12 hours in Ottawa

There are only a few cities that fly to Iqaluit, and Ottawa being one of the closest ones to us, we made the long drive over to the nation's capital.

An empty fridge

My fridge at home has almost never been empty. We are a family that makes entirely too much food, and so our fridge has to hold our leftovers until they are either eaten or forgotten.

Making sense of rail passes: Japan Rail Pass

I had heard of the JR Pass through friends and family who had used it in Japan before, but all I was aware of was that you could ride the Shinkansen with it.



The process of finding out how to purchase, redeem, book tickets, and ride the trains took a considerable amount of time, so I tried to outline my experience in hopes of streamlining the endeavour.

A new life

Hi home, it's nice to be back.

A cup for every occasion, pt. 2

I love these classic IKEA glasses; they serve more purpose than just the smoothie glass, they also hold iced coffee and iced lattes, and can withstand hot or cold temperatures.

My favourite smoothie recipe (a.k.a. it tastes like fruit roll-up): frozen mangoes, frozen bananas, frozen strawberries, and a splash of orange juice, may increase juice content depending on the strength of your blender.

On feelings of inadequacy

I have always been an introverted person, slowly chipping away at my shell and then building my walls again, ad nauseam. I used to associate introversion, or rather, my shyness, with a feeling of inadequacy; why couldn't I easily talk with others, why was I always worried about what others thought, why couldn't I always be happy and bubbly around others?

Home[ostasis]

I love being at home, and I also love travelling to new places. But these two yearnings are seemingly at odd with each other.

There are some places I love visiting, and a revisit is my favourite type of travel. The first time visit is new and exciting, but the second time, you have a bit of the background in your mind, you recognize streets and buildings, you know the feel and mood of the place. Could I be enjoying this more because there is a bit more 'home' to be found in this once-strange place?

I do love being at home, but I feel while a little recharges me, too much makes me feel stagnant. I get too comfortable, feel lazy, and think 'everything I need is in this one place'. I feel the mood reflected in my dog too, as we enjoy lying around in each others' company, and a long walk outside of our usual route often re-energizes both of us.

As usual, the conclusion is always: everything in moderation. Striking the right balance is the tricky part.

All walks of life, pt. 3

In Japan and South Korea, there were so many elderly men at gardens, palaces, and just walking along the streets. Many of them were volunteers that were eager to speak with tourists, and when they found out we were Canadians, they would happily share their experiences of traveling and living there.

Plants over flowers

Giving and receiving flowers has always made me feel a little sad; the flowers are beautiful at first, but slowly wither and die, or die prematurely to make dried flowers to last 'forever'. I always wondered why people didn't gift potted plants and flowers, and as a result, I started building my own plant family once my living situation had settled down.

Allan Gardens Conservatory

Earlier this month, during the long weekend, we headed downtown for brunch at Chez Firenze.