Dear Diary – Best hug ever! It’s been over 3 months since I saw Big Guy in person. I think that’s the longest we’ve been apart. Of course, we talked and after I returned to the city, we resumed our weekly “Halo night”. But nothing is the same as being together in person. He came down for the weekend, with a large basket of “priority laundry” and a black hawk airplane cookie cutter he made on his 3D printer. So we baked cookies too. We waved him off Sunday evening 10 lbs lighter (hair/beard cut), with 4 loads of clean laundry, and a clean car. Happy Mama!

Dear Diary – I spent the morning participating in a small, distanced outdoor recording session. For the most part, it went well. There were a few false starts, a key signature change and a set-shift to accommodate the sun. Anyone who has played or spoken outside understands the challenges. The biggest, of course, being the wind. Though my pages were taped to the keyboard stand, ironically page 2 fell flat and page 3 tried to fly away as we were singing “Be the wind inside my sails”. While a bunch of pages skittered down the driveway, page 3 caught on my skirt, allowing me to grab it in time for the bridge. I was flustered by the near-disaster. I once played a flute offertory while Little Guy clung to my skirts, and entertained himself by rocking the music stand. I planted my foot on the stand and kept going, much to the astonishment of those with a front row view of the “action”.
If evolution works, how come mothers only have two hands? – Milton Berle
Speaking of front row views, during the next song, the eldest child of the household tried to sneak out the front door. I heard the door and I could see Dad’s head following him as he edged along the porch until he could jump and run to his destination. Not only did we catch him on tape, but I caught Dad’s face, as he followed him with his eyes.

I’m pretty sure my Dad has given me the same look a time or two. No harm done. Personally, I thought it was delightful reminder of family life. 🙂
Dear Diary – We celebrated our 24th wedding anniversary on Monday. I decided I wasn’t cooking. Since there’s nowhere to go, we took a chance and ordered in something special.
It was a great pizza. The wine was purchased back in April during the lock down when I went shopping for pink champagne.

If only we had played video games too…
Dear Diary – Of course! On the day that I’m leaving for a 3 week vacation at my parents, and I’m running late, Hubby calls to tell me my computer charger is broken. Little Guy has been living on my laptop for weeks and it was one of the incentives for coming with me to my folks instead of staying in the city. Dad to the rescue – he found a charger I can borrow that works until I can find a replacement. I pretty sure Hubby and I are jinxed it. We were just discussing purchasing a new laptop for me and giving this one to Little Guy. We did this the last time I got a new laptop, and it completely died the very next day. It only stands to reason that history is repeating itself.
Dear Diary – Happy Canada Day!
I woke to Westminster chimes at 6 a.m. Dad forgot to turn off the clock outside my bedroom. The sun had already risen but since I was up, I stumbled outside without my glasses and in my nightie, to snap a few pics of the morning mist, before stumbling back to bed. I looked at the pictures at a respectable hour. Apparently I wasn’t the only turkey awake at that hour. My photo caught 3 more in the field…

While we didn’t have any of the usual Canada Day activities, like the classic car show, we still enjoyed a BBQ. As the last crimson band of sky started to fade, I noticed nature’s fireworks in the grass…fireflies. And once it was dark, our neighbours treated us to a short but brilliant display of fireworks to usher in summer.
… their shining branches dropped glowing flowers down upon the hobbits…there were fountains of butterflies that flew glittering into the trees; there were pillars of coloured fires that rose…there was a red thunderstorm and a shower of yellow rain; there was a forest of silver spears that sprang suddenly into the air…and came down again into the Water with a hiss…” -― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring