Sunday, November 26, 2006

delight upon delight


It always snows before my birthday, and yesterday it snowed. Andy and I had plans for my birthday supper out, but I got worried that we might get snowed in so I stopped in at the grocery store and bought everything for a special family supper in case we got stuck. But by suppertime it was just snowing and not sticking so we went out and had a great supper and watched the snow falling (but not sticking) through the restaurant window. When we got home it was so cozy and wintry we went to bed early. Andy woke up at 4 (his usual go-to-work time) but I slept in until 9. What luxury to sleep for over 10 hours! It snowed and rained on and off through the night, and it's snowing this morning, and sticking, but not accumulating too seriously, which is good. This afternoon, one of us needs to drive Fi to a rehearsal on the North Shore (where it really snows) and one of us has to take Alex for a job interview. Then tonight I'm going to a concert, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

Supper at Michele's house on Friday was lovely and relaxed. Michele and her husband Brent are renovating a 1912 house in New Westminster. It's a tremendous amount of work for them, and it's turning out spectacularly. Michele always lives in the coolest places. Given my choice of where to sit and enjoy a meal and a glass of wine, Michele's house is always #1. I know I said I don't need presents, but Michele and Kathy got me some. Kathy gave me a very homely Christmas angel ornament that she said only I could love, and a bag of jelly belly jelly beans and Sarah McLachlin's new Christmas CD, Wintersong. I really like the CD. It's all very mellow and has a beautiful and unusual alto-line version of "What Child is This." Michele gave me a bottle of wine and tickets to "Diggin' our Roots" with Po Girl at the Vancouver East Cultural Centre - tonight. So I'm hoping the snow will not be too bad, because Michele and Myrna and I are going. Michele also baked me a chocolate birthday cake that she poked and filled up with butterscotch schnapps (mmm). I gave Kathy and Michele candy apple red nailpolish so they can have red toenails for Christmas.

On Friday afternoon I packed a day's worth of work into my briefcase and emailed some documents home, so if it snows a lot tonight I can work from home on Monday. I guess I'm sounding like a real wimp in the snow. The truth is, we live on a hill that doesn't get plowed until the very last of all the roads, and while I'm fine out on the main roads I live in fear of sliding out onto the highway from our steep and unplowed sidestreet and/or not being able to get back up the hill to our house at the end of the day. I do have 4 snow tires on the car and I do want to get to the concert tonight, and Myrna will drive with me and is a strong and inspiring presence, so I have a hunch we'll make it tonight. Just the same, I'll pack boots, gloves and a ski jacket in the trunk in case we have to walk a ways.

In the meantime I am lounging in my pajamas, drinking coffee, and beginning to read The Red Tent. I finished The Time Traveller's Wife. It was spectacular, and a first novel for Audrey Niffeneger, so I can't wait to see what she does next. For a while anyway, let it snow.

question: with what delights has this weekend greeted you?

mompoet - twinkling

No comments: