Easter Bunnies Dinner

Or rats, it doesn't matter which - we had good food to eat, wine and stories, some reminiscing, and cross-generational discussion.
We talked briefly about giving up things for the sake of raising kids. I said - true, kids are expensive to bring up, but if I could have more I would. Would I give up on them to have a vacation in Mexico? Would I give up any of my sisters so I could have more clothes when I was growing up? absolutely not.
But that's just me. I'm sure there are other people who feel differently, and that's ok.
So thanks Rat, (the one who named me Queen Melancholia) - toasting to Jesus under your roof is grand.

3 In 1

Ok, last week was tough, still - here are 3 positives for the week that was:
1. Interesting conversation at a Gallery opening.
2. A couple of days with warm temperatures, and some with sunny skies - not together but still, the Lilac is responding with green buds and that is encouraging.
3. My son got into a summer program which makes us all very excited.

Happy Passover!

Fun Stuff

My kids are an endless source of information and entertainment. They are worth the trouble. Check this out.

I Have Been Crowned

That woman I mentioned, the poet/illustrator/artist - she gave me the name, and the art, as an exchange for some good hats from my past as a milliner - she wears them well. I humbly accept the trade.

3 Positives

It was a week of ups and downs. Ups for this week:

1. Busy days in the shop - shoppers as well as stories - of lives lived, of courage in the face of adversity, of change. That's the way I like it - people with stories coming in and talking to me, I am honoured. Sometimes I feel my little shop is a sanctuary.

2. New music to listen to: the fantastic 6 CD collection of Alfred Brendel's Shubert, Keith Jarret plays Handel, and Ravel's concerto in G. All piano, all the time.

3. Vindication at city hall, to be continued.

Dear Alfred:

Next: Keith Jarrett.

Outstanding Lovability

Another outstanding phrase coined by my young prodigy. He thinks our cat Ginger deserves this honour, and we here give him a medal.

Red

I have a great friend who is a poet - it feels nice to write this. She is also a visual artist and an illustrator. She wrote this poem recently. Hope you like it:

When he is silent he does not
colour her directly but she
feels red sparks in her temples. Her
ears prickle when he has a lot
of red things to do. He has mail
to be red. There is lunch he must
red, then he needs to call red and
then red and red and red. She does
not understand what this means and
waits for him to explain. 'After
red,' he tells her. 'After red I
will tell you. After red I will
love you.' One day she gets it. Her
forehead stings. She thinks 'It sure took
me red enough. I need this like
I need a hole in the red.' She
longs, at last, for cool, or for
heat that does not feel like setting sun.
It is less the colour she feels
than the ache of being after,
than the deep burn of less than. She
will remember someday but not
today how to scorch and ignite.
She will be a glowing iron.

It Snows Every April

I keep reminding people, and they keep forgetting. There has not been a single year it hasn't snowed at least once in April. Canadians will never admit it.

I am going to challenge myself. I never do this. But the idea sounds proper for the state of mind I'm in these days: I saw a blog of someone who vowed to list 3 good things every day for a year, to practice positive thinking. She was successful and reported it was a very good year. I truly need a very good year, having had a pretty terrible one.

I can do with some positive thinking at this unsettling time, so I'll try a modified version and see how it goes: I am going to list 3 positive things each week. Don't want to become obsessively positive now, do we. I'll start with the week that was, which was the worst since my father's death in October.

1. A surprise bouquet of yellow Freesias in my kitchen courtesy of my dear man.
2. A glimpse into my kids' thoughtful minds - being invited to read a personal, poetic musing email to a friend of one, and a discussion about consequences with the other.
3. A delightful spring walk and talk in the Brickworks with a trusted friend, and a superb cup of after-walk coffee at Broadview Cafe.

Images from the Brickworks: