report, part two

We headed out to Buffalo very early today, after reports of massive delays at the border and at airports, because of today's "terror alert". I'm happy to say it was smooth sailing all the way - no traffic, no delays - another successful airport run.

It was also a very successful visit with our niece E. Great talks, lots of laughs, beautiful weather, and even our neighbour's swimming pool - what more could we ask for?

While chatting about Toronto, I told Eva about our theatre subscription, and the Distillery District where we see the plays. She's an artist, and very interested in crafts of all kinds, and really wanted to go there. So, ironically, we went to the one cultural place in Toronto where we've been more than any other, rather than finding someplace new to us. But even though Allan and I have been to the Distillery District many times, we haven't explored the galleries and studios very well at all. So we had lunch at the yummy Brick Street Bakery, strolled around looking at ceramic making, furniture making, weaving, painting and sculpture, then topped it off with Soma, the incredible chocolate and gelato makers. Eva has a very strong interest in organic food and creative cooking, so that was also a great hit.

From there, we drove up to the flagship LCBO store, always fun, although not quite the scene it was last year before the holidays. We drove around Toronto a little, to see a few landmarks and neighbourhoods from the car, then back down to the St. Lawrence Market, to buy cheese, bread, and fruit for our picnic.

We all have fun memories of picnics in Central Park, combined with Shakespeare In The Park or a free concert from the New York Philharmonic. ("I think I've had too many grapes.") Between that and the perfect weather, we decided not to go out to dinner, but to picnic in our backyard.

Then: photos of India, photos of Peru, more baseball (I fear the Red Sox may never win another game), and this morning, a lakeside walk with Cody. I had such a good time this week.

Tomorrow, it's back to real life - work, and time to start my next round of writing assignments.