The weekend started out rotten.
John was exhausted after yet another long week and we both woke up Saturday morning feeling crabby. The sky was grey and unpromising and the day was full of a thousand things that needed doing by four o’clock. To top it all off, John’s folks were set to leave yesterday for their annual Florida pilgrimage, which we suspected would mean more running around in some fashion. It also heralds for me the beginning of the annual reassurance of my husband that his parent do indeed care about him and Katherine, depite missing birthdays and Christmas. So not a banner weekend, from the front.
Weirdly enough, it actually turned out great. John and Katherine went to the Botanical Gardens, while I got some work done and had time alone. During this period, the sun came out, the sky turned blue, the butterflies appeared and the world became a bright and cheerful place. When they came back, we did a bunch of errands and then went to the Pateys so that John could help Bob with storm windows. Katherine and I went present-shopping and I had decided that buying a cake would reduce stress on this occasion, so we picked up a cheesecake at Michel’s Bakery.
After procuring a dragon and some Lego for Daddy/John, we headed back to the Patey house for a relaxed evening, in which much Chinese food was consumed (especially by John) and everyone had a good time. Eleanor regaled us with a violin presentation, with flourish. Jean had a minor melt-down, but then she had a lot on her mind with her grandparents leaving and all. Ambient stress seems to hit her profoundly. Katherine was pretty much her normal, serious self, but she went and played with Jean and Eleanor happily, which is a great thing!
We then went home, dropped Katherine into bed, dealt with dogs, dogs, everywhere, and I got still more work done (yay!). John’s folks dropped by to hash out details with him on what was happening while they were gone as regards mail and whatnot. Once they left, we more or less clued up the evening and crashed. There was long and profound sleeping.
Sunday was fabulous. We took care of some household stuff and then grabbed camera and kid and headed downtown to meander through the city. Started at Harbourside Park and worked our way northwest, as far as the Anglican Cathedral. Katherine enjoyed the back allies and lanes and walked most of the way herself. We got some fabulous pictures of statues, the Cathedral, railings and oddities. Headed home to lunch and then the other two napped while I fiddled with pictures. Post-nap, we went out for a sunset. After Katherine went to bed, I hammered out the workshops and sent off all the final details to the organisers. I know know more or less how things will go, which is a huge relief. We ended up the evening with an attempt at watching a movie that ended in shutting off the TV and chatting. A really good day.
Raising the Bar Strength & Conditioning 