tea for two

We got a sampling of the photos taken by Max, during our trip to L.A.

If you're interested, the rest of them are here.

happy birthday, alex!

Dear Alex: I know you thought that we would be in a sunburn-inducing climate by now. Soon.
You are amazing. Thank you for being my hero. Have a happy happy birthday, my love. xo, Mina

the hour

If you were raised on Mr. Dressup, this post is for you. I am a sucker for nostalgia.

Yesterday we moseyed on over to the CBC building (Yes, I am able to mosey again! - Surgeon's prognosis: I will be completely normal better in one week).

We went to watch a taping of The Hour. The guests were Stephen King and Justin Trudeau. Yawn.

We were more excited about the CBC museum that featured a rather large tribute to Mr. Dressup:

Alex and the original tree-house set from the show:

Anyway, back to The Hour. Stephen King is kind of creepy.... and not creepy in that 'I write horror fiction for a living' kind of way... just in the weird old man kind of way. Justin Trudeau is a politician - enough said. They were both plugging new books. King desperately tried to convince the audience that his new work was not a rip-off of The Simpsons Movie and Trudeau was promoting a book about his dad. Aside from the uninspired interviews, the taping of the show was quite amusing to watch.

Naturally, we ran home to watch the episode again in order to find ourselves in the audience.

Success:

....and yes, I am entirely aware of how lame we are for doing this.
I guess this is what happens when you're unemployed and homeless.

'the hour' photos {minus the defacing} courtesy of cbc.ca
if you are interested in watching the episode click here.

out and about

We celebrated my new-found energy with... what else? Indian food.

Noteworthy butter chicken & naan:


+ papadums, and chutney.

I'm almost 100%

THIS is really resonating with us right now:
Be patient. Wait for it. The chorus {1:15} is magical.

gear

Here are a few items we'll be bringing with us.

Gregory Z30 Daypack:

-This bag is really comfortable. We especially liked the 3D mesh back venting that will keep us cool in hot climates.




MEC Brio 60 Expedition Pack:




- This is our primary storage bag. It has excellent reviews from MEC members and it was a great price!




Extra Buckles:
-They take up very little space and will come in handy if the existing ones snap.



MEC First Aid Bag:

- Just a little organizational bag for us assemble our own "First Aid" kit. We threw in some band-aids, various drugs, and this:





Adventure Medical Kits - Single Use Suture Syringe:


-Since we'll be traveling to developing countries, spending $20 on a sterile syringe may save us a lot of trouble.




MEC Mac Computer Sleeve:

- It's actually made for the Macbook, but it accommodates the Air nicely.




Adventure Towl:

- We're not too sure why 'towel' is spelled incorrectly, but it's a great product. We each bought one. They are quite large but roll up to a size that doesn't take up nearly as much space as a regular towel would. The microfibre terry cloth material is antimicrobial and easily absorbs wetness and dries quickly.



On Sight Traveler's Mosquito Shelter:



- This came in a carry bag and is a little large. We debated whether we should purchase it or not. In the end, we decided that lugging around one of these beats getting malaria.



Black Diamond Wiz Headlamp:
- Not all places in the world are fortunate enough to have uninterrupted power so a headlamp would provide us the necessary light we would need for reading, packing, etc.. Yes, this was the tackiest headlamp at MEC. It was also the best price when compared to others that had similar features. We could have spent more to get a grey or black one, but if you're wearing a headlamp, you're not trying to be cool anyway.




MEC Rain Cover for back packs:


- It's waterproof and has a draw-string closure so it doesn't flap in the wind. It may come in handy.


More to come...


photos from mec.ca

fisheyes

These are the few decent photos that sort-of turned out from our last roll of fisheye film - at the bean in Chicago. 

Our temporary delay in Toronto continues. I've had the additional misfortune of having my credit card skimmed (sometime before arriving here), although it seems my card was deactivated before any real damage was done.

Mina is on the path to recovery though, so I expect that we'll check out some of the sights and sounds of Toronto this week. - Alex

goodbye

Who doesn't like the novelty of staying at hotels? We've always loved to travel and hope it won't be too difficult to adjust to the new nomadic lifestyle. Having said that, it would have definitely been more convenient, for the both of us, to deal with the surgery and hospital visits if we still had a home. We left in a rush, and never really got to say goodbye.

The two of us had owned our house, together, for 4 years. Neither of us was crazy about the place. The layout, the wood, design, and wasted space were things we weren't ever fond of, but it was a home we made together and were sad to leave it. These are some photos we took while we were there, some old... some taken for the sale of it.

We took our walk-in closet for granted. 

It's going to be quite the adjustment to go from over 60 sq. ft of closet space to a back pack.

Considering all the scuzzy bathrooms we will most likely encounter during our travels, the ensuite will be sorely missed. Lament.

We've said it before...

bye house. it's been real, peace out.

setback

We came to Toronto to tie up loose ends. I suppose we didn't really decide how long we would be here. The idea was that we would get to Toronto, visit everyone that needed to be visited, finish our banking/investing, sell our vehicle, and be on our way. Unfortunately, it seems like we're going to be here a little while longer.

I woke up the other day with some pretty severe pains and Alex drove me to the hospital. We were there for 12 hours - waiting, waiting, and then I had a minor surgery.

It was so frightening! The doctors were very nice and pleasant, and they claimed it was a routine operation and that I had nothing to worry about. It was all down-hill from there. The lady who was inserting the needle for the intravenous hook-up made a mistake. She said "Uh-oh" on more than one occasion - which didn't alleviate my anxiety about the situation.

The doctors put some drugs into the IV to put me to sleep during the surgery. Much to my dismay, I woke up half way through and felt everything. I cried like a baby. They said my blood pressure dropped during the operation, which is why they couldn't administer more of the sedative. This was probably the most traumatic experience I have ever had.

Alex stayed by my side the entire day. He wouldn't even get himself any dinner until I insisted. He made sure that I was comfortable and relaxed. He is amazing and I am so happy to have him in my life. I don't know how I got so lucky.

In conclusion, we are stuck here while I get better. 2-4 weeks, they say.

-Mina

lake michigan

a few more photos from our trip to chicago:

windy, chilly, amazing day.