Rain

Tonight the rain is falling and I am happy and content with music and books and wine and the company of one delightful 9-year-old who decided against going on a three-day canoe trip to Frontenac Park with her dad and siblings. She thought it might be too much for her to keep up with them, and though I disagree, I can't say I have minded having the company on this wet and gloomy weekend.

Crumpets

We ate hot buttered crumpets and drank tea on Friday afternoon, before heading to a friend's house for dinner. Today was lazy until mid afternoon when we went shopping - an activity I usually abhor, and by the end of the day, remembered why that is so (crowds, lineups, general impression of bustle without real purpose) - and then came home to the simplicity of scrambled eggs on toast and a watching of Dragonheart which Grace likes because of the dragon, and which I like because it has a haunting soundtrack and the voice of Sean Connery:)

Draco in Dragonheart

Now Grace is in bed, Lady is curled up on her cushion after snagging the last sausage roll, and the cats are snuggled together on a chair. I am reading, writing, thinking, and blogging all while listening to a playlist that includes Elvis, Chris de Burgh, Roger Whittaker, Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, Aviva Chernik, The Irish Descendants, Rita MacNeil, and Natalie Cole. It's a playlist that doesn't come out very often, but it felt sort of moody and retro and fit in with the rain and the overall lazy nature of today.

I hope the rest of my little family are warm and snug in their sleeping bags on the shores of Big Salmon Lake, and am kind of imagining the romantic sound of raindrops on tent canvas even while I know that pleasurable camping trips in the rain are more illusion than reality (though the kids do seem to remember the hardships with a great deal of gusto - we'll see how they feel about that when they get home tomorrow after a kilometer-long portage on their last leg of the trip!)

For me though, hearing the rain on the windows is just about right. There is something both soothing and calming about a rainy night.

Joni Mitchell Cover Both Sides Now