"It's such a perfect day...

A perfect day?

...I'm glad I spent it with you."

Lou Reed was definitely on to something. The word "perfect" isn't to be used lightly, but I can't think of a better way to describe my yesterday. Diana arrived earlier than expected, just in time for lunch and the third re-broadcast of the Royal Wedding, and she didn't leave until midnight!

The weather in Pleasant Valley was melting Springtime sunshine, "perfect" for tees, shorts and sandals (NOTE: although I myself don't believe in shorts, I still respect those who do and can appreciate the excitement for what is typically characterized as "shorts weather"). Diana and I went out for a walk across the "heath" behind my home, through mushy grass, across gravel paths and under newly budding trees. The late afternoon circuit was gorgeous.

Arriving back home we were treated to yet another round of post-wedding commentary. I was fine with this, since weddings are what? A twice in a lifetime affair...they deserve attention if they're well done. And my informal polling suggests that most of my nearest and dearest approve of this particular wedding - and in no small part due to the music.

Note to those soon to be married: MUSIC IS IMPORTANT. I've had more than one conversation about the remarkable performance by Ekaterina Semenchuk, the Russian vocalist whose performance was presented as a wedding present by the Marinsky Theatre Trust of St. Petersburg, of which Prince Charles is the patron. Now I know that realistically we can't all expect such lavish spectacles at our simple "commoner" weddings, but please, oh please, can we put an end to playing banal pop ballads on our "special days" (I'm looking at you Amanda Marshall), and go in for the more classical, dare I say traditional fare that was so integral to making this latest Royal spectacle spectacular??

Back to my perfect day...

So D and I had lunch, went for the above mentioned walk, and then took in hours of Newsworld coverage of all things Royal, regal or just plain ridiculous. After the Royal commentary had run its course, CBC ran an interview with my new hero, Louise Arbour, the new head of the UN Commission on Human Rights, whose 2005 Lafontaine-Baldwin Lecture I urge all to scan. Not quite in the same league, what followed next was Mitsou (of "Bye Bye Mon Cowboy" fame) who now has her own show about Quebec pop culture and contemporary politics called Au Courant. Can anybody guess what they were talking about yesterday...? I'll give you a clue: rhymes with Bombery Tradition. Yup, that's right: GOMERY COMMISSION! So D and I took in all the dirt, and then decided a little escapism was in order, so after a dance across the million channels of digital cable we settled into a fluffy-hilarious queer positive movie playing on the Independent Film Channel called But I'm a Cheerleader. I highly recommend this movie as an antidote to the residual feelings of nausea induced by Stephen Harper's appearance at the big anti-gay-marriage rally in Ottawa on Saturday (a bummer on an otherwise perfect day).

To complement our big gay movie we made a big gay meal - okay, there was nothing intrinsically "gay" about it, but it was pink and beautifully presented. Salmon rolls with cream cheese and red onion, steamed broccoli in lemon juice with pepper, and an exquisite Greekish salad, accompanied by a glass of Scotch (for me) and Diet Pepsi (for Diana). Yummy!

At this point, having lived in perfection for nearly 7 hours, things got a bit shaky as we ricocheted off a variety of eclectic fare: the first 20 minutes of Swimfan (NEVER AGAIN!); the first 30 minutes of The Hebrew Hammer (Don't know what the F@%K to say about this one...very VERY unusual film); the first 15 minutes of Elizabeth Rex (one of my fav's but too intense a follow-up to But I'm a Cheerleader - nonetheless I HIGHLY recommend this one); and FINALLY a WHOLE EPISODE of Law and Order: Criminal Intent (you can ALWAYS count on Law and Order to be good!).

I have to mention that throughout this entire eve vegging in front of TV, at times conversing, at times just taking it all in, we had the endlessly entertaining company of the biggest suck-for-love of a cat you can imagine, only increasing the enjoyment of our perfect day....

...and then the clock struck twelve. We were both exhausted but satisfied from our great experiment in Saturday perfection, and decided to call it a night. I gave D a big hug, saw her out the door, and then turned out the lights because after such a perfect day there was nothing to do but go to sleep.