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Wanted: Spring
I have a bone to pick with Wiarton Willie. It was just over a month ago that southern Ontario’s groundhog pointed his head out of his hole and did not see his shadow — predicting an early end to winter. Yet here we are, with less ten days to go to the late “six more weeks of winter” that the site of his shadow would have foretold and not a single sign of spring in the air. February was officially declared coldest on record by Environment Canada and now the Royal Botanical Gardens has measured 15 inches of ice in Cootes Paradise – basically… Read more…
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Walking the tightrope
I haven’t blogged for a couple of weeks. There are a couple of reasons for that, although not particularly good ones. I have been all-consumed by work, in an unhealthy way. I knew I was burning the candle at both ends and pushing my limits. I haven’t seen much of home, much less my kids in the last month. My dog is feeling very unloved and unwalked and my waistline is showing it too. I haven’t had time to call, let alone email or text friends. I’ve been skipping yoga classes because I haven’t been home early enough to get… Read more…
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Little things for the year ahead
I’m sure the “blogosphere” is full of new year’s posts today; full of people extolling their grand plans for the year that sits in front of us as unspoilt as freshly fallen snow. I could write one like that. But I won’t. I know better, from past experience, than to make grand pronouncements of all the things I hope I’ll be able to accomplish this year: the pounds I’ll shed (again!), the great works of charity I’ll accomplish, the calm, unharried professional I’ll be in the office every day, or the perfect parent my children will witness. Those hopes will vanish more… Read more…
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A yarn of a different kind
Snow arrived in my part of Ontario almost two weeks ago, and as it fell softly on my newly-raked lawn (just in time, phew!) I found myself picking up my knitting needles for the first time in a long time. I’m not sure what made me put them down in the first place, but I discovered a couple of three-quarter-finished projects at the bottom of a bag of yarn. So, with a cup of steaming tea at my side, I settled down to finish them up. A young colleague at work had recently picked up needles for the first time.… Read more…
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Nightmare on appliance street
Let me tell you a story …. Once upon a time, in a chapter of my life many years ago, things were not going very well. My marriage had fallen apart and my now ex-husband had all but left the marital home. I was absolutely frantic about finding full-time work, because with three children under the age of nine, I had been home for much of the past decade doing only enough freelance writing to keep the door open with my big toe. There were a lot of cheezies and pop in those days. And then it happened – the proverbial last… Read more…
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When the view of gratitude is hazy
My Facebook feed is awash with gratitude postings right now. It’s a good thing, I think, to focus on what makes you happy in life, and I certainly have much for which to be grateful. I’ve read that by thinking positively, we can make more positive things happen and that should make it easier to show and feel gratitude. Experiments have been shown that the simple act of being grateful can make you happier and healthier – this blog from 2013 is one of many that references several scientific studies to that effect. But come on – let’s be real – at… Read more…
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Rekindle – or shelve – the dreams of youth?
Ah, youthful dreams. Our whole live are ahead of us. We haven’t had to make choices that narrow the field, so the sky is the limit in terms of what we might be and do…. If you reader my blog regularly, you probably know that I spent the last year of my high school days living in Istanbul and that I fell in love with the city and its people. Of course, those exchange years come with an end date, and I knew I had to come home at the end of it, despite how difficult that was. I had… Read more…
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Lament for innocence lost
Canada lost a little bit of her innocence this week. On two separate occasions in just three days, in two provinces, two military men, two lives taken. Add to that our Parliament Buildings breached, guns fired, people injured and a gunman shot and killed. Were they related? Were they related to Canada’s recent decision to join the international coalition launching air strikes against Islamic State militants? Homegrown extremists is a new phenomenon here. Or was today an unfortunate copycat by someone with a mental illness?I don’t want to jump to conclusions, as there is much yet to uncover. I’m sure… Read more…
