1. Spent a lovely weekend at the cottage with my extended family. While my boys didn’t come up with us, there being no internet and all, I had fun hanging with my sibs and their kids, and my mom. Zouheir got out in the Laser and polished up his sailing skills, and he, my brother-in-law and the kids headed out in the motor boat to watch the fireworks in Portland from the water.
2. The VB6 eating plan is going pretty well. I have my new routine for breakfast and am eating more veggies in general. And have I lost any weight, you ask? Not a pound.
3. The son of one of Zouheir’s cousins is coming to stay with us for a few weeks to improve his English. He’s 19 and hIs family moved to LA from Syria but he is having trouble getting out of his Arabic environs so that he can master the language and start university. He’ll be attending ILAC here in Toronto and we’ll show him the sights.
4. Got my TIFF ticket packages a couple of nights ago.  I got 20 daytime tickets and 10 any-time. I’ll probably get a few daytime pairs so that I can bring a friend, or Alex and/or his girlfriend. As usual, am very pumped about the festival, even if one of our friends had the audacity to plan his wedding for the second Saturday!
5. Am rereading Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain for book club this weekend. It’s so well-researched that it’s a pleasure to revisit. If you haven’t heard of it, here’s a Ted Talk (that introvert Bill Gates has called his favourite) in which Cain discusses her thesis.
   
6. My father Franklin went to Queen’s for medical school. I found this cutting from the Queen’s Journal amongst some photographs. His father’s name was David and his parents separated when he was quite young. This is a side of my father that I had never seen before.
   
7. If you’re looking for a quiet, interesting little film in Toronto (unlike most of those in the theatres these days), consider seeing Museum Hours which is now screening at the TIFF Bell Lightbox. It stars Mary Margaret O’Hara and amateur actor Bobby Sommer. Here’s the trailer.

Thanks for reading. I love comments so please feel free to leave one below.