Continuous juxtapositions

Springtime in the local park

There's a large pile of papers on my desk nearly all relating to blogposts I haven't written yet. Life gets in the way of reporting, again. At the end of April I had a subscription to the Health Club at the Château Laurier for a birthday present, which for my purposes means the swimming pool. I love the pool. With its classical music and statuary and its salt water it gratifies all the senses. However, swimming time, especially if I include my walks to and fro through the Byward Market, with all its springtime temptations, detracts from writing time.

Receiving my Spirit Award from the Chief Flying Instructor

We had a burst of warm, anticyclonic weather for two weeks when all the leaves and flowers came out, on cue for the Tulip Festival. I have been gardening at home and at the Flying Club. Elva is calling me Head Gardener, though to be honest I'm only one of a team. At our Wings Dinner this year, the Rockcliffe Flying Club presented me with the Spirit Award for personifying the club's motto, this year: where friends come to fly. (I'm more of a friend than a flyer and not even a club member but it appears I was nominated for my editing of Crosswinds, for my contributions to the gardening and "for keeping Chris in order.")

Edward from Alberta, addressing the VIPs

We had our basement wall and ceiling repaired and our stairwell and landing walls painted, only the Canadians don't use the word landing the same way as Brits do, so I've discovered, which causes confusion. What British people call a landing, the North Americans call an upstairs hallway. A new carpet's been fitted on our stairs and landings (sic), but there's still more decorating to be done. By the last week in April, we'd completed enough to make our latest visitors comfortable. These were the 17 year old students sponsored by the Rotary Club to come to the Adventures in Citizenship event. Edward travelled here from Edmonton and Sean from Sioux Lookout. They stayed four nights, were great company, and we're missing them now. At the final lunch, Edward represented his province and gave an admirable, confident speech at the Convention Centre to about 400 people. I'd been to another formal lunch the previous week on the other side of the Rideau Canal, at Le Café (at the NAC), in aid of students at Dr. Simar's Gawarshad Institute in Afghanistan whom our CFUW study group supports. We raised $7000, and in the process were entertained by a young Ukranian-Canadian violinist (Carissa Klopoushak) giving a solo recital. At this event, according to some, I sold my husband in the Silent Auction; i.e. the highest bidder won a ride in his aeroplane. I was also one of the designated photographers.

Thirteen of the Spanish speaking conversation group came to my house this week and the German conversation group that I organise is thriving too. We've had lengthy discussions about mathematicians and Dresden and asparagus! Next week's topic will be how the State rules our lives, with reference to the pervasive legislation in Germany (one of our group has found an article in the Spiegel about this and wants to share it).

Before the end of April, our tax returns had to be submitted to the CRA, a dreary job, when Chris and I would much rather be making music of an evening. Well, the job is done, and we have managed to attend a few concerts since I last blogged––a performance of Schittke, Bach and Kodaly cello music at a private house, another, bigger performance by "four of Canada's top 'cellists together" (morning coffee concert), then a flamboyant Verdi "Arias and Choruses" occasion towards the end of another day and a more gentle concert the following evening, featuring quartets by Frank Bridge and Vaughan Williams. After the Verdi we went straight to the Pub Italia in Little Italy with friends who'd been at the concert and didn't leave till midnight. Such fun.

Edward Du Hobbs, a few hours old

Life's not so much fun for my mother now that her eyesight is failing; she carries on valiantly but my sister and I have been worried about her which has led to some longish phone calls. Other members of the family caught my attention in no uncertain terms, besides, my grandson Thomas scalding his arm in London, for example, and then, most momentous of all, our son and his wife in Australia had their baby this week!