Our Last Moments in Montreal

Yes my dear!!! You are all these things!

Charlotte has a new obsession - STICKERS!!!

While filling the truck, Charlotte wanted to be carted around in the bag-lady cart I found for El in the garbage. It was perfectly good. I hesitated on taking it in case some old lady jumped out of the alley. But no worries.

Charlotte tickling me!

A couch jump!!

On August 31st, 2010, our time in Montreal ended. It was a great run. We left Ottawa not to leave behind our past but mainly to begin our journey. While there we discovered a lot about ourselves, our needs as a couple and parents and our direction in life. Those revelations led us to Perth. We are loving our new home and plan on making it that.

xoxo

The Archeology Museum in the Old Port

One of our final activities in Montreal was a visit to La Musee Archeologique. We were drawn into the museum because there was an Easter Island exhibit. Turns out none of the monuments were allowed to be taken off of the island, now belonging to Chile, so it was quite lame. We left quickly and ended up going to a tiny lookout point. You can view the entire city from there. Charlotte enjoyed herself thoroughly. The coolest part of the museum however was the Underground city. It is a genuine archeological dig that one can walk through. We saw a cemetery and the pipes were made of stone. It was awesome.

Sogi Visits

Me blowing out the candles because I was asked to by Charlotte.

Decilicious! (Not a typo - that is how Charlotte says it)

Sogi opening the gift that Charlotte snuck a peek at!

Charlotte and her godmother, Sogi!

Me and my bb of almost 15 years!

The vegan treats designed especially for Char-latte!

Charlotte's lovely god mother, Sogi, visited us in MTL today. She brought delicious eats, a birthday gift for the birthday girl (a harmonica and bath crayons!), and a friend named DJ, whom Charlotte just adored. It was a wonderful afternoon of chats, playing, and eating. Thank you guys so much for visiting us! It was a great day!

Notre-Dame-Des-Neiges Cemetery, Zombies and Exploration

Freshly dug hole for ashes.

Charlotte in front of the war graves

Charlotte, meet Jesus part I (maybe for the first and last time)

Charlotte, meet Jesus part II

We were brought to the largest cemetery in Canada for business (no impeding burials, just job hunting) and were captured by its beauty, solemnity, solitude and history. We spent the better part of the afternoon going to different areas. There were war sites, ones dedicated specifically to deaf mutes and also a lot of Catholic plots covered with ornaments, pictures, rosaries, candles and flowers. It was interesting to imagine the lives of the people that now live underground. And although we are not religious, we could not ignore the emotion that emanates from the plots, the surroundings and the people that were there mourning.

La Ferme a Cap St. Jacques

La Ferme a Cap St.Jacques is on the far West side of the Island. The grounds are small but substantial, and really encouraging to Allen who dreams of having his own farm. Charlotte had an amazing time looking at geese, cows, horses and ostriches. It was a really great day!

What I love about the MTL....

{source}

A new city is full of opportunity. Allen and I had never left Ottawa, never spread our wings from the familiarity. Now we are here and there is so much to do. I was a bit nervous with the transition, mainly with finding things for me and the girls to do. But after a week or so of exploring the neighbourhood, I have found some things that will make our stay awesome:

1. The HUGE Grocery Store:

I LOVE GROCERY SHOPPING! I love to comparison shop and find the best foods for my family. I will literally go down aisles for two hours if given the chance to find the cheapest and best foods. Well our local grocery store (the LOBLAWS) is great!!! It is also an old train yard which adds to the mystique of the place. Oh yeah! Did you know that you can buy beer at the Grocery store in Quebec? So today I went for a jog to put little Charlotte asleep and picked up a 4 pack of Guiness. For those of you who know me this is quite funny because I rarely drink and I have never bought beer in my life until tonight.

2. MONT-ROYAL street

This is two streets away from our house and has everything I could ever need. There is a great toy store that trumps Tiggle Winkles but is similar - but cheaper! Coffee Shops, greasy spoon diners, fruit stands, clothing shops, dance studios, cheap video stores, grocery stores, bakeries, and did I mention Coffee shops! I want to take everyone here when they come. So invitation is now out there!

3. LIVING IN THE PLATEAU

I discovered talking to a mommy in the park (Catherine and her daughter Ava-June) that the Plateau is a very french neighbourhood. But I have yet to let that discourage me because I love it here. I love the proximity to many things. The park is just behind our house. The atmosphere is artsy and the eclectic homes laden with iron staircases are many. I absolutely adore it.

4. BAKERY BREAD

We have started a tradition of buying fresh bread on the weekends. We get it at a place called Le Fromentier. Most breads are vegan, except two. My special fave is "Le Gros Albert". Goes great with a thick layer of vegan buttery spread