Geeky Cat Miusings

I have a confession to make — this was not my breakfast at all — I already ate at 6:00 am and by 11:30 was quite ready for lunch. My appetite in the morning is something else

Somehow we all still had an appetite for gelato when we left the restaurant and wandered off to Solferino where I purchased the Andean blackberry and guava sorbetti (sorbetti are made without dairy) and indulged in the scrumptious flavours while listening to the amazing Dr. Draw. He is an amazing musician and I would love to take him out to dinner one day.

Oh what a feeling, to be on vacation. I plan to purr all week long. Or maybe do one of the activities in this drawing I made so long ago:

Or maybe just meet some interesting folk, see new sights, and get some much needed sleep.

Wish you all a good weekend. Mine is looking like it will be pretty nice.

I need a new cell phone. I was at a mall yesterday and my friend could not reach me because of the poor reception. I have not changed cell phones for over 7 years now because I saw no need –those old cell phones were built to last. Now I see the need. Features I am looking for??? Good reception, camera and maybe video. Text messaging of course - if a fellow text messages me I should be able to return the thought. Should be fun!

Taking a heritage walk around Toronto can be very exciting if you have good company– someone who brings along the unexpected and is superbly prepared — ready to take care of your every need (well almost every). Those walks are a great way to find a secret hideaway, a place where you feel as though you have somehow escaped the city and nobody can find you except for the birds and the squirrels. A magical place.

I am planning to take a little vacation for myself next week — if anyone has some ideas, please let me know.

Once upon a time there lived a little girl whose ears were especially in tune with the sound of the ice cream truck jingle. Her mother would call her. Her sister would call her. But she would never hear them. But when the ice cream truck would stop 1/2 mile away and play the Mr. Softee Tune –

mr. softee

– she would immediately go running to her mommy for some money to purchase some deliciously creamy ice cream from that musical truck.

Later she would grow up to be a young woman with more sophisticated tastes. She favoured gelato like Bolognese amareto and zuppa inglese, and sorbetti such as Andean blackberry and quivered with delight when she found exotic blends such as dark chocolate mixed with red chili pepper. She still enjoyed her childhood friend, Mr. Softee from time-to-time but could see no reason to restrict herself to plain vanilla when there were so many choices to be sampled. When she travelled she searched guide books for the best ice creams to be had, and would traverse the whole city in search of the very best (oh Florence, what found memories I have of thee).

And then came the dark ages…. she was busy too busy with her life to fulfill her passion for ice cream…oh she may have a very good gelato once or twice a year…but nothing to compare to her earlier quest for the very best.

And then she awoke one day and turned on her PC. Lo and behold in Now Magazine was a very important cover story about her true love. Her spirit has been energized, her tastebuds are awakened. She can not sit still any longer. Away she goes in her royal quest for the town’s very best ice cream!

Yummy, yummy food. Lovely company. And the girls actually made an appearance at the gathering.

Why do the Nonnas look frightened??

It is Saturday morning and I have a lot of things planned for this weekend but I will take a couple of minutes to reflect on this past week while my Thai Carrot soup gently simmers on the stove top, sending tantalizing aromas my way.

I went to a very good book club meeting at Demetre’s where we discussed The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon. It was a lively discussion and a few of us were not afraid to voice our opinions, even if it went against the general consensus. One of my favorite quotes “Where all think alike, no one thinks very much” by Walter Lippmann emphasizes the importance of allowing everyone to speak their mind.

Drawing class topic this week was textures and I had such a fun time — we went around looking for interesting textured objects and the created rubbings. I love that sort of spontaneous activity — I find my eyes start to see objects in ways that I don’t normally see — taking in all the details, colours, and texture — it is a very sensual experience. We were not told the purpose of doing the rubbings because it would ruin the experience because we would choose easy textures if we knew we would have to replicate the textures. As the teacher said, she is teaching us to make forgeries.

The Laugh Resort — I laughed for 1.5 hours. Need I say more?

Saw the movie Sunshine, a sci-fi thriller in which eight astronauts strap themselves to a nuclear bomb and fly it into our dying sun like some sort of cosmic defibrillator. There was a lot of astronaut mumbo jumbo talk that flew over my head, but it was specular and poetic. You didn’t think I would watch science fiction? Well I am a well-rounded girl!

Soups ready. ttl.

It is a very common occurence, in most people’s lives, that friendships drift apart causing people to find themselves in need of more friends to socialize and share interests with. I recently found myself in this sort of situation and I found a good solution: a women’s meetup group that gets people together doing activities they love and the potential of developing their relationship into a friendship.

My social group organizes such diverse activities as potlucks, movies, Brazilfest, book club, wine tasting, kayak lessons, and other kinds of outings. The group has over 500 members but each event is restricted to an appropriate number of women for the venue. Everyone is responsible for signing on to the event themselves, ensuring that only truly interested people will attend — they are all there with the same purpose in mind — to meet people and have fun.

There are different types of social groups available centering around various activities and interests, such as photography and hiking. If you are finding that you are in need of stimulation, look online for a social group near you.

Seeing the movie La Vie en Rose this weekend reawakened my passion for Edith Piaf and her powerful vibrato voice. The tragic and messy life of Piaf was beautifully and movingly portrayed by Marion Cotillard. She experienced such squalid living conditions as a child, grew up in a brothel, and was blind for a part of her childhood. She grew up to be a lively and passionate woman who lived to love and who could express the most amazing emotions through her quivering vocals. While watching the movie I experienced such a wide range of joyous and sorrowful emotions, some of which is captured in the lyrics of the title track, La Vie en Rose:

Des yeux qui font baiser les miens,
Un rire qui se perd sur sa bouche,
Voila le portrait sans retouche
De l´homme auquel j´appartiens
Quand il me prend dans ses bras
Il me parle tout bas,
Je vois la vie en rose.

Il me dit des mots d´amour,
Des mots de tous les jours,
Et ca me fait quelque chose.

Il est entre dans mon coeur
Une part de bonheur
Dont je connais la cause.

C´est lui pour moi. Moi pour lui
Dans la vie,
Il me l´a dit, l´a jure pour la vie.

Et des que je l´apercois
Alors je sens en moi
Mon coeur qui bat

Des nuits d´amour a ne plus en finir
Un grand bonheur qui prend sa place
Des enuis des chagrins, des phases
Heureux, heureux a en mourir.

Quand il me prend dans ses bras
Il me parle tout bas,
Je vois la vie en rose.

Il me dit des mots d´amour,
Des mots de tous les jours,
Et ca me fait quelque chose.

Il est entre dans mon coeur
Une part de bonheur
Dont je connais la cause.

C´est toi pour moi. Moi pour toi
Dans la vie,
Il me l´a dit, l´a jure pour la vie.

Et des que je l´apercois
Alors je sens en moi
Mon coeur qui bat

Here is an English translation:

Hold me close and hold me fast.
This magic spell you cast;
this is la vie en rose.

When you kiss me, heaven sighs.
And though I close my eyes
I see la vie en rose.

When you press me to your heart,
I’m in a world apart.
A world where roses bloom.

And when you speak,
angels sing from above.
Everyday words seem to turn
into love songs.

Give your heart and soul to me.
And life will always be
La vie en rose.

A wonderful celebration of the heart’s passions…even if it hurts to love…give it all you’ve got.

Life in Toronto is great because there are always things to do, no matter what your taste. Last weekend I enjoyed (I mean REALLY enjoyed) the beaches jazz festival…what a fabulous atmosphere with a nice variety of music from latin to jazz, and the amazing Dr. Draw was there. And after all the music is done you can wander along the boardwalk and watch the moon reflect brilliantly on the water. It was almost as gorgeous as being in the country but with the added bonus of having lovely homes to look at with picturesque trees lining the streets.

I also enjoyed the Brazilfest on Center Island. The idea of having a music festival on the island works well because the audience can lounge on the grass while listening to the music, or they can browse through the tents surrounding the site, or they can get up and dance on the dance floor. Once you have had enough you can wonder off to the beach and relax under the hot sunshine and chat about anything at all. Please note that there isn’t any Brazilian food at the festival, so it is better if you pack a picnic because the food choices leave a lot to be desired - hence I loaded up on ice cream (and paid for it, ouch!).

Sometimes you don’t feel like going to an event but just going out with someone, grabbing a coffee, wandering the streets, having serious conversations, and lots of silliness too (something I can do without having alcohol - isn’t that a special talent!).

You don’t have to go out all the time — you can just stay in and cook a nice meal. I made a very nice lasagna with zucchini and tofu this week. I also was lucky enough to have someone else cook for me (what a TREAT!). There are so many interesting people in Toronto, sometimes you wonder why can’t you meet them all!

Well that’s my week in a nutshell…Here’s hoping that the lovely summer continues!