many random bits

updated below

Sugar D, on Saturday:

[incredulous, mostly to himself] I haven't had an ice cap this summer...

Maybe that's because I don't actually like ice caps and I just can't remember.

[later, with ice cap in hand] Yeah, I think I just don't like ice caps.

*******

[concerned] The car has been making weird beeping noises when I turn corners. There -- hear it?

Me: No.

SD: Just wait till the next turn; you'll hear it. I guess we should get the car serviced.

[I heard it on the next turn, with the radio off, but it didn't sound like any car-type sound. Suddenly, SD clues]

It's Swee'pea's toy sax, getting its buttons pushed when the car turns left or right.

*****

If you get together with two hip happening gorgeous bloggers, are you obligated to blog about it? Or is it enough to spend your time musing on the engaging and thought-provoking conversations you had?

We visited the bloggers' capital of Canada yesterday to see if we could really imagine living there. We totally can. Except for the frightening house prices. Even though I think our house is quite modest, we could not afford it if it were somehow plunked down in TO.

It was a long and sunny day for us, and we were content driving home in the dark last night, with the dashboard and city lights around us and the big fat blinking airplanes sinking gently back to the earth, one after the other like a lullaby.

**********

Why are they called the Terrible Twos, when the two two-year-old girls I met yesterday were so wonderful? Or do those two bloggers just have the secret of parenting all worked out?

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The weight of all the work required to get our house on the market has me exhausted already.

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Updated:

I have been the recipient of some fantastic linky love in the last week or so. First, Bubandpie, High Professor of Blogging herself, included me in her School of Blogs. Yep, you can just call me Doctor Sin now.


I'll be teaching Urban Photography if I can find some time outside of Operation Move to the Urban Centre of All Urban Centres. And I hope to offer my own selection of courses by blogging.

And, Kyla, lovely Kyla, has bestowed upon me the Blogger's Reflection Award.


"This award should make you reflect on five bloggers who have been an encouragement, a source of love, impacted you in some way, and have been a Godly example to you. Five Bloggers who when you reflect on them you get a sense of pride and joy... of knowing them and being blessed by them."

Thank you, Kyla. I find it amazing that I have that effect on you when you have that effect on me.

The first five bloggers I think of when reading the above?

Bubandpie -- she is so quick to comment on new bloggers' blogs, she is a warm welcome wagon in a place that I found intimidating when I first dipped my toe in. Her posts are always thoughtful and thought-provoking, and I still think about her rage post, the one that said things I couldn't believe she had the bravery to say, things that elicited an Yes! I know exactly what she's talking about! moment at every new paragraph, the one that encouraged me to be brave in my own posts too.

Mad Hatter -- the first blogger to comment on my blog and then read regularly. I love that she still reads me a year later, and every post she writes feels like a gift. She's hugely intelligent, kind and funny to boot (and every pun makes me love her even more).

Sage -- not only does she always have a warm comment when I need one (and, really, when do I not, self-pitying whiner that I am?), but she gave me a ticket to a fantastic concert six months ago and invited me and my family into her home... and this weekend spent hours showing us around her hood. She is a warm and mindful person whom I really admire.

Kgirl -- Not only did she feed my family at seven months pregnant but she gave me the real estate special issue of Toronto Life, complete with sticky notes. She was also one of the first bloggers to encourage me in those lonely early days.

Aliki -- Aliki's writing is pure craft. Every single post. Her posts inspire me to write better posts, although many times I just give in to laziness. She has also been tremendously encouraging to me personally because of her experiences coping with her kids' earlier trouble sleeping. It's so good to hear from someone whose children were very similar (non)sleepers and who coped in much the same way as I do, and who's now on the other side. Proof that sleep does get better.

It was hard to pick just find when I find the blogosphere is full of random and deliberate kindnesses all around. Many of you have touched me personally with your kindness, and I thank you. It really does make a difference.