Shortly after breakfast they loaded up the car and left to return to Toronto. Last night they provided us with right royal entertainment; a duet of Baroque music, reminding us of how, in many years past, music soared through our family home as our older son and our daughter played duets together on recorder, flute, viola. For almost the past thirty years it's been our son and daughter-in-law. It has become somewhat of a tradition.

Our daughter-in-law had to return to Toronto today since she is committed to pastoral work for what she called "the evening shift" at the church she is part of this evening, until the spring semester starts in a few days and she switches roles, to her chaplaincy. One of the meals we enjoyed this week came courtesy of her kitchen efforts introducing us to a new recipe, a tomato-cheese tart.

And yesterday it was my husband who was on meal duty. Early in the day I'd prepared a cole slaw to accompany our evening meal, but it was he who stir-fried potatoes on the barbecue, then grilled pork chops. We closed the meal with fresh strawberries from Ilse d'Orleans, and wickedly-luscious freshly-made vanilla ice cream, another of my husband's summer mealtime specialties.

About twenty years ago, the entire ensemble of five that comprised their Early Music group specializing in Medieval liturgical music stayed over with us in this house, en route to a recording studio in Montreal. That was the first and only time we experienced a grand performance dedicated to us personally and it was sublime.

Several years later the group was on their way to London, England, for another recording. Some of the original members have changed, mostly the soprano, but they continue to perform and delight audiences appreciative of the kind of music they research and sometimes transcribe, and often perform at particular calendar dates.