I took the dogs out for a walk a couple of days ago. The air was crisp and hoar frost clung to the branches of the willows and aspens and evergreens in our yard. Sun glistened on the frozen crystals making them glitter like diamonds. Days like that really are when winter shows her true […]
Relationships
Don’t have a cow…bird
“Nature is cruel, but we don’t have to be.” Dr. Temple Grandin, American professor of Animal Science at Colorado State University and advocate for the autistic community It was about a week ago that they showed up at the feeder; a tiny dark-eyed junco and the fledgling baby it was caring for. We’ve got quite […]
The tale of my magic shoes
There is one story that pretty much sums up my childhood relationship with my sister. It is a sad and tragic tale about my most favourite shoes ever. Practically magic I don’t remember how they came into my possession; they were probably hand-me-down shoes from my cousins, but they were the most ah-mazing shoes! Practically […]
Robert Frost, winter woods, and letting go
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth; Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy […]
Wedding wishes – tying a knot that lasts
It has been a big summer for weddings. I just returned home from attending my third wedding celebration. That’s an unprecedented number of weddings in one season for us. Thanks, no doubt, to the influence of Pinterest, each ceremony was unique in its own way. Wedded bliss In July, it was a backyard soirée to […]
Is this your hill to die on?
Have you ever heard the saying, “Is this your hill to die on?” It’s an old war reference that basically means is this [whatever] important enough to you to really stand your ground and defend yourself? Is it worth causing a fuss over? I use it a lot, or at least I used to use […]
Sometimes I say stupid things…
I have been replaying a couple of recent conversations in my mind and I have come to an uncomfortable conclusion. Sometimes I say stupid things. Seriously. For a woman who makes her living constructing thoughtful and meaningful sentences, I say some really thoughtless even hurtful things. Not on purpose. God, no! But there are moments […]
Who’s your neighbour?
When I was little there was a song on the kids show Sesame Street that went something like this: Who are the people in your neighbourhood? In your neighbourhood. In your neigh…bour…hood… Say, who are the people in your neighbourhood? It ended with this little bit of wisdom: They’re the people that you meet when […]
Laughing at the little things
I am the first person to admit that I’m kind of hitting middle age. Sorry. Had to take a minute there. Truth told? I’m definitely not the first person rushing to say I’m middle-aged. It’s a stupid term anyway. I need something better…but I got nothing. I’ll work on it, but I’m open to suggestions. […]
Saying ‘I love you’ shouldn’t be that hard
“You all be good,” she is saying, starting to doze. “I love you.” These are the things we all say at the end of book club now: I love you. Of course we do. Why haven’t we been saying that all along? ~ from The Bright Hour – A Memoir of Living and Dying by […]
