A Most Relaxed Day in Toronto: Trip to Vaughn Mills Mall and Dinner at my Cousin Betty’s Place in Woodbridge.

Tuesday, September 3, 2024

Toronto, Canada

A Most Relaxed Day in Toronto: Trip to Vaughn Mills Mall and Dinner at my Cousin Betty’s Place in Woodbridge.

Today was a very relaxed day in Woodbridge, a Toronto suburb. After one of our very filling breakfasts at Sylvia’s, Llew and I caught up with the speeches by all the stars at the Democratic National Convention 2024 (Clinton, Hilary, Barack, Michelle, Oprah) as we’d heard so much about how great they were. We, of course, were traveling when it was taking pace in Chicago—and so missed all of it. Thanks to You Tube, we caught it all, in retrospect. Well, yes they were wonderful. Each better than the other. But, the fact is that, no matter what was said or how it was said, I believe everyone has already made up their minds about whom they want to see next in the White House. Still, it was lovely to see the arguments offered against Trump and for Harris. It was also good to get to know Tim Walz (because who on earth had even heard of this guy?) and to see his devotion to his family.

A Visit to Vaugh Mills Mall:

About mid-morning. Ryan arrived and offered to take us for a spin wherever we wished to go. It was, I believe, the last few days of his summer vacation (he is a middle-school teacher) and knows that, in a few days, he will no longer be around to chauffeur us. Hence, we decided to go to Vaughn Mills Mall. It is always nice to get out of the house and browse or window shop, even if one does not really have a great desire to buy. Still, our trip was fruitful as Llew was keen on buying shoes and Clarks had a fairly decent sale on—which induced him to buy two beautiful new pairs of shoes. I was eager to buy a black eyeliner pencil and I got one at Sephora, plus I was able to get a couple of perfume freebies which was nice. We didn’t see any bears in the US National Parks, but we saw a family in the Vaughn Mills Mall—in a nice center-piece tableau! We ended our mall visit with a trip to Baskin-Robbins for ice-cream—always a nice treat.

A Cousins’ Reunion at my Cousin Betty’s Home:

To our utter astonishment, in a city that has wide-spread suburbs that run from East to West involving long hours of highway driving (and traffic!), it was a real hoot to discover that my cousin Betty lives just a ten minute walk away from Sylvia’s house! She is my Dad’s late brother’s daughter and she has lived in Canada for about twenty years with her husband, Toby. As it turned out, her cousin Zita with husband Louis, was visiting Betty from Bombay—so they happened to be at Betty’s place too. When I informed Betty that we’d be visiting Toronto, she immediately and very warmly invited us for dinner to her place. I was delighted to accept as it would allow me to see some of my Canada-based cousins under one roof. Betty also invited her brother Lancy who lives in Whitby and another one of our cousins, Golwyna, who lives in Downtown Toronto. And so, it ended up becoming a really lovely D’Souza Cousins’ Reunion at Betty’s place. Naturally, Sylvia also joined us and this made us a merry lot as we clustered around Betty’s laden round dining table to enjoy her offerings.

Betty is also an amazing home chef and so her dinner spread was vast: Pork Ribs, Chicken Coconut Milk Curry, Chicken Wings, Pullao, Paanpales (Neer Dosa), Coleslaw with Dressing, Sautéed Green Beans with Caramelized Onions with Chocolate Layer Cake (brought by Goldwyna) for dessert. We thoroughly enjoyed our evening with Betty as we reminisced over old times, as we always do when we, cousins, gets together. There was so much laughter and a load of memories brought up and much exclaiming about the fact that my cousin Goldwyna now bears a most striking resemblance to my Dad (her Dad’s brother)!

Betty is also a cake-maker and cake-decorator par excellence and we had a chance to look at the astounding sugar paste flowers that she made for her niece’s wedding cake, a few years ago.

Betty is also an amazing home chef and so her dinner spread was vast: Pork Ribs, Chicken Coconut Milk Curry, Chicken Wings, Pullao, Paanpales (Neer Dosa), Coleslaw with Dressing, Sautéed Green Beans with Caramelized Onions with Chocolate Layer Cake (brought by Goldwyna) for dessert. We thoroughly enjoyed our evening with Betty as we reminisced over old times, as we always do when we, cousins, gets together. There was so much laughter and a load of memories brought up and much exclaiming about the fact that my cousin Goldwyna now bears a most striking resemblance to my Dad (her Dad’s brother)! Betty is also a cake-maker and cake-decorator par excellence and we had a chance to look at the astounding sugar paste flowers that she made for her niece’s wedding cake, a few years ago.

Overall, we had a fabulous time and the best part of all was knowing that we were literally only a ten-minute walk away—although Betty and Toby picked us up and dropped us back at the end of a wonderful evening. Back home at Sylvia’s, we descended into our basement apartment and spent a really well-rested night.

Until tomorrow…cheerio.