This weekend I ended up only going to the Arena for the hockey tournament on Sunday evening, to watch the final game.
I arrived at around 19h30 as the Chiefs (local team) just won the Final of the B Pool. Their celebration was quite exciting! Then I watched the Final of the A Pool, Ste-Barbe’s Dockside team (Newfoundland) against the St-Augustine’s Raiders (Lower North Shore, Quebec). The Raiders won. They did play better than Ste-Barbe, who’s players seemed to be having trouble with handling passes… It was a good game!
Tomorrow, weather permitting (it’s freezing rain outside now) I’m going to Sept-Îles for medical tests. Just have to hope planes will fly.
Sometimes I do OCD-like things… For example when I’m watching tele, and I set the volume, I think an even number is better than an odd one (16 instead of 17). On top of the tele there are 4 little candle holders. When the cleaning lady comes she dusts the tele and doesn’t replace the holders as they were… And it bugs me! There has to be a similar space in between each and on a straight line. Everything has a place and when it’s not in its place it’s kinda annoying!
This morning Happy’s friend Koda came to visit while we were just coming back from a quick walk. So I stayed outside with both dogs. I gave treats for commands. “Assis!” for Happy & “Sit!” for Koda. “Couché!” for Happy and “Down!” for Koda. Funnily though when it came time for giving the paw, both dogs responded to “Donne la patte!” in French!
I went for a really nice walk this afternoon with Happy, near my home by the shoreline. The sun was shining and although it was a bit cold/windy, it felt great to take in the rays on my skin and fresh air in my lungs.
I also made spaghetti sauce. It’s a delicious batch! I made it a bit more spicy this time…
This weekend is a hockey tournament here. Teams came from different areas to play… Goose Bay, St-Augustine, St-Barbe (in Newfoundland, across the strait with the ferry)… I didn’t go to the arena yet for a game. I thought I’d go tonight (for a game and some of the entertainment – a live musician) but I don’t know… It’s kind of awkward. I’d know some people there I’m sure, but since I barely ever go out here, it’s a bit strange. The game between the two most competitive teams is later at 21h30 so I still have time to decide.
Today little seals were out on the newly formed ice. It’s been cold enough in the past 4-5 days so that ice started to form on the water. Seals enjoyed the nice sunny day by coming on the pieces, taking in the sun, drifting away on the ice with the tide… A few of them swam, but most just laid there. They are adorable!
An overview of the seals, all the dots…
Closer zoomed on a group…
After work I went to another spot, nearer to my house… Down by the water… And I could see them really closer!
Another reason why I love living home…!
I’m so over the fact that we don’t have snow on a January 19th…
And that I can’t use my brand new ski-doo…
Somewhere something is wrong with our planet.
There are movies I love to watch every time they are on the tele… I am sure I’m forgetting a lot of them but a few “classic” flicks, such as:
-Forrest Gump
-Pretty Women
-Bourne Identity
-A Few Good Men
-Speed
-Mrs Doubtfire
-My Girl
-Legally Blonde
Then there are dog movies, for example:
-Beethoven
-Eight Below
Today was a treat… First Forrest Gump on History and now Eight Below on CBC! Never get tired of ‘em!
I am a sucker for crappy reality tv shows like The Bachelor. And this season, wow, it’s really entertaining! And I have to say this season’s bachelor is quite my taste!
Sure, some things are too cliché… For example last night Jake, the Bachelor and a pilot, brought a girl on a date to fly in a small airplane. While they were flying, with pretty images of them smiling at each other, they played the song On The Wings Of Love… Oh my! Almost made me sick!
But then the scandal! One of the 15 girls who want to become Jake’s wife slept with one of the production crew members and was sent home!
In next week’s previews it seems Jake is sending a girl home even before a rose ceremony!
Que de revirements!
I finally took the Christmas tree down… All of the pretty decorations are back in boxes until next year! It did a bit of mess but was easy to sweep off.
However I am keeping the Christmas lights on outside. I am probably the only house left in the village who’s still lighting them up. This time of year is so dark, the only light we have is when I’m at work in a window-less office… So the little coloured sparks of light at night outside my house bring me joy!
In a past life I think Happy was a vegetarian. Since she became my dog, I have been giving her fresh fruit/veggie treats! She enjoys them just as much as the man-made dog treats, if not more!
She likes:
-Green peppers
-Sweet potatoes
-Apples
-Mandarin/oranges
-Pears
-Tomatoes
-Local wild berries (bakeapples, partridge berries, blueberries, etc)
-Strawberries
-Green beans
She doesn’t like and will not eat:
-Mushrooms
-Bananas
-Carrots
-Celery
These past few days I cooked quite a lot. On Thursday I made a meat loaf with mashed potatoes (sweet and regular), on Friday I prepared a yummy lasagna and on Saturday I made a delicious couscous! So tonight for supper I didn’t really feel like cooking much. I made a simple omelette. But for dessert I prepared a delicious amazing pouding chomeur! Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm! And I ate the best piece first… Skipping the too-crunchy corner piece.
This morning I went to do groceries. Since I came back from the city and spent a lot of $$ it’s a bit more tight until my next pay. So I didn’t want to buy too much. It ended up costing about 110$, more than I wanted to spend, but still ok… Because these days I work a “real” job and have room to play…
This brought back a memory. When I first left Blanc-Sablon I lived in residence for the first year then in a small bachelor apartment for the second year. Mom helped me a lot with money. I had loans from the government for tuition and books but mom paid for all the rest… Rent, phone, transport, food. But my food budget wasn’t that big. About 50$ a week. I didn’t have a credit margin on my checking account either so I had to be careful when shopping not to exceed the 50$! It was sufficient money as I liked buying fresh ingredients and cooking. It allowed me not to get too much debt during college (unlike uni).
This week I took off from work, to just enjoy time at home. The days went by too quickly! Yesterday and today I did some painting in the bathroom.
A while ago I saw in the Simons flyer a nice shower curtain. I liked mine but wanted a change. In September I saw it when I went in town but didn’t buy it… But this time I did!
I painted the turquoise colour over using paint I already had! I used the same blue I painted my entry with and the beige/brown from my main living area (for the spot where the washing/drying machines are). The blue isn’t quite the exact shade from the new curtain, but it still fits! I like the end result!
Before (taken a long time ago when I just moved in)…
After…
Drinking and driving is quite common here. I think it sucks. People don’t realize how dangerous it can be, for them and for others. Often people drink home before going to the pub with their car. Or they drink at the pub then drive home. Or they drink while driving, throwing the empty bottles out of their car’s window.
Last night the drinking and driving came near my home… I was in bed sleeping and it woke me up. Guys getting out of their car wanting to fight, girls stopping them. People honking a lot for no reason. Cars taking off quickly. It was 3h30 and I assume they had just left the pub. It took a little while but eventually silence and peace came back. They’d left.
If I lived in town I would have called the cops on a “disturbing the peace” thing. The cops would have maybe snagged them for DUI. But here there’s no point in calling the cops.
When you call off-hours they send you to the main central somewhere in town. By the time you talk to them, that they call the cops, that the cops get up, get dressed, get in their car and come it can take a while. By that time the drunken people in their cars would have left.
So I lay in bed thinking… What could happen…? One of them could have a bad accident, get hurt, or even die. They could hit someone walking (that I heard it has happened a long time ago, a hit and run that killed a lady). They could collide with a house. Anything. It seems they don’t realize that.
Well… After all we left Sept-Îles at 19h and arrived in Blanc-Sablon at 22h local time. That’s a total of 16 hours travel to get from Montreal to home. Wow! A new record! Plus the flight was on a tiny tiny plane… A Metroliner. Enough seats inside sure, but all so tight/small/claustrophobic inside! And with the high winds it was quite a shaky ride.
It’s quite strange here right now. It’s above zero during the day. Today it was sunny with no wind. There’s absolutely no snow left on the ground. It’s January 5th but it looks like early November. I put clothes to dry out on the line and it was great!
I made my own wrapping paper today and prepared gifts. Tonight mom’s making a cipaille and she’s invited J.&M., their son and his family. I have gifts to give out! Yay!
I also unpacked most of my luggage. And I tried the nice tablecloth my aunt made and gave me. I looooove how it fits perfectly. And the black/white design on it is so pretty. I’m looking forward to using it next time I have guests over.
The flight left Montreal fine and brought me on schedule to Sept-Îles, at 9h. And my connection flight which was supposed to be at 10h never happened yet. It’s now 16h30 and I’m still at the airport. Thankfully throughout the day I had some people to chat with (a new lady going to work home/her daughter/3 dogs or a couple who work at the hospital and their 15 year old son). And now I am on the net for 30 minutes paying 3.99$. I am so bored, tired, hungry! I woke up at 5h15… Almost 12 hours ago! And only had a crappy sammy from the café here and a muffin. I want to be home, seeing Happy, wrapping the Christmas gifts I’m going to give out at supper tomorrow. Please!
(We’re supposedly leaving at 16h50.)
