It's been almost a year since Canada has been my new home. In that time I've been back to my home town of Atlanta on three occasions. Plus, I spent the entire summer in Maine. However, my parents have never been to Atlantic Canada to see my new life/town/house. But this week they came up for a short visit.
The past few weeks have been filled with house projects and lots of cleaning in preparation for their visit. The Canadian and I wanted everything to be at its best for them. Our worst nightmare is my mom and dad hating our house. Or our town. Or Canada. We've been re-finishing chandeliers, cleaning cabinets, painting the sunroom and sending out city-wide memos for everyone to be on their best behavior and mow their lawns.
My parents were only here for two days in the middle of the week. I know this isn't exactly New York or Atlanta or any other exciting tourist trap but I still had a few fun activities planned for them. We were going to go sailing, head out to Fundy Park and the Hopewell Rocks to see the worlds highest tides, and drive through the country to see the brilliant colors of the fall leaves.
Unfortunately, Mother Nature intervened and descended with the worst weather we have had in months. For the past few days we have had heavy winds, constant rain and unseasonably cold temperatures. In other words, its been 40 degrees, raining and super windy. Not exactly welcoming. Thanks a lot Canada for living up to your reputation. Somehow, though, we still managed to have a good time.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you...
The Top 7 Things That Happen When My Parents Visit in Inclement Weather:
1. Havianas
They visited Huntington Beach, California a few weeks ago and, of course, my mom sniffed out the one and only Havianas store in the whole country. In that amazing store they custom make flip-flops to your color specifications. Plus the kind flippy-flop consultants will adorn your custom sandals with what ever charm you choose. My mom had these gems made for me. Custom Havi's with my signature star? Done. These are my new favorites. I love it when my mom brings me goodie bags.
2. The Beach
Even though sailing was out of the question we went out to the ocean anyway. I think they just needed to actually see it in order to believe that it existed. The waves were awful and the wind was biter.
3. Seafood Lunch
While at said miserable ocean we stopped for a bite to eat at a local seafood restaurant. We had local seafood and even had a waitress with a real French accent. New Brunswick is an officially bilingual province and almost everyone is bilingual. While French is normal around here it really makes us Americans feel like we're somewhere exotic (no offense) when we hear French accents.
4. Curtains
I have a window dilemma. The dining room windows are naked. They're bay windows too, making the task that much harder. I'm no expert in home decor but my mom has owned a zillion houses and has decorated twice as many rooms so I figured this was a good opportunity to take advantage of her knowledge. Plus, curtain shopping is an indoor activity. We didn't purchase anything but I think I'm getting closer to making a decision. I'll keep you posted...obviously it will be breaking news.
5. PushPop Cupcakes
On their way to town my parents stopped in the Canadian city of St. John. There they found a cupcake bakery. In that bakery they noticed a new development on the cupcake front. A PushPop Cupcake. Layers of bite size cake and frosting on a stick in its own air tight container. It's freaking genius. The Canadian devoured his treat and then handed me the empty container and asked me to make cupcakes and refill it. I threw the empty container back at him.
6. Sliced Pinkie
While cutting a bagel for breakfast I accidentally got in a fight with the knife. And I lost. Luckily, it was raining and we weren't in a rush to go anywhere so it wasn't a big deal that we spent the next hour waiting for the bleeding to stop. Also lucky that my mother the nurse carries suture strips in her purse. I carry band aids, she carries suture strips. Totally normal. However, had she not been there when I basically sliced my finger off then I would have passed out and called an ambulance. Instead, I yelled, "Mooooooooooommmmmmm! Help!!!!!" I'm mature like that.
7. Land Rover Rides
What's a trip to our house without a ride in The Canadian's beloved Land Rover? He took my dad for a ride across town and I'm pretty sure it was the most exciting part of the trip for my dad. I just hope he didn't enjoy himself too much. Otherwise, next thing I know I'll have my father supporting that darn Land Rover too and then it'll be 2 against 1. Which means we'll have the Land Rover forever. Which, of course, would be awesome. Obviously.
I wish the weather had been better for their visit. But it was so good to see them and have them see my new home that the weather didn't really matter. However, we did get a small dose of frozen stuff falling from the sky today after they left (note: not snow). It only lasted for about two minutes but, man, am I glad they weren't here for that. I never would have heard the end of it.
It's supposed to be in the high 70's this weekend. Fingers crossed!
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