Brunch with Anne-Marie and Bonita

My Eggs Florentine.

I finally met up with Anne-Marie and Bonita, my floor mates in my condo. Bonita lives in the unit next door; Anne-Marie, two units down. I believe Bonita was one of the first people to move into the building besides me. Anne-Marie moved in about five years ago at least.

I knew Anne-Marie from our days at George Brown College. We were in the same Graphic Design class. After we graduated we lost touch (like most of the people from my class).

A few years ago the elderly gentleman who owned her unit (whom she and her parents actually know) moved out. I believe he was the priest at their church or something like that.

Anyway, the person who moved in had the same name as my college classmate. I noticed this one day after walking by the unit and seeing her name on the newspaper in front of the door. So I left a note at the door asking if she, indeed, was who I thought she was and, lo and behold, she was.

The next two or three years were punctuated by brief meetings in the hall or lobby. We kept saying we would get together for a drink, but never did.

That was until I bumped into both Bonita and Anne-Marie chatting in the hall around month or two ago. It was then we set a firm date to meet.

As it turns out, Bonita, is Anne-Marie's high school classmate. Small world, isn't it? Next door to Anne-Marie is her high school classmate and two doors down her college classmate. All in a row. This wasn't new news. Anne-Marie had mentioned it to me previously.

We met for brunch at 1:00 p.m. I requested that time because I wanted to make it to church on Sunday. I went down with my parents and took the subway back up.

We hadn't made any plans on where to go to eat. I suggested all-you-can-eat sushi at Echo. Anne-Marie doesn't like raw stuff (or is it Japanese food?) and Bonita thought it was too early for all-you-can-eat. We considered Sunset Grill on Yonge, but they don't have windows in there, Bonita said.

Bonita suggested a couple of places. We ended up choosing The Homeway on Mount Pleasant and Erskine. It's a small family-run restaurant that's been open since 1948.

It was fairly busy when we arrived. There was a short wait to get in. We noticed free tables on the patio, but we were warned that there were wasps outside. So we decided to wait for one of the tables inside. That turned out to be a wise decision. The wasps outside were terrible. One brave (or foolish?) couple outside had an awful time fending them off.

After we were seated the waitress took our order. The girls both had orange juice. I had a coffee and so did Bonita. I don't know what she ordered to eat. Maybe it was eggs and something. Anne-Marie had the steak and eggs. I ordered the "Fabulous Florentine" - 2 large poached eggs on a bed of baby spinach and fried tomatoes, atop a toasted English muffin smothered with homemade hollandaise sauce, baked porky beans or home fries. It was very good.

We had a nice conversation over brunch. We talked about what we did for work and what we thought about living in the neighbourhood among other things. I think both of them have a Catholic background. Maybe they went to Catholic schools. Bonita is a high school guidance councillor. I think Anne-Marie is a "runner" at CBC downtown.

After lunch we strolled across Erskine to Yonge. It was a lovely day out. Bonita headed off to do something when we reached Yonge. I can't remember what. Anne-Marie and I walked back home.

I'm happy we finally got a chance to meet up.

*No photo of the girls. Bonita was camera shy.

Wonderful Day

Today was a pretty interesting day for me. I had the pleasure of bumping into both an old and a new friend. In the early afternoon I decided to head out for a walk. I wanted to take advantage of the fact that the weather was relatively nice. According to the forecast, the following few days were supposed to be wet. So, of course, I didn't want to regret not going out today.

When I got down to the lobby of my condo who should I meet, but my former classmate of mine, Anne-Marie? She moved into the unit two doors down about three years ago. We took graphic design together at George Brown back in the late 80's. Can you believe it? Now, nearly 20 years later, we're neighbours. How cool is that? We still have to meet up for a drink. We've been talking about it for awhile, but have yet to get around to it. Anyway, we had a good chat. We got caught up on the latest news about what we've both been up to recently. She was sick and had taken the day off work. I told her I had been laid off this past summer along with a few other co-workers. Economic downturn you know. It's affected quite a few people. Not only here in Canada, but worldwide unfortunately. I also mentioned I caught up with a couple of our other former classmates, Terry and Norbert, on Facebook. After talking for about 10 minutes we parted ways.

I was heading to a park off Yonge, south of Lawrence called Alexander Muir Park. It's not very big, but it connects to some other parks and trails in the area. At this time of the year it's very nice because the leaves on the trees are starting to change colour. A couple minutes before I reached the park I bumped into a new friend, David. He had just stepped out of his apartment and was waiting for the bus to come by. He was heading to the Bay to pick up a suit he had just purchased. I met him very recently at a career assessment course we had both taken. He's a really nice fellow. Smart and funny. It's kind of odd that he'd be attending a career assessment course. After all he's 65. You think he'd be thinking more about retirement at this point in his life. I guess he thinks he still has a few more useful years left in him before considering going that route. He's going to be going on vacation soon. His daughter is currently living in Australia with her boyfriend. He'll be flying there shortly to visit. It's funny... if I hadn't stopped to chat with Anne-Marie I probably would have never bumped into him. What a coincidence!

The hike along the trails in the park system was absolutely wonderful. The temperature outside was perfect. Somewhere in the mid-teens Celsius (about 60F). Not too hot, not too cold. It was a bit overcast, but I can't complain. Too much sun isn't good for us anyway, is it? The trails were relatively secluded. A brief respite from the hustle and bustle of city life. Every now and then I would bump into a hiker or two. At other times you would see people walking their dogs. There's an off leash trail that many dog walkers frequent in Sherwood Park. You'll see animals of all breeds and sizes there. Many of them are quite adorable. It almost makes me want to become a pet owner. Almost.

Anyway, I had a great time out. I think we all need short breaks like that. Taking some time from our hectic schedules and everyday concerns to just head out and clear our heads. It's definitely therapeutic, no doubt.