The day after Canada day....

...jus sitting here on my deck thinking of nothing in particular.....yesterday was a reflective day....sat and read on my deck for part of the morning....it was cool but the sun did come out....then had to do a bit of work as I will be teaching summer school for July so wanted to get some of my prep organized for photocopying today....then instead of going up to Parliament hill for a walk, which is what I did last year (photos posted above) I ended up taking a walk through Chinatown (part of my neighbourhood)....as you can see where my heart was....most of the shops were open and they are bustling with change...a new very dramatic archway is being built to signal that you are entering Chinatown...it is going to be magnificent....I didn't have my camera but will head up on the weekend and take some in progress photos....additionally the Kowloon market is getting a facelift...with a new bakery on the side....and lots of special produce...it was rather busy for a Canada day, as it isn't far from the hill....anyhow felt happy to wander the street and then the shops and the rows of produce but also sad as there has been no news on the adoption and wish I could fully believe that soon I'll be in another part of the world where most of these products come from.....but again no news but I do know that our director is now back from Vietnam and will post some news soon, and/or in the July 15 newsletter....

.....so after my walk, I was settling in for the evening and then was planning a walk to the War Museum (also my neighbourhood) to watch the fireworks...the war museum has a great view of the parliament buildings and in the last few years the neighbourhood has become a big parking lot with those celebrating, both just to see the fireworks from the war museum or parking here and walking a short distance to the parliament buildings...they close off the centre core so cars stay on the outside...it prevents bottleneck traffic after the day's events...but has congested my neighbourhood....I don't mind as it is great to have so many descend...but very hard to get parking if you happen to live in the area and don't have a parking spot....anyhow plans changed as I was invited for dinner at my sister's and spent the evening talking of their plans for their trip to Geneva and Italy later this summer....after supper and when it was dark I had some sparklers that we lit and enjoyed on their back deck with my niece and nephew (definitely reminded me of when I was a kid)......then home to circle the block a few times as cars and occupants were slowly leaving.....went to bed with the thought and hope that by next Canada day there will be one more Canadian child celebrating with me.....