Someone stole my baby-Lost Connection to the World

I'm not being overly dramatic but I lost my cell phone and it was the most traumatic day of my life on this planet...way worse than wars, plagues and disasters.  I went to a full day of different Meetup Spiritual events and church but at the last one I forgot my cell in the car.  Darn.  When I returned to pick up my neglected baby, she was not there.  OMG.  The sick feeling in the pit of your stomach.  Someone has stolen my baby.  I was pretty sure I tried to unsuccessfully stuff it in my already full pockets and it fell out, in the sleet, rain, snow mounds and ponds on the road, sloppiest day of the year.  I knew it was a lost cause and I had to go home.  
I've never had phone damaged or lost before. When I am around a toilet, the phone is removed from pockets and a wide perimeter is taken to avoid an accident but this was totally different.  I only have one number, my daughter and she was probably in bed.  My landline called the cell on the off chance it was int he car then I remembered I it was on silent for the day.  No humming.  I know there is a sticker on the phone with my email and my new land line so I placed all my hopes and prayers on that.
  
Suddenly I remembered Find My Phone.  I located it near the area I suspected I lost it but do you lock the phone first or retrieve the  messages?  I'm going with the assumption that whoever found it was either the devil and was keeping it, going thru all my porn, or an angel who saved it at their house but making me wait.  Suddenly, my landline rang and she asked, is this your phone?  Yahoo.  Woot Woot.  Saved.  Then I got attitude.  She was wondering why I never bothered to call.  Because I don't have a phone and I didn't know it was missing until I was all alone.  I asked if she was at a particular intersection that Find My Phone said and that really creeped her out.  She refused to give her first name but would put it in her mailbox.  I was supposed to text here when I arrived.  How????? We forget how powerless we are without our electronic appendages. 

When I got my baby, she was cold, and I know miserable.  I brought her home, worked her to death retrieving a full day's worth of messages, then gently put her to sleep in a bag full of those anti-moisture packets you find in your pills, electronics, pretty much everything.  If 5 years worth of these didn't knock the moisture outta her, nothing would work.  Perhaps it wasn't even water damaged but I wasn't taking any chances.  I still can't believe all those people at the steamy outdoor spas walking around in the pool with their unprotected cell phones, taking pictures.  Some had underwater protectors but I trust nothing with my link to the world. 

My life support is my cell.  Without it I just wanted to crawl in bed, fold my arms across my chest and expire but first I wanted to dictate a blog- the phone was gone... Check a phone number to call where I bought the phone and what I should do-gone;  answer a text, no access;  listen to my new B&B booking request-not possible.   Arggggh!!!!

And now I am one of them.  A mere 10 years ago, I was the last dinosaur on the planet to not have a cell.  I frowned in judgment at the entire bus with their heads down answering their messages, watching TV, and googlin".  Now it's the last thing I do at night before I turn everything off, (but not with guests staying- learned that one the hard way) and the first thing I turn on in the morning.....correction, oops,  the first device I read in the morning.  I hang my head in shame and pray it will not be too late to change my ways when I retire and can't blame this addiction on "just have to check for work" syndrome/lies.  I have no other addictions.  I don't drink, smoke, take drugs, never had coffee, obviously don't get any, don't enjoy caffeine, do high risk sports, (gawd I am boring) but this one is serious.    

I wonder if one day they will have centers for addictions to cell phones but until then, shhhh, I'm trying to read my Facebook messages... and down the black hole I go again.   

Need a room for Winterlude or Travel Advice in Ottawa?

 As a B&B owner in Ottawa, I see myself also as a pseudo travel agent educating the masses about traveling solo or on a shoestring as I did years ago. This is ironic because I was a dreadful travel agent when I did it for a living but it doesn't stop me from teaching and hosting workshops on travel...mostly on what not to do.  

This FB post right mapped cities west of Toronto  named after cities in Europe like Lisbon...   reminded me I could have just as easily, have accidentally sent my travel guests to the wrong city in Ontario  but now it's not my problem.  The statute of limitations has run out for blaming me.  And yet, with that said, my family still wants me to make all their flight and travel bookings.  I love them dearly but they are so dumb and trusting.
  
At Spoiled Rotten B&B, my guests learn about: 

• Solo travel, 
• Couchsurfing, 
• WWOOFing, 
• Working vacations, 
• House sitting, 
• Work exchanges, and
• Airbnb (specifically Instant book and Superhosts), 

And most importantly, they learn about having a wall map of pride and pictures to showcase the best of their memories.

When people come to town, I give them a list of my favourite things to see and do; some are well known, like the Parliament buildings and others are Virtual Reality art experiences and other obscure activities.  

 Le Nordik is always top of the list for must see things in Chelsea, not far from downtown Ottawa. I also really like the Innukshuks off Parkdale.  





When traveling to Orleans, the most logical link to check would be Ottawa Tourism:
 https://www.ottawatourism.ca/ottawa-insider/things-to-do-in-ottawa-this-weekend/

Another one of my favourite emails to receive is Ottawa Road Trips by Laura, who has contests, usually 25 of the best featured road trips from Ottawa, the best biking trails, ski routes and all things interesting.  You should get on her mailing list:  laura@ottawaroadtrips.com but don't you dare enter the contests.  They have my winners name all over them.  

The world becomes smaller when you travel and your outlook opens up.  I was heading to BC, another travel day and I called up my Uber friend to see if he would be able to take me to the airport. His wife wrote me back that he would absolutely take me and there was no charge as usual.  Imagine my horror when I found out that he doesn't even drive for Uber anymore and he had contractors at his home. Good grief, I would never have bothered them.  I hate asking anyone for anything.

On the way to the airport, we talked about old times when they gave to Canada and they stayed at my bed and breakfast.While reminiscing he told me that they had just received their Canadian citizenship and they were all so happy. When they first arrived to Canada they had stayed at the small local hotel and we're very unhappy with the cold atmosphere. They located me at Spoil Rotten Bed and Breakfast and as we arranged apartments and the logistics with me acting as a translator they realized for the first time ever, they felt proud and happy to be in Canada. You just never know the impact you have with people while running a bed and breakfast

At another airport, I sat across from a man using his laptop which had a logo for an acupressure mat.  I interrupted him to ask if it was the one that looked like mine with many cleats and plastic points as I pulled a travel sample out of my knapsack.  He smiled and said his was the real deal, metal and sharp as real nails.  I knew then and there that I had to have one, no matter what the cost. Unlike the plastic cleat mat, which is easy to stand on, the metal one is screamingly brutal.   

Sitting on the plane to BC, I was speaking to the passenger beside me and I offered him use of my acupressure finger massager which I love to share. When we talked about acupressure mats he said he had the real bed of nails from the Ukraine. I told him  my massage therapist was from the Ukraine. Turns out we both go to him and both  love and hate him. We spent the rest of the flight talking about our dude checking out all my pictures of his work on my cell when I observed two of his massages. You never know who you will meet who knows someone you know.

Just came back from Iceland in winter, and that was full of gale force winds, closed roads and snow storms.  Now, a mere 8 weeks later, I'm off to Australia to the land of bush fires, hail, rain, and dust storms.  I need to fire my travel agent.

I WILL be here for the opening of Winterlude starting Jan 31st so pack up your skates, your long underwear, and  traditional Canadian headgear, (your toque), make like Bob Barker and Come On Down.  I'll be waiting for your call or email 'cause Ottawa is booking up fast and you are going to want somewhere special to stay.  

Land of Fire and Ice- Iceland, January 2020

Photo from  the Planetarium

Travel to Orleans can have it's challenges but trying to go from Ottawa can be just as taxing, especially before the Winterlude rush.  Have you ever planned a flight and gotten a pretty good deal but found it was 29 hours with connections then found out it was only a 5 1/2 hour flight?  We decided to pay more to go direct from Toronto to Iceland in the dead of winter and recoup some money  by driving there.  The drive took place in the torrential rain with temperatures of 12 degrees. Now who on earth leaves their hometown when it's 12 degrees to go to a country called Iceland IN WINTER? But wait, in school they taught us Iceland was really green so we were safe, right?  They wouldn't lie to us? Right??

Well, the red eye had us arriving early to a blizzard, and starving on a Sunday so sadly, of course, everything was closed. What to do, what to do?  For this travel, I came with a very detailed plan of what to see and do but the universe had other plans for us.  The first stop was supposed to be the Blue Lagoon which opened upon our arrival but the severe cold scared us off.  Gale force winds deterred us from soaking for the day in hot springs so instead we went to the Perlan Planetarium. We were their first guests and unfortunately  I slept thru the show due to jet lag.  It doesn't help that day light only really starts at 11am. We have to be out of the house at 10 a.m. every day so that we can maximize our 5 hours of touring the island and start heading home by 4pm before dark when we would turn into pumpkins.

12-14 Jan-Stay Apts Reyjkavik:  So far I was very unimpressed by Reyjkavik (aka Ottawa's weather-clone sister), until we went to the outside deck of the planetarium in the blizzard. Omg gorgeous but frostbitey weather. The famous downtown church was closed for Sunday mass but it was immense and just ok.  

I've never actually seen a church that size with the most minimalistic decor ever- no stain glass, marble, anything.  

Typical Icelandic lunch, so proud of myself for trying new foods and it's like my fav recipe Coquille St Jacques. Tried to walk the streets in the city centre but with the gale force wind, it was really cold  and I had this dry hacking cough that reacted whenever I went outside.  I mean, what the hell was I thinking? We went to the Airbnb hotel and they must have had a very good photographer because the place was the size of a matchbox which was unfortunate because we were going to be there for 2 days.  Great location walking to the restaurants and the sites and the beds  must have been comfortable because I woke up at 10:10am the next day in shock, never having slept that late.

13th- it's amazing how you can make  an oatmeal feast with all the leftover airplane snacks then off to the gorgeous Blue Lagoon Spa.  It's everything you've ever heard and more. Unlike the Nordic Spa with individual pools this has one big massive Olympic sized irregular shaped pool with white silica healing water, a drink bar and lots of hidden coves. Found my travel companion gleefully ogling a photographer taking pictures of an Icelandic buxom beauty in a very sexy bathing suit posing. Could hardly drag him away from there, the animal! There is a face mask station by the water to do a variety of treatments including a collagen anti-aging mask. I wanted to cover my whole body in that. It's funny to see everyone relaxing and leisurely floating with white masks on their face then simply slipping below the water to wash it off. 

Was fascinated by the fact that it did not open until 1992  and only after a couple of young guys horsing around in the outdoor pond by their work were shocked to find it cleared up the psoriasis of one of them. It works so well that the doctors nearby will give you a prescription to go there daily if you have a skin condition; I must move there. The three men must be millionaires so if anyone has any of their phone numbers please let me know... to discuss business opportunities, of course. The airport has a full shop selling the Blue Lagoon products. The prices were redonculous and the only reason I needed them so much was their pool tortured and stripped my hair for the entire week.  Can't comb or brush this rat's nest.  I'm hoping to have a normal, unsulphered, non rotten egg bath in Canada and it should be aces again without spending $125 for conditioner.

These are some of the road warnings
 you will see at the airport. 
Very welcoming.

14-15 - Spirit Farms Selfoss

Well we were looking forward to going on as far as the south of the island in Vik but that was not to be. Going thru the mountain pass was ugly with whiteout conditions, quite nerve wracking. they provide a very comprehensive list of roads and that was on the list which has been impassable so we had to re-book our Airbnb and chose a place that I had originally wanted to go to but we didn't, called spirit farms, another spiritual Airbnb. couldn't wait to talk to these people.  So it is in the middle of nowhere and run by two brothers who are hippies. While I love hippies, often their places are  substandard but their's was awesome. They have incorporated the best of all accommodations users; Airbnb, Woofers and more volunteers so the place is clean and he offers sweat lodges and all kinds of side events like I do, only HE is crazy busy. I'm NOT bitter. :)

We booked the room, took off to sight see and by the time we got back I never saw them again.

Pity. I would have loved to have talked to him about his sweat Lodge and workshops. His place was like an artistic hostel but thankfully not like the one in Bangkok overrun by feral cats that my daughter forced me to stay at. He gave us some great tourism ideas too. Daylight was slipping away so we went nearby to see only the Kerid Crater and it was cold,  snow covered and gorgeous but like most other sites in Iceland in winter, it's black and white. I can't even imagine what most of these sites must be like in the summer and I can't wait to come back with my family , Aurora Borealis in absentia be damned. 

Actually every day was a mad hunt for the Northern Lights. You see it in winter when the skies are full of stars. If there's clouds you don't see anything and there were clouds and snow all week. Occasionally we would have a perfect night and spend the whole night with her eyes glued. Sometimes the lights only come for a few minutes but alas not for us. One lady told us she lived there for 10 years and it took her three years to even see the lights so I feel better. Having the apps just makes you more paranoid that you're missing something because they notify you within seconds of Aurora's arrival, only to disappoint.  How can you tell I'm bitter?

15-16 a Cozy Little Cabin - We woke up to a beautiful red sunrise. I was up at 5am and the rest of the house at 10. Got an Aurora notification saying she was visible at 5:29 am. Nope, never saw it. Our first stop was to see the oldest Eco settlement  in the world called Solhenir but alas it's winter and they don't open until spring but I'm still saying I've been there . 

Next we went to Hruni, the highlight of my trip at the Natural hot springs. It really is in the middle of nowhere, is free, which coincidentally is my favourite price  and as we got out of our car I wondered about the sanity of the two of us. We might have turned around and walked away  had we not run into to a lone female telling us yes the air temperature is cold but the hot springs are fantastic and her second time going. It was blustery, more gale force winds and we were frozen .  

You hike up the small trail to the grass covered shack for trolls and fairies, doff your clothes as fast as humanly possible , don a bathing suit and jump into a two-person deep coffin, which warms you to your soul. Sure, there were nearby ponds but only the truly brave and adventurous like myself would climb over the snow and into the ponds to find that they're just too shallow to be wasting valuable body temperatures in.  The Taj Mahal was the bubbling water box. I can't wait to bring my family back to one of my new happy places. 

Although our trip was very detailed oriented, we ended up having to be very flexible with our plans, often driving thru the same area over and over and over again. Next time it will be be the circle route hitting every sight exactly once.

The end of a perfect day was to use our what we thought was rye bread with the havarti cheese and the spread that I brought to make grilled cheese sandwiches.  Oh my god it was the worst meal in history. It turns out the rye bread was actually molasses dessert bread and the spread was cream cheese which does not fry. It was a bloody sweet mess that fell apart on you plate. I looked with envy at the meal the three young kids had made; rice in a bowl and borscht soup which I would have killed for it. Ironically I found out later that they hated their meal too because it was so bland so I guess we're never happy. 

This volcano covers everything in ashes

Did not see this thankfully but there are 200 earthquakes/day!

We had to keep constant watch on the roads so when they were clear we decided to drive down towards Vic to see see the Volcano Lava Interactive Museum. It was very cool and then we went back the exact same way we came twice before to see first the

Gulfoss falls, a mini version of Niagara Falls

  

The Geyser as it blew

Selfoss Geyser and then the Gullfoss Waterfall and both were free. I'm shocked at how many big attractions don't charge in Iceland. Then off to a cozy cabin in the middle of nowhere where we could count on seeing the Northern Lights finally. I had much guilt for contacting the host Hulda to tell them it was chilly in there . At 10:45 pm she left her FIVE children with her husband and drove15-minutes to give us extra blankets and a heater. We are couple of suck babies, ok, me especially. Cooked a hobo supper which was the best we've ever eaten. Chefs from the world over would be stopping in our cabin to taste test and sign us up to work for their 5-star Michelin restaurants. Play some cards and dice game  and then we opened the blinds behind the bed and stared out for the entire night certain we would see Aurora finally. Nope, not this clear night either. I'm getting very bitter about Aurora  evading us . I'm starting to wonder if this is an old folk legend and she doesn't even exist... and to carry it one step further, the tales we learned in school that Iceland is really quite green and warm, all lies. I'm sure it was just a bunch of drunken bums sitting around going well we got suckered into coming here so maybe we should perpetrate the myth and tell all our friends to come join us. It's just a thought.

16-18 Warm Cozy Cottage in the Golden Circle Hallador

Fault lines

 We had planned on going to The Not So secret Lagoon in this area only to find out it was back where we had circled around a hundred times and I said no, not going to happen. Instead we went to Thingvellir Park and toured around the oldest Parliament around and saw the waterfalls and walked through the fault lines where North America and Europe separated. It was shocking to see the vista of glaciers and snow covered mountains so white that you could not even see indentations in the natural scenery other than white on white. I'm glad Iceland has many pullovers to take so many pictures and oh there are so many pictures we took.

Exhausted, on our final night, and with Icelandic kronors burning a hole in my pockets, we went back to Reykjavik to have a typical meal. We ordered soup shared an appetizer had the main course into desserts and the bill came to $212!!!! I guess we're not going to do this every day.  Everything on the island is expensive . A loaf of bread $10, bag of chips $10, eggs $8,  one slice of Cheesecake $23 . This is not a place you stay long-term.

Well we spent the last night standing outside "pushing clouds away",  just shy of doing a Aurora rainbow Northern Lights dance and finally gave up. How annoying to see on two apps that the town on one side and the other side of where we were staying both saw the lights.

The couple's place we stayed at was fascinating. I wish I could have spent more time with them. We stayed in the guest house which was medieval looking somewhat and they had traditional beds, singles, set separately against the wall, headboard to headboard.  Not much nooky going on in this arrangement.  I guess it all worked out because by the time you finish a week travelling with a friend you're more than happy to have your own space and peace and quiet at night from each other.  Translation, neither of us successfully smothered the other while they slept and snored and that's truly a miracle.  

Got an early start on our departure day in Iceland. Off to tour the capital for him and to a city pool  including a rooftop hot spring pool for me. They believe the hot springs are so good for you that people start or finish their day with a $10 soak at the local pools and there are so many of them. Keep in mind that they're very comfortable with their bodies so the showers are single sex, open concept. Oh goodie, you know how much of love public nudity.

At the airport by 2 and by the time I got back to Toronto's snow storm, we drove 4 hours on the treacherous roads, stayed in a last minute hotel, came back to an Ottawa snow storm, shoveled out a driveway to get my car and home, it was not until 24 hours later. Home sweet home.  Decorations still up and I'm so tired, I'm thinking I will be that crazy Christmas B&B lady with the year round decorations.

Some take aways from this trip -   

Make tiny bread balls and sprinkle them with coarse salt.

Roundup some empty lobster tails to make fish soup like every restaurant over there made

Get a waffle maker

Get all my contracts written in blood

The puffins will have to wait until I return in the summer

Aurora will have to wait till I return too. 

Never travel in winter to Iceland!!!

Mom and Daughter Events at the B&B

Decorated, hosted a Christmas concert with all my closest friends then closed the B&B over Christmas for the first time so I could make plans with the youngest daughter, to go to our most favourite place on earth, Le Nordik spa in Chelsea. 

While soaking in one of the many tubs, a young man asked my daughter and I what we got for Christmas. I wanted to answer "a cold" but we said "nothing". He stared at us awhile, couldn't understand our responses. He repeated the question and we said we didn't exchange gifts this year so he told me he got an apple. (Naive me I thought he meant a real edible apple, doh!) 

I guess my answer was not the exactly the truth.  Weeks before, she told me since we would be alone together, and to do everything she never wanted to do in the past.   We would bake and make ornaments, a gingerbread house, ugly sweaters, view light shows, have a fondu, listen to Christmas music, watch Christmas specials and on and on.  Four days of Christmas activities which gave me hope!  

Well, we both had hours of resting on the couch  commiserating over our miserable colds and on Christmas day, I simply made a grill cheese.  Neither of us could taste it and every other idea got shelved.  I sent her home to bed and Christmas passed as it has for many years, recovering from a cold, bloody hell, but I still had hope and in storage is a special box of things I hope to do next year.

Also, I gained so much more from this Christmas past, which feels like a lifetime ago, than I have from other years with excessive gifts. " One of my deepest regrets when she was a young toddler was not spending more time with her. A little voice would come to the kitchen and say "mommy come and watch TV with me" and all I could think is "oh my God I have so much work to do busy, busy, busy."  Ya, I know.  Some things never change. [To this day all my friends think I have a full house 24/7 and am running full-time.  Nope.]  Oh, the regrets I have.  Over the years I wondered what the impact of that would be as I crushed her spirit. Well this Christmas while she was watching a movie, surrounded by Christmas chaos, I heard again, "Mom come and watch TV with me" and I was thrilled.  I dropped everything to enjoy her company ......and finally forgave myself for the past. Best Christmas gift ever. Time with daughter...Priceless!

Recently she learned she got the top salesperson for all of Canada at  Movati.  Maybe she got those ambitions from me but then I question myself. It's taken me 5 years to attain # 9/55 of the top bed and breakfasts in Ottawa and I'm not even located downtown.  There are 46x 5-star ratings on Trip Advisor.   I have 119x 5-star reviews on Airbnb and 40x Google Reviews 5star.  Hmmmm, Maybe she did get her competitive nature from me after all!  

And with that, I will keep one of my first New Year's promises, to shorten my posts and try to keep better on topic.  

Feel free to subscribe at the bottom. Happy New Year. Love all 7 of you readers, lol.