Intentional living
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Making snow angels
My husband caught me in the act. I didn’t think anyone was watching. It was a snow day. Schools closed. My scheduled work drives cancelled. The storm had brought 30cm+ snow over night. Perfect conditions for making a snow angel. Pure joy. When I came inside the house he showed me the photo. I always liked making snow angels as a kid, I tell him. It’s been a few winters. I wear my snow pants now for extra warmth, not for playing in the snow. It’s hard to resist however flopping down on a good layer of fresh fluffy snow. Swish swish. The weekend brings another winter storm. Snow falling…
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Warm memories of Mexico
It’s been cold this winter. Polar vortex cold. So when I stepped into Nostalgia Latin Market on Kerr street, it was a wee escape to the tropics. Two women were talking in Spanish. Shelves full of Mexican canned good, spices, dried chiles, and other interesting looking products. Fresh made tamales cooling in a basket. I left with some chicken tamales and salsa verde, and knew I would return. On another visit I started talking to the convivial owner. He tells me more about some of the unique Latin and Mexican products he stocks. They offer cooking lessons too. I ask him where he grew up. “Guadalajara, though I spent a lot of…
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For the love of snow
Did I tell you I love snow? Well, I do. I love it. I get so excited when I feel the cold fluffy snow under my paws. And guess what? We have snow this winter! The snow is good for tobogganing. But I leave that for the kids. I can go fast enough all on my own, thank you. No equipment required. My family seems to slow down on snowy paths. Not me. The snow is my turbo speed. I went to this long snowy beach the other day. I really picked up some speed. It was exhilarating. I was bouncing. Jumping. Spinning. Some two legged people asked my family…
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A tree-topped delight
Tweet tweeeeeet. I heard the loud tweet before I saw the bird. The chirp was insistent. Urging me to look up. The bird was perched on the peak of a blue spruce. 40 feet high or more. It was standing on the top branch that juts straight up. The tippy tippy top. Like a star on top of a Christmas tree. I stood and watched the bird shriek at the top of its little lungs. It looked like a blue jay, but grey, though it was hard to discern from my street level stance. Luckily he was a noisy guy. Otherwise I would not have glanced skyward and noticed this…
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Potato leek soup
My husband and I hosted Thanksgiving dinner at our house. Roast chicken, potato and celeriac purée and a medley of colourful roasted vegetables. My brother and sister-in-law made the trek from Ottawa with my two nieces and nephew. My daughter was home from university. The grandmothers were happy all kids and grandkids were present. Eleven family members packed around our table. We all had many things to be thankful for as we went around the table: family, friends, health, peace, homes safe from hurricanes and tornadoes, good food, a week off school, swimming, donuts, molasses Halloween candy. It was a good long list. After dinner we played the game Listography.…
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Joyful Caramel
It’s Caramel here. You know I love to run fast and jump high. My legs are not long, but they are springy. I bet I would be good at Hurdle Jumps. I get good air. I can leap up 3 stairs at once. Easy. I can stop super fast too. I skid to a halt, point my nose in a new direction, and bam, I am off again. That’s how I am so good at chasing squirrels out of my yard. You might say it’s my super-power. Put a cape on me and I could fly. Get this? Now when I get ready to run or jump, my family yells…
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Disconnecting at the cottage
It’s a warm evening at the cottage. We finish dinner and start to discuss our post-dinner game choices. There are three generations this evening as my Mom is visiting. A boardgame? Cards? My niece proposes another option: “Anyone want to go for a swim?” She is a mermaid at heart. “I’m in,” I reply. The two of us quickly change into our bathing suits and head for the lake while the others settle on Euchre. Floating in the water I ask my niece what she likes about the cottage. “Freedom,” she says. “I get to do what I want. No school, parents telling me to do things.” I get it.…
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El Présente
“You think of it, all you have is the present moment. The past doesn’t exist anymore, the future hasn’t happened.” I was chatting with a gentleman I often see on my lakeside walks. It was a brilliant sunny late February day, a canoe out on the lake. The gentleman I was talking to is in his eighties, an avid walker, always greets me with a smile, and I learn in this conversation, a fan of Marcus Aurelius. He has a well worn copy of the Roman emperor’s personal essays that he’s consulted over the years. We were talking about the Stoics and the almost mind bending challenge to live in…
