CAFÉ CHAT L'HEUREUX, ON DULUTH

Grilled cheese 

Cat puccino (overpriced and mediocre)

The reason for the visit (the girl, not the cat!)

Sweet!

La Ronron: A crazy generous pomegranate, green apple, roasted almond slices, chèvre, arugula salad

MMFA ARCHITECTURAL MOTIFS

Ceiling chandelier in the 1912 Beaux-Arts Hornstein Pavilion (NorthWest corner)

Detailed ventilation grate

Floral railing

Shadow of the floral railing

CAFE PIKOLO

How hard is this? But it's standard with a cappuccino at Pikolo Express on Park north of Sherbrooke. Third wave coffee. Nod to my hipster bro!

IMPROMPTU SNOWMAN ON THE WAY TO THE MAILBOX

FULL MOON ON MOUNT ROYAL

One night going to work I had the good sense to bring my snowshoes in the trunk of my car. I hit on the perfectly clear night, and with some trepidation, and letting a colleague know before I went where I was going, I set out after my shift in -18 degree celsius weather, and climbed the mountain through the woods on the snow pack. It was magic, and the tiny risk it felt like I was taking made it all the more romantic and thrilling. By the time I reached the paths on top, there wasn't enough snow, but it was pretty rough going uphill for most of the trek, and it was most fun I had had in ages!

I made it to the lookout carried my snowshoes, and met a group of 6 people on their way down. We were the luckiest people on the planet last night, with the twinkling Montreal lights in the crisp air creating a spectacular view. The real beauty was in the woods, though. The moon seemed impossibly high to give such light, but reflecting off the snow was a bright glittering light, better than an city could ever achieve.

View down to de la Montagne

OUR SNOWBALL MAKER SLED

It was one of those rare winter days with just enough humidity and just the right temperature to make snowballs. Pulling my daughter on the sled was a great way to generate a bunch of snowballs that led to my back being the sole target! This is no ordinary sled. It has a secret. You can't buy it like this. You have to pull it over many intersections without great snow coverage for a couple of years before you can have such an efficient machine. Here is the secret, revealed!

Snow ball maker sled with snowball thrower

Snow ball maker sled

The secret at the bottom of the sled. 

BIRTHDAY BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS

Nutella, banana, reese's pieces crèpes

FIRST DECADE BIRTHDAY PARTY

Add caption

WHO WORE IT BETTER?

CAT PASTA!

Cooked

Dry

UNICORN (RAINBOW) POOPS

Nerdy Nummies fan with six unique rainbow colours

Perfect creamy cheese turds!

Step three

Logs of colour

Last twist before the final cookie making

FIRST TRACKS, CROSS-COUNTRY STYLE

SCALLOPED POTATOES - YUM

Betty Crocker classic

A PERFECT HOT COCOA

INSPIRED BY AGATHA CHRISTIE

It has been a goal of mine for a few years now that I read all of Agatha Christie's work. I have her autobiography, and a list of her books. I have even marked off a dozen mysteries that I have already read, and divided the novels into Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple stories. I have watched both collections of Miss Marple mysteries and am watching the second season of Poirot on netflix. So here I find myself at the beginning again, starting with The Mysterious Affair at Styles, introducing Hercule Poirot and his recording companion Captain Hastings.

Hercule Poirot's Christmas (also Murder for Christmas/A Holiday for Murder) was an interesting story. Here, the story is divided into 7 parts, each spanning a different day, over the holiday period of December 22-28. There are no less than ten characters before the murder occurs, and the juggling of them is dizzying. I found the psychology interesting. Parent and child relationships. Marriage dynamics. The character of the murdered man.

Hilda said gravely:

"There is a certain kind of meekness-of submission-that brings out the worst in a man - whereas that same man, faced by spirit and determination, might be a different creature."

False identities. Motives, opportunities and alibis. Disguises and lies. Shakespearian quotes and myths.

Poirot said dreamily:

"The character of the victim has always something to do with his or her murder. The frank and unsuspicious mind of Desdemona [Othello] was the direct cause of her death. A more suspicious woman would have seen Iago's [Othello] machinations and circumvented them much earlier. The uncleanness of Marat [a physician with dermatitis herpetiformis] directly invited his end in a bath. From the temper of Mercurio's [Romeo and Juliette] mind came his death at the sword's point."