So here we are, on a 2/3 acre parcel of land, surrounded by hundreds of acres of farmland. We haven’t heard a siren. When someone drives down our road, it’s an event. We’ve seen deer and I’m sure we’ll see other critters in time. Our nearest neighbour isn’t near at all, so we have this place wired (and wireless) for monitoring and security.
…Truth be told, these acres are brown right now. The feed corn that surrounds us is almost ready for harvest. The soybean fields a little further away came down this week. It was fun to watch the combines come in and get to work.
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Shopping! Am I right? Between ethics and prices and convenience and everything else that goes into it, it’s a complicated experience. Remember when the Sears catalogue would arrive? You’d dog-ear the pages showing what you wanted and that was it. No comparison shopping. No worries about free shipping. Done and done. Santa, please bring me the inflatable Barbie chair.
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From my new writing space, all I see is corn, hay, more corn, trees, and more trees. There is a neighbour a km or so away, but I can’t quite make out their house. This is the road less traveled but there is a streetlight across from our home. It’s a little bit of civilization in a pretty remote area.
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Today, and for the rest of this week, I’m going into reruns, in order to free my mind and soul (and fingers and knees!) for the task ahead of settling into our new/old home. If all goes as planned, as you read this we are watching the unloading of our first shipping container of possessions. So, please indulge me as I share my most-read posts from the last few years.
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Here’s a confession. I love using plastic sandwich bags. You know, the ones with the zip closure? I love them! I use them for everything from food storage to stand-ins for plastic gloves. They’re terribly wasteful so I’ve made a promise to myself (and now to you) that I will stop buying them after we move.
…We were lucky to get this apartment. I held out because I had an instinct that we’d get it, against the odds. It’s owned by a short-term rental company whose various units across the city are almost always booked up.
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Last week, my friend Dan took me as his plus-one to a preview performance of Titanic: The Musical at London’s Grand Theatre. It’s this year’s high school project. I’ve seen many of them – you’d never know you’re watching high school students. The talent is first-rate.
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We’ve watched a lot of baseball lately. And because we’re at the mercy of someone else’s channel selection and we don’t get our faves, it’s Family Feud and baseball, ad nauseum, on TV nights.
…Since quitting my radio job, Rev. Kevin George is one of the people I miss seeing the most. His weekly visit to the CJBK roundtable was a delight. His Twitter handle, @itsjustkevy, says a lot about who he is.
…Ours has been a three-way love affair since we saw you presented on Dragon’s Den two years ago. Your then 23-year-old creator got an offer from all of the dragons for creating you: low-sugar, GMO-free, gluten-free, sugar-alcohol-free candies that kill a craving for something sweet.
…If you’re not familiar, Walk a Mile in Her Shoes is an international fundraising walk that’s not like all the others. In various towns and cities, the annual stroll supports different charities and organizations. In London, it’s Anova.
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We’re living in an apartment for a while and there’s less to do, chore-wise. So, if we don’t get out and get busy, all we’ll do is work. On a related note, I saw a drink coaster recently that said, “Don’t confuse having a career with having a life”. I did have those two confused for a good, long while. It’s kind of ironic that drink coasters have become so wise when I see so few of them anymore.
…We lived there for only eight months. Not since the early days in my career have I moved again so quickly. And back then, I had few items of my own. It’s a bigger deal to move these days. When I picked up some boxes, an employee at the store said, “I moved once. Never again”!
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There is nothing left in this house except the things that belong to me. My scratching post that looks like a bent toilet brush, my basket of toys and brushes. Best of all, my fuzzy, puffy pouf and of course, my food. I must face the fact that we are camping now. The furniture upon which I leave my fur is now but a memory. These humans cannot be reasoned with. Take note of my facial expression. This air mattress has no give!
…These email scammers are creative, I’ll give them that.
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A new study out of Austria finds we apple eaters might be tossing away the healthiest part of the fruit.
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