day of shopping

my sister and i decided to get our christmas shopping done a little early this year - mostly because i'll be flying home in november and i can bring it all then.

breakfast at eggspectations...

my sis and her bf...
be still my heart....

we finished of shopping with a pedicure (our gifts to each other - how about that!) and this lovely woman let me take pictures of her haircut... i have been wanting to change my hair - and saw hers and thought -damn, that is awesome. she was so nice to let me do that, and actually got the business card of the hairdresser (which i promptly took pictures of as well).

vacation day 9

on our way back home we stopped to pick up george's tastee bakery & deli and picked up a couple of boxes of jamaican patties. we also stopped in markham on our way back to ottawa at tsukiji restaurant.

camping - bon echo provincial park

we went camping last weekend at bon echo provincial park

















here's our tent... see anything missing? poles you say? yeah... we forgot to pack them
















pre-testosterone
















post-testosterone
















did i mention it rained whilst we set up camp?

















the much smaller tent we slept in instead of our palace.

luckily, saturday morning started off well...

we went on the lovely shield trail hike and took in the lovely scenery





















later we looked at the cliffs... this picture doesn't really do it justice.














the rest of the weekend was filled with lots of food (tacos and burgers and marshmallows...) and lots of sleeping...! it was so cold we kept sleeping in until almost noon.

can't wait to go camping again in 2 weekends!

hiking

my friend dana and i went hiking in gatineau park today. we took the skyline trail.

we got our butts kicked... some of the inclines were pretty steep... but in the end it was really fun. there were three lookouts along the way that showcased the ottawa valley. we stopped for a light lunch (edamame, crackers, fruit and vegetables) on a rock overlooking the valley. it was very peaceful... except the moment a mosquito decided to fly into my ear.... i was annoyed and told it to "feck off" as a group of people were walking by. explanantions ensued.

we're planning on returning in october to see the fall foliage - i expect it to be breathtaking.

followed by a snack of pita chips and hummus....

next weekend, we're all camping at bon echo park. i love camping... i get so much knitting done!

steamtrain and other adventures

Yesterday J and I, along with his family, took the hull-wakefield steamtrain. It was a combined birthday excursion for myself and my father-in-law. My birthday is coming up, but we celebrated on his birthday.

the steamtrain:














look, a junkyard!:










lovely wakefield:










lunchstop at bistro des milles delices (which does not have a website)... we had cold tomato and basil soup (refreshing!)... J had smoked salmon and herbed creamcheese roulades, and i had the smoked duck with lentil salad. both delicious!





























there was plenty of entertainment on the train... music, face / arm painting for my niece and nephew... and of course the gift shop (my niece got a pink and white conductor had she was extremely taken with, and my nephew got a miniature train)

































by the pictures you would never know, but the weather was pretty stormy - but all in all it was a fun time. i would recommend it - but eat on the train so that you have time to shop in wakefield. we only had 2 hours - and we just made it back with a few minutes to spare and that was only stopping to eat.