New Year's notes, including people, other animals, books, and food

[redbird]

As usual, I spent New Year's with papersky, rysmiel, and zorinth, in Montreal. Less usually and quite delightfully, adrian_turtle was there for a couple of days as well. Much to my surprise, I was taken with her not just on the level of "cool person to talk to", but to the degree that we were snuggling on the couch in the afternoon, having met early that same morning. Now I want to find some more time to talk and get to actually know this cool new person. (I'm in mid-conversation, elsewhere, about what the necessary conditions for friendship are; conversation is definitely one of them, which is part of why it feels weird to have been happily snuggling someone I'd just met. I interrupted myself at least once to observe that "I don't do this"--although, manifestly, I do--my more usual approach led to the observation that I was raised by pandas. I also got Adrian to braid my hair, because it's long enough to be a nuisance loose and not long enough for me to easily braid by reaching over my shoulder.

I'm not sure who said that. I'm not sure who said a number of the cool or interesting things over the weekend: the conversation was like that.

As usual, I had plenty of time to talk with Papersky in the mornings, before anyone else woke up. Tea and morning conversation is a fine thing, doubly so with someone I love.

We ate well--Papersky is a good cook, and Montreal is full of interesting food for when she doesn't want to cook. Goose for New Year's Eve is a fine custom; goose pie the following night is a delightful part thereof. I've added a new cuisine to my experience: Georgian, at a cozy place whose proprietor was half-apologetic for not having English-language menus, but while none of us is fluent in French, we all have enough to pick out good meals, and fill in the gaps in each other's vocabulary. The lamb khartcho soup was excellent, and I was perhaps excessively pleased to have guessed correctly that the unspecified "cereale" listed as an ingredient on the menu turned out to be barley. (What else would it be, with lamb?)

I had a lot of fun unwrapping Christmas presents--Papersky likes getting people things, and wrapping them up. I had, perhaps, even more fun watching Zorinth unwrap the towel I'd gotten him, as requested. He had to be dissuaded from wearing it as a cape for the rest of the evening. Tea and chocolate and a notebook and a tea towel with cardinals on it.

I've now been to the Biodome three times, and expect to go back, probably most of my visits to Montreal: I'm very fond of zoos, and Papersky, Rysmiel, and Zorinth are now members. The highlight this time was watching the fish, and the diving ducks, from below the level of the air/water interface: the ducks appeared suddenly, swam around, and then looked very odd indeed as they surfaced. From the right angle, while they're swimming along, they appear to be spheroidal, with four legs, all of them at the back. Very silly.

I came back with much too heavy a suitcase: all the adults went used book shopping on New Year's Eve (while Zorinth started dinner), and I got things ranging from "I want to read this" to "I can use a new copy of The Wind's Twelve Quarters, and it's the edition I have". We also went looking for a desk-sized calendar for me, and I grabbed a Barry Lopez story collection off the remainder pile. Throw in the two used books I forgot to bring home in September, the copy of Josephine Tey's The Singing Sands that my hosts had on their "Give this book a good home" shelf, and an Anthony Price they wanted me to read, and it got heavy. (I'd also, of course, packed a few books to read on the trip up.)

There was snow, of course; freezing rain, alas; and 15 cm of rain, which I had trouble believing because of how good the drainage in Montreal is. But it was basically mild. I'm trying to think of Montreal winter as normal, because then New York winter feels delightfully mild, whereas if I think of New York as normal Montreal is harder to deal with. None of this convinces cattitude, but we're hoping to convince him to come with me sometime in the Spring or Summer. I spent some time explaining to Zorinth that we'd do better pointing out that this would mean Cattitude got to see him, Papersky, and Rysmiel than by pointing out all the good food in Montreal, because New York is also full of good food.

One odd incident was at the very end of the trip, while I was waiting on line for the train at Montreal's Gare Central (a.k.a. Bonaventure): A man came down the line handing out US customs forms. He handed me one and addressed me in French. Furthermore, he apologized to me--in French, of course--for the form not having a French-language side (all Canadian customs forms are bilingual, of course), before addressing the person behind me in English. I don't mind reading as Francophone, though I probably would have used English if I'd needed to say anything less formulaic than "merci", I just don't expect it. My only hypothesis is that it's because Papersky and Zorinth came to the station with me: I was obviously being seen off by my family, who were staying home; thus presumptively a Montrealer, and thus likely French-speaking. (At the border on the way back, I overheard two of the customs people speaking Spanish to each other, and thought "Oh, good": I don't entirely care what languages are being used, as long as there's more than one.) There were moments I felt very much the Montrealer: picking up the paper one morning, and answering Rysmiel's question about the headline with "We're doubling our tsunami aid" (the headline was of course referring to Canada, not the US), and when we were accosted by an odd, possibly drunk man-with-dog who was complaining about "this province," drivers, and drugs.

I am delighted to be home with cattitude; I just wish Montreal was closer. I'm still having trouble accepting that the people I love will never all live in the same place, or even near the same place.