Because it's time for a nap. Eating breakfast and going to the bathroom outside is really tiring. So he naps next to me on the spare bed. I like listening to his high-pitched honk-zzz... honk-zzz... snoring.
Monday
[misc] Murderface Monday
During the weekend mornings, Murderface and I have our routine. He and I wake up in the bedroom, stretch, leave the bedroom and close the door (because someone likes to sleep in until at least noon) and go downstairs. I give him his cereal (dry food) and make my coffee. When my coffee's done, I let him out to go to the bathroom. I head upstairs to my craftroom to knit and catch up on tv shows. When it's time to make my 2nd cup of coffee, I go downstairs, let MF back inside, make my coffee and we both go back upstairs. He either gets back into bed with Dollar or comes into my craft room.
Because it's time for a nap. Eating breakfast and going to the bathroom outside is really tiring. So he naps next to me on the spare bed. I like listening to his high-pitched honk-zzz... honk-zzz... snoring.
Because it's time for a nap. Eating breakfast and going to the bathroom outside is really tiring. So he naps next to me on the spare bed. I like listening to his high-pitched honk-zzz... honk-zzz... snoring.
Tuesday
[knitting] Another Shawl
Looks like a smiley face to me (which is an example of pareidolia). If I had to take the picture over again, I'd turn the mouth upside down to make a sad face. I'm slowly but surely plugging along, but my wrist is starting to hurt. Too much knitting lately?
Monday
Wednesday
[knitting] Haruni
Pattern: Haruni
Yarn: Ball and Skein Super Sock 416, colorway "Olive not drab"
Needles: US 6 (4mm)
I love this shawl. I wish it was a bit bigger- I did 10 stems on either side rather than 12 because I was worried about running out of yarn (I think I made the right choice- I don't have much leftover yarn).
It is gorgeous. Delicate and pretty, but pretty easy and fast to do. It only took me about a week of causal knitting to make.
The yarn was a birthday gift from my sister last year- which she picked up at the Vermont Sheep and Wool Festival. I like the color- an olive tonal with flecks of cranberry throughout...
I like the double leaves...
The crochet bind of was even pretty easy. Everything lines up just right, so that the 3 stitches you crochet together closes the leaf tips. The only problem came when I finished the bind off and realizes that I must have dropped a stitch- for most of the 2nd half of the shawl the leaves weren't close properly.
I said, "Bleep-beeping bleep bleep bleeper-bleeper!!!" and set the shawl down. I went into the game room where Dollar was playing a video game and threw myself on the futon. The thought of tinking back hundreds of stitches to fix it was depressing. I tried explain the daunting task to him and what a tragedy it was, etc etc, end of world, etc. Then I got up, went to fix it and... It wasn't so bad. I was all done in 30 minutes.
I totally plan on making this shawl again- with 12 or 14 stems on either side... and with beads!
Thursday
[misc] Murderface Thursday
I was lounging on the bed in my craft room, watching terrible "reality" television, when Murderface came in, plopped down on a pile of stuff (papers, magazine, bags that need to be either organized or recycled) and passed out...
Passed. Out. He had spent the afternoon outside and it was hot out- he was just beat. I thought it was nice of him to come and hang out with me.
Passed. Out. He had spent the afternoon outside and it was hot out- he was just beat. I thought it was nice of him to come and hang out with me.
Wednesday
[knitting] Baby Hats for APD
We're doing another Baby Hats for Alice Peck Day Hospital at White River yarns. I've started mine:
We'll collect all the hats at the end of the month at the shop and they will be donated to APD for newborns to be sent home in. I'm going to give a few skeins of my handspun as prizes for those who knit the most hats. Now I just have to figure out what I can bear to part with...
We'll collect all the hats at the end of the month at the shop and they will be donated to APD for newborns to be sent home in. I'm going to give a few skeins of my handspun as prizes for those who knit the most hats. Now I just have to figure out what I can bear to part with...
Tuesday
[spinning] Tour de Fleece: Results
Well, I only got half of what I wanted done for the Tour de Fleece.
Campfire, in a dk-to-worsted weight.
Pharaoh's Gold, bulky.
I did spin both on my Ashford Traveler. I started a tiny bit of the Vineyard sw-merino, but didn't get too far. My spinning fit has passed and I feel more like knitting right now. I didn't want to start the vineyard, stop for months, pick it back up again only to spin a different weight of yarn. Best to do it all at once when the inspiration strikes again.
My fiber stash is going down, though, which is a good thing. Vermont Sheep and Wool is coming up in early October...
Campfire, in a dk-to-worsted weight.
Pharaoh's Gold, bulky.
I did spin both on my Ashford Traveler. I started a tiny bit of the Vineyard sw-merino, but didn't get too far. My spinning fit has passed and I feel more like knitting right now. I didn't want to start the vineyard, stop for months, pick it back up again only to spin a different weight of yarn. Best to do it all at once when the inspiration strikes again.
My fiber stash is going down, though, which is a good thing. Vermont Sheep and Wool is coming up in early October...
Monday
[knitting] Hell's Baktus
Had a lone skein of Colinette Jitterbug in my stash for ages:
Decided to make a Lacy Baktus:
Just a scarf shaped like a long triangle, with lots of yarn-overs. This scarf starts at one tip, increase along one edge until you use up half of the yarn, then decrease along that same edge. You will need a scale to do this pattern.
I like this pattern for this yarn. There's no pooling because the stitch count is constantly changing. The color is good: splotchy, mushroom-y shades. The yarn is soft (for a sock yarn), tightly coiled, bouncy and a little heavier than most fingering weights (which might be why the yardage is a little less than most 100 gram sock yarns). I still have to sew in the ends and wash/block. I hear that is yarn can bleed a lot, so we'll see how that goes. If it's not too bleedy, I would give this yarn five stars.
Oh, and I'm calling this Hell's Baktus because I made it while watching past and current episodes of Hell's Kitchen. Which I had never seen before but am totally addicted to now. I've convinced myself that if I took two years of culinary school and maybe one year as a line cook in a professional kitchen, I'd be able to go on the show and win. I told Dollar and he said that while I do have the cooking skillz, the moment Chef Ramsey shouted, "Are you f*#&ing having a laugh?! This risotto is bullets! Are you f*#&ing stupid, you f*#&ing cow?! Don't you know how to cook risotto?! F*#& off out of here back to the dorm!!" in my face, I'd start crying. ... Maybe. Whatever. ... I also have a crush on Chef Scott.
Decided to make a Lacy Baktus:
Just a scarf shaped like a long triangle, with lots of yarn-overs. This scarf starts at one tip, increase along one edge until you use up half of the yarn, then decrease along that same edge. You will need a scale to do this pattern.
I like this pattern for this yarn. There's no pooling because the stitch count is constantly changing. The color is good: splotchy, mushroom-y shades. The yarn is soft (for a sock yarn), tightly coiled, bouncy and a little heavier than most fingering weights (which might be why the yardage is a little less than most 100 gram sock yarns). I still have to sew in the ends and wash/block. I hear that is yarn can bleed a lot, so we'll see how that goes. If it's not too bleedy, I would give this yarn five stars.
Oh, and I'm calling this Hell's Baktus because I made it while watching past and current episodes of Hell's Kitchen. Which I had never seen before but am totally addicted to now. I've convinced myself that if I took two years of culinary school and maybe one year as a line cook in a professional kitchen, I'd be able to go on the show and win. I told Dollar and he said that while I do have the cooking skillz, the moment Chef Ramsey shouted, "Are you f*#&ing having a laugh?! This risotto is bullets! Are you f*#&ing stupid, you f*#&ing cow?! Don't you know how to cook risotto?! F*#& off out of here back to the dorm!!" in my face, I'd start crying. ... Maybe. Whatever. ... I also have a crush on Chef Scott.
Wednesday
Tuesday
[travel] Quebec City - Entertainment, or What We Came For
This is my last post about Quebec City and I want to try to share the feeling of being there. We went up for the last few days of the summer music festival. Back in February, I saw that Rammstein was confirmed to close out the festival and it would be the only show they were doing in all of North America. I booked a hotel straight away and told Dollar the news (while jumping up and down in the living room).
Driving up to Quebec City couldn't have been any easier. Seriously, if you live in the Upper Valley- you should go. I'm generally a chicken about driving new places but it was totally easy... Minus the annoying Quebec driving style of racing up to the ass end of your car, passing you, and then squeezing back in front of you with inches to spare, regardless of whether or not there are other cars around or you two are the only cars on an open three-mile stretch of highway. They must teach this as the proper way to drive because everyone did it.
Anyway, straight up I-91 to the border, then a couple straight/flat highways in Canada. Took less than 5 hours. We left early, so Dollar slept in the passenger seat (which makes me want to periodically punch him in the leg to wake him up) until we got to the border. Customs was a hassle (they searched our car- I blame my crazy eyes when they were questioning me about where we was going and how long we'd be there).
Thursday afternoon we arrived and had plenty of time before going to see Rush. For the music festival, they have several stages set up throughout the city as well as the large park, the Plains of Abraham, where the headliners play. We put on our micro-chipped bracelets and blinking pins, and heading down to the entrance. I didn't know this but Rush is a Canadian band and it's kind of their anthem band. Probably about 80,000 people there, all ages, singing along to Rush. It was nice.
The next night we saw the Black Eyed Peas. I'm pretty sure everyone was wasted for this show. I know I was. There were about 100,000 people at this show and yeah, it was crowded obviously, but I saw no fights and I didn't get puked on, so it was a winning night for me. There's lots of pushing from random people snaking in and out of the crowd, trying to find a better view, and it can drive you crazy if you let it. The best thing to do is ignore it and just rock out to the music.
Saturday night the headliner was Billy Talent and since we had no idea who that was, we walked down to a free show that Cirque du Soleil was doing every night under a highway on-ramp at 9:30pm. That's right- a stage, lights and sounds set up under a concrete highway. It was really cool. Stuff was going on on stage and in crowd. At one point a woman on stilts with a cage shaped like an ostrich body around her and a mechanical ostrich neck/head that she puppeteered came through the crowd by us. It looked like a futuristic, glowing woman riding an ostrich. Well, I guess Dollar was in her way because she stopped and the metal beak of the bird extended out to press against his sternum- and push him back. The she kept on going, slowly making her way through the crowd and interacting with other people. I was all, "OMG, she totally touched you! That was so cool!" I love Cirque du Soleil and it was really awesome to see it live and so close. Everything they they do is just a spectacle to behold.
Made it back to the hotel just in time to hear Jimmy Cliff sing "I can see clearly now the rain is gone..." from Stage 2 next to our hotel. People were singing along and dancing in the streets. I looked up to the 3rd floor of our hotel and saw a couple guys hanging out the windows, singing, smiling and waving down to me. Oh, you Canadians are so sweet.
During the day, just walking through Old Town, there's lots of random entertainment happening in the streets. We stopped by the tourist office by Le Chateau Frontenac to get some directions and saw a man cracking a whip and calling out that a show was about to start. So we went over to some metal bleachers to sit and watch.
He juggled some knives. He lit some batons on fire and juggled them. His female partner got on some stilts and he threw her some lit batons:
Which she juggled:
Then he climbed a ladder:
Then they juggled the fire batons:
It was crazy. The show ended with them locking all these knives onto a metal ring and then setting the ring on fire and then placing the flaming ring of knives upright on her stomach while she was in a reverse table yoga pose... then he backed up... ran toward her... and jumped completely through it- head to feet. I did capture a video of it and his jump was rather anticlimactic after all the set-up and suspense. I felt bad thinking, "This video would be so much more exciting if the performance ended in some kind of awful disaster..." Sigh, oh well.
We also saw three male break-dancers put on a performance. They ended up grabbing Dollar from the crowd, put him into a hot pink windbreaker, a silly hat and made him dance around with them. When he was done, members of the crowd were meant to hold up signs and one woman was given a bra to throw at him. Which she did.
It was just crazy and surreal, man. Everything. There was no one dull moment.
The final night- RAMMSTEIN. People were lining up at the entrance at NOON and the gates weren't opening up until 6 pm. We went at 6 and waited. And waited. And waited. In a huge crowd that moved 6 inches every 10 minutes. We waited in line an hour to get in. Once inside, we waited in line an hour to use a port-a-potty. Then an hour to get hot dogs and water.
We got in line for Rammstein souvenirs but the line was moving slow. By the time we got within 4 or 5 spaces of the front, we started to see them taking stuff down, which means they were selling out. Everyone started to freak out a little and I had Dollar pass me two $20 bills. I held them up above the people in front of me and got what was left (a pretty cool camouflage cap with a Rammstein insignia). Then we had to find a spot to stand for the show. I have to say that concerts are the one time I really, really, really appreciate my height. I feel bad for the people behind me who can't see anything but it allowed me to reach over people at the souvenir stand and I can see over most people during the show.
Here's the crowd and this is still probably only two-thirds full:
The show was awesome. Apocalyptica (heavy metal cellists) (seriously) opened. Then Rammstein came on at 9:45 and played for 2 hours. It was such an amazing show. The music sounded so good. Lots of fire (Feuer Frei BANG BANG) and fireworks; Till poured hot sparks all over Flake and then set him on fire. You know- the usual. The only disappointing thing (for me) is that they didn't play Los, which is my favorite song. Everyone was into the music and even though you were in a sea of > 100,000 people (multiple that by 6 and you've got the population of Vermont) in roughly 30 acres of space, everyone's just having a good time.
And in case you want to go next year but you're still not sure, check out this list: Ten Reasons Festival D'Ete Is Canada's Coolest, Best Music Festival. The sound quality and digital screens make the show awesome no matter where you are- standing up front or laying on a blanket way on the back slope.
I saw Rammstein. I freaking saw Rammstein. I still can't believe it.
Driving up to Quebec City couldn't have been any easier. Seriously, if you live in the Upper Valley- you should go. I'm generally a chicken about driving new places but it was totally easy... Minus the annoying Quebec driving style of racing up to the ass end of your car, passing you, and then squeezing back in front of you with inches to spare, regardless of whether or not there are other cars around or you two are the only cars on an open three-mile stretch of highway. They must teach this as the proper way to drive because everyone did it.
Anyway, straight up I-91 to the border, then a couple straight/flat highways in Canada. Took less than 5 hours. We left early, so Dollar slept in the passenger seat (which makes me want to periodically punch him in the leg to wake him up) until we got to the border. Customs was a hassle (they searched our car- I blame my crazy eyes when they were questioning me about where we was going and how long we'd be there).
Thursday afternoon we arrived and had plenty of time before going to see Rush. For the music festival, they have several stages set up throughout the city as well as the large park, the Plains of Abraham, where the headliners play. We put on our micro-chipped bracelets and blinking pins, and heading down to the entrance. I didn't know this but Rush is a Canadian band and it's kind of their anthem band. Probably about 80,000 people there, all ages, singing along to Rush. It was nice.
The next night we saw the Black Eyed Peas. I'm pretty sure everyone was wasted for this show. I know I was. There were about 100,000 people at this show and yeah, it was crowded obviously, but I saw no fights and I didn't get puked on, so it was a winning night for me. There's lots of pushing from random people snaking in and out of the crowd, trying to find a better view, and it can drive you crazy if you let it. The best thing to do is ignore it and just rock out to the music.
Saturday night the headliner was Billy Talent and since we had no idea who that was, we walked down to a free show that Cirque du Soleil was doing every night under a highway on-ramp at 9:30pm. That's right- a stage, lights and sounds set up under a concrete highway. It was really cool. Stuff was going on on stage and in crowd. At one point a woman on stilts with a cage shaped like an ostrich body around her and a mechanical ostrich neck/head that she puppeteered came through the crowd by us. It looked like a futuristic, glowing woman riding an ostrich. Well, I guess Dollar was in her way because she stopped and the metal beak of the bird extended out to press against his sternum- and push him back. The she kept on going, slowly making her way through the crowd and interacting with other people. I was all, "OMG, she totally touched you! That was so cool!" I love Cirque du Soleil and it was really awesome to see it live and so close. Everything they they do is just a spectacle to behold.
Made it back to the hotel just in time to hear Jimmy Cliff sing "I can see clearly now the rain is gone..." from Stage 2 next to our hotel. People were singing along and dancing in the streets. I looked up to the 3rd floor of our hotel and saw a couple guys hanging out the windows, singing, smiling and waving down to me. Oh, you Canadians are so sweet.
During the day, just walking through Old Town, there's lots of random entertainment happening in the streets. We stopped by the tourist office by Le Chateau Frontenac to get some directions and saw a man cracking a whip and calling out that a show was about to start. So we went over to some metal bleachers to sit and watch.
He juggled some knives. He lit some batons on fire and juggled them. His female partner got on some stilts and he threw her some lit batons:
Which she juggled:
Then he climbed a ladder:
Then they juggled the fire batons:
It was crazy. The show ended with them locking all these knives onto a metal ring and then setting the ring on fire and then placing the flaming ring of knives upright on her stomach while she was in a reverse table yoga pose... then he backed up... ran toward her... and jumped completely through it- head to feet. I did capture a video of it and his jump was rather anticlimactic after all the set-up and suspense. I felt bad thinking, "This video would be so much more exciting if the performance ended in some kind of awful disaster..." Sigh, oh well.
We also saw three male break-dancers put on a performance. They ended up grabbing Dollar from the crowd, put him into a hot pink windbreaker, a silly hat and made him dance around with them. When he was done, members of the crowd were meant to hold up signs and one woman was given a bra to throw at him. Which she did.
It was just crazy and surreal, man. Everything. There was no one dull moment.
The final night- RAMMSTEIN. People were lining up at the entrance at NOON and the gates weren't opening up until 6 pm. We went at 6 and waited. And waited. And waited. In a huge crowd that moved 6 inches every 10 minutes. We waited in line an hour to get in. Once inside, we waited in line an hour to use a port-a-potty. Then an hour to get hot dogs and water.
We got in line for Rammstein souvenirs but the line was moving slow. By the time we got within 4 or 5 spaces of the front, we started to see them taking stuff down, which means they were selling out. Everyone started to freak out a little and I had Dollar pass me two $20 bills. I held them up above the people in front of me and got what was left (a pretty cool camouflage cap with a Rammstein insignia). Then we had to find a spot to stand for the show. I have to say that concerts are the one time I really, really, really appreciate my height. I feel bad for the people behind me who can't see anything but it allowed me to reach over people at the souvenir stand and I can see over most people during the show.
Here's the crowd and this is still probably only two-thirds full:
The show was awesome. Apocalyptica (heavy metal cellists) (seriously) opened. Then Rammstein came on at 9:45 and played for 2 hours. It was such an amazing show. The music sounded so good. Lots of fire (Feuer Frei BANG BANG) and fireworks; Till poured hot sparks all over Flake and then set him on fire. You know- the usual. The only disappointing thing (for me) is that they didn't play Los, which is my favorite song. Everyone was into the music and even though you were in a sea of > 100,000 people (multiple that by 6 and you've got the population of Vermont) in roughly 30 acres of space, everyone's just having a good time.
And in case you want to go next year but you're still not sure, check out this list: Ten Reasons Festival D'Ete Is Canada's Coolest, Best Music Festival. The sound quality and digital screens make the show awesome no matter where you are- standing up front or laying on a blanket way on the back slope.
I saw Rammstein. I freaking saw Rammstein. I still can't believe it.
Monday
[travel] Quebec City - Food
It was not hard to find food in Quebec, just hard to find a table outside. There were many cafes and restaurants to choose from, and many different types of cuisine. Some places had a limited menu, offering maybe 4 beers and 4 appetizers to choose from. After we got up to Quebec, checked into the hotel, we headed down Grande Allee for something to eat and drink...
This place had only nachos, pizza and sausage on the menu. We ordered:
And these were kind of... pizza nachos. That's pizza sauce and pizza cheese on them. Kind of weird it's not salsa but...
We still slaughtered them.
Food in Quebec is expensive. Nevermind that during the music shows they sold only cans of Molson Dry at $6 apiece (that's right- a six pack of cans for $36, I shit you not), beers and food were set at tourist prices everywhere, so that our lunches of 2 beers each and a sandwiches came to around $70 Canadian (the meals come with two taxes added- a provincial tax and a federal tax). With the exchange rate at about 1:1, yeah- it's still like $70 American. Ugh!
Still, we're on vacation and we tried lots of bistros/cafes/restaurants.
At Le Conchon Dingue (The Crazy Pig):
Crispy duck confit spring rolls with cranberry/pesto sauce
Mine: Pork skewers w/rice and veggies. Lookit the piggie plate! I want!
His: Ribs. He has to get ribs at least once wherever we travel. The ribs got two sticky thumbs up. The homemade mayo as a dip for his fries did not go over well. Whatever, I thought it was tasty but he's anti-mayo.
Another day, another beer. Dollar liked Belle Gueule the best:
On an evening walk from the hotel down to a free show that Cirque du Soleil were doing, it started to rain and we ran into a steak restaurant to eat and get out of the rain. I saw tablecloths and had that "uh-oh, expensive..." feeling. We ordered beers and appetizers.
Mine: French Onion Soup. Best flavor ever.
His: Seafood stew. He loved it.
For dinner, we both ordered steaks. Dollar has a small stomach and was pretty full after his thick soup. Two bites into his steak he couldn't have any more. I was like, "I don't care, that's a $30 cut of steak- You're eating it." Because I'm harsh like that. But we ate, paid (even though I was tempted to run out the door (a.k.a. Chew and Screw) after I saw the bill) and waddled down to the Cirque du Soleil show.
The one thing, the one thing I wanted to have in Quebec but didn't was poutine. I've never had it before and I only saw it on one menu when we were out. I didn't get it at the time because it was early in the day and I didn't feel like walking around in a greasy-gravy-cheesey haze. Je le regrette!!!
This place had only nachos, pizza and sausage on the menu. We ordered:
And these were kind of... pizza nachos. That's pizza sauce and pizza cheese on them. Kind of weird it's not salsa but...
We still slaughtered them.
Food in Quebec is expensive. Nevermind that during the music shows they sold only cans of Molson Dry at $6 apiece (that's right- a six pack of cans for $36, I shit you not), beers and food were set at tourist prices everywhere, so that our lunches of 2 beers each and a sandwiches came to around $70 Canadian (the meals come with two taxes added- a provincial tax and a federal tax). With the exchange rate at about 1:1, yeah- it's still like $70 American. Ugh!
Still, we're on vacation and we tried lots of bistros/cafes/restaurants.
At Le Conchon Dingue (The Crazy Pig):
Another day, another beer. Dollar liked Belle Gueule the best:
On an evening walk from the hotel down to a free show that Cirque du Soleil were doing, it started to rain and we ran into a steak restaurant to eat and get out of the rain. I saw tablecloths and had that "uh-oh, expensive..." feeling. We ordered beers and appetizers.
For dinner, we both ordered steaks. Dollar has a small stomach and was pretty full after his thick soup. Two bites into his steak he couldn't have any more. I was like, "I don't care, that's a $30 cut of steak- You're eating it." Because I'm harsh like that. But we ate, paid (even though I was tempted to run out the door (a.k.a. Chew and Screw) after I saw the bill) and waddled down to the Cirque du Soleil show.
The one thing, the one thing I wanted to have in Quebec but didn't was poutine. I've never had it before and I only saw it on one menu when we were out. I didn't get it at the time because it was early in the day and I didn't feel like walking around in a greasy-gravy-cheesey haze. Je le regrette!!!
Friday
[travel] Quebec City - La Citadelle
One thing I was really excited about Quebec was the history.
The narrowing of the Saint Lawrence River approximate to Quebec City and Lévis, on the opposite bank, provided the name given to the city, Kébec, an Algonquin word meaning "where the river narrows". Founded in 1608 by Samuel de Champlain, Quebec City is one of the oldest cities in North America. The ramparts surrounding Old Quebec (Vieux-Québec) are the only remaining fortified city walls that still exist in the Americas north of Mexico, and were declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1985 as the 'Historic District of Old Québec'. (source Wikipedia)
We walked through the ramparts to Old Town:
We walked up to La Citadelle de Quebec:
We bought tickets for a guided tour. You're not allowed to walk around unescorted since the fort is still an active military base. We actually saw some training exercises take place while the group was walking around.
Some basic history was covered- French arriving for trade and business, British arriving to expand their empire, Canada becoming it's own Province. I like that one of Canada's national symbols is a beaver- to signify the early pelt/fur and lumber trade that made the land so desirable, as well as their hardworking nature. The beaver is on Canada's nickle and various national emblems.
We walked around, visited buildings and on-site museums, seeing old buildings and cannons.
The museum had some pretty crazy 3-D dioramas depicting relevant historical events. Battle of Quebec (1690):
Frontenac famously rebuffs the English envoys. "I have no reply to make to your general other than from the mouth of my cannons and muskets." Oh snap!
Battle of Carillon:
Battle of Sainte-Foy:
Lots of stuff on the 78th Fraser Highlanders, which are Dollar's ancestors.
A future knitting project, perhaps?
An example of a soldier in the 22nd Royal Regiment and the goat Batisse...
The Royal 22e Régiment is an infantry regiment and the most famous francophone organization of the Canadian Forces. The regiment comprises three Regular Force battalions, two Primary Reserve battalions, and a band, making it the largest regiment in the Canadian Army. (source Wikipedia)
The first goat was given to the Regiment by the Queen, I think. There has always been a goat since and it's name is always Batisse. I think they are currently using Batisse X. The goat is always from the original lineage that the Queen gave. It is like a mascot but the guide stressed that it is NOT a mascot, which kind of plays down the goat's meaning and importance. Since this type of goat is fiercely loyal and will defend it's family and land to the death, they think of the goat more as a representation of their heart and mindset.
We went back outside to look out over the water and Old Town:
As we were leaving, we saw...
A beaver! It's the animal of Canada! A beaver!
No. I think that's just a woodchuck. Oh well.
The narrowing of the Saint Lawrence River approximate to Quebec City and Lévis, on the opposite bank, provided the name given to the city, Kébec, an Algonquin word meaning "where the river narrows". Founded in 1608 by Samuel de Champlain, Quebec City is one of the oldest cities in North America. The ramparts surrounding Old Quebec (Vieux-Québec) are the only remaining fortified city walls that still exist in the Americas north of Mexico, and were declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1985 as the 'Historic District of Old Québec'. (source Wikipedia)
We walked through the ramparts to Old Town:
We walked up to La Citadelle de Quebec:
We bought tickets for a guided tour. You're not allowed to walk around unescorted since the fort is still an active military base. We actually saw some training exercises take place while the group was walking around.
Some basic history was covered- French arriving for trade and business, British arriving to expand their empire, Canada becoming it's own Province. I like that one of Canada's national symbols is a beaver- to signify the early pelt/fur and lumber trade that made the land so desirable, as well as their hardworking nature. The beaver is on Canada's nickle and various national emblems.
We walked around, visited buildings and on-site museums, seeing old buildings and cannons.
The museum had some pretty crazy 3-D dioramas depicting relevant historical events. Battle of Quebec (1690):
Battle of Carillon:
Battle of Sainte-Foy:
Lots of stuff on the 78th Fraser Highlanders, which are Dollar's ancestors.
An example of a soldier in the 22nd Royal Regiment and the goat Batisse...
The Royal 22e Régiment is an infantry regiment and the most famous francophone organization of the Canadian Forces. The regiment comprises three Regular Force battalions, two Primary Reserve battalions, and a band, making it the largest regiment in the Canadian Army. (source Wikipedia)
The first goat was given to the Regiment by the Queen, I think. There has always been a goat since and it's name is always Batisse. I think they are currently using Batisse X. The goat is always from the original lineage that the Queen gave. It is like a mascot but the guide stressed that it is NOT a mascot, which kind of plays down the goat's meaning and importance. Since this type of goat is fiercely loyal and will defend it's family and land to the death, they think of the goat more as a representation of their heart and mindset.
We went back outside to look out over the water and Old Town:
As we were leaving, we saw...
A beaver! It's the animal of Canada! A beaver!
No. I think that's just a woodchuck. Oh well.
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