October: Fun Fun Fun!

After September's dismal social calendar I am greatly relieved to report that October was QUITE an improvement. (Not that it would be difficult!)

With winter approaching, I have thoughtfully included the instructional pictorial from Storyland for Girls 'When You Put on Your Skates'.

October 5: The Gardeners Cottage Tour

The Gardeners Cottage is a charming turn-of-the-century house in Kew Gardens Park. It was recently restored by the Beach Rotary Club and decorated by local designers and artists. Proceeds from the tour were donated to Toronto East General's Child and Adolescent Mental Health Program, Crisis Unit. Check the website (torontobeachrotary.org) for before and after pictures.

October 9: Turkey Time

Off to Belleville to visit Mom, and then on to the Durkan homestead for fabulous Thanksgiving dinner. (Thanks Jayne!) Had an exciting journey home through the backwoods of Read - drove for hours on a bewildering series of dark roads with identical menacing trees and giant rabid squirrels, desparately searching for the highway and an open gas station. Gentle reader I must confess that, after dark, rural Ontario reminds moi of the Forest of No Return.

October 18: Habeas Corpus

Was treated to the very funny Alan Bennett farce Habeas Corpus at CanStage (www.canstage.com) by the charming and delightful Julian Mulock. Julian is a wonderful painter and illustrator. You can see samples of his work at www.julianmulock.ca.

October 19 - 20: Stratford - Into the Woods

After an excruciating drive in hideous traffic with the lovely Diane Forrest we arrived in Stratford with time for a quick bite at the local Tim Hortons before rushing off to the Tom Patterson Theatre to see Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods. Fortunately it was well worth the drive. I loved it! I laughed, I cried. Literally. The always well-prepared Diane had to pass me handfuls of kleenex during the closing scene.

October 27 - 28: Shooting 'Grace'

No, Grace is a film, not a person. I am not an assassin. I was playing the role of a kindly doctor in an independent film written and directed by the talented Rachael Schaefer. It was a brilliant but brief performance - my single line was "Perhaps a lesion in the brain?". My youngest son Casey was also in the cast, playing the title character's disreputable teenage boyfriend. It was a good script and lovely group of people - watch for its release next year.