June 7/14

Oh boy, okay.  Today, we drove an hour into Quebec to help Etienne's father move into his new house.  We didn't know what to expect, other than the stuff shipped for Geneva to arrive, but we certainly didn't expect to find contractors working on renovations and the shipping company unloading and setting up most of the furniture.  We'd gone in thinking it would be a day of heavy lifting and labour, but ended up just taking care of a few things like cleaning and some light unpacking/assembly.

It's a nice little country house on a marshy pond that turns out to be protected for wildlife.  As far as I can tell so far, his neighbours include a retired professor, a beaver, a pair of nesting ducks, and itinerant deer.  Oh, and every damn bug species that inhabits Quebec.

While it's a pleasant experience, I can't say I have any desire for the country living.  We live in an area of the country where weekend cottages are a big thing; people here love to camp or cottage their weekends away.  When I was in Ottawa in 2009 for my co-op term, I was taken for a camping trip near Mont Tremblant.  I tried to make the best of it, cracking jokes and being a (fairly) good sport, but my friend Donovan, the perpetrator gracious host of my camping adventure, swore in the most good-natured way that he would never, ever take me camping again.  I think he figured out I wasn't the country-loving type when I wrapped my feet in my only dry pair of socks and plastic bags to keep the water out.  Or maybe he figured it out when he dragged me down Mont Tremblant after a rainstorm.

Now, if any family is reading, of course you'll remind me that I had no trouble going out to grandparents' cabin at Salt River, but I would remind you that I was just a child...unaware of how dumb the countryside is.  Plus, I only went because my pink chair that Grampa made me was there (and that's the story I'm sticking to).

Darling, I love you, but give me Park Avenue...

...Wish you were here.