Yesterday we traveled to Collingwood, Ontario to spend some time with our friends Annie and Frank. They are visiting Canada from England and thought that Collingwood would be a lovely place to spend time together.

Attila and I bundled ourselves up and into our little car and off we drove to meet Annie and Frank.

It was so wonderful to see them again! It has been three years! They haven't changed a bit, and we easily slipped into our comfortable and familiar ways of being together.

I do miss Annie. We became close friends when we met while attending a course teaching entrepreneurial skills. The course was a bust, as my present poverty attests to. Annie went on to meet Frank, emigrate to England and has a great government job there. I am so happy for them. We should all be so happy!

Collingwood ended up being an excellent choice for our little reunion. There are miles of walking trails there. The day was very cold and extremely windy. We walked and talked for hours. When we were not walking we were all sitting around a restaurant table eating and talking. The day was a balm for the soul.

Home again now, I am reminded how lonely the bush can be. Within a few days though, I'll have reoriented myself to the isolation and the pesky emotions will sink below the surface of life again.

It seems my little job has all but evaporated. Tough economic times mean that the shop owner will have to forego assistance for all but the busiest of days. They were lovely about it, pointing out the new door chime that gives a melodious call whenever a customers enters the shop. I've been replaced by a door chime!

This morning Mist found her little foam ball, forgotten by all of us, until 3:30 a.m. this morning. With a series of mighty yowls Mist proudly brought her "catch" into the bedroom to show off her prowess. She awoke me from a deep sleep. I did not get back to sleep. However, the whole episode was very satisfying for Mist, as immediately after the ball was rescued from the jaws of death, she flopped down on my chest and promptly fell asleep.

A sleepless stretch of hours followed, with Attila snoring on one side of me and a purring cat sprawled across my chest. Just call me the Royal Cushion.