It was an unusually long summer and fall in Toronto, a period marked by eerily comfortable temps that lingered well into November and delayed the inevitable freeze of an Ontario winter. As much as I'm alarmed by what T-shirt-in-October days might signal, I was pretty fine with leaving my parka in the closet until weeks … Continue reading Trial by Snow
I resolved many years ago to stop with the New Year's resolutions and instead set and reset goals when it makes sense to do so. It's an approach that usually works for me, and it certainly served me well in 2024. New Year's nonetheless remains an obvious point at which to evaluate the previous twelve … Continue reading On the Eve of 2025
It’s Christmas Eve, and my husband and I are puttering around the apartment wrapping the few presents we bought for each other and enjoying glimpses of our Christmas tree and the faint sound of a holiday album. We pause intermittently to entertain the feline houseguest we’ve been hosting this week or to eat one of … Continue reading A Chill(y) Christmas Eve
By this time last year, I was in my usual full-on, over-the-top Christmas mode. My apartment had been garishly decorated for weeks, my cards had been written and put in the mail, and my Spotify algorithm had figured out that all I listened to was Christmas music and thus suggested nothing else. I had a … Continue reading Having Myself a Merry(ish) Little Christmas
My husband and I woke up early last Thursday morning, puttered around the apartment, and took a cab to the airport. Several smooth hours later, we landed in Boston. Next was a drive to New Hampshire, where we visited friends for the weekend, going to Maine both Saturday and Sunday. Monday we spent in Boston; … Continue reading On the Road Again (Again)
Every six months or so, I decide to put more effort into managing and maintaining certain aspects of my appearance. Self-care of the physical sort, if you will. I have a wobbly track record in this department. It's not that I don't want to care about what I look like. I do—want to care, that … Continue reading Self-Caring
As a great celebrator of many holidays, I understand, admire, and, frankly, am a little envious of those who make a big deal out of Halloween. I’m not among them. At first glance, it’s a day that seems designed just for me, a person whose love of theme parties, decorating, and distractions in the form … Continue reading No Treat for the Tall Girl
I'm taking a quick pause from a perfectly low-key holiday Monday to write a short post because it's Thanksgiving in Canada, and it would feel wrong to let it pass without doing the obvious. It isn't hard to come up with a whole list of things I'm thankful for this year. Family, friends. My many, … Continue reading All the Thanks
I've never had strong feelings about getting older. The inexplicable workings of my mind make my age tick up as of January 1, so by the time my birthday rolls around, I've already had ten months to get used to a new number. (It just occurred to me that my brain is only in sync … Continue reading A Happy Birthday
To know me is to know that I’m pretty vocally anti-hug. Well, not anti-hug, exactly: more like pro-choice, touch-wise. If I offer you a hug, it’s because I genuinely want one. If I don’t, or if I politely but firmly decline an embrace, it’s not personal. This is my thing, not yours. I instinctively shudder … Continue reading Touched
De Morbo Sacro: Life and/with Epilepsy 