Bored in Boucherville

Well, not strictly true; there is plenty to do, but I shall be spending more time online today, as the weather is a little less than favourable for painting or gardening. I have also discovered my mother in law's collection of James Bond, so I have plenty to avoid vegetating! The weather has been extremely pleasant for the beginning of the week, and today it reminds me very much of March in the UK, with sweeping winds and bright sun in between the fleeting clouds.

After the anniversary of our first month as a married couple (discounting the times on our honeymoon or my visit last September, I am very encouraged that the love and affection between myself and my essential other half is growing, and in ways that we had not expected. This experience, this whole new life is about discovering myself as well as discovering a complete way of life that I am unfamiliar with. I have discovered that I have a love of animals in my nature, that perhaps is not entirely due to my upbringing. Sylvie is constantly amazed at how well I have bonded with our two "girls" and how they follow me around the house like dogs: even shy Bébitte curls up between my feet beneath the bed clothes if I take a snooze in the day. We do not allow the cats to sleep with us at night, for obvious reasons, and to prevent Sylvie's allergies taking hold too aggressively.

This week we have started on a different schedule, that of walking Mao, mother in law's dog, and also Jack, a Husky/ Alsatian cross that belongs to Sylvie's uncle, and which does not normally get exercised. It means that in addition to getting valuable exercise, Sylvie and I get out of the house; we can share some time with just the two of us, talk over the day's events; in addition, little Mao gets exercise and Jack gets the company and attention he is rather devoid of at home. In retrospect, I never imagined myself walking a couple of dogs, much less using a poop bag or watering the animals halfway through the walk. I am pleasantly surprised that I find it very agreeable!

As new developments go, we had a MacDonalds last night, and I surprised myself; I normally find it distasteful: I was obviously basing my taste on the experience and trauma of UK service and quality. Here in Canada, having sampled a poutine, Big Mac and 1/4 pounder last evening, I can say that I have been pleasantly surprised! We do not normally resort to takeaway here, except on the odd occasion when we are all exhausted and not up to lengthy prep of a meal. I am hoping soon to have the chance to play chef to the whole family, at the present I am playing a peripheral role in the kitchen.

My cousin by marriage, Maxim, has purchased a lathe from the US, and he wants me to help him offload it today and install it; I was horrified yesterday as he described it:
"yes, and it weighs... 1,520... pounds!" The pause was no doubt to find the correct English, and it served to panic me, with the prospect of four men trying to lift a tonne and a half of metal into a basement workshop!

On an entirely different note, we applied for my language courses yesterday, and hope to hear back soon so that I can commence integrating a little better. Sylvie informs me that she generated a lot of laughs at work yesterday, when she unconsciously assumed an English accent on some of her words. Maybe some good is rubbing off on her! I am feeling more confident by the day with my comprehension, and that is further helped by listening in on my near relatives talking in the vernacular. I watched the BBC news this morning, and experienced a small pang of homesickness, that has been resurfacing when I am surrounded by people talking in "strange" accents. Last week, the homesickness hit rather hard, and it is emphasised this week by learning that my next oldest brother is poorly and in hospital. He had a rough deal in life, and it seems that he realised that he reached the end of the line and needed specialised care. He has been in and out of hospital quite frequently of late, and I have experienced some pain from the fact I am no longer able to pop across and visit him as I could have done while living in Stamford. My oldest brother is keeping me updated via Facebook, though we have not yet managed to connect on Skype.

I don't think I mentioned before in any detail; on our foray last Friday to the Downtown area, we called at an art store known as Omer DeSerres; I was extremely pleased to discover that they stock a good range of materials, and at a reasonable price, so that updating my materials and equipment will not break the bank. I could not find the manufacturer of my familiar Chromacolour, but there were plenty of brands of Acrylic with which I am familiar, and supports are even better catered for in this province, it seems! I had to tactfully steer my wife away from the painting sets, as she was going overboard for the presentation: in my humble experience, these sets would only give me one or two colours I could actually use, and a plethora of cheap equipment to pad out the package. In the end I managed to explain to her that purchasing fine art materials was rather like make-up: find a brand that really works for you, and stick with it, with occasional experiments to keep life interesting! I sincerely hope that I will be able to make some use of my artistic abilities, to reward the confidence others have in me, and to achieve something positive from my previous experience. Talking of what colours to buy, made me think of a Christmas wish list... early days indeed, but my list is already full. I am determined to not fill my life with gadgets, yet the insidious marketing of the iPhone fills my day, as does the green envy when one of Sylvie's friends shows off theirs! She, thankfully, is not a gadget maniac, and could not care less what her cellphone is, as long as she can make around one call a month on it!

We have booked our vacation for the first two weeks of July; an extremely good package deal for four people at the national camping ground on Prince Edward Island. I am not over-familiar with the legendary Anne of Green Gables, but we intend to call on the village, and also to spend plenty of time on the beach; Sarah (Sylvie's cousin) and her boyfriend Rodrigo will be accompanying us, as we shall be driving Sarah's car. It sounds exciting, a 15 hour drive eastwards, five hour stint each for myself, Rodrigo and Sarah. It will be my first real, properly planned vacation, with the exception of our honeymoon and last September, and the first time I have ever slept out under canvas other than in my own back garden! I am very excited, and intend to make my cameras and camcorder earn their keep.

I think that should complete this post, as it seems mostly unexciting words and very little in the way of pictures, but hopefully carrying my camera is going to change that as the weeks go by! Thanks for those still with me, your mouse wheels must be tiring!