best of unposted 2017

it feels a bit like cheating to do 2 "previously unposted" posts in one year, but hey, i trust that next year i'll have different priorities, so i'm doing it while i can.

i thought i'd have a whole lot of pictures to choose from, but no! apparently this year it's been a case of not writing more posts because i hadn't taken enough pictures when i should have...and almost half of the pics below weren't even taken by me (or B.).

i could say a lot of things to recap this year...truth is, i realize we've been mostly very secluded, keeping at home/to ourselves. so, not a lot of shareable information here. still, the milestones we've checked look pretty huge from the outside: marriage, honeymoon trip, B.'s application for residency, pregnancy (honestly, so far the pregnancy has been much easier to take, and to advance through the stages of, than the residency thing). but i don't know, at the end of the day, it's still us, i don't feel that anything has changed yet.

in winter...nothing better for a warm-up than a soupe tonkinoise. this is at Chez Tau Bay,  a place close to ours (right in front of Jean-Talon metro) and to our hearts. at first sight there's nothing special about this soup/small resto, but that's how we like them! i have a warm spot for minimalism, awkward but prompt service, family-run places...plus we go at lunch when it's never busy. one time we witnessed (heard) a loud lively argument in the kitchen. also, they have fried bananas, and vietnamese style coffee!

february - at the metro stop, on our way to Palais de Justice to open our marriage file. memory from that day: going through check-up to be admitted into the building, and whenever i go through a check-up (notably airports) the thingie beeps 70% of the time. i'm almost resigned to it by now and try to remove stuff beforehand...belt, jewelry, shoes...nah, it still beeps. on that occasion i had to basically take off 2 layers of clothes before someone came to do a body search. (woman searching me: "what is the purpose of your visit today?" - me: "i'm just trying to get married!" - woman: "well, honey, i hope he's worth it!")

tina hates the cold and snow. we don't hate tina, but sometimes some people might think we do. A few times every winter (you know, winters are long here, and it gets boring to be just stuck in the house) B. insists that she should be acclimated with the outside, which includes trips around the block or tossing her into the snow on the porch. after that she stays hidden under the futon for a while... shame on you, tina, you were born in quebec!

one of my favourite pics i've taken of B., mostly due to him wearing my favourite t-shirt of his (it was a birthday gift lol) and to the hipster brick wall. also, the happy occasion was "trying out restaurants in order to pick a wedding brunch location", here at Bambou Bleu on st-denis, with thai food and BYOW.

pre-wedding, but post-haircut, so i guess the week right before the wedding? trying to wear my scandalous, hard-to-wear desigual coat, which normally should be much too warm for april weather, but not this time, folks!

my impromptu wedding bouquet (= flowers that should have been on our wedding cake) posed with the traditional Easter candy gifts from my mum: a white and a brown chocolate bunny. joke is still not getting old.

post-City Hall at our place with guests. i love this completely unposed picture, though i have no idea what i was doing :)

trampoline at sonja&kevin's, on gambier island in BC. pretty representative for our honeymoon trip, wherein i just sit around and laugh, while life/people/stuff moves me up and down. (also, shockingly enough, probably pregnant by that time!!)

first and most beloved picture of the kid so far, back when she was 15 mm long and i could hardly believe she existed at all.

the counterpart to the winter tina pic: summer tina is a bad cat, plotting at going outside all the time, but we like her anyway.

from the series of "pregnant blogger" photos taken at the same spot in the backyard. this is beginning of october (week 21-22?) and it makes me nostalgic for multiple reasons: 1)look at that almost-nonexistent/pretty disguisable belly! the time of no symptoms etc; 2) the last time i was able to wear that maxi velvet skirt, specially made for me by my grandma, and with a sweater! this outfit may not look like much but i love wearing monochrome and fall-y shades in the fall, also the skirt swishes when i walk, in a very satisfying way; 3) one of the last days i wore that particular Roots bag - it had been with me for 3 years, i tried to have the handles and bottom repaired, but it would have cost me more than the bag did.

picture taken at mount orford, when B. went hiking without me (and i went out and ate cheesecake at Motta without him! take that!). it was the first snow this...season (not even december yet) and the landscape looks so good - looking forward to when i'm able to hike again, and also to go on day trips outside the city.

pictures i wished i had from this year, but it never happened - why?
- me at Replika - i miss working there! and it has been a big chunk of my year.
- me at the writing group - i know there have been some pictures, but not a real "group effort" toward it, lol; hopefully in january '18!
- various kids in various schools, but i'm not allowed to photograph that
- picnic in park jarry! my permanent obsession - this actually did happen, i just don't have the pics.
- classical pic(s) of me+B.+my belly, you know, the kind of stuff people hire photographers for. we're probably going to try for some tomorrow.

and exceptionally, no need for resolutions for next year! just to try and cope with what is coming would be more than enough. happy new year everyone!