Well, the past 2 or 3 weeks have been ver busy. So I'll only mention the truly interesting stuff.
March has been a month of birthdays and birthday celebrations. Starting with Sue on the 4th, my brother Dave on the 8th, then Sara the 9th, Marijke's husband Peter was the 18th, Hazel was the 20th, Cathy the 24th (we'll have to celebrate it later though), Tom (Tracey's guy) is today, and on the 5th there was another event for my birthday. In the middle of all this I broke a tooth and had to get a temporary filling until I can afford the repair job (cap). We did the 2nd meeting of the Clutch, our Stitch&Bitch, on the 5th which I wrote all about on the 7th. And Belly Dance Superstars at the Casino too.
The 11th was Sara's Ensemble's debut concert in Montreal. I wish I could have been there. They had about 50 paid seats full and Sara says it went perfectly. Congratulations to Sara and her Ensemble on a successful premiere. Sara said that it was an excellent turnout for an early barocque music concert.
I attended the National Women's show on the 11th and 12th and did a couple or 4 hours volunteer work at Tracey's Belly Dancing for Fun booth. It was mucho fun. I bought a hair fall for Belly Dance performance. It will get its first public trial on 8 April when we perform a free show at a Cancer Fund Raiser. Afterwards, on the 12th, I attended Brigitte's 17th birthday celebration at Bern & Monique's house. Bern and I attended Algonquin College together many years ago (no I'm not telling!) and have remained friends on and off over the years.
Then came the weekend of the 18th. Sue and I met at the VIA Rail station in Ottawa at about 9:30 in the morning where we boarded the train to Montreal. What a great, fun weekend. When we arrived in Montreal we checked our luggage (so we would not have to haul it everywhere) and hopped the Metro to meet Sara at Place d'Armes. From there we walked into Vieux Montreal. As we strolled through the blistering cold winds towards the street where I once lived we passed the Mexican Restaurant, Casa de Mateo, that I loved so much. It is still there and still busy. We had lunch and a brew in there. Sue enjoyed the homemade salsa so much that she bought a huge tub of it ... for only $5!! She gave a bit to me because there was twice as much as she expected for $5.
Then we walked to my former dwelling so I could show the girls where I lived in Montreal, on rue-du-St-Sacrement. Then we shopped several stores before stopping at Chez Queux for dessert and tea. Sara and I shared a Chocolate Fondue made with pure Belgian chocolate and Sue had a butterscotch sundae that was HUGE! I don't know how she ate it all. So we had to go shopping some more to walk it off. Both Sara and Sue found tops to buy :-) When the stores closed we found another restaurant for supper, Le Bourlingueur on St-Paul O., and made a reservation to return in a couple of hours. After getting our luggage from the train station we Metro'd out to Sara's to drop the luggage, freshen up, pretty up and return for supper. Supper was superb! By the way, we found 4 perfect spots to eat and drink which made it a perfect day (except the bloody biting cold winds). Sara and I shared 1/2 litre of wine, Sue had a beer.
During supper we decided, by reviewing a Montreal Guide book, to go to the Pub St-Paul for beers and dancing/partying. What a great choice. We parked ourselves at a table beside the only pool table in the room, ordered beer and watched a group of guys playing pool. We each took a shot at the pool table. All lost to the guys ;-) The first guy to approach our table made a beeline for Sara and that set the tone of the evening. Sara was constantly surrounded by men all evening. Sue was not exactly starved for attention either. I spent all evening dancing... with every guy I found to take to the dance floor, with myself on and away from the dance floor, just constantly dancing. Occassionally I stopped long enough to guzzle another beer, of which I had a few. We all had a marvellous time. The band, KUZ, was fabulous and the DJ played excellent tunes during the breaks that kept people dancing. The band finished, the DJ finished for the night, the bar was closing so we decided we best be going home. We did leave a few people there so we did not close the pub.
The next morning we were moving less briskly but none the worse for wear. Sue and I packed our bags slowly, tidied up after ourselves and when we were all ready Sara took us across the street to a local diner serving cheap but good breakfast. I was ravenous and inhaled an omelet with all the trimmings. We said our goodbyes on the sidewalk, thanking Sara for allowing us to invade her life for a couple of days (but I think she enjoyed it as much as Sue & I did) and Sue and I hopped the Metro to the train station. After a short wait we were heading back to Ottawa.
Sunday the 26th was Tom's birthday brunch and there was a party at their place in the evening. Tom, Tracey and a few others spent the afternoon playing Lazer Quest. I did not partake... too much for this old body ;-} The Mexican potluck was fun. Always good food and good company.
I have spent the last few days preparing for this evening. I taught my first Belly Dance class. A Beginners' class out at the Orleans Complex. We had a good turnout of 8 including the organizer, Michelle. I was a bit nervous and forgot a couple of warm-up stretches but otherwise all went well. I will be teaching this class every Tuesday 6-7pm until May 16. I'm hoping we can do a short, simple choreography at Tracey's June class party. All the ladies seemed up for it so I'll start work on a choreography right away.
Well, that's it for now. I'm going to get some food into me now.
Wow! I am finally starting to recover from the whirlwind of activities this weekend... well, Sunday actually.
So let's start earlier in the week. Michele F. wrote to announce the birth of her first niece, Lucy Marie. Everyone is well and from the photos I've seen I am concluding that everyone is happy. Cheers to Michele's little sister for bringing this lovely child into existence... a job well done with only about 12 hours labour from first twitch to last push.
So I was feeding and visiting with Michele's feline Daniel while Michele went to Toronto to be with her sister, niece and family. First child, first grandchild and first niece/nephew. A big event. Congratulations go out to the whole family.
Thursday evening was Belly Dance class. Ooooo... I was moving very slowly and carefully. The ribs still hurting much from the previous Sunday's skiing mishap. But Friday they felt better so the exercise must have done them good.
Friday was a mini event for me. I went to the jeweler who is appraising my wedding rings set to pick up the rings and was able to see the appraisal-in-progress for the first time. It would be worth selling the rings but I'm told not to expect more than about 25% of the appraised value. So now I have to decide... design a new ring or new pendant to get made up, keep the rings as they are (not my first choice) or sell them at a loss. Tough decision but the new jewelery may win this one. Just have to find the cash (too many other things demanding my money though) to pay for the work. I'll wait for the final appraisal before making any decisions.
Saturday was Sue T's birthday. Happy Birthday Sue. We had a little celebration for her at Sunday brunch. During the week, last week, I decided what to get and do for her birthday celebration. My gift to her is a return train ticket to Montreal. So the weekend of the 18th Sue and I will travel to Montreal to celebrate her birthday with shopping in Vieux Montreal, supper, drinking and other entertainment (she has expressed a desire to attend a comedy club). We will be joined by Sara who has also generously offered her place for accommodation. Thank you Sara. Sue has requested and will get the full Montreal experience which includes walking and the Metro. Sara's car will stay in it's underground crib so that there are no restrictions on the levels of consumption (alcohol that is) by anyone. We are all quite excited about the whole thing. Party!!! Girls night out!!! Lock up your boys, Mamma, the cougars are coming to Montreal. Release the men ;-)
Sunday...
It started slowly enough with the usual brunch. Michele and I brought flowers for the birthday girls (Sue 4 March & Sara 9 March) but only Sue was there. Sara over slept and missed Ottawa all together. Poor girl is getting all excited about the Ensemble debut next weekend (if you don't know, Sara is the harpist in a newly formed Baroque ensemble) and suffered insomnia Saturday night. Let us send strengthening supportive energy to Sara so she will be well rested for the debut on Saturday evening. The concert will be brilliant and I wish I could be there.
After brunch we hung out at Patty's for a beer. Well I had one 1/2 beer but Sue, Tom, Alex and Craig stuck around. I had to leave at 12:30 to go to the Stitch & Bitch.
The S&B was hosted by Kim this month. She has her own mascot, Daisy (dog), who was a socialite supreme. For more about the S&B visit the Tribe.net site at http://tribes.tribe.net/theclutch?_click_path=Application%5Btribe%5D.Tribe%5B6dcd3dcf-9ff1-4bac-817c-d336eb2a93f3%5D
It was a great deal of fun. Lots of great food all of which was fattening... except the token veggie & dip plate. I filled up. And of course there were stitching projects of every sort. Michele's little quilted "Lucy" sign which needed beading help from Tracey. Jessica brought a finished project (from the previous S&B) and her latest crochet project. Mellisa was knitting (I think) and Kim was knitting too. Mellisa brought her friend Angle who was crochetting. Tracey helped Michele and then worked on a costume-in-need-of-repair for Kim. I had my cross-stitch project with me which I hope to be finishing soon. Also got to see Cheryl. She dropped in for a visit. She has been laying low lately due to the side effects of pregnancy. She says she is feeling much better now.
I had to run away from the S&B to go to Michelle V's place in Barrhaven. She, her daughter Madeleine and Debbie wanted to celebrate my birthday (which was over 3 weeks ago). I love spreading the birthday celebrations out over several weeks. Tom says he'll be avaialable in late March, as will I, for a belated celebration. Anyway, I arrived at Michelle's late (lost track of time and left the S&B late) but they were still happy to see me. More food was spread out and we immediately dove into the shrimp cocktail, munchies, cheeses and dips. We had tea with the chocolate chip cake w/chocolate frosting. I was so stuffed!!! Eat Eat Eat. I was given fabulous gifts. Thank you to Debbie, Michelle and Madeleine for all the great new jewelery, etc.
At about 5:30 I left Michelle's place to get home where I changed clothes into pretty glittery girlie evening wear and put on makeup. It was off to the Casino Lac Leamy for the Superstars of Belly Dance show. I met up with Tracey, Kim and Jessica at Najina's and we drove over to the Casino together. Many friends from the Belly Dance community were there along with many more familiar faces. The show was fabulous, very inspirational and at the same time educational. What did I learn, you ask?! Well, for starters... I have a lot to learn about Belly Dancing. Those women made me feel like an out of shape hack. Some of the moves they do with their abs must require thousands of hours of practice. Quite phenominal!!
So now we're into the boring week. I have much work to catch up on at home. Must do my taxes this week... next week at the latest. Still have to decide which method to use. And 6 or 8 other tasks to get done. This coming weekend is the National Women's Show. I will be going to it Saturday morning and volunteering at Tracey's booth in the afternoon (1-4pm). I have a free pass for a friend if anyone is interested in joining me in the morning. If you're interested, call soon.
Must go eat supper now. I'm famished.