Thank you, Bill

Our flight has been canceled, and no one's a bit unhappy about it. We'll now stay until tomorrow, when we'll try again but with a slightly more complex travel plan: we drive to Halifax, fly to Montreal and then change planes for NY. There wasn't a peep from anyone (and this group peeps with surprising volume.)

Yesterday was a nice, lazy day. Nick and I played 2 games of Scrabble before the kids woke up (score: 1-1.) Kids woke up late and we all had breakfast together (eggs and waffles.) Then we s-l-o-w-l-y got ourselves together, tooled around Summerside where Nikki made an appointment to get a new tatoo (a mermaid) and we shopped at Sobey's with the hurricane in mind. That meant lots and lots of snacks (hey, you never know) and all the fixings for dinner tonight. Liv in particular loved the food shopping; Sobey's is all the theme park she needs. The menu includes grilled chicken and fish, salad, rolls, roasted sweet potatoes and fries. A lazy afternoon followed the lazy morning, and then I received the email alert from Air Canada that Halifax flights were canceled. Nikki spent the day at a tattoo parlor in town, where it took nearly three hours to get the very impressive, highly colorful mermaid the artist skillfully applied. Liv and I were both relieved that we'd decided to pass on our tattoos; we prefer the idea to the reality.

I was reminded of TS Eliot's the Hollow Men:

between the conception
and the creation
Between the emotion
And the response
Falls the shadow

Life is very long

Between the desire
and the spasm
Between the potency
And the existence
Between the essence
And the descent
Falls the shadow

For Thine is the Kingdom

That's where our tattoos fell -- in the shadow. Where they belong. Using Eliot to describe our tattoo experience is reductive, I know. It's like having an elephant dragging a straw. But it's what came to mind.

A couple of complications but nothing dire. Holly needs to stay in the kennel a little longer, Matt and his friend will come home to an empty house, I'll need to do whatever work I have by phone.

Before dinner some more games. Nick and I played the tie-breaking Scrabble game (won by your faithful writer.) Then Nick, Jamie, Jon, Liv and I played a rotating Boggle game (me in, then Nick in, me out, Liv out.) And Judy, if you're reading this we decided we don't love your version which is all about quantity of words; we find to have more challenge and bite when we play by the regular rules. I like looking for the longer words; they're both more satisfying and give me a better shot at finding words no one else has.) Jamie is a great game player; she learns new games at lightning speed and is an excellent sport.

We had fun making dinner, and more fun eating it. Lots of stories, lots of laughing. The girls and Jon got along beautifully (Nikki: you don't say much but when you do it's funny. Jon: I usually do say a lot but you guys talk so much I don't have much to say.) Roaring laughter ensued.

After the dinner the kids settled in to play games, and after we finished cleaning Susan came by to hang out. It was great fun. She told me that this blog has silent readers (if you're there, keep reading. I'll keep writing) and that one post in particular -- I love Nick -- is especially admired. For me that one was one of the easiest to write; as copywriters say the copy wrote itself.

We had a lot of fun talking about everything, and only cut it short because my back began to speak, and what it wanted to say was that it was time to lay down. I don't want this friendship with Susan to end when the house is done; I really enjoy her company. There's still our master bath to do but I'd like to see this friendship sustain beyond a working relationship.

And Susan: come to NY! Use your miles and we'd love to show you around. If you like Toronto you'll love NYC. I'll be fit for this kind of activity in the late fall or beyond, when I'm healed and have my mobility back. (Damn, I hate that word mobility. It reminds me of nothing so much as those scooter commercials for old people.)

I got through the entire day without Vicodin. I found it better to feel the pain in its raw form but keep my wits about me. We'll see how today goes, but I have so many narcotic days in my future that it's better to spend a few of these clean and sober (well clean, at least. We do like the sweet white wine-in-a box we get here.)