Not a bad way to begin!!

Thanks, John and Joelle...we had a beautiful time!

Gearing up for a roadtrip!

Tomorrow we leave for an extended road trip, which will take us around the great lakes, through hubby's home town where we will also check in on Master Jack and Miss Abby; then a quick visit with my cousin, and a look at my home town. We'll go to the cemetery, and then boot it to my parent's place to celebrate their 50th. I started to tell you all about that, but they read this blog, and that would just spoil the surprise. After that, we are going south to see some favorite kids (and their parents), and then we are going to drive around some parks. We expect to see some cowboy country, and some badlands country, maybe a few animals along the way, and stay in some bed and breakfasts. It's been a while since we had a long holiday, and we are both in the mood to head out!

Yesterday we washed the cat. She is all cuddly and mushy today, having quickly forgiven me (whew). I'm just curious if she'll be as forgiving in a month. We haven't told her yet that she has to spend it with a DOG.

An iconic moment

After our huttopia adventures, we spent the weekend at the Montreal Jazz Festival. We saw two concerts.

Eliane Elias was okay. I found her constant flipping-of-the-hair thing, to be a distraction. But in her defense, she is a beautiful Latino woman who clearly loves great clothes and great shoes and has the rhythm to make it all work for her. So if she wants to flip her sexy long blonde locks every other minute, she has the right to do it. My husband and my friend loved it. Maybe I was just jealous--she looked great. And she is a terrific jazz pianist. Her singing didn't move me, but then it didn't have to. It was wonderful to hang out and just listen for awhile.

Dave Brubeck was a whole other story. This was the first time in my life that I watched an artist get a standing ovation just for coming on the stage, and I really appreciated that. I found out afterwards that he had been quite ill, so dragging his 88 year old bones on stage really was an accomplishment. But that wasn't why he was applauded with such fervor. He is really talented, and I have to say that I loved every minute of the concert. If his name doesn't seem familiar, take a listen to this...and you will realize that you knew him all along.

The absolute highlight for me however, was something that sounded a lot like this. It isn't just that I enjoy the song, but I loved how this guy interpreted it, and just what he made his instrument do. It was 'wow' terrific, and as a sometime-flautist myself, I could appreciate his tone, technique and talent.

I'm going to be listening to a lot more Dave Brubeck and Bobby Militello after this!

It rained. And rained. And when it was done raining, it rained.

Last week was our annual camping trip with Dave. This year, we all admitted we were getting older (and yet no one said a word). We decided not to sleep on the ground. Under the auspices of 'trying out a tent trailer', and failing--we then turned to huttopia camping.

I have to say, this was really great. Even though it rained.

It's been my experience this week that few people know what a huttopia is. Think cabin, made of canvas. All the camping stuff that we normally lug around was already there--with the exception of food and sleeping bags. It had a stove, and a fridge, and electricity. I especially enjoyed the sleeping area, divided by black canvas into two bedrooms. The black part is important for it allowed us all to catch a regular 8 hours rather than waking up with the birds at 4 a.m. Okay, I'm lying a little. The birds still sang, rather it rained or not. I love that, and I hate that at the same time. But at least if the room is dark, it's a lot easier to pretend that it isn't 4 in the morning.

That darned rain though was problematic. First, it invited all the bugs to come to the trio buffet. In fact, if I had to assign one phrase to the week, it was this..."it doesn't itch. It really doesn't itch. HONEST, IT DOESN'T ITCH!!!"

Second, the rain was a direct cause of a three hour detour. The day started out innocently enough--I chose a new hiking trail, but we had to drive to get there. It promised a lovely walk, close to nature (translate that to mean bugs), where the birds were (bugs), etc. etc. We had to take a secondary road, that barely existed thanks to the rain, to get there. And since, upon arriving, we realized that it may have been simpler to just come in the other way, we decided to go back to our huttopia haven that direction instead. BAD IDEA. You see, an hour or so into the drive, the road was washed out. Gone, completely impassable. You'd think that it wouldn't be so difficult to put up a sign oh...anywhere before we got to the 'thou shalt return' point. So we had to drive back the hour, take a detour for an hour, and then drive the original hour back to camp. Boy, was I popular. I wasn't going to choose the hike again!

Third, the rain really interfered with such traditions as roasting marshmallows and cooking sausages and singing campfire songs and such. You need to be able to keep the fire going to really make those things fun. And...well, there was our huttopia just waiting nice and dry, so in fact, we had one fire, upon which we dutifully grilled (er, braised) steaks. That was that!

Still, it was a great week. We went to the mineral spas twice. We were treated to the requisite amount of creature sightings (deer, birds, chipmunks and squirrels, and a fox). We played numerous games of kuuduk and cribbage. I got to ride a motorcycle, which was way cool. We went in the paddle boats, and we watched a loon go fishing. Pictures to come later!

We tried something new, and it was a grand success. Except that it was monsoon season.

More on our weekend

We're back at home now, but the weekend was grand.  Some things I forgot to mention while the kids were pushing me away....

• It wasn't a parliament of owls, a gaggle of geese or a murder of crows--but there sure were a lot of wild turkeys on the road.  
• On the way out, it was foggy as could be.  I wish we could have stopped by the river, just outside of town (but there are signs everywhere saying that you can't).  There is an ice-fishing village of perhaps a hundred little huts, some of them brightly coloured, which peeked out ever so gently through the mist.  It is an image that will stick with me.
• We couldn't go to the spa on Saturday because there was a waiting list.  Let me say that I was very surprised by that.  I thought it would just be us going to hang out in the cold winter air.  Apparently, it's busier in winter than in summer.  I decided that we would return on Sunday morning, right at the start of their day.  It was still busy, but in spite of that, it was a perfect afternoon.  I read a whole entire book, and I had two cycles in the Finnish sauna followed by the ice cold waterfall.  We found spaces in the zero gravity room right by the window, where we could look out on trees, snow and the occasional deer.  We both took a nap in those chairs.  We also spent time in two different whirlpools, and a relaxing room that looked out on the deer feeder.   It was perfect.
• The only problem was that we had to drive home afterwards.  I was so ready to sleep for hours.  When we got back, I actually fell asleep before 9, and only woke up once until 7.  Since the car accident in December, this is the first time that I had that kind of rest.  
• My birthday dinner was so much fun!  We went to the La Savoy restaurant in the Village. While I think the restaurant is a wee bit overpriced, so is every other restaurant in the Village.  Every other aspect of the place was grand.  It's tiny and homey, with hand painted wooden dividers that sit on the tables, effectively changing them from seating two to four or six or eight.  The wait staff offer great suggestions, and are charming and fun to be around.  At this restaurant you can have fondue, raclette or pierrades.  While I love the raclette cheese it is so very rich that we only have the appetizer portion.  The cheese is melted over potatoes, and bits of dark smoked meat.   However, if you were to have raclette as the meal, it would look like this.  It's fun to watch people scrape the cheese to their plate.  And it smells so good.  The people who are cooking on the pierrade, a grill stone placed over a heating element, are also filling the air with succulent scents.  But in our case, we went for fondue.  At home, we have fondue with broth, and we like it very much.  So much in fact that we fondue a dozen times during the year.  Here, we had an oil fondue.  We fondued big chunks of chicken that we dipped into cream, and then into breadcrumbs.  The best chicken ever!  We also had steak cubes to fondue, and the sides were green salad (as much as we wanted), potatoes, rice pilaf, bread (no shortage of carbs here!), then three old dipping sauces and two hot ones.  In addition, they serve a little kir cocktail as their welcome, and offer a very nice selection of wines.  We had a big Bordeaux that worked brilliantly with the cheese and the chicken.  It's the type of meal that makes you linger for a long time, and just enjoy the company that you're keeping.  And MY company...was also perfect. 

Well that's it.  I'm older, not necessarily wiser, and grateful for all my blessings....which include my friends.  Thanks for stopping by! 

Happy Birthday to Me

I love birthdays, especially my own. I think it is because I have been blessed with more than certain people thought I deserved. My favorite things are when I hear a shy voice sing happy birthday to me, and just the chance to celebrate life in general. It's so great!

Today, we are spending my birthday here; we are about half an hour away from heading over there. I'm so excited, because the whole day will be spent being warm, getting cold, resting, reading, and doing it all over again. This particular place is quiet and comfortable, and there are some gravity defying chairs that are perfect for settling down with my book. Surprising to me is that I actually remembered to bring them along!

We are also staying at the ski hill at Tremblant. Yesterday, my actual birthday, treated us to a flash freeze, and I am grateful that we made it here before that hit (though we only had about fifteen minutes to spare). The wind came up and things swirled all around. It was a little frightening. Our hotel room was upgraded to a suite, which of course is hard to handle. It has a king size bed, a fireplace, two tvs and a perfect bathroom (meaning of course that the shower functions beautifully and the tub is nice and deep). So, life is good all around!

Unfortunately, there are a couple of kids who want the computer, and they are stepping closer and closer until I am ready to move on. That`s about to happen. Besides that, a cappucino just got delivered, so I`m going to go sit by the window and look out on the lake.

Yup, my life is so very very rough!

A Day or Two in Toronto

I came to Toronto by train--a mode of travel I particularly like for that trip.  It gives me a chance to read quietly, gin and tonic close at hand.  Very often I don't have a seat-mate, and that is my favorite time.  It isn't that I'm anti-social, it's that I like the space.  It's much easier to avoid spilling my drink if it's sitting on the table next to me rather than the scrunchy one in front of me. 

I also love the whistle.  Every time I hear it I am transported back through time to the days when we lived close to the tracks.  The train came through my little town--fittingly named after a senior engineer for the trains--and the tracks were basically across a farmer's field.  That melancholy minor chord was a part of our nightly existence.  

The best time was when the circus came through because the train cars were brightly painted.  I remember that Dad would wake us up to take us closer to the tracks.  We would hike across the farmer's field, and feel the air rush by as the train did.  I marveled at the painted cars and always hoped that the clown or the ring master would be waving at us from the caboose.  

In the future, the train will also make me think of my parents.  They came to visit us this past December, and travelled by train.  As I listened to the snippets of conversation, I realized that Dad would be the one who at some point, would speak to every other person in that car.  The atmosphere on the train is often far more congenial than that on a plane.  

I was in Toronto for a course, which when it began, seemed a total waste of time.  I did learn what I needed to however, for the afternoon went much better.  After that, my favorite part of the day began.  I met with my friend Joelle for a delightful dinner.  She is one of the true gems on this planet; she is thoughtful and refined, gracious and witty, and the most faithful of friends.  It has been a while since it was just the two of us, and while our husbands are always welcome and encouraged to come, I have to admit that it was a treat indeed. 

Afterwords we went to see her son, who shares so many of his mother's traits.  I really like him. He is a musician and a song-writer, deep in his thinking but quick with his teasing, and he knows how to make a mean latte.  The milk was perfect!  

The next day I was hoping to meet another friend but that didn't work out. Instead, I pretended it was already my birthday, and I went shopping at the Eaton Centre.  I wandered in the city-under-the-city for hours.   I didn't find any clothes but I did enjoy my annual complientary-for-your-birthday hand massage at Aveda, and picked up some skin care stuff at Origins.  I was really looking for a binder-portfolio that wasn't black, and while I saw many that were, the fact that I seem to mistake them for my laptop computer is something I can no longer ignore.  

The rail-ride home was uneventful but quite crowded.  And thankfully, there were taxis waiting at the station...a welcome sight since the recent transit strike has kept them very busy.   My cat greeted me as though she was sure I'd left her forever...it's good to be back.