In the old times...

Lately, the girls have shown an interest in the old times. We are reading the 4th book in the Laura Ingalls series and they have lots of questions about how people lived at that time. We thought that spending a day at the Village québécois d'Antan would be a great idea. In each house (original houses from different areas of Quebec that have been transported to recreate a village in Drummondville), there is someone working, dressed in costumes of the era, talking the same way our great-grand parents did and telling fascinating stories about their lives. They were all preparing for winter, making candles and soap from animal fat, mending wool socks, making warm blankets, etc.

In one house, a lady was canning tomatoes for the winter, boiling the water on an old wood-burning stove.

 This woman was making rugs from old clothes to keep the floors warm during the cold months.

The girls got to try an old press at the house of the village's printer.

They even helped the blacksmith to keep the fire going while he was making a little souvenir for them to keep.

Climbing a mountain

Standing at the base of a mountain you are about to climb is humbling. Once you get going, it feels like the top keeps getting higher and out of reach. The forest gets denser and you loose track of the summit. You can only trust that the trail is really leading you somewhere. You might feel lost, but you keep going.

There might be raspberries to reward your effort. 

And all of a sudden, things open up and you see the summit. Right there. In front of you. You made it. Through mud and thorns, tears and sweat. You trusted. And humility meets grace.

A lovely day

Morning at the farmers' market. A pedalo outing. Tasting sea-buckthorn for the first time. More blueberry picking. A shared meal with people we love and delicious local food. A shooting star.

Gilles + Hélène

My dad and Hélène got married in a beautiful hotel in Old Montreal last weekend. It was a day filled with love, joy and celebration. I was their official photographer and spent the week working on the photos to create an album for them. Here is a sneak peek!