October 16, 2013

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope everyone had a wonderful long weekend full of yummy food, friends, family, and relaxation --- or at least one of the above!
 
This year's Thanksgiving was a musical one. I sang in a beautiful concert on the top of Mount Royal with the McGill Choral Society Chamber Choir. It was the same material we sang in June at Loyola (in preparation for this concert), and it was an incredible place to perform. It was a huge audience and more and more people wandered in and stayed until the end. It was also an unbelievably beautiful sunny day -- I was walking around outside in short sleeves afterwards!

 Waiting to sing.

The night before, my stepdaughter and I baked two desserts for Thanksgiving dinner: a devil’s food chocolate cake with maple icing and a pumpkin layer cheesecake.

 The fruits of our labour!

Halloween came early for my co-baker

We headed out to the Townships right after the concert, where family had kindly waited on supper for us (and delayed Thanksgiving until Monday). It was a brief trip, but I managed to  squeeze in a walk and even a few rows of knitting with my morning coffee.

We also walked some paths I'd never been on before.

A new path beckons

A mother bear with three cubs has been spotted a few times around the area, so we tried to remember to make noise.

 D. walking with a big stick

The ground beneath our feet

Ce pont n'est pas...

 ...a metaphor

We missed the peak of the fall colours, but there were still a few leaves clinging to the trees.

 Leaf-blanketed road

As always, the fallen leaves made for some irresistible piles.
 
 Mandatory frolicking

And I'd show you a picture of the turkey, but it got eaten too quickly!


One of the surprise highlights of the weekend was turning on my computer Monday night after 11 p.m. to check on something, and somehow, without planning to, starting work on a new story that had been percolating for a few days.  Sometimes 400 words take forever and sometimes they spill right out. Another thing I'm feeling grateful for this week.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Love this. Mine was spent similarly (though a metaphorical bridge would have really capped it). It is the very best celebration of the year, Thanksgiving is. Coincidence that there's no candy, gifts, or religion? ;)

saleema said...

Definitely not a coincidence, though as a candy addict, Halloween is up there for me! But Thanksgiving is my absolute favourite holiday meal.

I'm glad you had a nice celebration, too!

Anonymous said...

Gorgeous. I can't believe it's Thanksgiving up where you are already. It's still 70 degrees in Louisiana and this is considered a generous cool-front at this point.

Would I be able to email you about an indie film I'm a part of? I think it would speak to you and your audience. You said the best way to reach you was through commenting, so, here I am!

saleema said...

Louisiana! Aha. Yes, Thanksgiving comes early in Canada.

Sure, my email is first dot last at gmail.