I was at work when the tragedy in France unfolded and did not understand why my friend was posting that she was “Charlie” (No…no, I am pretty sure you are Beryl….) until I read the news that night. I found it ironic to remember that while the shootings were going down in Paris, a Muslim… Continue Reading
Author Archives: Claire
The Old Year (2014 edition)
2015 has dawned bright, clear and cold (a balmy minus 9 degrees). Snow covers the ground and yaktrax are in order when I take Gandalf out for walks, which are quite short in these temperatures. Pippin declines to go at all when it is below zero. My long holiday season started in August, at the… Continue Reading
A Closed Mouth Gathers No Foot
I have spent a pretty big chunk of my life perfecting the art of being hard on myself. I swear, if self-criticizing was an Olympic sport I would always be on the podium (and it better be the gold!). While being very understanding of others (and excusing inexcusable behavior in some) I have a history… Continue Reading
Dreaming of Paris
I needed something short to post in order to test drive adjustments I made to the blog and I didn’t want it to be a boring “test post”. Pippin obliged me by doing…..this. I have no idea what was going through his little cat brain. When my friend posted photos of Cathedral gargoyles I knew… Continue Reading
Mom-guilt happens
Someone once said “You do the best you can raising your kids but you never really know how they’re going to turn out until they’re about twenty-seven and by then it’s too late anyway”. I was a young woman when I heard this and thought it was funny; I tried to ignore the feeling lurking… Continue Reading
Re-balancing
I started this post in our typical un-spring-like spring; an entire season ago. Too much time has gone by and so here it is, a little disjointed, but that is kind of the way things have been lately. Walls of water snuggled the tomatoes and squash through the snow and cold of early summer.… Continue Reading
Spry
Odd little word, “spry”, and I don’t care for it. I know it is supposed to be a good thing, but it sounds so…I don’t know….patronizing. spry adjective 1. (esp. of an old person) active; lively. It was also the brand name of a Crisco-like product my Grandma used; would it make one’s baked goods… Continue Reading
Cabin Fever
Pippin’s cabin fever is conspicuous of late. More wild-eyed thunderpaws from room to room, more spectacular leaps onto his cat tree, more bouncing into Gandalf. His miaows have become plaintive and he braids a path around my feet as I walk about the house; he is my make-up assistant in the morning and computer helper at night. Clearly,… Continue Reading
Mermaid Hair
I am partially to blame for this. Rebecca wanted to color her hair so we were looking at ideas and wandered onto a website that featured not-your-usual-hair-colors, i.e; pink, green, blue, purple. Some of the dye jobs were not so great, some were quite outlandish, all were colorful and a surprising number were subtle enough… Continue Reading
Winter Solstice 2013
“Well. Here we are!” This has become my traditional toast and since Gandalf and Pippin can’t hold a wine glass I hear an imaginary *clink* as we salute this night. Christmas lights are bright, my fireplace is toasty and this year Loreena McKennitt has joined my Winter Solstice music companions Jennifer Cutting and the Windham… Continue Reading
