What's Up Wednesday

 

What we're eating this week...

Sunday - Cauliflower Mac and Cheese, Salad

Monday - Enchiladas

Tuesday - Cottage Pie

Wednesday - Tuna Noodle Casserole

Thursday - Sweet and Sour Pork with rice

Friday and Saturday - not planned yet

What I'm reminiscing about...

The Blue Jays have their home opener on Friday, although we won't be going to the game, we will be watching. I am remembering all of the fun we had last October watching them play well all the way to Game 7 of the World Series. 

What I'm loving...

Playing cards as a family. We started playing Hearts with the boys while we were away, along with Kings in the Corner, and Q and I played crib last night. I don't always love a board game but I'm always up for game of cards. 

What I'm dreading...

Whatever impacts we will see from the war in the Middle East. With Trump making various, and often conflicting, declarations of what his plans are, and no let up from the other players, Iran, Israel, etc. it is increasingly worrisome about what will happen. I know that people are facing real strife and I've only been affected by the value of our investments and the price of gas, but it doesn't mean I am any less concerned about the short and long term effects on global security and the economy.

What we've been up to...

We went to Europe for March Break, you can see parts 1 and 2 of my recap here and here, and check back tomorrow and Friday for the rest.

What I'm working on...

Catching up on work after being away for 10 days, but I felt very productive yesterday so I'm doing okay.

What I'm excited about...

Q found out which baseball team he is on this year. One of his friends from t-ball is on the team along with one of his classmates. It should be a fun summer, especially if Q can make the rep team.

What I'm watching/reading...

I binged season 1 of Landman on the plane, it was so good! Dave and I need to start the second season of Paradise, and I am finishing up Love Story (the JFK and Carolyn Bessette mini-series).

I am between books at the moment but will get to the library today.

What I'm listening to...

I found a European Après Ski playlist that got us pumped up for our trip and is now a good way to keep the energy up in the afternoons.

What I'm doing this weekend...

E has his last ski race so we are going up to the ski hill, and then it is Palm Sunday so I will go to church.

What I'm looking forward to next month...

A work trip to Timmins, Easter, warmer weather, and maybe a Blue Jays game.

What else is new...

When we got back from our holiday we found that our hot water heater was leaking, luckily it wasn't too much of a mess but it did mean we needed a new one and it is being installed today. We have been without hot water for a couple of days but the kettle has come in handy (along with the dry shampoo!).

Linking up with Shay.

March Break Recap - Brussels Pt. 2 & Train

Check out Part 1 of our Brussels visit here. On the Saturday morning it was still chilly and calling for rain but we set out mid morning. 

We found some breakfast at Lloyd Coffee.

Stopped in at the Grand Place to see some beautiful old buildings and the kids found a geocache.

We really had no plans for the day other than wandering around so we decided to seek out the comic murals on the Comic Strip Walk handout our hotel had given us. 

This guy is everywhere!

We found this little playground, the slide looked fun but it was wet. The kids enjoyed these little in-ground trampolines. There was also a little soccer game happening (three on three, local guys) so we watched that for a bit too.

More comic murals

We stopped in at a little pub for fries and drinks and played some cards. It was a great way to spend part of the afternoon. 

Walked through Galeries Royales St. Hubert, a shopping mall.

Dave and E decided to go back to the hotel while Q and I went to the Comics Art Museum. 

We thought this was Flash Invader, but it wasn't.  (Flash Invaders are little tiled creatures on the side of buildings, mostly in Paris, but a few in Brussels, that you can collect through an app).

Photo op at the comic museum.

Our hotel from across the street.

After a rest at the hotel and some packing, we went back to the Wolf Food Market for dinner, and this time it was way more happening.

(but Q still chose pizza)

Heading home.

The next day it was time to head to France by train. We had a van cab waiting for us in the morning to take us to the train station for our 8:00 train.

Our first trip took us from Brussels to Lyon and then we switched trains to get to Moutiers.

Pretty French countryside.

Getting to our next train. Lots of luggage, not ideal on trains but we did great. 

Starting to get into some altitude.

Spring flowers but also snow in the moutains in the background.

We arrived in Moutiers and got a cab up to our AirBnb in Meribel Centre. The road was a switchback and our driver was fast, Q was a little queasy in the backseat but did okay :)

We were very pleased with our AirBnb, it had plenty of space, with three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a large living and dining space.  It was well decorated and cozy warm.

These photos are a little dark, but you can kind of get the idea.

View from E's window.

View from the main balcony.

We got settled in and got a photo outside.

A better photo but doesn't show the mountains!

We set out to explore the neighbourhood.

Dave and I brought our skis, and everyone brought their poles and boots, but we rented skis for the boys. Here we are picking them up at the rental place up the street.  

A walk down to the village to find something for dinner.

We chose Igloo, which was perfect for us, pizzas, burgers, salad, all good.

We walked back up to our place and figured out where the slopes were so we could access them the next morning.

We had a fireplace and made a fire every night. Cozied up on the couch. When we travel we usually end up watching a series of movies, and this time it was The Hunger Games. We made it through all four movies on this trip.

I'll be back on Thursday and Friday to recap the skiing part of our trip.