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EmailNew hope and Colouring The World Orange
Posted Nov 9 2018 in About Jen, Community, CRPS, Family, Gratitude
Orange is not my colour. At best, it makes me look sallow. At worst, ill. Yet, this month (dubbed NERVember by the International Pain Foundation), I’m taking pride in wearing orange to raise awareness of Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS, also known as Reflex Sympathetic Dystorphy, RSD), and support those, including English Rose, battling this […]
Read More...Quilts for a cause
Posted Oct 26 2018 in About Jen, Family, Knitting and craft, Quilting
I don’t sew, knit, crochet, embroider or do any of the other handicrafts at which women on both sides of my family tree excelled. In junior high home economics, sewing was painful for both me and my long-suffering mother. Mom made many of her own clothes and was renowned for her knitting, but she’d been […]
Read More...Disconnected from a connected world
Posted Oct 12 2018 in About Jen, Books, Community, Reading, The Cottage at Firefly Lake
If you follow me on social media, you know that I was unexpectedly offline for most of last week when work to lay underground fiber optic cables cut existing cables that deliver landline phone and internet service to my home. As someone who is almost always connected to the wider world, I was all of […]
Read More...Back to the barre
Posted Sep 28 2018 in About Jen, Ballet, Gratitude, New beginnings
For most of my adult life, a pair of worn ballet slippers has lurked at the back of my wardrobe—a poignant reminder of something that was important to me as a book and dance-loving child and teen, but that I’d lost sight of as the years slipped by. Those shoes might have stayed tucked away […]
Read More...Lessons from my daughter
Posted Sep 14 2018 in About Jen, England, Family, Gratitude, Kindness, Motherhood, Summer on Firefly Lake
English Rose celebrated her fifteenth birthday earlier this month. Although it seems like yesterday she marked that milestone first birthday, my ‘baby girl’ is becoming a young woman and, more and more, I glimpse the person who will soon be not only my daughter but also a friend. This week, during one of our bedtime […]
Read More...Reading habits
Posted Aug 31 2018 in About Jen, Authors, Books, Lena Gregory, Reading, Writing
One of my Facebook friends, cozy mystery author Lena Gregory, recently posted a question about reading habits, asking “how many books do you read on average?” She also noted that while she “used to read between three and five books a week,” these days, her reading time isn’t nearly as plentiful. Lena’s question intrigued me, […]
Read More...Going on a road trip
Posted Aug 17 2018 in About Jen, Family, Gratitude, Travel
When I think about summer (and especially during a long, cold Canadian winter), one of the first things to come to mind is the road trip. Growing up, summer road trips were a highlight of my year. With my parents and the family dog too, I crisscrossed Canada and sometimes the US, exploring wilderness areas, […]
Read More...“Me” time
Posted Jul 20 2018
Like most mid-life women (and undoubtedly men too), I don’t get much time that’s solely for “me”—to recharge, reflect and “be” in myself. In the last week, though, I had that time and it reminded me of the importance of self-care in life as well as writing. Attending a writing conference in the UK, […]
Read More...Going (to my second) home
Posted Jul 6 2018 in About Jen, Conferences, England, Home
If, like me, you’ve spent half your adult life living outside the country of your birth, “home” is flexible. Although “home” for me is wherever Tech Guy and English Rose are, beyond that, I often picture myself straddling a little island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, one leg stretched towards the UK, the […]
Read More...Summertime…
Posted Jun 22 2018 in About Jen, Books, Family, Friendship, Reading, Small town life, The Cottage at Firefly Lake
With temperatures topping 30 Celsius (90 degrees Fahrenheit) in the Rideau Valley this week, it’s indeed summertime in my small town. From the fishing spot off the town dock, to the outdoor swimming pool, and lines at local ice cream shops, everyone is savouring seasonal joys. I’m writing this blog post on my porch (to […]
Read More...The Latest News
- Oct 12, 2018: Writing workshop for North Grenville Writers Circle
- May 29, 2018: All About Books — Guest post on Odd Socks and Lollipops
- Dec 18, 2017: My favourite holiday books as a child — Guest post, That Artsy Reader Girl, A Bookish Little Christmas
- Dec 17, 2017: How I find writing inspiration – Guest post, ChickLit Club
- Dec 16, 2017: My favourite fireside reads for the holidays – Guest post, Fresh Fiction
- Dec 15, 2017: Having a happy (British) Christmas in Canada — Guest post, Bookish Jottings
- Dec 13, 2017: What the winter months mean to me – Guest post at Guilty Pleasures Book Reviews
- Dec 12, 2017: My favourite holiday traditions – Guest post, Smexy Books
- Dec 08, 2017: Interview with Suzy Approved Book Reviews: My writing life & Firefly Lake books
- Dec 07, 2017: Chatting with Debbie Mason on USA Today’s Happy Ever After blog
