Category: Miscellaneous

As I type, I’m lounging in Ottawa’s quiet airport, staring at the jet just past the windows that’ll fly me to Toronto, where I’ll board another jet for Atlanta.

It’s time to fly south.

This morning a little girl sashayed into Starbucks wearing a long, dressy peacoat, tiny leather boots, and knitted gloves. And unfortunately, although her basic instincts have kicked in before puberty, her attire wasn’t misplaced. The first really chilly autumn mornings are upon us here in Ottawa. Determined to make the most of the season at the castle, we held court several days ago and considered corn roasts, s’mores, apple turnovers and cider. I won’t be in Canada to enjoy them… Summer is over and it’s time for me to go home.

Spending four months in one city made me excited to move on (after all, it’s all about travel, travel, travel) but also sad to leave all the friends I made. 

Allow me to introduce you to two of them: Bob and Barry. They’re our castle gate-guards. They know virtually all the castle residents by sight and are worth their weight in gold. Their role in the castle is essential. And I appreciated them because, every weekday morning as I started and ended my work, they provided a quip or admonition. Stopping to chat became a ritual. “Have you done your reports?” Barry would ask each night, eyeing me seriously from behind bushy eyebrows. “Have you put the calls on forwarding?” Yes, yes, I would tell him, everything is finished. He would nod solemnly and say, “Good.  Good.” He also caught onto my love of red meat and tendency to go home and eat giant hamburgers. So many nights, I’d simply walk by holding up my hands around a giant, 12-inch, invisible hamburger, and watch the solemn face wrinkle in laughter.

Bob, on the other hand, would recognize the sound of my high-heels on the tile each morning and call “Well, hello!” down the hallway as I came around the corner. “Oh, beautiful day, eh? I spent the weekend in Edmonton putting up a fence with my niece. I’ve never worked so hard in twenty years, eh?” And who could help but start the day smiling at such cheerfulness? Much more than just a guard, Bob spends his down time reading, expanding his already active knowledge of many subjects… making him a rare conversational delight.

I’ll miss these two with their friendliness, support, and listening ears. 

(Bob)

 
(Barry)
  
Yesterday as I had my last audience with the Queen of the castle (who I would definitely love to be when I grow up), I asked if she had any words of wisdom as I left. “Stay true to yourself!” she replied without hesitation. 

As the Queen commands, then, so shall it be done! Au revoir, Ottawa… we may meet again.

-The Dauntless Princess-

  

I’ve been waiting patiently. Each morning, for days on end now, the clouds kept sunshine from peeking through my castle windows until late. But I’ve kept waking early and watching for the cloudless sunrise. 

Rumor has it that an hour after sunrise and the hour before sunset, the sunlight falls softer, redder, and makes the world look almost magical. I anticipated seeing the wide, wild farmlands of Canada covered in early autumn dew in the soft dawn light… and waited. 

“Goodbye, goodbye,” sang Carolyn, waltzing out the door yesterday. “It’s my day off tomorrow and it’s going to be beautiful weather. I’m taking my grand-daughter shopping. Goodbye, goodbye!” With a whirl of skirts, curled blonde hair and old-fashioned pearls my glamourous sixty-something coworker departed, and in the following pause, I realized tomorrow would be the day I’d waited for.

The morning dawned cloudless and I scrambled to leave, driving fast along the highway trying to find the farmland outside the tech-centered suburb. “Tech, tech, tech, tech, FARMS!” is the way Clarke described the area, and he was right – past the shining modern buildings there’s only undeveloped farmland. The light was already pouring over everything, the perfect morning! I wound my way out along Carling Avenue and there it was: the road to nowhere. This is where I’d stop to enjoy the golden hour.     

   
   
Everything was covered in dew, stunning and ethereal. As the sun rose a bit higher, it got even more beautiful…

   
   
Someone made their home in this field:

   
 
And I discovered a ghost spider, which, as ghosts often do, refused to be photographed properly. BUT I ASSURE YOU I saw him in incredible detail, frail and translucent. That white dot is him! See?

  
And with that, there was nothing left but to put a flower behind my ear and take a selfie. 

  
-The Dauntless Princess-

Sometimes you feel the need for a chocolate-peanut-butter-something. And buying a dessert just isn’t enough… You need to bake it.

Baking presented an unusual challenge, as I have no cooking utensils, measuring cups or KitchenAid here. But I’m pleased to say that I made this dessert in a pot measuring with a drinking glass, and it came out delicious.  

 
First I baked the brownie base, from a mix. And melted some peanut butter onto the top.

  
While it was cooling I mixed up the peanut butter dough for the top…

  
…then spread it on the base.

  
When it was all smoothed down I sprinkled the joyful mini M&Ms on the top.

  
On top of the M&Ms I drizzled the final decadence… Melted peanut butter. 

I couldn’t wait, so I dug in right away. It was insanely good. The perfect thing to satisfy the peanut-butter-chocolate craving.

And the best part? It’s even better after having been in the fridge all night. Diabetes, here I come.

  

Traveling through Gatineau last weekend, I’d glimpsed huge fireworks in the distance over downtown Ottawa. Come to find out, it’s an international fireworks festival where each Wednesday and Saturday a different country put on their best display. Admission was $8. I could do that. 

It was Autumn who invited me to go. Autumn, who also works with my company and is awesome – I can only describe her with words like savvy, determined and ballsy – has been working downtown on a renovation project. She met me downtown and we took an Uber to the Museum of Natural History. It was on the Quebec side, so French was the common tongue. 

Rain had poured down earlier in the day, but the sky was clear last night, and the sunset laid soft colors around the museum, the river, and Canadian Parliament. There was a man pushing a bubble machine through the crowd, and the kids followed him like the pied piper.

   

    
 
Finally it was completely dark, and on huge loudspeakers in French and English, two announcers opened the show. We all stood for the Oh Canada. Then the lights began.

These were the best fireworks I’ve ever seen in my life, and there is no substitute for physically being there. The size of the bursts and their three-dimensional beauty can’t be truly captured on camera. My favorite of all, and I didn’t even try to get a picture, were the golden fireworks that glimmered and shimmered elegantly over the river. 

Meantime, the kids behind me were having the time of their lives pretending it was chemical warfare.

   
    

 I’ll go back next week on the 22nd for the grand finale, because it’s now that I’m here and the Sound of Light isn’t to be missed.

Tres bon.

-The Dauntless Princess-

P.S. If you want better photography than mine, look on Instagram #soundoflight for some great pictures!