busy busy

These last few weeks have been uncharacteristically busy. In June , the hub and I went on a one week cruise to new England and Canada, starting in Boston and ending in Montreal. It was great, the weather was cool, with one excursion being uncomfortably cold and wet, I found neat things to buy, but not over budget (well under), the people were friendly, it was a part of the country I had never seen. I know the cruises and their excursions are planned to gloss over any non-promoting sights, but even so, we saw much that was one-of-a-kind. I could do a vacation by car to check out places more thoroughly. There was a slight feeling of desperation at several of the places we visited, the economy downturn has had an unhappy effect on the tourist $$ coming in. But!

The house of Anne of Green Gables has green gables, plus a lovely old barn (I favor barns over houses, especially ones that still show their animal side.) The gift shop was crammed, and I couldn't even get near the shelves where all the books were for sale. I had hoped to buy a copy there of the first book, since I've never read them -- yes yes I know-- but guess I'll have to go to Amazon for this.

We won't be going back to Montreal. In Quebec City, the population makes an effort to be bilingual, but in Montreal, you are a second class citizen if you only speak English . There was some problem at Canadian customs, but I don't know what, the agents talked back and forth over my head, then told me to proceed, and wait, then proceed. Much confusion. N they waved right through. I never cared for French, too many words that don't sound like they look. For example, they say "American" weird, and any "out" word becomes a cross between oot and oat. But then they put words that look like one thing, pronounce another, and mean a third something. Ah well, good food.

The cruise itself was grand, with only one day when we strongly felt the roll of the ship. That would be on June 6th, of course, our 40th wedding anniversary. There I am, dressed to the nines, and trying to walk on unfamiliar high heels across marble, then carpet, then marble again, while the ship LEANS side to side. I clenched N's arm and then slipped my shoes off. I have a habit of turning my foot and breaking my ankle. It didn't help that I had drunk the best part of a bottle of white wine. I don't even remember the kind of wine, which I should at $85 the bottle. Beyond a certain point, it all tastes like, as the English say, plonk. N popped not one but TWO buttons on his black vest, which gave us the giggles. AND a complimentary dessert, all decorated and sparkled. That night was like sleeping in a hammock, gently swaying side to side, very relaxing, for me, anyway. I heard there was a run on the dramamine that night.

Our cabin was a little shabby, the ship is due for a total gut-to-the-bulkheads at the end of the season and it shows. But the view from our private veranda (la di dah) was gorgeous... sunset:



We really had a lovely time.

Bumper sticker of the day: "A bad analogy is like a leaky screwdriver"