Memoir Monday - I LOVE QUEBEC!

Hey All,
It's Monday, so I thought I'd join Travis in a little Memoir Monday.  Check out his page, then tell your own story!

Recently I found out that I love Quebec, Canada.  To be fair, I've never been anywhere else in Canada.  I might love the rest of it as well.  But I definitely love Quebec.

We (the 3 boys, hubby and I) recently spent a week checking out this lovely province.  We started our adventure by flying into Montreal.  We bravely chose to ride the bus from the airport to the hotel since we'd managed to fit a week's worth of clothes for 5 people in one big suitcase and 5 carry-ons.  All of a sudden I saw our hotel go by (there was supposed to be a stop right in front of it, but we didn't push the button in time).  We immediately pushed the stop button, but the bus kept going and going.  We had quite a walk back once we finally got off the bus!

But that was not an indicator of how the rest of the vacation would go.  The hotel was lovely.  The people were super friendly.  And the city is beautiful!  The old town has the feel of Europe.  With narrow streets and close buildings.

I loved this window and the top of this building.

After Montreal we took the train to Quebec City and stayed at "the Castle".  (That's our hotel, the castle in the background).  

We also loved Quebec City.  What a cool place.   

To make what could be a really long story short, we stayed in Quebec City a couple of days then rented a car and went into the Charlevoix region along the Fleuve Saint-Laurent to do some whale watching.

Here's Hubby and me on the whale-watching boat.  We saw some minke whales and a bunch of belugas.  I'd post pictures but, well, they just aren't that good.  The white belugas came out looking like the white bellies of dead fish floating on the water.  Oh, well.

Bottom line: I definitely would recommend Quebec as a vacation spot.  The people are so friendly and the area is beautiful.  We loved it.  (I think I said that already!)  

Thanks for stopping by.  Go see Travis.

Random Tuesday Thoughts 6/22/10

Hi All.  It's Tuesday so I'm playing along with Keely at the Un-Mom.  Link up and play along!

Why is it that when Hubby sets the alarm for 5:15, so he can get up early and get to work, I have to get up with puppies?  Maybe he could set the alarm for 5:10.  Then he could get the puppies up and outside before getting in the shower and I could stay in bed.  FYI, if it were just Chili she would stay in bed with me and not worry about the fact that Hubby is up.  But the new foster puppy needs to go out first thing, then play like a puppy for about 2 hours, then take a nap.

I found one of those huge tomato horn worms on my tomato plant this week.  If you don't know what they look like, check out this post I did last year.  Anyway, they get so big that I can't stand the thought of squishing them.  And I can't let them live.  It wouldn't be responsible since they are an agricultural pest and all.  So my 14-year-old came up with the suggestion that we put him in the bird feeder.  Great idea!  And the little bird that came and got him was amazing.  The thing was bigger than the bird's head.  But he took it anyway.

I don't usually have a craving for cheese after I wake up from a nap.  (What?  Oh, go see Keely).

I'm going to teach a biology class in the fall at the local university.  Cool, huh?  and I'll even get paid.

We got out our old video camera since we were feeling really guilty about not having any video of the kids from the past 4 years.  Then we found out that it isn't working.  There had been a recall but it has expired.  That's why you are supposed to send those stupid little warranty cards.  Figures.

I LOVE QUEBEC.  We took the kids and spent a week up there.  We saw Montreal, Quebec City and the Charlevoix region.  We went whale watching and saw a ton a beluga whales and some minke whales too.  It was great.  But why is it that kids, while traveling in an awesome new place with lots of cool stuff to see, would just as soon go back to the hotel and swim than anything else?  Their aunt has a pool.  The Y has a 3 pools.  We can swim pretty much anytime.  Can we visit a quaint cafe or check out "the old city" anytime?  No.

Best thing about Quebec - the people.  They were soooo friendly.

I hate having to worry about how something I eat is going to affect my blood sugar.  It sucks. 

That's about it for today.  I promised Hubby that if he'd take oldest kid to summer school today I'd put away 2 baskets-full of laundry (it's always laundry around here).  So I'd best get to it!

Thanks for stopping by!  Go see Keely now!

Sassy Sunday 6/20/10 Here we go again!

Hi Everyone.  Thanks for stopping by.  It's time for another Sassy Sunday and I'm so glad you have joined me.
Well.  Here we go again.  We've got another foster puppy.  And yes.  She's all puppy.  That's great for Chili.  She and Chili haven't stopped playing since Barb brought her home yesterday.  But as for me, it makes me grumpy.  Why do we have to have new puppies in the house anyway?

Well.  She's cute.  She's a pittie mix of some sort and she looks a lot like our foster dog Snickers if you remember her.
Here's her picture.  Of course, Chili is in the picture too.  They can't leave each other alone!

Tegan was rescued from Animal Control last month.  It was her last day and no one had come to claim her.  She was just 4 and a half months old.  When she was rescued, the good ladies at Hope Rescues took her straight to the vet because she was having problems walking and seemed to be injured.  The poor baby had suffered two broken back legs!  They had sort of healed by then, but she may have to have some corrective surgery when she gets older.  She still walks a little funny and will just fall over like her back legs just gave out.

But I'm sure with Chili around, she'll get plenty of exercise on those legs!

Thanks for stopping by!  Come back soon.  Barb will be sharing some of her photos from the trip to Quebec, Canada!

Until next time, this is Sassy saying "wish me luck, and peace!, with this new puppy!"

Have a great day!

Random Tuesday Thoughts 6/8/10

Hi Everyone.  Thanks for stopping by on this Random Tuesday kind of day!  Thanks to Keely for hosting this game.  Go see her.  She's awesome.

Today I'd like to start with a story about Tommy, the throw-away dog.  The following statement was taken from the Hope Rescues website at hoperescues.com

"Tommy was found 10-29-2009 by an employee of Waste Management Systems when he dumped an over sized trash can into his truck and found that there was a nearly dead dog inside.  The Cahokia Police were called and responded to the scene to start the investigation.  The first set of photo's are from the pictures he took that day and are part of the evidence in this case.  The trash can was located in the 500 block of Mildred in Cahokia. There is a $500.00 reward for information leading to an arrest in this case.
It is important to note that if not for the kind heart of this officer, this dog would have simply been hauled off to St. Clair County Animal Control to be euthanized at the end of the day.  No one would ever know of the horrors faced by this poor creature, no one would care, and the only thing this poor dog would have known for his whole life would be that people are cruel.  Nothing that Hope Rescues can do from this day forward can match what this officer already has done for this dog. For his actions put in motion the rescue, the medical treatment, and the second chance our "Tommy" now has.
Thank you Officer Derek Ruberstell.
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your act of kindness."

These are the pictures of Tommy taken that day.

He was rushed to the hospital where they removed an embedded electrical cord from around his neck and treated him for several other injuries including some that looked like burns and others that appeared to be due to beatings.  He was 20lbs underweight and shaking from shock.  But during his emergency treatment he continued to wag his tail and give kisses to the vet and his staff.

He was released to Hope Rescues on 10-31-09.  His face was swollen from the cord that had been around his neck.

His abuser was caught and arrested.  She was charged with animal cruelty.

Here is how he looked on November 5, 2009.

And here are the "happy ending" photos taken on 12/13/09.  He got a new home for Christmas and he is doing great.

The woman, who said she threw the dog away because he was dead, will be in court tomorrow.  There will be a "Justice for Tommy" rally in front of the court house.  I can't be there.  But I hope lots of other people are.

See Hope's website and click on "Tommy's Page" if you are interested in any of the details.

Whew.  That story rips my heart out!

Ok.  Moving on.

I hate how I can dust the furniture and the next day it's all dusty again.  It must be the dogs' fault.  Shedding their hair and dander all over the place!

Our lizard is finally feeling better again.  I can't believe I spent almost $100 on a vet bill for a lizard.  But she hadn't been eating and shed her skin twice in a row, which was unusual for her.  So I took her in to the vet.  Basically, the vet didn't know.  She seemed fine except that she had lost weight.  She gave us some medicine for worms (which has an appetite stimulating effect) and last night when I dropped a cricket into her cage she ran after it and gobbled it up.  Have you ever watched a leopard gecko hunt?  It's cool.  Maybe not $100 cool, but cool.

It's only one week into summer break and I'm ready for school to start.

The squirrels keep eating all the bird seed from the feeder.

And I'd better get moving.  I've got a ton of stuff to do today!  Thanks for stopping by.  I hope my Tommy story didn't get you too bummed out.  Hopefully, she'll get what she deserves.

Have a great Tuesday!

Random Tuesday Thoughts 6/1/10

Hi Everyone.  It's Tuesday.  So that means it's time to link up with Keely at the Un-Mom for some Tuesday randomness!  Link up and play along.  Everyone is doing it.

Summer break is here.  What I'm wondering is: Am I such a bad mom that I actually dread summer break? I hear all these moms saying stuff like "I can't wait for school to be out." or "I'm so glad summer break is here!"  What's up with that?  I guess their kids aren't always fighting and whining.

I just visited Jane over at Spain Daily.  She had some photos from a stop in San Sebastian.  That's in northern Spain in the Basque country.  Hubby and I spent 6 months there way back when we didn't have kids.  I sometimes miss those carefree, non-kid days.  Not that I'd trade my fighting, whining kids for anything in the world.  I'm just looking forward to them being grown-ups so we can again travel a little more care-free than we can with kids.

Speaking of traveling with kids, we will be taking a trip this summer to Canada with the kids.  We are doing a "Quebec experience" with stops in Montreal, Quebec City and Charlevoix.  Our experience will include whale watching too.  We are all looking forward to it, even if it will only be a week away from home.

Mean Owen has a good post this week.  You should check it out.

I may come back and add some more randomness.  But there's a kid asking for lunch and just some love and attention in general.  It's hard to blog while a kid is talking to you.  So thanks for stopping by!