A defiant bunch of crocuses�

It occurs to me that I neglected to let the world at large know that the crocuses are up in our lawn. The grass itself looks terrible and is desperately in need of raking, especially where the snowbanks melted and left great swaths of grit from the sand truck, but beautiful purple flowers are blooming out there and it gives me hope that spring has truly sprung.

Leaving the music department for my homeward stroll I met a neighbour out with her dogs, her daughter and a mutual friend. The neighbour is a potter who does absolutely beautiful work. One of her teapots won a major prize several years ago and her pieces were once found in the Gardner Museum of Ceramic Art in Toronto (after which development her prices took a leap skyward). About 11 years ago she got pregnant by a man who was only useful for that purpose and had a daughter, Mimi, who is a very nice girl. She was adding to her mother�s gray hair, weaving in and out of traffic on her bicycle as we worked our way homeward. The mutual friend is a retired mathematics professor who often goes walking with the potter and is very supportive of what we do at the music department. I see her at many concerts.

Every August there is a craft show at The Piggery in North Hatley, and my neighbour has a booth there where she sells her wares. You must understand that North Hatley is a tourist haven (if you�ve seen Secret Window you�ll understand why). During the summer months many of the otherwise vacant cottages are inhabited by their Montreal-based owners. There is even a Volvo with Vermont plates parked in the driveway of one charming place. While many locals take advantage of the beautiful scenery (especially through the gorgeous bike trails that riddle the area), these other events (craft sales, Piggery Theatre) are aimed at visitors.

Two years ago I went to the craft show with very little cash on me. As luck would have it, I fell in love with a wooden bowl made from some dark brown South American wood. It was round, and just the right size for me to hold in my hands. I had to have it! But I didn�t have enough money to pay for it, no cheque book, and neither bank nor credit cards were being taken that day. One of the beauties of these fairs is that things are paid for in cash, no tax is charged, no questions asked. My neighbour had her booth, as usual, and I explained my problem to her. She said, �How much do you need? I�ve been doing really well here, I�ll lend it to you.� I ended up borrowing $50 from her (the bowl was $80). When I went to repay it, her dogs set up such a barking that I feared to step on the premises. Mimi came to my rescue and let me in. The dogs are really very friendly, but have been trained rigorously to bark at all comers.

We watched American Wedding last night. It was pretty funny. Eugene Levy is brilliant.

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