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Do You See Books?
One of my writer friends shared this meme on Facebook,… Read More »Do You See Books?
My Glasses Broke & Other Life Snippets
Do I like change? No. And especially not while my… Read More »My Glasses Broke & Other Life Snippets
Finding Myself Again
So, I’ve been doing yoga. This is a massive first… Read More »Finding Myself Again
While I was Away
This post is basically a collection of random photos. I… Read More »While I was Away
Two-Oh-Two-One
Call the Ghost Busters or a necromancer–it’s me. For realzies.… Read More »Two-Oh-Two-One
Hello From the Inside
This weekend, we went for a drive. We didn’t get… Read More »Hello From the Inside
Last Week Wasn’t a Good Week
Let’s not play games, we all get depressed sometimes. And… Read More »Last Week Wasn’t a Good Week
I Haven’t Left the House in 9 Days
What I miss is walking. Up until last Friday, I… Read More »I Haven’t Left the House in 9 Days
Tales from Self-Isolation
Honestly, as someone who spends the greater part of her… Read More »Tales from Self-Isolation
This Post Comes to You in Four Parts
Totally paraphrasing John Green there. 🙂 DFTBA, people. Anyway. Part… Read More »This Post Comes to You in Four Parts
The Book was Better – My Thoughts on Adaptations
I recently reread the Harry Potter series, and watched the… Read More »The Book was Better – My Thoughts on Adaptations
It’s Happening Again (A Life Update)
I guess you all know by now that when I… Read More »It’s Happening Again (A Life Update)
Spot the Differences – Writer vs Main Character
I posted an excerpt from A Study of Ash &… Read More »Spot the Differences – Writer vs Main Character
Vacation Pics (Part One)
Aren’t you proud that we managed to take some photos… Read More »Vacation Pics (Part One)
Behind the Scenes – Editing
I figure I might as well clue you all in… Read More »Behind the Scenes – Editing
Johnston Canyon Revisited
The last time we went to this magical place, the… Read More »Johnston Canyon Revisited
SA Bookswap
The South African Bookswap, organised by Tams, or Bibliobookwolf on… Read More »SA Bookswap
Wake Me Up When September Ends
Well, I’m back. I’m happy to inform you the two… Read More »Wake Me Up When September Ends
The Random Photo Post
These are the last of the vacation photos, the stragglers… Read More »The Random Photo Post
We Had More Time
Last week, we lost two family members. We witnessed the… Read More »We Had More Time
Ideas For Writers of Instagram
I’ve been trying to up my Instagram game. I stumbled… Read More »Ideas For Writers of Instagram
When Do You Find the Time? An Essay by a Work-From-Home Mother
When Kayla was little, I worked when she slept. This… Read More »When Do You Find the Time? An Essay by a Work-From-Home Mother
I’m Yolandie – Revisited
A few years ago, I had an epiphany–I’m not done… Read More »I’m Yolandie – Revisited
Current Favourites
I’m always the slightest bit late with my favourites post,… Read More »Current Favourites
Social Sabbatical Results
It’s been just over two months since I announced on… Read More »Social Sabbatical Results
My Thoughts – The Office
I mentioned in another post that I was rewatching The… Read More »My Thoughts – The Office
Just Publish it Already
We’re back to reality today, after a week-long break (if… Read More »Just Publish it Already
The Five-Month Update
This Wednesday edition of Maple Mondays is brought to you by… Read More »The Five-Month Update
Keeping it Current
It’s been a really long time since I’ve blogged about… Read More »Keeping it Current
One of Those Days
Some days, I have zero direction. As you probably guessed… Read More »One of Those Days
Social Sabbatical
Lately, I’ve been absent and apparently folks have been noticing.… Read More »Social Sabbatical
Looking for Sympathy.
One of those things people forget to tell you about… Read More »Looking for Sympathy.
December/January Writing Update
The last few weeks of my life have been intense.… Read More »December/January Writing Update
Book Review – Turtles all the way Down
It’s been a while since I wrote one of these.… Read More »Book Review – Turtles all the way Down
Let’s Talk About Panic Attacks
Now here’s an uncomfortable topic. One of those most people… Read More »Let’s Talk About Panic Attacks
CN Tower and Ripley’s Aquarium (My WIP)
I’m typing this as the snow is falling and slowly… Read More »CN Tower and Ripley’s Aquarium (My WIP)
A December Update
It’s been one of those weeks. My parents arrived from… Read More »A December Update
Gingerbread House
When we saw gingerbread house kits in Michael’s the other… Read More »Gingerbread House
Toronto Christmas Market 2017
I guess we wanted to see how the Canadians do… Read More »Toronto Christmas Market 2017
Let’s Do This
No, this isn’t another of those please-bear-with-me-posts, I really am… Read More »Let’s Do This
First Week in Canada
It’s difficult to believe, but there it is. We’ve been… Read More »First Week in Canada
Boxes and Suitcases
Boxes and suitcases everywhere. This is my current reality. Those boxes we’re not shipping to Canada are full of stuff for charity. It’s a minefield.
The clutter makes me anxious. It’s a combination of excitement and being totally overwhelmed, so every now and then I find myself disengaging to regain some semblance of focus. I do this sometimes. Browse the internet, read a book (and I’m beta reading a FANTASTIC ONE at the moment), or do a watercolour. Or, in today’s reality, write a blog post.
Anniversary Pics
As promised, here’s the bonus Thursday post. 🙂
For the 9th anniversary, we headed to Düsseldorf. This actually happened by accident. The real reason for the trip was to pick up our passports with the brand-spanking-new visas to enter Canada. Both of us had completely forgotten it happened to be our anniversary too. 😛
Since we were already there, we figured a meal would be nice. You know, because it was an event. We conquered the wind and found a cosy restaurant.
A(nother) Note
Today, folks, is my wedding anniversary. Nine years ago, I married the awesomest dude on the face of the planet – he’s my best friend and soulmate, the greatest father and sweetest husband ever.
In honour of that, I’m taking the day off blogging. 🙂 OK, not only that, we’ve got some errands to run too.
Explanations
Fair warning – this is a long post.
After Friday’s big news, we’ve had a lot of good wishes, emails and questions. I thought I’d address some of those today.
Most people were surprised that we’re so unhappy in Germany, especially considering how happy all of our photo diary posts look. I talked about this briefly on Friday, but one of the main things I’ve learned while living abroad is that you can’t judge people’s lives on an hour Skype session every now and then, or on the photos or blog entries they post online.
The Big News
As a teenager, I dreamed of moving to Hollywood. At first, I wanted to act. Who doesn’t? But then, one fateful day, I saw the work of my first idol, Steven Spielberg. More than anything, I wanted to follow in his footsteps and make films. I wrote many brilliant screenplays (they were Oscar winners one and all 😛 ) and the lands over the ocean beckoned.
Little did I know back then that I would end up immigrating, but to a totally different part of the world. Germany. And today is the two-year anniversary of that move.
Life Update
After the Writing Update post, I was asked how it’s going otherwise. So, here we are.
Somehow, these kinds of posts are the most difficult to write. I don’t know why. It’s such a no-brainer to put in hours of research for *writing topic* or spend an evening painting something for an art tutorial, while writing about my personal life never gets easier. And I don’t mean sharing photos of the stuff we’ve been getting up to. Those kinds of posts write like a story.
These honest ones, though. Posts like these mean being vulnerable on the internet. After six years of blogging, that’s still not a feeling I like.
Sunday Afternoon Hike
Sunshine has been rare this summer – I don’t know what’s going on. Apart from three or so heat waves, we’ve had an excess of rain and gloom this season. Pretty depressing, if you ask me. Especially considering the fact that I had a tan last year this time.
So, when the sun is out, we are too.
Under Construction.
As you can tell, I’ve been working on the website.… Read More »Under Construction.
Writing Update
You were supposed to see this post at the end of July, I know. Apologies. I’m more scatterbrained than usual lately and I forgot. But better late than never, right?
The writing has been going exceptionally well. After The Great Word Draught of 2017, I never imagined I’d be writing so much, especially now that The Physician’s Apprentice has been completed (again).
My Writing Process
Writing about writing is tricky. People will often try to… Read More »My Writing Process
Saarner Kirmes (Fair)
In the post about those things I love about Germany, I mentioned random fairs popping up at every opportunity. This weekend, we found one of those. 🙂
The Saarner Kirmes set up in our hometown of Mülheim an der Ruhr, on the bank of the River Ruhr (Saarn is a suburb of Mülheim). We wouldn’t even have known of the fair’s existence, had we not went out to lunch. I was in the mood for currywurst, but we couldn’t find a nice place to have that. So, we went in the direction of the river.
By chance, Kayla spotted activity on the far bank. I say chance, but I really mean her fun-radar. That thing is accurate within half a centimetre. 🙂
The June Report
My… month in pictures? The monthly recap? As far as alternative titles go, these aren’t the best. Sorry. 🙂
Since I didn’t do a single post with photos from this month, I thought I’d give you an overview today (all my WIP posts were of adventures from past months). I’ve been toying with this recap post idea for a while, since so many of our photos taken in the week are share-worthy, but never get featured because they weren’t taken on weekends.
Help a Blogger Out
Here’s an interesting turn of events. I don’t know what to blog about.
At first, I couldn’t understand what the hell this caused this sluggishness. Sure, blogging is difficult sometimes. I’ve been doing this for six years and I know ideas dry up at some point. That’s why the blog changed its direction even before I moved here from the Couch. Still, I was on a roll a while back, so this drought is both unexpected and seriously annoying.
How’s the Writing Going?
Everything is quiet again. Back to normal. It’s been a month since our visitors left (I can’t even) and, with the vacation posts out of the way, I can’t ignore the elephant in the room anymore. Too many people have been asking.
The Random Post
This is the end. We had a blast, saw amazing things and bonded with our tribe. We miss them terribly. The house is still quiet. Going through all of these photos somehow amplifies that.
But, before I get too soppy, let’s get on with the post.
While I shared all the main events with you, I have hundreds of photos taken on the in-between days. You know, those ones that didn’t involve buying tickets to enter tourist hot-spots. That’s what I’m sharing today.
Cologne 3.0
There’s a feeling that fills your chest when you round that corner, or take that step out of the train station in Cologne. The first and most undeniable structure in the heart of the city is the Cologne Cathedral – majestic, impossible and awe-inspiring. It claims your every thought and emotion with its sheer size, then slams its hooks into your heart with its gothic spires, stained-glass windows and grotesque gargoyles. You’ll always kind of shiver when you recall this place, never fully capable of wording what it is you felt in the cathedral’s shadow. And an enormous shadow it is.
The House is Quiet
Well, I’m back.
This vacation was one for the record books. Having friends over was seriously special, and more so because we experienced so many new things together. It was an honour to have them fly half-way around the globe to visit us. All the warm and fuzzies were felt. Having said that, I’ll try to keep the emotions contained while I write this. You know me, a big old softie. 😛 I cry at McDonald’s commercials.
