Website.  But before you do, I will warn you that there are many disturbing pictures that I know several of my friends (Sandi, Sue, Toby) will not want to see and that will upset some.  If you still want to see the pictures, then click here for the whole shabang!

However, I have picked out a couple of my favourite pictures that are not disturbing. 

I love these two old ladies.  The pictures make me happy, I am not too sure why but I smile everytime I look at it.

Then, I love the color quality and the sense of enormity of this volcano eruption.

And this picture of a Cape Gannet does not do the one on display justice.  Just imagine it about 50x bigger (the one on display was about the size of a 52" tv screen) and then look at it's eyes again.  It made me feel like I was it's lunch and it was coming in for the kill and in my imagination, I could see myself as Bill the Cat thinking "Aaccccckkkkk!" and imagining myself turning and running.  For those that don't know Bill:

Friday, September 9, 2011

Montreal Musings

A Return to the Womb
Hoping for yet another “sound healing” type of experience, Veve, Spidey and I headed for the Ovarium (http://ovarium.com/) to have a float in the sensory deprivation tank!  Unfortunately, it was not as interesting as the sound healing and nothing freaky happened like in the movie Altered States.


However, it was still interesting.  First, you float in something that looks like a giant egg (what kind of subliminal message is that sending!).  Then, the water has so much salt in it, you have no choice but to float. It even feels like someone is holding up your limbs.  You have the choice of light/no lights and music/no music.  To signal it is time to think about getting out, they play “Angel Song”.  My question is “How do they know what angels sing?” It is very ethereal and new age-y.  Anyway, I went for the no lights/no music option and like I said, nothing funky happened (damn!).

Afterwards, I had a massage and that was divine.  I was incredibly relaxed when we came out!

Michel did the Pulsar treatment and a float and being the kind guy that he is, he shared his experience with Spidey who was quite trepidatious (I am making a new word – in several years, it will be added to Webster’s dictionary and this blog will be noted as the first publication of the word) about everything.

Spidey heading into the womb!
Herve and Spidey opening their third eye with Pulsar!

Wonder Woman (aka: Zita)
Along with her many other talents, Zita is an incredible sewer.  During this visit,  she modified both mine and Michel’s backpack.  Michel’s was a top load pack that is not very convenient for accessing stuff so she added an access flap.

Spidey hangs out in Michel's packback!

Steve lent me one of his backpacks that originally came with a daypack that zippered onto the largest compartment.  Steve couldn’t find the daypack and I was having space issues (no, I did not over pack!).  So Zita removed the zipper for the missing daypack and added another compartment!  Astounding!  Now, I didn’t ask Steve if I could do this but since he doesn’t read my blog, what he doesn’t know, won’t hurt him!

Spidey perched upon the new section of my pack!

And if that wasn’t enough, she reupholstered a couch that she took to her new apartment in just 2 days.

It used to be biege!
And, she made sleeping sacks for Veve and I for Haiti out of quick dry material.  We are taking these instead of the suggested cotton sheets. They are stretchy and lots of fun for doing performance art!






United to Manchester (Actually Delta but it didn’t sound as good)
After talking with Marie-Denise (Veve’s niece( but more like a sister) who used to work on cruise lines), it became apparent that we were not going to work our way across the Atlantic.  I was determined to not do a work exchange after Haiti as Michel and I need some time to decompress.  So, after some research and a flurry of emails, we are confirmed to house sit for Liezl and Tim in Manchester, UK (http://www.mindmyhouse.com/sitters/owner_search/view_owner_ad.php?id=1009) for 3 weeks in December!

We are very excited because not only is it a lovely home but they have a CAT!!!!! YAH! A little fur ball to hug and pet (on his terms of course…….he is a cat after all)!  His name is Dali and he looks like Salome and Ophelia (meaning he is all black but nowhere near as hefty as our girls).

We have booked flights from Haiti to Miami (where we will visit with Veve’s godmother for 2 days) and then to Atlanta for a night and then straight onto Manchester to arrive on December 8.

A Source at the The Source
A big CONGRATS to Alain!  He starts a new job next week at THE SOURCE!  Now, the Roy Mafia has an insider and my plans for world domination are progressing nicely!

Monday, September 5, 2011

Running Deep

Lately, I have been running deep and silent as there hasn't been any major news to share with everyone. However, that has changed now.

When we started this sabbatical, we knew that when we got to Montreal, Herve would need to see a doctor and have a stress test (our GP in Calgary requested this).

The Roy Mafia (this is what we call Herve's Mom and her family) arranged for Herve to see a friend of Tante (Aunt in French) Ginette's.  And then, Isabelle (sister-in-law) arranged for the stress test.  It is all who you know and I have to say that if you want action, you want the Roy Mafia on your side.

That being said, the Godmother (Zita-Herve's Mom) has told me that I am now a member.  I didn't even have to pass a test to prove my worthiness (no killings, no robberies, etc.).  I am a little trepidatious about when I am going to be called upon and hope that I can live up to expectations.

Anyways.......on Friday, Herve went back to get the results of his stress test and unfortunately, he did not pass with flying colors.  He did not fail miserably either.  The doctor advised us not to go to Haiti before Herve had an angiogram (yes, another one!).  It seems that as the stress test progressed, a part of Herve's heart was not getting enough oxygen.  We should find out by Wednesday as to when the angiogram will be scheduled for.

Given that after an angiogram Herve will not be able to do any heavy lifting, etc. for at least 2 weeks, we are looking at a delay of at least one month and maybe more.  Once we know when the angio is scheduled, we will know better about our timing for heading to Haiti and we will update everyone.

Although this is upsetting on many levels, we are incredibly happy that we followed doctors orders and this is being addressed here rather than in Haiti.  I am also very happy that we always seem to catch these things proactively (much better than reactively (aka after a heart attack)).

----------------------------------

And now a word from Herve:

2 more angios and I have enough bonus points for a free bypass! Who needs to roll up the rim! On the bright side I get to spend more time with the Family.