June 18, 2007
Beloved doesn't come much bigger than this
Happy Second Anniversary to Stu.
Though I do like to be beside the seaside, most of all I like to be beside you.
More than the sky. xo
June 10, 2007
Lettuce
Last night was a very exciting one in the land of Pickle, as our vegetable garden has yielded its first crop. The tomatoes aren’t ready yet, and so our salad was a scant one, only one of lettuce, but never, ever, has lettuce tasted so good.
June 9, 2007
Home Again
It’s bad to be home, only because away was so extraordinarily good. Our landing was delayed by last night by a fierce thunderstorm which forced us to land for an hour in Ottawa. We finally got home to find that lightning or wind had wrangled with our tree, knocking most of it down, which is quite sad. But otherwise all is fine, and we’re exhausted after a week of super touring and nonstop fun. Stay tuned for pictures, and for more pictures throughout the summer as I extend my vacation in spirit. Now rereading Bliss and Other Stories by Katherine Mansfield, on the tale of the marvelous Thieves. Coming up: On Chesil Beach!!
May 31, 2007
Think of England
Pickle Me This is on vaca. We’ll be all summer holidaying the next week or so, fun to be had including learning to drive on the wrong side of the road, weekend in a North Yorkshire village, Bronwyn’s wedding, touring the moors, trekking over to Lancashire, family reunion, seaside fun, Cumbria, and maybe we’ll even see the Wordsworth squirrel? Time will tell.
May 27, 2007
Spins
While last weekend was splendidly slow, this one spun so fast that it is nearly finished just as soon as it began. Friday we spent devoted to gardening. The results as follows, so that we could have a backyard almost fit to sit in when Chris and Andrea came over for a bbq Saturday night. Big big burgers, super saladas, and a perfect peach pie. Fun was had, and continued right into today, as Britt, Jennie and Deep came for brunch. Delicacies included banana scones fresh from the oven, fresh fruit, pastries, and Stuart whipping up eggs and bacon on the grill. After we walked down to Trinity Bellwoods to let the dog play, and to snap obligatory photos of the three of us, an Abbey Road-inspired shot, and later Jennie checks out the Murdermobile, and lives to tell the tale. 
May 17, 2007
Better Days
And so we post a photo of feet in honour of days better than this one. Tonight has been awfully scabby for a variety of reasons, none of which have to do with the greatness of expensive feta or my wonderful husband. Now reading Poppy Shakespeare and The Girls is coming up next. I am always drowning in the periodicals I subscribe to, all of which arrive in the same day or two. And so the moral of the story is that I’m not about to run of reading material anytime soon, no sir. The other moral is that the day flies by too quickly.
May 7, 2007
Park Life
It is hard to reconcile the inherent rubbishness of the world with weekends like this one. Oh weekends, you are the one thing that makes me pleased to be back in the workaday life. Though as a student/housewife every day was the weekend, that sort of took away the very point of it. And this weekend was extremely pointful. We went out for sushi and ice cream Friday night with Erica and Alex, which was splendid. Saturday we did our Kensington shop, which was a sweet summer dream. Saturday afternoon was a bike ride to High Park where we sprawled on our blanket all afternoon, ate strawberries, read books, and later I climbed a tree. The park was fullsville but the wonderful thing about parks is that we all share that wonderful space. It really was splendid, and nice to get the bikes out of the garage for the first time all season. Today Stuart was doing boyish things with other boyish types, and I was writing writing. The marvelous Natalie Bay came for supper, which was great. She’s just come back from Japan and brought us omiyage– pnis shaped cookies. I’d post a picture, but this is not that sort of blog.
I’m adjusting to my new life, and so reading/blogging have been slow of late. Though I’m working on two books at the moment: 28 Stories of Aids in Africa by Stephanie Nolen, and The Ladies Lending Library by Janice Kulyk Keefer (and there ain’t a better book for a summer’s day).
April 29, 2007
Summer by your side
So far, it’s been weekend most glorious.
Saturday Stuart and I went to afternoon tea at The Four Seasons, which was my treat for finishing school. We tried to savour everything for at least four bites, the scones were oishi, perfect jam, and we absolutely fell in love with pear tree green tea. Nothing short of delightful.
We were thrilled to accept an BBQ invitation last night by the Brown-Smiths, and we enjoyed our city rooftop summer night, until it got cold and we had to go in. It’s only April after all. But even indoors, the night continued in hilarity. Carolyn and Steve are wonderful company, and our glasses kept magically refilling themselves.
Today was fun in Trinity Bellwoods with Curtis. Tealish refills, Type Books birthday party (we had a piece of a cake shaped like a typewriter), fish and chips, and a fabulous game of frisbee.
Later I wandered lonely as a cloud.
And as if you needed any more proof…
All we need now are leaves on the trees– but then shade is overrated.
April 22, 2007
April can be so uncruel
We stuck close to home this weekend, which is natural as close to our home is a wonderful place to be on a weekend like this. Lots of indulgences: first ice cream of 2007, first outdoor patio supper with the first pitcher of beer. Today we partook in chicken wings as the street went by. I’ve felt mellow enough to be boneless, which is so nice (and rare).
I read Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto this morn, and I loved it. My problem with Japanese fiction in the past has been its weirdness (I’m a realist to the core) but I rode with it, and I enjoyed it. It’s the first Japanese fiction I’ve read since we lived there, and it was nice to go back for an hour or two. Now reading Happenstance by Carol Shields, who I continue to be obsessed with. And then on to The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald who I’ve never read before, but is much championed over at dovegreyreader scribbles. I’m curious.
Tonight we’re watching Notes on a Scandal (a bookish film!) in order that I can get through the evening without fretting to death about my thesis defense (!) tomorrow morning.
April 20, 2007
Greetings
Greetings from the state of things! From the land of green grass, blue skies, painted toenails, sandals and cropped trousers. Exposed tattoo courtesy of the University of Saskatchewan Women’s Studies Program (no relation). Today I am going out in the sunshine to drop off the marked-essays and then get my hair cut. Tonight I’ve got a party with my creative writing comrades. I just spent a half hour on hold with Passports Canada, during which I put in a load of laundry and cleaned out my closet. The sullen woman on the line assured me I would get my passport in time for my trip, even though one of my references has moved to Antigua. Hooray!
The season has begun. We’re having an ice-cream van turf-war on our street. I have totally got the fever.
Oh, please do check out Patricia Storms’s Art Imitating Lit comic strips. In terms of good things that woman creates, Booklust is just le tippe de le iceberge.
