Halloween in Toronto

Hi Family!
We had a crazy Halloween night (from what I can recall), everyone had great costumes as you can see. J's roomates came as Axl Rose and Slash, we had an appearance by the Baroness and Destro, a Chilean miner came and partied after escaping the mine, and we even had a folk crooner! Hint: You were always on my mind!

Good idea regarding the christmas exchange, except J is gonna be there too! But he doesnt mind being excluded from the gift exchange. He might not be there Christmas day anyways. Will probably come for New Years eve instead.
Geez, so Danielle, I don't really need a miniature golden shoe. Just sayin's all.
Luv ya,
Pean

Christmas gifts

Okay, so the names on the left buy for the names on the right. I buy for Danielle, right? Dad and JL buy for each other? Are you sure Jay isn't going to be with us for Xmas? What is the price limit going to be? Thanks for taking this draw upon yourself, Michelle, I think it is a good idea for a couple of reasons. The most important thing is to gather as a family and to get away from xmas being so commercial. Also none of us are made of money!!! Dad and I because we live on pensions salaries and believe me they aren't much. Aileen and Sherri are coming out for a walk and supper. Thanks to Nick, we are having moose chili, yum. Looking forward to Montreal! love ya, mom

Christmas gifts name draw

We are drawing names for the Christmas exchange this year!!! Before Nicole gets all hormone crazy and starts buying gifts for everyone I've decided to draw the names myself.

Since Nick and Jay are not going to be around we'll exclude them. (Figure something else out for those two)

Dad - Jean Loius (Decided to keep the dudes separate.. besides men hate what women buy them anyway)

Mom - Danielle
Danielle - Krista
Krista - Michelle
Nicole - Mom
Michelle - Nicole

The more I stare at Krista.. the more weirder the name gets... anyone else??

Give Copper a good scratch on the belly for me today.

xoxo buggsie

couple pictures of Noé

Jean-Louis brought home some giant boxes from work. Noé and JL made some great forts and tunnels out of them last night. Julie and Mark are coming over for dinner tonight, so Noé and Maxime should be entertained for a while with their own little houses!

Saturday morning, first day off for a year!

I had a great last day at work yesterday. It was pretty emotional as there were two other people leaving as well - one retiring after 36 years, the other has taken another job for at least a year, maybe longer. So, lots of speaches, lots of tears, lots of laughs.

I am having crazy braxton hicks contractions, almost one after the other! I think this baby may be moving down!! My co-worker drove me home yesterday, so she and her husband came in for drinks. We had a great visit. Noé was happy because he got to eat a bowl of chips for supper. He was being very cute showing off, as usual.

I am still trying to figure out the ipod JL got for his birthday. We are both so dense when it comes to these high tech things... almost as bad as some other people on this blog!! Actually, I am receiving mom's text messages in my new gmail account - so that's very cool. I can check the account when I am online on the ipod. Once I get all the address' set up, I will send some test photos. We want to be able to send photos from the hospital once the new baby shows up! So high tech!!

Copper on our minds

Hi Kids

The vet called us yesterday to confirm the tumor that she was only able to partially remove from Copper's mouth is malignant. It will grow back. She says mouth cancers are always very bad. Sadly he will soon stop eating, muscle atrophy will set in and he will quickly deteriorate. We are determined to not let him suffer.

Copper is an amazing little friend. Even when we've made him stay home from a visit to Lloyd & Carolyn's house. (his favorite place for she gives him treats) He's so sad when we go without him but he always makes sure we know he's happy to see us when we return. Though he loves food more than anything, he is always willing to share with Betty. He lets her finish what she wants before he dives-in and horks down the rest, determined to not leave her a second opportunity.

Last evening, as I went out the door to take Cu. for a short walk, the little red fox was just outside, he skipped about ten or so metres toward the driveway, turned and waited for his friend as if to say, "c'mon Copper, lets go play!" Sure enough, soon as Cu. got the scent, they were gone. We could hear Copper baying for about half an hour or so.

Hockey Night in Canada

As promised, 

I am nursing a herbal tea while watching a couple of good 'ol hockey games.  Price and the Canadiens got themselves a shut-out against the Sens tonight!  3-0.  It is so good to rub it in all the Montreal 'fans' faces how great Price is doing this season.  The fans here are the worst!  It's actually hard being a Canadiens fan here.  But I love it!  I always tell the story of the Habs being my dad's favourite team and so they have been mine.  : )  Told that story last night!  It's always delivered with  an honest devotion... especially after a few pints of blonde.

Those moose heart posts are hilarious!  It sounds like Mertch and Ticky's trip to Marsh Lake was sweet!  Mom, you are one busy retired lady!  I am impressed by your stories of hot tubbin' and dance partyin'!  Mom, congrats on the new phone!  I love that I can text you now!  You should just keep it on all the time if you have unlimited texting.  That way I can just text you when I want you to call me.  (or when it is 2am and I'm watching an amazing bluegrass show down at Grumpy's).  What kind of phone is it?  Is it an LG Rumour 2 by any chance?  If so, that is one tough phone!  I have flushed mine down the toilet and dropped it from three stories up onto the concrete below and it works like a charm!  Definitely the right phone for me.  And don't worry mom, I was really confused when I first got my phone.  But you will figure it out over time, trust me!  I'll show you some tricks when you get here.  ; )  I can't wait for everyone to start arriving in Montreal for the holidays!  My work has gotten really slow in the last week, so they are encouraging and even forcing some of us to take our vacation time now and for the next few months.  They even put a bunch of the newer employees to part time!  This is a bit worrisome, as Heather and Shawn's wedding is going to be one week at a 5-star hotel in Mexico this March.  I don't know how I am going to afford this, especially being that they are forcing us to use our vacation days now.  But I have received a lot of flack for even considering that I might not be able to afford a $1700 - (minimum) spring break vacation.  So I guess it just means some sacrifices.  Which might mean not going home again next summer.  That will make it 2 years since I've been home!  I miss it and I want to go there for a visit so bad.  

Anyways, the pics I posted are from the canal right in my neighborhood.  The tall building with the clock on it is the Atwater Market.  I had a huge long walk there on my day off for Thanksgiving and I wrote down all the things I am grateful for!  It was a long list!  Fall is lovely here, but the snow will be flying within the next few days I feel.  My room is FREEZING already.  I dread every four seconds of getting from my bed to the shower in the morning.  Need more blankets.  oh ya!  I wanted to ask if dad could bring my snowboard/boots/bindings to Montreal with him!  (Krista's Gnu).  I would love to have those for the winter here.    

Other than that, work is getting a bit better for me.  I am finally getting into my flow and my 'productive minutes per hour' have gone up! haha!!  After eight rounds of 'speed training,' I have been posted on the reference department board as 'most improved.'  haha!  It's like, "Hey you used to suck and now, you don't suck as much!"  Weird office.  I also received the 3 foot tall Superman figure.  Superman is passed around my team to show our appreciation for each other.  The new guy gave it to me because I always answer his hundreds of questions and because I thought it was cool when he took his insulin needle in the lunchroom.  I also got an informal quality review from my team lead who audited some of my files - a flawless %100!  So that's cool.  I have also been hanging out with a lot of people from there too.  There is always a crew of people looking forward to cinq-a-sept come 6pm Friday!  

Anyways, off to watch a movie I figure.  Love ya! 

The Computer Illiterate

Haha!  Who is that??  My guess is mom... I'm just spending my night with pizza and pop in front of the hockey games.  Pictures and more words to come... 

But having technical difficultés

So i'm just laying in bed right now

Mom's new shoe...

Ole Dad here...

I figger, "Yep, Mom has joined the 21st century, she has a new shoe-phone." Her number is (867) 332-3123. However it must be noted, she only foresees having it on when she goes somewhere... like town. We didn't sign-up for very many minutes of air time but we got unlimited texting. Actually it was me that sent Punkin a couple of text messages. Mom says she'll wait until she gets to Montreal for texting lessons. (Hey, that's only three more weeks!) It was fun but the process requires a snack attached 'cause it takes old people that long... and the cute little buttons are pretty small for arthritic fingers. Mom gets frustrated when the "stupid thing shuts-down" (screen-saver) between key-strokes!

Love Ya

Lordy lordy...

Now we can all relax!!!!

I've never been so stressed about a party that I didn't have anything to do with. Congratulations, Nicole and oh ya, Happy Birthday to Jean Louis. Cudos to Danielle and Kim too. You are both hired for our house warming party if we ever get into the house. We took Michelle and Nick to the airport this am with 150 lbs. of moose meat in tow. Nick especially had a great holiday. He'll be talking about his hunt for a long while I suspect. Our crantini girl's night at Gail's was a huge success. Danielle, you will be impressed with the fact that we lasted until about 4:00 am. I imagine pictures will be posted on this sight in the near future. We sure had a great time with Michelle and Nick and I'm looking forward to seeing all of you in Montreal in the not too distant future. We are into the winter season now; rain, sleet and snow. Glad I have the winter tires on the van, as the roads can get quite slippery. I'm off to a Norwex party at Gail's today. More "sham wows!" Must get a bit of shut eye so will sign off for now. Love ya, Mom

JL was actually surprised!

What a day! The party was a hit! Success number 1: JL came home, at about the right time, and was actually surprised!! He told me later that there were a few clues (his cousin calling, the caterers and Jacques wanting to put up the tempo in the afternoon) that made him suspect that I was up to something. But he never imagined that it would be so many people, and such a big party. Success number 2: Always hire servers. Kim and Danielle were brilliant! I would not have been able to enjoy the evening, had it not been for them. They were on fire! Decorating, serving drinks, preparing the food, bringing around the food to everyone. It was excellent. People kept asking me who Kim was, and I would answer, "Oh her, she's my employee". But when people asked Kim who she was, she would say "Oh, I'm the fifth Prevost sister". Oh right Kim! ok, now get serving those appetizers! Success number 3: Noé had a blast! Running, bumping balloons, eating off of everyone's plates, wrestling with the other boys, playing with Alicia (the babysitter from next door) and just hollering and laughing the whole time. Success number 4: I made it through most of my speach, kinda fell apart around the end, but I think people got the gist of it. I didn't need to be rushed to the hospital in the middle of the party to deliver the baby - so let's call that a success too. JL said at the end of the evening that he had a great time. He drank lots and had the chance to visit with everyone who came. You should see the bottles!!! JL's wine and scotch collection, it's quite well stocked!! The champagne, of course, was a hit, so was the cake. Everyone complimented me on the food, I think generally people were able to eat well.
So, it's 4 am, and I'm still up. Can't sleep. I feel like mopping the floor. I just may very well delivery this baby early!!! Oh well, I can confidently say all my prebaby obligations are complete, this baby can come whenever he wants now!
Nicole

Heart palpitations

I am so bloody stressed out for JL's birthday party... this whole thing better be worth it. I bloody need a huge drink to calm my nerves, so this whole pregnancy thing, not working for me right now.
So, just to catch everyone up on the latest plot to ruine the surprise party: The caterers called the house and left a message to say there were no more stuffed bloody mushrooms!!! The message was not flashing when I got home, so presumably somebody listened to it already and I don't think it was Noé. So there you are. I am livid!! (and hormonal, imagine!)
So I just left a message explaining the situation and forwarded the first e-mail message I sent where I explained that it was a surprise party and that they should only contact me at the office. In fact, they only had my office number until recently. They required the home number for delivery purposes on Saturday. God - I'm surrounded by idiots!!!!
So, I was on the phone with Danielle, JL was beside me, so we had this whole conversation about making sushi Saturday night, how it will be so great, blah blah blah.
JL didn't say a word about anything the whole evening. Not a word.
I think I'm going to go into early labour for all of this, for cripes sakes.

Don't go breakin my heart

Nicole here - I think I dissected a moose heart in science class. Mom, do you remember me telling you about it? Perhaps you needed to cut it into smaller pieces before cooking it, presentation is everything. Did you cook it like a roast and just plop it down on the table? I can just see Nick picking it up in one hand, blood dripping, and taking a huge bite out of the side. What movie is that from? Dances with wolves?? I think it may have been raw though. Definitely a pride thing.
You should ask Joella how they prepare bum guts. Yup - apparently moose anus is a delicacy!
Enjoy!

Gone limp.

Moose heart was a flop. Nick loved it.. not sure out of pride or he sincerely lavished the taste. Krista... it wouldn't go over so well with you especially, it had a liver like flavor and Mom and I couldn't stop focusing on valves, atriums and ventricles. The coronary artery had the diameter of a toonie. Dad didn't mind it too much.. but as for Mom and I... totally gross. Never again. Mom here, The kids went into town to have supper with Odette and Jono so I will add to this blog. Michelle will post a photo of the massive heart next time she writes as I haven't a clue how to do that. Calling for more snow in the next couple of days, so we've had very early winter weather already. Gail and I got another bucket each of cranberries but picking days will come to an end soon here. Our friend the bear is still hanging around, Lloyd saw him down in the day use area by the water treatment station. Everyone and their dog has seen the bear, but not me so far. We may head into the 98 again tomorrow night and then on Friday we are having a girls night at Gail's, the boys are on their own. Good luck, Nicole with the party on Saturday and HAVE FUN!!! Call again, Peanut, it was a good connection. Love you all lots, Mom and Michelle

Getting a heart-on.

Tonight we've got an interesting item on the menu... moose heart. It's about the size of Dad's head and full of veins and arteries. I asked Mom if it's normal to eat heart and she replied; "Of course, I used to eat pigs hearts all the time! And I love me some chicken hearts!!!" Hmmm this will be interesting indeed, but I'll try anything before knocking it. I'm sure the first few people to try foie gras had their reservations as well. I wonder what part is better, the left or right ventricle.

We had moose steak and eggs for breakfast and I will be cooking up a pot of moose chili on Saturday... if moose meat gives ya gas then between the four of us, we'll be creating our own northern lights haze over the shop. Speaking of which, the aurora borealis have been incredible. Last night they were dancin' like crazy! Apparently this year they've been getting more and more intense compared to previous years where it seems the lights have taken a bit of a hiatus. Pa and I researched northern lights to find that they go through an 11 year cycle and by 2013, the northern lights will be at their height of brightness and activity. Gotta go help momma with the dishes, stay tuned for pictures of the heart.

I'm feeling rather ravenous....

I LOVE the new blog layout!!

I typed this earlier, but my entry didn't upload.

So, JL proudly announced that he is entirely booked next Saturday. I think he thinks that I am planning something and that now I won't be able to do it cause he is taking the van in for a tune-up in the morning and then spending the afternoon at his brother's house putting up the tempo. He says to me, "I don't know if you have things planned that day, but just so you know, I won't be around." Well, fine then! We'll just have to decorate the house with Happy 40th Birthday balloons without you!!
Everything is ready. Just waiting for the day of!!! Danielle will be here as off Friday night. Saturday morning, JL will be off around 8 am so I'll be able to do some last minute cleaning. Once he leaves after an early lunch, we'll get the balloons from Party experts, pick up some last minute groceries and wait for the food delivery. Here is the menu:
Assorted appetizers (pâté, cheese, ham, shrimp)
Assorted fancy appetizers (Foie gras, caviar, smoked salmon, asperagus, anchovis, truffles)
Mini quiches
Stuffed mushrooms with escargots
Mini tourtières
Asperagus and proscuitto rolls
Chicken and pepper skewers
Platter of Québec cheeses
Platter of Philidelphia cheese and jalapeno gelly
Pâté platter
Veggie platter
Chocolat and hazelnut birthday cake and champagne for a toast
Sounds alright huh!

I get no respect around here.

Aren't people impressed with the new blog layout??? I spent hours on it. Hellooooooo.

Mertch

Good luck Nicole!

Well Nico, I'm sure he'll at least have the decency to pretend to be happpy and excited about the party. Ha ha! It'll be fun, don't worry.

Tell Nick and Andrew congrats on the Moose. Well done!

KP

Great shot!!

From the looks on their faces, they were about to pee themselves!! Nick must have had a great time. He'll be telling his stories for a while I bet!

Good for them!
Mouse

We've got our freezer stocked for the next couple years by the looks of this guy....

Big Racks and Fatty Cats

Hahahhah!!!!!!! Ahhh jeeze Nicole.. what have you gotten yourself into!!! Well, I think when everything is all said and done J-L will have had an awesome time. I like your reason for why the cousin called.. payback's a bitch!

It's 730 and I've been up for the past hour and a half!!!! Still on eastcoast time. Coffee's on and the shop is roasting! As any environment Mom inhabits, the shop is incredibly organized and cozy. Cluttered yes, but certainly not as bad as she was putting it out to be. Betty and Copper have aged; Copper with a whiter face and Betty, now half blind and arthritic and HUGE. I can't tell if it's because I don't see her for so long and forget the sheer mass of her... but man... she is obese. Her poor little stick legs just can't support the weight.

Supper was incredible at the Craigens last night. We indulged in leg of sheep, (Andrew's catch and Mike's preparation) roasted potatoes and veggies... all Yukon grown. Enjoyed Uncle James' and Auntie Moe's company, (Mike's brother and sister, very warm and interesting people as you could imagine) Ogled Odette's ring, deciphered Jaime's "abreved" lingo... (hilare).

The Great White Hunters returned successful!!!!! Came back with a moose that Andrew estimated to be around 1500 lbs!!!! Nick say's to me, "I've been staring at a huge rack all weekend!" They hung the moose last night and today they will trim the meat. (stay tuned for the pics)

Time to indulge in coffee and carolans.... I'm on vacation!!!!

So lying to your husband is a bad thing, right?

JL asked me if I was planning a party for him and said he would not like that. He doesn't like surprise parties.

Well, this will be fun now, won't it.

Oh well, no turning back now, I guess.

Holy moly - what have I gotten myself into??!?!?

So EVERYONE has confirmed for JL's party - and even a few extras!!! 36 adults and 15 kids! Yikes!!! It's gonna be CRAZY!!! So, Jean-Louis' cousin called the house last night asking to talk to me. I wasn't home, so she said she would call my office. Since WHEN, does Jean-Louis' COUSIN call ME at HOME, let alone the OFFICE?!?!? JL also wants to know how she has my number at the office!?!? Gad sakes, his family is really trying sometimes!!!! So now he's wondering what's up and he's called me a few times today to find out if she called and what she wants. I'm going to tell him that Isabelle told her I was pregnant but not following the chinese superstitions. So she is afraid the baby will be born with three arms (from eating cold food), a hair lip (from carrying heavy packages) and covered in blue spots (from moving furniture and hammering art to the walls). Sure it may make her look like an idiot, but if the shoe fits! I don't feel bad about this one.
I'm so bloody stressed out, it's ridiculous!!! I'm going to tell him that Danielle is coming over that weekend and that we are going to make a sushi dinner that saturday night. That way he will have something to come home to once the tempo is installed at Jacques' house.

Apple picking outing

Here are a few pictures from our outing today. Noé had a great time with both Aunties. Later we came home, some took naps while others baked apple pie, got haircuts, then we had a great fondue dinner. Noé provided the entertainment (a little hyperactive monkey).

I just dropped off Danielle and Michelle at the metro. They are heading out to Grumpys for the evening. I will catch up with them Monday after work for dinner.

Love Mouse

You will have to ask Noé...

Noé has a name for the new baby. Now that the room is ready cause papa is done the "fixit", he knows who's room it is! Problem is that Jean-Louis has changed his mind and doesn't want that name anymore (he's the one that started Noé with that name in the first place!!) So the debate is still ongoing.
Michelle arrived last night. We went and picked her up at the airport. Noé chatted away the whole way there, but was absolutely silent the whole way back. He just stared at Michelle wondering why we were calling this weird lady "Auntie" when she didn't look like "Auntie" (Danielle) at all. Perhaps it will all become clearer this evening when Danielle comes over and he can take a good look at the both of them.
We are going apple picking this weekend too. Michelle, apparently, has packed a special dress to wear for the occasion. I think it may have a large apron in front to help gather the freshly picked apples. We'll take some pictures (of everyone, not just Michelle!) to post on the blog.
Be bear aware mom!
Mouse