trillium spa & resort

Outside, a damp, cold fog has settled over the city of Toronto. It's the kind of weather that chills to the bone, makes you yearn for a cozy blanket and mug of hot tea in front of a crackling fireplace.

Things have been somewhat stressful for Jeff and me lately, so we decided to take 24 hours and make a quick trip up to Muskoka for some R&R. We opted for The Trillium Resort & Spa, a lakeside resort with cottages surrounded by 68 acres of forest. The photo further down the page was our cottage; click to enlarge.

We both did some reading and napping, and I had a reflexology and Swedish massage treatment at the spa. Jeff's not a spa person; I definitely am. I love the peaceful atmosphere, sipping herbal teas and browsing magazines (I opted for my poetry book) in a cushy armchair in my white terrycloth robe in front of the fireplace for my treatment.

I was trying to figure out why I like massages so much. It's partly because I have them so rarely, so they're a special treat. Partly because they feel so great, leaving me pleasantly wobbly and relaxed afterward, and the physical contact is comforting. But a big part of it is the relief in giving myself up completely to the ministrations of someone else, in a safe environment.

In order to properly enjoy a massage, you have to be able to completely let go of self-conscious worrying ("Dear lord, I don't want him/her to see my flabby thighs!"), to be willingly manipulated and kneaded like a lump of helpless dough. If you tense up, it won't be nearly as pleasant a experience. Ironic that it can be so liberating to be so completely submissive.

Anyway, I tried reflexology for the first time. A nice fellow named Jack worked on my feet for 50 minutes. I hate my feet, so it was VERY hard at first, fighting the urge to yank my feet away so he wouldn't notice my calloused heels, the lack of pampering and polish. But then it started feeling so great I forgot about being self-conscious and let myself melt into footrub-induced euphoria.

After Jack finished with me, Jeff (not my Jeff, another Jeff) took over. It was one of the best massages I've ever had, and asked if Jeff ever worked in Toronto. He laughed and told me they'd have to pay him a LOT of money to leave Muskoka for Toronto. Sigh.

Felt wonderfully relaxed after and could barely pull on my winter clothes to wobble back to our cabin, where I found my Jeff stretched out on the couch in the living room, napping. I made a brief attempt at reading my book but fell asleep on the other couch after only a few minutes.

The visit was way too short but did us both good.

Session tunes update (tunes I've learned so far):
The Swallow Tail, The Donegal Reel, The Galway Rambler, Cooley's Reel, The Boyne Hunt, The Sligo Maid, Drowsy Maggie, Ms. McLeod's Reel, The Green Groves Of Erin, The Bank of Ireland, working on The Earl's Chair.

My letter of the day (thanks, Morgan!): "I totally feel for you in your 'anticipation' comic from Life in a Nutshell. However, geeks are the best. Love your comics, both of them. Also, saw you at the Gathering, Urban Tapestry rocks! Thanks for giving me geek pride." Also see Allison's comment on my Nutshell strip yesterday. Allison, of course, is the redhead in the comic. :-)

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Christmas shopping poll, Irish session music

Ok, I have to know: how many of you have finished your Christmas or holiday season shopping already? I've only just gotten started. Do you do most of the gift shopping in your household? Do you enjoy it? Do you have any strategies on making the process more enjoyable?

Abrupt change of topic: Avenue Q. Have any of you heard of it? I just found out about it through Erin's blog comments, and LOVE the lyrics. I want to go see this play!

Session tunes update (tunes I've learned so far):
The Swallow Tail, The Donegal Reel, The Galway Rambler, Cooley's Reel, The Boyne Hunt, The Sligo Maid, Drowsy Maggie, Ms. McLeod's Reel, The Green Groves Of Erin, working on The Bank of Ireland.

Slower going these days because I'm putting as much focus on reviewing old tunes to makes sure I remember them as I am on learning new ones. I'm finding the memorization process much different than the process in memorizing piano pieces. Happily so.

After using sheet music to learn and memorize the tunes, I rely on my memory of the tune itself and recreating by ear to review. In piano, I always mentally pictured the sheet music in front of me; I found that if I relied too much on how a piece "felt" as I memorized, things could go Terribly Wrong if I happened to have an off day, or I was playing on a different piano, or the acoustics were different for some reason.

Also, learning tunes on a penny whistle is easier because I only have to focus on one note at a time. On piano, multiple lines could be going at once, plus many levels of dynamics and other nuances that make a character of a piano piece. There are nuances to whistle tunes as well, of course, but at least I only have to focus on one at a time. :-)

My updated Irish session tunes book arrived from Homespun Tapes a few days ago! As I've mentioned before, I already have this music but the new version includes chording as well as four CDs. For each tune, there is a slow learning version as well as one played at normal tempo, both with instrumental accompaniment.

I've already uploaded the recordings onto my iPod and am doing a lot of listening. I've already noticed subtle ways I need to change my playing style to make it more Celtic/Irish; right now, I tend to play the tunes too straight. Must loosen up, add a bit of fun. I played some penny whistle over the phone for Dave Clement a couple days ago and he was pretty encouraging. :-)

Going to see Feist in concert tonight with Jeff, Ray, Carmen, Roxanne and Parki!

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sucking cheese

Needed to shake off some early winter blahs, so I dropped by the Toronto Gourmet Food & Wine Expo at the Metro Convention Centre Friday night. Some days I feel like one of the characters in SimPeople. Too much work, not enough fun, hence the drop in my Happiness score. I'm such a geek.

My favourite event was the wine and cheese matching, which was an hour-long workshop conducted by a sommelier and a cheese expert (can't recall the proper term for the latter, sorry). Comparing the different wines was fun, though I admit things got a tad fuzzy after the third glass; my alcohol tolerance has always been pretty low.

Really enjoyed the commentary by the cheese expert, who explained the proper way to enjoy cheese. Most people just chomp and swallow, she sighed, and instructed us how to savour the experience. First, break off a small piece and enjoy the fragrance. Then take the piece and put it in your mouth, let it rest against the roof of your mouth. Chewing once is allowed. Then...

"SUCK YOUR CHEESE first!" she said with great enthusiasm. Dutifully, we sucked.

I felt a bit silly at first, but can see the wisdom. Too often we munch on food whilst chatting or watching the tv or hurriedly before rushing off to the rest of our day. No wonder we tend to eat things that are bad for us, or eat too much. Cheese is just one example: many cheeses may be high in fat but when slowly savoured, a smaller piece may satisfy just fine.

And now I'm hooked on two-year-old Chevre Noir, one of the tiny samples we were given in the workshop. Best cheese I've ever had; my mouth is watering in lustful memory even as I type this. MUST FIND MORE. I plan to check out St. Lawrence Market later this week. I'm sure it's decadently expensive with a soaring fat content, but I figure a very small piece will do, especially if I use the suck-and-savour technique.

Finished Jasper Fforde's The Eyre Affair, thoroughly enjoyed it. Great premise, spunky heroine. Now I've started on the second book in the series, Lost In A Good Book, and am also reading Anne Sexton: A Self-Portrait In Letters. Also went to see Finding Neverland after reading Allison's review in her Livejournal; loved this movie! Wished I brought more Kleenex.

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Dave turns 60

Dave and me. Photo by Beckett.

A very happy 60th birthday to my dear friend Dave Clement.

The short list I have on my 20 Things I Love About Dave Clement page seems painfully inadequate in terms of capturing this amazing individual.

He's one of the most benevolent, positive people I know; no wonder he is so loved by the filking community.

If you're not familiar with Dave's music, be sure to check out the Dandelion Wine page and listen to some music (Here's an excerpt from Canadian Lady).

So I raise a glass of Dandelion Wine cheer to toast the day...Happy Birthday, Dave!

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Kranky

Forgot to mention that I saw The Incredibles for a fourth time, this time with one of my nieces. Man, do I love that movie. Yes, I'll probably see it again, though each time I see it, I grow even more sick of seeing the trailer for Christmas With The Kranks.

Even if I had the slightest urge to see the movie (which I didn't), the urge would have been long been killed by the over-hype, not to mention the Botox scene. Now I think I'd rather be forced to listen to the space hippy song in This Way To Eden on forever repeat than spend Christmas with the Kranks.

Other than overplay, my other major beef about movie trailers is the tendency of some trailers to GIVE AWAY THE ENTIRE PLOT, leaving me with little incentive to actually pay money to go to see it in the theatre.

Speaking of movies...I loved Philip Pullman's Dark Materials trilogy, and have been both excited and filled with dread at the idea of the books being turned into a movie. It would be SO easy to do a bad job at this. For those interested, here's an interesting article about how three writers adapted Pullman's work for stage and screen.

To all you Americans about to go off and turkify...have a great Thanksgiving!

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