Life at the Lake July 17, 2008

On Monday I decided firmly that I wouldn’t really have the time or energy to drive 3 hours north of Quebec city to Lac St. Jean to visit my brother and his family. He rang that evening, said the weather would be good, the bonfire was built, the martini ingredients were bought. On Tuesday I packed the four children into the car and set out with my Dad guiding me through the maze (so it seems to me) of Quebec highways. We arrived for lunch, a large pasta casserole made by my brother,

True to predictions, the weather held for the day, a bit cloudy at times, but when you walk out your back door onto a white sandy beach a short, hot expanse from the clear lake waters, a few clouds don’t matter. The children swam for the whole day – my four along with their 3-year-old cousin, a darling bundle of curls and squeals of laughter and a backbone as strong as her mother’s. 

For supper, my lovely sister-in-law C had made a fabulous stew, the beef bones lurking at the bottom and filled with rich marrow. Expecting in October, C relished the marrow. I tried a bit and my youngest boy liked it, but we clearly weren’t the biggest fans!

By this point, the wind had picked up a bit and the waves beckoned again. Back to the water. My brother lit the bonfire and the shivering children would swim then huddle as close as possible to the heat source (as close as my Dad could bear, that is – there were cautions issued as towels swept a bit too close to the flames!). Once dark set in, out came the marshmallows – a rare treat for both families. The higer wind meant a bit of difficulty lighting fireworks – what a thrill.

Later, sleeping arrangements made (a tent large enough to accomodate me +4 small people, a room for Dad, etc) I settled the children. We’re not big into tents and camping, so this was the first time my 5-year-old experienced tent sleeping. “Mommy, can I ask you a question? Why did we come all the way here to sleep in a tent?” Part of the adventure, was my reply; and I realised that for all our travels and encounters with different cultures and languages, sleeping in a tent really brings home what it is to live in a completely different way. I’ll have to get a good tent for the family!

Once the children were settled, I had a real treasure – time to chat. It’s hard to get into a conversation if one or the other has to “go home”. Being able to totter out the back door into a tent meant 2 hours of uninterrupted, easy conversation. 

Another gem – the boys, usually up at 6 am or so, woke as usual but went back to sleep until past 9 a.m.! “It’s cosy in here,” commented the elder as he snuggled back into his sleeping bag and drifted off. That morning: more wind, more waves, more non-stop plunging into the raging shore. Lunch; stop at local dairy farm to buy mouth-watering cheeses; drive home (so easy when you have 2 drivers!). We had done so much in one overnight stay that it felt like we’d been there the better part of the week. “Yeah,” my brother said, “it does feel like you’ve been here for a long time…” Ah, the sweet sarcasm!

Go raibh mile math agut (that’s not a swear word… nor is it sarcastic…)

The Grass is Always Greener July 14, 2008

I am holidaying with my children in my hometown of Ste-Foy, a suburb of Quebec; my parents are our tolerant hosts. I took this lifestyle for granted growing up, but am now thoroughly amazed at what’s on offer in the neighbourhood. Here are the WALKING times to some of the amenities:

6 seconds: beauty salon and hairdresser. They’re the nearest neighbours - aren’t I lucky!

1 minute: bus stop that takes you to Old Quebec. The bus passes every 10 minutes and it takes about 15 minutes to find yourself in Place D’YOuville;

4 minutes (in various directions): public library; French high school; outdoor soccer pitch; City Hall;

5 minutes: Sylvie Bernier indoor pool (named after the Quebec Olympic multi-medalist); 2 lots of outdoor tennis courts; permanent fully equipped gymnastics hall (including uneven bars, trampoline, climbing ropes, balance beams, and floor space); outdoor children’s park (climbing frame, swings, etc);

6 minutes: double indoor ice skating arenas, and behind it, the Gaetan Boucher Olympic sized outdoor speed skating ring (named after, you guessed it, the Quebecer medalist…); 25-metre outdoor pool; Roland Beaudoin park, consisting of huge wading pool featuring a row of fountains rocketing upwards and an outdoor amphitheathre;

8 minutes: a vast triple shopping mall on 3 floors, everything from giant Toys R Us to Futureshop to any fashion retailers you can think of, plus offices, gym, restaurants & cafes, etc.

If you get into your car, in 15 minutes you can be at an uber-mall: it’s not worth describing, just visit the Galeries de la Capitale website! Suffice it to say that for C$1 you can ice skate on an Olympic sized rink in the summer.

There is an absolute glut of things to do. For C$200 we’ve equipped ourselves with 4 children’s bikes & 4 new helmets. For another C$ 60 I got a skateboard, all the protective gear, 4 junior tennis rackets & a few tennis balls. We bike to the pool, playing tennis on the way – there’s always an availabe court. On rainy days we head the other way to swim indoors and enjoy the water slide; or go skating. We were too late to sign the kids up for gymnastics this summer (we’re visiting for 6 weeks since we have a free place with my parents), but we gawked for over half an hour at the amazingly equipped gym, and the not surprisingly skilled gymnasts given the ratio of coaches to kids – about 1 to 4!!!! (as opposed to 1 to 15 or so in our Carlow gym!)

And that would be without the Festival D’Ete and the Quebec 400th Anniversary goings on in Old Quebec. On Friday I saw Akon and Wyclef Jean perform – and it was free (ok, actually it costs $30 to get a pass for the whole week, but I was given passes by my brother who was heading off to his cottage by the lake, and my sister whose friends were leaving after the first weekend). All summer there are activities for children. Mine spent a while making Egyptian masks and having their faces painted, for free of course, and when they needed to sit there was a constant stream of shows going on in the park, from the North Shore Celtics to the Armenian troupe, the day we were there.

Today it rained but we had things to do at the shopping centre. Wireless cafes, toys r us, sports shops, clean loos always within reasonable distance, drinking fountains, … weirdly, it’s those details that make the whole thing pleasant, not just striclty the incredible number of shops.

And with all this almost literally on our doorstep, what does my son say? “I miss our house. It’s not the same here. We don’t have as much room to play.” Wha?? I guess that’s the difference between urban and rural. Our home in the bogs of Carlow, with garden, fields, kilometres of river bank, country lanes to cycle around… it’s home sweet home, though I do try to remind my son that pebbled, potholed lanes won’t allow skate boarding. Carpe diem!

As for me, I’m planning a long car journey to Halifax, Nova Scotia, to visit other siblings. With the price of petrol I ought to sit still, but in Ireland, petrol cost around Euro131.99 and diesel 140.99 when I left a couple of weeks ago. Here the prices are about 25% cheaper.

I’m sure there are disadadvantages to living here, but I can’t think of them right now… wait, it’s coming… oh yeah, -30 all winter with snow from October to May! brrr.

Jetlag and Soccer in the Rain July 3, 2008

We arrived in Quebec City from Dublin yesterday. It was a lovely day. The children fell asleep around 8pm; one in the morning where we started our journey, so they lasted well. But they were up at 5 am. After cereal and finding all the familiar toys at Grandma’s house, they started charging around the place like maniacs. At 9:30 am I sat them down for apples and glasses of water. By 10:00 it was undeniable: we had to go outside.

It rains a lot in Ireland, of course; thus the emerald green of the island. But in Quebec the rain is different. It goes on and on and on, as unending as the whole of Canada, it seems. So we put on our outer wear knowing we’d be soaked through in a few minutes, and went off to the nearby soccer pitch.

I think we lasted 20 minutes. But it worked. On our return, Chinese Checkers, solitaire and Backgammon were the order of the moment. Now its’ lunch time – seems like it should be bedtime! I guess we’ll go to the indoor swimming pool this afternoon. HOw else do you get active 5 & 8 year old boys to “get it out of their system”?!

Writers Write June 11, 2008

I bought Maeve Binchy’s “Writer’s Club” to see what she had to say. Basically, one must actually write to produce some writing. That same day, I bought Isabela Fonseca’s “attachment.” Not sure where that story’s going yet but I’m ploughing through! My most recent excuses for not following Maeve’s advice: hay fever. If you don’t suffer from it, you’ll think I”m joking; but it’s exhausting. So much so that that’s all I’m writing today! Au revoir.

My Sister’s Wedding May 17, 2008

I’m missing it. It’s 7:10 pm here in Europe, and 2:10 pm in Quebec, where the dress must be on and the last minute details falling into place.

Baby sister. Last in the family to be married. How could this happen?

This is how: I have a son. Today was his First Communion. The dilemma of choosing between these two events was not easy, but in the end I thought I should be here.

So, I am thinking of my sister, affectionately known as “Ckynny” (short for skinny Cynny), and wishing her all the best in her life with the wonderful AMA. I love you! Congratulations! Good luck! xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Meanwhile, we had a happy, children-centered service this morning followed by tea, biscuits and lots of chat school friends and their families. A big class: just over 60 in R’s year receiving their first communion. Girls gorgeous in their white finery, boys looking dashing and all grown up in jackets and ties.

Country lifestyle at its best May 6, 2008

The joys of working from home… going outside when I feel like it. Sunny day, mild temperatures… We all had a dip in the River Slaney yesterday, cold & refreshing. T bought a wetsuit and swam for about 1 1/2 km downstream then a bit back upstream, over weirs, to where we were swimming. Of course, we are all aware that the river is polluted – shame – but none of us seem to get sick (this is our third year splashing in too much nitrogen, and no doubt sewage, despite the developed economy we live in. Picking up your own crap doesn’t come easily to many of us).

I guess this means I have time to go for a jog to start preparing for the Flora Women’s Mini-Marathon, Dublin, June 2nd 2008. 3 weeks! I’m trying to duplicate my time of less than 60 minutes for the 10k. If anyone sees this post and is interested in donating in support of PestalozziWorld, a charity that educates poor but bright children in Asia and Africa, visit www.PestalozziWorld.com to donate on-line, or directly to the bank account. A donation of any size would be appreciated!

I had a wee sample of cake. 8-year-old made it (chocolate & orange), the icing is decadent (butter, icing sugar and orange & lemon juice & rind. Yummy!) for little brother’s birthday, who is 5 today. Happy birthday!

Hello world! April 22, 2008

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