The biggest take-away from that month-long trip in 1996 is that New Zealand is a wonderful destination full of lovely people and beautiful sites. Can recommend.

Tonight felt like a duck sausage evening. I began with thinly slicing half a large red onion and a few baby potatoes and getting them going in the cast iron pan in some olive oil with a little S&P.

In 18 months of living in a laneway suite, I have only one answer to the question “what was the hardest adjustment?”  It’s living with a refrigerator 1/3 the size of my old one.

When she opened the door to the fridge repairman, she didn’t foresee all the doors on the other side.

In this series, you may have concluded I always cook dinner and I try to make healthy choices. That would be insane. And boring. Sometimes I head to the strip on Weston Road and pick up takeout and then indulge in trashy mags or fluffy series as accompaniment. But I still make dining an occasion. I’m worth it. And it’s not hard to do.

“Jack, can you make a list of your passwords for me please?”

I know I’ll need this list. I don’t know exactly when. Jack has metastatic lung cancer and two months ago, he was given two to four months to live. 

Google “hospice and guilt” and you’ll get screens full of links. Most take you to hospice websites, where carefully worded statements try to allay the feelings of those who are, like I was, in the unenviable position of being someone’s power of attorney for personal care.

I’ve eaten so much Japanese food that it’s become my comfort food. And none is as homey for me as ramen. So much so, I’ve taken to making versions of ramen at home. Not those packages. Gross. No, I’ve kicked it a tiny notch higher. Like this one.

I decided in January to read more to improve my writing. I committed to myself to read two books each month. In April, I shared with you my first quarter success - if you missed it, check it out here. I gave you my 2nd quarter picks in August, all Canadian fiction. The third quarter provided a more balanced selection - contemporary Irish  and American writers mixed in with Canadian, and a balance of fiction and non-fiction.