-
Walking in the rain
Sometimes walking in the rain on a rainy day is a blessing in disguise. If you need a bit of peace, taking a walk in the rain is a beautiful way to get it.
-
Writing Hangover
Now that it’s a new year, and work on the cottage is over, I’ve been trying to get back into my writing routine. But the thing making it difficult, is I’m getting writing hangovers. I’ll be walking down the street or around the supermarket, and I’ll think it’s weird that I’m “here” instead of “there.”…
-
Happy Holidays 2023!
Time again to wish you Happy Holidays 2023 wishes – my tenth year wishing you all well for whatever season you’re celebrating at the end of this year.
-
The Defeat of Winter
rching something else, and came across the quote by Robert Haddon (see below) I’ve paraphrased in my haiku – the defeat of winter is necessary for the coming of spring. Very appropriate given we’re at the changeable part of the year – one day summer, the next winter.
-
Blundering About Like a Caffeinated Spider
You just need to read a couple of posts to know I like to be organised. So, it shouldn’t surprise anyone I feel like a caffeinated spider.
-
Failure is NOT an Option
The last couple of months have been so brutal I’ve come close to admitting failure. So brutal I’m not going to mention them. (Aside from saying my health is good
-
Utter Chaos
There’s a saying, or perhaps it’s a proverb or idiom about planning. I know it as When man plans the devil laughs… But I’ve also heard variations including, god, ducks, and chaos. Chaos Chaos, in the Ancient Greek creation myths, was the first entity. According to Hesiod, Chaos was a gaping abyss located somewhere between…
-
-
-
Expectation
Expectation is a way of thinking about the future. You’re expecting a particular outcome from the actions you’re taking. Maybe you’re following a recipe expecting for a delicious meal. Or perhaps gleefully preparing a prank. Either way, your plan might go as expected, giving you the result you expect. Or something strange, and weirdly outlandish…
-
What’s a Good Book Like?
I’ve been reading a lot about book marketing and branding lately, asking the question, what’t a good book like? I even asked friends and colleagues, “how does a book make you feel?” As you might expect, the answers varied: What a Good Book’s Like for Me For me it’s a little more personal. My father…
-
Injured My Hand
I injured my hand gardening over the Christmas/New Year break – couldn’t type, hold a pencil, paintbrush, or mouse for several weeks. It started out with a weed related muscle sprain, compounded by computer mouse fatigue, bashing it on the shower screen, and finally, Clever Girl being excited to see me and accidentally tearing the…
-
I’m Not Ready!
Somehow, we’ve arrived at January 9th, theoretically, my first day back at work, and I’m not ready. It’s not really my first day back, I’ve worked more or less through the break, taking care of business in the back office. As well as tidying it, I’ve done some analysing and assessing of my websites, newsletters…
-
Happy Holidays 2022!
Here we are again, approaching Christmas and the excesses of the season, in my ninth seasonal greeting. I feel like I’ve done it all before. And I if this particularly manic holiday season has anything in common with those in the late 1920s. A kind of eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die…
-
The Smell of Woodsmoke
The other day, a rare for this year sunny day, we took Clever girl for one of our longer weekend walks around the neighbourhood. There was a beautiful blue sky, and the temperature was warm, but not too warm, with just a lazy wind. And the smell of woodsmoke. These days, on a summer’s day,…
-
Christmas is coming
I saw my first Christmas decorations recently, and I suddenly realised Christmas is coming. It came as quite a surprise – even though I’ve just done my quarterly plan, (or maybe because), I was still thinking I had all the time in the world before Christmas got here. There’s food and drink to buy –…
-
Little Seal Pup
We managed to get away and took Clever Girl for a long walk along the beach. While we were there, we saw a little seal pup. As we walked, we saw a big black lump on the sand, and I wondered if it was a dead seal. Mainly because we’ve met dead seals on the…
-
Too Late Now!
I admit it – now and again; I get annoyed with Clever Girl and want to send her back. But I recently realised it’s too late now. We can’t let her go. Where I live, pet regulation leans heavily toward desexing. Not that everyone does it, but that it’s more common than not. Clever Girl’s…
-
Daffodils in Bloom
The other day, I happened to notice the daffodils are out. It’s not as exciting as when I lived in the UK – one day nothing, the next masses of them, but then again, mine have only been in the ground for a few years; not long enough to naturalise. But the thing I love…
-
In Case of Doubt
I recently came across an emergency alarm – “in case of emergency, break glass”. A clear and simple instruction, along with a clear and simple action – break the glass. I’m assuming the action triggers an alarm to sound, providing the opportunity to do something to help the situation. Which in turn, would make you…
-
The Greatest Ever Haiku
I wrote the Greatest Ever Haiku this morning, and I was so excited to share it with you. But there is a thing that sometimes happens to writers. It’s distraction.
-
Life With Dog
Check any dog owner’s instagram, tiktok, or whatever feed, you’ll see any number of cute life with dog pictures of dogs doing adorable things. But life with dog is not all that. Or perhaps, life with puppy is not all that. I’m not sure why it continues to surprise me that dogs have their own…
-
Who are you?
I had my hair cut today. And not for the first time, as I looked in the mirror and nodded approval at the hairdresser, I wasn’t really feeling it. That neatly generic old lady in the mirror didn’t feel like me. “Who are you?” I asked myself. I’m pretty sure it was nothing to do…
-
Filing Cabinet
Decluttering my filing cabinet has been on my to do list for at least the last five years. It was so badly stuffed beyond its capacity, I could barely wedge any new papers into it. We won’t talk about the paper cuts. Or the steel cuts. I was thinking it might be easier to buy…
-
Isn’t That Odd?
I’ve discovered it’s possible to be frustrated and amused at the same time. Isn’t that odd? And a bit weird? We’ve been talking about replacing our second hand office carpet since we moved into this house a couple of decades ago. It sounds like a fairly simple thing, doesn’t it? And yet… Is the floor,…
-
New Life Emerging!
And here we are, emerging into 2022. And despite the ongoing Covid Cataclysm, I feel more positive about “things” than I have at any other time during the last two years. Finally. Perhaps I’m channeling the “Golden Years” of the 1920s; emerging from the fear and austerity of the First World War, into an era…
-
Happy Holidays 2021!
I feel more positive about the 2021 Holidays than I did about the 2020 Holidays. Perhpas because last year was looking like more of the same, but this year, I feel like 2022 might actually be better than 2021. Even if the Covid affected supply chains can’t catch up. Like Canada dipping into its maple…
-
Tidy Desk Tidy Mind
Does a tidy desk really equal a tidy mind? Or is it just that the open, expansive space feels more relaxing? Rife with possibilities. A few weeks ago I read Getting Things Done, by David Allen who thinks a tidy desk definitely correlates with a tidy mind. I’d heard about his system, often referred to…
-
The Smell of Fresh Laundry
I LOVE the smell of fresh laundry – hints of lavender, mown lawn, and a little little bit of sunshine. So with the odd warm day we’ve had lately, I’ve been catching up on the washing. And in between loads of clothes, I’ve been freshening up the blankets and quilts. Washing Pretty Girl’s dog hair…
-
I Got My Voice Back!
You may or may not know that when I had the stroke last year, my inner dialogue went missing. For a while I really missed it. But I got used to it. I consoled myself with the knowledge that people meditate for decades to achieve a quiet mind. And I got one overnight. And now,…
-
Some Things to Live By
After another few weeks in lockdown, I’ve been thinking about “things”. Both the physical some things and the mental some things we accumulate as the days go by. This time has has seen us both tidy up and slob out. Sometimes at the same time. It’s a little bit funny how easy it is to…
-
The Joy of Freshly Mown Lawn
In a rare break of sunshine, we did a little yard work. A bit of pruning, and weeding, and lawn mowing. It’s amazing how much better the garden looks with a freshly mown lawn. And how much calmer you feel looking out over it. It must shake up the lawn dwelling creatures as well –…
-
The Day Seems Bleak
We’ve had FIVE covid related lockdowns. Full of long, bleak days. So many that even I, an introvert who works from home, has about had enough. I find myself staring slack jawed out of the window, idly watching the turtledoves scramble around the deck looking for any seed the parrots might have missed. Now and…
Walking in the rain
Haiku uses beautiful language to evoke moments of time and the feeling that you have the wisdom to understand the mysteries of the universe. I wouldn’t say I am very good at it yet, but I feel good enough to share with you. In the meantime, I’ll keep practicing!
It’s a traditional form of Japanese poetry. In English, it’s represented by three lines of text. The first has five syllables, the second seven and the last five. All readable in a single breath.