-
A plan without a plan
A few days ago, a friend of mine posted a quote on FaceBook from Mandy Hale that struck me. “You don’t always need a plan,” the blogger turned author wrote. Sometimes you need to just breathe, trust, and see what happens.” It seems particularly appropriate this week, as I’ve got “Sabbatical 2.0” as I’m calling it, papered over at work. While it clearly wasn’t meant to happen in 2020, 2021 is my year – one way or another. At this time last year, I was almost vibrating with excitement. I had my plane ticket booked and my flat booked. I’d told old… Read more…
-
Empty pockets
My pockets are empty. Like – hold them upside-down and shake them out, looking for a penny – empty. Like tons of other people whose vacation plans were upended this year by COVID-19, I’ve turned my attention inward and had a close look at the four walls (and garden!) in which I’ve been spending all my time. Contractors have been doing booming business as all the money we would have spent on travel has been plowed into home renovation. In my circle of friends, there have been patios built, home offices constructed, basements finished, pools installed and gardens expanded. In my… Read more…
-
First tentative steps to normal
I had my first socially-distanced back yard get together with more than two people a few weeks ago. With a bit of fear and trepidation, I emailed a few single girlfriends and suggested that if their risk tolerance was high enough, that we might sit in my back garden for a few hours, drink wine and catch up in person – for the first time in months. In fact the last time I saw this particular group of lovely ladies was for my “going away” dinner, just before my sabbatical got stomped on by COVID-19.We were very good – we sat… Read more…
-
Melting
I’m melting. Full-on puddle of sweat on the living room floor. We’ve been in the middle of a heatwave. I thought I had it all planned. My air conditioner had never worked well since buying this house a few years ago. And original furnaces often grind to a halt in houses of this age. So, in an organized and responsible fashion, as soon as I figured these people were working, I had quotes on replacing them both. I chose a contractor and I scheduled replacement. Piece of cake! I’m not one to turn on the A/C early or often. I’d rather… Read more…
-
Oh Canada!
It’s a funny kind of Canada Day this year. Normally, I might have been down by the wonderful Lake Ontario waterfront with throngs of other proud Canadians, celebrating our country’s birthday. But the world has other plans this year.
-
What’s in a name?
I changed my last name when I got married. Thirty years ago, that wasn’t uncommon. I went from a bland 5 letter surname to a bland 4 letter surname. 15 years ago, I got divorced and I kept that name. It was the same name my children had, and I wanted to cement the connection – and not make another change in their young lives. In the last year or so though, I’ve begun to wonder. Should I change it back? Professionally, I was only known by my maiden name for 6 months, so it hardly makes sense in that…
-
How does your garden grow?
Mary, Mary, quite contrary, how does your garden grow? This nursery rhyme was part of my childhood. I remember as a very young child, walking through our garden in the summer evenings with my Dad when he returned home from work. In my memory, I was fresh from a bath, with damp hair down my back, my little hand in his great big grownup one. I’ve carried that love of gardening into my own grownup life. One of the great joys of working from home has been watching my garden come to life this spring. From the very beginnings of… Read more…
-
COVID Blessings
There have been so many grumblings about what COVID-19 has brought us – mine included – that I thought it was time to reflect on some of the good. Here are ten of the better things that I’ve enjoyed during this pandemic. The spring migration. I’ve so enjoyed watching the birds return, grow into their summer plumage and build nests, with the melodious accompaniment of their song. The daily changes in my garden – and the fact that it’s finally just about warm enough to see if I can do my work meetings from the back patio (shh, don’t tell… Read more…
