Author: reneemarie31

The Gift of Life

On By reneemarie31In UncategorizedLeave a comment

In 2013, I hemorrhaged due to a uterine rupture the day that I gave birth to my daughter.  Over the course of the next couple days, I received 20-something units of blood transfused into my body, while I lay unconscious and on a respirator.  That means the entire supply of blood in my body was replaced a couple of times.

Prior to this incident, I had never donated blood.  In high school at blood drives, I was too young or too small.  I allowed my fear of the needle or the pain to keep me from donating blood.  As I got older, I started having blood work done more often, and no longer feared the needle stick in my arm.  Yet, I still did not donate, fearing that surely a donation would be much more uncomfortable.

After my recovery from my traumatic birth experience, I vowed that I would donate blood every year around my daughter’s birthday in honor of my own life being saved by donated blood.  As the years passed, I tried to go a little more often, usually managing to go about twice a year.  

At the start of 2019, one of my resolutions was to give blood as often as possible.  Since you must wait 8 weeks between whole blood donations, I set the goal to give blood approximately every 9 weeks.  I wrote the dates down on my calendar and do my best to stick to them.

My traditional post-donation selfie from today.

Sometimes I give platelets, which is a bigger ordeal for me.  It usually takes me a couple of hours and the machine beeps at me constantly that my draw pressure is too low.  But they are always asking for platelets, so I try to help out every now and then.

I am a bit ashamed that I avoided donating blood for several years, but I am determined to continue doing it as long as I am healthy and able.  My blood is a precious gift that I can provide. The gift of life. I am grateful that I was saved by modern medicine and the gift of many different people’s blood.  

If you haven’t donated blood in awhile (or ever), maybe take some time out to look up your local blood donor center soon.  Also, make sure that you are registered as an organ donor. You’ve got no reason to hold onto those organs after you are gone, and just think of all the lives you can save!  My dad had a liver transplant just 8-9 months ago and is doing great! Give the gift of life!

Hot Springs, Arkansas

On By reneemarie31In TravelLeave a comment

I was fortunate enough to spend a week recently in Hot Springs, Arkansas. My aunt and uncle rented a house on the lake and were kind enough to invite me along. We had a great family trip and my daughter got to hang out with some of her cousins.

The house we stayed in had a pool, hot tub, kayaks, and a canoe.

Hot Springs National Park is unique because it includes downtown and Bathhouse Row. The old bathhouses all still stand, although most have been transformed into something else. Across from Bathhouse Row are shops and restaurants and such. The green spaces of the park are located directly behind Bathhouse Row.

Buckstaff Baths is the only traditional bathhouse still in operation. My aunt and I went and had the traditional experience, including a soak in the tub that was filled with mineral water straight from the springs. After that we were covered in hot towels, which was a bit intense. Then I sat in a steam closet, had a sitz bath, and a needle shower. It was an interesting experience.

The Fordyce Bathhouse has been turned into a museum about the history of the bathhouses in Hot Springs.

  • needle shower
  • steam closet
  • stained glass ceiling
  • elevator

One day, we took the children to the Mid-America Science Museum, which I highly recommend. There was lots of hands-on fun inside and a dinosaur trail and skywalk outside.

Another day we visited Garvan Woodland Gardens, which was fun and pretty, but very hot! There were free strollers available, and my five year old had me pushing her uphill through the gravel! The botanical gardens are part of the University of Arkansas. There was a tree house and lots of other places to hang out and play.

Hot Springs was a nice, laid back little place. It was a fun place for a family visit.

Dining in Montreal

On By reneemarie31In Food, TravelLeave a comment

My final post about Montreal concerns my favorite topic, food! I love to eat. When I travel, I love to try different restaurants and different types of food. Montreal is an international city with lots of different types of food. We didn’t get to try it all, but here are the restaurants that we did get to visit.

Our first meal of the trip was at Brit and Chips. We ordered some fish and chips, specifically the maple battered haddock. I figured since we’re in Montreal, I should order anything with maple syrup! We also ordered our first poutine of the trip. Poutine is the most famous Quebecois dish, consisting of french fries, cheese curds, and brown gravy. The restaurant was casual, quick, affordable, and tasty!

At Maison Christian Faure Patisserie, we stopped in and got three different fancy desserts. They were delicious!

Occasionally, when traveling with a 5 year old, one is required to stop at McDonald’s for some poulet mccroquettes.

One of our dinners was at La Maison du Magret, a restaurant completely devoted to duck! As a complimentary appetizer, we were given some duck rillettes and bread. We ordered duck confit and duck poutine. It was all tasty.

It’s always important to get ice cream while on vacation.

One of the mornings, we got breakfast at Allo! Mon Coco, a chain in Quebec. The food was good although service was slow. I had a strawberry flambee on crepes bretonne!

After the first big crepe of the trip, we went to two more creperies! My daughter had spaghetti and meat sauce and garlic bread at both. First, we went to Chez Suzette in Old Montreal. All of the crepes were delicious! We had dinner crepes and a dessert crepe.

  • Crepe Florentine
  • Crepe Parisienne – brie and apples
  • S’mores crepe

We ended up at our second creperie the next day after our intended destination ended up being too crowded. It was a family restaurant in the Mont Royal area of town, called Creperie Bretonne Ty-Breiz. I ordered a smoked salmon crepe.

I also ordered escargot and took a picture of my daughter’s face when I told her that I was eating snails. Yum!

Our hotel was connected to the World Trade Center, so a few mornings I grabbed a quick breakfast at La Fabrique de Bagel. Montreal is famous for their bagels, which are thinner and crunchier than the New York bagels you may be used to. There is nothing better than smoked salmon on a bagel!

One night, we went to C’Chocolat for dinner. A chocolate restaurant for a well-rounded dinner. They actually have sandwiches and salads and such, but we just ordered dessert. We had hot chocolate with marshmallows, a liege waffle, and their signature dessert – the c’wow. It was a chocolate dome which was melted tableside by hot caramel revealing the yummy stuff inside, which included waffle, brownie, gelato, crumble, berries, and pecans.

  • before the hot caramel
  • after the hot caramel

One of our lunches was at Reuben’s Deli and Steakhouse, downtown. They are famous for their smoked meat sandwiches. The coleslaw was particularly tasty.

For our last meal of the trip, we decided to walk to Chinatown. We ate at Chez Chili, and it was very tasty. We had some pork ribs, dumplings, fried rice, and fried bananas!

I hope you have enjoyed my series of posts about our trip to Montreal. We had a great time there, and like always, I enjoyed trying all the food!

Becoming

On By reneemarie31In BooksLeave a comment

I just finished reading Becoming by Michelle Obama.  Oh how I miss having good people leading our nation. The book is Michelle’s story.  Her journey and story of growth. An important thing to remember is that as long as we are alive, that journey does not end.  We should always be learning and growing and striving to improve.

Whenever I read books about politics, I am reminded of how little I know and how much I avoid the topic.  Politics overwhelm me, and I often take the easy way out by not engaging anyone in political discussions or getting involved in political activism.  I know I should do better.

As Mrs. Obama states in her book, “Becoming requires equal parts patience and rigor.  Becoming is never giving up on the idea that there’s more growing to be done.” Ultimately, this book is definitely one of optimism.  I relate to her hope and passion. I believe that each of us can help to make the world a better place.

Notre Dame de Bon Secours and Chateau Ramezay

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For our last afternoon in Montreal, I explored Vieux Montreal on my own, while my husband and daughter went back to the hotel for a swim. My first stop was Chapelle Notre Dame de Bon Secours. This church was built by Marguerite Bourgeoys. The chapel became a favorite place of prayer for sailors and has some model boats hanging from the ceiling.

In the chapel, I also visited the Marguerite Bourgeoys museum. She was a French nun who founded the Congregation of Notre Dame of Montreal. She developed a convent and a school for girls, the poor, and First Nations children. It was an uncloistered community. There were exhibits on her life and little miniature scenes of her whole life.

Next, a tour guide took me down into the archaelogical site below the chapel. Recently, they have found the remains of the original chapel, constructed in 1675, that was destroyed by a fire.

Back upstairs, there was also a temporary exhibit full of the paper sculptures of artist, Claude Lafortune.

Next, I climbed up the top of the tower, which has the highest view of Old Montreal.

Next, I walked to Chateau Ramezay, a residence built in the 18th century. Its exhibits cover over 500 years of Montreal history.

There was a really interesting temporary exhibit called War Flowers. It told several stories from World War I through the senses, including pressed flowers. At each exhibit, you could press a button a smell the associated scent. It was a touching exhibit.

Redpath Museum and Barbie Expo

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We visited the Redpath Museum on the campus of McGill University in Montreal. As listed on their website, “its mandate is to foster understanding and appreciation of the diversity of our biological, geological, and cultural heritage through scientific research, collections-based study, and education.”

There were many animal specimens.

There were also lots of historical artifacts, including mummies, and lots of shells and gems.

Overall, it was an interesting little museum, but smaller than I expected. The building was not air conditioned and is not handicap accessible. If one is in the area, I suggest a visit, but it was not a must see. There is no cost to enter, but there is a suggested donation.

Next, we walked to the Barbie Expo, which is a free exhibit located in Les Cours Mont Royal, an upscale mall. I was entirely too excited about walking around and looking at all of the Barbies!

Many of the Barbies had outfits designed by different designers.

There were also many Barbies designed to be famous people or famous characters.

I took pictures of almost every Barbie. But I will not post them all for you, just a few highlights. There were hundreds of Barbies!

There were Barbies representing different countries around the world.

My daughter and I even transformed into Barbies for a short moment.

It was a fun visit if you like Barbies and are in the area.

Lac aux Castors

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In Mont Royal park, we visited Lac aux Castors (or Beaver Lake). It is an artificial lake, built in 1938. It was very pretty out on this day, and not as hot as the previous days of our trip. The perfect weather for time in the park.

My daughter insisted that we make wishes on all the “wishing flowers.”

We rented a rowboat and my husband rowed us around the lake.

There were a lot of people climbing the waterfall and kids playing in the water.

We also found a playground for my daughter to run around and explore. There were lots of unique pieces of playground equipment that the children loved.

As we waited at the bus stop to return to our hotel, I had to take a picture of these “Christmas trees.” If I return to Montreal, there is a lot more of Mont Royal park that we did not get to explore. I am glad that we got to experience this little corner of the park, however.

A Downtown Stroll

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On Sunday morning, we finally received our luggage, after having been in Canada since Thursday night! I decided to do a bit of exploring on my own, while my husband and daughter went swimming and watched the soccer game. I headed downtown to take a look at St. Patrick’s Basilica.

It is another pretty church, opened in 1847.

The church was built for the Irish immigrant population in Montreal. I liked seeing all of the Saint Patrick details.

Since Saint Patrick’s is the main English speaking Catholic church in Montreal, I decided to stay for Mass. There was a little park area out front (and down the many steps) where I spent a little time by myself before Mass began. The parishioners and visitors attending Mass made quite the diverse cultural group.

Since it was Sunday morning, I timed my visit to the next church to be between Masses. As I approached the Cathedral of Marie Reine du Monde (Mary, Queen of the World), Mass was just ending. I walked inside for a look around. The thing that makes this church unique is that it is a miniature replica of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. I’ve never been to Rome, but one day!

On my way back to the hotel, I passed Place du Canada, where it appeared some sort of gathering or concert of Muslim people was happening. I couldn’t tell exactly what was going on as they weren’t speaking English over the loudspeaker, but everyone was carrying the same flag. Montreal is definitely a diverse and international city with many cultural influences.

Montreal Science Centre

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Our next stop on our trip to Montreal was the Science Centre, located in the Old Port. This is a must see place if travelling to Montreal with young children. My daughter had a blast exploring the many exhibits and probably could have spent much longer there. It caters to children, but there are lots of interesting things to learn and explore.

There was a huge creativity/building/engineering section where you were challenged to build different things out of the provided materials.

My daughter enjoyed the hands-on activities where she learned about the human body and the process of evolution.

The temporary exhibit while we were there was on spiders.

  • dancing like a spider
  • eating like a spider

With its large space and varied exhibits, this museum is definitely worth a stop for families travelling with children. I definitely saw people visiting who didn’t have children with them, and I’m sure it was still interesting. But the main fun came in watching my daughter explore all of the different topics.

I enjoyed taking these illusionist pictures.

L’Oratoire Saint-Joseph du Mont Royal

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Another major church on my tour of Montreal is Saint Joseph’s Oratory. This is a huge Catholic shrine dedicated to St. Joseph. It was founded by St. Brother André. The oratory is located on top of a mountain and there is a lot of stair climbing involved in visiting. It is a pilgrimage site.

Due to the great amount of walking, stairs, and lack of air conditioning, I did a lot of the exploring on my own. My husband and daughter saw some of the sights, but also chose to sit and rest, while I explored. The first area I explored was the Gardens of the Way of the Cross. As you walk up and around the expansive gardens, you follow the stations, which are statues depicting Christ on the day of his crucifixion.

The whole sight is dedicated to Saint Joseph, Jesus’ father on Earth. There are several chapels located throughout the property, along with the main church.

I liked these statues of the twelve apostles located in the main church.

Brother André, the founder of the Oratory, was canonized a saint in 2010. As the humble doorkeeper at Notre Dame College in Montreal, he welcomed and prayed with and even healed countless visitors. There are several areas of the Oratory with presentations on Saint André Bessette.

  • his tomb
  • crutches left by those who have been healed
  • a recreation of his office

I walked to the original chapel, where Brother André lived on the top floor.

If you enjoy visiting churches and religious sites, as I do, then I definitely recommend a visit to Saint Joseph’s Oratory. Just be aware that there is a great deal of walking and climbing involved, although there are escalators inside. You can get a great view of the city from the top. There are many people visiting, but also some quiet spots for prayer, where no pictures are allowed. Mass was also being held in the crypt chapel during my visit.