Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘Holidays’ Category

Confession Time

Posted in Holidays, tagged , , , , , on November 25, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Confession time: We did not celebrate Thanksgiving yesterday.

For scheduling and supply reasons, it’s often odd to celebrate the holidays of a country other than the one you are in. Mr Man was at the office all day yesterday, I was working too, and it all seemed like a bit much.

Today, however, it’s turkey time! Well, not actually turkey, because apparently it’s impossible to find fresh turkey outside of Canadian Thanksgiving (in October) and the frozen variety requires far too much planning. So, roast chicken. Also mashed potatoes and acorn squash and cranberry sauce and stuffing and other dishes that say Turkey Day to me.

Because I want to take time to be thankful, even if I can’t be thankful for turkey.

* * *

The turkey is totally fine with this. Photo by Chris Henry on Unsplash

Read Full Post »

Good Plan

Posted in Holidays, tagged , , , , on November 24, 2022| Leave a Comment »

“Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.”

― Oprah Winfrey

Happy Thanksgiving!

* * *

Photo by Amy Shamblen on Unsplash

Read Full Post »

Many Ways to Fly

Posted in Holidays, tagged , , , , on October 31, 2022| Leave a Comment »

I have moderately complicated feelings about Halloween. Do I enjoy the horror genre? I do not (so scary!). Did I rewatch Practical Magic the other day? I did. Do I like the concept of Halloween as a chance to try on other personas, other worlds, and to learn new ways to fly? I do!

If you’re dressing up tonight, go you. And if you’re frazzled from working on kiddie costumes, shepherding young ghosts door to door, and gaining eternal parenting credits for putting up with sugar-fueled children for a week? Your sacrifices will be remembered, always.

Thanks, Mom and Dad. Happy Halloween!

* * *

Photo by Bee Felten-Leidel on Unsplash

Read Full Post »

Thanksgiving Moon

Posted in Holidays, Writing, tagged , , , , on October 9, 2022| Leave a Comment »

I like October. Fall is well on its way, the sky’s blue a crisper, clearer shade, and any evening is improved with a hot beverage, a blanket and a good book.

That said, I could do without all the horror.

Yes, Halloween is this month, but be it in writing, games or movies, I am not a big fan of the horror genre. (Candy corn, yes. Knife-wielding murderers and zombie plagues? No thanks!) One of the first adult movies my father took us to was The Amityville Horror, and let’s just say it stuck with me. 

Why Horror is Good for Your Mental Health (Sorry, still not convinced!)

* * *

Tonight is a full moon, the Hunter’s Moon, and we’re also celebrating Canadian Thanksgiving. I’m testing a breast-only version of Samin Nosrat’s recipe for buttermilk-brined turkey and will also find some way to use the orange-walnut butterscotch I made today.

For that and much more, I am thankful.

* * *

Photo by Erik Mclean on Unsplash

Read Full Post »

Whoosh!

Posted in Holidays, Writing, tagged , , , on August 26, 2022| Leave a Comment »

And somehow the last bit of my break is over. What have I done? Not much and a lot. I originally considered setting some big dramatic goal, like writing a novel, but decided that I’d benefit much more by just… not. So I wrote some but read more, cooked some and ate more, hiked some and lounged more. Did I cross a lot off my list? Yes, but I decided not to worry too much about the remaining items.

I also had a little fun along the way. Here’s a birthday card I put together (with the relevant numbers removed to protect the innocent).

vroom vroom!

Read Full Post »

To Do…

Posted in Holidays, tagged , , , on August 16, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

Read Full Post »

A Marvelous Victory

Posted in Holidays, tagged , , , on July 4, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Happy birthday, America! Here’s to remembering our hopes and building our dreams.

“To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness.

What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places—and there are so many—where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction.

And if we do act, in however small a way, we don’t have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory.”

― Howard Zinn

* * *

Photo by Reba Spike on Unsplash

Read Full Post »

Happy Canada Day, Canada!

Posted in Holidays, tagged , , , , , , , on July 1, 2022| Leave a Comment »

It is Canada Day today and I am wearing a red and white beaver shirt and my Tilley hat and we’ve just come back from a long walk through the wild and glorious suburbs of Ottawa. Now I’m going to use the strawberry syrup I made from local berries for a strawberry lime freeze because it is hot and muggy.

I’ll leave you with the start of a poem about this great country; click through the link to read more.

Canada by Billy Collins | Poetry Foundation

I am writing this on a strip of white birch bark

that I cut from a tree with a penknife.

There is no other way to express adequately

the immensity of the clouds that are passing over the farms   

and wooded lakes of Ontario and the endless visibility   

that hands you the horizon on a platter…

While we’re on the subject of poetry, I discovered the Poetry Atlas, which does exactly what it says on the tin. Navigate to your favorite locale to find an associated poem, like these about Canada:

Poems about: canada – Poetry Atlas

O Canada!

* * *

Photos by Joshua Balsamo and Joel Henry on Unsplash

Read Full Post »

Summer Time

Posted in Holidays, Writing, tagged , , , on June 23, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Note: I wrote this post two days ago but for whatever reason it did not go out for the Solstice on the 21st. Apologies to all the Druids out there!

Happy Summer Solstice!

“And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer.”

― F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

* * *

Photo by John Mccann on Unsplash

Read Full Post »

What We Become

Posted in Holidays, tagged , , , , on June 19, 2022| Leave a Comment »

“I believe that what we become depends on what our fathers teach us at odd moments, when they aren’t trying to teach us. We are formed by little scraps of wisdom.”

― Umberto Eco, Foucault’s Pendulum

Or in my father’s case, not so little. For passing on wisdom, an open heart, sharp editorial eye, love of cooking, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars and so much more, thanks, Dad. Happy Father’s Day!

* * *

Photo by Mieke Campbell on Unsplash

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »