How to Beat the Heat

I was in Ontario for a week recently, to attend the university grad of Grandson#1. It was typical Ontario summer weather--sometimes glorious (especially because Alberta had been so consistently cold and rainy), and sometimes smotheringly hot and humid. So here's what to do when it's hot and humid: find a shady porch, fill up a glass with ice and cold water, add a good book (Cormac McCarthy's "Road"), combine with an interesting knitting project (hat for #1 Son) and spend the morning there.

Eat a light lunch and repeat the above. Should take you through the afternoon. About 3:30 or 4 p.m. when oldest granddaughter comes home from work, put on your bathing suit and jump in the backyard swimming pool with her.

Well, that's how we handled it, and it was great!

The ceremony at York University in Toronto was excellent. York has convocation ceremonies for several days in a row in June. There were about 500 students receiving degrees at the one we attended, so the ceremony lasted for approximately 2 hours. The speakers were excellent and we were all so proud and pleased to see T. walk across the stage and receive his diploma. He graduated with honours in Fine Arts, with a double major. His aim to is become a writer for t.v. and movies. So he now has to somehow find a way into that field, a little harder task than landing a job as a teacher, nurse, or whatever. We wish him all success!

We all went out to Red Lobster for a celebration dinner afterward, which meant that when we got on the road again to head home, the traffic had thinned considerably, and the drive wasn't bad at all.

When I went to college (in the dark ages) my tuition fees were $300 per semester. I was able to earn all my fees, books, etc. by working part-time, just 20 hours a week. It's not that easy anymore. Tuition, books, room and board are EXPENSIVE!!! DG#1 did win scholarships based on his good grades, but he still has a loan of well over $20,000 to pay off.

His sister, two years younger, has finished 2 years of nurses' training, with another 2 to go. She is fortunate to have a steady job as a waitress at Swiss Chalet, and it's not unusual for her to come home with close to $100 in tips from a good shift. A good job is a great blessing!

It was such a treat to spend time with them. I'm very grateful to be able to get on a plane in Calgary and be in Hamilton, Ont. just three hours later. Modern travel and communications are a blessing!