What began today strictly as a functional attendance in the City to sign papers for the transfer of the administration of a family plot at Notre-Dame Cemetery to a younger member of the clan developed into a crescendo of eating and dining experiences.
Our family meeting at the Cemetery office was scheduled for 9:00 a.m. In view of the distance of the location of the meeting off St. Laurent Boulevard and in anticipation of possible traffic delay flowing from the planned visit of US President Barack Obama and the Mexican President with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (“The Three Amigos“), we decided to leave home at 6:30 a.m. and have breakfast in the City somewhere nearby the Cemetery. En route we determined to go to Louis Pizza on McArthur Avenue. There we were greeted by an affable woman server whose buoyancy succeeded to set our day on the right foot. In addition to having breakfast there we reckoned our good fortune was so propitious that we bought two lottery tickets, convinced of our likely bounty.
After breakfast – and to kill time before our meeting – we went to the Cemetery to stake our location and then went around the corner to troll Beechwood National Cemetery where (some of) my late father’s ashes are buried. We took photos as proof of our attendance there (as we had done earlier at the monument in Notre-Dame Cemetery).
The serendipity of the day continued as we subsequently rallied with the nominee at the Cemetery to sign the documents. The assisting clerk was helpful and kind. Afterwards in the parking lot we momentarily lingered before resolving to meet nearby at a well-known family restaurant for coffee and a bite to eat. We ended having another breakfast.
By the time we said our goodbyes to one another and parted ways it was close to 11:00 a.m. We then decided to pay a visit to my elderly mother at her retirement residence on Colonel By Drive. We arrived there close to 11:30 a.m. but didn’t stay long since my mother wanted to prepare to go to lunch before rallying with her hairdresser at 1:00 p.m. I had brought my mother a small cup of hot, black coffee which she drank eagerly.
Our familial duties completed we then headed back to our residence in the country. Unusually we had nothing on our grocery list so there was no need to stop along the way. Once we turned off the four-lane highway onto the Appleton Side Road we abruptly agreed to go to the Golf Club for lunch. There we had an exceptionally tasty cheeseburger and crispy onion rings with a glass of milk. This however was not the end of our on-going party. On the last leg of our journey home we detoured to Healthy Food Technologies (HFT) in the Almonte Industrial Park for donuts. It was our further good fortune to stumble upon the establishment just as they were putting out donuts which had literally been made moments before!
It was the work of an instant upon arriving at the apartment to set the donuts on the dining room table with plates and a glass of milk. And with equal speed we consumed them (I won’t say how many each). Immediately afterwards we threw ourselves onto a couch and bed respectively for a much needed afternoon nap.
We didn’t have any dinner last evening.