Wishful Drinking

"If my life wasn't funny it would just be true, and that is unacceptable."
— Carrie Fisher

Just when I thought our theatre subscription had ended for this year, we received our tickets for Wishful Drinking, the Carrie Fisher one-woman production. So after dinner on an outdoor patio, Merv and I headed to the Royal Alex last night for a couple of hours of entertainment. Truth be told, Merv wasn't much in the mood to see the show and had more or less decided not to like it before we even got there. But Carrie Fisher is funny and he was somewhat amused in spite of himself.

This afternoon we will head to Havelock for a couple of days with Cath and Stan at the lake. The weather forecast is perfect - hot, sunny and dry. Jacob decided not to join us. Jono is spending the weekend at our place once again. I would guess there will be a party here tonight or tomorrow. I will make a trip to the grocery store and lay in a few supplies before we leave this afternoon, just in case the boys decide to entertain.

It occurred to me last night that we have reached the middle holiday weekend that marks the point when we move from early to late summer. That means Jacob will be back at school in less than six weeks. The time is evaporating. I think I'll double my efforts to spoil him a little more for the short weeks I still have him.

I'm Just Wild About Harry

"Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?" ~J.K. Rowling, "King's Cross," Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, 2007, spoken by the character Albus Dumbledore

I finally managed to make it to the last Harry Potter movie. It was simply fabulous. Suspenseful, exciting and true to the book, the movie held me in its grasp from start to finish. I even shed a few tears during the scene between Harry and his dead parents.

In a few months, no doubt in time for Christmas, I expect the full set of Harry Potter movies will be released in a single package. I know what I'll be asking Santa for this year.

The Livin' is Easy

Summertime,
And the livin' is easy
Fish are jumpin'
And the cotton is high

Your daddy's rich
And your mamma's good lookin'
So hush little baby
Don't you cry

- George Gershwin

I love the heat but even for me, it's been a bit too warm the last week. By last Thursday when the temperatures were topping 39 degrees, I had taken to moving only from my air conditioned house to my air conditioned car and to the air condition offices in which I had to go for meetings. I couldn't even bear to go to Brian and Ger's house for a swim. It would have felt too much like simmering in a slow cooker. I don't know how people without air conditioned homes were coping.

Jacob and Jono decided to spend the weekend in Guelph and I offered to drive them so they could avoid the pain of taking the bus and then having to haul their luggage on the city bus system to reach Jacob's house. What I expected to be a short venture - an hour to drive them and an hour to return, turned into an all day event when a kilometre from reaching Jacob's house he realized he didn't have his key. We had a lot of hours to kill before one of his roommates arrived. We made the best of the afternoon whiling away some time at the pub and then doing some shopping. It wasn't the day I planned but at least I had some unexpected time with my boys. Merv was in Chicago for a couple of days and I had planned a couple of stolen hours to see the new Harry Potter movie and an evening swim. It was eight o'clock by the time I got home. I settled for a night of tea and television.

I passed Saturday quietly. Merv came home from Chicago, tired and in need of some R and R. Jacob and Jono were unable to arrange a ride home from Guelph so Sunday morning I drove down and picked them up. By the time I returned to Toronto and then drove to and from my Mom's, I felt like I had been in my car all weekend. Thank God for air conditioning.

Tonight I'll head down to Princess Margaret for my annual MRI. I was going to see Harry Potter this afternoon but my friend Maurice asked me to wait to go with him tomorrow. We agreed to pass on the 3D format. I don't feel the need to be that close and personal with Voldemort.

Birthday Brian

"The years between fifty and seventy are the hardest. You are always being asked to do things, and yet you are not decrepit enough to turn them down."
- T. S. Eliot

Our dear friend Brian turned sixty-five yesterday. After a lot of discussion about how his special day would be celebrated, Geraldine and I decided to throw a small, casual dinner party at their home. We planned a buffet meal that could be eaten wherever the 22 guests chose, at a poolside table or in the house. We laid out a few appetizers - a couple of cheese plates, a veggie platter and an antipasto platter and then served a simple dinner of maple glazed salmon, peppered beef tenderloin, caprese salad, green salad and rosemary roasted potatoes. For dessert there was birthday cake, a fruit platter and cookies. Everything was yummy.

A couple of Ger's sisters were there including Beverly. Though I have exchanged several e-mails with her and we are Facebook friends, it was the first time I've met Beverly. She is in the middle of chemo, a bit frail and in a considerable measure of pain. But she is lovely, wearing my old wig far better than I ever looked in it. A few of Brian's and Ger's oldest friends were there - some I recognized from his sixtieth birthday party but none that recognized me. When Brian turned sixty I didn't have a hair on my head and had long given up wearing my wig in the face of a scorching summer. There were few people who met me in those days who could see much more than the shine of my head. I didn't bother to remind anyone of our first meeting.

The night air was very warm and I had hoped to swim after all the other guests had gone. But the mosquitoes were biting and I was tired after a long day of shopping and cooking so I passed on a late night dip. It is a gorgeous day today. The sun is shining and the air is not so heavy as yesterday. I think the pool is beckoning me for an afternoon splash.

Emma

“Babies are such a nice way to start people” - Don Herold

I took a couple of hours out of my afternoon yesterday to treat myself to a little time with Geraldine's granddaughter, Emma. She is almost six months old now, a gorgeous baby with a sunny disposition. I've seen Emma cry only a couple of times and never for longer than a few moments. She has a smile that lights up the world. Her mom, Courtney, fed her just after I arrived yesterday and within a few moments she was fast asleep. That's when it got really good for me. Courtney handed her over.

There is nothing quite like the feeling of a baby sleeping in your arms. Some of my very favorite moments when Jacob was small, were when he was sleeping in my arms or better still, on my chest. Those moments made my heart feel full to point I thought it would burst. I spent a delicious hour with Emma yesterday, sound asleep in my arms. When she woke she was wide-eyed and smiling.

I love babies.

A Saturday Morning Gift

"Weekends don't count unless you spend them doing something completely pointless." ~Bill Watterson

It is Saturday morning, clear, warm and sunny. Merv is out golfing. Jacob and Jonathan have just left for their first day of driving classes. Still in my bathrobe, I'm savoring a cup of coffee, about to move to the deck to enjoy a second cup in the warmth of the morning sun.

On any other beautiful Saturday morning I would have enjoyed my first cup there. I would have sat in the quiet doing my crossword puzzles and enjoying the subtle scent of the roses wafting in the gentle breeze. But not this morning. The boys were upstairs in full chatter. If I sat outside, I would have missed the music of their banter. So instead I sat downstairs, not listening to their words, but to the rhythm of their interaction. The house felt full and alive - a gift on this Saturday morning.

My schedule is clear. Dora will be spending the day with me while Ger and Brian attend a wedding. I think we'll take a nice long walk and enjoy the quiet of the day before the boys return from class and fill the quiet with the joy of their chatter once again.

The Lazy Days of Summer

"Summer is the time when one sheds one's tensions with one's clothes, and the right kind of day is jeweled balm for the battered spirit. A few of those days and you can become drunk with the belief that all's right with the world." ~ Ada Louise Huxtable

I can hardly believe it is Friday night and almost a whole week has passed since my birthday. It has been a busy week with client work and work for my boards but no matter how much is on my plate, I don't feel stressed in these lazy days of summer. There is something about taking my computer out to the deck and working in the warm breeze that makes it impossible for me to fret. I'm definitely a summer baby.

Last night I enjoyed a leisurely dinner in Yorkville with my friend Nancy. Time alone with Nancy is a luxury we rarely have. We had a delicious meal and a long chat. It was a really good night. Around eleven o'clock, Sara called on my cell phone to see if she could drop over to show me her new dress so I could give her my stamp of approval. Of course, she is a beautiful girl and she would look great wearing a potato sack. She was especially lovely in her yellow silk dress. When she left around midnight, I tumbled into bed and slept like a stone.

Today has been a quiet day. Other than being home to let in the window cleaners I had no plans. My sister Nancy was in the neighbourhood to attend a funeral this morning so she stopped by. We sat on the deck for a few hours enjoying the warm sun and the splendor of the ravine. When she left I went to the grocery store. Jonathan is staying with us this weekend. He and Jacob are starting their driving classes tomorrow so I want to be sure they are well fed tonight.

This will only be the third or fourth time I've seen Jono since he got home from school in April. I've missed him so much. I plan to cater to his every desire this weekend in the hopes that he'll find a little extra time to spend with us before September pulls my boys away from me again.

Birthday Magic

“It takes a long time to grow young." - Pablo Picasso

I am back at home, having spent the weekend at Cath and Stan's lake house celebrating my 56th birthday. It was a wonderful celebration. The weather was perfect. I was surrounded by people I love. The gifts were generous. The food delicious.

Before all the rest of our company arrived yesterday, Jacob, Merv and Stan went golfing and Cath and I managed to grab a couple of hours of lounge time on the deck. Storms were predicted for late in the afternoon but did not materialize. It was the first time this season that I've been able to enjoy the feel of the sun on my skin. We were outdoors a lot in the U.K., but there was no blazing sun in that time to slake my thirst for warm rays after a frigid winter and a wet spring. Those two hours made me feel renewed.

After I headed to the shower and dressed to welcome the rest of the gang, I had a hard look in the mirror. I decided things aren't actually so bad. I don't look a day over 55 - well maybe just one.

The best part of my birthday, though, was just having time to sit back and enjoy the company of friends and family. We sat at the lakeside bar, took a cruise on the pontoon boat, talked and laughed. After an excellent beef tenderloin dinner, capped with lemon cupcakes, we enjoyed a fireworks display on the water right across from the lake house, courtesy of the Belmont Lake Residents' Association. Apart from mosquitoes the size of sparrows, it was perfect.

So here I am. Fifty-six. Content. And so very grateful for a chance to celebrate another birthday.

O Canada

“We wish nothing more, but we will accept nothing less. Masters in our own house we must be, but our house is the whole of Canada.”
- Pierre Elliott Trudeau

It is a glorious Canada Day. The sun is shining on the trees outside my window. The morning air is warm. I love this time of year. In a little while I will get dressed. For the first time in twenty years, I don't have a new shirt to wear for Canada Day. In years past, our household has been garbed in new Canada shirts every July 1. I didn't get around to buying them this year. I will, instead, retrieve an old one from my wardrobe. No problem. I have a lot to choose from.

This afternoon Merv, Jacob and I will head to Belmont Lake to spend the weekend with Cath and Stan. Nan, Brian and Geraldine and Marg and Bob will join us tomorrow. Like last year, I will celebrate my birthday at the lake. Tomorrow will mark the second anniversary of this blog. I still enjoy writing it. I hope you still enjoy reading it. When we were in the U.K. for what seemed like a very long time away from my family and friends, I felt like writing my blog was a way of connecting to home every day. I liked that I received notes from people to tell me they were following my travels. While I love to explore the world, home is still where my heart is. This blog has been a good vehicle for me to stay connected to home.

Today I am reflecting on my profound gratitude for being a citizen of this nation. I have seen many beautiful places but none I would rather call home than Canada. I know with certainty that no matter where I travel in this fascinating world, the music of Canada will always call me home.