Long Wait at the Border

So we are almost home now from our journey. Today was a really long wait at the U.S./Canada border. We were stopped at the on-ramp at Port Huron, MI. The traffic was stopped everywhere on the way to the toll booth. It took us 40 minutes just to get to the toll because they kept shutting it down, I presume to allow some of the endless traffic to cross over the bridge. Sometimes I wonder if it's not just a stall tactic to annoy travellers. It then took another half an hour to get over the bridge and to the customs and immigration booth. Luckily that was fast once we got there. And the officer in the booth was actually friendly and smiley - an unheard of thing usually.

After what seemed like a very long drive, we finally arrived in London, ON where we will spend the night at our families' houses. My parents made a great dinner for us and now it's just time to relax. I'm anxious now to go pick up my dogs tomorrow morning at the kennel and get home. Time to get back into exercise and healthy eating after a very fattening past week.

Incline Railway at Lookout Mountain

Today my son and I did something really fun and interesting. We visited and took a ride on the Incline Railway. It is located at the foothills of Lookout Mountain near Chattanooga. I found the drive there a bit confusing but after asking a local sheriff, we were not far off.

The Incline Railway is the steepest passenger train in use in the world. As the track reaches toward the top, the slope is graded at 72.7% and let me tell you, as you look up the mountain, it seems to reach completely vertical! The views at the top are fantastic. Today was so hot and humid that the view was a little hazy, but still awesome over the Tennessee River and valley.

At one time, people who lived up on the mountain top would only be able to get down for supplies and food maybe once a year. After the Incline was built in the late 1800's, it enabled those who lived on the mountain a chance to get their supplies more conveniently. Today, over 40 million rides have been taken on the Incline Railway. It's definitely worth the trip.

Children's Creative Discovery Museum

Another toasty day here in Chattanooga. This morning was a trip to the Children's Creative Discovery Museum downtown. It's a super place with so many great learning activities for children of all ages. There is a large replica of a steamboat complete with bunk, sailor's wheel, fishing area and costumes. There is a great water play area with different levers and pulleys and contraptions to make water move in different ways. Another area houses all things musical including a theatre area where kids can put on their owns plays and even run the lights and sounds. My son loves the mechanical area where one can place a message in a tube, close the window, push a button and have pneumatic force "blast" the message to a person on the other side of the room.

The rooftop area houses an outdoor play spot complete with a self-lifting chair. Kids sit on the chair and pull the cord until they reach the top and a bell rings. Today the museum was housing an Alice in Wonderland exhibit. The last time we visited there was a great exhibit on life in medieval times. The Children's Museum also has a complete art studio and dinosaur pit where kids can dress up like a paleontologist and use brushes and scoops to reveal buried "dinosaur" bones.

We had lunch at PF Chang's which is an upscale Chinese restaurant chain, but I've got to say that Toronto definitely has the best Chinese food outside the Orient. Our dimsum is superior to say the least. And I must remember to have some when I return.

Tennessee Aquarium

This morning we went into downtown Chattanooga to visit the Tennessee Aquarium - a fantastic spot to visit. There are 2 ultra modern buildings, one housing all the marine animals and the other houses the fresh water creatures. There are fabulous displays of under the sea sharks, pufferfish, turtles, mantarays, etc. We even got to "pet" the stingrays (which have had the stingers removed) and bamboo sharks in a touch tank. It was great! One larger stingray was trying to fly out of the tank and made quite a splash. My son really enjoyed that along with petting the sturgeon - also known as the dinosaur of the seas. Did you know that sturgeon fish are one of the oldest species still alive and that they can grow up to 6 feet long?

After a fascinating visit with alligators, fish, butterflies and all things native to the Tennessee Valley waters, we walked over to the Big River Grill and had lunch...cornmeal fried catfish and coleslaw with a large Iced Tea. A good downpour ensued as we munched down the goodies. There is a brewery in the restaurant where they serve up all their own ales and beers.

And now it is back to the hotel for a rest amongst this upper 90's humid heat. I bought a copy of The Secret and will start reading that tonight.

Southern Food

After much ado, we are now in Chattanooga, TN and it is beautifully hot here...99F and I love it. It's the first time I've felt warm in a long time. At the moment it is clouding over and I think a thunderstorm is on its way. For lunch we stopped at Famous Dave's BBQ where my hubby had ribs, I had a pulled pork sandwich and my son had catfish fingers. Hey, we're in the south so do as the locals do, right? I've got to tell you I was looking for a healthier, lighter alternative to a heavy sandwich so I thought salad would be the right choice. But I've never seen a salad with so much meat, cheese and Piknik french fry sticks! That was an interesting twist on the crunch element. All in all it was delicious (and so was the cornmeal muffin on the side). We also visited a local grocery story called Bi Lo and got some water and munchies for the room. After seeing all the tempting junk food, I think it could be a challenge to stay slim in this neck of the woods. Anyway, it is now time to veg-out in the hotel room and just relax after the long drive from back north.

Summer is Here

It was another hectic day that started off on a sleepy foot this morning. My son was calling me at 5:40 am in order to come back to my bed, so that threw me off my deep sleep. Oh well...c'est la vie! Somehow I managed to drop my son off at school and then drive my dogs over an hour away to a great kennel (Autumn Acres) where they will stay for the next week. We are on our way south to Tennessee tomorrow. I'm looking forward to a change of scenery and some respite from all the stress that's been happening in my life lately.

My son finished up school today and got the numbers of his friends and said his summer goodbyes. His favorite girl friend from class gave him a big hug and told him she'd miss him. I thought that was sweet. She's a really nice little girl and it turns out where we're moving is not that far away from her. Weird how things like that happen. So tonight we'll throw some sausages on the grill, get packed and hopefully have a decent sleep.

Philosophical Thoughts

I can't believe that the end of school is this week! How can a grade go by so quickly? When you're little, a school year seems to take forever to pass. But now that I'm on the other end of the stick as a parent, I appreciate just how fast time flies. And I can't say that I like it. I'm coming closer to turning another year older and so is my son. It's so amazing to see the changes happen. What is not amazing is how we get older with each passing day. I used to hear these words from my parents and now I totally understand what they meant.

I was talking with my brother-in-law last night about the new book entitled, The Secret. I must get reading that. The whole concept of like attracting like is quite fascinating. I am totally open to non-concrete thinking (maybe it's an escape from my anxiety-burdened personality). He was telling me about starting each day with a thank you for the abundance in your life and I think I will start trying this. My husband thought we were both nuts as we discussed philosophical thoughts. But it was so refreshing to converse in that manner. Even if he's closed off to alternative thought patterns, I think I'm going to give it a serious shot over the next month and see what happens.

Sold

Last night it happened. We sold the house. I am still in emotional no-man's land. My husband is thrilled to have closed this chapter on the real estate deal. I on the other hand, am sad to know that all my memories from this part of my life are coming to an end. It's daunting to move to a new place, but I think what is worrying me most these days is wondering how lonely I will be. That sounds pretty shallow I realize, but it is a concern for me. You see, even though here in our suburb the houses are close together and I have many rooms that look onto the neighbor's brick walls, I can still see people and life nearby. My son and I took a drive to the new country house last night and I got to thinking about the serious lack of people. Having views of nature out the windows will be lovely, but I am not sure how to nix this nagging anxiety in my gut right now. I just have to keep having faith that everything will work out for the best.

Father's Day

It was a beautiful, hot day here today. My son, dogs and I drove up to our new house and had a look around. Things still have a long way to go on the outside grounds area, but I'm sure in 2 more months things will look terrific. We were walking along where some marshy area was and my little Westie Caesar decided to walk right in and cool off! He was like a dirty little swamp rat when he came out. Naughty boy! So we kept walking around outdoors so that he could dry off. Needless to say, the inside of my car once we got back home was covered in silt. My son and I proceeded to wash the car inside and out. I think we impressed my husband. Other than that, it was a quiet Father's Day with a nice bbq dinner and delicious fruit flan for dessert. Happy Father's Day!

Adventures in New York

Getting back to my NY trip, I thought I'd mention about some of the places that I visited. I was on my own for a day while my husband worked, so I decided to check out SoHo - a place I've driven through but never really explored. I jumped on the infamous subway (which is quite clean and safe during the day at least) and headed down to Houston St. SoHo is just an acronym for South of Houston St. After much walking and checking the street signs and map once more, I finally made it to Broadway where I found an amazing amount of boutiques.

My first stop was to Pearl River Mart, which I've read about in many magazines. I love Asian clothing, papers and accessories so I figured this would be a great start. There was a copious amount of intriguing items, including an embroidered purse that I contemplated buying, but didn't. It was really fun just taking time to look at things by myself in my own time. I also found a great fashion jewelry shop which had walls of bling everywhere. There was a lot of cute earrings and necklaces. But since I've been running my own little jewelry business, I understand the markup and wasn't about to pay the prices they were asking. I must sound cheap at this point, but hey, a girl has to watch her pocketbook!

I think the funniest thing about the day was that 5 different people asked me for directions in a city I don't live in. Maybe because my stride is strong and quick and I walk with purpose was the tip to visitors that I must be a New Yorker who knows her way around. But I was mainly clueless, except for 2 French girls that asked me where SoHo was when we were standing in the middle of it.

After endless hours of tromping through the chaotic streets, I headed back to the hotel for a quick rest. I met up with my husband and had a drink and some great mixed nuts in the hotel bar.

Neighborhood Crime

A few posts ago I was talking about something strange that had happened in my neighborhood involving police, yellow crime tape and a lot of "gawkers." Well, after chatting with one of the elderly gossipy neighbors tonight, I found out just what had happened that morning. Turns out that crime is spreading all over greater Toronto and that there's really nowhere left to hide. Apparently a son grabbed a knife and stabbed his mother during a heated argument. She ran out of the house and as she lay in her front yard bleeding, a neighbor noticed and called 911. That would explain why so many police cars were blocking off that street last week. Listening to this story just sent goosebumps down my arms. You just never know what's going on behind closed doors.

New York City Food

My trip to NYC was hectic but enjoyable. I don't think my husband would say the same however. We've been to the city many times before, but this time he really felt that it was too crowded, noisy and chaotic. I think that was because we spent more time in the Times Square / midtown area as opposed to the upper East side as in previous trips. We had a really great dinner at a little place called Trattoria dell'Arte (across from Carnegie Hall). It was open air and just like a real little restaurant in Italy. But my favorite dinner was at Dock's - a must-eat-at seafood restaurant at 40th and 3rd. We've eaten here many times before and it always delivers excellent, fresh seafood. The fried calamari is crisp and delicious. The lobster is fresh, large and divine! My crab cakes were scrumptious, along with the best crispy sweet potato fries you've ever eaten. I love those!

There is no shortage of food in NYC. In fact there are great little European cafes almost everywhere now. The new food item was the "pressini" sandwich. Almost like a Panini, but made with flat bread instead. I have to tell you, they're delish! I had a black forest ham and Gruyere which made me want more. We also shared a cannoli which cost $4.50 for one! Food prices are high. When we had lunch at the famous Roxy deli in Times Square, a club sandwich was $25. We had the hot pastrami on rye, stacked high and sided with a dill pickle and slaw. Yum-o! Speaking of high prices, 2 cocktails at the hotel ran $32 + tax. There are so many strange taxes added on in NYC.

The Big Apple

I have been wanting to write, but have been unable to get to a computer for the past little while. We have been in New York City and just got back this afternoon. It was a very busy and tiring few days with a lot of walking. Needless to say I am very tired at the moment and will write tomorrow about my trip. I have lots of pictures and things to share in another post later on about life in the Big Apple.

School Fair Update

I'm so glad yesterday is over. I really went to a lot of time and trouble to prepare display trays for my jewelry and they turned out pretty well. I had a fairly decent turnout at the school fair, but I've got to tell you...there must be a better way to earn money than that. Four hours of sitting at a table trying to pedal my wears was tedious to say the least. At least my son found his neighborhood friends and had kids to play with. In the meanwhile I was being deafened from an overly loud speaker system on one side, and a police patrol car on display which allowed children to flip on the sirens, chant over the microphone and generally make lots of loud noise. I had a flash thought of, "man, I've really aged!" It's a sure sign of aging when music that I once couldn't get enough of was actually annoying me and giving me a headache.

On another interesting note, this morning as I was driving through my neighborhood, I noticed one of the side streets blocked off by 4 police cars and a whole lot of yellow tape cordoning off the area. Since I live in a mostly Sicilian area where there are constantly bizarre things happening (i.e. 3 houses burning to the ground within the past 4 years) it made me speculate on perhaps yet another Soprano's moment. I can't wait to hear what the local scuttlebut is on that situation.

Mayhem at my "manor"

Today is just running around mayhem. After school I will be setting up a table to sell handbags and chunky jewelry at the school around the corner. I sure hope there's a good turn out as the weather has suddenly turned cool. I've been running errands for last minute items to set up for this bazaar and just came back from dropping the dogs off for an afternoon of "sitting" at the vet. I have a showing again later this afternoon and can't have them storming around. This showing stuff is a lot of work and I can't wait until it's over. So I must run now and get the jewelry displays organized and finish cleaning up before I leave soon!

Curl Up

This morning after dropping my son off at school, I came home and actually laid down on the couch and curled up with my little dog, Caesar. He is such a snuggle-bug. As a child I always dreamed of having a dog (which I never did), especially one that would curl up in my arms and fall asleep. Guess I always had massive amounts of the nurturing bug in me and never realized it until my child was born. I just felt an overwhelming need to rest, as I've been stressed out over this "move" situation. But after a quick half hour of that, I began the dreaded clean up process once more. Today included a mopping down of the kitchen floor after my dogs tramped in copious muddy footprints yesterday. At 6 tonight we must go to the new place and pick some tile for the downstairs. Maybe then we can resolve some of these nervous feelings about the whole thing.

Tidy Up Once Again Is the Story of My Life

Things are busy around our house with many showings. Friday we had 4 showings and opted out of the 5th as it was late in the evening. Yesterday we had another 2 showings and today we have 1 so far later this afternoon. It's really hard to live with all the daily stuff packed away and constantly trying to tidy up. I'm exhausted and it's hardly begun. I wonder how many showings we will have before an offer arises. Apparently there are bidding wars happening on real estate here in Toronto, especially now that mortgage rates are about to climb.

Yesterday we drove to the new place and let the dogs take a run. Well, they certainly had fun but what a mess they got into. The ground is still wet and there are several puddles of mud with some funky yellowish construction mud added, so their paws were filthy, crusty and plain disgusting! It made a mess of the backseat of the car too. And guess who gets to clean it up? Yours truly of course. And my hubby wants to go there again today while the next showing happens...with the dogs. Argh...so I will go equipped with towels and wipes today. Enough of this nonsense. I have to make my cleaning up as minimal as possible from now on.

My next task today is to give my son a haircut, then make sure he gets his homework finished. Then I will have to run the vacuum again and quickly dust areas that are showing mote accumulation again. How do those little things pile up so quickly anyway? These days cleaning is the general story theme of my life.