Vive le Québec!

We arrived late Friday night, after making the mistake of landing in Montréal on a Friday at the height of rush hour. Seven hours and a mighty effort later, enfin, on arrive. There's no greeting better than a house lit up like a Christmas tree; it just shouts, "We're glad you're here!" Luc and Mirielle always make one feel like royalty. Their little corner of Paradise is enchanting, and we've just passed a fine weekend here working in the garden, eating like there's no tomorrow (the strawberries are in!!!), going out late to Vieux Lévis for Belgain-chocolate-dipped ice cream, leaving baskets of contraband in the form of Georgia tomatoes and peaches at friends' doors to announce our arrival, laughing hysterically on the trampoline, having dinner with friends Sylvie and Jean-François in their 1700's farmhouse, and the rest of the usual indulgences.

Everyone's complaining about the rain, which has fallen 19 of the past 26 days. We Atlantans would sure like to have their problems! I'm compulsively turning the taps down, and our friends here look at me like I'm nuts. Today we're enjoying a beautiful, sunny respite that looks as if it will hold into the night, when we'll make a bonfire and wonder at the countless stars set against a black velvet sky.

I read a book yesterday by a Montréalais, Eric-Emmauel Schmitt (not your typical French name, for sure), about a ten-year-old boy dying of cancer and his extraordinary relationship with an elderly hospital volunteer during his last days. My interminable laughing and crying took its toll on all of us... ;-) Truly, I was exhausted by the end of it! Among the wisdom little Oscar discovered was that one should strive to see the world each day as if for the first time. Kate and I tried it today, while lying on the trampoline. The cumulus clouds floating overhead, the wind whispering through the trees, their branches throwing dancing shadows across us...it was almost too much to bear. Que la vie est belle!