VirginiaMiddleton.ca

In Ontario (and also Alberta and Saskatchewan), today is Family Day.  The majority of my family is in St. John’s, so Matt and I had the pleasure of going out for brunch with our friends Jon and Rachelle.

They’re both from Newfoundland and Labrador originally; Rachelle is currently attending school in Toronto and Jon was up visiting her this past week. History note: Jon and I have been friends for a heck of a long time. Going back to being in the same church choir growing up and then hanging out in high school and even more so in University onwards.

A couple of days ago, Jon suggested we go for crepes and Matt mentioned a place at Queen West and John Street. Now I’ve seen Café Crepe before, but have never gone in. Wow have I been missing out!! It turned into a really fun morning and was a great way to kick off Family Day.

Check out more details about our Adventures with Crepes in this quick video I’ve put together:

If you haven’t been to Café Crepe, I highly recommend you check it out. YUM!!

Dear VirginiaMiddleton.ca/blog,

It’s not you, it’s me. I’m sorry for neglecting you lately and it’s really nothing personal! I’ve been busy, but think about you often. Sometimes it’s late at night when I know we can’t connect because sleep is fast approaching. And sometimes it’s when I’m on the subway and we all know it’s impossible to get some precious Wi-Fi when underground.

I promise we’ll hang out very soon.

I have something fun to share with you in the meantime. I’ve been knitting a lot since the New Year started. In fact (and you’d be really proud of this), I’m knitting something for ME! It’s going to be a green vest. This photo doesn’t do justice to what the final project will look like, but hopefully this will help easy your annoyance for my recent absence.

See?! Isn’t it awesome!!!! I know, I know, it just looks like a green rectangle with a hole in it, but I promise the final product will be full of win and awesome-sauce; just you wait.

Lots of Internet hugs,
V

At 7:35 p.m., my husband Matt and I fly home to St. John’s for the holidays.

I’ll attempt a few updates while there, but will confess right now that I may be a little slack over the next two weeks as we haven’t been home since June and there are a lot of friends and family to visit.

Happy holidays Internets!
Virginia

The past few days have left me with a mild bout of writer’s block and while I have a few drafts in the works, I popped over to Livejournal and accessed some suggestions for blog/journal entries.

Here’s what we have…

If  you could keep only one of your five senses – taste, touch, smell, sight, or hearing – which would you choose and why?

Personally, this is a really tough question! My initial thought is “Sight. I’m 100% sure about that”, but after reading them over, the thought of losing touch is also really bothersome. Not being able to feel the touch of another person, to sense the wind whipping past you, and losing the warmth felt from a burning campfire – no thank you!

I guess my initial preference for sight is that as someone who wears glasses and doesn’t have the best vision on a good day, the idea of losing my ability to see is really terrifying. Not being able to see my surroundings really strikes a cord with me.
Morbid Moment: Whenever I pass on/expire/cease living (Monty Python reference!), I hope it’s possible to donate my eyes to someone who can still use them (why be greedy when someone else can benefit?).

Now it’s time for a confession – I LOVE food. It’s not a secret and the way I see it, the more garlic in a dish the better! But if I lost my sense to taste or smell, that would be terrible! Horrifying!! Now that I think about it, if I lost taste and touch at the same time, could I even eat?!?! Gnawing on your tongue doesn’t count as a meal…

Losing the ability to hear would of course be very unpleasant and not something I’m eager to experience. I’m a talker; I’ll admit (no confession needed there!). Not being able to hear other people or even hear what I’m saying (to help ensure I make sense) would really put a damper on my ability to communicate! It wouldn’t snuff it out completely of course (lots of people are unable to hear), but I’m embarrassingly bad at reading lips, so it would be interesting to say the least… there’d be a lot of “what?” and “no that’s not what I said…” I’m also a music lover and while country music really isn’t my thing, I’m happy to listen to just about anything else. I find listening to music to be calming, energizing and a great way to get motivated.

I’m really starting to believe that this was a trick question!! Doesn’t the sense of touch pretty much impacts all of the senses if it’s gone (with only  sight, would you still be able to blink?!). Mayby I’m over thinking this…

At the end of the day, I still feel strongly about sight, but am left feeling that I really take my five senses for granted…

How would you answer the question above? What sense (if given a choice) could you simply not live without?

As mentioned in my previous post, as time allows, I will post an expanded version of my Friday Fives.

Here are some additional details to my December 4 Friday Five…

1. Enjoy family traditions

This is something I could talk and write about all day and night and there would never be enough time to cover everything. Christmas and the holidays have always been a big deal in my family and I’ve dug up two videos that can help visualize what it’s like for us. Every year, relatives from both my Mom’s and Dad’s families get together to celebrate this special time of year.

There are often sing-alongs, lots of food and many laughs. Click on the videos twice to see their YouTube details.

 

 

2. See the Christmas lights in those hidden pockets of the city

Do you have any idea how intense the Christmas decorating is in St. John’s and the surrounding communities?!

There are houses that are pretty much covered from top to bottom with lights and colours. I’ll try to get some photos and video footage this year to really show how crazy and awesome it can be.

 

 

3. Have an annual dinner with friends from high school

It may seem odd to a lot of people, but most of my friends back in St. John’s have been my closest and dearest friends since High School (even Junior High and Elementary School for some!). Amongst a few of us is a tradition to get together on December 23rd. We normally have a potluck, but this year we’re going out for dinner. We have a blast and it’s a great tradition that will hopefully continue for many more years.

 4. Spend time with my parents and immediate family

I have a lot of family and friends in St. John’s and it isn’t always possible to see EVERYONE in 10 short days.

It has literally been a year and half since I last saw my brother, sister-in-law and two adorable nieces! We’re all pretty excited that we’re all home for Christmas this year and being able to spend time with them and my parents is going to be so great!

This photo was taken in St. John’s Airport back in either 2006 or 2007 just before my husband Matt and I returned to Toronto.

 

5. RELAX

Going home is always fun, but relaxing isn’t always something that happens easily. With so many friends and family to see and things to do – it can leave you exhausted and a bit dizzy by the end of it all. My poor husband is used to a much quieter Christmas and he’s a real trooper to keep up with me and the fast pace of it all.

This holiday season, I hope to read more, work on some knitting and make sure I feel rested when returning to work on January 4th.

 

 

So those are my hopes for the holidays. What are your plans? Did any of the above seem familiar to you? Do you have certain traditions or “must haves” that really make this season magical for you?