beezy

My friend, the stunning actress Kate Trotter, just came for lunch, and I'm exhausted. We haven't seen each other for months and had so much to tell, so many stories, so much intense history to share ... oh the joy of old friends. She has just won another Best Actress award for her star turn in the film "Tru Love." She's spectacular and smart, should have been a director. We gabbled without stopping for hours and now I need to collapse.

But can't, because I have a list a mile long of things to do - to promote my books. A new kind of freelance life is dawning, one where the work never ends. No wonder people are always looking at their cellphones - they're in a race, and the finish line is always advancing. It occurs to me that there's a nightmarish aspect to this. I had thought I'd settle down in August, free my mind, take a deep breath and begin the next book. And also try to at least make a dent in the six foot high stack of books in the living-room. And instead, I'm writing press releases and compiling mailing lists and asking a friend to teach me how to tweet. Yes. I will learn to tweet. Yay.

Just had a long chat in French with my new tenant, who's arriving in a few weeks. Talk about serendipity - only two days after my post about needing to fill my basement suite, my friend and student Carol wrote that a dear friend's daughter was arriving from Quebec City and needed a place. She sounds adorable, and I was able to tell her about all the francophones on this block. Not your typical Toronto 'hood, that's for sure.

The weather is beyond stunning. A friend at the Y today was complaining about the humidity, and I said, Are you out of your mind? It's the mildest, freshest summer I can remember. But then, he's a kvetcher; that's his default position, there's always something wrong. Whereas I am Pollyanna - life is peachy keen!

But truly, it has been the most glorious summer so far. I only use my air conditioning when the temperature is beyond bearing, and I've not turned it on once so far. Let's hope this mildness lasts. Because I have really a lot to do.

But first, a large glass of wine on the deck and a visit with another of my dearest friends - le jardin.