Winterlude 2025

This is the Official Website for Winterlude 2025 - but that’s a real mouthful when referencing on-air during my radio show, so I figured I’d make a quick ‘highlights’ page for those who wanna know!

Winterlude is MOSTLY FREE - Week 1 is from January 31 to February 2. Week 2 is from February 7 to 10 and Week 3 is from February 14 to 17 (Family Day).

There are three MAIN Winterlude sites in Ottawa/Gatineau. They are:

• Sparks Street; sculptures, music and light show, sugar shack, parliament light display

• Byward Market; carriage rides, farmer’s market, synthetic rink,

• Snowflake Kingdom; tubing, maze, intro to skiing/snowboarding, obstacle course, drone shows

Here’s how you can access the sites via free SnoBus shuttle which operates:

BLUE CIRCUIT (between Robert-Guertin Park-and-Ride and Jacques-Cartier Park/Snowflake Kingdom) on Saturdays from 9am to 9pm, Sundays from 9am to 6pm

RED CIRCUIT (between Snowflake Kingdom to Sparks St.) on Saturdays from 10am to 5:30pm, Sundays 10am to 5:30pm and Family Day Monday (Feb. 17) from 10am to 3pm.

Rideau Canal Skateway is NOT part of Winterlude’s official programming but it’s been a great season for skaters so far, so I wanted to include it!

There is Winterlude themed programming (not free) at both the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau and the Museum of Nature in Ottawa. The Winter Jazz festival is also on at the Arts Court Theatre (not free).

photo by Amy Volume, Sparks Street, Ottawa

Tom Thomson: the Great Canadian Mystery

For as long as I can remember, my dad’s been totally obsessed with Tom Thomson. As a kid, I thought this was purely based on his art and contributions towards Canada’s ‘Group of 7’ collective. I didn’t know the story and even when it was first told to me, I was like, “Oh. That's sucky." You know? I never paid it much attention.

Lately, an author has really captured my attention and now I find myself obsessed and wanting to know more. Maybe not the truth because I think that those in search of Tom Thomson’s death-related-truth may never be satisfied… but I definitely want to absorb everything that I can (within reason) about this troubled artist.

The author, Tim Bouma, masterfully tells the story (first person, sometimes second or third) of Tom’s final months on Twitter:

Canoe Lake: Residents are in collective shock. The man they knew as an artist is tied to a tree stump floating by a flooded shore.

— Tom Thomson (@TTLastSpring) July 16, 2021

Twitter is my social media go-to, so I easily became completely enamored with the @TTLastSpring account. Give it a follow if you’re interested or, better yet, buy the book ‘Tom Thomson: A Journal of My Last Spring’.

If you know of any other great Canadian mysteries to dive into or have more Tom Thomson related things to satiate my inherited interests, please get in touch!

My Evive Experience

Off the top these are simple, fast and delicious!

Let me start by saying I was given a free box in exchange for my opinion or review. I have not been paid by Evive or it’s promotional team. I think they offered me a code word to promote if anyone wanted to use it for a discount but I don’t go too hard with stuff like that because I don’t want to tell anyone what to do with their money.

Smoothies made easy.

Evive offers a variety of flavours, ingredients and ‘styles’ of pre-made, frozen goods. Spoiler alert: it’s not all smoothie-cubes. In my box I received some lunch options, too! I received the B12 Smoothies Kit and Bam Chili, Golden Curry, Mac Squash and Tom Thai lunch wheels plus one Evive Mason jar for mixing.

My thoughts.

A great idea! Every time I feel like having a smoothie (vegan) my kids, 4 and 6, want one, too (non-vegan). My ‘quick meal for me’ turns into a 10-15 minute process of making theirs, finding their respective cups (one has to be ‘baby’ kind the other ‘action figure’ style - it’s a whole thing), then I have to clean the blender fully before attempting to make mine. In the time that takes, usually one has spilled theirs and/or is asking for more. There are times when I don’t get to make the smoothie I started out wanting in the first place!

Evive smoothies come in pre-mixed, frozen cubes. The cubes are neatly separated in cube like ‘wheels’ which are recyclable. You want a smoothie? Pop them into a jar, add water, juice or whatever type of milk or other ingredients you want for mixing) allow time to melt a bit and then SHAKE. Because I have a blender handy and sometimes have difficulty using my hands (arthritis), I opt for the blender… then, pour! One smoothie wheel makes enough for both kids and then I get to keep another for myself. All products are vegan (correct me if I’m wrong) which makes quick smoothies or meals a very easy choice.

Have you tried Evive?

When I started posting about my Evive experience, I got some feedback from friends who had tried them and were just as happy as me and my family were. One friend specifically said,

“We’ve been doing this as breakfast for months. We order 60 at a time. I’m up at 4AM so I put it in my bag and drink it on my way to work. Super convenient and gives me enough to get through til lunch.”

If you’ve tried them, let me know what you think. The ads are all over my social media timelines but that’s probably because I’ve searched them/have been posting about them. I have spotted them in the wild at my local grocery store so it’s nice to know this Canadian made, Canadian based business appears to be doing well.

Now that I’ve formed my opinion, I would be interested in trying more of the flavours I enjoy for the stress-free smoothie experience alone.

Matt Mays on Strange Times, 'Dog City' and the State of Rock n Roll

Matt Mays and his band are keeping fans very entertained during these strange times with the release of their live 'From Burnside With Love' album out Friday, February 12th. The semi-unplugged set was recorded from his hometown of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. It's release is followed by a livestreamed concert event, happening Saturday, February 13th.

You can grab tickets to the show, a perfect Valentine's date night thing if you ask me, online here.

Matt released his 8th studio album 'Dog City' last September with a whopping 484 dogs on the cover, although over 700 photos were submitted. Written from the perspective of a rescue dog, it delivers his (and his bands') signature folk-rock vibes with wonderful moments of Marc Bolan (T. Rex), Elliott Smith and the Velvet Underground. Check out that Stooges cover, too!

CLICK HERE to find ways to listen to Matt Mays' 'Dog City'.

 

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Here's my full conversation with Matt about pandemic life, the need to perform and the future of live shows. I mean, we talked for near 13 minutes, so we covered a log of ground but I won't type it all out here when you could just click the play button (below).

‘From Burnside With Love' is out next Friday and the livestream concert event follows on Saturday.

After the premiere, you have until Monday, Feb. 15 at 10 p.m. EST to watch the video. Tickets cost only $20.00 all in (or at least that's what option I chose to purchase). The other option costs from $70.00 to $90.00 CAD and includes your ticket PLUS an autographed copy of 'From Burnside With Love' on vinyl (3 LP set)..

Aurora's Birth Story

This pregnancy was similar to my last, with little Everett born January 2015. Long, hard and gross. Very gross. I think I was sicker than I've ever been with little R in my tummy. I was hospitalized (briefly) with strep throat and had countless viral infections (mmm... pink eye, multiple times). Happy to say little R made it through and appears to be one happy and healthy babe, but we're skipping ahead here...

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Unlike with Everett, Aurora was a planned baby. Ryan and I knew we wanted another child. Our families knew. Work knew. It was thoroughly planned and lucky for us, it didn't take long to conceive. I'll admit it: a planned pregnancy is a little less exciting than an unplanned one! I had been taking the vitamins, laying off the sauce and habitually peeing on sticks for a couple months before the wonderful confirmation came.

Like I said before, the actual pregnancy on me was rough but since baby was doing okay in my belly the doctor thought that attempting VBAC (vaginal birth after C-section) might be a good idea. It is said to lessen recovery time among other things. Though I wasn't super into the idea of VBAC based on what had happened during Everett's birth (emergency C-section/a whirlwind story), the idea of going for it naturally was still somewhat appealing and a shortened recovery time was definitely up my alley. I did have another baby (Everett, 2 years and 2 months) at home, after all.

We had discussed this early on and I had months to do some research and really make an informed decision. All the while, I was working full time. I know, I know. I work on the radio. It's not a physically intense job by any stretch but believe me... When you're exhausted, your brain & mouth don't tend to work as well as they used to and I was exhausted! Sure beat being unemployed though - as was the case when I was preggo with E. That was another level of stress I'm very happy I didn't have to deal with this time 'round.

“Birth is a trip. It’s a mental, physical and emotional journey that is personal to every person who experiences it first hand.”

I stopped working at the end of February. The plan was to schedule a C-section but to be open to VBAC if I went into labour early and things were looking good. Baby was measuring big (85th percentile) near the end which made the possibility of delivering her naturally seem very, very frightening for me. I'm little and she, like her brother, was BIG. 

Nearing my C-section date I got very "inside my head" about all the things that could go wrong. I was thinking a lot about death; what if she didn't make it? What if I didn't make it? What if we both died? I was also worrying a lot about how this new addition to the family was going to affect little Everett. My first baby! Our little surprise who quickly became my whole friggin' world; how was he going to react to a new baby? Would I love him less? How could I make sure everyone got the right amount of love and attention?

So many unanswered questions and I was also freaked out about going into labour naturally and having to experience a vaginal delivery I didn't really want to have but does choosing a repeat C make me lazy? A bad mom? Am I robbing baby of a natural entry into this life? Seriously. These are the thoughts that were going through my mind which is why, nearing her arrival, I blocked out all baby talk. My apologies to those of you whose text messages and e-mails I didn't return. 

March 20th... the wait is over.

Ryan and I headed to the hospital for an 8AM check in. While waiting for a room in Labour and Deliv. we bumped into the OB who'd be delivering our baby. Shout out to Dr. Garber, by the way, who was totally right about a scheduled C-section being a wildly different experience than an unscheduled or emergent one. He was on his way to deliver a baby (via C) the hard way. That news kinda helped to calm my nerves. I made it through a difficult C with Everett, so today should be a slice of cake, right?

Velia was the first nurse who helped us out once we made it to the pre-op/waiting room. She is really awesome and I told her about this blog so "HI VELIA - If you're reading this - you were one of the best parts of our journey!" I got a little queasy and had to lay down when the IV went in. Yes, I hate needles. Muchly.

8AM... 9AM... 10AM... we were joined by another couple (separated by a curtain) awaiting their C-section. Knowing other people are undergoing the same scary thing as me has always been something I found calming. I was also watching the clock because I had asked my coworkers at the radio station to put on a special song for Aurora's arrival, scheduled for sometime between 12PM and 1PM. 

Shortly after 12PM we were escorted into the OR. Well, I was. Ryan had to wait until the anesthetist said it was okay. I've never WALKED into an operating room before so this was a first! The room was intimidating to say the least but I knew I wasn't the first who'd be experiencing this today. Shortly after hopping up onto the bed, I asked the medical staff to tune the radio to 106.1 CHEZ. You see, during Everett's birth I asked the same and got to rock out to an epic playlist during his spontaneous arrival. I was really into the music and not working for Rogers Radio at the time so it was quite the keepsake when Robin (Harper) and Steve (Colwill) answered my request for the playlist. 

You don't see much when you're lying there so it was very nice when Ryan was let in. It was also super nice to know the person heading the surgery! Last time was a major blur - it all ended well, but it was really scary in comparison. 

Everything below my breasts was warm and fuzzy and then completely numb. The time between going numb and the countdown to baby's first cry I find the most intense... You know it's ON and your life's going to change within the next 30-45 minutes. 

There was a lot of pushing, pulling and talking with the staff. Everyone in there was great and, just like I told them pre-op, I forgot most of their names. Except Heather! Heather was there during E's delivery and she actually remembered me thanks to the radio connection.

Aurora "Rory" Stardust joined the outside world on March 20th at 13:13 weighing 8lb 6oz to U2's New Year's Day.

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Her brother, Everett was born January 9th at 11:11 weighing 9lb 6oz to AC/DC's Dirty Deeds (Done Dirt Cheap). 

The whole procedure was a truly great experience. She came out a beautiful, healthy baby girl and I managed to pull through okay. There might be some scar tissue ickiness going forward with it being my second C-section so this will be my last birthing rodeo. Like - FOR SURE. 

Everything I was told about scheduled C-sections was absolutely true. It was a cool, calm and collected experience - POST OP. Prior to, I was anything but cool, calm and collected. Birth is a trip. It's a mental, physical and emotional journey that is personal to every person who experiences it first hand. I dealt with it on my terms this time and am absolutely grateful to the staff at the Civic Hospital, Dr. Garber and his team, Velia (that heated blanket you gave us in recovery is possibly the greatest invention ever) and the staff in the Mother Baby unit who took such stellar care of us. 

Friends and family - thank you for the support you've given us over the past several months. Thank you for allowing me to ignore you, to hermit and to have the experience I wanted to have. I put myself (and baby) first and highly recommend you do the same if you are on or planning to begin your own birth journey. 

A special shout out to Robin and Jacki from CHEZ for sending me Rory's playlist which you can see by CLICKING HERE.

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