Bonjour Quebec! Bonjour Bathroom!

Last weekend we decided to vacation for a few days in nearby Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec. Only a little over an hour, and like a whole new country! We ate well, walked, browsed, and learned about the interesting history of a community with such a monstrous copper mine right in town.
The night before we headed to Rouyn, Cadence & I headed to the laundromat for a couple of loads--reno means no shower, and no laundry. While there we decided to call Drew & tell him about our adventures in laundryland.

Valentine's Dinner, northern Quebec style: greasy diner, poutine, clubhouse, light beer. Good times.


Last weekend at bunny rabbits, I (finally) got the camera out, but the batteries died after one picture. Only two more weeks, so we'll be sure to get some better ones...


Finally, we're renovating--here's the latest:
View from back door in through newly widened opening to living room (the washer & dryer are only temporarily located there...)


New floor, new shower...bad lighting doesn't do them justice. Tomorrow: finishing painting, then next week all the cabinetry & trim & finishing will begin!

Today was Cadence's day out of daycare, and Drew was going to take the day with him, but then we decided (rather spontaneously, which I'm very proud of) to all head to North Bay for the day. We went to Leon's (and I think we found our new sofa!!), Home Depot, and the railroad museum. Cadence was rather sad to leave. It was a great little museum...we're so starved for that kind of thing around here!

Last weekend, we went to KL for Gramma's birthday.

Cadence helped me make a cake shaped (sort of) like a fortune cookie, to go with our chinese takeout. It took some prompting, but finally everyone figured out what it was. Here is Cadence helping add a few extra candles at the last minute.


Cadence was very pleased with his own trickster thinking...here is Gramma opening up the can of chicken noodle soup that Cadence has me help wrap for her as a joke.


Making the cake had been tricky, and the first one first overflowed onto a cookie sheet below in the oven, then caving in. So we had all this extra cake that happened to look like something very un-cake-like. Drew demonstrated his own trickster tendencies by setting this scene up for Gramma & grampa to find (actually it was Cadence who found it & quickly sought out gramma). Poor Tofu was an unwitting accomplice. Gramma was less than impressed; Grampa thought it was great.

I should add that as each of them came to discover the "treasure", Drew proceeded to pick up a piece and take a bite of it before letting them in on the joke.


At the railroad museum: there was a great train that drove on tracks along the ceiling all through the building.




This is Drew demonstrating the velocipede, originally invented by a farmer who wanted a quicker way to walk to work along the tracks.


Stay tuned...family vacation to la province de Quebec this weekend!

Today was my day off with Cadence--love Wednesdays, as they don't have that weekend pressure to do weekend things--Wednesdays always feel like a bonus day, and so are just incredibly relaxing. We went to music class at the Early Years Centre this morning, then out for lunch next door with friends, and this afternoon made some yummy muffins for tomorrow's breakfast & some cast iron skillet pizzas. They were loaded with kale & feta, and were sooo good. I LOVE that I can feed home made pizza with spelt & flax dough & kale & feta to my family & it gets gobbled up.

Drew & Cadence are having a bath (Cadence is the one in the tub) and I thought I'd catch up...but we don't seem to have many pictures. oh well.

Another Wednesday activity--making donuts. I can't describe how amazing they were straight out of the oven. But then at dinner when I proudly served them for dessert, Drew (accurately) described them: "well, they're not quite donuts...more like bagel meets donut." We should have eaten them all straight out of the oven, because the rest made it to the compost pile.



Breaking trail in the back yard. Cadence seems to prefer to be the one to break trail, the one to pull the toboggan (empty), the one to push the stroller. Works for me!





We're anticipating the beginning of our small reno project at home to start next week, so have declared the floor to be fair game to anyone and anything. I believe Cadence is working away here on the longest railroad system EVER.