Friday is for sausage rolls and staring out the window and buying toilet paper and drinking whisky. It’s also for afternoon walks and almost slipping on ice and wearing bright yellow sweaters with baggy jeans.
(more…)Category: Life
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Snow and Windows
When I woke up this morning and drew back the curtain, it was snowing. The cobbled streets were lightly dusted. Little snowflakes, tiny and delightful, were swirling in the air as though someone in the sky was gently sprinkling icing sugar onto the earth.
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But Mostly, It’s Wonderful
Things are happening. Wonderful things that are also a little terrifying. Much like the storm that is raging outside my window right now. It’s wonderful because it’s strong and alive and reminds me that there are forces at play, greater than I can even imagine. And it’s terrifying for the very same reasons.
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Favourite Things and Hard Things
It’s a new month and that’s exciting. I suppose there are probably people out there dreading February in the same way one might dread going to the dentist, but personally, I’m looking forward to it. February: the month of the year I need to spell out letter by letter every time I write it down, just so I don’t forget that tricky ‘r’. Feb-roo-ary.
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The Comfort of January
It’s been one month since Christmas. I try not to measure time by ‘how much has passed since’ anymore, but sometimes I still catch myself doing it. Like I’ll be walking down the International aisle at Lidl, thinking to myself, ‘wow, it’s been three years since I was in Asia.’ Or sitting at my desk, thinking ‘it’s been six months since my birthday’. Or lying in bed, thinking about the fact that three weeks ago, I was in my own room and now I’m here.
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Other People
I went for an hour long walk today, bundled up in my scarf and gloves. I made mental notes of the shops I’ll need to visit and then made my way to the Water of Leith Walkway where the air was fresh, the ground was muddy, and the wind blew my hair in every direction. I saw a grey squirrel, perfectly perched in a tree. I saw families, and couples, and friends, and people on bikes.
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The Secret Lives in Kitchens
Morning. The coffee is brewing, and Hall & Oates are singing, and the door to the back porch is open, letting in that cool, almost-September breeze. I like these quiet mornings when I’m the only one home. It almost feels like playing house – the way I used to when I was little. Except now it’s real.
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More Than…
There are a few remaining rays of August sunshine left and I’m sitting with my back to the window, letting myself soak it all in. I don’t do that enough. Soak things in, I mean. When I read books, I feel like I’m sometimes too motivated by needing to know what happens that I don’t savor every word, sentence, paragraph. And when I eat, I feel like I want to try everything, so I chew quickly, so that nothing runs out before I’ve had the chance. And when I walk, I stride with purpose, propelled forward by some invisible force.
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These Moments, Too
I hear a plane flying above me, somewhere in the pure sky. There are birds chirping, somewhere in the trees. And in between all these things, somewhere in the deep folds of the universe, there’s me. I’m not doing anything spectacular – not jumping on overnight bus journeys and waking up in new cities, or trying new foods with names I can’t pronounce, or climbing volcanoes at sunrise – I’m just here, quietly existing in my own little way.
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Things I Learned Growing Up 