I feel like it's been ages since I've posted - because it has been. Just enjoying the summer and generally avoiding my computer. Turning it on is less appealing now that I spend so much of my day in front of a screen. Oh, the drawbacks of working in an office.
B and I went to Montreal for a few days around Canada Day. We stayed with my 'aunt', who is not really my aunt, but I consider her a relative as she was very close to our family when I was growing up. She lived right next door - we shared a patio. Her husband is one of my favourite people to talk to. They have a really nice house with a beautiful back garden. We ate out on the patio a lot so we could absorb the lushness of it all. Soon after dusk, the fireflies came out. Not being from eastern Canada, fireflies are a thrill to me. Animals that light up and glow are just a crazy concept. I once saw a glowing thing in a bush in The Middle of Nowhere, France. I looked closely and it was a little worm. A glow worm - my first and only, so far. Neat.
Jazz Fest was on while we were there, so we heard some great music. We also went to La Ronde to ride on some rollercoasters, canoeing in a nearby provincial park and shoe-shopping. We spent half an afternoon at the Olympic stadium, which was this concrete wasteland of craziness that just made me want to run around really fast (that's the Olympian in me). I practised French when I could but those Montrealers always respond back in English so I didn't get very far. We had a night out with C McK, who has moved there permanently, unfortunately for us, but at least we got to hang out. It was one of the best trips we've ever taken.
Last weekend was the folk festival and I was only sort of looking forward to it because I still had a bad taste in my mouth from last year's horizontal rain. The weather was much drier this time, and the bands were fantastic. My favourite thing about a festival is all the music I didn't know I'd like. I also tend to enjoy the beer tent. Actually, that might be my favourite thing.
Today, B and I cycled to the park and visited the zoo for the first time - lots of birds there, and dumb-asses, too, shouting at the fighting monkeys as though they were watching a hockey fight on TV. We had a picnic on the grass. Some teenagers nearby were playing Truth or Dare, so once in a while one of them would get up and lie down on the grass between two guys playing frisbee. They did not lie near us. We went for ice-cream which melted quickly in the heat and then blew all over shirts in the wind. On the way home, we picked some radishes from our garden plot - hot and delicious!
Time to eat and get rid of this headache that has come on. I will try to remember to post some pictures of the Olympic stadium. The past's idea of what the future would be.
