Novembre 2024

I imagine that sometime in the future when it's November 1 I'll say, "Remember what we were doing today back in Montreal?" 

At some point in the afternoon, house mama got busy baking cookies and I mean. How many was it? "Five recipes, and they each made three and a half dozen," she said. So a good seventeen dozen chocolate chip cookies or some variation. 

It was the Friday when neither Roxton Falls nor Alexandria youth would come and help with metro singing. We had thought of inviting some friends to help but that never happened so a station was never booked, in favor of a different scheme: go hunt up the homeless and give them a little cheer. The scheme had morphed a little over the past week and now here she was turning them out faster than I could slip them into small bags. 

Tyler and Micah returned from their activities and pitched in a little. I had gotten a lot of cheese sticks to add to the paper sacks, and we made forty of them each containing one cookie, two cheese sticks, and three tracts. Those filled one grocery bag. Of course there were far more cookies yet, and those were plopped two in a bag and they all filled my backpack to the top. Two more backpacks were loaded down with water bottles and one more grocery bag filled with assorted gloves from one of the cases Flavia from Welcome Collective had dropped off a short while ago. We had ourselves a load.

Soon after six we drove to Crémazie, parked the van, and toted all our stuff down to the metro. We first got off at Station Jean Talon, the intersection of the orange and blue lines, and found just a couple needy folks at ground level but not much more. Next stop, Station Mont Royal. Outside that entrance we found a few more, and walking around to the backside, there were a couple that were glad to take some gloves as well as a snack bag and water. It was a start.

Tyler suggested going down by the soup kitchen near Station Lucien L'Allier where the guys go each Monday evening to help serve supper, so that was the next stop. Sure enough, we found a group of men hanging out on the yard and they were sure enthused. More men were scattered near the building so we offered them our gifts as well. I wished I had sorted the gloves, taking only ones that were warmer, because a lot of them were simply work gloves an not necessarily insulated. Some of the men spoke English, but I enjoyed conversing in French. Smoke was pretty heavy in the air so we were ready to leave that atmosphere, but glad to have lightened our load there. 

Two stops back up the orange line, we got off at Station Square Victoria and turned our steps in the direction one goes to find that out-of-the-way glass corridor that echoes so fine. At the top of the escalators just before that corridor we got rid of some more provisions, and then the four of us waited inside the hall's doors while Tyler and Micah ran up to the St. Antoine entrance (that's the one with the decorative ironwork and sign gifted from Paris) and found some recipients out in the darkness. They returned and we continued through the hall, singing a little as we went. 

Then, up into the Palais de Congres and down the length of that convention center to Station Place D'Armes at the other end. Outside those doors was another group of needy souls, happy to receive. House mama wanted to walk up to the square, Place D'Armes, in case there were more but when we got there we were delighted to see eight enormous Bethlehem Stars in the square, glowing and changing colors all together and casting their light on the cathedral and the other old buildings. No homeless people though, and it was growing really cold. On the way back to the metro we found two more men, one sitting against a wall with a blanket over his legs. Was he going to sleep out there tonight? 

Last of all we went to Station Berri-UQAM, the intersection of the green, orange, and yellow lines. Just one or two paper bags were left so those went to a couple homeless looking folks, and then I opened my backpack full of cookies. The guys had packed a bunch of tracts too so off they went to pass them out along with a bunch of cookies. House mama took a handful of tracts and the bag of cookies and stood near one corridor too. I remained with the bored Alec at the stroller, watching people and entertaining him. My word, I was mistaken to think Halloween was over. A lot of young folks painted up or dressed up kept coming through the wickets on their way to whatever parties were going on. Some weren't dressed all that warmly either, and I bet they regretted their costume pick a little when they walked down the streets aboveground. No, Halloween lasts all weekend here. 

A lot of cookies and tracts got dispersed at Berri-UQAM. It was getting late and while not everything was given away, most was and the little boys were getting pretty tired. Considering all, it was a miracle how long they lasted, especially Alec. That sandy-haired little boy ran all over that city, racking up kilometers of his own, and if and when his diaper expired, he didn't say much. Actually I think he mentioned it once but then it was forgotten thereafter. 

My suggestion to house mama of going home and making something for a late supper brought a look of horror to house mama's face. I correctly guessed the restaurant she had in mind: La Banquise, the ridiculously popular 24/7 poutine shop. So, off we went back to Station Mont Royal, walked eleven minutes through the cold night, and joined the queue on the sidewalk. It already looked long but it continued growing behind us. After a time we followed the waitress through the packed dining area to a covered outdoor room with infrared heaters above each table, quite a nice accommodation really. Our bodies and souls were blessed with some delicious, warm poutine and then it was time to skedaddle. By then it was around 11:15 I think, the restaurant was still packed, and some more hungre customers were waiting in line. We returned through the cold night to Station Mont Royal, six stops to Crémazie, and back to our blessed van, and back home after more than five hours away. 

It had turned out a little more major of a deal than we had expected but we all enjoyed the diversion. And it was probably as well that we didn't have our normal singing, after all, because of loud messages playing frequently in the stations about all day regarding suspended service between Berri-UQAM and the end of the green line. 

And the last sweet detail of the night? Tomorrow was Saturday.

Il y avait beaucoup de feuilles partout autour de la maison d'Hélène. There were a lot of leaves all around Hélène's house. 

Some days back I had raked together a pile in the front and one in the backyard, and was thankful that our backyard doesn't have a deciduous tree like hers and many others do. Our maple in the front makes enough a little mess but it's easily kept after. This morning, after a brunch of crepes and once the guys had their Saturday chores done, they took the last two plastic bags over to Hélène's while I ran to get another box of heavier contractor bags. Together we filled bag after bag over in her front yard, and many more in her backyard.

Other neighbors were working on leaves as well, but wisely they have been keeping after it quite regularly so there's never an overwhelming amount. The guy just across the street was out again with his portable leaf vacuum sucking up leaves from his driveway, sidewalk, yard, and flowerbeds. I think he does it every day, and honestly I'm not sure I've ever seen something like that before. "Work smarter, not harder," Tyler commented. "Spend money," Micah countered. Our work went pretty fast though and Julian had fun helping us.

What are you up to in Japan by now, Hélène? Is it cold and cloudy there too? We're over here packing up your leaves. 

"She's probably eating wontons right now," Tyler suggested. "She's probably drinking green tea." 

At the end of our cleanup we plopped sixteen big bags in a heap by her lamp post, a nice pile for the collection folks next week. We'll probably do a little more in the future but this is likely the bulk of the leaves for the season.

We warmed up with a light, late lunch of chips and dip while listening to a portion of the youth rally in West Point, MS. Then the guys ran off to see the city for the afternoon and evening.

A late new moon, and the darkness comes early. 

We turned back our clocks Sunday, enjoyed that extra hour, and (true to form) still scrambled at the last minute to get on the road. It was a busy day with a program at church in the evening, so I didn't feel the change so much. 

Going back to the quieter routines of the week, though, something felt odd. Hello darkness, my old [frenemy]. It comes nearly half an hour earlier to this island than it does to a valley in central Pennsylvania. Is that why it felt odd? Maybe. I think it has more to do with the fact that I haven't experienced this season in Montreal. I've lived two bright summers here now, but the winter and its intensity is new territory to navigate. 

We changed up French class a little on Tuesday evening by singing a bunch at the start instead of at the end. That definitely helped calm Julian and Alec who enjoyed holding their own books and singing along. With Micah adding a steady, confident bass (and becoming quickly familiar with pronunciations) I must say we have a really good balance of voices. I think we'll have to do more of that this season. 

Three weeks ago Flavia from Welcome Collective reached out to me. "Do you have any ladies in your community doing volunteering?" she wrote. "If so, do you think maybe three ladies could be interested in helping us with our winter distributions? Our winter distributions consist of furnishing families with their winter clothing for free. We have appointments set for three days, but I only need Wednesdays and Thursdays."

I ran it by house mama and got her permission to offer her time once a week for the cause. Throughout the next five plus months, refugee or otherwise needy families would come to Welcome Collective by appointment so just a few more volunteers were needed for the project.

And so it was that she left with Tyler and Micah for the day and I had the young sprites to myself. It was fun -- after a while we jumped in the van and went to church to refill the garbage bins from the backyard pile of renovation trash (the upstairs missionary apartment continues its transformation). There's a good bit back there, just two bins, and pickup only once a week so it might take a while unless a more expeditious strategy is found. Then we went off in search of a McDonald's that has a play place and after driving to the second location that didn't, we went in for lunch anyway. Julian and Alec didn't seem to think much of it. It was fun enough chowing down on happy meals, tinkering with the little plastic cars included, and watching all the school kids that flooded the place over lunchtime. Then, a quiet afternoon with both young sprites taking naps.

House mama came back from her day at Welcome Collective pretty tired out and unsure if she wanted to go back every week after all. She had a "roaring headache" that had began sometime after running up the stairs with the guys to the eighth floor of the building first thing when they got there. Two other volunteers were there to help distribute winter clothes, young police cadets who do a dozen days of community service as requirement of their program I guess. Together they found coats, boots, gloves, and all that for the five families that came through during the day. There were some slow times that she found really boring but spent some quality time with Duolingo.

She'd taken some food along for lunch but decided that during a normal day at home she must snack quite abundantly; it wasn't enough after all. And at lunch she was mildly grossed out by the way a noisy bunch of African ladies were all sharing their communal meal with no silverware, and one for sure who was bouncing a baby in one arm and feeding it too. She'd insert a bite into the little mouth and keep a hand there to catch whatever came back out. It was a really greasy scenario.

The boys were still sleeping when she stepped in the door but woke shortly after. "I'm not sure about doing this every week," she said, but I remained unconvinced. After a bit of rest, and with a good supper, her headache eased and my word if she couldn't stop talking about the day for the rest of the evening. There was just so much to say. 

A city like this is full of cultural foods. Sometimes you don't have to go downtown to try them though, and not even across the neighborhood. Not when you have guys that like to create exotic food for Thursday night supper. This time around, Micah treated us to a traditional Moroccan dish: chicken tagine. Chicken pieces braised [lightly fried, then slowly stewed] with spices, garlic, onion, olives, dried apricots, and preserved lemons. Dished out over a mound of couscous, it was a feast. 

It wasn't Micah's first time creating the dish. "I've made at home for my family."

"What did they say about it?" house mama was curious.

Micah shrugged. "They liked it."

It got five stars from us all at 5385. We filled ourselves and wished we could go right on eating it, it was so good. Try it for yourself sometime. 

The homeless camp just outside of Station St. Henry has been quiet for a couple weeks, and a lot more open now with leaves off the trees, brush, and ivy on the damaged chain link fence that encloses most of it. There had been a tarp over the main opening through the fence but still a lot of ramshackle shelters and junk inside. It's like the tenants had all been hauled away one day and left it all behind. This morning the site looked different still; a major cleanup was underway. Brush and small trees had been cut inside the fence, junk was piled on the side of that back street, and even then a worker was busy cleaning off the fence or something. A lot of the junk was gone by the time we returned from Welcome Hall towards noon. I have no idea how long the camp has been there, but it looks like the city is taking action at last to scrub it off the map. 

Lunch was nearly ready back home and we kept it short with so much needing done. The cooler was filled, backpacks were stocked, and I ran to the St. Viateur Bagel shop near us for a dozen of them. We loaded up the trunk and around three we headed off the island a different direction than normal, crossing the Prairies River on the north side, traversing the adjacent island Laval, and northwest into the countryside. 

Normally on Friday evening we have metro singing, but circumstances aligned just so that we decided to cancel for this week. (There was none to help us this time around.) Then we thought, hey, we could actually go to Mont Tremblant like we talked about off and on all summer! And plans were quickly made. 

The SEPAQ website says, "Created on January 12, 1895, Parc national du Mont-Tremblant is a large territory of 1510 km2 that enjoys an international stature, being the first park created in Quebec, the third in Canada , and the sixth in North America. It is therefore part of the world history of protected areas along with Yellowstone, Yosemite, and Sequoia parks." (Discover more in this visitor's guide.) 

Two hours later and well after dark we arrived at our vacation complex on the south shore of Lac Supérieur which lies a dozen kilometers from the magnificent park. Once I figured out which parking spot was mine we grabbed a couple things and dashed through the brittle wind to the complex. Which door was ours? 1205, 1206, aha, 1207. The door opened once the correct string of numbers was entered and we tumbled into the cozy suite. We stepped briefly out on the back porch to hear the waves of the lake and look across its expanse to darker silhouettes of the mountains rising around it. Inside we turned the knob to bring the gas fireplace to life and were thoroughly delighted. We put on a couple more layers and walked down to Bistro le Loch, a small restaurant on the edge of the lake. It has many windows out on the landscape but we missed that part of course. It has a wooden floor, a real fireplace, and a really homey atmosphere. After a savory supper we returned to our suite for popcorn and hot chocolate by the fire. 

The sleeping arrangement was pretty simple; one needs to think ahead when littles are involved. Figuring Julian and Alec would end up in bed with us anyway during the night if we set up a bed for them elsewhere, we chose the larger of the two beds to share from the start. House mama probably found it the most unrestful, as there were small feet kicking her face every five minutes the entire night, it sounded like. 

There was no need to set an alarm. The blind over the double sliding doors from that bedroom out to the deck was up all night so the sky, slowly filling with light, would softly wake us. And what a pleasure to see the panorama unveiled, the lake, the mountains, the glowing clouds. Those soon cleared away and the sky was swept clean for most of that bright day. The forests were bare of leaves but mixed with enough evergreens and white birches that it was still beautiful. 

While it was still early, the guys dressed in swimming trunks and carried towels down to the water. We watched from the comfortable side of the windows as they approached the private dock, deliberated a little, then off came their shirts and they waded out into that chilly water up to their waists. Out a little deeper, they submerged and were soon dashing out of the water. 

We had a breakfast of toasted bagel sandwiches and more hot cocoa, then packed our things and cleaned up the suite. It was fresh outside, somewhere around freezing. Once everything was loaded we were off around the lake and into the mountains beyond, singing by memory as we rolled along. Less than half an hour later we passed through the entrance to the park. It seemed odd that nobody was stationed to scan passes or anything like that. I hadn't even paid the visitor fee online before coming, and it's as well I didn't because our visit was free as far as I can tell. Another handful of minutes and we followed the road alongside Lac Monroe, soon arriving at a large parking lot with a discovery center a short walk through the woods.

An 82 km network of hiking trails are found in the Parc national du Mont-Tremblant (national park, yes and no; technically it's a provincial park). It wasn't hard deciding where to go, however. Back in 2017 we as the CPS family spent a couple nights in a ready-to-camp site within the park, and one day we hiked up to some high overlooks above this lake. Sentier La Roche, it was. Thanks to my journal from back then for the information. 

Necessities were distributed among our backpacks, extra layers put on, and we were ready to go. Near the discovery center were signs telling us La Roche trail was closed because of erosion or something. The girl behind the counter confirmed that and pointed out on the map where we could go instead. The exchange had been in French up to that point but there I hit a snag and said, "Excusez-moi, je parle un peu le français." 

"Is English better?" she offered. "It's good if we can understand each other."

"I was going to try to do the whole thing in French," I confessed, and we laughed. Suddenly I felt plenty warm under all my layers.

"It was good, I understood you perfectly." 

She explained again how we could access the overlooks from the other end of the loop, where there was another parking lot, and we were on our way.

A light dusting of snow over the ground really highlighted the muted colors of the late fall forest. There were many evergreens including hemlock and balsam fir. We set our own slower pace while the guys (and Julian, for a while) cruised far ahead up the winding trail, then it was the four of us the rest of the way. We stopped a couple times to refuel the tykes with peanut M&M's and watched the random pine squirrels that chattered and screeched. It was the only sound in all the mountains it seemed. It was so, so good just to hear the deep quietness again.

La Corniche, the first segment of the loop at 1.3 km including 600' of elevation gain and rated as "More Difficult," ends near an overlook perched 500 feet above the lake. We weren't far from the overlook when we met the guys returning, and together we all went to take in the views. It was about noon then, but we decided to hike on and have our lunch at the next overlook, 2.2 km away. This segment, La Coulée rated as "Very Difficult," skirts around a broad hollow and traverses some steep slopes. There were muddy areas too and we often lifted the boys across those. Alec rode a lot of the way up that trail. They loved finding and pointing out the trail markers as they came into view.

We were toiling up small switchbacks one one of the steepest parts when Micah appeared above us, offering to carry Alec. What a relief that was. Tyler wasn't far behind and he held on to Julian as we all walked the last stretch over the top of that mountain shoulder, then down and around to the larger overlook hugging the mountainside more than 700 feet above the lake. We stood at the edge taking in the majestic views, then climbed the sloping rock face behind the overlook to sit and spread out some lunch. Other hikers were doing the same. We had chicken salad wraps, Doritos, pickles, and leftover cookies from last weekend when house mama had baked seventeen dozen.

There was a whizzing sound as a drone soared into the air, directed by one member of a Chinese family. They flew it around the overlook a little, and then it made a beeline out across all that space to video the landscape for a couple kilometers. I have no idea how far it went, but it was a while before it came back. "Who is inside it?" Julian wanted to know. When the drone returned, it hovered very well in the strong updrafts and the family took a couple shots of themselves before landing it.

The 3 km hike back passed more quickly than I expected, thanks to Tyler and Micah helping tote the little boys. I think it was about an hour fifteen. That included a stop above and around a lovely waterfall in lower evergreen woods. We dropped in at the discovery center again for small break after that. The fire in the hooded pit in the lounge was dead by now but it was pleasant to take a seat and relax, listening to the background of recorded nature sounds and seeing through tall windows the afternoon sunshine on the high places where we had just been.

Our group at church on Sunday morning must have been a record, at least for our our time in Montreal. Twenty people, and ten were children from two to fifteen. It was the six of us, Olivier & Miranda Vigneux and their five from Roxton, Brian & Carm Penner and their three from Alexandria; and Rose and Maria were the only attendees from the city this time. Dmitri & Luba weren't there, she'd just worked a week of nights at the hospital. We missed Akli and his wife, and Emile, and where was Louis? Anu & Merika didn't appear, but then we haven't seen them for more than a month either. So our service was a bit shorter and we sang a couple more songs at the end than usual. Then for the dinner, a single row of three tables was set up and we all sat around it for a good meal together. Such fun folks Olivier's and Brian's are, so the fellowship was much enjoyed. The afternoon was cold and gray as we parted ways from there. 

Another small group gathered at the church in Roxton Falls that evening. It was the youth group come together for the first practice of their Christmas program, and I drove out with Tyler and Micah to take part. It had been decided that the youth leaders would help in the program and when they welcomed me to join, I sure wasn't about to say no! (It's hard not to feel festive already. Thanksgiving is past, fall is practically over, and I have a hunch this Christmas will be one of the most magical of my life.) A couple songs into the practice I thought they must have sung over the numbers recently -- the harmonic balance and precision was stellar off the bat. But no, this was the first round, and together we made the small sanctuary ring. Four of the fourteen program songs are French ones and those really rolled. Toward the end of the practice, Marc & Gail arrived with some friends, a Ukranian couple and their two boys. Yuri and his wife live in Toronto with her sister and attend a Ukrainian church there. Yesterday they had visited Quebec City, today they came back west to visit the Toews family, and tomorrow they'd see a bit of Montreal. They got in on the last couple songs of the practice and just loved it. While we had a light snack in the back afterwards, Marc's were downstairs showing them the school, and later when they came up they requested to hear a French carol. We sang "Il est né, le divin enfant" for them, after which they sang a beautiful song in their native tongue before leaving. 

Did I say something recently about feeling festive? Well I sure did today in Place Versailles, one of the malls up the island. The one that has the illuminated, computerized waterfall display that creates words, symbols, and patterns with water jets. House mama really needed the place to herself for a while to catch up on things so the three of us went out for a change of scenery. The day was milder but rainy so an indoor activity was needed. 

We left the drizzly parking lot and entered the complex decked out with all things merry & bright and instrumental carols playing. So much sparkly stuff in the windows! Soon we came to a large enclosure with small deer inside, and dispensers you could stick a dollar coin in to receive a mound of food to give them from your hand. Were they reindeer? There was at least one stag and it had small antlers. In the center was an open shelter and all the floor of the enclosure was covered in wood shavings. There was a lot to see and we explored the mall from end to end, discovering the wonderlands set up in the large courts, stopping in a store here and there. We ended up grabbing a little lunch yet before watching the deer some more (Julian loved it although he thought the pen stank), then we bounded out through the rain to the van. Next stop of our outing: the library.

Back at the end of September, in case you missed it, I noted the likelihood of occasional pauses in my journaling. Don't be surprised if those show up as blank spaces altogether, or a quick rundown of missed days like such as this entry. Rather than creating separate entries for the last week I think I'll keep it together.

Tuesday, November 12: Memorable for the fact that a garage door tech showed up in the afternoon to fix ours. (Just yesterday while backing in, I had come too near the entrance before the door was entirely up, catching the bottom panel with the tail of the Pilot with a startling crunch. Quelle horreur! So I had pushed the door up the rest of the way, parked inside, and later put three rollers back on the track before tugging the whole contraption down again into the closed position where it stuck tight.) So this afternoon he checked the door out, gave the bowed panel some marvelous kicks from both sides, replaced a couple hinges, re-strung a cable, got it back in working condition. Thank goodness it closes all right. He later quoted a new panel for me at seven or eight hundred; we decided to use the door just as it is. As the lady on the phone had pointed out, a new white panel would contrast quite sharply with the other weathered ones, and if a damaged panel still worked, it would be less noticeable overall.

On to Thursday and Friday. The six couples that make up the CPS Canada board met in Montreal for their rendezvous, renting a large house off the island so they could all stay two nights together, Thursday night and Friday night. Kelly & Tam Penner from Norquay, SK are the Montreal unit supervisors and they arrived by noon on Thursday. We met them at Jarry Smoked Meat for a fantastic supper together with two other couples: Eldred & Carla Friesen from Rosenort, MB (young men recruiter); and Tim & Carla Friesen from Linden, AB (CPS treasurer). Kelly's had visited Montreal earlier this year so it was good to be with them again. 

It was a bit stressful because both boys were having fevers those nights. Julian had felt pretty low for much of Thursday but perked up with socializing and eating out. Friday morning Alec had a fever too and I ended up cancelling my Welcome Hall shift to help out at home. There was a lot of food to make for the evening. That all got done in good time. The boys were feeling better by evening so we all piled in the van and drove to Station Crémazie to meet the CPS board in the parking lot. They were all together this time, with the addition of Mr. & Mrs. Jerry Rempel from Grandview, MB; Mr. & Mrs. Justin Toews from St. Marys, ON; and Michael & Krista Penner from Dewberry, AB. 

Earlier in the afternoon I had got a dozen disposable metro passes with two rides on each, and down at the wickets I stood beside one and scanned the stack as they passed through. We rode down to Place des Arts to sing at the coveted harp. The group from Roxton Falls was just arriving. It was nearly thirty of us that gathered in front of the large, back-lit mural at the intersection of corridors and had one fantastic singing. Volume was understandable less on the French songs we sang, but we hit different English ones in those metro singing books too, and towards the end we sang through a collection of newer songs house mama had picked out from the binders at home. I'm Free; What Will It Be Like?; Dimensions; Oh, the Thought That Jesus Loves Me; How Deep the Father's Love; In Christ Alone. You should have been there to hear that. 

Hundreds passed through the station in that hour, and many stopped to enjoy it or show appreciation. In the random times when the station was nearly quiet, one could hear the full harmony filling the vast spaces around and below. Tyler had the same thought I did when we came to the end of those songs. We turned to each other and almost at the same time, said "Fill Up My Cup." We did that memory song yet for the last gorgeous number. House mama was thrilled to finally sing at Place des Arts for the first time. (The only other time had been back in June, when I'd reserved the spot on the Friday which happened to land on World Music Day, and she hadn't come along.) Then back to the wickets, scanning a dozen cards as the CPS board passed through, and down to the train to take us back to where we had parked. The crowd descended upon 5385 Rue de Francheville for supper after that and it was a jolly time together.

Most of those folks left early Saturday except for Kelly & Tam. They showed up in the afternoon at CPS for visits and a little more hanging out, then we drove to a steak restaurant along Jarry. Only it was full and I had no reservation. We went on to Wing Phat which also was full, but what fortune, our group of eight was brought in early to sit at a round table. We dined very well. Kelly's hadn't seen the Montreal church house yet so we ran over there yet for a look around. Then they headed to Alexandria for the night and the wedding next day.

Keith & Karen Wedel and Thierry & Chandra Andries came from Roxton Falls Sunday morning to help out with the service. Andrea had spent the weekend with Anna so they showed up with Anna's folks, Dmitri & Luba. Akli, Émile, and Maria came as well. House mama invited Keith's and Maria over for dinner and when that was over, we sang a bit around the living room using the Christmas song binders used for metro singing. In the evening, Dmitri dropped Anna off to ride with us to Roxton Falls for the service. It was good to be with all those folks again. Also we picked up a bundle of small white birch logs ordered from Chelsea Nichols for house mama's front door decor project back in the city. Hank & Sharon Dyck had the youth and us over after that so it was more good times with them, and a late, late night getting home. 

Then Monday, and back into another regular week, with Tyler and Micah leaving mid-morning to be gone the rest of the day. Julian and Alec seem to need more rest on Mondays, likely because of Sunday nights usually getting so late. The schedules of this life aren't always easy for them. They rode along with me to Jean Coutu to mail a package, but I gathered from the postal worker behind the counter in the back corner of the store that Canada Post is having a strike right now so she couldn't take it today. Then we drove to one of my favorite little shops not far from here: Magasin Bonsai. I really should stop going to that place because I usually leave with something or another. (See May 2 for a description.) That warm, humid space full of light, flowers, and tiny trees in pots always gives me a good vibe. It may come in handy in the dead of winter when I crave some of that energy. The boys got a bit impatient while I decided just which pre-bonsai juniper I wanted to take home, and then the vendor helped me pick out a pot that goes well with a juniper. He wondered if I knew how to take care of a juniper, and gave some good advice: "It needs to rest a few months, January to March, and it should be out in the cold." Somehow it needs that winter phase. But the small fig tree I currently have? That most definitely stays indoors.

I'm not sure why, but I had figured on the string light around the perimeter of the backyard staying up indefinitely. There was the incident of two missing lights nibbled free of the string by a mischievous squirrel last spring, but after mending the breaks and a little rearranging, the string light stayed pristine through the rest of the summer and provided good ambiance for backyard suppers. 

Then just a few days ago I saw the wire trailing the ground near the tree with the light missing, and another break in the line where another was missing. Most squirrels have disappeared by this time of the fall; but the one in our backyard, getting quite fat by now, must be going all out in preparation for winter. He is convinced those hollow plastic globes are trophies for his cache. 

Yesterday I took it all down and brought the string light inside, in three pieces. I measured the wire ends and reconnected them at the right length to match the intervals between bulbs of the undamaged line. There was enough to go around the tops of the patio railings and down the stairs, and then some to loop along the bottom of one side off the patio. It was all safely away from the tree. Surely there it could remain indefinitely.

Also yesterday I (and the boys) started tossing out peanuts for the squirrel. What fun to watch him munching. We tossed more out through the day and they all disappeared. 

Then he was up on the patio again this morning, and he'd just had a fresh snack. What was he doing now? Leaping up onto the railing? Oh la la, the wire was already severed in four or five more places since yesterday, and now he was balancing on the railing getting ready to harvest another plastic nut. We chased him to the tree, trailing one he'd scored earlier with a good length of wire still attached. 

We picked up the pieces and soon brought the whole affair inside again. Julian and Alec helped unscrew all the bulbs from the sections of the string light to save in a bag for future use. 

I didn't bother reconnecting the pieces. I just taped off the end of the remaining active string (with fourteen bulbs left), hardly a fifth of its original length. Guess what, it turned out to be just the perfect length to string up under the peak of the tempo from front to back. Now tempo will be illuminated like many others in the neighborhood. And there I doubt the fat squirrel will bother to look.  

The fifteen-person Alexandria group met us at Station Villa Maria on the west side of the city for metro singing in the evening. While it's a noisy singing spot, being just one level above the tracks, the atmosphere was very comfortable in spite of the cold night aboveground. So we joined voices and made the station ring for a while. At the end we pulled out those paper copies we'd used at Place des Arts and sang most of those songs, and the volume was fantastic. We ended with a memory song. No, it was two I guess, because while we were still hanging around there after finishing, a few young folks came down the escalators and stopped to see what had just taken place. Some of the group began singing What a Friend We Have in Jesus so we did that one by memory for them, and they seemed to enjoy that. 

Back at the house the youth devoured hot burritos, chips & salsa, and fruit kabobs. House mama usually has qualms about the food she serves and I guess this time she might have had a little reason to. A great quantity of rice with beans and corn that had been cooked up at some time in the past and stored thereafter in a freezer had been incorporated into the burritos, and as I predicted, nobody was the wiser. Tyler reassured her later that no, they really were good, there were definitely youth going back for seconds. So that was a success.

I reserved a table for six at the Amber restaurant in the neighborhood near Mont Royal known as Le Plateau, a district full of good dining and shopping. Our reservation was at 5:00 p.m. so well before that the four of us headed down the island and scored a parking spot near this marvelous Indian restaurant. I guess I don't know a lot of restaurants like this for comparison, but I've always loved the calm, relaxed atmosphere, the dim chandeliers, the tea lights on the tables, and of course the food. The restaurant was largely empty when we stepped in and were shown to our table. Just a couple minutes later Tyler and Micah came in to join us. Micah, looking fly with his navy blue beret which he found soon after coming to Montreal. He fits right into this city with a hat like that, though it's surprising how few of those you'll actually see out and about.

They had spent the afternoon exploring the city a little and some of Old Port, which Tyler reported as being pretty empty. "All the restaurant terrasses are taken down now," he said. "The street is so much wider. Maybe that's why it felt so empty."

We had spent our afternoon on the other end of the island, visiting the bustling Galeries d'Anjou mall. This sprawling complex boasts over 150 stores and services across 1.1 million square feet. Our first objective was to acquire a certain small home appliance designed to cater to the delights of those who consume artful brews made from roasted beans. (Is CPS Montreal the last service unit without its own espresso machine? No longer.) Before exploring more of the mall we stopped in the food court to share a bowl of some Haitian Creole food. "I'd come back to this mall just to have some more of this," said house mama, starry-eyed, when it was gone. We browsed some high dollar clothing stores, did a lot of walking, and stopped by a few of the Christmas setups. There was a crowd of parents and children in line at the elaborate photo op with Santa structure. It looked like a hot job to me, being buried in fake beard and red costume. By the time we swung by home to drop off some things it was time to be going again, to meet the guys for supper.

That was some good rice, chicken curry, and naan bread we had at the restaurant. Then we all rode back and spent the rest of the evening at home. 

It was a simple Sunday, just the second to last time without a missionary family. We are so ready for the new ones to come! We all went to church extra early to open up and so some of the upstairs could be vacuumed. It's pretty dusty from the ongoing renovations in the missionary apartment which should be completed by the weekend. Karlos & Heidi and Andrew Isaac as well as Casey & Beth Unruh came from Alexandria to help with the service. Maria showed up, then Emile, and Akli whose wife hasn't appeared for a couple weeks. She's been sick or something. We had a nice service together, and Tyler brought his sermon (which every guy has to do at least once during their terms) so that was nice. I suggested he might do it again at the end of his term, maybe. "Low chance of that," he said. 

We met Karlos's at the Marché aux puces Métropolitain, which happens to be Canada's largest indoor flea market, out along Autoroute 40 not far from Lacordaire. In the small food court is a taco restaurant that Karlos & Heidi have loved for years above any other taco joints in Montreal, called Impac Taco.* We devoured really good street tacos and horchata with them. The only downside of the place is that it's right beside a noisy space full of rumbling video game arcades and flashing lights, captivating the children the entire time and making them pretty grumpy to leave the place. Karlos's spent some time around the city with Tyler and Micah after that while the four of us had a quiet afternoon at home and the boys slept a while. 

In the evening, we tuned in to a service in Brooksville, MS to hear Caleb Saul's short and sweet report on his time in Montreal. That was fun. "Man I was terrified," he said about his speech, after the fact.

♦ ♦ ♦

*I may have mentioned this long ago, or maybe not -- but Karlos was a volunteer in Montreal in the early 90's, and later he came back with his wife and two young children to serve a term as house parents. Just like us; the Montreal aspect of my life is much the same as his.

I take turns with the guys having devotions in the morning, and once in a while Julian is eager to join in. Not during the main devotion time (though a couple times I have him "read" a verse before we pray), but sometimes before we're all around in the morning he jumps up on the couch with his French Bible and a Sunday school book. He was up early this morning so when he was ready to have devotions I sat down to take part. He put on his serious voice and began. 

Pages flipped. "I'm going to read some verses in John, twenty-eight nine sixteen." No matter the reference, the story is usually the same. Something about Jesus and His disciples going down to the lake and crossing to the other side. The story is always dressed up a little differently; today, he recounted how soldiers splashed in after them. He threw in some other creative details and added an original line. "Then the soldiers went away, and the dead wolves howled." I don't remember the story after that point, the way that thought struck me. He wrapped it up with some of his impressions, then turned to the Sunday school book to refer to something in the lesson with a few grown-up phrases strung together, complete with some grown-up mannerisms he's picked up on.

Then we had prayer. His prayer is even more predictable, and works any time of the day. (Sometimes when it's just us at home, I let him say the prayer at lunch.) "Dear heavenly Father, we thank You for the day that You given us. Thank You for the food. Help us to be strong and kind, and help grandpa's to be safe. And help grandpa's to be safe. In Jesus' Name pray Amen."

These few days are remembered by some extra busyness which befell. Not so much on Tuesday evening, although the Toews boys from Roxton Falls showed up for supper at our house. They had been over at the mission house for a few hours in the afternoon installing the flooring in the remodeled part of the suite. "It didn't take us long at all," they said. "Really we sat around and talked to Phil a lot." (Phil Wiebe from Alexandria is a finish painter and is keeping busy there throughout the week with his wife Brenda's help.) 

So after supper, Matthew and Jeremy took our Tyler and Micah out to Alexandria for volleyball, and the rest of us had the house to ourselves. They dropped our guys off at the REM station at Brossard, across the river east of Montreal, so the night wouldn't get too late for them returning to Roxton Falls. Our guys had about an hour and a half home from Brossard, riding the REM light rail across the river, transferring to the metro, and finally catching a bus up into the neighborhood. The garage door opener hummed below us in the wee hours.

We were on the run again Wednesday evening, this time just the guys and I, to get in on a program practice at Roxton Falls. Stay tuned -- as December 15 approaches, sometime I'll post the program info on the homepage for your convenience. I do hope you get to hear it.

The guys made supper Thursday evening. I and my small fam spent the afternoon exploring the glamorous Place Versailles mall, the one that has a deer pen inside. (We had no coins with us for the food dispensers but there was enough corn scattered on the floor we got to feed the deer all the same.) Backing down into the tempo upon our return, the warm gust of air from the garage brought with it the savory odors of garlic; we smelled it before we had even parked. We followed our noses upstairs and indeed we had not been deceived. Micah was creating a big pot of garlic parmesan chicken & baby potatoes. Phil & Brenda accepted our offer to join us at the table so they paused in their labors over at the mission house to spend a couple fun hours with us. It was a fantastic meal. I don't know what all went into Micah's recipe, but the flavor was phenomenal.

There was no food distribution at Welcome Hall in the morning due to preparations for the weekend Christmas event taking place the next couple days, and since we were skipping a metro singing with nobody coming to help us, we had Saturday a day early. It was nice being able to tackle the remaining junk pile in the backyard at church which by now was mostly longer pieces of wood needing cut up. The main floor was full of tools spread everywhere and the Wiebe's were hard at it once again. We found a saw in the basement and the guys took turns cutting up the pieces and random plywood sections while Julian helped me stack the stuff into the garbage barrels. We did another yard cleanup at Hélène's, filling four bags with the remaining leaves blown into the tempo and scattered around the house. That should do it for the season. Back at the house we had a late lunch together before the guys headed off to spend time downtown. 

Tyler and Micah left around 6:00 in the morning to get to Welcome Hall in decent time before the start of the first volunteer shift at the Christmas event, called "Noël Pour Tous," Christmas for All. Every year they hand out thousands of gifts to the children of needy families, and you can find a good overview in this article. They expected to serve around two thousand children in two days.

The rest of us left mid-morning so we could arrive for the second shift. We parked at Crémazie, rode down to St. Henri, and took a nice cold walk from that station to the mission which was abuzz indoors. The whole place was decked out as you can see in the video, and in trying to find our way to the volunteer room in the back we bumped into Tyler who was wearing an elf hat and an inflated Air Canada plane. He was stationed near the start of the distribution line, welcoming families and holding countless children for countless photos together. Micah was stationed at the exit near Santa's space, also wearing an airplane balloon. (Note: he appears at one minute ten seconds into the video.) They switched spots through the morning so both got in many pictures.

Air Canada was involved to some degree in the event this year, lending some props for the theme of the journey to Santa's kingdom, and it sounded like some representatives of that airline were present in the morning for publicity purposes. 

In the volunteer break room we had some time to wait around. It was nice because one bar was filled with snacks and drinks, to the delight of Julian and Alec (us too). So we relaxed a little there, talked to some volunteers I know, and found our own nametags and elf hats to wear. Tyler and Micah came around later, done with their photo op duties, and before long they left with Julian and Alec. The room filled with volunteers from many different organizations and at last the lady in charge held the floor a few minutes to dish out welcome and thanks, and assign us to our teams. 

Our team was stationed at the start of the journey, where families stepped through a doorway and had the opportunity to sit in the airplane seats for photos. One of the volunteers took care of that. Sabrina and I helped manage the low table where we spread out coloring pages for the children who wanted to stop a little. Meanwhile, their parents could fill out information slips with their children's names, ages, and the family's account number. Those papers were dropped into a large, colorful box, tickets for a drawing to win a $50 gift card to Toys R Us. It was pretty straightforward once we got the people flowing through and we got the hang of it. It didn't seem like the most amazing part of the journey to be involved in, but it gave us interaction with the families and took a lot of talking, it seemed like, so that was good language exercise. 

A couple others of our team were at another table doing the same thing, and together we moved a lot of people through. Some children stayed a while to color their pictures, and some took theirs to color at home. Very few colored the whole thing, there wasn't time for that. 

An elderly couple stood by the wheeled trolley (just like flight attendants use to disperse snacks) and handed out some kind of Christmas candy, vegan stuff to boot so no matter if someone was Halal or whatever, all could take it. Others of our team were around the corner helping with more photo shoots and guarding some of the displays from being touched or climbed on. 

It was all very festive. Instrumental carols played in the background, such a nice diversion from the music we normally must put up with on the food distribution days. The afternoon passed pretty quickly. I was starting to get mind blocks when attempting to say some of the lines I'd repeated countless times. You probably know the feeling, it's sure a bit weird. Then at last the final family came through and our job was done. 

We took a tour through the rest of the area, full of trees, oversized gingerbread men and candy, dressed up doorways, and all kinds of wonderful things. The market room was practically unrecognizable. Then we gathered out things and walked off into the cold early evening, detouring down Rue Notre Dame to stop in at Café Mollo for some hot drinks. Just us. A fun and rare time downtown together.

Four of Tyler's buddies from California arrived at the airport around the time we returned home. Car seats were removed from the van and the guys went with me to pick them up: Shane, Kye, Jace, and Corey. The pizza shop near our barber along Viau had pizzas ready for us at 8:00 so I ran for those and we had supper shortly thereafter. 

And that was November.