Today I...October 31st

Today I...

...am tired, happy and a bit relieved as well. I got home from work about an hour ago after the last of the celebrations for Brother André's Canonization. Hence my sharing this picture of the sculpture of Brother André which is at his birthplace, but taken from the back. I took it when I visited there for the first time with two colleagues back on Labour Day of 2008. I am so happy to have been such an active part of the celebrations, but boy, what a ride! I'm tired, although not as much as I was on Thursday since I've had a chance to sleep quite a bit this weekend having working afternoons and evenings rather than days, but I'm still looking forward to my three day weekend this week!

...was happy to see a few children in costume on the way home as it made me feel like I hadn't missed out on Halloween altogether!

...am going to watch a tiny bit of the news and am then going to head off to bed. Goodnight!

Today I...October 30th

Today I...

...am wishing all of you a happy Halloween for tomorrow! These two fine fellows are a pair of pumpkins that my Sweetheart and I carved together way back when in the first year together (meaning 2004). He had never done a thing for Halloween before because his mother didn't believe in it so he had a huge amount of fun coming over to my place and carving a pumpkin and handing out candy with me. Hopefully next year we'll be able to at least carve a pumpkin together and maybe hand out candy. We'll have to see how that works out with his condo, but there's no handing out candy in my apartment building as there are no kids in here!

...had a quiet first half of the day before heading off to work for 2:00 P.M.

...had a relatively quiet time of it at work. It was mostly staff management a helping out at the coat check for the Holy Cross Order's celebratory dinner at the Oratory after the mass at the stadium.

...took the impressive amount of snow falling on my way out of work in stride. Yup, you read that right, snow. What can I say, it's late October in Montreal, snow happens at this time of year here. Not every year, but it does.

...took the salt truck that drove by while I was waiting for my bus in stride as well.

...am looking forward to my life being less crazy once the last day of celebrations for Brother André's canonization is over tomorrow and I actually have a normal work schedule again. Well, kind of, my boss wants me to go in from noon to 8:00 P.M. on Tuesday because it's the mass for the dead (November 2nd, it's a tradition every year) and there may be a lot of people. *sigh* okay, at least I get to sleep in again on Tuesday morning!

Today I...October 29th

Today I...

...am sharing this picture of my Sweetheart taking a picture with you :o) I took it back in August and had nearly forgotten about it until I went to chose a picture for this post. I love taking his picture when he doesn't know it, especially when he is in the process of taking a photo, because he is so focused that he has no clue what I'm up to :o)

..slept in until about 9:15 and then laid around in bed until 10:00.

...had an unplanned visit from my friend V. We went out to get canned cat food for my cats and then made a stop at the grocery store so I could get a few things there before going out for sushi.

...was planning to watch 'Love Actually' when I got home, but ended up falling asleep and being out like a light for two hours instead! Maybe I'll watch it tonight after CSI NY and Blue Bloods. It'll be a bit late, but I only woke up from my nap at 6:00 P.M. so I have no clue if I'll be able to sleep before late anyhow!

...am so very happy that I'm only working afternoons and evenings this weekend. It'll allow to catch up on my sleep and I'm hoping to not wake up crabby in the mornings next week thanks to that!

...am still wondering how, in the name of all heck, one of my cats (probably Magique because this is so her style...) managed to get my little rubber duck Wilbur (yes, my rubber duck has a name and I am not ashamed to say so :op) stuck in my bathtub drain. He was undoubtedly swatted out of his soap dish and then whacked around in the tub, but how someone managed to shove him into the drain? I have no clue...Fortunately I was able to rescue him and he has moved out of his soap dish and into my hanging bath supply rack which is out of feline reach as it hangs from the shower head! Poor Wilbur, it will take him ages to unruffle his feathers from the ordeal.

Skywatch Friday

This week's Skywatch feature are these beautiful, golden Falls leaves against a blue sky. I couldn't resist snapping this shot when is aw how the yellow leaves popped out against the sky.

To see more Skywatch photos from around the world, you can check out the Skywatch Friday blog. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and a safe Halloween for those of you who enjoy it. I'll be working through the weekend (but have the day off tomorrow) so be sure and enjoy the 'holiday' for me, it's one of my favorites and I'm kind of disappointed to be missing it!

Today I...October 27th

Today I...

...am sharing another orchid photo with you. I usually go to the orchid show where I took these photos every year in October, but this year with Brother André's canonization, there was no way I could make it.

...am feeling better. I had a tour to give and so was freed from my 'best friend' the office phone for half of the day. The tour and everything that went with it plus lunch meant that I only had to take calls for a half hour on either side.

...was so very relieved when C told me that she wouldn't be coming in tomorrow. She wasn't sniffling as much, but started coughing up her lungs (that's really what it sounds like when she coughs) again. She should have rested up sooner as we have all been telling her to. Oh well, hopefully the day off will do her some good and she'll be okay for the weekend.

...spoke with my Sweetheart for a bit. Vancouver went well, but was incredibly rainy, he said he had never seen such crazy amounts of rain. We didn't get to talk much because he needed to unpack his bag from Vancouver and re-pack for his trip to Montreal. We won't be seeing each other this weekend it looks like. It's not unexpected since his family pounced on him and it's his niece's second birthday and I'm working afternoons and evenings all weekend but I'm still a bit disappointed. Darn me and my emotions, they're always so much worse when I'm tired.

...noticed, just before writing up this post that I'm missing one of the little diamonds on a diamond and amethyst ring that my father got me for my 25th birthday. I actually bought it myself with a gift card he gave me for the mall and I was charmed by it when I saw it in the window of one of the small jewelry stores. I had problems from it almost from the start with a loose center stone (the amethyst) that actually fell out once. I brought it back to the shop and after wrangling with them over the validity of the guarantee, they reset the ring. Then back in August the ring fell onto the floor of my washroom and the stone fell out again so this time I gave it to grandmother who brought it to her jeweler friend and he reset it for me again and added some prongs to it to make sure the stone would stay in place...and now this diamond is gone. For Heaven's sake!!! All I can say is never buy from Doucet Jewelers if you're jewelry shopping in Montreal!!! Stick to Kauffman and Sons (my grandma's jeweler friend works for them), Le Parchemin or Birks, you'll pay more but will get good quality stuff!!!

Today I...October 26th

Today I...

...am sharing this picture of some lovely orchids with you. I could use some cheering up and the picture made me smile, so I figured it might make you all smile as well :o)

...need a bit of a pick-me-up because I am very tired. Too much work, I think. The phone won't stop ringing, people are booking at the last minute for this weekend and C is sick again with a cold but is refusing to take time off to get over it. I now feel like I may be coming down with something and will be incredibly ticked off if she's contaminated me, but as tired as everyone at work is, she just may have contaminated half of the Oratory's employees...I feel bad for her because she has no immune system to speak of and catches anything at all, but she is known for being incredibly stubborn about taking time off and it miffs everyone because she spreads her germs around when she comes in sick.

...have begun reading a novel my mom gave me this past weekend, 'The Autobiography of Henry VIII with Notes by his Fool William Sommers', written by Margaret George. I'll be at it for a while since it's 939 pages long!!!

Today I...October 24th

Today I...

...am sharing this picture of a beautiful old house in Charleston, South Carolina's, French Quarter with you.

...followed the last hour of my Sweetheart's flight to Vancouver online. I follow at least one of his flights every time he travels for my own peace of mind and also because it helps me feel, oddly enough, like I'm at least making part of the trip with him.

...went for a spa appointment and then went to visit my mom with my brother. We were a bit late for my appointment because of traffic and because my brother mistakenly believed that my appointment was at 2:30 instead of 2:15, but luckily for me , my beautician had no one else booked until 3:00 P.M.

...moved a whole bunch of furniture around for my mom with my brother. I may be sore tomorrow, but I was happy to be helping her out.

...was so very happy when my mom gave both my brother and I some chili and some spaghetti sauce that she had made. she also gave me a small bookcase and a few books and nick knacks.

...had some of the pasta sauce I made last night and it was delicious!

...am watching TLC and am being reminded why I don't watch it very often: a lot of their shows remind me of on-air tabloids and their ads for the tabloid like shows drive me insane. My apologies to anyone who enjoys watching TLC, I do like sometimes too, but I can only ever stand it in small doses.

Today I...October 23rd

Today I...

...am sharing this picture of one of my cat Magique roaring! Okay, okay, she's not roaring...she's yawning! I still thought the resemblance between her and a roaring tiger was striking though!

...went out to lunch with V at one of our favorite places, 'Juliette et Chocolat'. I've said this before, but if ever you're in Montreal, you should give the place a try, it's soooo worth it :o).

...am making food in my slow cooker again, this time it's four cheese and ham pasta sauce! Yum...I put Ementaler, Gruyere, Gorgonzola and Parmesan in it with Parisian ham, I can't wait to try it out tomorrow!

...finished my book and am suffering from book withdrawal...I may order some online tonight or tomorrow because I won't be able to make it to the bookstore until at least Tuesday and by then I may have gone mad.

...spoke with my Sweetheart for 41 minutes and was very thankful to him for keeping me busy for that long since, as mentioned above, I have no book to keep me company anymore. Now what in Heaven's name am I going to do when I go to bed???

Today I...October 22nd

Today I...

...am sharing this photo of my cousins', brother's and my Sweetheart and I's Cranium game pieces from Thanksgiving weekend. My Sweetheart and I put a pink Mohawk on ours!!! Not bad, eh? Too bad we didn't win lol

...started off the day with a guided tour...and then didn't stop! Thank heavens it's the weekend!

...had to send a young girl from one the tour groups that I was working on with some other tour guides to the hospital by ambulance with what looked like tonsillitis.

...bought myself a two CD album of sacred music put together for Brother André's Canonization from the Oratory's gift shop. I haven't started listening to it yet, but am looking forward to it!

...found out that Via Rail is having an awesome 60% off sale on their tickets! I'm going to talk to my Sweetheart tomorrow and see how I can take advantage of it :o)

...am looking forward to having an actual weekend this weekend! I'm going out to lunch with my friend V tomorrow and then on Sunday am heading out to the West Island for a spa appointment and to see my mom.

Skywatch Friday

This week's Skywatch feature, keeping with my Oratory theme this week, is a view of the Oratory from Montreal's Côte-des-Neiges cemetary, one taken in the Winter and another taken in the Summer from about the same place. What a difference a few months can make in a view!

To see more beautiful skies from around the world, you can visit the Skywatch Friday blog. Have a great weekend!

Today I...October 20th

Today I...

...am sharing these two pictures of the sunlight shining into the Oratory's Basilica through its stained glass windows on Sunday afternoon.

...thoroughly enjoyed my day off. I slept in until 10:45 and then had a nice, quiet day.

...went for a little walk to the grocery store and back to buy a few things.

...read my current novel, Kate Morton's 'The Forgotten Garden'. I'm really enjoying it and am getting to the point where the book is getting more and more gripping as I near the end of it. I'm also getting to the point where I'm thinking about which books I would like to buy next and am eying Ken Follet's new book and another one called 'The Pots Mistress'. I'll probably buy them online through the Via Preference website since Ken Follett's book is ridiculously expensive in stores, 36$ before taxes. If I buy online I get a major discount and Via Preference points which eventually allow me to get a free train ticket to see my Sweetheart!

Today I...October 19th

Today I...

...am sharing these two shots of the Oratory with you. It was the 106th anniversary of the Oratory's foundation today, so these two are comparison shots. The top photo is one that I took of the original Oratory on Saturday night, although the very first Oratory was actually only the section of the chapel behind the steeple section. It's no wonder that it was that small, really, since the word Oratory means 'small place of prayer'. Brother André built the first Oratory with 200$ he made giving haircuts to the students of Notre Dame College, the boarding school run by the Holy Cross Order where he was porter for 40 years, at the going rate of 5 cents a haircut (the high school is still up and running right across the street from the Oratory and is the most prestigious in the province, although it is no longer a boarding school). The first Oratory is the only part of the sanctuary which was built without donations from the public. As you can see from the photo below, even though the name 'St.Joseph's Oratory' stuck, the Oratory is no longer a small place of prayer by any means. The large church I showed you in the yesterday's post can hold nearly 2000 people whereas the first Oratory was only large enough for a priest and two altar boys! The pilgrims coming to pray at the Oratory had to stay outside. Despite its now rather impressive size, we would have needed two 2000 seat churches this past Sunday instead of one 2000 seat church and one 1000 seat church which is what the Oratory now holds as they both overflowed several times, but we managed anyhow, thanks to the patient and joyful mood of the pilgrims who were more than willing to wait for the next mass when the one the had planned on attending was full. We couldn't thank them enough for making our job easier!!!
Today I...

...had another busy day and am so thankful that I was allowed a 'getting over the Canonization Weekend' day off tomorrow. Hello, rest and relaxation, I will be so happy to see you again :o)

...spoke with my Sweetheart for a half hour, which felt lovely. We had a bit of a snag last night, but we mended it in no time flat and chattered away like nothing had happened afterward.

The big day: Brother André's Canonization

Yesterday was a huge day for us at the Oratory. Very few of us who worked there did less than 10 hours, I myself worked about 11 and a half. Today I'm sharing a few pictures of the day with you and will let them do the talking for me :o)

Today I...October 16th

Today I...

...spent the day at work, but barely saw the time go by I was so busy!

...enjoyed seeing the concert sponsored by Montreal's Polish community celebrating the anniversary of Pope John Paul II's election as Pope in 1978.

...was happy to find out that the Oratory ordered hundreds of fresh flowers to decorate the Crypt Church and Basilica for Brother Andre's Canonization tomorrow.

...spent pretty much the entire day on my feet and was pretty tired at the end of the day, but was feeling a great buzz from all the positive energy from work!

...got my dinner for tomorrow ready in the crock pot my mom got me a few months back. It took way longer than I expected, but now everything is all set and waiting in the fridge. All I'll have to do is take it out tomorrow and plug the slow cooker in and my dinner will cook while I'm at work and stay warm until I get home! I'm so looking forward to seeing how my first attempt at using my crock pot will turn out!

...nearly sliced my thumb while cutting up the mushrooms for my dinner. Yup, the mushrooms. Not the slippery onions that were making my eyes water like crazy, the mushrooms. Luckily I only got a shallow cut though, because I stopped cutting as soon as I felt the twinge in my thumb.

...am missing my Sweetheart. I haven't spoken to him since coming home on Monday, we keep missing each other on Skype. I guess I'll have to try and reach him again tomorrow when I get home from work tomorrow and I'll write to him tonight to tide me over.

Today I...October 15th

Today I...

...am sharing this shot I took of the recently returned statue in front of Union Station in Toronto with you. It was out for restoration for quite a while, so my Sweetheart and I did a double take when we passed it while walking Downtown last week!

...had a crazy day...even though it was my day off. The only one I had until Saturday next week, which is why it was so crazy. There was a lot of stuff that needed to get done, like the laundry and washing my dishes and there was stuff I needed to buy as well, so I ended up going out in the absolutely horrendous weather.

...was hit by a case of bad bus karma, which always strikes when you least want it too. Take my situation with the 166 bus two weeks in a row. Last week when I went to take the bus, it was lovely out, but the bus showed up at the stop early, so I naturally got on to make sure I got a seat and wouldn't have to ride home standing up, since bad bus karma also says that as soon as other drivers can cut a bus off they will and if you're standing, you just may end up falling. Today, however, the weather as previously mentioned was horrendous: torrents of rain, winds gusting up to 70 kms an hour and naturally the bus was late. Very late, like 15 minutes late and I was at the stop about 10 minutes early so by the time the bus showed up I was wet despite my umbrella and freezing along with the 10 other people at the stop.

...got stuck in traffic while on the bus going home.

...finally got home and was only in for about 15 minutes before my friend H came to get me so we could go to an arts and crafts sale that we go to every year. I cranked up the heat on my side of the car as soon as I got in because I was still freezing.

...got a bit of Christmas shopping done at the sale and also splurged on a lovely hat for myself as well as a new angel to put on top of my Christmas tree.

...got home at 9:15 and am now writing this post while making dinner. I'll be eating around 10:00 P.M. Ugh...oh well, at least when I get to work tomorrow we will be getting into the swing of the Canonization. The lead up to a big even is often more trying than the actual thing, so hopefully that will be the case tomorrow! TV cameras, crowds of pilgrims and tours, here I come!

Skywatch Friday

This week's Skywatch feature is this photo that I took of Toronto's Old City Hall last Saturday and I was fortunate enough to take my shot just as a bird was flying by. I only noticed he was in the shot once I dumped my photos onto my PC and was most happy about having him in the picture :o)

To see more great Skywatch photos from around the world, you can visit the Skywatch Friday blog.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!

Today I...October 13th

Today I...

...am sharing this picture of a whole slew of seagulls and pigeons sitting on the arches in Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto this past Saturday. If you enlarge the picture, you'll be able to get a look at just how many there were, it was quite something!

...has a busy day at work again.

...am hoping to be able to talk with my Sweetheart on Skype tonight, otherwise I'll e-mail him :o)

...bought myself a pumpkin pie at the grocery store because they were on special. I'm going to pack a slice in my lunch tomorrow, yum!

...am watching 'The Tudors', one of my favorite TV shows.

Today I...October 12th

Today I...

...am back in the blogging world after spending the long weekend with my Sweetheart. I'm in my 'back from my Sweetheart's' slump, but am handling it okay.

...am sharing this picture I took in Downtown Toronto on Saturday afternoon with all of you.

...am half looking forward to and half dreading the coming weekend and Brother Andre's canonization. I'm looking forward to it because it's going to be an amazing time to be at the Oratory, but oh, the workload....I have this coming Friday off, but am working Saturday and Sunday, including a 10 and a half hour shift on Sunday and then straight through to Friday. I hope I can cut it!

...am very tired because of a very late night on Sunday and a late night last night. I'm going to try and get to bed earlier tonight.

Skywatch Friday

This week's Skywatch feature is a shot I took at the orchard two weekends ago of a family having a race between two rows of apple trees with some lovely, puffy clouds above them. The children had been imagining shapes in them before they ran off and one of them saw a whale! I can see it, can you?

For more Skywatch photos from around the world, head over to the Skywatch Friday Blog

On another note, I'm heading out of town (to Toronto to see my Sweetheart and my aunt and uncle and cousins, naturally :o) ) to rest up over Thanksgiving (Canadian Thanksgiving, that is) this weekend, so will be taking a weekend off of blogging. You may have noticed that my posting has been a bit sparse lately and I do apologize, but I have been very, very busy at work and outside of it as well! I try my best to keep up with commenting, but posting may be difficult until the end of the month. I promise I'll do my best to write something for you guys as often as I can though, so bare with me!

Today I...October 5th

Today I...

...am sharing this picture of some of the Fall Foliage around my neighborhood with you.

...took my five voicemail messages at work, hung up, started returning calls, went to give a tour, came back and took my messages again. There were five more. I went returned my calls, went to lunch, took my messages again and there were two more. Returned those and the leftovers from before lunch, hung up and there was one more message in my box. I returned that and then...Ah, finally, there were no more!!! By then it was 3:00 P.M. and my ear was sore from being on the phone all day! That's the story of my work life right now, talking on the phone and talking and talking and talking on the phone!

...was so thankful, as was D, that I begged off a space heater a few weeks ago because the heating still isn't turned on at work. It was 17 degrees in the office when I got in yesterday and 18 degrees in there this morning so both days we got the space heater going and kept the door to the office mostly closed and we got the office up to 23 degrees by the end of the afternoon.

...went to dinner with V, we tried a sushi bar near my place and it was great! I love having girls' nights with her :o)

Today I...October 2nd

Today I...

...am sharing this photo I took of a swan gliding along on lake Ontario between Downtown Toronto and Toronto's Center Island. I've always loved swans but only ever get to see them in Toronto, so I always turn into a kid in a candy store when I see one!

...had a quiet day.

...did what my mom (and undoubtedly your mom told you the same thing...) always told me not to do and had ice cream for lunch. Well, not exactly ice cream. It was the 100% fat free chocolate and raspberry frozen yogurt that I bought while on my early afternoon outing to Monkland Village. I was so happy when I saw that a frozen yogurt place had opened up in the Village when I was there last weekend that I just couldn't help trying it out and it was pretty good, but not as good as the frozen yogurt from Yogen Früz that I can now only find in, yup, Toronto. They need to bring Yogen Früz back to Montreal, we had it here when I was little but then they all disappeared :o(

...have been tearing through my book, 'The Queen's Captive', a partially fictional account of Queen Elizabeth I's struggle to survive her sister, Queen Mary's, reign in order to become Queen herself. It's written Barbara Kyle and is really wonderful, her style reminds me of Ken Follett's.

...did my laundry and changed the sheets on my bed. I am now looking forward to going to bed as I only do when I get to lie in freshly laundered bedclothes!

Today I...October 1st

Today I...

...am sharing this picture of the fall colors in a North York park while I went there for a walk with my Sweetheart almost a year ago. I'm heading back there next week (actually, if the train runs on time next week, I'll be pulling into Union Station exactly at this time!!!) and will try my best to get a comparison shot :o)

...am very glad it's Friday because work keeps getting busier and busier so Fridays keep feeling better and better!

...was so happy when the rain stopped and the sun came out. We got 70 mm of rain in 24 hours and some areas of the Province got even more making many rivers overflow and flooding basements and roads. I wrote to my Sweetheart this afternoon though and told him that despite Mother Nature's best efforts, she had not succeeded in drowning the whole of Montreal and we had not been set adrift in the St.Lawrence river! I just really hope I don't see another raindrop for a while!