Creative pursuits

A wise friend told me recently that romantic catastrophes are good for creative pursuits. There certainly is a wealth of literature, music and art that resulted from broken hearts. Heck, if we all had happy relationships there would be a whole lot less country music. I don't know how or if the events of the past couple of months will find their way into a creative pursuit for me. I'm new to the world of blogs, so I've been spending a bit of time exploring them. Some are completely commercial. Some are journals in that they record the events and a few thoughts of the writers. A few are very personal glimpses into the writer's life. One I found was particularly inspirational so I added that to my link list on this blog. The title is One Pic a Day, but it's much more than that. It's a deeply honest diary of the writer's life where he shares very personal thoughts with the world. I feel for the guy. I wish I could write something so uncensored. Something to learn in 2008.

Update: I guess One Pic a Day was either too popular or too personal. It's now no longer a public blog.

The funny thing about Christmas...

As my life turned upside down, my only thoughts about Christmas were about how to avoid it while not being totally alone. In the past few years, the weeks leading up to Christmas were often stressful for a variety of reasons, some of it self-imposed. This year I certainly didn't feel like having anything to do with Christmas. The funny thing is, though, that it managed to find me anyway.

I took the train to Toronto to spend the long weekend with friends - just hang out, talk, relax. That's pretty much what we did, but Christmas was still there with us. Instead of a tree, we had a Christmas ivy on the fire place mantel, surrounded with candles. Instead of children, we had three little black kittens running around the apartment and chewing on the ribbons. On Christmas Eve, we had guests, gifts were exchanged, followed by a couple of rounds of Cranium (even more fun with a couple of drinks). We spent Christmas day in our pajamas, watching Ratatouille, part of a Crossing Jordan marathon, and Horton Hears a Who. During a brief internet fix, I found the Santa Claus blog. It's wonderful and hilarious, so I put the link on this blog. It will be interesting to read what happens at North Pole, Inc. in 2008. We even had a Christmas ham, technically, though that dinner was the night before Christmas Eve. As with all Christmas hams, it was enjoyed in various forms throughout the weekend (sandwiches, snack platter, quiche... there will be a ham and pea/bean soup at some point in the future).

All in all, it was the best way to spend Christmas. I feel really blessed to have such good friends here and around the world. Everyone has been so supportive. I really appreciate it.

Back in the land of winter

My last winter in Ontario was the winter when Toronto called out the military to help remove the snow. It was then that I made the decision to move to California and escape winter altogether. Over eight years later, I find myself back in the land of winter. My second day in Montreal the city was hit with a snowstorm compared to the one when Toronto called out the military! For a girl who is not a big fan of winter, it does seem to follow me everywhere I go. I braved the storm to go out and buy a new winter coat.

Inspired by friends who started blogs when they moved to a new part of the world, I thought I would do the same. The only personal writing I've done in the past five years has been Christmas cards to older friends and relatives on the other side of the digital divide. Writing this blog on, I hope, a somewhat regular basis will get me doing something I enjoy (writing) and sharing my new Montreal and single life experiences with my friends and family. I expect some posts will be long, some will be short, and I'll include photos once in awhile.