Food and exercise at the convent

There was a rather nice article about the new convent in Toronto. The only part I did not like and did seem to be accurate was about the food there. They do not serve soggy vegetables.

I find the food to be a lot healthier there than it used to be. The meals are all buffet style so you can take what you like. There is always fresh fruit and vegetables. I seem to remember that some of the sisters took part in a Weight Watchers program a few years ago.

Sometimes there is cake and even ice cream. This time I did eat some of the cake but not always. There were cookies too but not very fancy ones. I think they were Peak Freans.

This time at the convent the schedule was very busy. The only way I could really go for a walk was to miss Morning Prayer. That is what I did every day. It is quite a nice neighbourhood around the convent for walking.

Walking the picket line

Unfortunately for some folks in Ottawa, OC Transpo has gone on strike. Being retired and getting around mostly by car and not needing to be in the downtown area too much, I can manage quite well. I do notice too that there are a lot more cars on the road and driving around can be a slow process. It did not help that there was a major snow event in Ottawa this week.

I have been using the bus to go downtown and then walking to and from various transit stations. I do not have an appointment downtown until early January and hopefully by then, the two sides will have got their differences sorted out.

When I was working there was a transit strike that lasted quite a few weeks. Some of us living close by got together and shared in a car pool. There was parking available quite cheaply at one of the municipal arenas. It worked out alright but it was an inconvenience.

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I did work in a unionized environment and the union decided a couple of times to go on strike. Some of my colleagues did walk on the picket line but I was not inclined to do so.

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The other strike that affected me at work was a postal strike. At that time the library had many printed magazines and books being sent in the mail. It was more of an issue when the strike was over because we were deluged with very large piles of mail.

I wonder now that the library is more virtual with electronic resources that a postal strike would not have such a major impact.

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I was involved somewhat in labour relations. I went to work for the Department of Labour (later Labour Canada and the Labour Program) in November of 1976. Of passing interest to those working in the library, the first Minister of Labour was Mackenzie King and he started the library in the department. I think if you looked hard enough in some of the hidden corners of the library, you might still find a few books from his era.

Traf reunion: part 2 (Montreal)

I met up with her on my short walk around the McGill campus. She has been there a long time. What was Royal Victoria College - the women's residence - is now the Music department.

She was there in my mom's days at McGill and I certainly remember her from my time there as well.

I travelled by bus to my school reunion. Coming into the city I wondered where exactly the train tracks were. Windsor Station that we came into from Lachute is now closed. The view from the bus looked quite familiar and it was along the same route.

I took the Metro from the bus terminal - now Gare Centrale - to the stop near my Bed and Breakfast accomodation. I had to cross Sherbrooke Street which was very busy.

I easily found my B&B on a side street just going up the mountain. It was an old house that had been renovated. It was quiet and quite convenient for where I wanted to be. Traf was a 10 minute walk away.

I walked around the McGill campus. Many of the buildings looked to be the same - at least from the outside. The students looked to be younger.

I also walked down to Rue Ste. Catherine to the Anglican Cathedral. The outside of the Bay looked very familar. I walked through the building which was once Eaton's. I wonder what Timothy Eaton would have thought of the new boutiques in the building.

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I walked over to Traf for the morning event. The streets were much the same and the walk up the hill on Simpson Street was just as steep as I remembered.

Actually the streets are not quite the same - as McGregor is now named Doctor Penfield. Strangely enough across the street from Traf there was an old street sign with McGregor still on it.

I walked around the area and remembered very well the boarders walks. I also remembered the restaurants we used to frequent when we were let out on our own without being supervised by a teacher. We were not supposed to cross Sherbrooke Street on our own but of course we sometimes did.

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Saturday morning I walked over to the Metro station to go back to the Gare Centrale to take my bus back to Ottawa. Stepping into the station, there was a very distinctive smell which I remembered from many years ago. Was that the smell of the rubber tires?

Food and exercise in Vancouver

My sister is a great cook and we had some very good and healthy meals. With a cancer survivor and a heart bypass/diabetic in the house, they need to be.

I did eat some healthy type chips and some of that wonderful extra old cheddar cheese which I do not eat at home.

I sampled my sister's homemade wine - lower in alcoholic content that what you can buy. Both the red and the white were nice.

We did some planned walking. We were out and about one day and walked through a shopping area and of course we made a few stops in the stores. Then we walked through a very nice residential area.

Now walking in Vancouver almost everywhere involves some hills. I was not into anything more serious. The mountains of course are beautiful to look at - especially for those who live in the eastern part of the country where the mountains are much older and therefore lower. I took a couple of walks up the street where my sister lives. It is all uphill on the way out and downhill on the way home.

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The next trip in my life will be Montreal where there is also a mountain of the lower variety. So one of my next postings will be:

Food and exercise in Montreal.