All hail Queen Victoria...

Thanks to her, we have a long weekend here in Canada. Victoria Day is traditionally celebrated among Canadians as (among other things):

• the weekend when cottagers head north to open up the cottage & see what damage the mice & squirrels have wrought over the winter;
• the kickoff to gardening season (assuming you've actually had some frost-free overnights);
• a good excuse to party & drink beer (Victoria Day was traditionally on the Queen's actual birthday, May 24th -- hence the nickname "May 2-4");
• a good excuse to set off fireworks in your yard & scare the cr@p out of your neighbours, who fear having a Roman candle come whizzing through their front door (this is not as funny or unrealistic as it might sound, particularly in suburbia, where the frontage of most lots is about 30-50 feet max). This is, I think, something peculiar to Ontario (at any rate, it's not something I recall being a big deal, growing up in small towns on the Prairies). Ontarians seem to set off as many if not more fireworks on the Victoria Day weekend as they do on Canada Day.

I'm listening to the fireworks exploding outside as I type. It's actually stopped raining long enough for people to set them off. It has been mostly cold, wet & miserable so far this weekend, although things might improve somewhat tomorrow (we hope). Despite a round of amoxicillin (not to mention Monistat), I've had a bit of a relapse of my sore throat/plugged up ear. Grrr. I could feel it coming on Friday morning, but couldn't get in to see my dr until Tuesday. I've held it at bay with some Tylenol, decongestant & good old-fashioned saltwater gargles. Sometimes the old ways really are the best. Unfortunately, I couldn't hold off AF. Sometimes it doesn't just rain but it pours. Sigh.

For dh & me, this May long weekend marks 18 years since we moved into our house. We thought we'd be here maybe five years tops, then move onto something larger to accommodate our expanding family. Well, it's still just the two of us, and we're still here (although at least the mortgage isn't, yay us!). With the weather being so lousy & me not feeling 100%, we put off doing any yard work (plus I wouldn't go near a garden centre this weekend if you paid me...!), & have stuck to doing what we know & love best: sleeping in, & visiting two different local Chapters bookstores, lol.

Last night we went to FIL's. StepBIL & his pg wife were there, & SIL & I were handed our invitations to the shower, which is June 29th. There is no way that I can get out of going, so I will just have to bite the bullet & visit Babies R Us one of these weekends (soon, before the registry gets too picked over).

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Yesterday's Globe & Mail had an interview with Cherie Blair, the wife of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and an excerpt from her new memoir. The passage describes how Blair discovered -- at age 47, the age I am now -- that she was once again pregnant, only to learn at an ultrasound that the baby had no heartbeat.

With four other children, including Leo, born when she was already in her 40s, this woman obviously had no fertility problems. But it's still heartbreaking to read about her loss -- & especially how her husband & his advisors, without consulting her, decided to announce it to the world for political reasons. Thank God most of us have never had that particular angle to worry about in the middle of grieving a lost baby.

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I've added a new icon in the top right-hand corner. Mel at Stirrup Queens is sponsoring NaCommLeavMo, a new initiative to promote dialogue among bloggers (IF-related & otherwise), beginning next Sunday, May 25th, and running for one month until June 25th. Those of us who have signed up -- 165 at last count (!!) -- have pledged to leave 5 comments a day on other people's blogs & return at least one comment a day left on our own blogs. If you're interested in taking part, click on the link here or the one just below the icon to find out more.