The Optimistic Musings of a Pessimist

Happy Things Friday: 9 October

Wow. Canadian Thanksgiving really crept up on me this year.

John arrives home later today from a work trip to Helsinki, and tomorrow my father-in-law arrives for a week-long visit. A turkey has been…

Cool Bloggers Walking Club: Week 1

The first seven walks are in the books.

This iteration of Cool Bloggers Walking Club has felt a bit overwhelming to me (as a participant, not as the organizer). I’m not sure why life…

Revisiting… What’s In a Name?

I mentioned this topic tangentially as part of my blog “birthday” celebration, but one of my all-time favourite posts remains a fascinating discussion about names. (Here’s the original, posted back in April of 2024)

I…

Readers Don’t Come Blank To Books (A Little Audio Experiment)

I’m trying something new!

A few weeks ago, I came across a quote from Kelly Corrigan (mentioned yesterday in my September book review post) that got me thinking about how much we bring to the…

Reading
Oct, 06, 2026
18 Comments

On My Shelf: Books Read September 2026

Another month, another set of books to discuss.

As usual, it was a mixed bag. I read some great books, and some that were… okay. This doesn’t factor in books I Did Not Finish…

Reading
Oct, 05, 2026
31 Comments

Happy Things Friday: 2 October

It’s October!

I will not talk about how quickly time is passing, I will not talk about how quickly time is passing, I will not talk about how quickly time is passing.

…

Okay, I’m going…

Highlights From Our Extended European Trip (And a Few Lowlights)

A lot of the questions I got after our trip touched on the same general theme: what were your highlights, would you do it again, and do you wish you’d done anything differently?

To answer…