Busy, Fun Weekend

I am still recovering from a very busy weekend. I know that I did way too much but it was all for a good cause. I did have the energy to do most of it so all was good. Also, the nauseousness subsided long enough to get through it all. Let me tell you what all went down this weekend. I am sure that if you are following me on Facebook you already know some of what I did.

My weekend started on Thursday with the impending visit from my Mom and aunt arriving that evening. In preparation for their visit, I started the day by looking at the flyers from my paper and making my shopping lists. I then proceeded to gather the supplies for the weekend which consumed the morning. Good thing I was up early that day as it took longer than I had hoped. With the car loaded with the wheel wells riding the wheels, I headed home to unload and have lunch.

That afternoon was spent getting the house ready. This was tough to do between MA’s clients still visiting the house. I did what I could inside before their arrival and then would go outside to mow the weeds. Once the twins came home from school, they were put to work to get their rooms ready and help Mary Ann clean the house. This was my cue to start dinner. After eating, it was back to finishing the lawn. Most got done but not all before I needed to go to hockey. There is always more cleaning that can be done but, oh well, sorry Mom.

Mom and aunt Loreen (going to start spelling it correctly now) arrived around 9:00 PM, just as I would be getting onto the ice so MA was gone to pick them up at the bus terminal. Not sure how she convinced them but they showed up at my game with 20 min left. By this time, I was not as quick on the ice and they missed my only goal of the night. No chance to show off to them this time. After the game, I went to say hi in my sweaty, smelling and wet hockey gear. What a great way to see aunt Loreen after not seeing her for years. Hopefully my meal the next night helped her overlook her experiences at the arena.  I knew that they would be wanting to go to bed soon so I stayed out with the boys for wings and ginger ale. Gotta have my wings, you know!

Friday turned into another busy day. It started by sharing coffee with Mom and aunt Loreen followed by breakfast, nothing fancy this time. I needed a few items for dinner that night so I took the two of them grocery shopping with me. We came back and we ate a vegetarian chili that one of MA’s clients had made for us. The afternoon was spent with us touring the tulips (at least what was left of them – many looked like green sticks in the dust 🙁 ) and taking the long way home. We travelled along the canal to downtown and made a stop at my favourite place in Ottawa, the Rideau Falls. From there, we drove the Rockcliffe parkway, by 24 Sussex and the GG’s residence, through the Rockcliffe area along the Ottawa river, past the RCMP riding stables and the Aviation museum and finally past the sewage treatment plant. Yup, that is how our nation’s capital committee (NCC) plans their scenic rides!

Once home, I started to make dinner for them. This would be the first that I make for aunt Loreen so I needed to impress. Based on the feedback I got, I think I succeeded. Dinner started with a warm salad that was made up of the following layers: grilled pineapple, grilled asparagus, grilled zucchini, grilled portobello mushroom and grilled red pepper. This was topped with goat cheese, candied walnuts and a really good quality balsamic vinegar. The main course featured both salmon and steak with a side of roasted root vegetables (baby potatoes, baby carrots and beets with fresh ginger all mixed with a bit of olive oil). I think I impressed aunt Loreen as I do not think she ate again until the next day, after her daughter’s recital! (More on that later.) That night, I had to cook and run as I had band practice. Luckily, band practice was a bit later this week as I was running late. MA and Mom stopped by for a bit to listen to our practice (aunt Loreen was at home still digesting). Another late night for me as I did not get home until past midnight.

I was tired on Saturday with all the late nights and stress of having company. The late nights were starting to catch up. After getting caffeinated and fuelling up, aunt Loreen and I went shopping for a few last minute items. We got home and I took a much needed nap. If I was going to make it to the recital and after party, I was going to need to recharge my batteries. MA and Cassy had been gone all morning as Cassy was in a big soccer tournament this weekend. During my nap, aunt Loreen was getting vegetables and fruits ready for the post recital meal. Once I got up, I started packing the coolers with alcohol, food and desserts. MA got home just before our scheduled departure, had a quick shower and off we went to Montreal. It was weird only having one kid with us as Gen was still in Tennessee and Cassy was staying behind for her tournament. We arrived in Montreal around 4:00 PM for the 5:00 PM recital. Marc and family were already in town so, as we were looking for parking, they saw us drive past. Luckily Isa saw them as I was way too focused on the crazy Mtl drivers. We parked the van and caught up with the other Bessettes. A quick hello in the parking garage and we headed to McGill for the recital. We were a bit early so we needed to wait outside until the hall was ready.

The recital was more of a lecture/presentation than a concert. It started with Tracy singing five arias from Handels Cleopatra. These songs were to help demonstrate her doctorate thesis on the “Vibrato Wars” that are currently being waged in opera circles. She sounded absolutely amazing and her range was incredible. It was too bad that she was only singing for 30 min as I think we could listen to her all night. As this was a thesis defence, she needed to do a 30 min presentation which then was followed by questions from her professors and peers. The audience was also allowed to ask questions but, for many of us, we were still too overwhelmed from the concert and could not come up with any.

Surprisingly, I did learn something from her thesis presentation. She discussed vibratoes in the 1700’s and her research into how to improve her efficiency in performing with vibratoes. All voices have a natural vibrato in them while instruments do not so they need to add it to their sound. There are various types of vibratoes that can be done and are defined as the oscillations that occur on a base note, a.k.a. main frequency. I do not remember the exact terminology she used so I will paraphrase with my own. From the science, the vibrato is most pleasing when its oscillations are within 5.5-7 hZ (cycles per second) and when its tonal range is no larger than 1/2 tone (1/4 tone on either side of base frequency). In general, the amplitude of the vibrato increases as the base frequency increases. I also learned that there are two vocal ranges, one from the body and one from the head. Great singers know how to transition between ranges seamlessly by using their larynx position and breath control. All things I wish I knew how to do! I will definitely be testing these techniques for my next band practice.

After the recital, we headed to Tracy’s appartment for a small party. It was a very intimate affair with her friends and family. There was well over 30 people there with good food and drinks. I had a chance to meet a lot of people, specifically her boyfriend Thierry and his father, Alain. It was a nice night and we were some of the last to leave. Before everyone left though, we captured the moment in print as a small souvenir of the night (see below). We left around 10:30 PM and were home by 12:30 AM. Another long day/night for me but I was super glad I went and I hope to do that again soon.

Sunday was going to be a rest day, or so I thought. I was up early, around 7:30 AM, so that I could get breakfast ready for everyone. Again, MA and Cassy were already gone to the soccer tournament so it was just me to greet our guests. She did start the coffee before leaving though (so thoughtful, especially because she doesn’t drink coffee, thank you!). I got some potatoes pealed and cooking along with a few pounds of bacon. Once people were ready, I started breakfast, all made to order. I also had some leftover fruits from the night before that I had laid out on the table for people to snack on. Shortly after finishing breakfast, Gen called MA to let her know she was almost in town. She picked her up and brought her to the house but left immediately to go back to the tournament. Marc and family left just after that. My kids love their cousins but Cassy and Gen barely had about 10 min with them this time around. Isa was with them all the time and loving it.

As I mentioned, Sunday was going to be a rest day, as God had intended. However, I did not get much rest. I wanted to hear about Gen’s trip and she talked about it for a good 1/2h when she got home. The coffee effects were starting to fade by this time so I took a nap. After a good sleep, I helped configure aunt Loreen’s “new” iPad that Tracy gave her the night before. She recently upgraded so she gave her mom her old one. Not only did I get it set up, I also created her a new gmail account and introduced her to Facebook to the delight of her kids. I guess they have been wanting for her to get an account for a while so they were happy when I helped her do so. I might regret this decision as I may have created a monster. She was excited to see all that was posted online from her family, especially about her grandchildren, who she has not seen in a little while. I was getting jealous as it seemed she was more popular on the internet than I was yet I was doing all the work. It was even funnier to see Mom teaching aunt Loreen different things on the iPad/Facebook. I never thought I would see that day! Cassy and MA came home just before dinner. Cassy was visibly upset as they lost in the finals of the tournament, only to win silver. They won 7/8 games but fresh in her mind was the single loss that stole the gold medal from around her neck. All the iPad setup, along with making dinner wore me out. I was zonked out for the rest of the night. I was hoping that I could go to bed early but, nope. I tried and I even hit the hot tub before bed but I was still staring at the ceiling when in bed. So I decided to go watch some tv to help me rest. I was back in bed by 1:00 AM and took an Ativan to help me sleep. It certainly did help as I was finally asleep quickly.

Now, the trouble with taking drugs to sleep is you cannot guarantee that you can wake up when you want to. Needless to say, I slept in and missed my Mom and aunt’s departure so I did not say goodbye before MA brought them to the bus terminal, downtown.  So, when you guys read this “Goodbye, it was nice having you here. Sorry I did not say it in person.” I got up this Monday morning around 9:30, just in time to get Tragically Hip tickets for their final tour. I started my search for tickets and, at one point I had floor seats but I hit the wrong button and lost them. I had to settle for the 300’s. Probably a good thing as the floor seats were pretty expensive. I spent the afternoon getting back to Breaking Bad. MA and I have not watched an episode in over a week so we were in some serious withdrawal. I then had dinner and went to baseball where I “hit” a home run. It was really a single that went past the outfielder and ran and ran and ran again until I got home before they could get the ball into the infield. It was one of those rare occasions where I wish we had an oxygen tank at the bench. Certainly not something I was planning on doing, especially with the little rest I had all weekend.

I do not have much  planned this week. The only things scheduled this week, besides hockey and band practice, are a trip to see my Besty, the oncologist, and visit with my work buddies. I promise I will spend some time to rest this week, cross my fingers.