7:07 p.m. - 2004-01-24
Return of Winter
The cats were hungry early this morning and there wasn't anything appropriately feline to feed them. No big deal - just a nice refreshing walk to the store. Uh huh. Looked out the front door and what did I see - calf high snow drifts looking back at me. So out came the snow shovel and I did a quick clean up before setting off - testing out my "Fagin" gloves (see the movie "Oliver"). I knew from the forecasts that the temperature had dropped to about -20 C, but the meteorologist neglected to mention the intensity of the wind. I had dressed for cold weather, but that wind still cut through the layers of my clothes. Acclimatized as I am to such atmoshperic eccentricitites, my face and my calfs still took the brunt of the damage from the cold. No balaclava (robber's mask in most movies) you see and just ankle high boots when knee length would have been smarter, since I was wearing a long skirt instead of pants. Oh well - just meant I moved a little quicker.
My second son had called to ask if I wanted to go to the market with them today, so after my outdoors adventure, I passed the time waiting for them to arrive by reading the newspaper while a biography of Kevin Costner played in the background. Maybe it was because it was his birthday last week. I was musing a bit about why it is that some public figures can do no wrong and others just can't seem to please the media no matter how hard they work. Last night I had watched "Quigley Down Under" for about the nth time - my sons just know to be sure that the tv's turned on whenever it's aired. I love watching Tom Selleck's material any time and having the added entertainment of Alan Rickman (Prof Snape in Harry Potter or the Sheriff of Nottingham in "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves")is an unbeatable combination to my mind.
I found myself thinking about the difference as the commentators were talking about Costner's movie "Dances With Wolves", "Bull Durham", and "Field of Dreams". Yes he's a perfectionist but isn't that a plus when trying to convey a story? Does it matter that he switched to fantasy and then to comedies? The reason I was doing a comparison between the three men was that each has a strength in certain character roles and genres, but each has demonstrated an enormous amount of flexibility and depth in taking on other types of roles and responsibilities. What is it about Costner that raises the hackles of so many critics? Don't know.
The telephone rang about then and it was my brother telling me that his partner's Mom had died last night. She hadn't told anyone that the cancer everyone else had thought was in remission had come back with a vengeance. Spent her last week doing what she always had as a single parent - working and looking after her daughters. My brother was trying to look after the details that all demand attention immediately after a death and wanted to know if I had much knowledge of what happens when someone dies intestate - no will. Further discussion indicated that Mom had kept a journal and had indicated her wishes there. In this province a holographic will is considered acceptable by the courts if certain criteria is met. Mom didn't have much material wealth so there shouldn't be many problems.
I told my brother I'd call a friend that I've volunteered with for decades, who also works in the provincial offices that deal with such things just to clarify some issues. We talked for over an hour but it should help smooth things out immensely for the family. Got to talking about family things after - just catching up. She was telling me her daughter, niece and her were starting a belly dance class this coming week. I offered to lend her my hip scarf - with tassels - and veil as well as some of my CDs so she can practice. She has several cats too so I told her they'd probably be as fascinated as mine are when I practice - they love chasing those tassels around. If their claws score your leg - oh well - you were playing, right? She said there were a few spots left in the class if I wanted to tag along with them. Quite frankly I would love that, because there a very strong intuition that I should get more involved in the dancing. I have no idea how that would fit into my current lifestyle but I've learned never to ignore such strong inner promptings. Who knows maybe I'm going to be the next Mata Hari only going into the Middle East as a spy. No wait she was executed right? I've got to stop choosing role models like that - no more martyrs, has to be my New Year's resolution I think.
Finished that call and my son and his partner were at the door. Looked outside and what did I see, the walk that I shoveled a couple of hours before buried in as much snow as when I had first cleared it. The roads were treacherous - not because there was anything unusual about the snowfall, but just because people were driving liek it was the middle of summer with no precipitation to take into account. Fender benders littered the roads. Like you can't see the white stuff? Oh well. The Chinese market was still festive because of the Chinese New Year but everything was on sale - kind of like an Asian Boxing Day. Treats were secured and I stocked up on won ton wraps, seafood packages (squid, octopi, mussels and prawns - bait as some are wont to call it) and tamarind paste to make my pepper soup - Rassum in Farsi. My son was in a hurry to get back home to his nice warm outdoor hot tub after. He said a good long soak helps him deal with the stress of driving with so many idiots on the road. Um sure - but outside, in this weather? He promised not to roll in any snow banks after. Good thing.
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