There’s something so peaceful about being up north in the winter. You can stand on the lake and listen to the ice move. The cold air is so refreshing. Easy to find your calm. We drove up on Thursday and worked from the cottage Friday. It was the first day in a while that I didn’t close the rings on my Apple Watch but, f*ck it, I earned a break. On Saturday, I shovelled snow, played Nintendo, ate snacks, and finished watching Pieces of Her on Netflix. Good show, Toni Collette is one of my fav actors and does a great job playing this role. Sunday was pretty warm and the top layer of the lake started to melt. I don’t expect the ice will go out until sometime in April. Our lake group usually makes bets on when it will fully melt. I haven’t made a prediction yet! Things I love: long walks on frozen lakes, the smell of a cold winter day, carrying wood to make a fire, and being at the cottage with you. Been on a pretty good track record with the Calm app. I usually do a sleep meditation or Sleep Story at night and the 10 min Daily Calm before I get out of bed. I think it’s helping with sleep and focus. Working hard to keep that calm in my life. Something you might not know about me is that I always check the wind speed. Every day I ask Alexa about the weather and then I ask her about the wind. If it’s over 10 km/h that means no wide brim hats. If it’s 15 km/h + in the summer I’ll opt for shorts instead of a dress. I don’t like running when the wind is +25+ km/h but I love the…

This week I’ve been pretty tired but knowing spring is coming gives me hope. Warmer days will be here in a few weeks and things will get better. We’ve all made sacrifices the past two years and my fingers are crossed that this summer will be different. ☀️ Sending out a little reminder that there are 25 days till spring. Another 25 days after that we’ll be mid-April and flowers will be blooming. Hang in there, we’ll get through this! ? ? ? ? ?

Went for dinner with Erin & Natalie at Hemingway’s. Was nice to be out! I had fish & chips and it was kinda greasy (obvs) but I wanted something that reminded me of New Zealand. Wore a cute outfit and wasn’t out late. Sean picked me up at 8:30 and I got takeaway tacos. My last visit there was summer 2021 when bars opened after lockdown, Natalie and I had a ball of a time lol. If you’ve been reading my blog a long while you’ll know I used to work at Hemingway’s 10+ years ago. I love that place and all the New Zealand nostalgia. Always a good time!

I’ve developed a slight obsession with colourful cardigans and cute collars. Looking forward to switching over my closet this weekend and rediscovering fall/winter clothes. It’s been a pretty great summer, spent lots of time at the cottage, biking through the city, and meeting friends outside. I was reading an article this week about ‘cave syndrome’ that people are developing after bring home for so long. I’ve really learned to love being at the house and have no shortage of things to keep me busy. I don’t imagine I’ll be doing much over the next few months and tbh, not mad about it. I used to be out soooo much and can’t imagine going back to that life. I feel so much more at peace without the pressure to go places with people. I make time to see the people I care about and that’s about it. I do have a couple of events coming up but nothing like the large in-person events we used to frequent. Here’s to finding personal peace through this crazy time! Sending you flowers!

Hit the open road after work and headed up north. I can’t wait to be back up there and sit by the lake, read, relax. I’d gotten a bit behind on the blog and feel good to have caught up. Keeping this diary is very therapeutic and although I’m not doing much, it feels good to keep memories. We’ve been in this pandemic for over 500 days and without documenting, they all kinda mix together into a blur. When I started blogging 16 years ago, one of my main goals was to keep more memories. Now looking back, I’m so glad to have this archive of my life. Here’s to a wonderful weekend and soaking up the last lovely days of summer!

Had a nice bike ride after work and then met Michelle in a park. It was so lovely out, hanging onto these last summer days. Absolutely love that evening sun, magic hour. I’ve been wearing this cute smiley ring from Santa Isla all summer and it makes me happy each time.

I am so ready for the weekend. I can’t wait to cook food, read my book, try to sleep in, and spend time in the sun. We’ve been thinking about painting the bathroom with the Chantilly Lace that’s leftover from the bathroom renovation at home. It will be a big change but a nice refresh! Sean’s mum said we could paint it last summer but we’ve not taken the leap yet. ? Bon weekend!