It’s all just garbage rubbish. When I grew up in Alberta during the 70′s and 80′s all our waste was dumped into the trash cans in our back alley. Then the garbage men magically appeared while we slept to take it all away. Job done. Later, ten years in British Columbia broadened my wasteful horizons and [...]
I’ve spent half my life fighting mother nature but I’ve finally come to accept the fact that I’m just not a ‘big picture’ thinker. I struggle to see a larger vision, a bigger context. I feel overwhelmed by thoughts of global movements and changes in the universal plight. Instead, I fall in love with the [...]
It’s the strange little things I miss most. I never had to give any thought or effort to having a drawer full of new socks or tea towels. Without fail, my mother would always ensure that each birthday, Easter or Christmas included a predictable supply of both. I took these small gifts for granted, never [...]
I constantly struggle with the dilemma of sunk costs. It seems counter-intuitive to abandon a project or idea after having invested a lot of time, passion and energy. The Great Wiki explains that humans are inherently loss aversive and thus normally act irrationally when making economic decisions. But it’s just not that easy to exchange [...]
It’s an old habit that I remember from my Oma, one that she probably learned from her Oma. Tucked inside every purse is one Castanea (I say Chestnut, Penfold says Conker). Last week Jen Lemen from Shutter Sisters asked: Do you have a tricket, a charm, a tiny thing on your dresser, on your windowsill, [...]
The clever and inspirational djbeat (whose inspiration was begat by Shutter Sisters) gave me some unripened food for thought this week. She asked, “What are you waiting for today?” and suddenly all my earlier notions of patience went out the window. Well, out the imaginary window … So what am I waiting for as I try to savour [...]
One of my favourite aspects of landing in a new country is the opportunity to start fresh, planting new seeds that will hopefully generate new roots. While Penfold works furiously to get the house finished, I spend my mornings working on a horrific practice audit and my afternoons painting, grouting and feeding gummi bears to [...]
