warm January weekend

The unseasonably warm weather is giving me an unreasonably joyous feeling of impending spring.  It’s eerie, but I’ll take it.  I finished my second-ever knitting project, this seafoam cowl in seed stich, just before New Year’s, and it’s too warm to wear it…but I’ve been wearing it anyway.

I finished something!

Another weekend came and went without any writing, but I was happy that I at least had a chance to finish (finally! after an unrelated reading distraction) the excellent Malarky by Anakana Schofield. 

Read it!

It’s really a stunning novel, and like many novels that end up wowing me, it gave me a few ohhh, you can DO that! moments.   Namely, the voice shifts between sections from first person to a close third and back.  But it’s not in the least confusing, and the novel benefits from having both at the disposal of the writer.  Highly recommended!

It felt like a quiet weekend, but it was really full of visits with friends and family.  On Friday night, we got to try la Salle a Manger, thanks to my brother-in-law and his wife who were visiting from Australia.  They took us out to celebrate our wedding, which they weren’t able to attend.  The food was yummy, the champagne was even better, and the company was warm and welcoming.  When D’s brother toasted us, I almost cried.  Maybe it was the champagne, but my heart was that full that night.

 Smokestacks on a Saturday night.

Saturday was brunch on the go and an intense afternoon nap, followed that evening by a friend’s lovely birthday dinner (I walked a different way and found myself disoriented along the overpass, pictured above, just a few blocks away from places I know well.) 

On Sunday, V got excited to make chocolate-chip pancakes, which she managed with minimal intervention (just D helping with the stove), and they were delicious.  More visiting with friends that afternoon (including a walk to Chinatown for steam buns) and in the evening, it was just cozying up on the couch and hanging out on Twitter while watching the Golden Globes and Girls. 

A beautiful light installation in Old Montreal. 

Wishing everyone a wonderful week ahead!  My goals this week are to catch up on email, spend time with friends, and maybe maybe get back to that story I started a few weeks ago.