Welcome to Second Ferment! Wine pairs well with life ... and food, travel, people, work and play. Grab a glass and join me as I explore the wine scene in Ottawa, Canada, and beyond. Love hearing from my readers, so please leave a comment. Cheers! - Bethany

Monday, July 12, 2010

Just stroll it, baby.

It's been a long time since I've donned my purple spandex t-shirt and my one pair of Lululemons, but today was the day I decided to GIV'R. I packed up the Smurf and headed for Strollercise.

Picture the bike path running along the canal. Now imagine it with a long convoy of strollers being jogged and walked along in all manner of weather. The moms travel in clusters of two or three, chatting away, exchanging notes on breastfeeding, babywearing and poop. They stretch and do yoga at the end, and then go for lattes with all their urban babies. That's Strollercise.

Strollercise was the best thing that happened to me when the Doodle was born. It got me out of the house when I was going stir-crazy from staring at the four walls of my self-imposed prison. It provided me with adult conversation, a luxury at the time. And it reassured me that no, I was not a mental case, I was a perfectly normal, sleep-deprived new mother. We all were.

That winter, I willingly trudged through -30 degree snowstorms to meet up with my "strollermoms" three times a week. When the weather turned balmy, we picnicked in the shade with our little ones. I lost weight, gained strength, and most importantly, connected with other like-minded and similarily frazzled women. The friends I made there have become a tight-knit sisterhood of fabulous women with whom I still get together (the lattes have since been traded in for pints of beer at the pub, martinis downtown, or wine on someone's deck.)

I can't tell you how good it felt to be back there again, moving again, my atrophied muscles waking up from their nine-month siesta. It was great to see Jules, to see new faces and new babies, to be a member of the "old guard" back for a return engagement.

***
Can't forget the wines from the weekend, definitely worth noting:

Tawse 2007 Carly's Block Estate Off-Dry Riesling - Petrol, but not unpleasant. More of a fragrant perfume than eau de gas station. Bright, clear pale gold colour, green apple and pineapple on the nose. That gassy whiff (doesn't THAT sound appetizing?) comes out on the palate, along with sour green apple and the wine's off-dry sweetness right at the end. Served with grilled salmon marinated in President's Choice Memories of Korean BBQ Sauce, and a side of mixed green veg.

Also made up a batch of white sangria for the World Cup finale: a bottle of Marques de Riscal Rueda mixed with equal parts white cranberry juice, poured over ice. Top it off with a splash of club soda and some slices of lime and lemon. Serve it up with tapas: grilled shrimp n' bacon skewers, hot chorizo, serrano ham, marinated olives, breads and cheeses.

1 comment:

  1. Bethany, I love your BLOG I love your writing and I love you! I am so glad to have you back yep you guessed it Love Jules

    ReplyDelete

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