On a Retro Weekend in Toronto - Part B

Walking to then from Eggspectations.... Walking around the Eaton Centre.... (I bought stuff).... walking back to the hotel and nap time..... (Ok - that wouldn't have been as important if we were younger).... walking to the ROM and around and up and down .... walking back to Yonge street.... walking to the Korean Grill Table for dinner.... walking from the restaurant to the desert place..... (we needed to get some calories in us for all that walking).... walking to the hotel.... sitting to check e-mail, facebook... and the blog .....

The "theatahhhh"

There is something about attending a live theatre performance that both excites and saddens me. When you are sitting in row BB (2nd row) and almost centre stage, seeing the actor staring out - and looking at you (it seems) - spitting out his lines (metaphorically and in fact) - one can be mesmorized by the eyes, the intent, the intention, the passion, the depth....

In the past few weeks, I have been made aware of either former classmates of mine or actors with whom I have worked, that have continued in their craft - and I congratulate them for their perserverence, and skill - and admit to a certain degree of jealosy..... If I didn't have to do curtain calls, I would love to be on stage. It is an inner hunger - a thirst that I manage to quench for the most part. But it is "seeing" some one else on those boards that makes me recall the old joke about how many actors does it take to change a light bulb. The answer? One - but all other actors would stand around and say " I could have done that (better)."

Of course this is all moot, given that no one is planning to hire me to do anything on stage.... Wait! Dark. Curtain up in 5.... 4.... 3.... 2.... 1......

On a retro weekend in Toronto - Part A

Andris and I are in Toronto, enjoying a reto weekend of sorts. WIth the cats left at home with bowls of food and Barney at Aunt Shirley's.... we set off for Toronto via VIA. The original raison d'etre of this getaway was to see a production of "Barrymore" at the Elgin / Winter Garden on Yonge St, starring Christopher Plummer. Unfortunately or fortunately - I am not sure which - any talk of Plummer reminds me of my mother, who once having heard that he referred to the movie "Sound of Music" as the worst saccharin sweet crap he had ever made (or words to that effect)said thatshe could never watch him again.

Well - tonight he was very good in a part he could run the gamut of peacefully calm expression to chewing up the scenery. The script is one that, with the cute guffaws and sometimes great oneliners, any competent actor could generate the laughs, but it did seem that he was more than that. With his age, Plummer is certainly an iconic actor of his generation, with generational actors not being much the norm any more, are they? We were lucky to have had this chance to see him.

Oh BTW - the retro part of the visit has to do with eating at Frans on College and Mr Greenjeans at the Eaton Centre....

Sounds of silence

At times it groans. At other times it moans or grumbles. Sometimes one might think that it was just the rumble of distant thunder. In other eras, people might have compared the sound to the drone of distant artillery fire. I have heard that whale song is similar.

At other times there is a crack, like the snapping of a branch or a sharp crack of a whip.

Up to this home, I have never lived near a large body of water. The Madawaska has provided a unique learning experience.

Who knows whenI will get another chance to draw or paint, so I thought that I'd add my sketch and watercolour to the Point No Point blog....

It is nearing the end of February and with the new year already 1/6th down, it is amazing to think that time is on its usual racettrack course. Andris is racing away on plans and ambitions to return to jogging, and I am ... not. I am racing to a slower life, more sedentary, and less healthy.

I would like to think that it is partly the fact that every year my body my body goes into hibernation mode, with extra layers of fat....

Day Five
February 10th

Our last full day and night at PNP this Feb 2011. Over the past few days I have been trying to keep waking up at least shortly after 6am.... We have been going to bed around 10pm and so the amount of sleep is closer to 8 hrs... though my body craves more. And yet – I am fully aware or try and keep aware of the fact that in two days back in Arnprior I have a class with 3 or 4 children preparing for the Sacrament of reconciliation and I will have to be getting up at the latest 5:30 BC time (8:30 Arnprior), to get the space prepared (and me prepared!) for 7am BC time teaching (10:00 Arnprior). I was hoping that Andris would keep sleeping like he did yesterday – but today he is up with me – I made coffee, he poured it and sliced a piece of bread for each of us. A calm morning.

Andris was still antsy to go for a drive to Port Renfrew – so (I hope he truly didn’t mind... he’d never tell me if he did... mind, that is....) off he went in that direction and shortly thereafter (it was around 8:30am) I headed off to the beach, sketch pad, pencil, and paints at hand – plus blanket to sit upon. I started to sketch a tree soon after going through the gate. However, after about 10 minutes, I decided that I should really go to where there was something a bit more “unusual”. My first “real” sketch was of the windswept tree. It felt good to draw... not that how I was drawing was necessarily the thing coming out the way I saw it. I went down to the beach and at first was planning to take crayons out to draw/colour rocks, but the crayons were back in the cabin. So I decided to go back to sketch – maybe something “interesting”. Why I chose the most gnarly tree stump/root, I don’t know. In retrospect it was probably pride to show I could. While it was interesting, my pride did not have to grow from the result. Then came watercolour – acrylics attempt. I spent most of the time “trying” things – since I certainly had forgotten most of whatever anyone had taught me (sorry Mr Hyndeman!) Again a humbling experience. Mind you, the actor or peacock in me was imagining Andris coming down and seeing me from a distance, taking a great outdoorsy portrait: Anda painting rocks from the rocks. What I didn’t know was that the big camera had died while Andris tried to take a short clip out by Port Renfrew.
Ah Pride strikes again....

We went to the local restaurant for lunch (I think both of us agree that the place, though greatly recommended, and though fine, is not the “exquisite” we expected. But the restaurant HAS been closed for over a month. Perhaps it needs to get back into form.

We took our daily trip to Sooke to check the phones and internet (though until I had already packed up the first time, I thought I had left the Bell stick at the cabin – and so was delayed.) While I tried to quickly check things Andris went for a stroll – looking by chance at a real estate place window of sales (we could never afford to move here – I guess it will have to be Twillingate!) and bought a $20 BC ticket. Expensive? Yes. BUT on the ticket we won in 2 games for a total of $60 – that is a $40 profit. Not enough to by a place but enough to cover our gas expenses!

Back at the cabin I took a tub while Andris napped (a first – ie me in before him) but since then he has been in at least twice and plans a third time before bed.

And so the real DO NOTHING holiday is coming to an end. And I would come back to do the same “nothing” in a heartbeat.