Month: September 2014

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A Tad Run Down

After a few glorious days that should have rightly belonged to summer, southern Saskatchewan is settling back into more seasonal, and wet, temperatures. I’m starting to dream of a second warm winter by  the ocean…

Unfortunately, the cold I picked up in Quebec is persistent and I haven’t had the energy to do much more than just work. I can’t believe I lived most of my life feeling like this, as though everything I do is akin to swimming through molasses. I’ve just been so healthy the last year and a bit that this slow down right before the start of an adventure is quite a shock!

I am making some progress at getting on the road, though. No, I still haven’t lined up my apartment in Mexico. I’m sure my options have considerably narrowed by now. But my budget is so much better than it was a few months ago that leaving without something secured doesn’t worry me, if it comes to that.

My friend Croft has confirmed the paperwork I’ll need at the Mexican border. I’m going to be wintering near Mazatlan, which is well past the ‘paperwork free zone’, so I will need to get a tourist visa and temporary import certificate for my truck. The list includes originals and copies of my birth certificate, passport, driver’s license, truck registration, and proof of ownership of the truck and that there is no debt outstanding on it (otherwise, I could be asked to provide a letter from a lender giving me permission to take the truck to Mexico). I’ll also be getting Mexican liability insurance through the company Croft has used for years.

The next step will be to visit my local SaskTel dealer to have my cell phone unlocked for a fee of $50. This will allow me to get a US SIM card and then one in Mexico. I will also be allowed to suspend service for the first three months I will be away. It would have been nice to be able to suspend it for the full eight months, but three is better than none! I’m going to keep the Bell (Mifi) account active since it’s just $10.50 per month and the contract will be done when I get back next May. And then I can throw the last Mifi off a tall cliff!

Other things that need to be done before I leave, once I have a better idea of my departure date:

– secure health insurance for my time in the States (I do that through my bank when it’s just for a short period of time);

– advise SK health that I’ll be away for more than six months;

– inform my bank of my travel plans so they don’t put a hold, or worse, cancel my cards!

– call SaskPower to inform them that I’m shutting down power at Haven for the winter (by turning off the main breaker and locking the box) and asking them for the procedure to send the last metre reading;

I’ve already advised SGI (SK DMV) that my truck is leaving the province for an extended period of time and the RM (rural municipality) knows not to bill me for water and garbage pickup as of October 1st. It won’t be a problem if I’m here a week to ten days longer, but water is going to be shut off October 15thish (I’m on a public hydrant), so that’s really the latest I am going to want to leave!

My clients are also aware that October is going to be a trying month for availability. I’m going to focus on my law enforcement contract and will probably not do anything else. The plan at this point is still to travel Mondays and Tuesdays (my slowest days) and find a m/hotel or some other suitable location to get work done the other days. There’s really no reason I can’t travel and earn a full-time income in October if I put my mind to it. I’m just going to miss my office very much!

I’m now narrowing down my packing list. My truck really isn’t that big, especially since I am rather counting on being able to sleep in it quite a bit on the way down (weather permitting) and the bed is going to take up lots of room. This is probably not a bad thing! I know that I really won’t need that much and that there are stores in Mexico if I forget anything. 🙂

I’ve got quite a bit of typing to do in the next few days, ending September off with a bang, income-wise, and then I’m going to focus on closing up Miranda and Haven. I’ve decided that departure will be a day or two after I get my cheque for the September law enforcement work, so probably October 10th(ish). I have the funds to leave before, of course, but if I get asked to produce bank statements at either (or both!) borders, the balances will be better! 🙂

Yes, I’m terrified about the changes coming up in the next weeks. Gloriously, thrillingly terrified. I haven’t said it recently, but it’s still true: I love my life!!!

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Sleep Deprived

I’m home from my very brief trip to Quebec! Between the sleep deprivation (I always sleep poorly at my mother’s for a variety of reasons), a cold (thanks, kids!), and the high carb diet, I’m feeling surprisingly rundown. But I am glad to have seen everyone.

Sunday, my mother and I spent the bulk of the afternoon working on the floor plan for my cabin! So exciting! 🙂 I’m nowhere near ready to start on construction, but having a very rough plan will help me make some decisions over the winter.

Monday, I borrowed the car and drove to Ville LaSalle to see my cousin. We had lunch and she sent me on my way with books and Japanese treats!

I was out later than planned (lost track of time gabbing…), but I made it back to Chambly in time to have dinner with my family and my grand-mother. We had pâté chinois (shepherd’s pie), so that was two times in one day eating beef! I very rarely seek out red meat, but I do eat it if it is offered, no problem.

It was a very early start today, 6AM, with just enough time to finish packing and gobble down a cup of coffee and a little cottage cheese. My step-mother gave me two beautiful wool vests that I’ve always admired and my sister gave me two tops, a pair of brand new jeans, and an incredible jean dress (yay for a 60lb weight loss!), so let’s just say my suitcase was VERY full.  So full, in fact, that I wound up layering the two vests!

I managed to squeeze the books from my cousin into my tote, but the Japanese treats and a small loaf of my mother’s fruitcake had to travel in a plastic grocery bag. I love my new carry on bag (a Grand Traveler by Vera Bradley), but I could have carried a bigger tote than I did, been better able to distribute my load, and would have looked less overloaded for carry on. My bag still fit fine under the seat since it was 100% squishable, but I got a scolding from the flight attendant for the Montreal to Winnipeg flight. She also made me put my tote in the overhead compartment even though it had traveled between my legs the whole way east and barely gave me time to get what I needed from it for the flight. It was only a 2.5 hour flight, so it wasn’t worth getting up and opening bins to find the one with my iPad, computer, wallet, passport, etc…, but I was one of the first ones up to claim her bag when we arrived!

I had hoped to be at the airport for 7:30 this morning, but Montreal traffic is disastrous and we got to the terminal around 8:10. Boarding was to commence at 8:20 and the flight was departing at 8:55. Thankfully, there was no line up at security! I learned from my Regina security experience and was not wearing a belt or under-wire! My head scarf did get patted down, a first, but I was asked beforehand if I was wearing it for religious purposes and if it was okay to touch my head. It was one of my easiest and quickest security checks ever! Even my mother’s fruitcake, which looks like a block of hashish, got through no questions asked!

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My mother’s fruitcake didn’t raise any eyebrows. Dang that stuff is GOOD. It’s going to be a nice treat on high activity days. I have it with a piece of cheese and it makes a full meal. Next to it, some of the Japanese treats!

After security, it was a mad dash across most of the airport to get to a gate that felt like it was halfway to Winnipeg! I arrived just as boarding started, so I had just enough time to use the washroom first.

Other than being in an aisle seat and not having access to my tote, the flight to Winnipeg was good. It was my fourth time (at minimum) landing in Winnipeg in six years and I can officially say that there’s something up with landing in Winnipeg. I have never had a smooth landing there and I always arrive with my ears blocked!

I was quite hungry by the time I deplaned, but I only had about 40 minutes till boarding for the next flight, not enough time to get a meal at TGI Fridays (a YWG treat when I have time). I settled on some of the strangest sushi I have ever seen as it contained HUMMUS. Made with brown rice, it was a satisfying meal, but rather strange!

The flight to Regina was super quick. We were in the air less than an hour, barely enough time to receive and drink a cup of coffee! This commuter flight had ‘Skycheck’, which I love!!! It’s the best of both worlds: you don’t have your big bag on the plane, but you don’t have to wait at baggage claim to get it back. I also had Skycheck’ from Ottawa to Montreal. There, we boarded at ground level and put our bag on a trolley. In Winnipeg, we boarded higher up and our bags were sent down to ground level on a conveyer belt.

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Can you spot my bag? I’m such a girl! 😀 There’s no mistaking mine, though, in that sea of black!

I left Montreal in a cold drizzle and arrived back on my beloved Prairies in sun drenched HEAT. Landing in Regina, I didn’t have a feeling of ‘being home’, but I still had 2.5 hours of driving to do! I found my truck without any trouble, it started fine (wasn’t worried!), and then it was time to pay for parking. That’s $11 per day, so I expected to pay $77, but was only charged $71. Six bucks is six bucks! 🙂

I probably should have picked up food while I was in the city, but I just wanted to get home. It wasn’t until the Moose Jaw skyline (what little there is!) disappeared behind me and the landscape started to undulate that I started to get that little hit of emotion that told me that I was heading HOME.

It was wonderful to pull into my very own property for the very first time in my life after a long trip far away! I topped up the water tank, fired up the water heater, had a shower, and then collapsed in my very comfy bed for a much needed nap!

Tomorrow, it’s back to work and between spurts of that, time to close up the property, pack up the truck, and get back on the road!

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Tehran Restaurant, Montreal

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My last day in Quebec on this trip was Monday and I promised a cousin on my dad’s side of the family that I would meet up with her for lunch. I told her I was in the mood for sushi or Lebanese food. She countered by proposing an Iranian restaurant she loves. I’d never had Persian food before, so I was game. The restaurant is called Tehran and it is on de Maisonneuve Boulevard West, right at the edge of Westmount.

We were greeted warmly by our server. Since it was lunch on a Monday, the place was quiet, with only a large Iranian family eating there besides us (a good sign!).

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The meals come with soup or salad and my cousin encouraged me to try the traditional ash soup. That alone would have been two meals for me! It is a very thick soup made with lentils, chick peas, herbs (including mint), fried onions, noodles, and goat yoghurt. I had a few bites and had to leave the rest. I wasn’t crazy about it (not a fan of goat milk so I kind of ate around the yoghurt), but it’s something I would be thrilled to sit in front of on a cold winter day.

My cousin opted for the green salad. I neglected to ask her what the creamy dressing consisted of. 🙁

The soup came with pita. That’s such a rare thing out west that I indulged in what probably amounted to a quarter of a round. I really am trying to cut my bread intake and my family’s meals are very carb heavy, so the last thing I needed was to inhale an entire plate of pita. But when’s the next time I’ll get to eat fresh pita that I haven’t had to spend all day making myself?!

I wish I’d made note of the dish I ordered or at least the ingredients in it. It was some sort of very tender chicken kebab that was bright orange, oily, and super, super flavourful! My cousin and I think it might have been cooked in tomato and/or saffron. It was served with a whole roasted tomato and plain jasmine rice topped with a little saffron rice (what looks like shredded carrot in the pic!). I would have had enough for two meals! My cousin took almost half of my chicken home for her lunch the next day!

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As for my cousin, she had the steak and gave me a generous sample of it. Wow! It had a lot of flavour from the seasonings and it melted in my mouth. I would actually consider having the steak if I were to go back to Tehran one day!

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Our meal ended with cardamon tea. My cousin had it the traditional way, with sugar cubes, but I had mine plain. It was the perfect palate cleanser!

My cousin considers the prices at Tehran to be extremely reasonable. I have no idea. Sales tax in QC is so high that it skews the numbers a little. My plate was at the lower end of the price scale, around $12 and my cousin’s at the higher end, around $22. After taxes and the tip, our meal came to $52. It was my treat, paying forward a tiny bit of all the meals my wonderful blog readers have treated me to!

Even though I know that I barely scratched the surface of an ancient cuisine, I’d consider my tiny foray into Persian culture a success!

 

 

 

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Reunions

I got an early start this morning because my mother had some work for me to do. That ate up the morning and the first part of the afternoon. It was easy, but tedious, work that I enjoy and that my mother hates, making sure graphic elements are correctly aligned and adjusting them if not. My being here was perfect timing for this job and it will be nice to have a few hours to bill during my non-vacation.

Lunch was an item off my culinary desires list for this trip, Montreal style bagels, which we had with smoked salmon, cream cheese, capers, and grey shallots. YUM!

My older sister and her girls arrived late afternoon. It was my first time meeting the youngest, who is sixteen months old. The oldest is four and she not only remembered me, but was very affectionate. They have a lot of energy, so there was a lot of running around and shrieking. They are spending two nights, so I expect I’ll be woken early this weekend! It’s lovely to see them and we even Skyped with my brother-on-law, who is working on Vancouver Island.

Dinner was my step-mother’s amazing fish soup, made with cod, a creamy tomato base, and whatever veggies are on hand (this time, potatoes, carrots, parsnip, and green beans from the garden, plus cauliflower). This was another request of mine. 🙂 The girls thought it was great, too! I had bread, a beer, a glass of wine, and a glass of port, so I skipped dessert. 🙂

I don’t feel like I got much done today even though it felt like a very long one!

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Slightly Jetlagged

I fell asleep at one am local time and was up at quarter to ten! I had a quiet morning chatting with my mother.

Lunch was a treat I haven’t had since the 20th century because I was a vegetarian for so long: a genuine Montreal smoked meat sandwich!

After lunch, I borrowed the car to go do a little shopping to buy my eldest nephew a birthday gift and his little brother something, too (my younger sister’s boys). I was given a specific list , so it was an easy enough task. I made a stop en route to visit my dad’s grave.

I came back home and headed out almost immediately to pick up my grand-mother, who lives 1km away. When we returned to my mother’s house, my brother, his girlfriend, and my youngest nephew had come to say hi (they live a few blocks away. My sis-in-law is due with another boy any day now!

My grand-mother and I had a chance to catch up a little over dinner. After she left, I took advantage of the shiny new tub in the freshly renovated guest bathroom!

The evening was winding down when the phone rang. It was my uncle calling with news that the girlfriend of my youngest cousin had her baby tonight! Talk about a baby boom!

Tomorrow, my older sister is driving down from Sherbrooke with her two girls. I haven’t met the younger one yet. They will spend a couple of nights.

Saturday, my little sister will be hosting all of us for my eldest nephew’s birthday. This gathering would have happened without me, but I think there is extra effort being made for attendance because I made it out.

I’m glad I didn’t plan anything for the week except lunch with a cousin on Monday. It won’t be hard to fill the days! In fact, I’ll be working tomorrow alongside my mother, doing some of the work she trained me in when I was here last.