Author: thestampsinmypassport

A professional serving the travel industry for 25 years. Expertise and knowledge in sales, customer care and knowledge of the world. Sharing my knowledge, travel stories and tales from around the world in an engaging way.

What is your life’s narrative?

On By thestampsinmypassportIn Uncategorized7 Comments

Life is amazing. And then it’s awful. And then it’s amazing again. And in between it is ordinary and mundane and routine. Breathe in the amazing, hold on through the awful, and relax and exhale during the ordinary. That’s just living heartbreaking, soul-healing, amazing, awful, ordinary life. It is breathtakingly beautiful. – L.R Knost

Today started off ordinary and mundane. I had to go to get paint for the contractors to come and paint where the plumbing repairs happened and on the way home I stopped at What a Bagel for an onion bun. Ahead of me walking into the store was a woman who in ten minutes changed the narrative in my life story this week.

I saw her pick up some of the sugar free danish and cookies and then while I was deciding what to buy she asked me, “do you know what those are on top”. She was hoping they would be banana but I told her that it was pound cake. I was showing her all the different kinds of bakery items and she said to me, “I have to stay off processed sugar for the length of my treatment.” I asked how long that would be, she said a year October.

For the next 15 minutes I stood with her in the store, listening to her closely and in awe of her. I asked her about her artwork and if it was washable or permanent. She said her sons helped with this design and that it washes off. That she has done it multiple times.

That last fall she had a gall bladder attack, and when the doctors were taking care of that, they found she had cancer. This was three weeks away from her completion treatment of Tamoxifen. If you are familiar with that drug you know it is for breast cancer. Five years for that is the end of treatment. She was three weeks away when she received this diagnosis.

The amazing part of this conversation was that we were talking about the obvious without ever uttering the word. I asked her if she had seen Come From Away, which she had. One of the many things I LOVE about that show is the fact that the actual event was never mentioned, but of course the support role that sits just off stage the whole performance.

Her name is Lezli. She is changing the narrative on her story. She is wonderful, and hopeful and open. She told me that when she walks around with her bald head people turn away, put their heads down, do not engage. She spent three hours in Bayview Village recently with people stopping to talk to her and wanting to take a selfie.

She told me about her instrgram account – @Cancer_scapart and I took out my phone to follow her right away.

I shared some personal details about my life and then thanked her. Thanked her for helping me change the narrative of my story today. What I didn’t share at the start of this story was there were two women outside the store and when Lezli walked in they said, “Wow, her head is so beautiful”. When I shared this with her she teared up. She asked if she could hug me.

We paid for our purchases and then walked out and said goodbye. What a chance encounter I had today. She helped me and I am sure I helped her as well.

I will think about this for quite a while.

Find the good in the narrative of your life. You will be so glad you did. I am.

Summerlicious 2019 – Auberge Du Pommier

On By thestampsinmypassportIn Uncategorized1 Comment

Twice a year the city of Toronto offers almost 200 restaurant options in the city for 3 course fixed priced menus for lunch and dinner. It is a great time to experience new restaurants you have wanted to try. It is also a great time for restaurants that you may have only been to for a special occasion as it is a high end experience. Such is the case with the restaurant experience the ladies who brunch had at Auberge du Pommier.

Auberge is owned by O&B Hospitality Group which is Peter Oliver and Michael Bonacini. It is a privately owned company that is one of the largest restaurant and event space groups in Canada. As quoted on their website about their food – ” As devout foodies, we purchase only the best ingredients from suppliers who share our commitment to quality. Our common, unwavering love of food can be tasted in every dish we serve.” This is 100% true of the food experience we had this week. O&B have 13 restaurants that are participating in Summerlicious 2019.

If you have ever been to Auberge Du Pommier you know that your experience starts as you walk up to the front door. You feel like you are walking into a cottage in the French countryside, not just off the business and crazy of Yonge Street Toronto traffic.

Foodies, but not limited to, like to go on line and review menu options so that there is an idea of what your choices are before you get to the restaurant for ordering excitement. We all did that ahead of time.

We had the discussion of ordering different items so that we could all sample the food. It worked out well. Lots of wonderful tasting options in a cucumber gazpacho, and anise-cured salmon and a beautiful salad with mixed greens, crisp bright green haricots vert, sliced radish, dried cranberries and almond crumb. The highlight of this simple yet elegant salad was the dressing, a champagne mustard vinaigrette.

Our main courses were equally as beautiful on the plate as they were to taste.

Gnocchi – sweet peas, asparagus, Parmigiano-Reggiano, lemon thyme cream.

Thon Nicoise – albacore tuna, black olive tapenade, new potato, anchovy, green beans and cherry tomatoes

Boeuf – flat iron steak, charred broccolini, crispy shallots, pomme puree, sauce au poivre (side note, the crispy shallots were out of this world, would have been happy with a bowl of them on the side).

For dessert two of the ladies had Clafoutis – wild blueberry, lemon Chantily, almond crisp and the other two had Tarte au Chocolat – graham cracker crumble, cocoa nib tuile, creme fraiche ice cream .

In the photo you will see a cup of coffee. All of us agreed it was the best cup of coffee we had tasted. We were so impressed we asked our server what kind of coffee it was. She said it was Canterberry.

As I said at the top of this post, it was a wonderful experience from start to finish. Not only do I recommend that you have an Auberge du Pommier experience, but I also recommend you get out in the city and try to have a summerlicious experience. It is running until July 21st, and it is not too late to get into some great restaurants in the city.

Bien manger mes amis – Good eating my friends!

“We aim to leave lasting, positive impressions on each and every guest through our intelligent, enthusiastic and emotional service. ” – Peter Oliver and Michael Bonacini

Here comes the sun – It’s all right.

On By thestampsinmypassportIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

If you have been following my blog recently you have noticed a lot of food posts. I actually enjoy writing them and not sure why I hadn’t started this earlier, I have been taking pictures of food for a long time (and I am sure driving my friends crazy along the way). I will be writing more about the things I am passionate about, so stay tuned for great stories around my photos (and food).

I try to live my life authentically and the real truth is I have been looking for new stories to share with y’all to avoid talking about the event that is now very fast approaching, the one year anniversary of Heath’s passing. There, wrote it, ripped off the band aid.

My niece has been taking guitar lessons for several months now. Going to their house and hear her picking and strumming is something I have really come to enjoy. One visit I was in the kitchen and she was in the dining room practicing. All of a sudden I hear the opening chords to Here Comes the Sun by the Beatles. I instantly took a breath and was affected by this. I always called Heath, sunshine, because he always looked at the glass is half full and that each day is an opportunity to be a great day.

I am a believer in signs and have had many over the past 12 months. Whenever I hear this song, I pause and smile.

Today I feel like the “long cold lonely winter” has been the past year of grieving. Many people shared with me that it does take a full year to go through ‘it’. I can still remember one of my co-workers at WE telling me that first week, “the only way to get through it, is to go through it”. It is true. It is lonely, it is painful, it is not linear. Those 5 steps – denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance. Someone I know just lost someone very close to her and she shared these words yesterday – The irony of grief is that the person you need to talk to about how you feel is the person who is no longer here. That it is what it is.

Here comes the sun
Here comes the sun, and I say
It’s all right.

Little darling, it’s been a long cold lonely winter
Little darling, it feels like years since it’s been here.

Here comes the sun (doo doo doo)
Here comes the sun, and I say
It’s all right.

Little darling, the smiles returning to the faces
Little darling, it seems like years since it’s been here.

Here comes the sun
Here comes the sun, and I say
It’s all right.

Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Little darling, I feel that ice is slowly melting
Little darling, it seems like years since it’s been clear
Here comes the sun
Here comes the sun, and I say
It’s all right

Here comes the sun.
It’s all right

Thinking of everyone that is going on their own journey and where you may be on it.

Live your best life,

Lisa

#HeathLessons