Saturday Night

I have had a lovely evening.

I set out this afternoon, planning to have a quick dinner, then watch a movie or two, then head to bed. Just a normal, boring Saturday. So I headed out to the grocery store, where I lingered over my choices, taking time to think about the meals I would prepare, and carefully choosing my fresh fruits. Once I was home, I set out my meal, then cooked up corn on the cob, a grilled burger, steamed green beans, and new red baby potatoes.

After dinner, when it came time to turn on the movie, I found that it really wasn't what I felt like doing. Instead, I ventured out onto the balcony.

When I was looking for a place to live in Toronto, I was determined to have a place with a balcony, so that I could keep my patio furniture, cheap and plastic as it is, and my barbecue, given to me as a housewarming gift a couple of apartments ago by my parents. But after all that, I find that I don't ever use the balcony, and just feel guilty about it. Tonight, though, I first hooked the kitty up on his silly little harness and let him roll around on the concrete. Then I tucked him back inside, and sat out on the balcony on my own with my knitting and a podcast.

It wasn't completely enjoyable; I don't notice the train noise nearly as much when I'm inside the apartment, but there are a lot of trains that pass by here all the time. And a lot of neighbours intruded on my time, if inadvertently. The woman on the other part of my balcony, smoking and talking on her phone, the couple across the way who appeared to be watching tv from the balcony for some reason, the two guys having a conversation across two balconies. And just the mass of people all crowding this small piece of sky. I can see 63 different balconies clearly from where I sit in my little plastic chair.

But despite all this, there did come a moment, when the light was stealing out of the air, and the colours were fading from the world, and the bustle of trains dimmed, and I was knitting, watching my fingers move in the candlelight and twinklelights, and I just felt a bit of peace and comfort.

That was better than a movie.