Rockin' Into Birthday Weekend '22

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Fifty five years ago almost to the exact time I'm writing this, on a chilly Saturday autumn afternoon, my mother put on her winter coat, got into a Toronto taxi and asked the driver to take her to Mt. Sinai Hospital. He said what a shame it was she had to work on Thanksgiving weekend. It took her a moment to realize he thought she was a nurse with....heft. I showed up the next day in time for lunch. You could say I'm skilled at landing an entrance.

The next day, a not-hefty nurse remarked they knew when it was feeding time because wee Moi kept pursing my lips like a baby bird seeking food from Mama. She suggested the name I answer to and gave birth to one of my nicknames along with a sweet family story. Thanksgiving has always been special to me, more for the family gatherings than my birthday, but this year I'm getting a special gift thanks to the MLB team from my hometown making the playoffs. Thank you, Toronto Blue Jays! 💓My boy McHeaty surprised us with a text that he's flying home for a quick three-day trip to go to the Saturday (and if needed, Sunday) games with his high school buddy. Same guy, same mad love for Toronto and the Jays below re-created one of my favourite pics a couple of years ago:

This all means, we love our team and stay true - and the birthday girl gets to see these people together again:

I AM SO EXCITED!!

Go, Jays, Go #NextLevel but I think I can be forgiven that THIS is the big win for me. It's hella hard when 2/4 of the people who make your world matter live across the country. One of my chicks will be dearly missed but she's packing, getting ready to leap into her future and we are so proud of her. The last time we were all together was the worst occasion every family goes through at some point, but they never fail to pull a laugh out of me, even in grief. As they walked out of the airport towards my car, he shoved her in front of him and yelled, "You're it!"  

Moi can be a ferocious hugger. 

This time he's going to have to take one for the team. Depending on how the series goes, we'll either celebrate with a restaurant brunch early Sunday before he heads downtown or have a relaxed day at home with a traditional dinner Sunday evening. Both options would be a touch bittersweet but we're just going to roll with it because we have so much to be thankful for and we're adaptable folk. He flies away to BC again on Monday. We'll all pretend I'm not going to cry and then tuck away the memories made for safe-keeping and go on with the business of life

It doesn't matter how old my kids get, how long it's been since they soared out of the nest, or how quick the reunion is. Having the chance to hug them longtime is priceless. I will have all of them together in my arms again when the time is right. Hope springs eternal. Now, we give thanks. Good luck to the Jays - and I'm wishing you & yours a beautiful Thanksgiving weekend! 💕💖💕

You must have been beautiful babies. 

Really, the punnies write themselves. I'm not in charge. 

EDITED TO ADD: His voice is hoarse from cheering and having a great time with his buddy, we  got to stay up late having drinks Saturday night, we had him all day Sunday and this morning. I'm not mad. 

Me at the @BlueJays right now. The coach from @LetterkennyProb says it best pic.twitter.com/Sd6LhJ6qGz

— Sarah Antonio (@SarahPSmart) October 9, 2022

Monday Mishmash

 My trusty Google Calendar tells me today is National Chocolate Milkshake Day. I have questions:

• Isn't that every day?
• What nation? Can anyone participate? Who is policing this?
• When was the last time I had a chocolate milkshake?
• Are these celebratory days getting out of hand? 
• How can I get a milkshake, like, right now?
• Remember when Belle worked at McDonald's and had to dress in the Grimace costume during a heatwave? Where is that pic? Will she murdalize me if I post it? Would it tempt her enough to get on a plane? Cost/benefit analysis? 

Yeah, I just threw all that out there without really trying, after a little four-word prompt. There are more. There's always more. Hence, the attempt at a book. Speaking of, I received a nice surprise in my email yesterday... 

A book!! Of course it was a book. It's my favourite sort of prize and I am delighted. When it arrives, I'll post more about it, but this particular one has already gotten me back in touch with so many memories about my childhood and the peacefulness I found in books. It feels like a good omen. Thanks again to the sponsor, Lilac, of Pausitive Living. For very good vibes, drop by her site or Instagram and show her some love. She shares giveaways along with crafts, recipes, and lifestyle content and has brought many smiles to my face in the past few weeks. And, she's Canadian, eh?

The stars descended on my hometown over the weekend for the annual Toronto International Film Festival -- I remember when TIFF was a wee start up -- my, how you've grown! Steven Spielberg choose #the6ix for the world premier of his new film, The Fabelmans, and he doled out some high praise for my Turranna. 

The latest issue of LCBO's Food & Drink is out, and omgoshyouguise, the recipes are awesome. If anything is going to jump start my fall baking buzz, it will be Burnt Honey Pie. Rawrrr.

As it's nearly impossible for me to exist without mentioning cats, I'll use a loose LCBO connection to drinking to falling over to flopping over and TAH-DAH! We're there. I highly recommend you check Floppy Cats for love of Ragdolls and general information about our furry feline friends. I prefer keeping my furbabies indoors, but have had housing where it was impossible to keep them (all) in consistently. Many a time has found me out in nature, shaking the Temptations can and annoying my neighbours, incessantly calling for Fluffy. What a relief it would have been if Fluffy had a GPS collar, right? You could win one for your Fluffy, or Mittens, or a very, very small child. 

My mind, she wanders. When I saw this pic, my first thought was, "Yo, chaps, I'm the Prince of Wales now! You can doff your cap at me here. Come, peasants." While I'm cognizant of the historical significance we are witnessing, I did make myself snort when I typed the tag WpOw and realized it sounded like the whipped sound effect. 

Finally, an update on the persistent Sebastiano: 

That's a lot to ask of pasta, amore mio. Is it too soon to call him my internet boyfriend? Ciao for nao! 💋