Occasional musings from a Left-coast Canadian ExPat in Oxford.
I just got around to reading Anil’s recent post on 15 lessons from 15 years of blogging. Poignant, since I’ve been thinking about what to do with this site. I’ve been blogging for over 10(!) years, with a few defunct blogger and livejournal accounts before that. The blogosphere has changed a lot since then, but my … Continue reading The personal blog is an important, under-respected art form.
It’s November. Which means NaBloPoMo. Let’s see what happens when I force myself to blog every day for a month, shall we? ———————————————————————————– Since going back to work full-time in April, I’ve also been a full-time bicycle commuter. And Oxford is fantastic for cycling. In fact, because of the way the roads and cycle paths connect … Continue reading Thing I like: Merrell Boots
It’s November. Which means NaBloPoMo. Let’s see what happens when I force myself to blog every day for a month, shall we? ———————————————————————————– My grandfather’s workshop has always been fascinating. He was trained as a tool and die maker before immigrating to Canada, and spent the majority of his years as a machinist. He was also … Continue reading Preparation, Inspiration
I was going to go for a run today. Instead, I am watching the “fitness” app on my TV update. And will then proceed to do nothing about it once it has. I’m really just curious about the app, not interested in exercising right this moment. That is very much 2012 speaking. I took a … Continue reading 2013: a little more conversation, a little more action.
I never realized how much I look to Thanksgiving as a passage into Autumn. A time to start reconnecting with family & friends after the frantic, flighty summer. And while it might be Decorative Gourd Season all over the Northern Hemisphere, England doesn’t have Thanksgiving. Photo by Reclamation Revolution on Flickr We’ve started down the … Continue reading Thanks
One of the things I resolved to do in 2012 is to write down my Life List. I have been fortunate enough to do some of the amazing things that are on other people’s lists, like visit the place my family is from, swim with dolphins, ride an elephant, visit some stunning world sights, eat … Continue reading Life List
After a whirlwind week last week in which I dragged Neil and Isaac off to a few auditions, mostly for my own entertainment, it turned out we booked a shoot for an upcoming diaper commercial. Except at the last minute they changed the job from “families” to “dads & babies” and expressly asked the moms … Continue reading I was alone, I was all by myself
Things I am not doing: Laundry Dishes Putting away toys Reading Blogging My Hair Cooking real food Stopping the tiny human from pulling small pieces of furniture down on top of himself Things I am doing: Watching Firefly. I don’t know where I’ve been the past decade either. But I’m glad I’m here now. You … Continue reading Firefly
2012! Hello! Since four resolutions last year seemed ideal for resolution domination, I’m going to go with four again this year. 1. Resurrect CookTheBook.ca. I really enjoyed starting my “cook through a cookbook” project, and then all of the authors (myself included) went and had babies, and the thing died as our priorities shifted. But … Continue reading And a new one just begun
So, that was 2011. I’m sure a whole bunch of stuff happened, and if you click on that archives link in the sidebar, you can read all about it. It can probably be summed up by saying “We had a baby, and were quite busy with the care and feeding and globe-toting of said baby. … Continue reading Another year over
It’s been quite a year ’round these parts. Photo by freakgirl Not only does today mean I’m firmly “in my thirties,” but it’s also now just over a year since we’ve known Isaac has been a part of our lives. A year ago, we had a gigantic fete all planned, a large spit rented and … Continue reading Thirty-One
One of my favourite bloggers, Laurie, recently wrote about being first, rather than being right. Her post reminded me that I get so caught up in trying to say the right thing, or trying to say something the right way, that I often miss saying anything at all. (Yes, this is totally one of those … Continue reading Not All Right
Remember that resolution I published about taking more photos? So far it seems to be happening. I’m not hitting a picture a day as I’d originally planned, but the camera now lives out in the open, and I’m definitely taking more pictures of things this year so far than last. And they’re slowly making their … Continue reading Snappy
2010 was quite a pivotal year for our little family. In fact, it splits quite neatly down the middle into BC and AD – Before Conception and After Deathwatch. The year started with our awesome trip to Thailand, a few frantic months when we thought we were going to move to England, trips to las … Continue reading Twenty Eleven
This whole formspring thing has generated far more interest than I thought it would. Questions I’ve answered in the past few weeks include: What’s on your life to-do list after Thailand? Is it true that since you moved down to the Coast you have taken up smoking a lot of dope? Why? Do you not … Continue reading Sproing