Trivial pursuits?

Five of us spent this morning in the Gatineau Park again, hiking from Chemin Pine to Meech Lake and then 6km down the "Discovery Trail" (a small section of the Trans Canada Trail) to the car park by Plage O'Brien. No sign of the cougar that's said to be lurking in these hills. When we came to the lovely spot at the quiet end of the lake, Laurie almost trod on a snake, probably a milk snake, that slid quickly into the water and went swimming off very fast.

I've not forgotten about my blog, only been lazy about adding to it. My everyday life in summertime is more unstructured than ever, with time taken up in gardening and sharing various (Thai, Portuguese, Chinese, Italian, Malaysian) meals with friends, as well as the walks and bike rides and lately some jogging round the park as well which (although I've enjoyed this) has started to jar my knees, so tomorrow I may go swimming instead, to give them a rest.

I've been doing some preparation for our next season of Diplomatic Hospitality when I'll be selling some more home-made greetings cards made from my own photos: I finished and wrapped about a hundred of them this week. Sorting out the contents of shelves cupboards, best done when I'm in the mood for it, takes hours. I've also been re-reading Gabriel García Marquez' One Hundred Years of Solitude.

At the computer I've been spending more hours researching the possibilities for our imminent flying trip and keep changing my mind about where to pause on our journey to Lourdes-de-Blanc-Sablon and St Anthony. This is very silly of me because I know from experience that the weather will dictate how far we go and where we land. At least I'll have some addresses and phone numbers handy. What's more, the coast of Labrador just beyond Blanc-Sablon looks so interesting that we may be tempted not continue to St Anthony after all. If Chevery is as attractive as I imagine it will be, with the beach just a few hundred metres from the airport and the little boat that takes one across the water to Harrington Harbour, we may not even get as far as the crossing point to Newfoundland. I'm torn!