Prince Edward County Visit, Part I

The height of fall colours is always a splendid sight in Ontario. But there's also a time just beyond their peak, when most of the leaves have fallen but for a few glowing yellow ones. The crowds of day trippers are mostly gone and the melancholy of a leafless November has not quite settled in. It was during this in-between time that four of us gathered for a weekend at the lakeside cottage of a friend in Prince Edward County, a part of Ontario I hadn't visited in decades.

My number one bliss - a fireplace - was evident when we arrived late on Friday night. That made me so happy. To sit and watch the flames, to poke it a little, to marvel at it... to think of the effect fire must have had on our ancestors, and to wonder at what a gift it was: light, warmth, weapon, cooking means. I can sit and gaze into a fire for hours.

I'd like to use my fire-addled brain as an excuse for me losing at chess!

Giving Thanks

A couple of weekends ago it was Thanksgiving weekend in Canada. There was much to be grateful for.

On Saturday the sun was shining. As a volunteer, I was a guest at a volunteer-appreciation brunch... ahhhh, to be served a delicious meal not-too-early on a weekend morning was such a treat. The company was wonderful, and then it was on to...

The first meeting of the One-Off, Six-Meeting, Limited-Edition Jane Austen Book Club of Toronto! Then three of us waddled to dinner, in a late celebration of two of our birthdays. Lobster mac and cheese. Oh boy. Then we saw Captain Phillips... more on that later. What a day of pleasure.

So... Sunday morning I had planned another sort of day. My mother and I got together and, for both our homes, washed the windows, flipped mattresses, changed mattress covers, put away air conditioners and cleaned. And it was rainy... a perfect day to do it!

Monday dawned sunny, beautifully sunny, with amazing celestial light streaming in the just-cleaned windows. I revelled in my being at home, pottering, reading, until heading out for dinner with parents and friends, so no one had to cook or wash up. This year, I needed that. It felt good. I was just bursting with thankfulness... so very lucky.

Haliburton Days

The hols continued with three lovely days in Haliburton, on a motor-free lake just 10 minutes outside Huntsville. The days were cooler, but the swimming just as good as it had been in the depths of July. The company was... DA BEST.

Oh Canada!