New life!

This weekend was marvelous, and yes, mostly because this little picture was taken yesterday across the road from my house. Spring has seen fit to descend upon us early, and I am so grateful. This weekend's other delights just as splendid as the sunshine-- ice cream eaten outside, dinner at Dessert Trends Bistro, lots of time for knitting, getting chores done, Midsomer Murders on DVD, rainy Sundays, rainy Sunday scrabble (with the power out!), brunch with friends, an afternoon tea party (with jammy scones), lots of reading. Lots of book buying too-- we got the Free to Be... You and Me 35th Anniversary Edition (which came with a CD!) from Book City yesterday, ostensibly for the baby, but probably more for nostalgia (although the book is beautiful and looks totally up to date). Today's brunch was located conveniently across the street from This Ain't The Rosedale Library, and it just so happened I was in the market for The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery (upon the recommendation of Patricia Storms). Now I must go for a bubble bath, and read Lauren Groff's new collection of short stories, Delicate Edible Birds. I am hoping to stay up past 9pm most nights this week, so I do foresee a bit more posting. But then again, you never can tell.

50 Bonus Points

Scrabble in the park is the perfect activity for a sunny Saturday afternoon, but when sun suddenly turns into downpour, nothing could be more perfect than Scrabble indoors. In air conditioning, no less, at the wonderful home of the even more wonderful K, and this game was legend. I have never ever been more on fire, or, alternatively, I've never had such luck of letters, and my victory was certainly fixed when I used them all to spell out "neutrons".

New Word

Discovered last night during Scrabble, in my ten year-old dictionary: "Internaut: slang. One who uses the internet." Perhaps it still has to catch on... PS best word of the game was "Eunoia", many thanks to Christian Bok.

Magic Tricks

Summer has begun to work its magic. For example, on Friday I inadvertently had ice cream three times. Friends materialized in the evening, and fun was had. Saturday was even more miraculous-- tea and crumpets in the sunshine, with the paper. We had a picnic that afternoon, returning to our beloved Trinity Bellwoods park, and we welcomed an ant for the occasion, just so convention could be defied.

It was a splendid afternoon, the sunshine sure for the first time this year. Though of course we were sitting under a shady tree, feasting on good bread and cheese, and also blueberries (which were from far away, please don't tell Barbara Kingsolver). Enjoying the absolute heaven that is that park, and the privilege of such peace in a bustling city.

We partook in a game of Scrabble (our magnetic pocket set), and competition was intense. I am pretty bad at Scrabble, so I was quite pleased to accomplish highlights Bandit and Oasis, with a triple world score for each of them. Friends came in the evening, mix of new and old, but both much adored. Delicious barbeque miracles, and the fridge stocked with beer, and fine conversation (which, it was pointed out, did tend to be a bit too 1998-centric so we tried to curb that, but failed). It was the first night this year we were not driven inside by cold, and so we could stay out late on the deck, watching tricks performed by bats.

No no no

Highlights of this weekend included brunch with Erin and Ivor, diets managing not to start even tomorrow and not cleaning our house. This afternoon I played Scrabble in support of Frontier College with Stuart and Rebecca, and learned how much is too much sushi. Yes, two thirds of us are writers and though Rebecca did beat me, our game was won by the graphic designer with a Bachelor of Science, but ah well. The event put was put on by the Toronto JETAA (and my friend Natalie Bay) and it was tremendous fun. Fun continued into tonight, as we attended an Oscar Party at our friends' Katie and Alan's. It was a grand evening, although having seen only one film last year which was Alvin and the Chipmunks, I wasn't so interested in the show, and really just hijacked the whole event to (rather inappropriately) fulfill my lifelong desire to dress up like Amy Winehouse. Which was perfect because then I won the prize for most creative costume which was the book The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. But the very best part of this weekend was the sunshine, and the fact it felt like spring.

Piedust Memories

I've been too busy having fun lately to take pictures, and so I bring you one of my favourite shots from our trip to England in June.

This weekend has stretched long with the fun. Someone gave Stuart tickets to We Will Rock You for Thursday eve, and fun was had. Friday evening we met up with Natalie Bay for an authentic Japanese meal at Ematei, followed by authentic ice cream from Sicilian Sidewalk Cafe. Saturday evening was a housewarming at the gorgeous new abode of a certain Ms. Kim Dean (special guest appearence by E. Smith). And then today, a whole day with the future-Smiths. We went out for Chinese food, and then came back to ours for a game of Scrabble on the porch while the rain poured down. And I won! Word I longed to be a word was "piedust". Best actual word of the game was "zygote", and Carolyn and Steve didn't get too angry when Stuart and I cheated (I handed him a tile in the bowl of popcorn). They stayed over until the sun came out, and then dinner was tea and freshly baked scones and jam, which would have been perfect had I not added too much salt. Everyone was very understanding though, and copious dollops of jam rendered them absolutely edible.

Now reading The Raw Shark Texts. I think I will be up quite late tonight reading to get to the very end.

Tomorrow night we're going to see Crowded House!

What to know?

What to know? That my back aches from shelving all the books you brought back when you finished your paper on William Morris/ Charles Dickens/ Native Residential Schools/ Islam/ Urban Sprawl. That the Dog Accessory Store I pass every day has now gone out of business, which is proof to me that capitalism sometimes works. That the Bridesmaid Dress has been picked up from its second alterations and still doesn't fit, but will do almost comfortably (and has only set me back $270. Remind me to buy a dress off the rack next time. They always fit right away). That Mr. Warbucks is proof that the American system works, and the Bolsheviks don't want anybody to know that. That I am excited to read About Alice by Calvin Trillin when it comes out in December. I had my Scrabble Ass kicked Sunday night by Nina and Laryn, but then again I was reponsible for "rhubarb" (and I only had to cheat one tile to get it!). That it's going to take a miracle to get done all that needs doing in the next month, and I'll have to shake my hand once I've got through.

Summer