Whew

The time has rushed by so quickly I've hardly seen it pass. My apologies for the tardiness of this post. It's close to the time I leave for Edmonton - I fly out on Wednesday morning, early. The picture above is one of the first snow storm of the season. The snow can be seen flying past the trees. It didn't dump too much, and most of it is now gone, but it's still snow. Mom has said that they have tons of snow out west and that the temperatures are generally in high minus 20's, with wind chills of -40C. Can't wait.

So, what's been happening? Not much, really, except life. I try to go in to the university library, Robarts, as often as I can, but generally it's only about 3 times a week. I'm distressed at the amount of work that hasn't got done, which isn't conducive to doing more, oddly enough. I stress about it without settling in. I will have an article done by the time I leave, and a book review, so those are something, anyway.


I've kept up with revisiting old Toronto haunts, which is marvellous. I've eaten at most of my favourite restaurants more than once - Saigon Palace, with no. 34 (noodles, with BBQ pork and a Vietnamese egg roll), Swiss Chalet (quarter chicken dinner with baked potato - despite the name, completely Canadian), Country Kitchen (Hungarian wiener schnitzel with cucumber salad and mashed potatoes)... Oh my. AND I've found a fantastic second-hand bookstore that has provided me with a book I've looked for for over 20 years ($20, and online, it's as much as $650...really). And then there's Book City, which is perhaps one of my favourite bookstores in the world. It just feels good. Kind of like Timeout, in Mt Eden. I've been to several movies. I've met up with old friends and just hung out, gone for coffee. I've been to a conference at the Royal Ontario Museum (another great book score found there). I've felt like a grad student again, just researching and following every intellectual alleyway that took my fancy. I've helped Carrie selling at her shows when she couldn't be there. I've looked after the kids. I've made jewellery and a voodoo doll at craft days we have here in the house. I've met Carrie's friends, who are wonderful, funny women - they'd fit in perfectly in Book Club.


I've done a lot of stuff, and now I'm ready to go see Dad and Hilary over Christmas and New Year's, then Mum for a couple of days after that, back here, where I'll go visit friends in Welland on the Bruce Peninsula of the Great Lakes, and then another weekend, visit Montréal to visit family. I'll be sending packages to the department, of books, stuffed toys, dvds and cds, clothes, .... It's time to settle down. I really miss New Zealand. I'll be happy to come home and get back to my life again. It really does feel like I've had an enormous time-out, though, and I love the warmth and company of my family, and it's felt like I've been wearing an enormous comforting blanket, just what I've needed, I think. Every time I wish I had more downtime, more silence, more space, I remind myself how much I'll miss it when I'm back home, and something in me settles down and enjoys the chaos and the noise and the energy and being woken by the kids laughing in the morning and the spontaneous hugs and the pictures the kids draw for me and the great discussions and conversations we grown-ups have. I'm squirreling away tactile and emotional memories for later.

I hope you both have a great Christmas and New Year's Eve. I will do my best to write in this again before then, so perhaps I should send the best wishes of the season, without being specific. Take good care, the both of you. I'm looking very forward to seeing you both again.