I spent the last morning at Heartroot snooping around and reading books in the old barn. I walked the areas where we had worked over the past few weeks but did not run the steep hill. For some reason I was just not feeling that energetic, I guess since I had hauled all those wheel barrows of horse manure up the hill the day before, I was tired. About 8 am Shabina got up and I had found the book she had lost in the huge piles of books through out the barn, most of them on gardening or healing. I did several loads of laundry and hung them on the line and just puttered around relaxing and played my flute.
About 1:00 pm Shabina’s parents arrived and I knew I would have to catch a later bus from Sherbrook, I was hoping for the 3PM but we spent some time showing them around the farm and our projects. Our ride to Sherbrook was interesting and I found her parents very charming. He was at least half Indian and maybe Italian, she was all Quebec. But the both spoke very good English and we chatted from politics to bee keeping on our hour and a half ride while Shabina slept. I was happy to get to the bus station and the first thing after buying my ticket back to Montreal was to buy some pizza. Sherbrook is a college town so listening to rock and roll songs in the little café in French was very cool. The bus ride was much more enjoyable that the one there. I had two seats to myself and I was on and express, meaning we did not stop at every little town, which I really enjoyed. I also thought it was strange that I had the same bus driver that spoke no English or I had this odd feeling he was a clone….hum I will have to ask Louise since she rode the bus the day before. Coming into Montreal was very entertaining, there are two huge bridges that feed the island and over a million people in Montreal, outside the island over 6 million people. The bridges are massive and from what I understand very old and always in need of repair. But when we went over the bridge it didn’t feel like it was very long, the St. Lawrence river was down there somewhere but I do not think I ever saw it because there was so much to look at. I got off the bus and into a cab. Riding down town in Montreal was very interesting, every other shop was a different culture, French, Mexican, Italian, Chinese, Haitian, Tai, Latino, English and of course Canadian. And graffiti in most Canadian cities is an art style all it’s own. The streets are clean and organized, they have to be with such a small space and so many people. Someone told me that in their school the spoke 48 different languages, and I think I have a hard time understanding….
I got to Louise’s about 8 PM to meet her son and his girl friend and Louise’s gay friend boy that I have heard all about for the past two weeks. They were all charming and spoke enough English dinner was not too strange. After dinner of French wine and salmon, bakery bread and cheese… oh the cheese….we walked so I would know were to run in the morning. The streets are safe and the people friendly in her neighborhood. All the houses on her block and surrounding area are one big house connected together for heat mass and conductivity. It gets 30 below here in winter and most of that time there is 6 foot or more of standing snow. So everything here and in Quebec must be made or designed around six months of winter weather, but they all seem to love it. But for now it is beautiful gardens in every little back yard, tomatoes and beans growing on balcony and porch stoop. Flowers everywhere. It is actually very charming.
Louise said it was perfect timing as most things have been for me making this trip. She starts a new job on Wednesday and has the next few days off. Her son just graduated high school and is working at a day camp for kids and his girlfriend is a house painter in summer. Her daughter is in Greece and it is full summer here and the weather is beautiful. But I will be very happy to get home in a few days. But for now I plan to see the beautiful Montreal I have heard so much about.
Dinner with Louise's family
Nathan and Jennifer Louise's son and girlfriend
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