I almost didn’t make my annual trip to Muskoka this year—didn’t want to wear out my welcome; I’d visited twice last year, once for my parents’ 60th wedding anniversary, and again at Christmas. Happily, all it took was one phone call from my big sister to change my mind. Guess I was looking for a push. The cottage fills me with childhood memories of when we were water babies, snow babies, and bonfire aficionados.
First stop: Toronto
This year, my vacation didn’t quite sync with my sister’s time off, but it meant I got to spend some time in downtown Toronto, which I haven’t done for years.
I love the old stone buildings and the towering spires of the Cathedral Church of St. James is a beautiful example.
Red brick is a Toronto staple and found everywhere. I snapped a pic of the Flatiron building with the Trompe l’ceil wall on the rear.
City Hall made me pause. I remembered finishing a ten-kilometre Miles-for-Millions walkathon there when I was a pre-teen (though I can’t remember where the trek began or what we were raising money for).
I stopped to watch dogs and their owners enjoy a whimsical spouting fountain in Berczy Park that made me wish I still had my dogs.
The St. Lawrence Market hasn’t changed, though the pork chops weren’t piled sky high in the butchers’ cases like they used to be.
Next stop: Cottage Country
At the end of the week, we headed up to my sister’s cottage, which is our grandmother’s former home. It’s next door to our parent’s place on the Manitouwabing River.
I had a terrific visit with parents, sisters, a brother, a great aunt, cousins, nieces, and many friends. We spent time reminiscing, as we inevitably do, and adding to each other’s memories.
When I was young, I didn’t appreciate the cottage like I do now. It wasn’t that I didn’t enjoy being there, but the drive up was torture. I got terribly car sick (still do) and it was a four-hour slog. I hated leaving my friends in the city and missing all the weekend parties (good planning, my folks would say!).
These Muskoka visits take me back in time to magical summers, winters, and weekends. We were water babies, snow babies and bonfire aficionados. I treasure the memories and look forward to going back each year.
On the writing front
Not many words made it to the page during my time in Ontario, but Emelynn’s next book sits at 65K. It’s coming along and I’m looking forward to getting back to it this week.
Another note on the rebranding front: at the August long weekend’s Denman’s Saturday market, after his wife bought Awakening, her husband, Frank, told me he’d avoided my table because he thought I was peddling religious material. That’s yet another vote for rebranding!
Fashion Valley was a treat with its high-end shops.
I’ll blame the warming weather that entices me outside, away from the keyboard, niggling emails, and a mess of chores. But how could I turn down a lunch with girlfriends? (That’s me on the left with Jennifer Manuel in the middle and Elinor Florence on the right.)
Or a walk in the sunshine? Those are the pigs that grunt their hellos when I pass by Orkney Farm. And the weekend farmers’ market—part social, part shopping—draws me in like a bee to nectar.
It’s been an uncommon winter here on Denman Island. The ground froze for 6+ weeks, which is an unusual state of cold we normally count in days, not weeks. (No need to roll your eyeballs—we know we’re spoiled—we barely reach the “damn it’s cold” threshold for Canadians.)
I didn’t get outside much in November. The November 15 release of Betrayal (now Lover Betrayed) kept me busy. As always happens with a new release, I was plagued with promotion should’ve/could’ve/would’ves. Not to mention the inconvenient fact that I also have a life.
That “life” took me back to Ontario to spend a rare and snowy Christmas with my family. Despite my earlier whinging, I love a white Christmas. There’s something magical about crisp, white snow at Christmastime. And it may just be my ego, but I think Ontario went out of its way to emphasize the white this year. It brings me back to my childhood. I can count on one finger how many white Christmases I’ve experienced since moving to the coast (not that finger – gheesh!). The coast has many wonderful attributes, which I tout to no end in the Gift Legacy books, but a white Christmas isn’t one of them.
I’m now back on Denman Island
It demands my attention, and I’m beyond happy to oblige. In addition to developing my next series (the Dark Dreams novels), I’m writing the next chapter in Emelynn’s story. This is what it looks like when I’m organizing my ideas. Do you have thoughts about characters or storylines you’d like to see on one of those stickies? Now is the perfect time to tell me. Leave a comment, or contact me on any of my social media sites.