began Saturday morning with my usual cup of tea in the living room…
the house was very quiet after all the activity over the week…
Monday, my group attended The Leaf and Gather Craft Kitchen & Bar to celebrate a birthday and view the Fleurs de Villes display, so that was a busy day…
it was nearly midnight when we picked up my daughter at the airport and we stayed up late (early!) catching up and eating Baked Expectations deadly chocolate mousse…
Tuesday we went for pedicures, stopped for lunch at a local coffee shop, picked up a few groceries and then returned home… I also learned the ins-and-outs of Uber… my housemate made us a delicious supper and lots of visiting happened…
Wednesday, we went to The Leaf and spent the entire day there doing all-the-things as she would say… in the evening she went to MTC with a friend while I took it easy, lol…
Thursday, after a quiet morning, she headed to The Forks for coffee with other family and later my middle grandson arrived for a visit and supper;-)…
Friday, we started our morning at Stella’s on Portage for breakfast and then spent four hours wandering through the WAG/Quamajuq… it was my first visit since the new addition and I was impressed with how great it turned out…
every day she brought out gifts for me🤗, what a treat…
it was a wonderful week and I enjoyed every single minute…
on Wednesday, my daughter and I spent six hours at The Leaf…
upon arrival we were surprised and delighted to discover a coat check for members… my coat was free and we paid $2 for my guest…
we were a bit early and shared a Rice Krispies square and hot chocolate while we waited for our entry time to the Biomes…
we had a great time in the Tropical Biome where we came across the head gardener and had an excellent conversation about the cacao trees and chocolate…
we visited the Mediterranean Biome to see the Fleurs de Villes displays and met and talked with at least four of the designers…
lunch at Gather was a delicious tomato bisque and grilled cheese focaccia for me, and duck poutine for my daughter…
for dessert she had the honey cake and I enjoyed the squash creme brûlée, which was delicious, lol…
back to visit both biomes where we learned about orchids from a regular gardener talk in the Tropical Biome, talked with two of the zoo staff who shared lots of information about the butterflies and the 52 koi in the pond…
we also got to hear a few violin pieces by Gwen Hoebig, who was one of the models for the FDV displays… my daughter took this photo…
it was hard to pick a favourite, but this time I chose the hoop dancer…
went from home to Total Wrapture spa for pedicures, then on to San Vito for lunch, followed by a return trip home from Foodfare…
it was the perfect day for it as it was very cold, snowy, and windy…
one of the vehicles had automatic sliding doors, which was kind of fun…
after being trained in the process of ordering the ride, and other information on the app, I tried to sign up for it, but it was using my old email address, so we have to get that sorted out and then I will try it on my own…
a great experience, particularly with how quickly they pick you up after contacting them…
ten years ago I was floating over Gatineau in a hot air balloon… along with dozens of other balloons;-)…
I’d been waiting over twenty years for this experience… for my fortieth my beloved bought us tickets to fly at home, but the company ran away with the money…
it was everything I imagined and a very special moment in my life… the memory continues to be bright;-)…
it was a beautiful day for an adventure yesterday… and we hadn’t been on one for awhile…
my adventure buddy and I drove out to Pineridge Hollow for lunch and a wander around the new shops that are there…
we had a lovely drive out and only got a little lost, lol…
we were just in time for our lunch reservation so we ate first… we shared a number of things…
rosemary and salt beet chips with a goat cheese ranch dipping sauce… my oh my, those were addictive…
next we shared a small Pineridge salad with mixed greens, apples, candied pecans and smoked Gouda tossed in a maple Dijon dressing… I forgot to take a photo before we dived in, lol… the small was more than enough for the two of us… and it was delicious… actually it was my favourite of all we ate…
she had the pulled pork tacos and I had the carpaccio – seared beef tenderloin, pickled rhubarb, strawberry gastrique, fresh herbs, arugula, pistachios, and a garlic scape aoli…
it was fun to try something different;-)…
and because we hadn’t eaten enough, she had schmoo and I had panna cotta with haskap berries…
we could have just had the beet chips and salad, maybe with a bit of chicken in it…
but we enjoyed everything and had leftovers to bring home…
from there we wandered through the shops and picked up a few items before heading home for naps, lol…