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Two weeks in…
It’s here. It’s finally here. This period of time I’ve talked about wanting forever. A stretch of a few months to devote to creativity. To writing. To storytelling. To trying to put enough words on paper that people might actually not hate. I’m under no illusions I’m writing the “great Canadian novel”. My ideas are lighter. Fluffier. They probably fall in the “beach read” category. I’m okay with that. They say to write what you know, and I haven’t lived a life full of spies, intergalactic travel or time machines. They also say the first draft of any book is… Read more…
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The comfort of traditions
I’ve been thinking a lot recently about the comfort of traditions. We’re supposed to want change all the time. Continuous improvement, self-improvement, bigger, stronger, faster. Change is the only constant, they say. But sometimes the comfort of tradition is what we crave. Yesterday, I felt drawn to make crepes on Shrove Tuesday the way my Mum used to make when I was little. I haven’t made them in a long time, but it felt right this year to go back to that tradition. I’m out of practise though and they were not quite as thin as they should be. Maybe… Read more…
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Mind over matter (aka throwing oneself at the ground)
I have never wanted to throw myself directly at the ground. Not once have I considered skydiving or bungee jumping. Being parallel with the ground is a different matter. I love ziplines and would paraglide in a heartbeat. And watersports are a definite winner. But throwing myself at the ground just seems foolhardy. A few years ago, my kids and I took a the big “blowout” family holiday – the last chance we would have for one before my eldest became a fully-fledged grownup with the lousy vacation schedule that comes with a first job. We went on a Costa… Read more…
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Masks and (peri)menopause don’t mix
We’re getting closer to putting 2020 behind us. Good riddance to bad rubbish, as my mother might say. Life everyone else, I’m sick and tired of COVID-19. It has ruined plans, taken people from us, delayed travel, interrupted educations and disrupted the economy. Depending on where we live, it may have locked us in our houses, and wherever we live, it’s made us hoard toilet paper, hand sanitizer and wipes. We started baking bread, leaving flour and yeast I even heard that popcorn was in short supply as we hunkered down to see if we could watch all of Netflix. Really early on, before we… Read more…
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Twitchy eyes
My eye started twitching a little over a week ago. It’s not like it hasn’t happened before. In times of stress, it’s not unusual for one or the other of my eyes to flutter. It’s annoying, but I understand why it’s happening. I know what the stressor is and I know when things settle, it will go away. This time is a bit different. I have no idea why this annoying spasm is happening. There’s no one particular thing that has put me over the edge. And yet my eye is twitching. I listened with disappointment on Friday when the Premier of… Read more…
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For the love of words
It’s no secret that I love words. As a kid, my parents nicknamed me “Chatty Kathy”, but I was just as much at ease with my pencil and notebook as I was chattering away at the dinner table. I think I get this naturally. I’ve written before about how my Grandfather helped me write an April Fool’s story for a friend, and my Mum writes a column for her local newspaper. As I grew older, my pencil was replaced first by a typewriter and then a computer, but for me wordplay has always been a means of telling stories –… Read more…
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Show’s over…almost
If you’ve been following along with me for more than a year, you know I love fall. Long walks along my local paths, gawking at the show of colours that Mother Nature puts on without fail every year. I love the sound of the leaves crunching under my feet and the smell as they begin to break down. I love watching as the goldenrod go to seed and the milkweed pods open up. I’ve just finished a week of #staycation and I’ve ventured off to many other locations along the Niagara escarpment to check them out. I’ve hiked to waterfalls,… Read more…
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Virtually giving thanks
It’s been a strange Thanksgiving weekend. There was no family gathering, no turkey, no stuffing and no cranberry sauce. Without the festivities to keep me occupied, I put the garden to bed and covered the patio furniture. These are things that remind me we’re about to be shut in our houses, with cold weather coming. It usually reminds me of gatherings in front of fire places, red wine shared and the promise of Christmas coming faster than I want to admit. But this year, there’s a depressing painting spreading out in front of me. The global coronavirus, and our inability… Read more…
