September left me breathless

This month was wonder full.

Celebrated birthdays September 3. Two of my brothers also have September birthdays, so I invited all my siblings for a birthday party. It was great to see those that could make it (Kathy, Mike and Karen, Sarah and Olivia, Pat, Robin, Alex, Penny, Rob and me.)  Beautiful weather and we enjoyed the back deck and garden. Burgers, sausages and salads. Rob served cocktails. Really enjoyed everyone's company and the chance to hang out. 

September 6 Book Club, rushing home from a TMG event so I could prepare the meal for our gathering. Everyone enjoyed Orwell's Roses, my book pick, and the lively discussion. 

September 7 was my birthday and we enjoyed at home with Alex and Penny and Amita and Twincy. Rob's present this year was a Little Library. We painted it together in the basement before it opened for business. The first day a couple books disappeared and I wondered how I would keep it stocked, but books have also been appearing. Chris T. also gave me a whole bagfull. The bright Little Library is a lovely addition to the front yard. 

September 8, an overnite birthday get-away to Stratford where we saw Spamalot and Grand Magic. Dinner at Elizabeth's for fantastic food and outstanding cocktails. 

September 16 college reunion. 40+ years! Wow! Kip, John, Dave, Hugh, Alex/Runt, Alan, Tom, Jim & me. Dave instigated and John hosted in his backyard. We watched a few of our old college thesis films. Earnest efforts. Then there were the photos of our youthful selves, gazed upon by the present older selves. Very trippy. Even sitting around the table speaking with people, the youthful selves there behind the older faces. A pentimento effect. Time travel. Amazing to see everyone.

September 19 my brother Dave treated me to a birthday lunch downtown and we had a lovely tete du tete. I then treated myself to a bit of birthday shopping at what I still call the Eaton Centre.

September 20 was the 101st opening of the Toronto Symphony and there was a full orchestra for Stravinsky's Rite of Spring, Gershwin's Jazz Concerto, and Lili Boulanger. We sat in the Choir seats so had a great view of all the musicians.

September 23 was Nuit Blanche, we sampled the installations at Toronto Botanical Gardens. A projection of lights on top of forest backdrop, molecules and DNS shifting perspective. And lights embedded in a forest path for a mythical winding walk.

September 24 was a matinee at the Crow's Nest, The Master Plan. Outstanding writing, excellent performances, lots of belly laughs. A 'fictional' account of what went down when Google came to Toronto and Sidewalk Labs clashed with Waterfront Toronto. Definitely a missed opportunity and maybe not such a bad thing it didn't all come to fruition.

September 11 and 25, Uke Jam!

September 29 a visit to the Aga Khan for the Rumi exhibit, which I'd wanted to see for months. It was leaving October 1. The grounds there are so inspiring, and there was an installation called 'Listen': There is a voice that does not use words. (Rumi)

September 30 I hosted Epitourists and Laura stayed the weekend. The theme I suggested was AI, using a chat bot to select dishes based on the ingredients at hand, but Kaarina just couldn't get into it. But the main thing was to get together... and I wanted to try the ingredients Seared Ahi Tuna and Poke. These were raw fish dishes I picked up from Costco that were sitting in the freezer. Quick and easy, and quite delicious. I also tried a soup of frozen Concord grapes with a hot bone broth poured on top. Stunning! Kaarina brought a fantastic Mexican corn salad and Laura fried up some apple fritters. In the evening we were off to BPYC for a jazz night and some oysters. Sunday we did the International Authors Festival at Harbourfront.

My garden, qi gong, and yoga to nourish my mind and body.

I have been tracking my volunteer hours so I am aware how I am spending time. BPYC  totalled 26+ for the month, comprised of Board meetings, monitoring issues and mostly trying to get the By-law ready for member ratification. 

Toronto Master Gardeners kept me very busy this month, too. The monthly meeting, field trips and 20+ hours of volunteering. I ended up delivering several demos because I couldn't find volunteers. The topic was Caring for Houseplants, and though I was nervous to deliver my first one, it turned out to be a great experience for everyone (including me). It's true that one of the best ways to learn something is to teach it. Field trips to Royal Ontario Museum Herbarium and the other to Meadoway were extremely informative. The University of Guelph class on Plant Identification began, and part of the curriculum is herbaria, so there was a nice overlap with the field trip. Lots of learning!

Yes, September left me breathless and also very thankful for my time and the people I know and love on the planet.