New Quote - for no good reason

Writing is easy. Just put a sheet of paper in the typewriter and start bleeding. –Thomas Wolfe

If you like the image above, take a little peek here. Talk about recycling, puts us all to shame.

3 Positives

1. Rush tickets to see the Twyla Tharp dance "In the Upper Room" with the National Ballet. They had some difficulties as it is a challenging piece but the dance is uplifting, interesting, mesmerizing. The Balanchine and Robbins pieces, although technically well done were not as compelling. Still, This is a great way to see performances that normally would be out of my reach.

This next one is just a bonus, I did not see it in reality, I wish they'd do it here - Enjoy! The older way of ballroom dancing, with a Twyla twist, as she is known to do:
2. Cabinets in the kitchen. Not operative kitchen yet but progress made.

3. Summer outings in this vibrant city, on the bike and on foot, with hats and fun dresses.

Alice In Wonderland - NBC

We stood in line this morning at the crack of dawn to get rush tickets (they are too pricey otherwise) and got them, two and a half hours later.
It was a great spectacle, great staging, costumes, sets and even the music was fun.
It is a busy show, lots going on, and the dancer who does Alice is greatly challenged - she is on the move constantly for the entire 2 1/2 hour production.
We got tired from clapping after a few minutes - imagine the output of energy she goes through each show.
My son just finished reading the book, perfect timing for this show to hit Toronto. Our favorite characters in the book are of course the Cheshire cat and the caterpillar. Oh, the wonderful sparkly pointe shoes of the caterpillar at the end of those legs - to die for!
We loved the dance sequence of the cards. We loved the gruesome Duchess house scene, bloody and crazy. We loved the little porcupines and the pink flamingos. We were not bored for a minute, which is a hard thing to say about most classical ballet. I love doing it, but usually not crazy about watching it, contemporary is more my preference. But - we had so much fun tonight!

The Goods

We've been without a proper kitchen for over a year now.
A solitary sink on stilts, box for a counter. Everything in boxes in the living room or the basement. Almost like camping in your own home. It's quite a lesson what little we actually need to have there for daily use. It can be liberating.
But we didn't have a Passover or New Year celebration this year - we can't invite people over for a dinner. Not much cooking has been going on.
It all started with a flaky kitchen floor. We thought the tiles were breaking due to old age - they must have been done in the 70's - ugly dirt colour linoleum tiles I never liked. We decided it was time to replace them. Sounds simple, right?
Wrong.
Any project you start at home always turns out to open a whole can of worms. In our case they were termites. Tiny white little buggers.

Months of work, mountains of expenses, decisions, waiting.
The kitchen floor had to go, and the sub floor - 120 year old wood removed. New termite resistant sub floor, new wood floor. New windows for the basement to block them.
Then to build a new kitchen from scratch: a new set of cabinets, sink, counters... the list goes on. And on. And on. More waiting, more decisions. Money...
I never thought it would take so long, and I dare say - if not the termites I'd have never done it.

Is there a light at the end of the tunnel? yes. Somewhere.