Sunday, April 29, 2007

back from the eastern part of La Belle Provence

Hey hey blogsters! I just got back from a week away. Unfortunately I left by eco-fu*king airplane on Earth Day, of all days! Magnolia and I are trying to grrlcott excessive carbon emissions, but it's tough.


When we landed in Quebec City, the sun was shining bright but there were still snow banks! See the snow on the side? But still mild enough to skateboard in short sleeves.


Marvelous weather for being around Vieux Quebec, and the hotel was just 2 blocks from a Le Commensal. Learned lots at the conference I was there for, as did Nancy.

After the conference ended on Wednesday we went to Gaspe to visit my cutie grandparents. We took a very long bus ride, which was less eco-oppressive than flying, plus Magnolia loved to look out the window:


I just finished reading Lullabies for Little Criminals while I was away. What a sweet, sad story. It won Canada Reads this year and was defended by John K. Sampson (who is vegan and a brilliant songwriter, and has the magic touch for picking books). It's subtle, but it'll knock your socks off.


Here's my Grampa, he just turned 102 years old!! He didn't call me la bella Carla even once, which made me sad because he couldn't remember me. But we did have some grand chats and played cards.


There was lots of snow in Gaspe, but the weather was mild:

But there wasn't any snow or ice left at the beach:


A dude I met out there told me that the seal hunt would be different if seals would become vegetarians! He said there's less sympathy for the seals because they eat so much fish, and people want to make money from fishing. Hmmm. (Either way, the fish get eaten by predators, and some would still want seal pelts.)

Home today, and that's nice after a week of eating in restaurants and other people's houses. I was aching for some asparagus risotto, so that's what I had tonight, with lots of lemon, peas and pine nuts:

11 comments:

mjm knitting said...

i wondered where you went!
glad to see you got away from the T-dot for a bit.

your grandpa is mighty handsome! it's sad to hear when they forget about us, (that's starting to happen now with my Opa,) but I know somewhere in the medley of their minds they remember us.

Kelly Peeples said...

Mm, that asparagus risotto sounds good, care to share the recipe? I just wrote you a letter and asked you to share pics from your trip. OH well! That's the trouble with snailmail...it'll be redundant by the time it arrives.

Vincent said...

La bella Carla,

Sorry Dad didn't address you as "la bella Carla, so I did.

Thanks for the up-to-date picture of Dad.

Wish I were home today.

Vincent

Carla said...

awwm, thanks Dad!

Unknown said...

Unbelievable. Your grandfather looks better at 102 than my father did at 65! Great photos. Maggers is cute in her little hat and the risotto looks yummy!!

krissy said...

glad you had a nice trip out east! i've been thinking about you wondering how your trip was going. looks like magnolia had a nice trip too! :)
i'm so sorry your grampa didn't remember you. that is sad. but when your dad commented above and called you la bella carla, i got all choked up and misty.

vania said...

What a lovely trip you had, and i love that photo of Magnolia looking out of the bus at the water.

Anonymous said...

Hi Carla,

Glad to hear that you got away for a week and were able to go down home. I know what you mean about Grandpa. He seldom understands me when I speak and last night when I called him he thought that I was your Dad. Oh well... Thanks for the pics.

Maria

mishka said...

Your grampa looks great for a man his age! It looks like a nice trip, Carla. Glad you were able to get a change of scenery.

Ms Snit said...

wow... that is one cute and old gramps! Glad you had a nice trip madame blythe obsessed.

Bumbershootska said...

I love that you travel with Magnolia - I travel with this guy
http://www.flickr.com/photos/80441396@N00/480015206/
and take pictures of him visiting important places - get some strange looks, too;)
Isn't La Belle Province a delight!?! I miss it so much!