vacation

I have taken this week off work, to stay home and do "home things." So far it has been very nice. My sister Barb and her family were in town through the weekend, so we had some suppers, and went for a walk. They have left my niece Maya here to go to university and live at my mom and dad's place.

Andy and Alex are working this week, and Fiona is in full time rehearsals, so I have the daytimes to do just whatever I want to do, then I'm together with the family in the evening.

On the weekend, I got out to the Summer Dreams Literary Arts Festival. Pandora's Collective organizes this annual event, which is every poet or poetry lover's dream day. I enjoyed some poetry performances and chatted with a few friends there. Irene came out, and we hung out together for a while. Back at home Saturday evening, our new neighbours Dave and Doris hosted a gorgeous supper for a few friends from the neighbourhood. They are wonderful hosts and gourmet cooks. They even turned their living room into their dining room. That's how much they enjoy entertaining. It was a lovely night.

Yesterday I visited with my friend Gwenda, who fell off the roof of her house at the beginning of the summer and fractured 2 vertebrae. Luckily she will have a full recovery. We ran a couple of errands together, and got caught up on what's been happening in our lives. After that I came home, and did my best to complete a book project that I've promised myself to get done this vacation.

The book project is a chapbook of my own poems. I've been part of collaborative chapbook projects for 10 years with the Shoreline Writers' Society, but never just my own. Now I'm doing it. My friends Helmi and Fred have offered their assistance. Fred does gorgeous book design, and Helmi knows my work, and has can help with some polishing up where needed. I think it will be a very nice book.

I have also found some time to read a novel this vacation. I'm reading Middlesex, recommended to me by my friend Cathy. It's very good.

So that's my vacation so far. I'll return to work on Monday. I'm planning to enjoy the second half of my days off, with more creativity, time with family and friends, and relaxing.

question: what did you do on your summer vacation?

mompoet - taking a break