Guys Weekend

The hockey guys and some cousins came north to help work on the cottage

But a power outage from Friday night to Saturday afternoon put a damper on productivity.  Rob did manage to retrieve his dad's generator. Hooray - the guys were able to have their morning coffee! (That's the generator at the bottom right in front of the car) 

They did find time to eat

 

Oh look - new insulation!

And some freshly chopped firewood

And time to enjoy the beautiful piece of heaven that is our

home-away-from-home.

Thanks guys.  Come back soon.

Goodbye CC

Home from the cottage - quiet ride, just Ev and Leah. Both listening to their respective iPods. We needed a break from our raucous GLEE singalongs that entertain us on our trips north.

A melancholy trip for me. Halfway home I hear Ev mumble "...do that for your birthday..." I perk up. Until I hear "paintball". "Paintball, Paris - yeah, that's close" I grumble to myself.  Silence. Tears stream down my cheeks. I am making too much of this supposed crossroads of my life. Turn on the radio. Get the kids to sing along to some rock and roll oldies with me. Finally home.

My car is not in the garage, meaning Carson is not home. But she has left us a gift - the main floor is immaculate (a relative word in our house). So nice to come home to. Everything is unpacked, we have a glass of milk then head upstairs to get ready for bed. Leah will sleep with me tonight. We brush our teeth together, wash our faces and duly moisturize. I am still in a funk. Leah snuggles close as I turn on the iPad and check my work emails.

A one word subject line takes my breath away.

Catherine.

She's gone. Passed away this morning. The most maddening friend and colleague I have ever had. One of those intelligent, creative, dramatic, larger-than-life personalities to ever walk the earth. She was diagnosed with cancer in October. There were so many complications and set-backs from day one. We sent food and gifts and corresponded by email. She asked for and was given privacy, but her closest friends kept her in her beloved limelight through a blog ( http://www.ciavarella-update.blogspot.com/ ).

As Leah squeezed my hand, I looked at CC's picture and her year of birth - 1964. Catherine loved celebrating her birthday - we would get 6 month reminders, then her wish list would be posted 3 months before the big day. I used to keep these lists - she was a very funny person and I would enjoy rereading these lists every few months. No more birthdays for Catherine.

Catherine loved parties. She threw one for me the first time I left our branch. A memorable evening at a martini bar, and a comical end as we headed home, wandering down Yonge Street trying to stop Catherine from drinking and dialling all her favourite colleagues. One my favourite pictures is from that evening:

I don't have an eloquent or profound way of tying together Catherine's death at 46 and my imminent, where-do-I-go-from-here 50th (although "Suck it up Buttercup" is ringing in my ears). Catherine lived a very full life, in fact for the past 8 years since I had known her, her downtown condo, trips to Europe, weekends biking and visiting friends was a lifestyle I dreamed would be mine some day.

But I know that Catherine envied my full life, full house and beautiful daughters. There were a few months before she turned 40, when she kept joking "oh my god, I'm going to be 40 and I forgot to have kids!"

As I am writing this, my eldest kid texts me "Love you" in response to my note to her about Catherine. My youngest cries with me as we look at CC's blog.

Goodbye CC. You brought me joy and you caused me pain. You weren't always true to yourself, but you always knew what you wanted. I will never forget you.

A Hard Day's Night

A full day yesterday packed with friendship, beautiful sights, sounds and adventures.

A different start to the day when my friend Paula offered to drive me to the train station.  We rarely see each other during the week as she works in Hamilton and I head in the other direction every morning.  Today she was scheduled to attend a training session in Toronto, so I had a train buddy and enjoyed a lively conversation on our way into the city.  Thankfully Paula is a patient and easy-going friend - in my haste to get out the door earlier than usual, I forgot to put in my contacts.  Only when we pulled onto the major road on the way to the train station, did I notice that my world was a little blurrier than usual.  (Blurrier - is that a real word?) "Ack Paula, you have to take me home. I can't see!" Lots of laughs as we raced back to the house. 

Once into the city, we parted with a hug on Front Street.  I walked up to work, cutting through the parking lot of the Royal York, through the serene courtyard of the TD Bank complex and through Nathan Philip Square.  Another pleasant surprise as the farmer's market was open. 

I didn't buy any radishes or onions, but did purchase my first pint of Ontario strawberries, and a loaf of multi-grain raisin bread.  That made for a decadent breakfast at my desk.

A busy morning - a project that had been in the works since March was finally going live.  Lots of calls between colleagues and clients.  I don't get out for lunch every day, but lately it has been so cold in my office, I need to get outside in the sun to warm up.  I walked back to the farmer's market and then popped into the Apple Store at the Eaton Centre.  Rob brought an iPad home from his last business trip to the States, but we hadn't been able to buy any accessories until it was released in Canada last week.  The store was packed as usual.  I found a sales person and asked him to direct me to the iPad accessory section. His response: "See that empty wall there...?"

Back to the office, still waiting for the official launch.  Lots to do in the mean time. The afternoon went by quickly.  A colleague had invited me to join her at a Toronto FC game that evening. Before I was to meet her for dinner on Front Street, I popped over to the Keg Mansion on Jarvis to attend a retirement party.  It was great catching up with colleagues that I had worked with a few years ago. 

Did I mention that the rain forecast for the afternoon did materialize?  I took a cab to the retirement party - traffic was crazy, the streets were jammed.  Another cab to meet Julie on Front Street.  Rain continued to pour down.  We had had beautiful sunny weather for almost 10 days.  Now on the evening I needed to run around the city and then sit down in an open stadium to watch a soccer game, the rain gods descend. 

Julie and I enjoyed our beer and food in a covered patio, watching the rain stop and start. We knew that we were going to have fun no matter what the weather. Our meal finished, we ventured out to join the crowds making their way to the stadium. 

Once there, it was my treat for the beers - Julie warned me about the exorbitant prices - we had a choice of small, medium and large plastic cups of Carlsburg beer or Carlsburg beer. 

"Two medium please."

"Twenty bucks please."

Life in the big city...

Up to our seats.  Wet seats. Julie had a makeshift rain poncho made from a garbage bag that she found at the office.

It worked.

The sky had begun to darken, we weren't sure how much was nightfall, and how much of the sky was rain clouds.

The CN Tower faded away quickly

The rain continued.  We sat back and enjoyed the sights and sounds. 

I haven't been that soaked in a long time. And I couldn't stop smiling. Game over, 0-0 (I think there were only 3 shots on goal all night), we made our way back to the streetcar. At Union Station, I bid a quick goodbye to Julie and raced to the train platform.  Thankfully the train was delayed - I would have missed it by 1 minute which would mean waiting for the next one to arrive in an hour.  Five minutes from home, I called Rob who stumbled out of bed to pick me up at the train station. 

Sixteen hours after leaving home, I returned drenched, but invigorated. 

I am blessed with a full life.  Long may it run.

Biking at the Beach

I spent a fun weekend at home with Ev. The highlight, followed closely by hanging out laundry on Saturday morning and cleaning out the freezer on Sunday morning, was a bike ride along the Burlington beach with Ev on Sunday afternoon.

We weren't back at Lake Erie - though the water was just as cold

There were cute beach houses along the shore

We toured the model home of beachfront townhomes. 

We fell in love with the place and can't wait to move in

Here's the view from the balcony

Traffic was heavy at the lift bridge

We stopped for a refreshing lemon gelato and people watched then biked back to our car.

With the wind behind us and tummies rumbling, the return trip was a quick one.

Next weekend, back to the shores of Beaver Lake.

Retail Therapy

Notice who isn't carrying any shopping bags?

Notice the flames shooting from my wallet?

We do have our fun. I'm hoping that we can experience just as many smiles and laughs and hugs and thanks at the cottage this weekend.

Tanya's Bridal Shower

Rob's cousin Tanya is one of my most favouritist people.  She was all of 15 years old when we met.  She was, and is, intelligent, articulate, adventurous, funny and fun. She speaks at least three languages - hmm probably 4 (English, French, German and some Lithuanian).  I lived vicariously through her as she traveled the world in her twenties and early thirties: working for a number of years in Club Med's throughout the Caribbean and Europe; as an airline attendant; and most recently, on a journey to India.
She's also overcome some personal challenges that - looking back - seemed like they would never end.  That expression, gone to hell and back, would aptly describe the journey Tanya has been on for almost a decade.  Personal challenges are rarely personal - many of us lived, vicariously, through Tanya's struggles.  We never doubted that Tanya would survive. What a thrill to see how she has thrived through adversity.  What a thrilling surprise to watch her find the love of her life in the midst of her struggles.

I've lost count of how many weddings Tanya has been in.  Today, it was Tanya's turn.  Well, it was the start of the wedding celebrations.  On a beautiful Sunday afternoon, in a hall in Newmarket, aunts and cousins, neighbours and friends, gathered to shower our Tanya with love and gifts and food.

Irma and Leo headed up this morning to help with the arrangements.  Mom drove up with us. But first, some pics of us in the garden:

We actually arrived early!  As soon as we entered the hall, we were warmly greeted by Gina.  She's married to Irma's youngest cousin.  Gina's enthusiasm and eternal optimism is infectious.  We can never get enough of her.  Amidst hugs while helping us unload the car, we all laughed at how Leah was now taller than Gina:

We all went to work. Leah served some food:  

Carson and Evann and Alex (daughter of a close family friend) tended bar, cleared dishes, helped Tanya open gifts, and posed for pictures.

I helped out in the kitchen:

Tanya has been living on her own for years.  When wedding plans started, she was encouraged to register for gifts.  It was a hard sell at first, thinking that she had everything she needed.  Dragan, her fiancé agreed.  But, as Tanya told us today, when they were preparing to host an Easter dinner for Dragan's family this year, they realized that just maybe it would be okay to replace their eclectic mishmash of plates and serving pieces with something newer and matching.  

Of course, you don't get something for nothing.  So along with some beautiful place settings, knives, pots and pans, towels and sheets, Tanya also had to don a silly apron.  Of course, Tanya looks good in anything, so the apron was worn with style.  

Somehow, after a lunch of chicken, 4 different salads, lasagna, quiche, samosas, raw veggies and garlic bread, we still found room for dessert.

I was very proud of my girls this afternoon.  It was especially noteworthy to see Carson participate as a bridesmaid.  Tanya was the same age when she was one of my bridesmaids.  I wonder what the next 22 years will bring for this lovely girl... 

Turkey Point, Lake Erie

It's rare to be able to spend time at another cottage, but somehow we were able to do that on Saturday.  We've been friends and neighbours with Laurie and Tom for over 10 years.  Ev and their daughter Caroline (and a few other girls) were classmates in junior kindergarten. And grades 1 - 3 if not longer.  Both the girls and the moms bonded during that time.  I count those women among my closest friends.
Tom and Laurie have been up to our place, but that must have been post-trailer as I remember we all stayed at Irma and Leo's cottage. Laurie reminded me that that was the last time she waterskiied.
It was nice to have fellow "trailer-trasher" friends.  For several years, Laurie and Tom had a trailer in a park on Lake Erie between Port Dover and Turkey Point.  Last fall, they bought a cottage in Turkey Point.  I tried to convince Laurie to host her famous American Thanksgiving party there last year, but no luck.  I really didn't know when we would be able to visit them.  When we realized we would be home this weekend because of Tanya's shower, plans were set to make the trip to cottage country west.
We were picked up at 9:30 a.m. and arrived at the cottage before 11:00 a.m.

It's big, beautiful and bright.

We had a quick tour, lunch, then Laurie and I took off to explore the countryside while the guys did some chores.

There are some great market stands and cute shops in the area.  I could have spent hours in a local bookshop. Paperbacks galore.  Well organized and not a whiff of must in any of the stacks. Laurie had to drag me out of there.  And what fun in a local clothing/gift shop.  Laurie and I both coveted these funky red hollow-wedge sandals, but alas, the store did not have our size.  Laurie had to drag me out of there too. But not before I bought a skirt and top - to be worn the next day for Tanya's shower.

Back to the cottage to prepare a scrumptious dinner, steak, fish, grilled veggies, baked potatoes, fresh asparagus, caesar salad.  Yummm.  I was given lots of grief for setting up the camera on a pillow to be able to take a timed shot of us at the table - but I think it captured the spirit of the day:

After dinner we strolled around the neighbourhood.  The cottage is 2 blocks from the lake and 3 blocks from what looks to be a rockin' pub.  A few pix from our walk:

It was a lovely evening for a walk.  It was a lovely day.
And the best part is, I'm heading back in a few weeks for a girls weekend.
I think that I will leave the camera at home then.
Thanks Tom and Laurie.