Anecdotally Ashley

  Feed The Birds (Tuppence A Bag) Over the last year and a bit, I've gotten into birds. Not owning them as pets, but as one who appreciates and enjoys them in environment around my home. Last summer I had a hummingbird feeder that was very popular with the hummers. And this winter, despite the threat of avian flu, we have hung and maintained a bird feeder.  It's glorious coming down in the morning and spying the flock of blue jays that take it over in the mornings. As I drink my coffee, I stand in the dining room window watching the fat little chickadees dart in between the jays to grab some seed and dash off again.  This season we've had the usual assortment of characters at the feeder - blue jays, chickadees, snow buntings, sparrows, crows, Hungarian partridges, and pheasants. We've had a robin around the last few weeks. We can't decide if he overwintered here or is just really  early this year. I often see him hunkered down in the holly bush.  I've been lovin...

I've been single for a VERY long time. Over a decade. And honestly - I'm good with being single.  For the last decade, I've treated myself to a solo sushi date at my favourite sushi place. I love walking in and being seated at a two top. All the couples around me, watch to see who I'm meeting. Then as the minutes tick by you can see some of them start to get anxious for me and you can almost see what they are thinking, "Oh my God! That girl's date is late!"  And as the minutes pass you can see that turns into them thinking that I'm being stood up. All the time, I was purposefully taking myself out to eat.  I take myself out to eat a lot. It's something that started when I lived in Ottawa and didn't know anyone. I was a shy child. It was even difficult for me to speak on the phone without my mom nearby or holding my hand. I often had my nose stuck in a book so that I didn't have to interact with the world. Moving to Ottawa without anyone was...