dec 8  We have arrived safely at the vineyard. We both remembered the hill up to the house being much steeper than it really is! Our brave Forester had no trouble getting us to the door. It had snowed here perhaps five inches and the road up to the house and the driveway were snow-covered….

K and I have rented this house in the Eastern Townships for the next few months.  Rain sent me this picture on Sunday: the view from the house, now! The building in the photo is an underground building that was, I think, for wine-making. There is a vineyard on the property.  *****  Four years ago this…

 I’m sure I am not alone in my fascination with tiny things. Miniature candlesticks, dolls, china dogs: you can find a tiny replica of anything you can think of. For many the enchantment of a doll house is an extension of this, the little details that bring it to life. I longed for a “proper”…

I dedicate this post to a dear friend who has just welcomed a new (rescued) dog into his home. A dog is forever an optimist, and even as he ducks a sudden gesture, he will believe in a new life and cleave to a new human with absolute trust, in a very short time. I…

my sushi.    Not much changed for our family when the new lockdown began in Toronto. I did notice that the 401 and the 427 were unusually quiet at six pm., when it should have been busy. But we continued to observe such strict protocols through the summer and fall that Monday seemed no different….

  On Friday, it was 17 degrees and in the field I discovered violet leaves and dandelions waking up! Yesterday, snow, a proper 5 inches of perfect snowman snow; the children scrambled to find boots and mitts and by nightfall there were snowmen and forts all along the street. Tamar and Indre went for an…

Quebec, September. “Changes in lifestyle, aims and dreams, and those stemming from covid-19, have shaken up who I am: so much is new. But I feel more myself, not less: grounded; the earth has stopped shaking for a little while.” That was two weeks ago (blog post 201105); then three days ago (201115) I said, “I am…

 Nov. 11  Robin made a poppy. A school-wide virtual assembly was organized for children learning at home. Robin and Indre projected it onto the TV screen and watched together with their dad.  ***** On the heels of his defeat at the polls, President Trump, still not accepting his loss, is replacing important military and defense…

Pastel morning. Nov. 10 The unfolding of the presidential election has become a theatrical event to compete with any of Shakespeare’s mad and desperate Kings. Trump is shut in his castle while his noblemen and family take sides, and the country watches in anger or fear, powerless, without horses or swords. If this was a…

nov. 5  A brand new day. Robin had something to tell me about covid. He said “There is this word, ‘contagious’ and it means that something can spread. And covid is contagious.” “Is that why we wear masks?” I asked. “Yes!”, he said. Contagious: who knew? It is weird having to share a kitchen. You…