ANTICIPATION | Winter
Unlike previous posts, and going forward, I’ll not be giving detailed updates on behalf of my kids. If you’re wondering what they’re up to, you can follow them all on Instagram: Claire @clairedoingthings, Cole @colecurrie, Chloé @itschloecurrie or her pup @HankTheToyTank, and Caden @curicade where they share or not as they please.
Autumn was lovely with much accomplished: the house is coming together, feeling more like my home every day, the gas line was installed; the gall bladder/hernia surgery was a success; and, my first travel in two years took me to Fogo Island and Gros Morne National Park in Newfoundland. As with most things, “one step forward, two steps back,” seems to be the way I go through life. I now have a painful case of plantar fasciitis which is further delaying my “move more” and photo walk plans. I’d say that most of my hopes listed in my Anticipation | Autumn entry were met, with varying degrees of success, but met nonetheless. One notable exception is my plan for women’s circles - it was just too much to take on. Once I’m fully settled I’ll revisit the idea.
Winter in Southampton arrived early with crazy storms over Lake Huron, much to my delight. I do love the weather up here, it’s unpredictable, often violent, and lends itself to days spent curled up on the couch with a good book, blanket and a hot cup of tea. You can measure my day in cups of tea - the ones I make and drink and the ones I make and leave by the kettle.
MORE is the word I’ve chosen to guide me through 2022. In order for it to work, I need to surround myself with less: to do, to organize, to plan in order to have MORE time, energy and space to accomplish the things I want to do. Now that everything has a place, it’s time to purge more. My winter will focus on paper and digital excess. Did I really need to take all of the courses? Print all of the material? Am I really going to revisit courses from 2012? 2013? Did I need two or three of anything? Likely not. Time for a good clean-out of the cupboards. Then I’ll have MORE time for the things that light me up.
DETERMINE what content I want to include on the blog. I have greatly enjoyed the Bravery52 list project over the past year. It gave me much to consider and I’ve gotten to know myself much better for the exercise. It helped that my guiding word for 2021 was Brave so it kept it right in front of me each week (since I didn’t participate in the Ali Edwards-led project - too many cooks - it got overwhelming). The BestSelf Icebreaker prompts will continue well through 2023. I want to come up with something that keeps me engaged to replace the Moorea Seal prompts.
RHYTHM is important - a sense of practice, ease in the automation of my days. During this cozy time of hibernation, I will get back into the flow of sleep, eat, water, meditate, read, move. And now that the reformer Pilates machine is assembled, I can stretch and unlock my seized bits every day!
WRITE towards the completion of the stories in my head. Write a short story. Then write another. Then maybe a treatment for film. I’ve realized that I’m very good at starting writing projects, just not so good at completing them. I need to focus on shorter stories and get a few written and see what happens from there.
COOK and create a family recipe book for my kids. Now that I have a functioning range I can start making family favourite meals: shrimp and orzo; egg roll in a bowl; dip-dip chicken; lazy lasagne; turkey chilli; “mama” rice; ice box ginger snaps; sugar cookies; lemon/garlic and ginger/hoisin and 40 cloves of garlic chicken; the list is quite extensive. The best part? Two of my kids are enthusiastic cooks with recipes of their own so I may be able to make this a whole family recipe book!
COORIE is a Scots word I discovered which blends the Danish concept of Hygge: comfort; with more outside activity. If history repeats itself, there will be a ton of snow up here this winter (though there has been precious little of it up to this point) and I want to get outside and enjoy it. What’s the saying? There is no bad weather, just bad clothing choices. I’ve got the gear so no excuses!
TRAVEL was planned for the kids to join me in Jamaica for a few days of fun in the sun to help them re-charge. It was delayed until next year due to the Omicron variant. Our trip to Ireland has been postponed for the same reason. (The cold and damp of the winter can really get you down, annually I try to head it off if I can. Of course, all travel is pandemic dependant. We all continue to follow the rules as well as our own common sense.) Upcoming trips? Luckily I am happy to travel solo so I don’t have to depend on anyone else’s timing or budget. There are a few places on my list.
PLAN phase 2 of the house upgrade. This time the big projects include the laundry room, main bathroom, and a complete facade change (including a whole new look including a gazebo, new front door and big front window). Once those are done then I can’t imagine what might be left! I am so grateful to have my designer and friend, Lynne, and her fabulous team make these projects painless. I’m also grateful to have the means and opportunity to finish the projects quickly and not have to drag them out for years as I’ve had to do before.
PHOTO WALKS which will include a 6:30AM walk in late February which will no doubt keep things crisp! I got a brand new Canon EOS 90D for Yule and I can’t wait to take it on a few adventures. So far the photos taken are fabulous! (Hey! Yule is now, I don’t have to wait!) Now it’s time to capture more of my current experience.
Winter promises to be low-key and cozy. Perfect.
I am fully aware that I can plan as much as I want but life (and the pandemic) often gets in the way. I continue to stay open and welcome to whatever changes are thrown my way. I’ll take it day by day and see what happens. One lesson that’s been on repeat the last couple of years is that all we have is now. I plan to make the most of it.