BBQ Fever

It's that time of year. All across the country BBQs are getting hauled out of storage and fired up. A friend commented recently as she arrived for movie night that our "entire neighbourhood smells like BBQ." It's one of the rituals of summer, I guess. There's just nothing that says summer quite like the smell of grilling meat and charcoal. Yum. We've certainly been invited to several parties recently that centered around food grilled on the BBQ, and thoroughly enjoyed each one. This past weekend both of my choirs had their end of season parties (fortunately on different days!), and we were particularly lucky in that the weather cleared for a couple of days. It rained every day last week and both parties were in doubt for a little while, but it was beautiful all weekend. The rain started again last night and today is grey and blah, but we had two days of sunshine, which is exactly how you like a weekend to be.

This year Serdic and I have joined the ranks of Those With Barbeques, as we inherited PetDoc and Noise's BBQ when they moved. Before we both lived in apartments where we weren't allowed to have them, but in the new place according to our landlord if we placed the BBQ in one specific corner of our deck, it met the codes and regulations. I have to say, we are enjoying it immensely. Serdic already has grand plans for all the different things he is going to try to cook on it -- I suspect our stove won't be turned on again until Thanksgiving! That is not a complaint, btw. ;-)

In other news, this past weekend would have been my Grandma's 94th birthday. I remembered her by going and getting the brightest pink plant I could find (pink is a colour I will always associate with her) and putting it in the basket that held the grandchildren's floral tribute at her funeral. It is currently brightening our dining room table and it makes me smile every time I see it and think of her. Happy Birthday, Grandma. You are missed.

Friday the 13th

So it's Friday the 13th, which didn't even occur to me until I just got an email from a friend that referenced it. I'm not all that superstitious (about this, anyway) so the date doesn't bother me. As a matter of fact, I'm kind of fond of Friday the 13ths, having been born on one. Someone told me once that people who are born on Friday the 13th are supposed to have good luck on that date instead of bad, but I can't say that my luck has been any better on Friday the 13th compared to other days -- but it hasn't been any worse, either!

I've had a couple of emails from people asking if I'm feeling better after my self-pitying down in the dumps post of last week. The answer, of course, is yes, much. It's been a nice, relaxing week. Serdic and I had date night on Tuesday and took in a movie (Prince Caspian), I got together with some friends on Wednesday for pizza and beer, and last night I sat and did absolutely nothing. It was perfect. This weekend is looking pretty relaxing, too -- only one engagement, my friend C's annual Lobsterfest on Saturday night. Considering neither Serdic nor I eat lobster it seems a little silly to be going, but there will be lots of other food to enjoy and, more importantly, great company and music and laughter.

I guess my big news since yesterday is that we booked our trip to visit PetDoc and Noise in London in September. I am so excited! We're going for ten days and I already can't wait. We've decided to sneak a side trip to Edinburgh in there in the middle, and other than that we're going to bum around London and see what there is to see. I'm particularly looking forward to getting to know PetDoc and Noise's neighbourhood, so I can picture them in it when I hear about their adventures.

So, yes, lots of good things going on. I hope everyone has something fun planned for the weekend!

Sing, Sing a Song

I am going to try this embed a video thing. Bear with me.



This is one of my choirs rehearsing a piece we recently commissioned from a very well known and respected Canadian composer. I still find it hard to believe sometimes that I am part of a group that performs at this level.

This video was taken shortly before we performed a concert on Sunday. Readers who live in Ottawa may recall how hot and humid it was in this fair city on Sunday. The church in which we were performing might charitably be termed an oven. I will refer you to the video to see our standard concert dress -- long sleeved black shirts, black skirts or slacks, closed toe black shoes. Sweltering, is the word. It's the only time I have sung in a concert where the director has said "I want you take water bottles on stage with you, and I want you to drink from them between movements."

All that said, the concert went smashingly well. We had a full house and the music was wonderful. This was a joint concert with another Ottawa choir and we were performing a Requiem that a local composer wrote for her son, who tragically passed away from cancer about a decade ago. The concert was a fundraiser for a palliative care home named after the composer's son. It was a great honour to perform with her (she played piano) and it was a good challenge for us as a choir, performing a multi-movement lengthy piece, with another choir. In the first half we performed a number of other pieces, including the one in the video linked above.

So now both choirs are done for another season. I'm looking forward to having my weeknights to myself for a little while, although I know by September I'll be chomping at the bit to get back into it. The next concert coming up for me is one I don't have to sing in -- my beloved Great Big Sea boys are coming to Ottawa in July!

The Funks of June

You've heard of the Ides of March, right? Well, I feel like I'm in the Funks of June. No particular reason, really, just been in a bit of a funk lately and not sure how to get out of it. I think it's a combination of a) having to say goodbye to PetDoc and Noise last weekend (wow, that was hard, no matter how excited I am for them), b) my complete inability to say no to anything, therefore packing my weekly schedule way too tightly, and c) a few little stresses in a couple of areas (work and one of my choirs, mostly) that have come together to just make me feel exhausted and blue. I'm finding it harder and harder to get out of bed in the mornings, and most days I feel like I'm just slogging through to the end. It'll pass, it's not like it's the first time I've overextended myself and needed some down time to recover, but I'll admit to feeling a bit blah these days. Once I get through this weekend (scheduled events include a yard sale, helping my friend J move, a party for a colleague's wedding anniversary, singing in a concert, and a choir executive meeting!), things should calm down a little bit. One can hope, anyway!

There are, of course, lots of good things going on. I always kind of feel when I whine about being too busy with good things and friends and family and music and laughter and all the rest that Chandler Bing is going to pop out and say "yes, yes, your wallet doesn't hold all your fifties and your diamond shoes are too tight."

For example, we had a lovely baby shower for my friend H on Sunday. I think she was very touched and pleased and we had a great afternoon with friends. I gave her a selection of children's books, of course. *grin* My friends in general are one of my life's greatest blessings, so it was really nice to take the time to celebrate this happy event in H's life.

I guess the biggest news is PetDoc and Noise's move. They are settled in in London now, and starting to explore the city and all the adventures it holds for them. PetDoc is doing an awesome job of sharing the details on her blog, so check it out. I miss them dreadfully already, but I'm so excited for them (and, yes, more than a little jealous!). Today is also their wedding anniversary -- I can't believe it's been four years already! So happy anniversary to them. Serdic and I have to get cracking on booking our trip to visit them in September -- I think their vacancy calendar is filling up at an alarming rate!

So, as always, things are hopping around Casa Double S. It keeps us out of trouble at any rate, right?

Anniversaries

So it has been brought to my attention that the first anniversary of this blog came and went this week. Oops. It's just been one of those crazy weeks -- out every evening and a weekend chock full of everything from errands to socializing to parental visits. There's another week just like it coming up and we've already got something on the calendar for every weekend in June. Sheesh. But I digress. Although I haven't been blogging as much as I'd like, I think the blog has been a good exercise for me, a good way to keep in touch with friends and family, and a good way to get some thoughts down and "out there," so to speak. It's been a great year, that's for sure. Eventful, happy, fulfilling, full of many of the good things life has to offer. Sure, there have been some difficult times as well, but in those days the support of my friends has given me great strength. I've really enjoyed sharing my life this way for the last year, and am looking forward to continuing the blog. Maybe I'll even post entries occasionally! *eye roll*

We had a great visit to Tremblant and the cottage (which was actually in Val-des-Lacs) last weekend. Serdic's birthday was, I like to think, well celebrated (he didn't seem to have any complaints, at least!). You can view some pictures here. Lots of quiet time, hot tub time, "us" time. It was perfect. We didn't even mind that it rained all weekend. ;-)

And, finally, I'm just putting my friends on notice. If that happy day should ever arrive where I put on the white dress and walk down the aisle and throw a big ol' kick ass party afterwards, I will be very disappointed if something like this does not happen: best toast to the bride ever. Just sayin'.

Running away for the weekend

Just a short post to update, since it's been a couple of weeks. We are off today for a few days at a rented cottage (or "chalet" as the paperwork keeps calling it) near Mont Tremblant. Hot tub, fireplace, mountains, lakes, peace and quiet ... a few days of that is just what the doctor ordered, for both of us, and we've been looking forward to it for weeks. It's also my birthday gift to Serdic, so that makes it a little extra special as well.

Other than that, things are normal around here. Busy, as usual, of course. One choir is done for the season, the other is in the home stretch (three more weeks). J and I have an NAC date next week, and Serdic and I have one the week after. Lots of good theatre. As you may have read on Serdic's blog, we also got home last weekend to see a friend play the lead in Beauty and the Beast, which was a lot of fun. I'm always happiest when I'm sitting in a theatre, listening to the orchestra tune, waiting for the lights to go down and the overture to start, so I'm excited about all the theatre I'm getting to see this month.

And finally, happy Mother's Day to my Mom and grandmother, and happy anniversary to Mom and Dad. We got to spend Mother's Day with our families (both of them, which is one of the things I love about dating someone from my hometown!) and as always it was a treat.

I hope everyone enjoys the long weekend and has something fun planned!

Sunday morning musings

Yesterday was a milestone in our relationship ... we, for the first time, made a joint purchase of something major for our home. (We've been sharing bills and groceries and that kind of thing since we moved in together, of course, but this was the first time we went out and invested a fair amount of money in something permanent for the apartment.) We bought a little bistro set for our back deck, so that we can have morning coffee and evening meals and all sorts of things out there. So cute!

This is another musical weekend for me. Last night we saw a friend and colleague of Serdic's in a performance of La Boheme. This afternoon one of my choirs is giving our spring concert, which I am very much looking forward to, as it is a selection of Canadian folk music, which is exactly the kind of music I like to sing. I have to say that I'm rapidly reaching the point I do every spring, where I am very burnt out and exhausted from the two choirs and all their demands, but the end is in sight -- this weekend and next are the two final major concerts for the season, and then I have some time off. I love my choirs, but I reach a point every spring where I've had enough and need a few months off. This year has been particularly busy, as one choir alone has had ten engagements, or averaging more than a concert a month (our season is October to June)!

In other news, Serdic and I have just started to plan our first (of many!) trip to visit PetDoc and Noise once they're settled in London. I think we'll be going for ten days in September. We're actually looking for suggestions of things to do in Edinburgh, if any of my faithful readers have been there. We're going to try to do a side trip to there from London, and we know what the guidebooks say to see, but I'm always interested in "off the beaten track" suggestions from people who have been there ... "Don't miss this!" or "We had the best meal of our lives in that restaurant" kind of things. Anyone?