St. Catharines

After a sad day at St. Catharines for the memorial service of my cousin Joe, I'm reminded of things which comfort me.

People:  Family.  The knowledge that we are connected through blood, through promises, through events.  The faces of loved ones in the midst of grief.

Places:   Niagara Region.  Even in winter, with the beauty of the frozen bay, the white fields, the flat landscape as we drive through.

Food:  Avocado.  The smooth, nubbly skin, the way it sits in my hand, the velvet light green interior.  It was on my chicken sandwich at lunch today. 

Song:  "You're in my heart", by Rod Stewart, sung by Mike at his brother's funeral.  Another brother Jim made a little box for his brother's ashes, and the words "You're in my heart, you're in my soul" were inscribed on it.  I will never hear that song the same way again.

Learned:  I saw a list of equivalencies from fractions to decimals, such as 1/2 equals 0.5, 1/8 equals 0.125.  I usually work out those kinds of things as I need them, but it occurs to me that it might be handy to memorize 1/2 to 1/9 to help with recipes and everyday calculating.   Numbers are comforting.