Entertainment all around

We were lucky enough to find an apartment in the Entertainment District of Toronto.  Within a few blocks we have the Rogers Center and Scotiabank Arena, Roy Thompson Hall (the Toronto Symphony), the TIFF Lightbox, Princess of Wales Theater, the Royal Alexandra Theater (we saw SIX! here), the CN Tower, Ripley's Aquarium, Roundhouse Park, The Four Seasons Center for the Performing arts (ballet and opera), and a movie theater.

Add a few more blocks and we have the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Hockey Hall of Fame, Meridian Hall, Massey Hall (we saw To Kill a Mockingbird here), The Second City Toronto, and tons more little spots here and there - museums (I think there's one at the CBC building), comedy, and theater venues, etc.  There are also a number of multipurpose areas like the Convention center, Stackt, The Well, and Harbourfront.

Go a little further and there's Kensington Market, the Distillery District, The Bentway, and the whole of the Waterfront.  Everything above is within a 5-45 minute walk.

When we were searching for a rental, we checked a number of neighborhoods, all of them urban.  Each area had its pros and cons - different grocery stores (one was near a Whole Foods!), different entertainment, different commutes - and I know we would have been happy in any one of them and adapted to what it had to offer.  We considered living along the lake for the awesome view, we checked out the area around a townhouse west of Spadina, we saw an apartment on the 70-something floor in Yorkville.  Each building had different amenities and each street had a different vibe (while Yorkville is quite posh with lots of shopping there's not much affordable).

During the week, and even most weekends, we don't drive anywhere.  There are trams, buses, and a subway system, but mostly we walk because this chunk of Toronto has pretty much everything we need  - grocery stores, Staples, Michaels, restaurants, malls, bodegas, drugstores, a French bakery, the PATH.  All that and we have a 9 minute walk to work.  

The commute was top of our list, and we can see a sliver of lake which was pretty high on our list, but if you ask us what really sealed this building for us is the car elevator.  This building has a car elevator.  A. Car. Elevator.  What sorcery is this?  Drive the car into elevator, press the button, drop down to correct parking level.  It's amazing and stress-free which I didn't expect living downtown.  And even though we rarely take out the car we know it's secure and out of the elements.  And there's a car elevator!

So far Toronto is proving to be a pretty good deal and I'm sure we'll keep discovering more fun things in the city and in Ontario as the months go on and the seasons change.  I hear there's a tennis Open in August split between Montreal and Toronto, and the World Juniors tournament is coming to Ottawa in December!

There's no doubt that whenever the kids visit there will be something fun to do.

OK, one more hockey related post but with furniture.

When we arrived in Toronto the weather was delightful, reaching up to the 50s during the day and sunny.  We walked a lot figuring out our temporary neighborhood and didn't have to wear the coats we'd judiciously bought back in Virginia.  That didn't last long, the coats were necessary a few weeks later,  but in the meantime it was cool enough to require a sweatshirt.  Remember we were still living out of suitcases packed for a tropical island, so.... I wore the same sweatshirts a lot and my go-to was usually a bright red Washington Capitals sweatshirt even in the land of Maple Leafs.  

We moved into our permanent apartment the first weekend in December and the weather was mild.  Out came the sweatshirt.  We received our shipments and most of what we requested arrived, including our bed frame and mattress.  Woohoo!  What didn't make it... the hardware to put the bed together.  We bought the frame from IKEA at least a decade ago if not longer (I think it's longer, a lot longer), but did what made sense - went to IKEA for replacement parts.

The customer service area was packed and at a kiosk we requested a number to get in line, at least 45 minutes.  Ian went off to the restroom and I wandered around when a woman stopped me and offered a spot on a bench near her and her spouse.  I declined but then she asked if I was a Washington Capitals fan.  Yup, my sweatshirt.

It's been a while since the conversation so I don't remember details, but we had a long chat about the Capitals, the Bears, hockey in general, and the Indigenous games (the Arctic Winter Games?) in Alaska in 2024, because once they asked us where we were from because of our ACCENTS (ACCENTS??!), and why we're in Toronto, there was of course a visa question about traveling to Alaska for volunteering at the games.  (Speaking of accents, we had dinner out on Christmas Even and our server also asked us where we were from because of our accents.... I'd like to inform all Canadians that we don't have accents - they do.)

The highlight of our interaction was the fact that she is Connor McMichael's great-aunt and they spent time over the summer with Connor and the Calder Cup.  With pictures.  What were the chances?  No really... what??  It was yet another very cool and lucky connection to the hockey world.

We chatted until their number was called and took their seats for what looked like another hour of waiting.  Until she came back and whispered that they told the clerk that we were their friends and had a quick question and she whisked Ian up to the counter so he could ask for our missing parts.  A few minutes later they were done with their return and came by to say farewell.  The mysterious Canadian rescue we didn't know we needed and just like that they were gone.  

So, Shanna and spouse (sorry, I forgot your name!) thank you for being so kind and a joy to encounter.

We returned home with our IKEA loot and, bleh, the parts didn't fit try as we might, so we struck out on foot that afternoon and had no luck at three other hardware stores within a mile of our apartment.  The next day we drove to Home Depot and, success!  Back at home the four sides came together and then it was time for the stability bar in the middle, a simple "slide into metal brackets" before placing the slats and finishing up.  It was then we noticed that someone had removed the metal brackets.  They've never been taken off before, they lay practically flat against the wood except where the metal support slides in, why would anyone take them off?  Why??  They were probably with all the other missing hardware.  Frustration started to boil over.  Searching online showed that the missing plate is no longer available and other plates had screw holes in different places.  The bedframe was solid wood.  We don't have a drill.  

We looked at each other.  This bedframe had served us well for probably 20 years, and after ranting about the stupidity of packers who don't tape hardware to the relevant furniture or replace them in the holes once the sections have been taken apart (that is something we absolutely love), we agreed we were OK with moving on to a new bedframe.  So we walked over to the nearby Structube, ordered a bed for delivery (four days later we put together a new stylish frame that had all its parts - woohoo!  Do you know how hard it is roll off a mattress on the floor in the middle of the night when you're nearly 50?) 

The next day we deserved a treat and actual groceries and went to Costco.  Once again Ian disappeared (it's a big place, I think he got lost?) and a stocker came up to me and asked about my sweatshirt.  Yup, same sweatshirt.  I promise I wash it.  A young person who then jumped into everything he likes about the Capitals, even though he's from... Poland.  Ian joined and we chatted for a bit longer about the players and about cities in Poland we'd been to.

Hockey, and in particular the Capitals... bringing people together. LOL.

Yes, more about hockey.

When we were in PA, we decided we had the time and space to travel to regional arenas to watch the Caps play.  So not only did we see a heck of a lot of Bears games with our 1/2 season tickets, we also went to Boston for Caps/Bruins (Hi Jerry and Julie!), Columbus for Caps/Blue Jackets (Hi Nicholas and Taylor, and Taylor's parents!), New Jersey for Caps/Devils (Hi scary alleys!), Philadelphia for Caps/Flyers (Hi amazing entertainment complex!), and NYC for Rangers/someone (Hi Brian!).  We're not bold enough yet to enter Penguins territory.

Now that we're in Maple Leafs land and Ian has to travel for work to a shocking number of NHL team cities, there's nothing we can do but arrange the visits around Caps away games.  It just makes sense.

Our year with the Bears was a special one as I've mentioned before, not just for the Cup win at the end.  As silly as it sounds, it connected us to the Caps even more - which is good when the Caps are playing as badly as they are.  But the Bears are fun (and playing really really well) and if you didn't watch this year's Teddy Bear toss on January 8, go look for it.  It's spectacular.  They'll play the Toronto Marlies in a couple months so our hockey viewing continues to extend to the AHL, some ECHL (when we visited Becca and team in Atlanta we went to a Gladiators game) and perhaps the OHL (there are several OHL teams nearby, and the league includes the.... Erie Otters).  The ECHL has some of the best team names... the Greenville Swamp Rabbits, Florida Everblades, Orlando Solar Bears. 

As the farm team for the Caps, we see a lot of familiar faces move between PA and DC.  This year the Caps signed Connor McMichael, Hendrix Lapierre, and Aliaksei Protas, while periodically calling up Ivan Miroshnichenko, Dylan McIlrath, Hardy Haman Aktell, goalie Hunter Shepard, and others.  As season ticket holders last year, we were initiated into the fun world of AHL events.  

Coco!

The purple jersey is a Hockey Fights Cancer auction jersey.  Julian Napravnik was a Bear from Bad Nauheim, Germany and knew all about the Frankfurt Löwen.  He wasn't played much, but we felt like we couldn't pass up that connection.  When the Bears had their annual signature night, all the players took up spots on the ice and signed whatever you put in front of them.  Ian got a good chunk of the team to sign his jersey, including McMichael and Lapierre.  Napravnik was released from his contract in Nov 2023 and returned to Europe.  It's a good thing and I hope he gets more ice time.

When we moved out of PA and had some time in northern Virginia we picked the Ballston area specifically because it's the location of the practice rink for the Caps.  Capitals practices are usually open to the public and players often go to the media area afterwards for signatures and pics.  You also have to be careful on the top level of the parking garage to not run over hockey players as they go to their cars.  You never know who you're going to meet or just see when you hang out in Ballston or Hershey.  Players families, former players turned coaching staff, televised game personalities. Over the years we've seen a number of folks including Joe Beninati (there's a photo somewhere), half of the Joe B and Locker play announcer team we love to listen while watching on TV.

Ian Oland - creator and writer at Russian Machine Never Breaks

Aliaksei Protas shared the Calder Cup with the fans
at the Giant Center in Hershey.

Our hotel in Ballston hosted the Caps Development Camp
kids from Hershey and elsewhere.

We were only a little stalkerish.

Really, just a little stalkerish. 
Alexander Suzdalev, Bogdan Trineyev, Ivan Miroshnichenko

Ryan Leonard is currently playing for Boston College.

He scored in the Jan 5 USA-Sweden final of the World Juniors for gold.

.

Todd Nelson is the Bears coach that led them to the 2023 Calder Cup.

Braden Holtby is one of the greats we met in the Ballston parking lot.
Nicholas has a photo with him at a Washington Nationals game as well.

So, yeah.  The Caps play all the Canadian teams and this year it looks like we'll see them in Toronto (the cost is... high) and in Vancouver and Calgary.  Ottawa is an easy trip, but the Caps played there early in the season, so the next two years -- Montreal, Edmonton, Ottawa, Winnipeg.  Should be fun!

The summer of 23... 2023

As you've guessed, this summer was a time of transition, with lots of quick changes seemingly weekly.  It almost brought me back to spring 2020 when I started my job with the Remote Processing Unit in the Domestic Operations division of Visa Operations within Consular Affairs.  Inside we call that CA/VO/DO.  I had finished training and was just learning my job when the pandemic hit, but the pandemic led to global changes in visa adjudications.  For weeks, the changes came at us almost minute to minute, for the class of visa we adjudicated to the exceptions to the annotations.  We worked until we got new guidance, instituted the new guidance until something else replaced it which could literally come down 10 minutes later.  It was an infuriating few weeks and months.

After writing that I realize that this summer was nowhere near as hectic as March-May 2020.  It was a different sort of limbo.  For one, I was alone and the other it was purely work related.  This time Ian and I just did the limbo together, and thankfully we didn't have the kids stuck in the middle with schools and schedules.  

One thing we scheduled early in the year was a family trip to Virginia Beach.  We're all super-familiar with this beach, I've been going since before I knew Ian, but this time all the kids (minus one significant other) was over 21.  While we had a rental house a few blocks from the sand, the kids were old enough to go and do whatever they wanted - alone, with a small group, with everyone.  Some were caught in a rain storm, threw the football and frisbee around, walked on the boardwalk with Mokka, got snacks, got pedicures, and laid under the sun.  Everyone played board games, watched movies, and played Hopper Jeopardy (thanks Jonathon!!).  The only thing we asked each of the kids to do while there was make a meal one night during the week.  Along with two meetups with the grandparents, a meal at a boardwalk restaurant and a BBQ at their home about an hour away, the kids did an amazing job feeding the clan.  The person who struggled some with the week was Jonathon who a few weeks beforehand fell at the climbing gym and seriously injured his foot.  He was still limping which wasn't ideal for not having an oceanside house.  I'm really hoping it's not a permanent injury.

We traveled out to my parents' new home, the first time for all the kids to see it, and the first time my parents spent time with Taylor and Max.  Speaking as, well, me... I had a fantastic time.  I hope everyone else did too, but I know that the day is a core memory for me.  Kat, Becca, Nicholas, and Jonathon are all so very different from each other but they each have so much in them that I treasure and adore.  And there was so much to celebrate at this gathering.  2023 wasn't just any year.  Because we hadn't had the opportunity yet, we included Jonathon's August 2022 graduation from university and Katherine and Erich's December 2022 engagement, and then also celebrated Nicholas's completion of 4 years with the Marine Corps in January, Becca and Max's wedding in April, all the birthdays including Ian's 50th in July, and my parents' 50th Anniversary in August.  There's no reasonable cake big enough for that many good things.  I want to interject here a huge thank you to all the family and friends who sent photo and video congratulations to Ian for his birthday video and a huge extra thanks to Max for video editing it all together.  I think it actually surprised Ian and maybe made him a little at a loss for words.  If I'd known how to make it work I would have done a big party or trip for his big year, but it was special in its own way.

Love these weird and wonderful people.

A year in PA

While we were in PA for Ian's schooling, can we really ignore that we chose PA for the Hershey Bears?  The Bears are the farm team for the Washington Capitals.  Since the Capitals won the Stanley Cup in 2018 they've struggled.  Last year they didn't even make the playoffs and this year isn't looking too much better.

You can get a Master's through the State Department at a ton of different schools, but there's a special relationship with the military schools - the Army program in Carlisle, the Navy program in Rhode Island, the Space program in Alabama, several schools in DC, etc.  Obviously the DC programs are the most popular.  After all if you're already in DC, then there's no move required.  The last time we considered the Master's program our sights were set on Carlisle because of the Bears, and this time it didn't change.  Moving for a year is a hassle no matter what, but in return we had one of the best years of this Foreign Service career.  Ian made some fast friends, he did exceptionally well at school, we loved living in small town Carlisle (rent was 1/2 that of Arlington), and we had a year of watching 20+ Hershey Bears games all the way to the Calder Cup final (the Stanley Cup for the AHL) and a game seven overtime win for their 12th Calder Cup.  It was so nerve-wracking I couldn't watch and instead heard Ian's shouting from the living room.  The final was played in California and we didn't go to the Giant Center's 1a.m. watch party, which, well.. do we regret that?  Not really, kind of... maybe.

The Bears are on a tear again this year, so while we struggle watching the Caps lose over and over again, the Bears are the bright shining star of hockey.  As of this post, they've had two 9-game winning streaks are are leading the AHL league in pretty much everything, with players in the top five of every category from goal scorers to shutouts.  

Hershey isn't that far (~7 hours), and if it comes down to it, I'm thinking there's a trip involved when the Bears are in the playoffs.

*ROAR*

First Post as Empty-Nesters

Since Ian returned from Baghdad in the summer of 2020 we've been empty-nesters, but the feeling is definitely a little different now that we're "abroad."  The border is actually a thing!  While we lived in Northern VA and then in Carlisle, PA, if we wanted to see family it was just a decision to make and either a drive or a flight.  Last weekend we drove 90 minutes to Buffalo, NY and had to bring our passports.  What kind of nonsense is this?

It's particularly weird because Canada doesn't feel different than the U.S.  We live in a highrise in Toronto with a whopping 9-minute walk to the Consulate.  There are markets and shops, restaurants and entertainment on every corner.  We have to remind ourselves to drive the car periodically.  The view from our balcony is a sea of buildings, a reflection of the CN Tower (yeah, we're facing north), and at one particular angle we can see some of Lake Ontario.  Our apartment is delightful and small, perfect for two people.  The building has a car elevator to reach the parking levels.  It's only different for us in that we've never lived inside a big city. 

This isn't Haiti. Haiti would feel familiar to us as a post.  There are expected struggles.  There's a house ready and waiting, and a built-in community.  We'd both be working in familiar areas.  Canada doesn't feel different, but settling in definitely is.

When we packed out of Carlisle in June, we were limited in our shipments.  Haiti had created a carve-out for household goods shipped by air, because getting anything into the country by the port was proving nigh impossible.  So we had roughly two thousand pounds of must-haves packed up and the rest crated for the warehouse.  When Haiti went on ordered departure and we faced the same predicament as Baghdad, we made the hard choice to break our assignment and take a Now position in Canada.  Don't laugh - it was a hard decision, and we still ponder the what-ifs.

In June we packed for sunny climes, a provided and furnished home, and lots of time and space.  In August our Now position was to a wintry clime, an unfurnished apartment we'd have to find ourselves, and no job waiting for me.  Thank goodness we hadn't sold our car already as we'd planned since another change in Haiti meant we could no longer bring a vehicle (they all go through the port).  We had given our cat to my parents as he couldn't come to a country with no veterinary care.

September and October were all about changing our expectations.  After all, we'd already been outlining R&Rs (we don't get any from Canada)!  Instead, we flipped through our shipping manifest to see if we could find the winter clothes boxes on a list that just marked everything as clothes (apparently we didn't as it didn't come), and also hoped we picked the right cartons that included all the parts to put together our couch and beds (again a miss, the parts to put our bed together didn't make it).  We shopped for coats as we expected an October arrival in Canada might require them.  We reached out to a realtor to help us find a place to live.  We heard our whole family's sigh of relief that we weren't going to Haiti.

We moved into our apartment on 3 December, after three different temporary places and nearly six months of suitcase living.  In June we were so blessed to spend a week at Virginia Beach with all the kids and their significant others, as well as bringing us all together with my parents who moved down south in August 2022.  It was such a special week that I treasure.  But it was offset by our first ever holidays with not a single family member to share it with.  The 2023 holidays were just the two of us.  We're OK, probably better than OK as we're not in Haiti and causing everyone consternation, and our Christmas video chat with everyone was a balm for the heart.  This is our new normal, but I think for both of us we were reminded that we don't want it as our all-the-time normal.  We're already considering a road trip in the spring to see all the kids and my parents.

And you know, we may be empty-nested of offspring, but the cat can live in Canada so the cat is going to move to Canada.  Come on you grumpy furball, it's time for your next adventure.

Hi. Hey there. It's 2024.

Two plus years after the last post, and we're back?  I need to update our tagline, obviously.

Oh, and hello from Toronto, Canada.

Since last we chatted in November 2021, we moved to Carlisle, PA for a year while Ian earned a Master's degree, planned to PCS to Haiti, and ended up in Canada just as winter settled in.  That's the long and short of it for us.  

A quick recap of the kids - Jonathon finished his time at Essex University, moved in with Becca in Atlanta, and works as a software programmer for an international company.  Becca worked several projects until the strike in 2023, then got married and found part-time work until the industry opens up and starts hiring again.  Nicholas finished four years with the Marine Corps and lives in Ohio while he plans his next steps.  Katherine works at a hospital in Maryland and is engaged while she takes classes towards an LPN.

There's no way to fill in the two-year gap, but Toronto is a quiet place to live in the grand scheme so here's to bringing some new life to this blog.