I think that ever since we’ve moved home I’ve had this nagging fear in the back of my brain that we’d just drift away from all of our good friends in Toronto, and that they’d forget about us, and that eventually we’d just never see them again. I know this isn’t true and it’s just a complex I have – it’s why, if we had a class or worked together six years ago I won’t say hi to you in Target because I just assume that YOU don’t remember ME, even though I remember kids who moved away from my town in grade two.

But, wonder of wonders, our friends do remember us and were above and beyond welcoming. I had no idea how much I really missed their stories and hugs and music and how much I was homesick for their kitchens and cooking and teapots. We had places to spend the night, places to take afternoon naps, we were fed, entertained, Mikey got school things accomplished, we had the perfect little compact stroller to use for the week (I really need to get one of those contraptions for when we’re traveling and have a backpack full of stuff to tote around every day in addition to a toddler), we had playdates and lots and lots of laughing. We talked about futures the past and Hazel was promised lots of “I’ll tell you about it when you’re older” stories. We trekked all over the city to see lots and lots of people and when we got tired of trekking we planted ourselves in a pub near John’s and everyone came to us. When Hazel started to melt down I took her the half block home to chill out and Mikey stayed for awhile longer visiting. I miss that sort of convenience of city life.

I want to go back soon. I wasn’t sure how well she’d handle the travel and the activity after six months of calm, slow West Virginia life (um, sort of), but she was a champ. She cried for ten minutes of the combined sixteen hours of driving. When we took her out to the bluegrass brunch at the Dakota Tavern on Sunday morning and then decided to stay for hours, she got tired and fell asleep in the ergo to the sounds of those boys singing just like she did when she was a baby. Because in case you hadn’t noticed, she’s not a baby anymore.

Sigh.

Listening: Hazel and Mikey chatting downstairs
(Hazel is) Reading: Green Eggs & Ham
(I am) Reading: new issue of Mothering
Working on: wedding jewelry and other custom jewels; furniture painting; new bead sorting; a new group blog; a million other things I need to catch up on

It was still sunny when we walked to church this evening.

We saw 300 this afternoon. Colin & Cheryl bribed us by offering to pay for our tickets since we AREN’T spending money on stuff like that until I’m employed. It was beautiful, but a total propaganda piece in my opinion.

But awesome. Decapitations like no other.

Paisley peeled two tennis balls tonight. I printed some eggplant notecards and made some buttons. I guess that’s all I’ve got to report.

Listening: M. John singing B&S

Twenty degrees never felt so warm.

Lost…

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Four exciting things happened today:

1.) I went to John’s to watch the premier of Lost. I think I’m a little bit disappointed (by what they didn’t show), but I won’t really know until next week. I don’t want to talk about it on here and be a ruiner.  Someone start a blog with me where we can discuss Lost. I didn’t know which canadian channel it’s on until we got there, and found out that it’s one of the handful of channels broadcasted from the city that we get totally clearly on our telly… so I don’t have to use my friends for their cable every Wednesday night. Yay. Also on this channel was a preview for the new episode of ER……. how long has Uncle Jesse been a doctor on ER??? I might need to start watching it again.

2.) I went to the post office to mail some things, and while I was in the Manulife Centre I decided to look for a toy store that I knew was down there somewhere in the underground layer. I never knew this detail because I don’t often go wandering around in retail places just to look at things, but I can go through there – underground – all the way to two different subway stops. This means that when it’s blizzarding and I want to cry, I walk out my front door, across the street, in another door, and I’m out of the cold until I’ve gotten where I’m going (or have to go aboveground to get a streetcar or bus, and some stations have streetcar transfers underground). I might not be a frozen, miserable little canadian after all.

3.) I found the toy store and my quest for dice came to an end. I’ve looked all around for six dice with which to play farkel, and have come up with nothing. This was one of those fun, smart toy stores with lots of science toys and games and things for adults like binoculars and knives and giant microbes and magnetic poetry for any human being that exists. And with ten or so containers of random windup toys, keychains, and odds & ends, there was a tub of multicolored dice. I got six black ones. Does that make me seem morose?

4.) We have no control over the heat in this apartment, and our bedroom has been sweltering even with the window open and a fan sucking the cold air into the room. Today I couldn’t stand it anymore and removed the child guard that only lets you slide it open four or so inches – Breaking The Rules – so that we can open the window all the way and not die from the heat. There’s a screen, for those of you worried about the cats, and if they go psycho and tear through that and fling themselves out, they’ll land on our safely-enclosed-balcony. It’s highly unlikely that they’ll even care. Aside from the occasional attempt to dart into the hallway, they have no desire to try to get outside. They care more about chewing on the plant that hangs in that window than they do about anything going on outside.

5.) Oh, five things. I got some canadian vanilla maple tea, and it is superb.

The new decemberists album is really good.

Saw Billy Bragg tonight. He’s an enigma… a genius musician who is NOT a good guitar player. His stage banter is excessive and comic gold. The altered lyrics about Bush being gone soon are just what this sad little american needs to hear.

On the way to the show we walked by this spectacle that I have passed at least ten times since it was arranged a couple of weeks ago and never really paid attention to. There are always people crowded around taking photos, and I still did not feel the need to observe more closely. Today, for some reason, I looked harder, and then had to take a photo for myself. It’s a huge granite table on the sidewalk, set for twelve or so people with china and silverware and champagne flutes. In the middle is a lime green Lamborghini. There’s always a security guard with a clipboard standing inside the red rope enclosure. I just thought it was some strange Wedgewood china vs. fancy car sales scheme, and it sort of is.

It’s being held up by four teacups. One under each tire. I suppose that’s not as impressive as the cohesive/adhesive abilites of water molecules and the way THAT can hold up a car, but it was at least photo worthy.

Maybe I will find a job this week. Kathy’s theory is that she’s not going to find a job until she wins a game. If this is true, I should definitely find a job this week because Mikey and I kick ASS at games. And we won last night. Again. I haven’t won anything by myself, but we are in the lead as a pair. Does this mean I’m inferior as an individual?

I saw two shooting stars last night
I wished on them
but they were only satellites
is it wrong to wish on space hardware?
I wish, I wish, I wish you’d care…

Today Michael John and I went to the Vegetarian Food Fair, successfully navigating both the subway & streetcar systems to get there (technically they are the same system, but it was still scary). It was way bigger than we’d expected and we hung around for a few hours trying to absorb everything. I bought a tiny little hydroponic sprouting contraption to grow bean sprouts (or whatever – eventually start some vegetables for the balcony-farm) in our kitchen. Apparently bean sprouts contain all known vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and proteins. A couple handfuls a day is all it takes, and they are very yummy. Maybe it will cleanse my body of all the coke and candy that I put into it. I bought two bags of mung beans from the hairy chested old man who was demonstrating and passing out spoonfuls to eat, but lentils and garbanzo beans are also good candidates. You can literally grow anything in it, but for now it’ll just be bean sprouts for eatin’. I already started a crop. It took three minutes and they’ll be ready to eat in two days…. or five days if we want taller, leafier sprouts.

Downside: the way the dome fits onto the base reminds me of the large sized panera catering bowls for salads. I will never be able to escape this when I’m working with it. It’ll always be a panera salad bowl.

I also talked to some people from Annex Cat Rescue about fostering. My only concern is that Dorothy can be a raging psychopath and I don’t want her traumatizing whatever other creatures we might want to welcome into our home. I think that if we started with some middle aged or older cat who doesn’t take shit from young kids we might be okay. She might be a terror with kittens, and besides, would I ever be able to actually give up a kitten that I loved and nurtured? Not likely. On another cat note: Dorothy is constantly begging for people food and today I found out something that she loves and that makes her go vocally nuts. Until today, that list only consisted of cheese, but now we can add tapioca pudding to the list.

On the way home we stopped on Queen Street, which is the place that we will be spending all of our money until we leave this city. Every book and music store that we could hope for, in addition to two or three city blocks with bead and fabric stores lining both sides of the street. I wrote down a few books to add to my Amazon wishlist because I will NEVER buy a new book in this country. They are so expensive. And alcohol is so expensive. Alcohol prices are all government regulated, so there’s no cheap place to buy beer. Today we were laughing at some sleek, rich suit buying a sixpack of bud. It figures that I moved here with someone who only spends his money on three things, two of which are books and beer.

We bought the new Magnolia Electric Co. album and it’s AWESOME. More like Songs:ohia than the older Magnolia stuff, which is good for me. I prefer his slower, more depressing stuff. We’re going to see them play on Tuesday night and now I’m even more excited for the show. Jason Molina writes the most beautiful/depressing lyrics and I’ve never seen him smile and he’s probably the saddest person ever, and I will never be able to utter a single word to him even though Mikey knows the bass player and will likely talk to them at the show. I will stare at the tops of my feet. I am so intimidated by musicians.

turn your lamp down low my love, goodbye
I hear the whistle singing now to the lonesome pine
I know that we faded out
but oh, did’t we shine
didn’t we shine

Listening: Magnolia Electric Co. : Fading Trails and M Iafrate, live from the couch
Reading: Dominion by Matthew Scully

Today Mikey left in the morning, and I spent the rest of the day waiting for strange men to show up at my apartment. In the morning two guys delivered all of our Ikea purchases and yelled at me in broken english about how there’s no building number on our building (yes there is), and then the phone man came and complained about how bad parking is (I know, I live here), and then the pizza guy made me come down and meet him in the lobby instead of going up the elevator and bringing my food to my door.

I put together one bookcase and had some kind of weird heat stroke from sitting in the sunlight and hammering things together (or I’m just a baby), so I laid on the couch for a couple hours and watched the documentary about the national spelling bee that I love. When Mikey came home we put together the other three bookcases and two CD towers, and then spent the evening shelving books and CDs. While all of this was going on, I was watching the last three episodes of season one of Lost. I’m freaking out all over again.

Tomorrow after we go eat lots of yummy veggie food on the harbour, I will put together our table and stain it, and then put together the chairs. Then I will prop my sewing table top against the wall and wish for legs. They’re out of legs for a couple of weeks, and they were out of the dressers we want. At some point next week we have to go back again and get dressers and then put those together. And then we should be all done. And I will be so happy.

Toy shelf. Jesus, Mary, George Bush, GI Joes, Star Wars, penguins, and a bookworm.

I miss Emmalee.

Just uploaded some new things to Etsy. Some wallets & earrings.

Before I did that, we went to Toronto.

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