I'm packing & doing laundry & getting ready & it seems strange to have told almost no one. Especially since I usually announce my plans to the world, or at least I thought I did. It just doesn't seem appropriate to announce it. It's like putting it out on twitter or on facebook or in a text will somehow tarnish it. I wouldn't know what to say anyway. Not to mention, no one would know what to say back & it would just be a whole awkward mess. This blog seems like a safe enough venue for my thoughts right now though.

I don't even know if I really want to tell anyone right now. At least not myself. I'm fine with them finding out. I just don't necessarily want to be the one to tell them. It's not like no one knows, but at a lot of the people I normally share things with have no clue. & for right now, I'm pretty ok with that. I remember when Laura's grandpa died. She called me & I had no idea what to say & I just felt so helpless. Like I couldn't find the right words & was just a terrible friend.

It seems silly to make a big deal & let everyone know when most of them don't even know him & there's nothing that can be done. I'll be back in Calgary for less than 24 hours anyway. & then I'll be back for real in less than 2 weeks now.

June has sped by & I thought I had so much time to say goodbye to Montreal, but with the road trip & now this weekend away, I will most certainly be scrambling around at the last minute in my usual way, trying to cram in the million things I will undoubtedly miss about this city.

18/52

Cabane à sucre...oh delicious, glorious Quebecois tradition. I got to spend a sugary afternoon with great friends just outside of Montreal this April and I got a few good shots and a LOT  of goofy ones. Here's one of the good shots. It just screams traditional Quebecois cabane to me & is therefor perfect.

17/52

I just realized I missed my post last week! Oops! I'll have to do an extra one mid-week to make up for it.

I've been spending a lot of time down by the canal, either running, biking, or just wandering. It's beautiful down there on a nice day & we had quite a few of those last week. This week is going to be rain, rain, rain...so I know I'll be missing day like the one I took this particular photo.

16/52

My parents love Chuck's Day Off on the food network & he owns a restaurant in Montreal, Garde Manger. We were supposed to go when they were here last year for Grand Prix, but instead went out with Red Bull. When Nathan was here in the fall, we went & it was amazing. Not only is the food incredible, but the place is cool as well. It's loud & bustling & full of energy. There's virtually nothing outside to tell you that you're in the right place as you wander down rue Saint-François-Xavier except the numbers 408, a square, purple light, and the following metal sign. Some people might be frustrated, but I personally find this playful annoyance endearing.

Welcome to Garde Manger

15/52

Don't worry, I'm not hinting at anything with this week's photo. Although I was with the boy & we did go into Birk's, it was purely out of curiosity. I've wandered by the building a million times & always wondered what if looked like inside so we decided to peek in. The inside is as impressive as its exterior, maybe even more so. & not only that, but it's massive. It was definitely worth the little tour (& having to listen to the boy complain the whole time.)

14/52

I'm not the biggest fan of this iphone app, instagram, but at the same time I'm kind of addicting. It's fun & it makes my iPhone photos look really great! Of course, that means it also makes everyone else's photos look great.

I was out for a long run in the rain last week & I captured this photo on my iPhone. It was one of those moments that I didn't have my SLR handy, but wanted the photo. So, I'm posting it because it turns out that I really like it. The Faubourg is the building that houses my Starbucks. At one time, it was beautiful. It had specialty stores - a bagel shop, cheese store, boulangerie, butcher shop. It seemed to be all about food, including an amazing food court with a glass roof. It's still a pretty interesting building, but it's very run down. I've been in the "alley" behind it a few times, but after my run that day, I saw it from a different perspective & couldn't help but think that it truly was beautiful. & it still seems to have some remnants of that long-lost beauty. Like so many places in Montreal, I'd love to see someone give it new life & restore it to its former glory. Until then, here's my photo of the week:

Secret beauty of le Faubourg

13/52

I'm really really terrible at drinking water. It's not like I never drink it, I just don't drink it enough, especially at home. I'll have juice or beer or pretty much anything else. It's terrible. I drink it when I work out, but I needed some help motivating myself to drink it at home so I decided to make my water more exciting. A little cucumber, some lemon & a bit of ginger go a long way. & it's kind of pretty too.

12/52

Lys came to visit a few weeks ago. It was short visit, but we managed to find some time to make gnocchi from scratch. It's time consuming, but actually pretty easy to make. We also picked up a few different cheeses & made mac & cheese with our gnocchi. Of course, it turned out delicious. This week's photo is from our gnocchi prep. I could go for some riiiiiight now just looking at it.

12/52

Nathan's unexpectedly in town & I definitely missed the boat on uploading my picture this week, so here it is a few days late. Another photo from my weekend in Saint John with him: uptown Saint John from the water.

Exam time! Wish me luck!

11/52

Spring has sprung! At least according to the calendar...According to the view from my bedroom window, however, winter has decided to see us out in style. Typical Canada.

For Valentines day, the boy bought me a return flight to NB - Saint John to be exact - to visit him. He's living out there for work and, seeing as it's a lot closer than Calgary, he decided to fly me out for a visit. I made it out on the last flight before the snow storm hit & made it back on one of the last flights as well. Just in time for class, might I add. It was a very snowy, albeit very relaxing, weekend in the Maritimes.

My photo this week is from the night I arrived. We underestimated the storm & ventured out on foot for dinner at a little Mexican place uptown. After dinner, we struggled home against the wind & blowing snow, laughing at the ridiculousness of the entire situation & thinking that maybe these New Brunswikers (New Brunswickites?) are smart to hibernate after all.

The mostly deserted streets of uptown Saint John

10/52

Lys was here this weekend & I just realized, I spent Sunday in bed/at work & yesterday at work/in class. Now that I have a free moment, I thought I should upload photo 10. In honour of "spring", here's a photo of what I faced as I left Quebec City after the weekend. Can't deny that the Chateau Frontenac looks like it belongs in the middle of a snowstorm...

so much for everyone

I miss the rewarding gaze
of a friend from my younger days
didn't mind about my selfish ways
as she died I was miles away

9/52

I'm still not done with my Quebec photos. Wandering around in the snow all weekend, there were countless opportunities & I pulled out my camera for pretty much every one. Here's another from Vieux Quebec. Icicles, pretty little lights, & furry jackets - sounds like winter to me.

8/52

I was in Saint John for the weekend visiting the boy ( a great valentines day present from him) so I'm once again behind this week. Thankfully, I'm pretty lax with my rules for this project. I've got yet another photo from Quebec City. There were far too many wonderful things to capture. One of my favourite things was sitting by the fire with my beau, drinking caribou in ice glasses. It was such a fun atmosphere & we were surrounded by people enjoying themselves & the carnaval festivities. So, here it is, one of my favourite parts of carnaval: ice cups filled with caribou.

next, please

You know those signs, "Today is not your day. Tomorrow isn't looking good either"? Well, I feel like I keep whacking into one after another lately.

7/52

Another week, another photo. I got a lot of great shots in Quebec City. I'm excited to really go through & edit them all! There will be quite a few more photos from this trip I'm sure. Wandering around the Old Town, I just loved these Maple Syrup buckets outside Le Cochon Dingue, filled with berries & pine needles. Here's my favourite shot of them.

6/52

I'm a little behind with this week's post since I was in Quebec City still until late Monday. Thankfully for Quebec City, I have a bunch of photos that don't involve myself to edit. Here's just one from my weekend at Carnaval. I love Bonhomme!

5/52

You're so vain. You probably think this song is about you. 

So, I know lately almost all of my photos have been EXTREMELY narcissistic. & yeah, I do take a lot of selfers, but my winter photography has been pretty dull lately. Between work & my huge class homework load & about a million other things I've got on my plate right now, I just haven't had time for a good photo sess. That, & I'm longing for a really nice lens & for apple to fix my external hard drive. Seeing as I don't have the money for the first & I don't have the time (2 more weeks, baby) for the second, I've got every excuse under the sun for my pathetic photographic attempts of late. Quebec city is next weekend, so I'll hopefully get some shots I'm happy with then.

My photo this week is flannely again (sorry it's been cold again!). I like this series of photos a lot, but the lighting really bugs me. It's bringing my need for some better editing software to my attention. I really don't like over edited photos very much & I don't want something stolen off the internet, so I'm biding my time until I can afford what I really want. Until then, I'll have to suck it up. & take technically better photos. Maybe avoid giant light sources in the background...

Now that I've totally torn my choice to shreds, here you go! (In the end, I still really love this photo. Flaws & all!)

the last unmarried

Clearly I am a terrible person. Or, at least, I am self-involved, petulant and petty. One of my best friends calls to tell me that she is engaged - something I have anticipated for awhile - and, while I am happy and excited for her, upon hanging up all I can think about is myself.

I just can't help stacking her relationship against mine and feeling badly. Her and her boyfriend-now-fiance haven't been together as long as myself and mine. But they moved in together a year ago. I thought that was the plan for us this spring, but after much discussion it has been decided that, in fact, it's not. They seem to be moving along the conveyor belt of monogamy so expertly. Why do I feel like I'm just scanning tabloids in the slowest check-out line?

A ring for so-and-so! - So-and-so tie the knot! - Yes, we're having a baby! Exclusive details inside.

I get the headlines from all my friends. And yes, I know that every relationship moves at its own pace. And yes, I know there are legitimate reasons for why my relationship is at the place that it is. And I don't feel like marriage makes sense for me right now. And I think it's perfectly reasonable, at this stage in my life, for that to be so. But still!

There was a wave of weddings, then a wave of babies. Now the second wave of weddings is cresting. I want those things. You know ... eventually. In the meantime I'd like to feel reassured of eventually. I feel like eventually has arrived already for so many other people and I wonder when it will be my turn. And I get the distinct feeling that somehow the people behind me in line are cutting ahead, and I can't quite catch them at it, and I don't know that there's anything I can do. I just have to suffer waiting. And sometimes I just get tired of waiting. I feel like I'm going to be the last unmarried, and I don't think I like it.

faulty parrallelism

ugggh, writing techniques is infiltrating my life! i just went back and edited my last post because of faulty parallelism (my assignment this week is on the subject). I'm not sure if I edited it correctly, but if it's still incorrect, at least it's less obviously incorrect. Damn you, correlative conjunctions!!

4/52

Lately, I've been feeling like all I do is work, homework, sleep, eat, and repeat.  I'm easily distracted so one of my favourite places to get my homework on is Café Myriad. Not only is it just around the corner from my place but also makes the very best lattes in town. Not only are they delicious, but they also beautiful. Latte art, you could say.

On top of the great atmosphere & delicious lattes, the myriad baristas are a wonderfully friendly bunch. (& no, I don't work for this particular café. I'm just an honest to goodness fan of their lattes.)

3/52

In honour of it being absolutely freezing out east, this week's photo is all about cozy flannel.

It's just a grainy, muted, flannel kind of day out there. 

2/52

While I was home at Christmas, my dad kept talking about this espresso machine that he had when my parents were first married. I'd never seen it before (something about steam exploding & blinds - I'm not sure either...), but they managed to dig it up out of the basement. It is by far the strangest looking contraption I've seen in a while. & I have no idea how you actually make coffee with it. But it is fun to take photos of! & next time I'm home, I'm resolved to experiment with it. I think it still has at least one more cup of coffee to make.

The possibility of real life is encroaching & it is totally freaking me out.

1/52

As stated in my "resolutions-that-aren't-really-resolutions-because-we-all-know-they-don't-work", I am getting on board with this Project 52 this year. I don't really have any rules besides that the pictures must be recent. I had thought of making a rule that I can't include anything that wasn't taken within that week, but then this project wouldn't have even got off the ground. That & this picture is a must. I love the lighting & how small it makes me feel & the beauty of something relatively untouched.

Driving back from the lake, we stopped at some waterfalls just off the highway. In the spring, apparently the water comes rushing down & is beautiful. But I think it's equally gorgeous under a blanket of snow & ice.