The Pits and Pieces

  Although I love playing tennis, I’m also glad when it gets rained out on a Saturday, and I can spend the whole morning at home. I love slow, lazy mornings. And afternoons. And evenings. Where there’s no rush to get anywhere by a certain time, no decisions or choices to make other than, should I read or nap, or both? There are a myriad things one can do with an unexpected span of free time at home, but none appeal more than stretched out on the couch, reading, a bowl of snacks within reach. Yes, I’m the type of reader who loves to snack while turning the pages. Also love to snack while watching TV or working at my desk. I’m a snacker. Anyway, this post was going to be about Rainy-Day  Reflections, so I must reflect on something. That something for the day being: Does there come a time in your life when you must give up on dreams you’ve held onto for a long time, and find new ones to pursue? Blasphemy, I know! We’re encouraged to keep following our dreams, never give up,...

    “ Good fences make Good Neighbors ”    So goes a line in Robert Frost’s poem ‘Mending Wall’. The poem is often quoted, often referenced, often misinterpreted as an advocate for creating separations. But the poem also asks: “ Before I built a wall I ’ d ask to know   What I was walling in or walling out” *  I  was reminded of the fences line as I sat for two hours at a zoom Annual General Meeting of the condo building where I live. These meetings are tedious and often contentious. I am always surprised at the lack of decorum in a setting where we should all be interested in the common good. And yet, the tone is confrontational, residents pitted against the board or property management or both.   What is it about living in close proximity, sharing facilities, that gets people so riled up? True, owners have a right to know how their maintenance fees are being spent, what the plans for upkeep are, why such and such a rule exists.   Does it...

This past week there was an explosion onto the social media scene of Threads. As someone who’s never been on Facebook or Twitter, the decision for me was easy – stick to Instagram, my only social media platform. But the hype also makes you question why you’re on a social media platform, and how much time you spend on it. On Instagram, I mostly follow: Bookstagrammers. Their in-depth reviews keep my TBR list growing, and while I know there’s little chance of me ever getting to the bottom of the list, it’s opened the door to books and authors I might not have discovered on my own. Writers. I follow a few, mostly Canadian, as well as writing resources. Travellers and Wanderers. Also my kind of people along with the bibliophiles. A variety of older women with original, substantial, interesting, informative or just plain damn funny things to say. It’s true, In stagram can consume precious hours, and often I will lament and resent the time I’ve spent scrolling. I try to avoid the ...