A visit to the country and the big fall

Second post in a month, whatta you know? Last weekend we took Georgie out to spend the weekend with our friends in Granby. We always have a great time with Annick and Jesus and last weekend was no different. She greeted us with bloody marys and Georgie promptly claimed his spot on the chaise lounge on the patio. After a couple drinks, we poured into their van with the pups and drove around town. It is quite a lovely place and we visited an awesome brand new condo that is renting for around $950 a month. We discussed how fun it would be to rent out our Montreal condo and move out there. It would mean an hour commute for me to work though so we probably won`t do that.

A call to the uncle who is a real estate tycoon of sorts and we were invited to stroll the grounds of his vast estate or "domaine" as it is called here. After looking at the gardens near the house we walked for an hour around the many lakes peppering the estate. All the while classical music filled the air from hidden speakers in the forest. I felt like I was in a movie. Although we were invited to stay for dinner, Annick and Jesus had already planned a great supper for us so we declined.

We finished off our visit with a cold beer up in that tree house. It had a bedroom, fridge and working toilet. So very cool. When asked why he had built it, he said, "for kicks". Ah to have the moolah to indulge any whim. But I was grateful just to get a peak into how the 1% lives.

Once back to their house we got started with dinner. This salad was amazing and you wouldn't think it given the ingredients. Fresh spinach with smoked salmon, a wedge of grapefruit to squeeze on and topped with guacamole. Mix it all up and the taste was just divine.

After the salad, we had raclette which I had only heard about but never had before. That contraption is both grill and oven. You cook the various meats and seafood on top and underneath you use little trays to melt special cheese over veggies and bread. We also had several sauces to dip our goodies into. It was fun and interactive. Mom said it was like shabu shabu, a Japanese meal, so now that is on my list to try.

Dessert came out of a box in the freezer, but we were not all that hungry after the feast. Even so, I finished my slice. We drank quite a lot and sang, played heads up and shared things you only share with your closest friends. Seriously, we all felt like there were no taboo subjects. So fun. I stayed up until 2am which, if you know me, is quite the compliment to our hosts.

The next morning was pretty lazy. We did the "grasse matinée" as they say up here. Slept in late and had a wonderful breakfast spread with mimosas. Divine. We decided to drive home on country roads instead of the freeway. We put the top down and it was the most gorgeous day. Just before we got home I realized I had left my ipad at their house so I dropped Serge off and hopped back in the car and spent two more hours to go and pick it up. That time I took the freeway of course. It gave Serge a chance to mow the lawn which will now be my duty for the next month because the next day something terrible happened.

I thought Serge had gone to bed as I was finishing up an episode of Nurse Jackie that I was riveted to. Then I went to brush my teeth and got ready for bed but when I got there, Serge was not in bed. Where the heck was he? I searched the house and then went down to the garage. Apparently, Serge had taken a terrible tumble down the stairs as he was taking out the trash. He had been calling out for help for a good ten minutes before I found him. He was bleeding from his face and elbow and had quite the goose egg on his head. I helped him up the stairs to the sofa. Call 911 he said, "I think I'm dying." So I called and here you see him in the ambulance. (That generated a ton of comments on Facebook and we were so appreciative of the outpouring of love and concern.) In the ambulance he kept holding his side and saying he had a cramp. Turns out it wasn't a cramp, it was broken ribs! He insisted I leave the hospital and go home and get some rest so I did. He called me 7 hours later to pick him up when he was released.

Now his face looks like this with each cough, giggle, sneeze and even fart. We are hoping for no hiccups in his future. He can't bend over and his sitting down and getting up is a chore. So I will be doing all the heavy lifting for the next several weeks. I am just grateful he didn't have a brain trauma. The first 24 hours I had to watch him to look for any changes in speech. Of course he messed with me every time I asked, "What day is it, what year is it?" That's also how I knew he was okay, he just cannot be serious. I love him so much and the thought of losing him really snapped me back to being grateful for each and every minute I have with him.

Last night we went out for happy hour and although he winced with every laugh, I think the alcohol combined with the morphine pill prescription they had given him at the hospital let him endure the pain more easily. It was so great to see him happy like that. He is pretty groany again today though and likely will be for some time.

So now you are all caught up on what's been shakin' around here. Oh wait, Wednesday was my last day of work for the next two months. I have been socking away enough money so that I don't have to stress about it, but of course there is a fly in the ointment - we will have an empty apartment upstairs as of the first of July. I really hope we find renters for it but it is not looking good as there are only ten days left. We even lowered the price. If you know anyone looking, here is the link: http://montreal.fr.craigslist.ca/apa/4529913317.html

I am hoping to post here more frequently this summer and get around to reading other blogs as well. After all, those activities are fun AND free. Until next time, mwah!