adjusting
Ok so I have to say our new hood is pretty cool. We live directly above a boulangerie and we ran out of bread last week so I just went downstairs and bought some. I met the owner when I got the bread and he is really nice. It’s a cool little store because it’s also a cafe and he sells desserts, cheese, sausages, cookies, cakes and coffee to go. It’s kind of like an all-purpose gourmet convenience store stop, as I have seen people buy food for cooking, grab a coffee on the go, or have lunch there. There also appears to be a resident fluffy white chien who sits outside under one of the tables and grins at all the passers-by. Today for breakfast we tried their croissants. On the subject of food, we’ve been expolring the shops and the grocery store nearby. The Metro (not the subway station, the grocery store) seemed to have a good selection of produce but it was overpriced. The nearest fruiterie is creepy (as Lisa would say, a “dollar-store” type of fruiterie) but there’s another one about 6 minutes away on foot so we will try that next. The poissonnerie nearby has a decent selection of fruit and veg too, and I got some very nice oranges and a papaya from it last night.
It takes 5 minutes to walk to the Metro station (which is ever-so much better than the 20 minute bus ride) and getting to the Lachine canal bike path is really easy and pleasant. We took it earlier this week when I still had time off work and last weekend we rode to Marché Jean-Talon.
Everyone seems quite friendly and happy here, in great contrast to our old place where it felt like everyone had just receieved some bad medical news, a pink slip or a rejection letter.
Despite it being quite hot out, our place has been comparatively cool. We get the sun in the morning but by the hottest part of the day it isn’t shining directly in the windows, which helps a lot. We also wake up to the sunlight coming in through the curtains, which is an incredibly pleasant way to wake up. The kitchen also doesn’t get too hot when we cook - I’m guessing the kitchen windows are a big help there. We want to start growing some herbs in the kitchen window and our friend Ken said he can give us some of his to start us off. The building is clean and quiet and most of the people seem to be young couples the same age as us.
We have the kitchen, bathroom and bedroom all sorted out now. Dan spent two full days working on the office and it’s almost there. The living room is coming along but keeps getting used as emergency storage space for the other rooms so I think it will take another week before it’s really done. We may have to paint the living room walls since one half is tan and the other is a hideous mustard. Since the landlord gave us all that white paint, I am going to touch up the baseboards and covers for the radiators, which are wood. Perhaps later on we can do something about the mustard walls….