Oh, just sugar-off

sunny, mild, gorgeous day, highs zero

Friendship with oneself is all-important because without it one cannot be friends with anyone else in the world.
Eleanor Roosevelt

This is an absolutely stunning day. Picture perfect. Still lots of snow on the ground, but grass beginning to appear around the base of trees and beside our old brick home. Fed the dogs this morning then went out and fed the birds. Just wore a toque, mitts, a scarf and my regular clothings - no heavy winter coat. Wonderful.

It's a big sugaring-off weekend. That's when local maple syrup producers have parties and we all get together for baked beans and fresh bread - and the real purpose...boiling maple syrup drizzled on snow - where it immediately solidifies and turns into a kind of toffee. Then you take a stick or twig and roll it up and suck it. Yum.

It takes like childhood.

Of course, we have to elbow all the kids out of the way to get at it, just as we were elbowed as kids by greedy adults! Oh, the memories.

A local guy - Bobby Derby (upon whom Billy Williams in Three Pines is loosely based) - is having a big party at his maple forest today. It's also a fundraiser.

Had a great on-line talk yesterday for an hour with the wonderful readers and members of 'bookchatcentral'. My ridiculous computer kept kicking me off-line - but the members of the chat room were very patient and understanding. I felt like Curley in the Three Stooges racing at the wall and booooiing-ing back. Nyah, nyah, nyah.

But I sure enjoyed the chat - very supportive, there warm and thoughtful people. When we write in isolation I cannot overstate the important, at least to me, of people being supportive. And these people were.

And I know you are too - makes a difference.

One of the members was planning a Three Pines dinner - where she'd make meals described in the books. I thought that was a splendid idea. I wonder if people will come as their favorite character. I wonder if Nichol would be banned?

That would be fun for the next book tour - build it around a series of Three Pines dinners, that I could go to. Wonderful food and fun company. I'd come as Ruth - and I'm sure I'd be FINE.

Jane wrote to say there's a review of The Cruelest Month in the Richmond paper today - wonderful news. She included a very nice email she sent the book editor, suggesting a review. I blushed when I read it...but the third or fourth time I blushed less. Now I plan to have her email tattooed to Michael's chest.

I'm off - breakfast, then writing. My last day to write before heading to the UK. British Airways says we're going in to terminal 5. Oh, dear.

Oh, forgot to mention tomorrow - a couple of fun events...I'll be involved in the launch of the Canadian Mystery Project - all part of trying to get people interested in Canadian history. It's being done at the Redpath Museum in Montreal at 3:45 - and includes a few short talks - and I'll be doing a reading from a book loosely based on the murders of two Redpaths back in 1901. Fascinating stuff.

but before that Michael and I will be having lunch with three friends from Los Angeles.Cora, Oliver and Molly Muirhead. He's the son of one of Michael's oldest friends in the UK. Oliver is also a wonderful actor. I'll often see him in episodes of Will and Grace and Seinfeld and more recent stuff too. So that will be fun to see them again!

Long message, hope to blog tomorrow before we head to Montreal, then on to London on Tuesday.

Be well - beautiful day.