Good God, y'All!

You KNOW you've had a busy week when you took these photos on your own block - like, two doors down - Sis, you'll recognize it - on your way to work last week, and didn't have time to post them to the weblog until today.







Little harm done to the building or the neighbourhood in the end, it appears - I don't know why or for whom the ambulance was needed. Nothing on the neighbourhood grapevine to suggest anything serious.

I spent Saturday in beautiful downtown Moncton, NB, working on a conference, so Husband and I decided to make a virtue of necessity and make an overnight of it. We had some excellent food and wine at a very nice hotel and drove back at our leisure the next day. I hope all you married folks and nice settled couples out there are familiar with the delightful charms of an overnight hotel stay. I'm not talking about swinging from the chandelier wearing Catwoman costumes - although that's always nice, and by all means, should be on the menu! - I'm talking about the sheer luxury of using glasses and towels and bathtubs without having to clean them later. I'm talking about slipping between pristine sheets you didn't have to launder yesterday, and won't have to tomorrow. I'm talking about room service, and watching your spouse tip the valet or bellhop like he or she was born doing it and does it every day; of opening a bottle of nice wine in complete privacy someplace where nobody knows to look for you, and about going down to the hotel bar for a drink together as a good-looking, well dressed Couple du Monde, not "Mom and Dad" or "Aunt Brenda and Uncle Charlie" or "Jim from Accounting and his wife" or "Mike and Phyllis from Canasta Club". They say "a change is as good as a rest", and friends, I highly recommend treating yourself to a night in a hotel every now and then, even if it's just three blocks over. Fall asleep together in front of the tv in a bed neither of you will have to make tomorrow morning. If that doesn't keep the romance cooking, brothers and sisters, nothing can.

There have been huge changes at work in staffing and (volunteer) leadership, so we are in a state of very serious flux at the moment. It's interesting, busy and stressful. In the midst of all this, my hearing is eroding in the manner it usually does prior to a reprogramming visit, so we've scheduled one for later this month. Eventually, this process of re-programming will only take place once a year - a bit like one's glasses prescription gradually fading - and it won't be as noticeable. That'll be nice.

ronnie