We walked our dogs in the rain yedsterday morning, but nothing, absolutely nothing, not even rain, can affect the joy of forest walking in the mornings. We had a terrific fragrant walk at Ricki Ave. trail, and I went up it easily. Day two of prednisone, and I can feel the improvement.
Then H.H, and I went into the village for baking supplies and then we came home for lunch. Afterwards, I got busy with all my wonderful baking tools. I made a decent-sized batch of meringue, and I set it onto a cookie sheet to bake flat and modestly thick. I mixed the sugar I added with lemon zest to give the meringue a nice kick of flavour.
Then I made a batch of lemon curd, and another batch of cream cheese mixed with a little whipping cream and cream of tartar. Once the flat sheet of meringue was baked and cooled, I covered it with a thin layer of the cream and then I piped rows of the lemon curd onto that. And then came the hard part.
I had to roll the cake up into a nice tight roll, wrap it in parchment and then set it into the fridge to cool for the rest of the afternoon. When the time came, I unrolled it and decorated the top with piped cream, little lemon wedges and sprigs of mint. It looked lovely.
I love baking, but it is stressful because I rarely bake the same thing twice. I love trying new things or new recipes, and that’s why it’s stressful. I had a lot of trepidation over rolling the meringue layer, but it went better than I thought it would. Sadly, it had two holes where the meringue stuck to the parchment paper. But the holes are inside and can’t be seen.
The rain stopped just after noon, and the sky brightened, but the sun stayed hidden. I was fine with the weather, happy for my plants and happy to be baking indoors. I had a spa before taking Sheba for our afternoon walk, and it was truly fabulous to be outdoors in the fresh, fragrant air, in total quiet and toasty warm in the water.
Late in the day, Grayson emailed to say that he wasn’t coming today, which was fine by me. He’s coming Sunday instead. And then it was time to feed the brood, make my dinner, and watch a movie. I love it when this time arrives. After a productive day, I can relax, guilt free, on the chaise and be transported into another landscape by the movie. I love watching movies shot on location on the Mediterranean coast, or in southern France, or Italy. I love seeing all the sunshine and the gorgeous scenery. It’s like I’m there.
As I settled in for the film, the rain started. It’s truly rain when I can hear it falling on my metal roof. I’m overjoyed to have had rain over the past two days. Today, Sunday and Monday are supposed to be wet, but the sun is due to return on Tuesday. This is perfect weather for getting work done on the sunny days, on the one hand, and reading done, on wet days. I’ve yet to start reading Ms. Visser.
For Beth: In the evening, I watched See How They Run. I’d seen it before, but I remembered loving it when it came up as an option on my menu on Disney. It is a film I will watch again and again in my future, like Waking Ned Devine, A Room With a View, Enchanted April, and Local Hero.
It’s brilliantly funny, especially for thepsians. It’s about a murder in the theatre where Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap is playing. The Inspector is one Mr. Stoppard. And early on, an actress describing the character of the lead in the play says: “He’s a hound, Inspector.” (I was in the reference at The Arts Club Theatre,) If you get that, you’ll die laughing through this play.
I love everything about this play, but more than anything, the perfect marriage of the writer, Mark Chappel, and Saoirse Ronan. She plays the assistant to the Inspector (excellently played by Sam Rockwell). When it comes time for her to, with her boss, interview the star of the play, Dickie Attenborough, they go to see him in his dressing room. The Inspector enters first, Agent Stalker, follows, and her performance is purse comedy gold. Ms. Ronan is magnificent in a lot of films I’ve seen. I’m a huge fan, yes, but this scene is brilliant to everyone. For me, this is a perfect film by a perfect cast. Oh, and the corridor/door scene! Oh my God!
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There’s a story to the reason I wanted this house. Don Tyrell had a cabin on Hollyburn that I never visited, but I grew up with photos of it in his photo diary. That was early in his life. He loved skiing and mountaineering at a time when few people skied and Petch Dokka owned the only ski store in Vancouver.
Later in life, when he was working as a reporter at the Vancouver Sun, he brought together his employer, Petch Dokka, and Grouse Mountain. He proposed a free ski-lesson program, sponsored by the paper, named after the paper, and a commitment from Petch Dokka and Grouse Mountain to advertise significantly in the paper. That was how The Sun Free Ski School was begun, and it was a monster hit.
Don got a room in the lodge at the top of the chair lifts on Grouse. He’d go up the mountain a lot, and I’d often go with him. I learned to ski, met everyone working on the mountain, and I spent as much time as I could with Chester, the Saint Bernard that lived up there.
The lodge was made of logs. It had a huge fireplace and an incredible ambience. There was a ski-rental wing, a restaurant, and a large lounge; rooms were accessed by stairs in the lounge, doors for the rooms ran along a balcony. I liked to go to our room to put my stuff down, and then I’d go out on the balcony, kneel on the floor, peer over the railing, and watch everyone below in the lounge.
I loved being up there. I loved seeing the icicles off the roof, stabbing into the snow. I loved being by the fire with Chester. We could be there often and feel alone, because people would come and go, but no one settled during the day. These were good times. Don, of course, was on his own. That’s why he helped me make friends of the staff. He could leave me, and he knew that they’d care for me. But I loved being alone up there.
I’d go out at night and the snow glowed under star-filled skies. Window light lit up the icicles. It was silent and spectacular. I loved getting cold and then going in to sit by the fire. I loved the junk food I ate, and the people who served it. It was so, so great, because up there, I felt like I was part of a family.
Hence my love of log structures. Good times in remote places. Moving here was my destiny.
He can routinely lie, steal, and demean, but he can still amaze me. Just think: the American president tweeting late at night about a pop star, thereby providing us with a delicious example of his astounding immaturity.
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Todd and Jess come today, but they won’t be here until late in the afternoon. We’ll be going to Woodfire for dinner. Woo hoo!
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