A Couple of Days in Montreal/Pari päivää Montrealissa

I loved the location of our hotel in Old Montreal. We were able to walk to all our destinations. The only place we couldn't walk to was the Botanical Garden. My #1 wish while in Montreal was to visit the Chinese Gardens of Light to see the nearly 1000 glowing lanterns at the Botanical Garden (their Japanese Garden was lit up also), but we were not able to go.

Since this was a business trip, our evenings were scheduled with conference activities, and on Saturday, when we could have stayed a little longer to go to the garden, I was suffering from a migraine, so we decided to head home (boo.) The exhibit is on until November 4th, and this year is the 20th anniversary year. We heard it's magnificent - so go if you can!!



During the day whenever we had some free time, we walked all over Old Montreal, Old Port, and toured the Notre Dame Basilica, which was my # 2 wish to see while visiting, and was so worth the time and money.



It was gorgeous! Definitely a must see in Montreal. If you visit during Mass, you can enter for free, but paying the $5 admission fee gave us also a tour, both the main sanctuary, as well as the smaller Chapel of Notre-Dame du Sacre-Coeur. We also heard the organ (click here for a very short video), which has four keyboards, 99 stops and approximately 7000 pipes.



You can read more about the Notre Dame Basilica by clicking here.



Despite us walking all over Old Montreal, and even visiting some interesting shops, we didn't buy anything but a few cups of coffee. And from Chinatown we picked up some mooncakes for this weekend's Mid-Autumn Festival.
 


On Friday night our group went on a Amphibus tour after a delicious dinner at Modavie. The city looked magical in the dark.



We had gone to Montreal in 2006 as a family, right before Little Miss joined our family. It was another business trip (in fact, same type of conference), and we had taken the kids to Biodome. I wish I could give you a review of our visit there, but I can barely remember it. It might be time to return with the kiddos. If and when we do, we'll also plan on seeing the Explorail, Canadian Railway Museum, which sounds fascinating. A lot to see and do in Montreal, for sure!

The question is, can the Mothership navigate the streets of Montreal?

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Vietimme pari kolme päivää Montrealissa, mutta konferenssin takia meillä oli aika tiivis aikataulu. Aina kun oli mahdollisuus, lähdimme kiertelemään Vanhaa kaupunkia, missä hotellimmekin sijaitsi. Notre Damen katedraali oli vaikuttava kokemus. Chinatownista haimme kuukakkuja kiinalaista syysfestivaalia varten. Ykköstoiveenani oli Kasvitieteellisen puutarhan kiinalainen puutarha, missä parhaillaan on miltei tuhat lyhtyä, muttemme valitettavasti päässeet sinne. Ehkä ensi kerralla. Pääsisiköhän Montrealia kiertelemään Mothership-asuntoautollamme?:)

To Montreal

The Captain and I got to use work as an excuse go on a business trip to Montreal this week.




I'm pretty sure the foliage in northern New England is at peak at the moment, making our drive to Canada just breathtakingly gorgeous.



Most of these foliage photos were taken in Maine and New Hampshire. (Some were taken from the moving car, as you can probably tell:) But we did pull over a couple of times to take stretch our legs and take pictures.



This picture above is from Vermont as we cut the corner of the north-eastern state, right before crossing the border into Canada. We stopped, and heard our first "Bonjour" as the border patrol agent quizzed us about where we live (always hard to answer), where we are going, and for how long. Fortunately a very brief stop:)



Much of our drive in Canada it was raining, but I enjoyed looking at the farm land, then entering the city of Montreal, which we found out, is the second largest french speaking city in the western world, after Paris. People seem to speak and understand English well, but most signs out and about are in French.



Our hotel room at Hotel St. Paul is very very nice.



It feels like we are on a romantic little getaway, instead of being here on business.



And so, we are determined to make this trip into both business and pleasure.



A romantic dinner at Le Local (so perfect in every way) and an evening walk was a great way to start our stay in Montreal. Stay tuned for our next post(s) from Montreal.

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Kapteeni ja minä ajoimme upean ruskaisen Uuden Englannin läpi Kanadaan tällä viikolla. Alkupostauksen kuvat ovat Mainestä ja New Hampshirestä, ja rajan ylitimme Vermontin kohdalla. Kanadassa ruska tuntuu olevan jo ohi, mutta kaunis on maaseutu vieläkin. Työt toivat meidät Montrealiin, mutta olemme myös nauttineet kahdenkeskeisestä viikonlopusta romanttisessa hotellissa ja suurkaupungissa. Postaus jatkuu seuraavassa numerossa...

Elementary Education Degree

Our Mothership Adventures is so honored to be included in one of the 25 Best Sites for Homeschoolers on ElementaryEducationDegree.com website. Thank you very much!

This is what they wrote:

Homeschooling is skyrocketing in popularity as the inconsistency of public school quality and the expense of private school has made it harder for parents to promise their children the best education available. Parents who choose to homeschool use a variety of techniques, including the Montessori Method, developed by an Italian educator in the early early 21st century, and other non-traditional teaching tactics.

The list below brings together some of the best blogs and websites being kept by families that homeschool. Many of the sites feature downloadable activity kits and other supplies for homeschoolers, and all of them offer personal stories and advice for parents considering homeschooling their kids.

And we are included in this great list of homeschool blogs. Go check them out!

Our Mothership Adventures

This site is about a family of seven who are trying out homeschooling while traveling around in an Airstream trailer and living a mobile, nontraditional lifestyle.

• Homeschooling Highlight: Hooked on Phonics

After the Storm/Myrskyn jälkeen

The morning after the storm, our first thought was: "Do we still have a sailboat?" Well, yes, yes we did, but the sailboat had capsized overnight, and we had lost the centerboard, rudder and tiller. And one the kayaks had gone in the lake, but fortunately didn't get too far.



Mr. D and the Captain went in to do Operation Rescue. The water temp was 63 F. Brrr!!! Mr. D found rudder right away, and they pulled the kayak back on land. Getting the sailboat was another matter.



One that required the camera girl (me) to chuck the camera aside (it was raining), and get in the water, too. After all, I had been swimming every morning for exercise anyway.

And it did take the three of us working together to bring the sailboat to shore, and then all boys helped us carry it to dry land (it was a bit waterlogged).



Mr. A got in the water after breakfast to work on getting the rope and the buoy out, too. He was able to get the rope, but Mr D and the Captain had to kayak out to get the buoy finally out. They kayaked out to the cove, and were able to find the centerboard and the tiller. Such a relief!

But all this means we are getting ready for winter. Boo.

Wait, that means snow! Yay:)



Our rescue operation did convince me it is time to start walking for exercise. Especially since swimming laps around the now-gone-buoy got challenging. And the water temp was 61 F the next morning.

But, being a Finn and all I decided I'd just do a quick morning dip every day until we leave for Florida or the lake ices over. Whichever happens first.

Did I ever mention we think we found a great name for our sailboat?

The Loony Finn

Yup:)


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Myrskyn jälkeisenä aamuna piti ensimmäisenä tarkistaa onko meillä vielä purjevenettä. Oli onneksi, mutta se oli kaatunut, ja osia puuttui. Yksi kajakeistakin oli lähtenyt vesille, muttei päässyt kovin kauas, ennen kuin oli uponnut.

Eli Operaatio Pelastus pystyyn, ja loppujen lopuksi saimme niin purjeveneen, kadonneet osat, kajakin, kuin poijunkin maalle. Kesä on virallisesti ohi. Kuin myös minun puolen tunnin aamu-uinnit. Oikeasti liian kylmää. Mutta eihän sitä suomalaisena voi antaa periksi: eli aamupulahduksella aion jatkaa joka päivä kunnes lähdemme Floridaan tai jäät tulevat.

Niin, ja kerroinko vielä, löysimme purjeveneelle hyvän nimen: The Loony Finn, vapaasti suomennettuna Kaheli suomalainen:)

It Was a Dark And Stormy Night...

It was a dark and stormy night... And the Captain was gone for the evening.

The power flickered on and off. It was a perfect night for candles and fire in the fireplace.

The kids and I enjoyed a special gourmet meal: hot dogs on a stick, baked beans, and s'mores for dessert.

With jumbo marshmallows.

Yum!

Some like theirs perfect.

And some like theirs... perfectly burned!

What a fun and yummy night. Especially since the generator kicked in when we did lose our power...

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Oli synkkä ja myrskyinen yö...

Kapteeni oli illan poissa, joten tein herkullisen ilta-aterian lapsille: hodareita takassa, papuja, ja paahdettuja vaahtokarkkeja jälkiruoaksi. Kynttilät ja takkatuli toi ihanaa tunnelmaa iltaan.

Early September Morning/Syyskuun alussa aamulla

Many mornings here in the mountains of Maine are foggy.



So. Breathtakingly. Beautiful.



I wish you could see it, too. These pictures are mere reflections of the real thing.



These pictures are not from today, though. Today we woke up to howling wind, great waves, leaves turning and falling, and dropping temperatures. Gorgeous, too, but in a different way. More rugged and raw. Definitely bringing a message of colder season coming.


These photos are from September sixth. (When we could still pretend it was summer and we hadn't started school yet.)

For as high as the heavens are above the earth,

so great is his love for those who fear him; 

as far as the east is from the west,

so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

Psalm 103: 11-12

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Sillä niin korkealla kuin taivas on maasta, 
niin voimallinen on hänen armonsa niitä kohtaan, 
jotka häntä pelkäävät. 
Niin kaukana kuin itä on lännestä, 
niin kauas hän siirtää meistä rikkomuksemme.
Psalmi 103: 11-12

Sumuisia kuvia syyskuun alusta. Monena aamuna heräämme kauniiseen sumuverhoon järven yllä. Mutta tänään tuuli puhaltaa, aallot heittehtelevät purjevenettä ees taas, kellertävät lehdet putoavat jo puista, ja ilma kylmenee päivä päivältä. Joka päivä kaunis omalla tavallaan.