- Before she left for work, her Mom made us morning birthday smoothies. Yum!
- Our new 3-year old asked for cereal for breakfast.
- We played Velcro catch.
- Her Dad played the piano and we ate a few (begged-for) left-over Easter bunny treats.
- Dance Party! The only song she approved was Taylor Swift's Lavender Haze, the Remix and "no pics, POPS, just dancing!" (I got one pic.)
- Next she chose a movie: The Fantastic Mr. Fox (aptly named, but her Pops still fell asleep for nearly 30 minutes).
- We had pancakes with peanut-butter and strawberries for lunch.
- We opened ONE of her presents (a balancing game I knew she'd love), and when the pieces fell over she laughed and said, "nana nana boo boo" so we named this new game, "Nana Nana Bonk Bonk." We played it 1207 times.
- (There may have been one little time out that involved her little brother. Oops.)
- Outside on the deck we blew 1207 bubbles and she tried to catch each one.
Wednesday, April 3, 2024
That Time
Monday, March 11, 2024
Let's be honest
Let's be honest: puzzle-making is delightful.
Plus, as you likely know, puzzle-making is such good exercise for our brains: visual-spatial reasoning, short-term memory and cognitive load flexing, problem-solving, concentration, flow state, stress-relief....
Dear friends, do a jigsaw puzzle; stop procrastipuzzling. (Sorry.)
Thursday, March 7, 2024
Some people, eh?
- outside my living room window, a grandfather walking hand-in-hand with his toddler grandchild, following the boy's pace, both wearing matching orange toques.
- a nurse holding hands with an elderly man as he navigated the hospital hallway with his cane.
Sunday, March 3, 2024
Either way, delish.
Coconut Ginger Scones Scone pronunciation debate: I say scone rhymes with Post Malone, not Elton John. But who cares? Either way, delish. |
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter & set outside the back door (or place in the freezer)
- 2 cups flour
- 1/2 c granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 3/4 cup coconut milk (substitute heavy cream or milk, if preferred)
- 1 large egg
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1&1/2 cups shredded unsweetened coconut
- 1 tbsp ground ginger (or equivalent chopped fresh ginger)
- (substitute chocolate chips, berries, nuts, dried fruit, spices, lemon zest, etc.)
- add frozen butter to dry ingredients and combine using two forks or your fingers until partially integrated
- drizzle wet ingredients and mix by hand until it comes together (sticky more than shaggy)
- add 1&1/2 cups coconut & ginger (or substitute) and mix; avoid overmixing
- if needed, add more coconut milk or flour to make dough more sticky than shaggy
- press dough into an 8-inch disk and set outside back door to chill (or refrigerate)
- cut 8 inch dough disc into 8 wedges
- brush with coconut milk & sprinkle on brown sugar
- bake in pre-heated oven at 400 for 20-26 minutes
Sunday, February 18, 2024
Pull
Last summer while visiting Ireland, my wife and I were delighted that we did not skip what we thought might be a more cliché than must-see tourist destination: Blarney Castle. Sparsely attended thanks to a classic Irish rainy day, we adored the poison gardens, the secret caves, and the unexpected "murder hole," a nod to historical warfare both menacing and macabre—likewise, a nod to Irish mettle. Who knew Blarney Castle would feature so many ways to die?
But that's life isn't it? In the middle of all the immense beauty is a hidden and worrisome murder hole.
Today I recall a favourite story: the young elephant whose trainer tied his leg to a post. This act restrained the young elephant's development, curiosity, and freedom. His world shrank to the circumference of that rope. Despite multiple escape efforts, he was stuck. Years ticked away. The young elephant, now grown, remained confined by that small rope—by that embedded ideology—unaware he had the strength to pull that rope and post out of the ground, unaware he had the power to roam freely, to live unencumbered.
There's an abundance of ropes in our lives, unexpected and deadly dangers, various things preventing us from living fearlessly. But mindset is a rope, my friends. Don't give up. Pull. Pull. Pull.
"One must imagine Sisyphus happy." Camus
Saturday, February 3, 2024
Things one should never outgrow:
Click here to read more about the above tragedy. |
I feel like Eeyore.
Nevertheless, I recall Eeyore's famous words, "This is bullshit."
Truth be told, let's be honest, even perhaps (dare I say?) woke. Capitalism invented all of these and other types of days to sell us something and exploit us mercilessly and I am absolutely here for this particularly delicious and hopefully chocolate instance. Why? Because ice cream is the answer to all life's problems. Am I right?
Therefore, my friends, I wish you ice cream for breakfast TOMORROW, or for supper tonight (a great idea) or whenever. Scoop, there it is!
(P.S. Thanks to Kathy G for inspiring my alarm, and this blogpost.)
Thursday, February 1, 2024
Things that deserve the stink-eye:
The neighbour kids—those adorable little Oilers fans—assembled a snowman, but climate change is why we can't have nice things anymore. It was 15 degrees Celsius in parts of Alberta yesterday (!) thus, his head fell off, as did his scarf, arms, and carrot nose (zoom in).
Years ago I would have rejoiced at another Alberta chinook, but the extreme temperatures this January are unprecedented. Sigh. It neared -50 C in Alberta just two weeks ago. As I look forward to real Spring, I wonder about drought and fires and smoke. You're not alone if you too feel the climate anxiety, or solastalgia, a term new to me, but so 2020s.
Wednesday, January 3, 2024
Three!
Happy New Year (baby)! Our third grand baby has arrived! I love being Grandpops to plus that little one in the stroller on the right: welcome baby girl I. |
Monday, January 1, 2024
Fave Reads 2023
My reading criteria remains the same as last year—the shorter the better. Nevertheless, several longer books captured me this year.
All my life, books have been my life-is-a-classroom seat-partner, ally, playmate, collaborator, pal, and sidekick. I can rely on them. They both calm my tendency to overthink and stir or stretch my thinking. I feel a little lost when they are absent. Perhaps among these faves is your newest companion?
You might think you know her story... She never wanted to be a pop star. I was in Ireland reading her unflinching, humble, brazen life story when she died. This memoir felt like a gift. Read more here. |
It's so beautifully- written. It's as if it were written all at once by someone with a broken heart. An Irish girl unlocks love from grief and no one is ever the same again. |
Like her other book, (Quiet, about introversion) Susan Cain asserts that those typically moved by pain & sorrow often possess a sharpened perspective. Essentially melancholy might just be your superpower. |
Much-needed in- sight into "limiting" (not toxic) masculinity and how we boys are sentenced by patriarchal norms into rigid roles that undermine becoming loving and caring men. |