I’m heading out tomorrow on a trip to Ottawa and the Eastern Townships of Québec. i’ll be gone for almost two weeks.

I haven’t seen my cousins in Québec for years, and my aunt (their mother, my mother’s sister) is now 92 years old. This will probably be my last chance to see her on this side of the grass.

I have packed up a dozen bottles of wine and enough underwear for a fortnight. I don’t need much more than that.