sweet Sunday

Sunday morning of a long weekend, what a blessed time. Very quiet. It's the Caribana festival weekend, so I know there are hordes out there getting ready to party wildly. But here it's an oasis of tranquillity. (Is that a cliché I see before me?)

Had an interesting inner-city experience yesterday. There's a new and beautiful public swimming pool a few blocks away, part of the redevelopment of Regent Park; I'm not much of a swimmer but do enjoy a splash in the summer, so I've been once - cool and wet but crowded. I learned that there's a "women only" swim once a week, primarily for Muslim women, so yesterday I went. They actually pull blinds down to block off the windows all round, and since it's an entirely open, glass-enclosed pool, that's a lot of blinds. Very thoughtful.

And so there we were with this vast pool to ourselves, me and a handful of Muslim women and girls, most of them in long t-shirts and even leggings. I ploughed up and down for 10 or 15 minutes, and now my shoulders ache. So much for fitness. I was the only Caucasian woman and the only woman really swimming. Hopefully that will change. But it must be hard to swim in a long-sleeved t-shirt.

Today, a huge treat - Eli and his mother are just back from visiting family in the Okanagan; Anna is going to her best friend's wedding today, so I have Eli all day. I'm looking forward though also have some trepidation - all day. I take him home at bedtime where Anna's housemate will take over. He is a mightily energetic little boy. This will be a test of Glamma's energy, that's for sure.

Oh, and my friend and tenant Carol is reading the memoir, and she also says she relates and is laughing out loud and having a good time. She's only on Chapter 4, though. A long way to go. And she does live in my house, so disliking my writing would perhaps not be a great idea.