There’s quiet music playing in the kitchen. I’ve got a cup of tea and it’s snowing. My sweater knitting is calling me, but the house is a mess so really I should clean instead of knit, but I think we all know how that’s going to end, don’t we? Truthfully I’ve got to much to do here at my desk to do either, but I’m bucking the feeling of being “behind” on that sweater and want to make some progress. I made a catastrophic error knitting it the first time (just an extra hundred stitches or so, no big deal. Chest measurement was 87″ instead of 40″. Whatever) and I had to rip the whole thing out, r ..read more

Today is the day before packing day. Ken arrives tonight, and The Bike Rally leaves on Sunday morning, but tomorrow we take everything we need for the next week and pack it into two bins. The “rustlers” take the two bins and put them on a truck, and that truck goes ahead of us to where we’ll be stopping the first night. When you finish riding for the day (one presumes here you have made it to camp) you find your bins, and set up camp. Tomorrow I’ll give them my tent, sleeping bag, clothes – everything I’ll need to cycle the six days to Montreal. This always causes me a ton of anxiety. All the ..read more

We’re a few hundred kilometres from home, enjoying the same cottage we pack off to every summer. Usually the way it works is that Joe and I move into the place, and then assorted family comes and goes as their schedule allows. This year we’re lucky enough that Meg, Alex and the grandkids can be with us the whole time, and Amanda too. Everyone else has managed a little time here and there, and it’s been lovely. I packed lots of knitting. Two sweaters, the yarn for a little dress for Abby (for when I finished the two sweaters naturally) and then three pairs of socks with none of them even past t ..read more

Well, that ride didn’t kill me. I so appreciate all the comments that are so kind as to suggest not pushing myself, not taking risks… I hear you, and I feel really touched by how much you want me to be careful and to keep myself well. Rest assured that I am a reasonable adult who has got this far, and I have professional advice (not just internet advice, as much as I love you all) and there’s actually loads of research showing that for reasonably fit people who are more than 10 days post-covid (that’s me!) exercise can be preventive for long covid, and helpful in its healing. I acknowledge tha ..read more

My friend Debbi – she’s pretty great in general, but there’s a few gifts she’s given me over the years that are shining stars of enrichment in my life and one of them is the phrase “Don’t panic early” usually followed by “I’ll tell you when to panic.” Well, I haven’t exactly explained my circumstances to Debbi, but for a few days I’ve had this sneaking suspicion that if I did, she wouldn’t tell me not to panic. I think she’d raise a single eyebrow, then whip out a notebook for planning purposes and say “Ok. Let’s panic as constructively as possible.” That’s what I’m going to try and do – panic ..read more

My apologies sweet child, that it has taken so long for me to write your blanket letter, though I suppose it’s your grownups who have really been waiting for me to do it. Your mum in particular has been wrapping you in a blanket she knows nothing about for months now. I’m grateful to her for the patience she’s shown me as I struggled, who knew it would be this hard? I will spare you the details and just say that I’m glad I got it worked out before you were old enough to pester me yourself. You – dear light, are a special beast. I know you’ll grow up with a sense of that, as all children should ..read more

Recently I’ve been a little flighty with my knitting. Having Abigail and Elliot here has meant that knitting happens in little bits and pieces, a row here, a row there -our crazy sleep (or not sleep) schedules made for times that were well suited to bashing out little accessories of a newborn nature, little hats, long baby socks, stuff like that. I had plans though – mostly for baby stuff and socks. I even had this big idea that I’d keep my advent knitting going – I got the advent socks from Cozy Knitter this last season. It was 24 stripes all leading up to Christmas and it was so lovely and p ..read more

Abigail Carol Wolf was born early in the morning on the last day of 2022. Her birth was lovely, quiet and peaceful, another beautiful waterbirth for Meg, and another birth I was privileged to attend. She – individually as a person, as an isolate being in time apart from all other things brought me nothing but pure happiness. Her safe arrival and the safety of Meg were a relief that felt like bricks were being lifted from me. I know I haven’t spoken much here about Charlotte’s death, and I don’t think I will either – it was an intimate and terrible time that’s kept in the hearts of the people ..read more

This place is trashed. I’m sort of surprised that it’s trashed because with the baby arriving at any moment I’ve been really good about keeping the house in order. I know once the bairn is here I’ll have much less time to do dumb things like clean up, so I got it really sorted in the weeks leading up to Christmas, and then somehow it all came undone over the span of two days. Our little bubble all stayed here over Christmas and Ken drove from Ottawa (coming a day early and dodging that blizzard, thank goodness) and that many people in an itty bitty house was enough to unsettle every room. I ..read more

Years ago, when my first book came out, I eagerly some reviews and instantly realized my error. When I was a teenager and worrying a lot about what people were thinking of me, I remember my mother assuring me that they were as concerned with what I was up to, as I was with them. “They have their own problems Stephie” she told me. “How much time are you spending thinking about their faults?” The truth was, not very much at all. In fact – most days… none. This rather comforting belief system worked well for quite some time – right up until I read those reviews, in fact. Here suddenly was proof t ..read more