A BUSY WEEKEND

FRI 29 JULY 2011 5:32pm  Sitting in the Foodbasics' parking lot getting a bit of shade under a young maple. J is gone to meet her nephew Kris.

Earlier we went to Matt & Vanessa's new place. Took the 4th line across from Walker's Line and it's really scenic. A narrow twisting road almost lost among the trees. Their place is off the road a bit and stands out elegantly. An old house, two story, fixed up well. Very nice inside with the new paint job. Lots of wood trim and casement windows. Feels a bit like our place in Millgrove, those many years ago. The painter was there so we got to look around a bit. I'll see a lot more of it on Monday.

On Wednesday I went with Cindy & Mary to TO to see the Railway Children play. It is in a big tent next to the old Roundhouse which has old trains on display.

I'm attracted to trains I guess because they were around more when I grew up, but also because many of my family worked on the railroad. My paternal grandfather was an engineer, my father a fireman, for a time, my mother's father a car inspector, a number of uncles and even cousins worked at various jobs among the cinders. One winter while my Dad was off in the bush my Mother lived with 3 children in a tent beside the railroad in Temiskaming. She had a wood cook stove that used coal from the road-side. There is a picture of the tent, not sure where.

The play is set along a railroad track and the audience is on each side of it. A number of platforms were pushed along the tracks to become the setting for a particular scene. It was quite cleverly done. At a couple of key points in the story a very old engine and wooden club-car comes roaring into the building with smoke pouring from the stack. Very dramatic.  Went for dinner later with Cindy's sister and her 3 boys (young men, really), at JackAstors, the first time I've been there.

Cindy has put up a wood fence around their back yard and put Mary's sculptures and other artwork along it. And under the balcony overhang they have a gazebo. She's planning on a pond beside that. It looks great. She's been a lot busier than me.

SAT 30 JULY 2011 12:21pm  Kris treated us to a bite at William's  down at the waterfront in Hamilton. They sure have done an amazing job of making that area accessible and inviting. As Kris said you hardly know you're in Hamilton. When I lived just up the street there was nothing there but the Yacht Club and a lot of radio-active earth.

Kris had a podcast called Earth & Beyond  that uses a lot of my music. His new blog is here.  http://screamwave.libsyn.com/2011/06
Read it if you dare!
Yesterday morning we went to the Sunshine for breakfast and Jan and Dave came in. Had a good chat.

SUN 31 JULY 2011 4:02pm  And the fun keeps on. Went to Neighbours restaurant in Port Rowan last night with Jan & Dave to see a rare appearance by Jay Linden, another in the Duane Rutter presents series.  See and hear Jay Linden here.  Linda & Luis were down from Hamilton. It was good to see them; it's been a while. Jay sounded as good as ever, a true folkie.  Duane played along with him. This was his 5th gig that day so a bit on the tired side. I could tell because someone so full of stories as him couldn't come up with anything to say between songs. We had dinner this time and enjoyed it. We'll be back next week when the Dharlings take the stage. In all a great local experience.

Today we're feeling like maybe we've had enough holidaying and are ready to get back at whatever it is we do. Get the place cleaned up and re-organized. That's the first step, anyway. We'll see how that goes.
 Here are a few shots of Hamilton Harbour.