“Is it that he’s molting making all the fur stand up, or are his hips a bit more prominent than usual?” my husband asked me a few weeks ago, when looking at our cat with his tail up and nose down in his food bowl. I didn’t know it then, but that turned out to…
I am a history buff. Have been for years. I’m not exactly sure how it’s started, though I suspect a particular European history teacher in Exeter had a hand in it, making it interesting and all that (how dare he?) by somehow finding the ridiculous and the sublime in every era, every conflict, every revolution we…
People love rituals. We’re really good at them. Rituals have in fact been a feature of society since… well… pretty much since the beginning of society I imagine. Whether it’s swearing in a new president or sacrificing a virgin for a better harvest, humanity simply loves to mark events. Marking events has a definite sort of…
The holidays are for catching up to family and friends and taking a break from the daily grind. We just came back from a short trip to see family out in Galway, and were lucky enough to get home in time to catch friends of ours flying back to Vienna tomorrow. I hope to see…
There is something tranquil about being able to watch your child fall asleep as they finally lose the battle to keep their eyes open. Their eyelashes flutter closed. Their forehead smooths out, and a sense of peace flows over the whole scene. Given the inherent nature of this sight, I therefore find it deeply and…
Maybe it’s cabin fever, or maybe it’s being slightly under the weather, but today I had to get out of the house for some undivided solitude. I love my son, but the constant demands to entertain him and play with him wear me down and make me cranky, cantankerous, and short-tempered. So I took the…
Christmas day began pretty much like any other day in this household. We gradually acquired wakefulness thanks to a restless starfished child between me and The Mister, first rolling in one direction, then another, before rolling back toward me and in a whiny whisper declaring that he’s thirsty. Or hungry. It’s usually one or the…
‘Twas the night before Christmas and everything was finally ready. The gifts were all wrapped under the tree, having multiplied at the last minute and most of them suspiciously bearing the name of Hawkeye. The cookies and the milk have been set out for Santa and carrots for Rudolph. We considered leaving an actual half-eaten…
The tree is beautiful. The lights are warm. The couch makes for a cozy corner under the shaded icicle lights in the window. There’s a colourful knitted stocking hanging from the mantle waiting for chocolate treats to be hidden inside. The presents are starting to pile up under the tree and more are waiting to…
Last Thursday was… well, let’s just say it had some really low lows, and some exceptionally high highs. Both of those events deserve their own posts, but the words are still germinating and marinating and in the meantime, I thought I would share this little gem of a text conversation I had with The Mister…
Imagine the scene this morning. The early morning light barely filters into the north-facing apartment, leaving the kitchen and hallways cast in deep shadows while a light blazes in the living room and the bathroom. Daddy is organising his work bag in the living room. Mommy is staring at the mirror in the bathroom, trying…
The Feathered Rose 