|
|
What a deepfreeze! The skies were blue but the temperatures of –20 Fahrenheit were enough to freeze one’s little sweet cheeks, if out for very long. Luckily we had a relatively painless car start (didn’t plug in our newly installed block heater last night. Doh!) and were in for a smooth drive and clear skies right through to Alexandria, MN that night. Two states that neither slaDE~ nor myself had travelled through before were checked off of our list today … Wisconsin (home of the cheese — no, not Tommy Calandra’s famous ‘The Cheese’) and Minnesota (the state of a thousand lakes surprised me by it’s simple beauty).
We lucked out truly in finding an amazing stop that night … The Viking Motel, right next to the local ILS airstrip!!!!, was a treasure discovery that we stumbled across in a tired and hungry state. The Motel provided us with a fully stocked kitchenette, complete with all the conveniences of home, and then some … A complimentary breakfast snack with a downstairs lounge area and well-equipped gym made for a unmitigated pleasing experience.
It’s been an incredibly frustrating week. The computer that we picked up for Mom and Pat had an initial breath of life, where all seemed to go well in the birthing and development process, but then it suffered a glitch with the BIOS, and the blue screen of death became our nemesis. We returned to the Kitchener store, where zippity-zip, they fixed it (or supposedly did). But upon our lengthy return back to Lakeside (50 minutes drive away), the same inexplicable problems arose. However, slaDE~ was determined and tried at length to problem-solve the core issue, but the BIOS was something only the techs could fix. So again we trudged back to Kitchener, feeling rather disgruntled but hopefully optimistic.
The Technical Support at Technotrade were FANTASTIC …. I can’t recommend them enough. Throughout our 4 days of computer glitches, they provided both telephone and on-site support that exceeded any other experience I’ve had with any computer company. Technotrade stands fully behind their warranties. With much patience on both of the confounded technician and our part, they eventually fixed/replaced the BIOS and loaded our software that we wanted to install. We were happy to return home with a fully primed machine that runs far faster than my little MAC PowerBook could ever hope to. But hey, PC vs. MAC? No contest  .
By 11am, we were on the road, skirting the edge of the snowstorm as we finally made our way to Illinois. Our border crossing was uneventful (unexpected with such a jam-packed to the gills car) and we made quick time in our drive to Barb’s. I was really excited about seeing her! Hard to believe that we had passed through in the late spring … feels much longer ago than that. We arrived a bit later than hoped, but with our slow start, we still made really good driving time, with perfect weather to boot.
It was wonderful to spend some time catching up with Barb (boy, what a tremendous nourishing dinner she had waiting for us!). But being the lightweight that I am, I crashed fairly early. You’d think that I had worked a full day or something
After stopping briefly to reload our luggage into the car, we offered gifts of good tidings to slaDE~s sister Sherry and son Ritchie, before heading to my Mom’s for a family Christmas gathering. My younger sister Aaron was already there and Sylvia (our adopted Aunt) was soon to arrive thereafter. The day was carefree and without agenda. We decided to open gifts downstairs while Aaron typed madly at her lengthy assignment due on Monday’s college class (she’s studying to be an Arborist). Her gifts from India were very touching – - a beautiful bedcover made of the finest materials in some of my favourite colours — red and orange. Mom and Pat gifted us with warm woolly socks, winter boots and an engraved towel set in my other fav colour of mustard yellow. I love watching slaDE accept gifts as he does … with pure joy, graciousness and bountiful smiles & hugs. He reflects that thoughtfulness and special qualities in the gifter. Beautiful.
After Aaron exited to catch her train returning to Toronto, we set about establishing a working computer for my Mother and Pat. All went really well until I received a disturbing email from Jean at 2am which stated that our planned transfer of apartment tenancy in Calgary was being undermined and vetoed by the Property Management. Damn. Nothing could be done but sit and wait a few days until the dust has settled and references compiled. Tappity, tap, tap, tap. And then, there is still no certainty until down the road in the New Year, when we could possibly be evicted. Whahhhhhh …..
It was to be our Christmas present to Agnes, a day out in the city of Toronto, experiencing unique, luxurious and delightful treats that define what gift giving is all about. However, we wanted to surprise slaDE~s Mom, so we had to have it planned and organized to a tee. And I must admit, we were incredibly successful in keeping the day exciting and filled with much love and laughter.
We set out at 7am so as to comfortably arrive in time for our 9am massages at the Elmwood Spa. What a fantastic surprise for us to learn that this was Agnes’ first time for both receiving a massage and experiencing the joys of a spa! We spent 4 hours just luxuriating between the hot tub, steam room and the heated pool after our blissful rubdown. From the Elmwood we grabbed a quick falafel and made our way to the balcony’s front row and centre seats at the Panasonic Theatre, where we delighted in the Blue Man Group performance. We had the bonus of plexiglass ledge (a balcony lighting shield) to follow the fabulous show’s drumming. After the performance, we walked down the entire length of Yonge Street revelling in the Christmas window displays and the colourful people. The temperatures were quite brisk, so we were happy to turn around after reaching the Far Niente restaurant that our friend Liv works at. We scooted around Nathan Phillip’s Square, watching the skaters whirl and twirl, all the while photographing the incredible light show. Before meeting Anshu for dinner, we tucked into a pile of fries and gravy, tastier than any fries ever had in my short lifespan. Yummy!
We were in for a surprise ourselves, in that we were joined for dinner by our Cambridge friends Kiran, Seema and Santosh. Anshu’s girlfriend Melinda filled out the group and a sumptuous Thai dinner was had by all. What a truly amazing delicious adventure we’ve had for our Christmas Day in Toronto!
I had never seen slaDE~ pull an all-nighter before, but last night he did. We arrived home in time to watch our favourite show, Grey’s Anatomy, and a little bit of CSI, and then we were off and running to the races. I spent my time sorting through and packing my luggage and belongings and slaDE~ sorted through his paperwork and life in storage. Getting ready for a big trip and a move is always a bit chaotic and sometimes traumatic for me (and those around me sometimes too! — You see, I have way too much stuff and it usually means sorting through that stuff and deciding what I can and can’t live without).
I managed to fit it 3 hours of nap but felt somewhat stressed trying to assimilate it all in. But somehow, someway, I and we did. All week I had been trying to squeeze in a few appointments to see both my Dentist and Optometrist. Seeing the Dentist seemed impossible on such short notice, but early that morning, they called saying that I could have a slot at 11am in Listowel. Doing some quick calculating on whether we’d be ready in time, I gave a confident ‘Yes!’ and prayed that we’d have our act together in time for the 45 minute drive. Like I said, the puzzle seemed to fall into place and with amazingly skilled confidence, slaDE~ managed to fit ALL of our bags into the car, with the bonus of comfortable manoeuvrability in the front seats (very important not to be trapped in more than we already are on a long x-country tour). The pouring freezing rain made for awkward wet loading for slaDE~ but he was a trooper and a pro (we are Professional Packers, albeit skydiving canopies are our subject of choice). We made it, running a little bit behind, but I was grateful for slaDE~s skilled driving in the somewhat treacherous icy conditions … slow and careful.
After a clean bill of health (no cavities!), we made our way to Kitchener to spend some time with slaDE~s Mother Agnes, first stopping in Hawkesville to pick up a few items I forgetfully left behind – - a good excuse to pop in and say hello to Tsumi (I miss her so much!). Tsumi told me that the feeling was mutual, and it made me feel better.
It was really lovely to see Agnes; it had been a year, with her tucked away in Newfoundland, since we last saw her. However, Sherry, Brett and Agnes had their own agenda (a trip to the local Indian reserve) and we had plenty of running around to do before the day ended. Specifically, we wanted to go in search of a computer for Mom and Pat that would hook them up to the internet and run Windows XP, comfortably. Currently they have a Pentium I with dinosaur technology and components, and it’s time that their techie children bring them up to speed, literally, on learning how to use the internet and such.
After much success at getting our errands complete, slaDE~s entire family (except for his sister Corry who is currently in Newfoundland with her family) and I went out for dinner at the Mongolian Grill – - Agnes’ Christmas present to us. It was a lovely evening, meeting Shayne’s girlfriend Jennifer, sharing many photographs, bright smiles and much laughter between us all. Took the edge right off the flurry of our day .
|
|
