Quick long weekend dash to Mexico City last week. Glorious as always. Great food, impeccable vibes, culture, surprise, history, flowering jacarandas, Dr. Simi, Quetzalcoatl, so much walking. We ended up in the quinceañera district, the historical centre, parks, many local markets, fashion ateliers, Michelin restaurants, hole-in-the-wall local spots, mezcal bars, and everything in between.
We were also in M8, the huge (like many, many hundreds of thousands of people huge) women’s day march (slide 10). Very much a protest not a celebration. 💜
It’s hard to put into words the feeling of seeing so many people gathered to launch the 50th anniversary celebration of @writerstrust last week.
500 people, in the middle of a blizzard, celebrating the 60+ authors in the room and, more broadly, the authors of Canada. All in support of programs that allow writers to keep writing. We raised more than $600,000, which is a record amount for this event, and much of that will fund the programs that put money right back into the pockets of writers.
Filled with gratitude. #wt50
Spending Christmas in San Augustinillo, a small town on the Oaxacan coast. It’s a sleepy town without much of a nightlife, which is a perfect place to see out the year.
Eating tlayudas, swimming every day, sips of mezcal, reading many books, meeting so many dogs and cats, speaking exclusively our few words of Spanish with the locals, watching the birds, early bedtime. Perfect.
Hoping your holiday is also perfect, filled with food and rest and the presence or absence of all of the appropriate things as to your taste.
❤️
Just spent a lovely Thanksgiving at home in Nova Scotia. Family visiting from afar, three generations, siblings, and cousins and parents and aunts and uncles. The sea, the forest in perfect Autumn livery, music, the city. Wonderful all around.
Just a little summer dump.
Somehow more structured garments than I would imagine, but included in here are a couple weddings, milestone birthdays for me and for a bookstore, being soaked in the rain for Neil Young, honouring an important part of Canadian literature on PEI, oodles of fresh tomato sauce, a beautiful warbler, and so much more.
still Summer, Summer forever
I recently took myself on holiday to Cyprus. Blue skies, the sea, mountain hikes, wonderful people (and many cats), great food, and Greek and Roman ruins everywhere. (One bonus Athens pic from my homeward-bound layover)
It was also very interesting to cross through UN checkpoints into the northern side, which Türkiye claims is a separate country, even though the international community disagrees. The crossing was very casual and administrative, but 50 years ago, the site of tremendous violence. The reunification conversations continue. Baby’s first DMZ.
Like in many things, it’s easy to divide and harder to connect. But worth being a force for connection.
After the unholy amount of snow persisting for days on end, a few days of melt arrive. This is the texture of the day. Street sounds, rain falling, black snow.
Currently sitting in Nova Scotia with snow on the ground and more falling. Absolutely beautiful night before the holiday season begins. Lights on the tree, candles on the windowsill waiting to be lit.
But also cherishing a recent trip to Barbados, with the turquoise water and the white sand and the many creatures. I have family here in Nova Scotia and family in Barbados too, so these two trips feel a bit like book ends. A beautiful thing to get to experience the two seasonal extremes of winter.
Wishing all the best for the holidays. A season of light. May your oil burn longer than expected, may the sweets be sweet, may the connections be tight, may you give and receive with equal joy. ❤️
Summer so far. Some travel, some city living, lots of hues of pink. Scenes from short trips to southern Oregon and northern California, Glasgow, Amsterdam. Lots of scenes from Toronto.
I haven’t done enough swimming this year, so I’ll be devoting August to that. But first, another half of July to come. ☀️
