Our House in the Middle of Our Street

One of my favorite authors, Emily P. Freeman , had a newsletter a few weeks back about answering 3 things during the pandemic-related isolation. I can't link to it because it was in an email. You might enjoy her (very short) weekly podcast about doing the Next Right Thing , and yes, she came up with that before Kristoff sang about it. Here's my rendition:  1. What was the funniest thing that happened in April? I honestly don't remember anything funny happening in April. More than likely, it was something I laughed at very hard on a Marco while communicating with my friends all over. They make me laugh daily and I'm very grateful for that! The most joyful thing that happened to me in April? That was a walk every day with my kids underneath the flowering cherry blossom trees, them smacking the branches so I can have a showering of Spring's snow. 2. What do you miss? The thing I miss the most right now is being able to share a meal with others, an...

Ft. Langley in Spring The pandemic didn't really give me more time to read, like I naively thought it might. I've been too brain-dead to read most evenings, and in the afternoons, when I maybe have 45 minutes to read, I promptly fall asleep. That happening over and over is telling me my brain just needs a break. It didn't help that two of the books I spent the majority read were very heavy, topic-wise (you'll have to wait for May, or maybe even June, to see the other.) Although this list is about as lack-lustre as they come, I am very close to finishing 3 other books, so I'm hoping that within this first week of May two of them will be completed giving me a jump on May. * Confessions of a Sociopath by M. E. Thomas - I'm going to be frank- this was a heavy read and I wouldn't recommend it to most people. I have been fascinated by sociopathy ever since reading Dave Cullen's "Columbine" book years ago and understanding there is a d...

That meme is, as my friend Amy puts it, "Funny. And Not Funny." That about sums up this bizarro-world we've been living in for the past 5 weeks. The economy is shot, people are financially stressed, kids are home and bored out of their minds, and we've all seen a little too much of our family and too little of our friends and community. By now you've probably noticed it: some days feel completely manageable and some feel like Alexander's Terrible, Horrible, No-Good, Very Bad Day mashed up with Groundhog Day.  The unfortunate thing, is that the kids/spouse/roomates have their good days and bad days that don't necessarily coincide with ours.  It's not like the little kids in quarantine can really articulate what they're feeling, either. A lot of us have to still be productive at work, while at home, with the new job of managing the kids' school work along with trying to find them things to do after those 90 minutes are up. Add a...

On our daily morning walk around Ft. Langley; the Fraser River and blue sky Although you maybe can't tell from this bulky list below, but February and March were fairly terrible reading months for me, February in particular. So much so that I didn't bother creating it's own blog post, simply because there'd be almost nothing on it! Thankfully I had quite a few books that I'd been reading for some time (Railroad, and Landline) so that I could just quickly finish them up, and with two books under 130 pages a piece this list looks bigger than it should. I've rounded out this list nicely with 3 memoirs, 3 fiction books, and 1 of poetry. Next month should look quite different as I'm also leading a co-op book club, reading some nonfiction (psychology), and will have finished up three different books with the kids (all different subjects in their homeschooling curriculum) that we're just on the tail-end of now. This pandemic has closed all the librari...

First weekend in full isolation: biking the Pitt Meadows dyke trail We're nearly through our second full week of isolation, some of you maybe longer, and we're all trying to figure out a new normal.  School been cancelled for the rest of the final term albeit (amazing) teachers are figuring out daily online connections/lessons, a lot of people are working from home full-time while watching those now-at-home kids--who are getting stir-crazy, and just about everything has been cancelled that has Spring or early Summer dates, along with possible looming financial stress that you or your family may be experiencing, or physical stress if you're an essential worker or working two jobs at once.  It's. A. Lot.   I have been wavering from excitement over all the cancelled plans (strong introvert) to feeling disappointed with cancellations of fun/social things that happen weekly or Big Things I'd been looking forward to for months to feeling stir-crazy and ...

Anikka is 11 today! This year she has grown in so many ways--she is so tall (!) now, and has started to love dance again, after many years haitus. She is always moving: kart-wheeling, bouncing on her huge yoga ball, or jumping around on our mini trampoline. She still loves reading and art, and does both of those in the majority of her free time. She has gained more friendships this year and has been practicing bravery and is seeing the fruit of that in various aspects of her life. We're so proud of her! We love you, Beaner! Ani practicing flexibility    What is your favorite color?  blue  Who are some of your friends? Lilah, Audrey, Anya, Marie, Kate, Ophelia, Charlotte, Charlee, Summer, Emily, Isla, Kathryn, Anna, CJ What do you want to be when you grow up? a mom What makes you happy? kittens What makes you sad? movies about dogs dying! What is your favorite animal? cats What is your favorite book?  The Girl Who Sailed the Stars What is your f...

First time skiing at Silver Star in Vernon, BC. It was gorgeous! January was full of skiing, school, routine, and planning. A lot of mental and physical energy were spent planning for the next two months (they'll be doozies!) and figuring out how everything can fit together like Tetris. I was also reading a very heavy book (that I finished on Feb. 2, so it won't be listed here) that I wasn't overly keen to grab most nights, but knew I needed to complete. I hope February will be filled with about 4 solid reads that I'm already counting on appearing  from the library this week. What I have for January is a bit of a random list, but here we are.  * Real-Life Rules by Mariah Bruehl  - This is a non-fiction, teacher-led activity book for tweens. I will buy anything Mariah Bruehl puts into the world (only 2 so far) because her books are warm, thoughtful, beautifully aesthetic and meaty. This book is all about guiding tweens and early teens through activities geared ...