One of the best Thanksgivings ever!

PS: you can now click on a photo and it will pop up enlarged in another window!

I am so stinking excited to go to Montreal. I know I should probably be complaining about how I have to go all the way to Montreal for an interview to receive permanent resident status (aka greencard) in the USA, but to be honest, I’m having trouble containing myself. I am ready to jump out of my skin and scream and shout. Throw the twist in there too!

Book flight… check!
Pick up Montreal books from the library… check!
Book hotel… check, check, check!

We booked the most wonderful hotel, Le Guilleret, and we’re pretty sure that we booked the Nocturne suite, however expedia.ca wasn’t the most clear about which room was which, but it was one of the most expensive (which was super duper reasonable and comparably inexpensive) so surely it has to be adorable. Okay, on my to-visit list are Parc du Mont-Royal, Basilique Notre Dame (just down the street from our hotel) and Parc Olympique. Ah! So excited! I’ll be taking photographs like a true tourist!

Yay for surprise second honeymoons!

My very talented sister-in-law has designed the most gorgeous applique quilt and guess what? She’s giving away a quilt! Yup, you heard me right; giving away a quilt. For any non-quilters/sewers out there, this is a serious amount of work that Elizabeth is just giving away. This is from her original design, Spring Up, and is constructed out of gorgeous fall fabrics.

There are a few ways to enter, each upping your odds of winning this one of a kind piece of art.

1. Visit Elizabeth’s blog, Pig Tails and Snails and leave a comment scoring yourself 1 point in the random generator.
2. To grab 5 more points, blog about this amazing quilt.
3. To up your chances to a total of 11 points, post the banner in your sidebar (which can be found visiting Elizabeth’s website).

With 1222 comments and counting, you better be crossing your fingers, toes, legs and arms to win this beauty!

I had such a great weekend. Really. It was so incredibly relaxing and exactly what I needed after a 52 hour work week. Yes, a weekend at Yahk, B.C. is precisely the thing I required to somewhat reboot, relax and get my mind back in order. I even had time to read most of a book called Little Earthquakes by Jennifer Weiner, which I finished today and it was a good book; I totally enjoyed it. However one of the reasons why I read it so fast was because I needed to finish it before I wrote off motherhood for the rest of my life. This book really threw me for a loop and was a super wide eye opener. I had to finish it to know that everything turned out okay for this group of four new mothers. So as much as I enjoyed this book, I do not recommend it to anyone who does not have babies. However, read it if you do have children and perhaps feel as though you’re struggling. Just keep in mind that the language is colourful in some parts and that, well we all know where babies come from. Needless to say, Conor got an ear load of all of my fears for the future and all he got was a soaking wet t-shirt from my tears that seem to be rather endless at times.

Moral of this post: really great weekend. Great food. Great sleep (9+ hours!!!) and great company!

So… I made more jam. Ya, I know that I said I wouldn’t do anymore, but I really love canning and I needed to relax and do something quiet that I enjoy on Tuesday night and what could be more relaxing than making a mess and jam in one go? Pear jam was the choice of the evening and I made a baker’s dozen. Whew! I now have a rainbow of jam; raspberry, raspberry-saskatoon, peach, nectarine, strawberry, pear and saskatoon berry (my personal favourite). Perfect Christmas gifts for Grandparents and Home and Visiting teaching families!