(Pyrrhic) Victory!

Last night, I had a victory over voicemail. By cleverly reading the instruction packet, I was able to change the prompt language for our voicemail to English. Our greeting no longer says we're on the other line - S can even check messages!

Sure, this is the sort of victory that resembles defeat. But right now, I'm OK with that.

Herbe à Puces

Have you ever been hiking in a foreign country, and wondered to yourself...."hmm. I wonder what that sign means"? If it does happen, I might suggest not passing the sign. Or for that matter, not walking in your yard, ever. Even - not believing the brand new, summer time "itchy-exzema" diagnosis.

Just a thought.

Hiking Montreal - only $15!

The weather has been beautiful the last few days - upper 80s, clear and sunny. So on Saturday, we headed North of the city to Lanaudière for a hike. The land is beautiful - the hills spring up from the flat plains without warning, and everywhere we drove there were little farms with roadside stands featuring fraises (strawberries), bleuets (blueberries), and even a little farm with rows and rows of different flowers. We bought a dozen ears of sweet corn - and the 10 year old manning the stand gave me a refresher course in French numbers.

We found the trail (Parc Régional de Chutes Monte-à-Pein-des-Dalles), but the gate attendant was adamant that we come back tomorrow - it was already almost 4:00, the park closed at 6:00 - and she could not in good conscience let us waste our money. We took the information, agreed to return tomorrow and promptly made a wrong turn on a dirt road. Once we circled back to the park entrance we had changed our mind, so we paid our entrance fee and made our way in.

Sam promptly found a new life's purpose as a snake hunter. He also has a bite first, take pictures later attitude on snakes, so our pictures feature them quickly slithering away. But, we think that it was a Northern Ribbon Snake, as below:

The falls and views were fantastic.

Even though we only had two hours, we got a good hike in and were plenty worn out by the end.

On our way back, we drove through quaint little villages like St. Beatrix, and innumerable little lakes.

More babies!

This year has been an exciting baby year.

First there came Alexandra Lesley.

And then Grant Proven.

And then Zaylie Elizabeth.

Since then, Amelie Akiko arrived.

And, Kai arrived too.

And, most recently, Joel Simon.

We cannot wait to see Alexandra, Grant, and Zaylie again.

And, we cannot wait to meet Amelie, Kai, and Joel.

Wedding Bells, Amy and Mac

Last weekend was Amy's and Mac's wedding. It was at Illinois Beach Resort, north of Chicago. It was a perfect day.

(photo stolen from the photographer - see gallery 13 for more)

I got to see the entire Harper-Stephen clan, which always makes me happy. Joann wore a hat, which was fabulous!

(photo not stolen from the photographer)

Amy was so happy, that she even danced with Tom!

(photo stolen from the photographer - see gallery 13 for more)

Congratulations Amy and Mac! And, Best Wishes!

The Ohio State OR Michigan

We left Columbus and the verdict is out ....

Hiking in Montreal

While the riots raged on, we took our first hike at Mont Royal. We got a late start (big surprise) and walked from our apartment to the park, so, instead of following the switchback trails, we went straight up to the top.

At the top, we had a great view of the city.

We hurried back down the trail, but by the time we hit the forest - it was too dark!

So, we followed the road home, with cars and cyclists zipping past us.

High as a Kite

The movers picked up our stuff on Wednesday July 23, K's parents arrived in Columbus on Friday, we gave Toonces and Little Bit tranquilizers at 8 AM on Saturday and we set off at 9 AM for what ended up being a 17-hour tour. Toonces didn't like being in the pet carrier so she attacked the metal door, scratching up her nose and tearing up a few claws - the only bloodshed of the day. She got to spend the rest of the day patrolling the car in her drug-induced haze. Little Bit stayed in her carrier and cried once and a while. We stopped every hour or so to do something ... go to the bathroom, get a tea, drug the cats again, eat a 7-course meal, smell the daises .... at one point, we lost K's parents and have to drive 40 mph on the interstate for an hour until they caught up with us. Then we had to drive 100 mph to keep up with them. We arrived at customs at 10:30 PM. Bert and Cindy made it through no problem. Immigration upgraded me from an accompanying family member permit to a 3-year open work permit. Some of our paperwork was missing in action (maybe in K's parents car) ... So, K spoke German to the customs guy, he thought that was great, and let us through (no claiming the car, no paying duty on liquor, no showing the pets' certificates). We arrived in Montreal around 2 AM. Lessons learned: drug your pets, stop to smell the daises, and bring more liquor when you land in Canada.

Toonces, the Tormented (notice her nose)

Little Bit, the Lethargic