Yearly Archive: 2020

So, I really wanted to give you something for Christmas, because if ever there was a year when we could all use a bit of pampering, I’d say this is it, wouldn’t you? I thought about baking you all some Christmas cookies, but I’m not much of a baker. Then I thought you might like a colourful scarf to keep you warm on blustery…
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Nine- thirty on the dot, Gavin and I head out the door for his morning constitutional. Overcast, damp, 5C with a just a breath of breeze, still a very good day for a walk. I take in a deep lungful of fresh October air and we set off at our usual brisk pace, only to come to a screeching halt at the end of…
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You guys. I’ve started my new job (Full Time Writer During a Global Pandemic) and I have to tell you — even though it’s only been a few weeks, this is a pretty great job. For one thing, the commute is fantastic! After I make myself a latté (there is free coffee for all employees in the kitchen!) Gavin and I walk through the…
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So, yesterday, on the third official day of my retirement, I walked Gavin around the neighbourhood, did some work in the yard, mowed the lawn… … and then sat down and wrote the first 1,246 words of what will be chapter one of the The Spaghetti Supper Sangha. Thought you’d want to know. (There’s also a secret project that I can’t tell you about…
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This morning, just after sunrise, I walked Gavin on a deserted beach road, through a cathedral of awakening trees. When I got back to my teeny, tiny boathouse, I went for a long swim in the healing waters of Georgian Bay. (Full disclosure: nobody was around and so it was a skinny dip.) Then, I sat on the deck with my tea and breakfast…
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You guys. Just popping in to say that The Kitchen Sink Sutra is an audiobook now! (I know, right?!) And let me tell you, it is just the thing you need right now. Going on a road trip? Audiobook. Working in the garden? Audiobook Folding laundry? Cooking? Sitting by the pool? Audiobook, audiobook, audiobook. Read by the insanely talented Natalie Naudus, this audiobook version…
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Our friend Ali told us that her son Will (who is all of three years old) woke up one day recently, yawned, stretched and said, “Is coronavirus over yet?” I feel you, kid. Just between you and me, it has not been the best week at my house. The dishwasher died, the refrigerator is making a funny noise, I’ve been in desperate need of…
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Well. Here we are. I’d ask how you’ve been since we last talked, but I have an idea how you’ve been, at least lately. If you’re at all like me, you’ve been anxious and restless and reading the news with a subtle mixture of apprehension and dread. You’ve been missing your pre-pandemic life, you’ve been missing your friends, your family, the normalcy of a…
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