My eye is starting to look less scary. The swelling has gone done after hours of ice, laying down, antihistamines, and CBD. Today we took a long drive around Muskoka and stopped to get a few supplies. This sign was at a market in Port Carling. Most of the stores there have closed and it doesn’t look like they are reopening. ? We picked up plants to put around the house for Sean’s mum. I hope it doesn’t rain tomorrow so I can get out in the garden. I will be wearing full body bug protection! I also made a veg lasagna and it turned out so good. Emily has made a choice to be vegetarian so we’re all giving it a go. I don’t eat a lot of meat and hardly any dairy so it’s not much of a change. The lasagna was INCREDIBLE. Sending you love today and everyday.

I woke up with a mosquito bite (bites?) on my eye. It’s swollen and uncomfortable. I have so many bites, this is definitely the worst of them all. They bit me in the night while I was peacefully sleeping. LITTLE BUGGERS! I will never sleep without an eye mask again. ? Sean is going to the city to drop Emily off with her mum today. I had planned to go, but with my eye, I’m gonna take the day to rest. I really hate mosquitos but I keep reminding myself it could be worse.

Mums, step-moms, grandmas, sisters, pet mums, plant mums, sister and friends who are there for us with mum love, today is for you. Had a nice chat with my mum and then went to a garden centre. We Facetimed Sean’s mum and had her pick out a big beautiful hanging plant to go at the cottage front door. In the evening, I did a self-care spa including a foot mask, face mask, and watched Dead to Me in bed while drinking rosé. It was nice! Good show. Sending special love to my mum who had been a source of strength and inspiration every day of my life. I love you so much! She always has good advice, a creative idea, or the right thing to say when I need it.

I went outside first thing in the morning despite the fact that it was pretty cold and snowy. I was determined to do some type of exercise. After getting to the end of the road, I kept going and eventually did 3.3km. In the afternoon I watched a movie on Netflix and did some food prep. We are having roast vegetables and steak bbq. Sean worked most the day doing calls and emails. It’s quite cold and windy, the next few days are going to be the same. Thankful that’s my hair is growing into a nice shag but my nails look terrible. This is the longest streak I’ve gone without eating any takeout or having my nails done. It feels weird when I type because so many of my nails are super short, they don’t tap the keys anymore. I hate it but at least I have hands? Yesterday I saw a beautiful black & white duck outside the window and today there were two. The Bufflehead is one of the rarest ducks in North America and Canada’s smallest living duck. Tonight we’re going to finish Ozark and maybe start The Trial, a new murder show also on Netflix. This cold weather has me feeling quite unmotivated. Each day I try to do something productive but it’s been the bare minimum the last few days. Watching the news and seeing what’s happening around the world is so sad and depressing. I keep thinking about friends & family, and their friends & family, knowing it’s hitting close to home. Please stay safe, this will be over eventually. ?

Beautiful sunshine today. I’ve been working on some little creative projects to send friends by mail. I spent hours cutting words from magazines and watching romcoms during our first week here. I always loved cut and paste as a kid. I find I’m really going back to basics during this time and doing things I used to love back then. Had a nice chat with Sean’s parents and my parents. We don’t usually celebrate Easter but it’s nice to checkin with loved ones. I can’t wait to hug friends and family when this is all over! We drove Emily back to her mum’s house in the city and spent the night at our place. Filled up our water jugs, got any remaining groceries, and some tools. I picked up my sewing machine, patterns, and a bunch of fabric I’ve been holding onto for ages. I’ve dreamed of having space and time to make things so, I’m trying to make it happen. Not working with a schedule or deadlines, taking each day as its own and creating when the time feels right. Some days I feel inspired and other days I just want to Netflix and relax. We didn’t do anything in the city other go to the house. We made a plan to head out first thing in the morning. It was nice to be home but I can’t wait to get back to the woods. ?????

Today I slept in a bit (8am!) and woke up feeling better. It’s amazing the difference a day makes. I need to set a reminder that this situation isn’t permanent. Last night Sean said to me, “we have the opportunity to make this the best, most memorable experience“. It helped shift my perspective, creating space to think differently. I chatted with a friend who has a child the same age as Em, she inspired me to take a more relaxed approach to the whole home education thing. The school stuff will work itself out and until then we’ll wing it. We have an opportunity to teach Em the things we know, how we work, life skills, gardening, cooking, making stuff. This situation is already stressful, we will figure out what works as we go. There are heaps of resources out there and the teachers are working to have online class material available. I made a Google Doc with a bunch of online stuff to do, you can access it here. The ice is starting to melt. Mum, don’t worry we won’t go out there! You can’t see it but there is a concrete dock under where Sean is standing. After breakfast, I worked with her to create a WordPress blog for her art. We talked about brainstorming, branding, I showed her fonts, hex colours etc. I work from the kitchen table so it was natural to sit and blog. She has been working on designing images and it’s nice to see her excited. We made a TikTok and I had her show me do most of it, she knows the app better than I do. (FOR NOW, haha.) I watched a YouTube on how to add VO to TikTok using screen capture on iPhone for another video. We dyed her…

When I was a kid my mum made this rule that if my sister or I had a friend over, we would both have a friend or some mix of friends to make it an even number. She started this because if only one sister had a friend over, someone from the group was left out and would end up upset, left out, angry, or crying. For a long time, until my mid 20’s, I would never do things in threes. Even the simplest things like eating nuggets, buying things, or actions I had to repeat, it was almost always two or four. I was conscious of it daily. I’d hold back on eating something if it made it three or I’d have two more to make it four. I hated things in three, I avoided it wherever I could. When I was 18, I dated a guy for two years and three was his baseball number, I tried to like the number but it was never going to work out. I carried my fear of three (Triskaphobia) until I was about 26 and then one day, I decided to stop. My grandad always said 13 was lucky and one day I made a tattoo appt for Friday the 13th. I had drawn it on paper, sixteen evenly placed dots to go on my left forearm. Eight dots of two different custom shades of green, two by two, in a pattern around my arm like a beaded bracelet. Sixteen, a square number, two times my birthday number 8, the fourth power of two. Since that Friday the 13th, I have been tattooed on that day a bunch of times. This month, Friday the 13th was my last day out and about in the world before isolation diary started. Today was…

Today we went to the city with the trailer to get supplies, my plants, our bikes, and Emily. Having new clothes feels like a dream. This pose is inspired by my friend Maca in Montreal, she always takes these at her studio. Check her out at @hey.maca! You will love her. Read my post on IG, maybe you have some tips to share!? The drive was a breeze because there was no traffic. It was pretty weird to be on the roads with so few people. We picked up Emily from her mum’s and she got in the car with fresh baked cookies, homemade soup, and fresh ice tea. It is really great to have a supportive co-parent team, especially now. Her mum also sent a folder with lessons, a schedule and some work she’s completed. I am so thankful! Despite my efforts to plan, I’m not a homeschool expert so teamwork is key. We are all figuring this out as we go. Sean stopped into both offices to get some gear while I packed up all our remaining food and got everything on our list at the house. I put most of my plants into two big bins and I can’t believe how much I missed them. Is that weird? I was pretty surprised to see how busy the neighborhood was, SOOO many people out walking, riding bikes, two families playing soccer with their kids’ in the courtyard. Do people not understand STAY TF HOME? Do you want this all to be over? Yes? Ok, stay home pls. The curve is not flattening! Maybe this will help? Briony wrote a book inspired by Go The F*ck to Sleep and had some of her friends read it. I am stoked to have my Apple Pencil to work on a letting…

Feeling good today. Danced in the morning sun to my fav Friday mix from the radio. Did some work then jumped rope. Tuned in for a great talk w/ the founder of Fohr about the state of influencer marketing. I’ve got a blog post with the details to share. Sean and I played outside on the frozen lake near the cottage. It was so warm in the sun. Sean set up the Muskoka chairs on the front deck and tanned in the sun to a meditation. We finished Tiger King. I really like the outfits. The story is wild. Tomorrow we’re going home to get supplies and pick up Emily. She’ll be here with us for two weeks. I feel like next week I’ll be more productive and creative. This week I felt so many emotions with everything going on, the weather, my moon time, it was a rollercoaster. It’s going to be different with Emily here but I think it will be fun. We chatted about things she wants to do and I’m looking forward to the homeschool part. My mum spent heaps of time teaching us and it was so valuable to learn from her and spend quality time together. I hope the weather warms up so we can get started on the yard work. Here’s to staying home and making the most of the time we have. Have a great weekend. ?