Seven Quick Takes Friday.

Welcome to visitors from Conversion Diary and Company Girls.

--1--

Had a lovely lunch with my sister-in-law on Wednesday.  She and my brother and their three young children moved to Toronto last fall and she's starting work in a couple of weeks.  I realised that we had never spent much time together without children or husbands as they've always lived in a different city.  She's starting a job at the end of the month, so before her days get filled with work (as opposed to children) we headed to a lovely restaurant (Fieramosca Trattoria) in Yorkville and spent a peaceful hour and a half in front of a fireplace with a delicious Italian lunch. (Think: truffle-stuffed gnocchi!)

--2--

Tomorrow, Z and I have tickets to the King Tut exhibit at the Art Gallery of Ontario.  We got early ones as apparently the crowds are sparser, so we'll be there bright and early at 10 am.  We'll see the exhibit with an audio guide, and then a 3D film.  The AGO is in China town, so we'll likely head for Dim Sum or something afterwards.  

--3--

It's March Break for Michael next week.  We have nothing planned, as Z and I are heading to Rome in a couple of weeks. Michael had thought about visiting his brother at Queen's but Alex already had friends coming on the weekends and he's in the final countdown of the term right now, so it's not a great time for visitors.  Michael's pretty happy just hanging out for the week with friends, so it'll be a pretty low-key break for him.

--4--

I've been reading a novel called Rosa by Jonathan Rabb.  I think I read a review of a later book of his, and decided to borrow this one first.  It's not the kind of book I"d typically read...it's set in Germany in the last days of WWI, and is a fictionalized account of what may have happened to Rosa Luxemburg, a socialist revolutionary, who was assassinated in January 1919.  I started the book with some sense that I wouldn't be able to "get into" it, but it very quickly grabbed me.  I'll finish it this morning and start on another of Rabb's, Shadow and Light, set in 1927 Berlin.

--5--

My to-do list for today includes errands (library, Costco, cleaners), write up the minutes and prepare executive agenda for parish Catholic Women's League, research and price some new washer/dryer pairs, get gifts for a birthday party this Sunday and think about the salad I'm bringing (likely Greek).

--6--

Speaking of a new washer/dryer:  my ancient washing machine (that came with the house) is giving up the ghost.  It's not spinning well, and leaking oil, so it's got to go.  We have a reasonably new dryer so I will plan to sell it on Craiglist and get a stackable set of high efficiency machines.  We had a high efficiency pair in Atlanta but we sold them with the house and I miss them a lot.  With Toronto (Ontario?) moving to time-of-use pricing for electricity, it makes sense to get machines that (a) use less electricity/hot water and (b) have a timer so that I can run them at low priced hours (like, in the middle of the night). Right now, I have to spin our washer twice and the clothes STILL come out sodden.  I am tired of hand-wringing anything towards the bottom of the machine.  A stackable pair will free up space in our laundry room for a freezer which we've wanted for some time but have had nowhere to put.

--7--

I just bought a new Moleskine diary that I will start on our trip to Rome.  My old one is just about full, and it would be nice to start the new one with notes, pics, and ephemera from out trip.  I've been using my diary as a notebook, journal, and scrapbook, gluing in event tickets, restaurant business cards, and even some rose petals.  I enjoy looking back at these items that trigger such great memories.  My own memory is not so hot, so by including these sorts of things and annotating or journalling around them, it brings them back a little bit.  I also recently joined the International Association for Journal Writing to help me progress in the actual writing part!  It's helped keep my book with me in my bag at all times, and I use it as a learning journal as well as a space for personal writing.

Please check out other Quick Takes over at Conversion Diary!