Our neighbourhood playground was dismantled today. Yesterday afternoon the construction fence went up, this morning the bulldozers arrived, and by suppertime there were only piles of weathered wood and primary-coloured slabs of plastic, remnants of the slides, lying in the rain. It happened so fast that I didn’t have time to get sentimental, to think that I’d actually miss it. […]
Yesterday morning I went out for a run. To be perfectly honest I was alternating walking for 60 seconds and running for 90, but it sounds so much more impressive to throw out the words “a run”. I downloaded an app called Couch to 5K – a lovely voice interrupts your music to tell you when to run and when to walk and it’s incredibly freeing to not have to look at your watch. Smarty pants Apple people. […]
After weeks of excited anticipation, Paul, Janice and Sebastien are here. They arrived from England yesterday after a schoolyear in Oxford and almost a month of traveling through Europe. They’ll be staying with us as they reorient themselves to a life here again, and I am thrilled. […]
I love coming home to good mail. Blair’s still-sparkly-eyed 96 year old grandma has a mail system that I’ve adopted: handle each piece only once if possible. Since I’ve gotten serious about it, a lovely paperless-ness has settled over our kitchen. Yesterday was a very good mail day – I came home to a big brown Chapters Indigo box. […]
A few nights ago we were treated to a fabulous summer thunderstorm. The kind that sends the kids running into the bedroom, vaulting under the covers in one smooth motion, while I barely suppress the urge to wrap the curtain around myself and break into "When the dog bites, when the bee stings...". This particular [...]
I love a good conversation. It’s my soul’s version of a deliciously satisfying chocolate-coffee-pinot noir-endorphin mix. Whether it’s talking about long haul trucking with my husband’s cousin at the family reunion (note to self: remember to turn down high beams when approaching a semi from behind on the highway) or washing dishes, tears dropping into the sudsy water as I listen to a close friend talk about maybe giving up on her marriage, I’m never the same person at the end of a conversation as I was at the beginning. […]