What the world needs now

Wow! Friday night I found myself with two great friends at Eglise Saint-Jean Baptiste...

...watching Burt Bacharach! I can't say enough great things about this show. The sound was incredible, the church is beautiful. He came on stage and started playing the piano for about 15 seconds, it was just him and the piano, and then he and the whole band launched into the chorus of "What the World Needs Now" - the sound was so huge and so perfect! What an experience! The rest of the show was great, great, great. Burt and the band played lots of medleys of his hits, he talked to the crowd a bit about studying at McGill and working with lots of great singers. His encore was really long - it seemed like neither he nor the crowd wanted him to leave the stage.

Look what happened at my school today!

Where to start...

Sigur Ros finally made it to Montreal again and I went to see them at the Quais of the Old Port. It was a beautiful mild evening with no rain - perfect for such a show. I got to go backstage too, but I didn't talk to the band. Cool! They were busy speaking Icelandic and playing some kind of wrestling game with the opening band. Here's my pass:

Here's me looking awesome during the show:

And here's the confetti that exploded from the stage at the end of the last song, which was Gobledigook!!! Click the link and watch the video. It's so scandalous that it was removed from youtube.com which is why I can't post it directly here. But I'm sure my readership is mature enough to handle it, hee hee!

The next big thing coming up is Pop Montreal. Hopefully I'll get to see Great Lake Swimmers, Akron Family and Hooded Fang. I'm told my connections aren't good enough to get me into Ratatat's already sold-out show, boooo!

Finally, after a couple of weeks of practice, Willow has managed to make it to the top of this door frame. She gets there by scaling the thin wooden frame around the glass of the door.

And now I'm off to catch the season premiere of Desperate Housewives!

Happy Birthday to Me!!

Today I am 31 years old; I can't believe it.

Every year, I try to get in as many birthday cakes as possible. So far I had one during my housewarming a few weeks ago, another today at a restaurant and a third tonight just between me and Mark. And, there is another one on it's way next weekend. Yahoo!

Mark and I decided to climb Mont St. Hilaire this afternoon. It was a lovely hike and an activity I love though don't do nearly as much as I could. Now that I'm working just 4 days a week, it's probably time to join the YMCA hiking club, whose website I visit seasonally but then I don't act on my desire to join. It's time!

Brown paper packages tied up with string

The best thing about Saturday morning is that my most pressing decision is whether to hold the newspaper in my hands and place my coffee on the table or hold my coffee in my hands and place the newspaper on the table.

More stay-cation news: I got my hair cut yesterday and it looks like a perfect little helmet. I love it. I also put together a kitter-litter box hiding contraption from a tip I found at Ikea-hacker. Pictures of both to follow soon.

After some hemming and hawing, we've decided to spend the next week or so on a stay-cation. Here are some photos from the first few adventures...

We went to Nocochi for coffee and cookies:


Followed by the Yves Saint Laurent restrospective:

Then the Old Port to relax in the sun:

Today we'll relax at home with Willow:

And do some laundry...

Well I finally made it to a viewing of the fireworks, with only two more displays to go. We had a couple of false starts in getting out the door:

"I'm too tired."
"It's going to rain."

And then when we were actually on our bikes:

"It's too cold, let's go back for sweaters."

And then when we had our sweaters and were walking out the door:

"I'm too tired."

We made it though and good thing we did. Summer is almost over and it feels like it never really started. The rain, the overcast skies and the chilly nights are making for a glum time this year.

Mark and I are fully moved into our new apartment and compared to our previous homes, it feels huge! Sometimes, we don't even know where to find each other in here.

And now I'm going to enjoy Ratatat's new album on my sofa.

Bon Voyage Mateys!

I haven't updated in so long, and yet so much has happened! I guess that's what happens when you graduate with distinction.

First of all, I've moved into a new apartment. When I first lived in Montreal, I shared a bedroom with the friend I came here with (which resulted in a serious breakdown in our friendship), then moved into a tiny room with no windows and no door with Mark. We moved out of that room into a surprisingly spacious yet not surprisingly moldy basement apartment downtown. That lasted a month. Treat of all treats, we moved into an apartment.....above ground! And then (could it get any better??) we moved into an apartment 3 floors above ground with TWO bedrooms and a balcony! We keep feeling so blessed as we move up in the world of Montreal apartments. We are easy to please I suppose. Finally, we have moved into a THREE (kind of) bedroom apartment with TWO balconies, a FIREPLACE and a DINING ROOM!! When I count out the rooms like this, it sounds so great, but in fact all of this extra space is kind of in the wrong places. If only the dining room were a bit smaller and the bathroom significantly bigger. As in...wouldn't it be nice to be able to fit the kitty litter box in the bathroom? Yes, it's that small. So far, I've found these solutions. If anyone has encountered anything better for kitty litter housing, please contact me!

Again, if only the living room were slightly smaller and the kitchen had more than 2 feet of counter space. We have managed to create more counter space, but still...

I also spent some time at Mark's aunt's cottage near Matachewan. Matachewan! What's that? For you Ontarioans, it's not that far from Timmins. And for you Quebecois, it's as far North as Val D'Or, about 200km West. We drove through Quebec to get there and stayed at Auberge Orpailleur in Val D'Or, which happens to be a lovely place to stay, run by a French couple who immigrated to Quebec about 7 years ago. They are selling the auberge and returning to France. So far only other French families have shown interest. Imagine immigrating from France to Val D'Or!

The cottage in Matachewan was absolutely perfect. We spent all our time sauna-ing, swimming, eating, singing, playing games, boating, talking and laughing.

My sister is moving to Australia. Yahoo! And booo! at the same time. I'm excited for her, but so sad to see her go! Her blog is not really happening just yet, but stay tuned and visit often for her updates!

I am also taking a French class at the YMCA and the teacher is hilarious which makes spending two beautiful summer evenigns a week in her class more than bearable. She taught us an expression that fits my apartment perfectly at the moment: mon immeuble est sens dessus dessous!

As you can see, this year's TESL graduates did not even fill one row!

I'm back from Turkey. Here are just a few photos from the many that I took. It was one of the best trips I've ever taken:

This is a photo of my nephew from last Christmas, I just thought it would give you a chuckle.

Today I'm biking the Tour de l'Ile (I think and hope), the weather isn't looking very good.

What kind of blog do you have?

I've noticed lately that I read three types of blogs: those listing the things the writer own and loves, those listing the things the writers wants to buy along with pictures and links to the online stores where they will buy them, and those listing ways the writer intends to get rid of their stuff and prevent themselves from buying more. Along with all of those types of blog entries is the usual stuff about trips taken, parties attended, maybe a few recipes thrown in, but ultimately, in personal blogs, it's easy to surmise how much of a consumer a blogger is.

So I've added a handy little poll on the left there to find out what YOU'RE blog is like.

What a show!

The Stars of the Lid show was fantastic! It was in smallish room where drinking and smoking weren't allowed. This means two things: clear, clean air and fewer people walking in and out to get drinks. The room was carpeted so I sat on the floor.


There were two violinists, one cellist and two guitarists/effects guys. The sound was incredible; not too loud. I slept soundly without ringing in my ears: also a rare event. During the show, I closed my eyes and let myself get taken away with the music; something that doesn't happen often for me. If more shows were seated, I think this could happen for more people. I had wanted the same experience when I saw Do Make Say Think at Le National but it wasn't seated and standing around in a smoky room on crushed beer bottles really takes away from it all.

Stars of the Lid - Sons and Daughters of Quiet Minds

If you can believe it, tomorrow is the last day of my last internship of my last year of my last undergraduate degree ever! I shall celebrate by attending the Stars of the Lid show taking place a the very neat Masonic Memorial Temple downtown. How many people do you know who've been inside a real Masonic Temple? I am perhaps and the only person you know who, by tomorrow night, will have been inside TWO of them (I think).

I have just taken a few photos of my cat whom you haven't seen much of since I brought her home in late December. These are just practice photos, however, for my upcoming trip to Turkey. I need to learn to use this camera before May 14th!

I finally had a listen to M. Ward and Zooey Deschanel's new album, Volume One. I had avoided it for some time, actually feeling jealous that M. Ward should even be dating Deschanel (ridiculous I know, but I'm making up for a lack of celebrity-worship felt in my teenage years). Obviously, it's a great album. Everything M. Ward touches is lovely and Deschanel's voice is beautiful.

Around town

It was a sad night recently when I accidentally spilled Coke Diète on the keyboard of my laptop. Don't ask why I was drinking that stuff in the first place. :(

And so my internet access has been limited lately, what with no computer to use.

Further to my post about the Apartment Therapy 8-Week Home Cure (which I've abandoned by the way), I was wondering if anyone else is addicted to such systems of living. Before I quit the Home Cure, I was involved quite a few: the Apartment Therapy 8-Week Home Cure, the 13-Week Walk/Run Program and the 12-day Wild Rose De-tox to name a few. Does anybody else get hooked on these lifestyle programs?

Also, why does every spell-check want to change "internet" to "Internet"? Is the world wide web, like God, only respectfully spoken of with a capital I?

Notes...

I haven't updated in so long. How many blogs have that exact line at the beginning of at least one post?

Easter found me mostly in my pajamas with a quick trip to Ottawa for a Mexican themed dinner, homemade Beaver Tails, an annotated list of the contents of a church, the meeting of girlfriends and lots of sunshine.

March is the ending one of practicum, the beginning of another. 5.5 weeks to go and I'm done!

I'll leave you with one of my favourite songs:

Apartment Therapy Spring Cure 2008

I have finally decided to join the 2008 Apartment Therapy Spring Cure! Every year I hem and haw about joining and then don't. But as you may remember, 2008 is the year of firsts!

The Apartment Therapy Cure is an annual event where people join together to make their homes more beautiful, comfortable and livable. The investment can be either financially intensive, labour-intensive or both. It lasts 8 weeks, each of which will be outlined on the website and in the book, which I'll be borrowing from the library when I get home tonight because...

"This Week's Assignment: Get your hands on a copy of the book and read through page 69. This gives you all the ground work and gets you started with the interview and short quiz on the health of your home."

While Mark is on the campaign trail, I'm stuck in snowy Montreal marking primary school assignments and planning a trip to Turkey! Yes, this May I will spend 12 luxurious days and nights in Turkey with my mom and aunt! I will see and do lots of interesting things, but right now, what I'm most excited for is the Hamam, the Turkish bath experience. One of the best experiences I took away from Iceland is the pool/bathing culture.

There is just nothing like soaking in an outdoor heated (HOT!) pool full of sulphur and silica to put the mind and the muscles at ease.

According to my research, the traditional Hamam is a thing of the past, but you can still go to indoor pools and experience a hot sauna, a soak in a hot tub, an exfoliating scrub by an "attendant" and finally a massage. I know for some people this sounds like too intimate, but I love a hot soak or a steam bath and a sounds like heaven. In fact, I think I'll go take a nice hot bath right now...!