Yes, it’s time for the rest of the news from our trip. I’ve been struggling with this. Its hard for me to write this. We (and by that, I mean me, Jeff), had a bit of a scare while in Quebec City for Christmas. And, before your mind races to the many bad things that can happen as one is on the threshold of their 7th decade on this Earth (yes, that’s 7×10!), I’m fine; at least I’m fine now. I mean it was pretty scary and upsetting for me at the time.
We were in Quebec City Dec. 22-28th. We had forgotten what sub-zero weather feels like. I was colder than a witch’s brass bra!! Not only was it really cold, but there was a lot of ice with a frosting of snow covering the roads and sidewalks, making navigating by foot a perilous adventure. Any step could be the one that sends you into a gyrating comedy reel that leads to an unpleasant (and potentially dangerous) crash to the pavement.
Trying to take pictures with an iPhone while wearing big fat ski gloves is almost a comedy show on its own. In fact, even taking simple photos of buildings, churches, or the surrounding landscapes, was quite the challenge. So concerned was I about taking a header every time we went out, I was afraid to even try and capture any pictures of Péter enjoying being back in his element. Add to that, trying to get Péter to pose for a shot was nigh impossible. He’s not very big, and quite ‘slippery’ with his lacquer finish; doubly so in freezing temps!
If you’ve followed the blog during our summer in Europe in 2025, then you are familiar with Péter Perlan. I adopted him in Reykjavik, Iceland at the Perlan Museum. I found him outside the museum sitting on a rock like a lost kitten. For the rest of our trip, he was my constant ‘pocket’ companion (not to be confused with Ellen, who, while my constant companion for most of my life, hasn’t spent the majority of that time ‘in my pocket’ ever since I put her on my Amazon Prime account that’s hooked to my credit card!
I made it a point to take a picture of Péter everywhere we went so he could have his own record of his adventures. So, with that picture in mind, let me rewind to our last couple days in Quebec. I was very concerned about taking Péter out for pictures, since that meant I had to take off my gloves, take him out of his nice warm waist pack, and try to find some place for him in the picture, with my half-numb fingers trying to get him situated for the shot. Instead of keeping Péter in his waist pack, I had taken to just putting him in my pocket for easier access. The problem with that is the pockets were also used to many other items that were constantly being taken in and out. Without really thinking about it, I had raised his ‘risk of loss’ exponentially. The first couple of days had resulted in zero pictures of Péter. With only a couple of days left, I was determined to capture a great day of Péter enjoying his element, once again in the frozen Northland. Only, when I was getting layered-up for our trip outside, Péter was not in his usual wait pack condo. Hmmm, maybe he was in the pants I wore yesterday which resulted in zero pictures of Péter that day. I checked the pants; nothing. Coat pockets; nothing. Vest pockets; nothing. Backpack; nothing. Panic was starting to set in. I have a terrible habit of being easily distracted and not completing the task at hand. Had I put Péter down somewhere without thinking? Had I accidently ejected Péter from a pocket while out the day before when taking things in and out all day long?
I started a frantic search of all my pants, shirts, jackets, bags, pouches, everything! No Péter. OMG, I’d lost him!! I went back and searched everything a second time – still nothing. Had I, through my carelessness simply dropped Péter on the streets of Quebec!?
I could scarcely sleep that night. My mind raced, going over the day before and every time I could remember having Péter with me. Still, sadly, I could not remember parting with him, even for a minute.
Then another thought entered my mind. I know it had been quite a while since Péter had been featured in one of our blog posts. Was he feeling left out? Forgotten? Homesick after being back in such cold weather again? Could he have purposely ‘jumped-ship’!!?? Was he looking for a new home with someone who would spend more time with him; make him a part of their lives and adventures; a regular feature in their blog??? Oh, the pangs of guilt are sharp and cut deeply!
I even thought of enlisting the help of the much venerated RCMP! Get Dudley Do-Right on the case and maybe there was a chance! Then I thought, ‘maybe Péter had enlisted the services of Strait McCool’ (that’s him on the cover picture for this post), another member of the RCMP famous for his witness protection services. (Both Mounties are available on YouTube, by the way). Alas, it seems the RCMP are more of a Western/Central Canada bunch, and I was unable to enlist their help.
Sadly, we left Quebec for Montreal thinking Péter was no longer a part of our lives. I was, as you may have guessed, heartbroken. Ellen seemed to take it in stride, not so much heartbroken as bemused by the man she has been married to all these years; wondering how long now until he’s sitting full time in his rocker on the porch, not really aware of where he’s at, or who got him dressed this morning!
Our accommodations in Montreal included a washer/dryer in the unit; a real plus after having rotated my socks and underwear for the last week! I thought, what the heck, might as well wash everything and save us (Ellen) from having to do it all when we got back home. I was in the middle of my usual ‘check the pockets’ for random stuff like old Kleenex, bits of trash, wrappers, receipts, etc., then I felt something solid way down in the bottom of one of my pants pockets. Could just be the remnants of a Kleenex that had fossilized there after having been through a washing or two.
When I pulled it out, you can just imagine my joy to be staring at Péter Perlan. He was just sitting there in my palm smiling up at me as if to say, ‘Hey, its about time you took me out for some pictures, don’t you think??!!’ OMG! Péter was back!!! If he wasn’t a rock, I would have kissed him! We did, however, do a little dance around the apartment!
Needless to say, all’s well that ends well. Peter had his first photo shoot on the trip in Montreal the next day. I was so paranoid that I would lose him, I spent most of the day checking just to make sure he was still with me.
And that, as Paul Harvey used to say, is the rest of the story. We’re back home now, and Péter is enjoying the warm weather as much as we are. And, no, I’m not going to tell you how, but hot tubbing may be involved. Many times I’ve checked to make sure he’s here and doing just fine. He, too, is excited for our upcoming adventures in 2026, and I plan on making sure he gets plenty of screen time as we continue to explore new countries. So, stay tuned for the further adventures of Péter Perlan! Who knows, he may even get his own dedicated blog page showcasing his adventures!
