Highs and lows...

You know for sure you live in Quebec city when you wake-up to a freezing 45 degree outside to get out on your lunch break to a very humid 99 degree...



How am I suppose to dress ?????



In other news: Seems like the niece was right about the timing of me getting a boyfriend ( NO, the niece didn't hook me up ) Thanks to Calliope, I've discovered the most amazing thing ever : Susan.



And what did Susan tell me that was soooo amazing ?



"Romantically, Mars is now touring your house of true love for the first time in two years."



You heard that missy ? Your favorite aunt will finally find herself a nice guy...

Celebration !!!!

I've done it !! I've reached the 10 000 mark !!



Only problem though. When logging on my site meter, I realized that the lucky winner was :

ME

Sucks big time, doesn't it ? The site meter would normally ignore my visits but I was staying over at my sister's place last night and decided to check out my blog, since I had some formatting problems in the morning... and that's when the meter hit the 10 000 mark. I almost cried.



But then, my niece entered the room and my evening got a funny turn.



As we were leaving to attend a concert, she said she had a big announcement to make but would wait for me to be sitting in the bus before telling me... Hum... OK !



Once comfortably seated, she dropped the bomb : unlike her favorite aunt (that would be me ), she's been dating someone for a couple of days ! His name is C-E, is in her class, gives great kisses on the cheaks (phew !), asked for her address in order to visit (already a gentleman !) and are truly in love. They plan on marrying at 19, buy a house in the south of France ( ?! ) and have 2 kids : a girl and a boy. They haven't chosen any names yet as they still have plenty of time but the paint color for the rooms have been chosen...



She had that very serious tone in her voice while telling her story so I listened carefully and asked the righ questions. The bus got really quiet at one point. Most people had a big smile on their face and would just listen to that little girl's story and remembering being 8 years old and madly in love for the first time.



Then she said it. She dropped an even bigger bomb : since she's soooooo good at finding good guys and that I am obviously not, she's going to try and fix me up, even though she thinks I'm getting a bit old for dating ... People in that bus stopped smilling. Instead, I got big, huge, loud laughs.



I need a drink. Fast...

France

Time to play a game !!! Yippi !!!



If you were to spend a week near Paris, on your own with a limited budget (of course !) : what would you do ? Where would you go ?




I'll be spending a month in France this summer doing a tour with two different Wind Orchestras. Actually, 3 weeks of touring and an extra week to do some solo travelling afterward...



Any suggestions on where I should go ? WAY too many options for a wandering mind like mine !! It has to be said though : I don't really like touristy stuff and we'll play or visit most of them anyway with the orchestras...



Oh ! and did I mentionned that I'm leaving in 32 days ?





HELP !!!

Interview

Me again !!





I volonteered to be interviewed by the amazing Calliope ... So here are her five questions :







1. I doubt you are really "just a trumpet player". So what else are you?





Hum... Good question ! I am not a wife anymore. or a lover . I am not a mother either( not yet ) . I am a daughter, a sister, an amazing aunt. A devoted friend and party girl . But first and foremost, I am a trumpet player. Being a trumpet player is way behond the word . It's a way of living, of thinking. I strive for challenges . I am generally the only women in a world dominated by males : they see women as weak and useless and I'm here to prove them otherwise.





2. How are those blisters on your feet healing?

The feet are getting better, thanks ! After a week long rest, the raw skin looks more like giant scabs now, wich is encouraging. The feet should be out an running again real soon. Just in time for that European tour starting in 38 days !! ( sorry, I just had to plug it... )

3.In the big screen movie version of your life who plays you? Who plays your s/o?





Debra Messing would play me : she is friendly, witty, entertaining, bright and quirky. And Taye Diggs would play my other half : What can I say ?! I'm a sucker for that kind of guy. And I have to admit, he looks exactly like my favorite ex...





4. How do you like your eggs?





I'm more of a Julia Roberts's "Runaway Bride" kind of girl on that one. I like different things depending on the person I'm with...





5. What was it like growing up as an identical twin ?





We were born on a tinny Island that hadn't seen twins in over 10 years. From the get go, we were an attraction : the hospital extended their visiting hours, strangers would send gifts. Luckily for us, our parents made sure to treat us like two different person ; a mistake many people still make with twins. We developped very different personalities from an early age : when you are treated like a buy-one get-one-free pack of goodies, you need your own territory. And you get pretty protective of what you can get. My sister's a thinker, romantic, motivator, very dependant and idealist. I am, on the other hand, a musician, an artist in every sense of the word. We remain very close as ever : we speak on the phone 10-15 times a day, and still speak twins (or steno). The finishing up each other sentences or having whole conversations without actually using any nouns, adverbs or adjectives with a mixt of English and French. Still drives everybody around us crazy !

Photo Friday !!

Let's all clap our hands : It's that time of the week again !



This week's theme : HATS

And one would wonder why I NEVER wear hats ! Hum... probably 'cause I've been surrounded by such prettiness from an early age ?

What can I say ?! At least, the colors matched... and it was the 70's. My mother has a urge to match everything, including every single colors around her. The fact that we looked ridiculous with those hats never even occured to her : all she could see was the matching colors ...

Yep, that's right : there's a rooster's ass on my head . In my defence, one of my many jobs requires to do parades quite a few times a year. And for very special occasions, we do wear an excellent copy of a uniform that would have been worn in 1862... I know, I know: it doesn't change the facts. I'm still wearing a roster's ass on my head...

Have a nice weekend everybody !!

Looking for Grand-pa's teeth...

My family always had weird ways to reward kids with money. Growing up, we'd be paid to fetch potato bugs in the garden : a nickle a head. An extra 2 bucks if we'd throw them in the neighbour's garden. Or 25 cents for every Jellyfish we could find on the beach. An extra dollar to put one on some stranger's butt.



My father has now reach a new low : it's been recently brought to our attention that his grand-kids have been rewarded to find his dentures ( He is known to forget them everywhere ). 3 dollars if they find them ; an extra 2 bucks to bring them to grand-pa. An additionnal dollar if they try them on...



GROSS !!!




And you : any weird ways to get money as a kid ?

Things I never told my mom...

My mom had a major stroke back in February and had a couple more episodes since. It's been a bumpy road and we're still pretty worried. I'm still taken aback everytime the phone rings at unusual hours. What if...






Her mobility is still a big problem and so is her memory ; long term & short term. She remembers us but can't recall our age or differentiate our voice. She can do Sudoku exercises at the speed of lightning but can't remember if she took her meds or ate, 5 minutes ago...






Here's a list of things I wish I'd told her before her ordeal. She is still alive, I know. But moms are ment to bother you and pester you with the small stuff. It is now that I wish she would come back and hunt me for the rest of my life with those things...





So here we go :

I love you : It's just not something we do in the family ; telling one another that we love each other. I don't know why. But there seem to be a real discomfort in doing so. Maybe that explain why I'm having such a hard time telling boyfriends that I love them...

I missed you : My mother was absent for a very long time. For some very good reasons and for some very wrong ones too. She came back in my life in my early twenties and tried to buy herself in... Didn't work ; I didn't need her in my life the way I did growing up and beside, you can't buy love. It took me a very long time to let her back in my life ; we needed to tame our relationship.

I don't keep parsley in my car : No mom, that thing wasn't parsley... but I do love your naïvety !

I DID got kicked out of school : For selling hard liquor. In grade 8. In a field trip. Yes, I know it was very wrong. But darn, it did made those Religious Study quizzes a lot funnier !!

I didn't wait to be in college to have sex : I was actually 13... What can I say ; I was VERY curious ! The good thing is : I never regretted a thing.

I did moved in with Denis... : I kinda skipped that part when I said I was moving in with Isabelle and a friend ... In my defence, you never asked the gender of the said friend !!!!

You are the worst cook ever : Hum... I don't want to hurt your fellings and I'm pretty sure you noticed the fact that EVERYBODY tries to avoid ever having to eat at your place but it sure feels great to say it outloud !

We do like the fact that you are deaf : it sure makes playing with your mind a lot easier !

I'm proud of you : for setting yourself some incredible goals, raising the bar and achieving your dreams.

And you : What do you wish you could tell your mom ?

Photo Friday !!!

This week's theme on Photo Friday: Best travel photos

I was born on Magdalena Island (or Iles-de-la-Madelaine): a small Island part of the province of Quebec, located in between Newfoundland and Prince-Edward Island and Quebec . I've only lived there for a short amount of time... but to this day, it remains my favorite place in the whole world . Amazing people, great beer and look at the view !!

And since the Island is so tiny, you get that spectacular view anywere you go !

Quick... very quick !

My 8 years old niece was going through her mom's bedside table when she found some , hum, battery operated device ( k'mon, you know which one I'm talking about ) With perfect timing , my sister entered the room and found her daughter standing by the bed, holding the... thing, wondering what to make of it . Without a flinch, my sister grabbed it and said : " Wow ! You've found the flashlight ! I was looking for it . Thanks !! "





Quick... very quick !





But somebody needs a better hideout...

Photo Friday !!

This week's theme: The tackiest / most tasteless thing in your house

Didn't take me long to find the perfect object of desire !

I'm pretty sure every single house in Quebec has one of those wall decoration hanging somewhere. Of course, every single one of those house owners will deny ever owning one... Thank goodness winter time is not as harsh as it used to ; otherwise, I am convince some Old Ladies Club would still be making those ! I am, however, very proud of the fact that ours hangs in the basement, where NOBODY ever goes...

WARNING : EXTREME GROSSNESS

What else can I say...



Hum... OUCH ! ?

I've been cleaning the wounds 4 times a day and putting those special bandaids on. What else should I be doing ? It is still bleeding and looks like a pile of raw flesh ( sorry... not very appealing this early in the morning... )

Any ideas anyone ?

Help !!!

Writing a jingle on blisters...

Join in, they said...



Right. Have you seen the size of those blisters ?



I'm still running like a mad scientist and now, my feet are KILLING me ! I swear, the guy that patented those army boots never actually wore them ; otherwise, they would not be as heavy, stiff, and blister-prone as they are...



I'm a musician ; I should be wearing girly shoes and pretty dresses !! And I am still wearing plenty of those... But I've been mostly dressed in Army attire for the past 2 weeks and I'll be wearing the same type of outfit for the next 6 days.



Yep, I have chops of steal now : I've been playing non-stop for the last 3 weeks. But I also have gigantic blisters on my feet that are killing me. And the Flip-Flop season has just started : I just can't stand socks and restricting shoes... I should be doing a happy dance !! But instead, when giving myself an amazing pedicure tonight, I could hear my heals cursing at me ... and I can tell that vengeance is near...