Holy moly; it's nearly October! It's been evident in the colors of the leaves, the harvesting of corn and the smell and sight of the apples shining in the trees, ready to be plucked. Luckily it has not been too cold in Ontario yet, although it was about 40 degrees Farenheit the other morning in Portland!
Near Toronto:
The high of the last week was: A great time in Portland hanging with the pets, hiking, walking around town and spending time with friends. We went to Forest Park, got DFL at a trivia night, hiked around Mt. Hood and went to the Timberline Lodge for breakfast, and spent a lot of time showing one of my friends who had only been to Portland once around the cool and quirky neighborhoods of the city. It did rain a little on us, but otherwise it could not have been nicer.
Mt. Hood:
The low of the last week was: I don't really have many lows. I guess the worst thing, which is not that bad, is that my flight from Portland back to Canada was delayed, and I got back to Canada late and was hangry and tired by the time I arrived. But, c'est la vie!
Something I marked off my to-do list was: I bought my tickets to Europe for my trip with K and the kiddos! We have been trying to coordinate schedules and it's hard with their school and sports things and the prices just kept going up and up and up, so I am happy that we finally got it in the books. Now I can start to plan the rest of the trip, but I was waiting to be sure of our flight first, as they were not really location dependent (we were happy to go wherever the flights were cheaper!)
The book I am reading is: On audiobook, I just finished two of the books in the Survivors Book Club Mystery series. I think they were just what I needed, as I've been struggling to focus on books lately. They were easy and light, and I like the characters and they went by fast. I actually read two in one day today! For e-book, I must admit to not pick it up my Kindle in ages, and so I am still on the first book of The Expanse series...
The best thing I spent money on was: Aside from the Europe trip, I've really only spent money on food! So I guess it would be meals out with my friends who came to visit me in Portland. We usually had two meals a day, late breakfast and early dinner, but I still feel like I ate a lot!! Actually another thing I did was splurge for a cell in a hotel that used to be a jail in Ottawa. It was very fun even though my room was tiny! Here's a picture of my cell.
My plans this week include: Pedaling, looking at stuff, taking photos of stuff, eating, and a trip to Montreal!
My favorite photo from the last week is: of my buddy Emi. This is her "give me treats" face.
Butt and Gut Update: Although I have had no gut issues while riding, as soon as I get off the bike for a few days I seem to start to have issues again. So I guess the way to avoid issues is to burn a shit ton of calories? I don't know. The butt is good still, knock on wood, even though I still have a very basic saddle and I alternate wearing padded shorts and regular shorts.
What are you reading? What was the high/low of your week last week? What have you crossed off of your to-do list lately?
Oooh have fun in Montreal! I didn't realize you were in Portland, or maybe I did but thought you were spending the winter there. What are you going to be doing in the winter? I assume NOT biking in Quebec, that would be madness. Did you fly Bob the bike with you to Portland? Who is K? I have a lot of questions this morning I guess. What am I reading...I am thisclose to finishing All Fours which is a wild ride of a book.
ReplyDeleteWow, so many questions!! I flew to Portland without Bob to pet sit for my friend. I flew in and out of Ottawa but left Bob in Toronto with friends. So I had to go pick him up, and now I am riding east again through Ontario. I will spend a couple of weeks pet sitting in Montreal, then hopefully keep heading East. However, depending on weather, I may go through the US and/or head south more. This will be TBD and I will decide in a couple of weeks.
DeleteOnce I finish riding east, I will go back to the West Coast, first Washington then likely head south for the holidays. This plan is also TBD! And lastly...K is a friend of mine for the last 30 years. She has two girls and I have been auntie to them forever, but especially in the last 5-10 years, I have been lucky to be able to spend lots of time with them, and we had a standing weekly dinner date when I was living in the area. They came to Canmore to visit when I was there and we are going to take them to Europe, which will be their first time out of North America.
That is the coolest hotel room ever! I love how they retrofit so many cool spaces into hotels/restaurants etc. And now we're all going to add "spend a night in jail" to our bucket lists ;)
ReplyDeleteI think you should! It's a hostel, but it has four bed rooms, which would be perfect for your family, and doubles etc, so you don't have to share with the drunk gap-year kids! Also they had free breakfast and fast WiFi!
DeleteYay Monday! Well yay apart from that pesky work thing. Congrats on getting the tickets nailed down. I always get such a rush when a trip goes from the theoretical stage to the "I just bought something so it's real stage". I just got to do that last night! My SIL and I are going to CHI next month for my niece's bday and we had a fine old time sifting through hotels and finding the right balance of "a good deal" and "bigger than a shoebox". Yay Capital One travel! It was $100 cheaper than other sites and when we went to book it somehow the price dropped by another $50 so that was a bit of fun on top of the fun that we're going to have on the trip.
ReplyDeleteThere's a hotel in Yellow Springs Ohio (cute little town/home base of Dave Chapelle) that used to be a prison. I don't know if I would like staying there or not. The "or not" is based on touring the prison where Shawshank Redemption was filmed (hey that's in Ohio too!). It was very interesting but also very creepy. Hey it's a life experience that I should try at least once!
Yay for booking travel!! Yay for credit card points! Is Capital One the one who also has a price drop guarantee? I think it might be them.
DeleteYou should stay in a jail, it is very fun! Also, the Timberline Lodge at Mt Hood is where parts of The Shining were filmed.. you could start a whole "go to movie themed places" theme for your trips!! 😁
That face! How are you supposed to resist that face? All the treats!
ReplyDeleteI know. She is a cutie. She's also very calm and chill, which I appreciate!
DeleteWhere in Europe are you going? When we chatted about it, I think you were considering Mexico or Thailand so you really pivoted from those plans, probably due to cost. I'm excited to live vicariously through your travels!
ReplyDeleteI was traveling again last week so it's hard to identify a high to be honest... it was probably having the night to myself on Tuesday night. I ate dinner alone and went to bed early. Kind of a lame high but so it goes. I didn't have a true low - just a general sense of malaise about all the work travel but I get a break after this week.
Uh, sorry that your days have been so busy. I think a night on your own sounds great! I don't think it's a lame high at all.
DeleteI know this is not the same but I definitely get a little burned out when I am moving to a different place every day. I don't have to deal with meetings and people but I definitely miss the normalcy of being in one place and having a normal routine. I am sure that you have that feeling plus the joy of all the endless meetings and meet ups!
Yes, Thailand during winter break is about $2,200 per person! Even Mexico City is almost $1,000 for the dates that she is available. Crazy. I actually ended up paying for their tickets with my points, and so we are going to Germany, although I am not sure where we will actually visit. We may get another flight somewhere depending on price.
The Expanse!! I found the first book sort of hard to get through and kept checking the plot summary on Wikipedia to make sure I was following correctly, but then that series ramps up and gets SO GOOD.
ReplyDeleteLow: Hannah getting very sick all over the mudroom.
High: Being able to get Hannah to the vet ASAP. I love living in a small town and having responsive medical professionals.
Oh no! Vomit is not fun! Poor Hannah. Your town is very well situated to get all the things done that need doing! I like that when cycling too, as I can do all my errands easily, rather than having to bike or walk miles after biking all day. Small towns for the win!
DeleteWow! You actually got a great view of Mt. Hood. When I was there, it was almost completely shrouded by clouds.
ReplyDeleteI love that someone repurposed a jail into a hostel. What a great idea, and it looked nice and cozy for a night. I wish more developers would consider this idea. There are too many empty buildings that are going to wrack and ruin when they could be creatively used.
Right now I'm trying to get through the burgeoning pile of New Yorker magazines on my coffee table. It's almost impossible to keep up with them. After I make a dent in those, I think I have The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store waiting. (Now that everyone else has already read it.)
Congrats on finalizing your European trip. All the items that need to be checked off a To Do List are my husband's, and he's terribly behind. LOL
Have a good week. It sounds like you've started off well.
I quit magazines years ago because I was not reading them and then I would feel obligated to read the entire pile and would then get overwhelmed with the "to do" of catch up! I think in the end I just threw them away and then of course berated myself for doing that. I now get then from the library from time to time and even then usually don't read them, but at least hen they are not a visible pile!
DeleteI agree re repurposing old buildings! I actually had coffee this morning in a little cafe that used to be a church and it was lovely! We need to do more if that rather than letting them sit empty or tearing them down to build McMansions!
A trip to Europe—exciting. When I am away and eating out I often do a late breakfast and then dinner, if yuo add in lunch it's usually too much I find. Love your cell, I suppose you don't get claustrophobic?
ReplyDeleteNo, I don't get claustrophobic luckily!! And it was tiny but very clean and cozy!
DeleteI usually do two meals and then have a snack with me at all times just in case. When cycling I have to eat more than that but when not as active, I don't need three huge meals, plus they are expensive, and I hate wasting food so I will often eat it all without really needing to!
Ooh, so many adventures (actually, your life is one long adventure, so I shouldn't be surprised.) I've never been to Montreal- that should be a fun place to visit. And, Germany! I've been to Germany many times but not recently. The book I'm reading takes place partially in Berlin, and now I want to go back.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I mentioned before that I got your postcard from Buffalo!!! Thank you!
I went to Montreal years ago, but it was in February so it was kind of cold! I'm looking forward to being there in the fall instead.
DeleteI have been to Germany, but not Berlin! That's definitely on my list, and I have not been to any concentration camps yet either. So many things to see!
Oh wow, a jail cell hotel room!!! That sounds both super cool and kind of terrifying!
ReplyDeleteI smiled when I read that you don't really have any lows. That's awesome.
Your Europe trip sounds fun! I'm looking forward to reading about it! Hope Montreal is awesome! I haven't been there in over a decade but loved it!
Thanks! I went to Montreal in ~ February of..2010 I think, and it was cold!! The cool thing is that the winter Olympics were in Canada that year, and although they were not in Montreal, the country was very hyped up due to it!! However, I'm looking forward to being there when it's a little warmer and I bet the colors will be popping!
DeleteI got the postcard from Birchie and you, and it brightened my day! Thank you!! I'm glad you had fun in Portland, and I look forward to reading about your trip to Europe!
ReplyDeleteYay! Hooray for real mail! CBPCC!! I always love getting stuff in the mail too. I am looking forward to the Europe trip, but it's still a few months away. Now it's time to get to planning!!
DeleteOh man, I think that hostel room would give me claustrophobia! So tiny!
ReplyDeleteSo many fun adventures you're having - and then Germany, too! Eeks. That's really exciting!
The high and low of my week relate to Hurricane Helene. High that it looks like we will bypass the brunt of the storm but low that, well, the storm is going to be brutal for many other areas. Ugh.