I had the time of my life...la la la

Okay I promise not every post will start with a quote from Dirty Dancing. I did have the most wonderful time. It was a really nice break from the monotony of everyday. Here's a few (actually more than just a few) of my favourite moments...

1.  Walking mile after mile around Toronto. I wandered really. I miss just walking. It's too convenient to hop in the car and drive wherever I need to go, especially in the winter. My whole body ached after my first day of shopping.

2.  Sitting in the hotel lobby after seeing Dirty Dancing, drinking piping hot Blueberry Teas, chatting, and people watching with my darling, Javier.

3. Reading my book and enjoying a leisurely breakfast 3 days in a row, that I didn't have to prepare first. I walked in, chose my selection from a variety already laid out, and relaxed.

4. Spending part of the afternoon catching up with an old friend whom I'd lost touch with. We hadn't seen each other in almost 10 years! It was awesome.

5. Window shopping! There are so many wonderful stores in Toronto. I bought a few things, which I will share with you later this week, but mostly just browsed. I love dreaming...

6. Feeling completely overwhelmed by the yarn store of my dreams...Romni Wool. Yarns of every fibre, colour & weight to the rafters. Plus a basement full of deeply discounted dicontinued yarns. Sigh...

7. Meeting one of my personal heroes at the yarn store. I was paying for my selection and recognized a voice next to me. It was this AMAZING woman, Cathy, who is a street nurse in Toronto's inner city neighbourhoods. I saw her in a video I watched during one of my nursing classes and she blew me away, almost to tears. If I was still in Calgary, I would work as a street nurse. Fortunately, Medicine Hat does not have the same opportunities. I can't really describe how it felt, meeting this woman. I was speechless, and then I completely embarrassed myself by throwing my arms around her and giving her a huge hug. Okay, a little weird, but I couldn't help myself. We chatted a while about knitting and nursing. It was one of those random encounters that you wonder if they are truly random after all. It was my favourite part of the whole weekend and so inspiring.

8. Touching the Stanley Cup. I'm not a hockey fan, not even a little bit, but I accompanied Javier to the Hockey Hall of Fame. Even I felt a bit awed by the evidence of such talent & tradition. Javier is a major hockey fan and it was his favourite moment, I think.

9. The constant activity in the city. I'm a big city girl at heart. I love the noise and people and constant "goings on", even late at night.

10. Getting a manicure before heading out to my day of wandering and shopping. It's looking a bit worse for the wear 3 days later, but it was marvelous. Normally, I don't go for the bright red fingernails as we can't have it when we are nursing, but I'm off for the week, so a treated myself.

We've returned now, back to Medicine Hat. I'm always glad to come home to my wonderful house. I missed little Lizzie, but I didn't miss my cats. 

Images courtesy of the following sources, in this order: www.germes-online.com; www.amazon.com; www.photo.net; www.craftlover.wordpress.com; www.kcap.toa.ca; www.hockey.thetazzone.com; www.minimike.net.