Pocketful of Memory Cards

When my sister and I were very young we shared a bedroom.  On the nights when we couldn't sleep (and I wasn't reading a book by the light from the hallway), my sister would tuck her pillow under one arm and jump across the narrow gap between our twin beds.  We'd snuggle together, whispering and giggling late into the night. Our conversations would cover the gamut of subjects and when it seemed we'd run out of things to say, we'd stop and try to figure out how we'd arrived at the final topic of discussion.  We'd trace our way back through each subject, trying to remember what tidbit of information had prompted one of us to head off in a different direction..."oh, that reminds of the time.." or "wasn't that the same place that we..." It was a kind of forensic deconstruction of the conversation.   The way the mind works amazes me, and I'm also amazed we were able to remember the conversations to allow us to do this.  These ...

When I started this blog on May 1st, 2011, I committed to posting a photo a day for one year.  Somehow it turned into something more and I've really enjoyed the time I've spent taking photos and writing about things that strike my fancy.  The key word in that sentence is time .  Posting daily can be incredibly time consuming and when I have other commitments it's frustrating not to be able to share more.  Though it's been a pleasure, there are days when it's taken hours to complete a post; taking and selecting a photo, cropping or trying to fix my favourite that's not quite right, then giving up and picking a different one.  Then there's the time spent writing the accompanying text, re-reading and re-writing, and re-writing and still missing typos that aren't noticed until the next day or later.  Since tomorrow is my "bloggiversary", today will be my last official daily posts.  Recently, my mind and energy have been elsewhere and I haven...

Last night I bounded cheerfully onto the sofa while my husband was watching the Canucks - Black Hawks game.  The following conversation ensued: Me:  How much is too much underwear? He:  Huh? Me:  How many pairs of underwear should one person have? He:  Whaddya mean? Me:  I mean how much is too much?  How many pairs of underwear does one need ? He thinks for a minute and says with authority. He:  Fourteen. Me:  Fourteen pairs of underwear. He (with a confident nod):  Fourteen. Me:  You have twenty nine. He looks incredulous and starts laughing. Me:  You have twenty nine pairs of underwear. He, laughing:  I do NOT! Me:  You do so!  I counted them today.  There was so many on the dryer that I decided to count all of your underwear to see how many you had.  You have twenty nine pairs.   I tell ya it killed me today not writing on Facebook "My husband has twenty nine pairs of underwear ...

It's Gratitude Monday once again and though my plan was to list five things I'm grateful for each week, today's theme of thanking family, friends and strangers led me to come up with six off the top of my head so I'm breaking the rules already.  (A wise person once taught me the way to succeed was to learn the rules and then break them.) So today I am: 11. grateful for my busy daughter and husband who do whatever it takes to keep our family traditions alive, getting up early this morning to carve the pumpkin together. 12.  grateful for my friend Janet who is a wonderful listener, a talented photographer, has a kind heart and a generous soul. 13.  grateful for the funny, crazy, smart, kind, thoughtful and supportive women in my book club.  You've enriched my life in so many ways. 14.  grateful for CBC radio for the daily companionship, the balanced newscasts and the intelligent programming that teaches me so much. (Happy 75th Birthday!) 15....

Last Monday on Thanksgiving afternoon,  a visit to The Pear Tree led me to a blog called Feel LOVD Every Day .  It's author Lily is a jewellery designer and blogger living in Ohio.  On Mondays she posts a gratitude journal - five things she's thankful for that day.  Just for fun I thought I'd start doing the same thing here on Mondays, a day that I don't often feel grateful for.  Here's the first five: 1.  I'm grateful for my husband, for his unflagging support, encouragement and patience. 2.  I'm grateful for my children who make me proud every day. 3.  I'm grateful for my artist/writer friend Jeannie Peterson who is so helpful and encouraging  not just while I've been working on my book, but since I first met her more than ten years ago. 4.  I'm grateful for my friend and writer Susanna Kearsley who has been an invaluable help with my research. 5.  I'm grateful for the beauty of a sunny autumn morning and the opp...