Wayne Grady's Emancipation Day

Wayne Grady's Emancipation Day is knocking at my door. Really, the universe is knocking me over the head with it. 

A few months ago this book popped up on my radar. The local talk radio program (and I use local in the national sense...CBC Radio) was taking about Canadian author Wayne Grady and his new book - his first novel. I was interested since he's written 14 books, translated a dozen and edited a number of anthologies...yet this was his first novel? Then I learned that he resides in my backyard. And I mean 'backyard' in the Canadian sense, so within an hour of my home. I announced to my book club that I felt I should read this book. 

Shortly afterward, I was attending a meeting of the local Friends of the Library. It's a newly formed group that I've been volunteering a bit of time with. We managed to have a successful fundraising event in which a popular author visited. While basking in the glow of success, we began throwing names around of authors it would be nice to host. We were very much kidding around until someone said "Wayne Grady" and then someone else said they knew Wayne Grady...the very Wayne Grady who had written Emancipation Day and had been nominated for the Giller Prize this year. Mr. Grady was invited, he accepted and I need to bake cookies for his visit this Friday. 

Just last week a friend stopped by my house at a strange time. She had been out and about when she came across a locally published magazine that made her think of the Girl Child. The magazine featured the profile of a fencer. When flipping through it, I noticed that the topic of the Book Launch column was none other than Emancipation Day by Wayne Grady. 

I was not too surprised this week when a book club friend announced she had a copy of the book. She has no time to read it, so if anyone wants it before Christmas....I figured I should probably snap it up. After all, I'm not sure to what lengths the universe would go to. Sometimes it can be pretty insistent. 

❤Mrs. A. 

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So...It Snowed...

 

We got a bit of snow! It seems it will be joined by another friendly neighbourhood storm currently making its way up the eastern coast....which means that it seems we will just continue to accumulate snow for the foreseeable future. 

I had occasion to think about snow this morning...at 6:30 while I shoveled it. 

We knew this snow was coming. There were weather warnings. So I did the responsible grown-up thing and cancelled our weekly out of town trip to The Girl's fencing lesson. Not a popular move for my parental ranking. Especially unpopular since there was no snow or inclement weather at the time of the decision. 

The Boy - upon hearing of the impending dumping of snow - immediately began negotiations for a 'snow day' should the local school board declare one. This is curious. We don't use schools. We only very loosely follow the school year calendar and that has more to do with sports and jobs than school days. I said there would be no snow day...it was going to be a normal school day for us. This firmly cemented my reduced popularity in the parental polls. 

So, it will be a normal school work day for us. I will be sure to intersperse it with regular shoveling breaks. It's the first day of winter weather and there's no way I'm going to be reelected. 

❤Mrs. A.

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