Quick October Update
Life has been a bit hectic as of late. I don’t like the platform I have running my blog, which means I have a mental hill to get over before I can blog. Right now, I’m inside a coffee shop killing time waiting for a truck to show up and haul away a pile of junk I have in the garage. I decided to crack open the less than stellar editor to write this. Might as well make some use of my time—eve...
The End of Summer
My kid got moved into college. I originally typed “settled” but I think it’s going to take awhile before he feels settled. It’s a big change. A new school. A new city. It might be awhile before I feel settled, too. On the way down, I stopped in Toronto to try Michelin-starred Kaiseki Yu-zen Hashimoto Restaurant that sits in the Japanese Canadian Cultural Center. It was a lovely experi...
Recent Morsels
As I am on the cusp of considering another culinary quest, I’ve been wondering how I want to present the experience. I could do something similar to the Fifty site, which felt more documentary. Here’s where I was and this is what I ate. I had an Instagram account where I’d post photos of the food but their post format felt a bit constraining, being limited to 10 photos and a descript...
Friday.
His mom came to pick him up while he frantically tried to get tasks done that should’ve been done the night before, a night spent being out until the wee hours of the morning, soaking in every last minute possible with friends. As he was about to leave, I noticed tears start to form in his eyes and then they start for me, in turn. A deep long hug and then he’s off. This’ll be the last ti...
Thursday.
Tomorrow, my kid heads off to college. It’ll take a few days to really sink in—likely in the process of cleaning up what’s left of his room after he’s left. I am taking moments to be present. We had dinner last night on the back porch. It’ll be the last time we have dinner together in this house. The weather was pleasant. I could see a plane contrail left in the mostly clear but now ...
Sundials
As a kid, I’d lie in a sea of green grass, looking up at the ocean of blue sky, watching the clouds pass overhead, a chinook wind blowing over me. Today, as I sit on my balcony, as I do many days during the warm (or blistering hot) summer days, the ever-changing clouds continue their swift pass while the shadows of buildings seem firmly planted against the ground. The concrete and brick towe...
Birthday Widgets
I can’t remember birthdays all that well. They do only happen once a year, after all. But I like to reach out to some people to wish them a happy birthday. In the Apple ecosystem, adding a birthdate to a contact will show their birthday in Apple Calendar. Personally, though, I find it can be a bit noisy. Between my own calendar, kids’ calendars, garbage pickup calendar, my mom’s calend...
I’m Still July
July had originally looked to be a quiet month but as June was coming to a close, I got invited by friends to a restaurant in Italy: Lido 84. I had considered going to Lido 84 years ago but logistics never quite worked out so I quickly said yes to this opportunity. After all the planning and execution of June events, I half-assed invitations to host Canada Day and was secretly delighted when mo...