Day 35 LA- Stevenson Ranch

Another good night’s sleep. Susan had left around 5 am for the airport. She had a meeting in San Francisco and Oscar left about 6. So I woke the kids up. After breakfasts they went to school. A bit of housework and then I walked Churro. It was a wonderful day. Warm and sunny.

After walking Churro, it was time to walk to the shops to get some items. However the queues would seem to indicate that everyone else was shopping early too.  Every shop had long queues waiting to be served. Some were really grumpy shoppers and there was one very abusive man who held up other shoppers while the manager tried to calm him down.  At the same shop two English women were deriding all Americans and their customs. Interesting situation. They were obviously living here. I did wonder why, when they obviously had very little love of the country.

I laughed when I passed the "dead" snowman

Eventually I had completed my jobs and walked up the hill to get a coffee (You can get a coffee with almond milk here) I sat in the sunshine and drank it before setting off for home. I had lunch outside then did some sewing out there too, before preparing dinner. Chicken, frittata followed by apple cake. The kids returned from school. I had dinner with them. Susan had sent a message to say that her plane was delayed in San Francisco. I cleaned up after dinner then tried to check in on the Qantas site, but they had a problem online. So I downloaded photos and typed up today’s news. I may need to return to the shops tomorrow for a Christmas jumper for Sarah. We have a parcel to send to them from here and there is enough space for a jumper.  

Day 34 LA

I woke at 6:30 and spent time on the computer, before getting up for breakfast. Everyone was on their computers. I took Churro for a walk. What a glorious day. The trees were just starting to turn lovely autumn colours. When I came home, I continued with my sewing outside. In the outside light I found a few clam shells that I must have done in poor light, so a little bit of unpicking was required.

Susan and I went down to the shops to try to get her tablets in preparation for her trip to England and a few other items including “ugly” Christmas sweaters.

We had fun searching through shops to find just the “right” ones for the family, at a realistic price.  It began as an idea to outdo each other in having the worst sweater you could find. One like your mum/ auntie would give you, which was so loud and so bright you might only wear when they were coming for celebrations. Now there is a huge range, from the very awful to the nice. Mine will be useful if we have a cold snap at Christmas.

We missed lunch, so upon our return we both had a late sandwich. Teagan was still at scouts, Troy was playing a computer game with a friend and Oscar on his computer.

We all put on our new jumpers and took photos under the Christmas tree, before going out to dinner.

The knife was big enough to cut down a tree

We were the best dressed! After a lovely family dinner Oscar drove us the long way home to look at some of the local Christmas decorations. Not as many as in previous years and more houses projecting light displays onto the house rather than putting up lights. Home to watch TV and bed. Susan has an early morning flight to San Francisco with an overseas one on Thursday.

Two more sleeps until the wretched plane home. While I am enjoying time with my family, my brain is starting to overload on everything that has to be done upon my return. The list at this time of the year is extensive. If I was at home I would be baking non stop in preparation, the decorations would be up, the cards done, the gifts wrapped and under the tree, the house would be ready. This year I will have to rely on jet lag to get a start in catching up and just enjoy a special time with family. 

Day 32 and 33 in LA

LA has been a "resting time"

Day 32 LA

AGGHHH. My sleep was broken by Churro barking at 4 am. So I took him outside, but he didn’t need to pee! Dragged him back in and went back to bed. He began barking soon after and this time Susan got up. Meanwhile I shoved my ear plugs in and went back to sleep.

Woke at 7 to find bright blue sky, but a very “cool” wind. Breakfast, then caught up with my diary and posting. Kids went off to school. Susan was on one side of the table working and I was on the other. Suddenly she remembered she had a hair appointment- in 10 minutes and still needed to get ready. Rush!

I eventually finished my posts, did the washing and walked the dog. Wow the wind was freezing cold and very blustery. (There was a fire on the nearby hills being blown by the strong wind.) Slight issue being that I had just washed my only thick jumper. Luckily it was dry by the early afternoon, because it just got cooler. Teagan had a half day at school. When she came home she wanted to make something in felt for Amelia, so I found a simple pattern online and created others. She began to stitch but we needed pins. Susan cleaned out her craft cupboard searching for the missing pins. Eventually we went down to the shops to get supplies for our craft and food for the empty pantry and fridge. (Two growing children take care of the emptying process)

When we returned I made pasta for dinner, after which we sat and watched TV. I pent some time snoozing with Churro. It was an early night for all. Both Susan and I getting over flights.

During the day I was colder than I had been at Quebec. Tricked by the blue sky I did not have enough warm clothes on.

Day 33 LA

Fabulous sleep. Woke at 5:15 LA am time. Spent time on my computer, until Susan woke up. Breakfast, then I walked Churro, before helping Teagan with her sewing. Another sunny day with a cold wind.

The rest of the day was very quiet. Basically me sewing on the couch and the others relaxing, except when Oscar took Churro to get washed. A bonus was being able to use the quilting mat of Susan’s, which made keeping all the clams in rows MUCH easier. While I was sewing, the kids were playing internet games. We “watched” several programmes. The TV was on, but everyone was doing something on their computer /phone/ sewing. We began to watch the series “How to make a murderer”. But it was incredibly long and drawn out. After three hours, I just asked for the ending (another five to go!) and we moved onto another series about Robert Durst, which was much more interesting, despite being six episodes long. 

We had a break after four series, so that I could prepare dinner, do the dishes, they could find all the Christmas decorations and then we continued. During the last two episodes, the tree was set up and the kids decorated it. Troy spent ages on the tree but in his pj's so missed his photo opportunity. Lucky me to have been at both house during “tree time”. 

Day 31 Leaving Quebec > Montreal > Los Angeles.

Thankfully a great night’s sleep and Lachie woke at 6:30. But today we woke to heavy snow falling and more snow on the ground and in the trees than I had seen previously. The snow ploughs were going up and down at a great pace. Even the footpaths got scraped.

Sarah drove Lachie to Day Care and Tim to work. It was a sad time to say goodbye to Tim and especially Lachie. The heavy snow made the roads very slow. I stayed at home, while Amelia slept. I washed clothes and the linen, finished packing and then when Sarah was still coming home Amelia woke up, not too impressed that her milk supply was not available. Sarah came home 20 minutes later and fed Amelia. I made my dinner- Fairly sure there will be no GF on the flight. Then I checked the airline. No trouble accessing my check-in process today, so I checked in and paid for my checked in bag. First issue of the day was that the flight times had been changed, so it was really lucky that I checked. Both flights were earlier than ticketed. However instead of the original two hour connection, it was going to be VERY tight.

I went for a very fast walk across to the Plains. Nearly didn’t get there. I wore Sarah’s boots, because I didn’t want to get mine out of my bag and get them wet. The only way they would fit was by leaving my slippers on.  (Sarah has much bigger feet) Once outside I walked to the corner and had a “surprise” when a huge lump of snow fell off one off the nearby trees and landed on me. The next “experience” was the cars splashing the dirty water, as they passed, while I was waiting for the lights to change. The plains were covered completely in snow. It was very pretty.

Back home to have lunch, then we drove to the airport, passing so many snow ploughs in all different sizes. On the highway they had a series of four across all the lanes, all ploughing at the same time to ensure the road was clear and there were no banks of snow. The airport was completely covered, but their big snow ploughs were keeping the runways clear.

I was able to change my seat of the second flight to an aisle, checked in my bag and said a very sad goodbye to Sarah and Amelia. I was crying through the entire security check. Once through I got a cup of tea, changed my last Canadian dollars into US dollars and sat for a short time watching the snow ploughs. I was sure we were going to be delayed because the plane came in late. However they cleared it quickly and we sat down on time and waited while they de-iced the plane. Some sort of green spray over the top. We took off after sitting on the tarmac for 25 minutes for the short flight to Montreal. The delay was going to make the connecting time even tighter. From the air you could see snow everywhere in Quebec, but once we came down through the clouds it was only wet in Montreal.

HUGE problem for me at Montreal. We landed on the tarmac and I walked quickly across into the domestic building at 3:45. My plane was due to board at 4: 05! I literally ran non- stop, through to the international section, through to US customs and security, thinking the whole time “it will have left”. But God was on my side and as I ran out of customs I heard my name being paged and the gate was thankfully very close! Ran to the desk, showed my pass, ran down the gangplank onto the plane – nearly knocking over some guy finishing his phone conversation on the corner. Thankfully I didn’t have to do the walk of shame. There were still people putting up bags and coats. I was sweating profusely as I found my seat and sat down at 4:25. Got to be a record. After my marathon, we then sat on the tarmac for another 25 minutes before taking off!

Now all the signs are DONE and you can find it.

Watched Florence Foster Jenkins, then listened to the original version of the Producers, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes while I was organising my photos and typing up my diary. Only got two cups of tea on the flight, but at least they started bring around water after they had done the meals. Of course there was no GF. So I ate my sandwiches and all my snacks. Then they turned off all the lights. 8:00 Quebec time. Once I had finished writing my diary I took off my boots, stretched out across the seats and had a snooze. Still thinking of those I had left behind, especially Lachie- wondering if it was sausages again tonight? I miss them all, but know how lucky I am to have had the opportunity to stay with them and share this special time.

The plane landed in LA at 7:35 pm new time (10:30 pm Q time) straight off and down the stairs to collect bag and guess what it was there in less than 5 mins! Went down to Starbucks, juggling two bags but desperate for a cuppa for the long wait. I hate that LAX has no secure Wifi and my blasted phone has not yet connected to America, so I can’t even contact Susan or send a message. She was flying in from Washington on AA. As I sat I read my book. Just as Susan arrived at 10:30 LA time, I had reached the last five pages. So she arrived as tears were streaming down my face. Good welcome! I was able to go to the toilet while she waited with the bags (tricky when you are by yourself). We caught the bus to pick up her car and then drove home arriving here about midnight. Bed at 12:30 am = 3:30 Q time!

Day 30 Another busy day

Only one minor interruption to my sleep and it didn’t involve changing beds. Lachie woke at 6:15. Following the usual breakfast routine, we dropped Lachie at Day Care, Tim at work and drove to the Port Market. A huge difference down there from my last visit. All the boats were out of the water in preparation of the water freezing.

The market was quite different to the autumn season. Still some fresh products, but now most of the stalls were selling “gift” items: lots of products in jars and bottles, cranberry season so the cranberry and blueberry stalls were selling every variation of their products, bottles of all kinds of vinegars, wines, jelly and now stalls of knitted alpaca goods (gorgeous, but SO expensive). I bought a few Christmas decorations and a wreath for Sarah and Tim’s door.

Because we only had a short time to fill in, Sarah drove the long way round to the appointment with the nurse for Amelia. This time no leaves and tress wrapped in white sheeting that looked like duct tape. Past the demonstrators. (Quebec has a constant assortment of them) When we arrived I had a few snoozes in the rocking chair in the feeding room for infants while Sarah and Amelia had their appointment. Very comfy. Amelia had put on 400 gms in a week, grown 2 cms longer and 2 cms wider in her head! Obviously doing well. We crossed the road to the Patisserie- bread for me and a muffin. They forgot to grease the paper and I had to wrench it off the edges and even worse it was flavoured of frangipane. It might be a favourite of French people, but not mine.

We came home for lunch. Sarah fed Amelia, then went down to get a parcel at the post office and to pick up some decorations for the tree. She collected the apartment’s Christmas tree from the storage locker. Smaller than anticipated, but it will at least mean that this apartment is in keeping with the Christmas spirit. While she was gone, I packed my bags for tomorrow. Leaving behind my old backpack. I bought a new one yesterday, which has a specific water bottle holder and a place for my laptop. The old one was unfortunately looking slightly worse for wear after getting paint on it during the house painting and had done many overseas trips.

We collected Lachie, then Tim and on the way home went via the Old Town, so I could take photos of some of the fantastic decorations. Every day they put up more and more. My wonderful hosts drove me around and I got out as quickly as possible, climbing over Lachie, and snapped as fast as possible. It is so easy to take photos of night lights at 5:00 pm in pitch black conditions.

Home to prepare dinner. After dinner Sarah put up the Christmas tree and after the baths and feeding, we set up the tree and Lachie helped to instruct us in the placement of the decorations. Lots of photos. Sarah sat down to write Christmas cards for me to take home while I downloaded photos and typed up my diary, while we had “Elf “ playing in the background.

Amelia dreaming of a white Christmas.

Day 29 Quebec

Wonderful sleep, with only one visit from my associate, which necessitated a change in beds at 2:30. Lachie woke up at 6:45! Yippee. No snow outside, but you could see it was cold outside both from the whitened footpaths and from multitudes of layers on the people below. The flags were flapping furiously indicating a cold wind.

We all ate breakfast, then dropped Tim at work. We went on to Walmart, where we bought things on our list, including a new card reader and back pack for me. Tim had searched many shops over the last few weeks for a card reader and I had been looking in Australia for a new backpack with a section for my lap top and bottle holder. We stopped to feed Amelia and have a cuppa. Amelia vomited all over Sarah and herself. Luckily we had just bought some new grow suits. Sarah had to use one straight away. It changed our shopping plans. Off to the change area to change two children and back out into the Arctic wind. Sarah sat in the car and finished feeding Amelia, then it was a quick drive home to get changed.

I went down the street as soon as we returned, because of the forecast of bad weather. The wind was freezing cold and as I was returning the ice pellets/rain started. Not pleasant to walk in. As soon as I entered the apartment the weather changed to a heavy snow fall. In less than ten minutes everything was white. Two snow ploughs charged down the road not long after.

The snow was interspersed by some rain so we didn’t get nearly as much snow as forecast. Lachie and I watched Shaun the Sheep movie. Sarah was having/ trying to have a nap.

She took Lachie to pick up Tim. Amelia slept while they were gone. I prepared vegetables for a frittata and made an apple sponge for dinner. After dinner and baths, we had Lachie’s usual truck races up and down the lounge/ passage way, which makes conversation almost impossible. The lady who lives one floor below must be saving up for carpet for this apartment. The noise of the truck wheels on the wooden floor is VERY loud.

Day 28 Sunny and a top of 1C

Lachie had a restless night. At 2 am he thought it was breakfast time. Possibly in another country? So an extra body in my bed, until I swapped beds. Up at 5:45 to the usual breakfast routine. He ate three breakfasts, depending on who was sitting at the table. Sarah and Lachie did some cooking

while Amelia had a sleep. We tried to leave to go to the park early in the morning, but Lachie quickly went to sleep in the pram, so we only went to the shops.

The sun might have been shining through broken light cloud, but it was very cold if you were in the wind. A top of 2 C today, but definitely a wind chill factor. (Currently at 5 pm it is 0 and feels like -7C according to the weather station.) There were occasional patches of snow, but most had been washed away, although the “snow cat” was still standing in the park.

Back for lunch and some TV. I was watching some Christmas decoration videos on my computer. At 3 we woke up Amelia, fed her and set off for the park in the Plains with Lachie on his bike and Amelia in the pram for the first time. The wind was bitter coming across the river and snow drifts. Lachie had lots of fun riding through and jumping in puddles. We went up to Joan of Arc Park where he was able to walk through lots of snow and jump in the snow too. I helped him re- purpose a snowman from some chunks of snow.

It was really icy, consequently difficult to mould, but we had fun. Then we threw chunks of snow at the snowman. The sun set at 4 and the light began to fade quickly.(It was completely dark by 4:30.) Time to return home and take off wet things and have a snack/ cuppa/ download photos in a warm place.

Sarah prepared dinner and I was typing. Tim came home and as I was dishing up dinner. Sarah had only seconds before asked Lachie how he was feeling because he was so hot to touch, when he suddenly vomited all over his truck quilt. The poor quilt got an emergency wash yesterday after being doused in a cup of coffee. Today’s emergency required just as quick a response. We all helped clean up floors, clothes, walls. Atypically with children, Lachie was running around within minutes and we sat down to eat dinner.

Tomorrow’s forecast is for an “interesting day”. An overnight minimum of -6C, which will feel like -11C, if you happen to be standing out there for any reason. Tomorrow promises a top of -1C, which will feel like -7C with the wind and 5>10 cms of snow. I may well need all my thermals tomorrow!

Day 27

What a difference sleep makes! Both young people had a good night = so did we. Lachie was up at 5:45 to his usual breakfast routine. Circles (Cheerios) first, followed by toast, then some of dad’s breakfast, finished off by mum’s. Sarah accidentally spilt her full cup of coffee over. It landed mostly on Lachie’s quilt so it was very quickly in the wash before coming back to clean up the rest.

Unfortunately light rain had spoiled our most recent snow fall. Tim took Lachie down stairs to play soccer in the heated car park. On my way to church I spotted a re- purposed snowman from yesterday. Now looking like a lucky Chinese cat. This time I took a photo as I walked past the first time in case he also fell over in the rain. He had already lost one arm.

After church I chatted to an older lady, who couldn’t really understand that Australia didn’t have snow at Christmas. She just thought that sometimes we didn’t get snow on Christmas Day. Father’s sermon was all about the swing to a secular celebration and how we seem to be giving season’s greetings, rather than Christmas greetings. Celebrating the season of winter, not Christmas? I was sitting there thinking wrong season for us despite snow featuring on many of our Christmas cards too. Maybe they are leftovers from the Northern Hemisphere?

From here I walked to Rue Cartier and the rain had changed to snow, but it was melting upon landing. I bought the milk, but could not find a can opener in two shops. Eventually found in the third. Must be the season for can openers? Both shops had empty places where they should be.

Home to lunch, followed by some housework then hand sewing until it was time to get ready to go out. Dinner with some of Sarah’s friends and families at a local pub.

Amelia slept through the entire time and Lachie was excellent. The food was good and our group had one section in what had been a domed cellar in previous history. Slight issue upon returning to our car to find a parking ticket. When Tim checked it out at home, he found he had accidentally entered the incorrect parking place number. Lachie needed extra time to run up and down for 20 minutes before going to bed. Fingers crossed for a good night’s sleep and more snow.

Day 26 Not a quiet day

Today was not quiet because of some very loud noise from both Lachie and Amelia. 

Amelia was her usual self during the night and just when she settled down, Lachie woke up- 3 am and hopped into my bed. After half an hour he had “invaded” every spare inch of my bed and I was squashed into cliff dwelling. I gave up and moved into his bed and we both had a sleep. He woke up at 6:15 ready for his breakfast. When he had been fed and was busy with his cars I managed enough of a cat nap to make a difference to my sleep deprived brain.

Just as Amelia was in, she vomited.

The beautiful cover of yesterday’s snow had started to melt under light rain. We aimed to go down the street in the early morning for a walk so that Lachie could have a play in the snow. That was the plan. One and a half hours later we finally set out after a series of meltdowns about being dressed in snow gear. (It was 1 C outside ) Amelia’s joined in the melee by contributing with her first projectile vomit as we were leaving. Both Sarah and Amelia had to get changed. By the time they were ready Lachie was asleep in the pram!

So that meant shopping without snow playing. We walked in falling snow/ light rain down to Rue Cartier. They bought a few items and met friends along the way. We came home via the Patisserie for me.

Just as I was about to photograph the biggest snowman we had seen, he literally fell in a heap, his carrot nose smashing into tiny pieces. Very similar to Olaf in Frozen. 

We returned home and had lunch. Tim eventually went down to the gym. Sarah took Lachie down for a swim with Tim when he had finished his gym work. Amelia fluctuated between snoozing and being unsettled. After the boys came up, Lachie played with Sarah and Tim for a while. When Tim’s family tried to make a video call, Amelia was being bathed and screaming as per usual. During the next attempt I fed Lachie an early dinner to enable a conversation on both sides. This was followed by more loud playing with his truck, while I used my computer. 

Peace finally descended when both children's sleep overlapped, until Amelia woke up while Sarah was eating dinner.  I changed Amelia, successfully removing and replacing the brace for the first time. (It would make a good comedy with all that Velcro. ) Peace again when Amelia went down. 

Amelia under Auntie Dorothy's knitted blanket

Day 25 Quebec – it snowed all day.

Amelia had a terrible night > so did all of the adults. Perhaps she had too much sleep during the day yesterday, or her brace was upsetting her, or because it was Friday?

Yesterday she went to a specialist about her hips – slightly “clicky” diagnosis. He recommended a brace to hold her hips in place, until her 6 weeks check-up/ scan. They had to go to another fitting place in the afternoon to have the brace fitted. Canadians have a much better system in trying to prevent possible future complications. She is only in the “possible” group and they are still prepared to be proactive.

Back to today: Lachie decided that 4:15 was wake up time! At least he went back to sleep for 45 minutes in my bed. At 5 am he decided that was enough and it was “circles time” – Cherios = time to get up! Got his breakfast and saw a white wonderland from the window, while we were playing cars. Snow as far as you could see. Once he was settled watching the TV, I had my breakfast and tried to catch a little snooze. Sarah, Tim and Amelia were up at 8. Everyone feeling extra tired. Tim was busy looking for Black Friday specials.

We were due at the hairdressers at 11 and of course Lachie fell asleep on the couch at 10! Waking him up after such a short sleep was difficult, but we all walked out the door in plenty of time to drive to the Château in Old Town, where their friend is the hairdresser. The snow was falling rapidly and swirling around in the wind. We had a short wait for the hairdresser and then it was a marathon to keep Lachie still while Olivia worked her magic with scissors. When she was finished he could see again. I stopped to take photos in the hotel foyer – an impressive group of Christmas trees decorated by different firms and companies.

Tim drove us back home and continued on to the shops. We had lunch and Sarah’s friend Theresa popped in for a quick visit. I walked down to Metro to pick up a few groceries. The snow was gently falling. My umbrella was very handy in keeping it off my head and coat. I cruised through a few local shops in case Lachie was having an afternoon sleep. I finally found a shop that sold soft toys. Amelia might inherit books, but Lachie is not giving up any of his soft toys and has already claimed Amelia’s only snow wolf. I had a visit to the pharmacy to buy something for my mouth ulcer and learnt about the procedure of getting served. As I walked back I stopped to take photos.

I hand washed some of the children’s new clothes when I returned and then prepared the meat sauce for dinner. Pasta for dinner. The snow was still falling. Amelia was determined to be fractious so I held her for a while so Sarah could eat her dinner. Lachie went to sleep quickly. Amelia fell asleep after several screaming sessions. Once she finally woke up it was time for me to resume typing and to down load the photos. 

Day 24 Quebec

A very quiet day

Lachie woke up at 6:30- very civilized.  Although he was unsettled during the night, he was easily settled. Then it was a bit of a rush for the family. They had an appointment at the doctor's for Amelia at 8:20. So they dropped Lachie off at Day Care, saw the doctor and went shopping for winter wear for the family.

Dad putting on Lachie's shoes

I did some housework, went online to order from the Black Friday pre-sales, then walked down the street to Metro for a few items for dinner. The weather was overcast, cold (needless to say) and slightly windy, which made the wind chill factor equal minus 2 C. When I returned home, I had lunch, then sat down to work on my hand sewing for the afternoon, before preparing dinner.

Slow but steady

The family returned home about 3:30, just before dark  and sorted through their new purchases before dinner. We finally heard that Heather and John had arrived safely back in Melbourne to a lovely welcoming sign from Gemma's children. (Note to Heather R. remember our sign in Mexico after that long wait.)

Not long to down load or to type up tonight. 

Donkey trying on Lachie's new shoes.

Day 23 Quebec

A good night’s sleep with Lachie waking at 5:40, a “little bit” early, but better than 2 am. Heather and John didn’t need to get up quite that early. I fed Lachie his first breakfast, then as usual he worked his way through several more. Tim drove his parents to the station to catch the train to Montreal. We watched the usual standoff between the parking infringement tow truck and the cars that needed to be off the clearway by 8.

Today the tow man was too busy chatting to his friend to notice one car was 5 minutes over. We have seen him drag them away at 2 minutes before. When Tim returned he took Lachie to day care. I walked to the Metro store for milk. The wind outside was strong and very cold, but the snow was almost melted.

I slowly defrosted and did a few jobs before setting off for the Musee National des Beaux Arts du Quebec at 11. It is only a short walk up the road and is a complex comprising of three separate buildings: displaying Historic, Modern and Contemporary Art- connected by an underground tunnel.

(Riopelle passageway) After checking in my outerwear and buying my ticket, I decided to go to the most distant point first and to start at the top floor of each building- Historic Art first.

That building was built in 1933 as the original Quebec Art Museum and the design details in the building reflected that period of architecture. I was surprised to find only three of Krieghoff’s paintings because he was from Quebec. While the entire historic collection was small, there were some nice pieces.They also housed some modern installations in this building.

From here I went to the next building: the Modern Art, housed in a much older building, which was the Quebec jail for 100 years. They had one collection in the original watchtower and you could still see some of the prisoner cells a few floors down. They were very austere. This building again housed had some spectacular pieces and some installations I didn’t like at all. One of my favourites was set out as a meeting and the rows of chairs were transformed into tortuous chairs. Reflecting the torture you feel at a long meeting? I had quite a laugh at that one. When I reached the ground floor I stopped at the café for a hot drink, before continuing on back into the Contemporary Art collection.

This building’s architecture was spectacular. Built in 1991. I saw some gorgeous Inuit works on the top floor. Just going up the stairs was like going through a work of art. Again some good collections and some not so. But again personal taste. There was a special exhibition of the French artist Bonnard. His famous black dogs was there, as were other paintings and drawings. I took photos of a few pictures and only realised half way round that there were some works with a “no camera” sign. Downloading I found I had accidentally taken one.

I retrieved my coat, rugged up and walked out into a cold late afternoon. A short walk home to a warm apartment, where I downloaded my photos. Sarah, Tim and Amelia went to get Lachie and played with him when they returned. I re-made the bunks beds and then it was time to get the dinner, do the dishes and sit down to type my diary.

Day 22 Quebec

Great night sleep by both Amalia and Lachie. Amelia took a long time to settle the night before and Lachie only stirred twice, but was easily settled. When he woke at 6:30 it was a bonus! The snow covered view was lovely, but it soon began to melt.

Breakfast, then Tim took his parents and Lachie to the shops.  After a few jobs around the house, I did a few hours of hand sewing. When they returned Lachie was asleep, so he was put to bed. At lunch time, some of Sarah and Tim’s friends dropped in for a very brief visit. I made egg in a hole because my bread had a huge hole through it.

Heather spent hours during the day sorting and packing ready for their return trip tomorrow.

After Lachie woke up, we all walked up to the revolving restaurant- “Ciel”. The weather was definitely cold outside. We had afternoon tea. A drink and some dessert. I ordered crème brulee. Not the usual kind that’s for sure. This custard was served in a basket of white chocolate and no crunchy top? More like a cheesecake texture.

The view was quite spectacular. The city was clear and the melting snow covering was lovely. We arrived late afternoon so I was able to take photos of the town at that point. Then as dusk came I took another set of photos. The only difficulties for both was the reflective glare from the windows.

Home and a quick dinner for Lachie, followed by bath time for both. Amelia’s cord had fallen out today, so Lachie was quite interested in her new belly button. Heather cooked mac and cheese dinner for everyone. I was happy with last night’s leftovers.