Aargh! They are forecasting snow flurries for today!
It’s too soon, I say, too soon!
Ah, well, it was bound to happen. We do live in the frozen god-damned North after all.
I’ll just try and remember the beautiful summer we had and the absolutely stunning month of September. Nothing to complain about there, that’s for sure. But still, snow? On October 10th? It’s just not fair.
This is going to be a quick ramble about the past couple of weeks. We celebrated our 33rd anniversary on Sept. 29th and spent a wonderful, somewhat leisurely weekend at home. Tim bought me some beautiful roses and we went for dinner at what was once one of my favorite restaurants, The Creperie. Sadly, it was not as good as I remembered it being. In fact, the whole meal was a complete let-down. The place is old, an institution, really, but whereas some institutions have worked hard to cultivate and maintain that specialty of feeling that goes along with such a designation The Creperie has merely stagnated.
The decor is too worn and frayed to be considered quaint or antiquated; poor Tim was nearly crippled by the time they got around to bringing him a chair that had even a tiny bit of support. The tables are too small and wobbly — every time the waiter brought something to the table I had to lift my wine glass for fear of it winding up in my lap.
The food was barely mediocre — our parmesan crisps (cut up crepes deep-fried and then dusted with garlic and parmesan) were a soggy, oily mess — inedible. My chicken cordon bleu was overcooked bordering on burnt, the vegetables were cold and the ‘new’ potatoes were anything but. Tim said his crepes were fine, but nothing remarkable. Dessert was a let-down as well. Pre-frozen then thawed ice-cream filled crepes doused with store-bought chocolate and raspberry sauces.
The service was adequate, but not what I’d consider attentive. When we mentioned the inedible crisps the response we got was, “yes, it’s a always a mixed bag when you order those”. Wtf? But, I had promised Tim I wouldn’t make a fuss seeing as it was our anniversary, so I just told the waiter to take them away. Then, when we mentioned that Tim’s back was killing him because of the horrible chair he was sitting in and that we would like a replacement, he said he’d see what he could do. Well, his stellar efforts brought Tim a chair just as we were eating dessert.
I have every intention of writing to the management of The Creperie to let them know of our horrible evening, but I’m terrified if I do they’ll offer us a coupon or something to return and I just don’t think I could.
On to better experiences. . .
We celebrated Thanksgiving here in Canada last weekend. We had our three grandchildren for most of the weekend and that was a blessing. It was tons of fun — just the medicine I needed. Prior to that I had been feeling kind of down in the dumps — I think it’s the changing of the seasons. But with their boundless energy surrounding me I couldn’t help but be lifted out of my funk.
Monday, we went over to my son and daughter-in-law’s new home here in Bon Accord and had a lovely Thanksgiving meal. It was simple, delicious food — roast chicken, ham, mashed potatoes, carrots, broccoli, gravy and stuffing. Followed by pumpkin tarts and apple crisp — which I supplied. Grandma always does dessert!
After we got home I decided to go out for a quick walk to help settle my tummy and I realized as I walked just how great my life really is. I had spent a great deal of time earlier in the day talking to my parents and my siblings and that was a joy. I got to spend precious time with my son and his family, I didn’t have to cook Thanksgiving dinner, my husband finally finished our deck, I have a lovely, comfy home in a small, quiet town where I can safely go out for a walk in the darkening evening. And, to top it all off as I strolled about the streets of Bon Accord the northern lights came out to play.
It was a beautiful end to a beautiful weekend.
All That Matters 
Wonderful post, klrs . . . despite the snow and that AWFUL dinner at La Creperie, it’s clear that you’re letting the sun shine through the clouds!
We had a TERRIBLE dinner once on our anniversary. I did make a fuss . . . and refused to pay for a portion of the meal. We never went back. 😆
The snow has thankfully mostly disappeared and they’re forecasting temps in the low teens for the weekend. Good thing, I’ve got tons of yard work to do yet.
Snow so soon?
You should complain about your experience – how else will they improve things?
That’s true — but I have quite the reputation as a complainer (totally justified) and sometimes I just don’t want to expend the energy. Just once I’d like things to be as they are supposed to be.
What a lovely world that would be 🙂
I agree!
What jumps out at me from this post is the aspect of ” attitude of gratitude” and what wonders this can bring into our lives.
Thank you.
Shakti
Thank you for your thoughtful words.
Belated Happy Anniversary to you and Tim. 33 years together ~ what a wonderful achievement, especially in this day and age, when people give up on relationships at the first sign of discord. Pity about the restaurant ~ I laughed when I read that you are afraid they’ll offer you a discount to return! 🙂