Of Toronto, e-readers, blackflies and more…

I shall start by stating that Joe is fine. The stent was successfully installed on Tuesday. Unfortunately they couldn’t use his wrist to insert the tube as they had to get to the back of the heart so it had to be an incision into the femoral artery. The recovery from the wrist insertion is very quick; from the groin it is more lengthy and at one point, painful. Poor Joe had to lie immobile for a total of eight hours! He had a shared room and as it happened his roomie was from Bancroft and also had a daughter in Oshawa. Not only that, his name was Pritchard which was Joe’s wife’s maiden name. Small world and all that. I think they both appreciated having a buddy to chat with – just as much as I would have appreciated the complete lack of a buddy and the presence of a good book.

Doesn't look too bad!

In travelling to and fro I was very lucky in having some excellent help with the driving from both Liz and Howard, Joe’s daughter and her husband. And hey, I didn’t get a bit lost on the subway, thanks to Liz who guided me through. I was quite amazed at how cheap it is. For $2.00 you can go anywhere at all in Toronto. All in all, Liz and I had a pleasant day and got a chance to talk on a different level than we usually can. Joe’s son, Stephen, and his Nancy appeared after work and we all had a hilarious visit. It tends to get hilarious when Stephen is around and I was quite surprised we weren’t told to shut up!

Somehow I never got the opportunity to “do” the museums and galleries. Another time… they’ll still be there. So now all is settling back to normal. Joe has a few restrictions for a couple of weeks but nothing too serious. I get to do all the driving and Joe tells me how to do it. I’ve only been driving for about 45 years so I guess I need all the help I can get!

I have a birthday this month and I am contemplating asking Joe to get me a Kobo e-reader. Now before you shriek heresy and tell me that nothing can replace a real book, I must insist that I completely agree. I enjoy the experience of a book, the feeling, the smell, the visual appeal of the fonts etc, etc. However I absolutely hate being stuck in a waiting room or whatever with only dog-eared magazines to flick through and I thought it might be a good solution for such occasions, saves stuffing a heavy book in my already over-stuffed purse. It comes pre-loaded with 100 classic books so maybe I can catch up with Dostoevsky and other worthy dead authors that I haven’t got round to. I wonder if it has Proust – although I am pretty sure I will never get around to Proust in this lifetime.

Trillium - Ontario's provincial flower

Right now I am greatly enjoying a book recommended by my good friend Pauline who is presently braving snowstorms in the mountains of Arizona. It has the intriguing title of “The Palace of Strange Girls” and is set in 1959 in Blackpool. Of course for us Brits it is very evocative of the time we were growing up and the writer, Sallie Day, has the social background dead on. I look forward to my nightly read. It’s one of those books that I am desperate to finish although I know I will feel quite bereft when I do! My only slight irritation is that the book has been Americanised in terms of spelling and some grammar.

Spring is a full month ahead of itself this year and the trilliums are brightening the woods around us. The apple tree is in blossom – and the blackflies are here! I thought I was being clever arranging our trip out west for the middle of May in order to avoid the tiny but voracious bastards but they have outsmarted me. Going to need to drape myself in nets from here on, I’m afraid. I am told that is the sign of a townie and none of the locals would dream of wearing them but do I care? Not much!

Tiny miniature daffs

Our biggest thrill since we got home was the arrival of the man who has bought the neighbours’ ancient tractor that has languished at the back of our yard all winter. He drove all the way from Montreal – five hour ride at very least. It took him, with Joe helping with a winch (they never thought to tell him not to do that at the hospital!), more than five hours to get it loaded and then he had to drive back to Quebec. It really is a piece of junk but I gather that he is going to mate it with another of the same vintage and end up with a splendid offspring. Whatever…

Joe and Tractor Man

Gentlemen may stop reading here as I am about to describe my first effort at felting. I am really quite pleased with the result. I knitted a huge bag using two strands of wool and then shrunk it in the washing machine. It is really thick and heavy and should do good duty as a bag, not that I really need one.  Now I will have to think about getting arty with the felting.

My felted masterpiece