I ended up all over the country last month on last minute trips.  It was a blast, and I am now officially pooped!

It started in Abbotsford, BC, at EAT Fraser Valley (that’s me with Bob Blumer who was also on stage for the event, and who, in fact, got me involved in the first place).  Bob was promoting his book Pizza on the Grill (I bought a copy for my dad). He made a corn, pesto and asparagus pizza, and (sorry Bob), but I thought…”A…. what?!?!”  Well, it was stunning.  Possibly the best pizza I have ever eaten.

After that, I went to Vancouver and stayed with dear friends who were once my neighbours in Germany.  They had two fifteen-year-old boxes of mine from that long-ago era, full of all sorts of embarrassing items. I grabbed the bag of letters and the diaries, neither of which I have the guts of open, and chucked out the rest. (Yikes!) Oh well, the box wasn't the point of the visit. The best was getting together with old friends and picking right up where we left off.

Next was Banff, Alberta, where I met up with two of my oldest friends for a weekend. We went hiking and trail-riding, despite our grizzly-bear concerns, and talked up a storm.  To be honest, the past is more terrifying than any wild beast. I’d take a rattlesnake over 2005 any day, personally.

Finally, Toronto for a week, at which point I decided to plant myself there for the winter because I am sick of moving around constantly (You’ll be hearing me complain about this decision in a couple of months… just wait for it…). Now I am visiting family on the east coast for two weeks, trying to tie up various projects and pack (…to pack what I have, that is, because most of my life remains in boxes in a Paris cave!)  It all feels very hectic, but I suppose action is a good sign. That’s what September (the true New Year for so many of us) is about anyway.

 I hope you have had a happy return to your fall routines.  Let’s enjoy the last of the peaches and tomatoes…because cabbage and turnip season is right around the corner!

A bientôt,