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Highlights of 2014
Dec. 30th, 2014 12:02 pmFor probably the first time since childhood, I made it through this year without a major depressive episode interfering with daily activities. That was the best thing of all, but there were lots of other good things.
January: I became research editor (freelance) of Gluten-Free Living magazine. I started a morning routine that has endured throughout the year, including a little gardening, some yoga and enjoying a pot of tea. In general it has grounded me and helped me approach each day with a better outlook. At the beginning of the year I also began working regularly on fiction again, another habit that has endured. An appointment with a specialist confirmed that I have ADD inattentive mode.
February: This month I wrote a poem a day, and began reading Western Wind by John Frederick Nims, a textbook about writing poetry. A prescription for a low dose of Concerta significantly improved my concentration and short-term memory.
March: I booked a room through Airbnb and went on a writing retreat in Toronto. I turned 50.
April: Thanks to the morning ritual, my houseplants had begun to flourish. Marian visited for a few days. I began exercising six days a week, another habit that has lasted pretty well through the year.
May: Danny and I attended the sixth Men’s Spring Knitting Retreat at Easton Mountain, NY. I learned an easy way to warp a rigid heddle loom and taught some friends my core spinning technique. We bought a 2010 Jetta named Nez.
June: Danny and I attended the 50th Anniversary Ontario Handspinning Seminar in Owen Sound and I got to try out some historic spinning wheels. The pipe organ I helped Les Smith build between 2009 and 2011 finally found a home in Vancouver and had its debut concert. Marian and Brenna helped us open the cottage. I had a birthday year reunion with some high school friends and went on a wine tour of our stomping grounds.
July: A green treefrog visited our back deck. Danny and I spent a week-long vacation at the cottage and did some interesting dyeing with mountain-ash leaves and other natural pigments. The gardening and exercise routines kept me active outdoors through the hot weather and prevented summer depression.
August: The garden began producing a good harvest of potatoes and I grew bush beans in a barrel on the deck. I had the most invigorating interview of my writing career so far, with an expert who wrote a new book about celiac disease and the gluten-free diet. To improve sleep hygiene, I began an evening ritual to wind down, including some fibre craft, yoga and reading.
September: Danny and I looked for a house to buy, traveling to Kingston, Welland and St. Thomas. We didn’t end up buying one, but we got to know more about some interesting parts of Ontario. Edible Toronto published my feature story about foraging for wild mushrooms.
October: At the cottage I had a close encounter with a fox. I started playing Ingress, a massively multi-player alternate reality game that led me to start walking a lot more and getting to know the city where I live. Professional Writers’ Association of Canada posted a profile of me on their website.
November: Danny and I had our own table at our guild’s Fall Fibres craft sale. People bought a lot of my core spun yarn, knitted hats and cowls. Gluten-Free Living published my Q&A with Dr. Joseph Murray. I joined a health program at the clinic in hopes of reducing my blood cholesterol, started beefing up my exercise routine. Danny started to get job interviews.
December: Thanks to more exercise, I lost six pounds since October. I was busy with work and looking for a place to live. We took my daughters out for Christmas dinner and a movie. I reached Level 10 in the game Ingress. I read a lot more books this year than last and my freelance work has become steadier.
Some things I didn’t like about 2014:
January: I became research editor (freelance) of Gluten-Free Living magazine. I started a morning routine that has endured throughout the year, including a little gardening, some yoga and enjoying a pot of tea. In general it has grounded me and helped me approach each day with a better outlook. At the beginning of the year I also began working regularly on fiction again, another habit that has endured. An appointment with a specialist confirmed that I have ADD inattentive mode.
February: This month I wrote a poem a day, and began reading Western Wind by John Frederick Nims, a textbook about writing poetry. A prescription for a low dose of Concerta significantly improved my concentration and short-term memory.
March: I booked a room through Airbnb and went on a writing retreat in Toronto. I turned 50.
April: Thanks to the morning ritual, my houseplants had begun to flourish. Marian visited for a few days. I began exercising six days a week, another habit that has lasted pretty well through the year.
May: Danny and I attended the sixth Men’s Spring Knitting Retreat at Easton Mountain, NY. I learned an easy way to warp a rigid heddle loom and taught some friends my core spinning technique. We bought a 2010 Jetta named Nez.
June: Danny and I attended the 50th Anniversary Ontario Handspinning Seminar in Owen Sound and I got to try out some historic spinning wheels. The pipe organ I helped Les Smith build between 2009 and 2011 finally found a home in Vancouver and had its debut concert. Marian and Brenna helped us open the cottage. I had a birthday year reunion with some high school friends and went on a wine tour of our stomping grounds.
July: A green treefrog visited our back deck. Danny and I spent a week-long vacation at the cottage and did some interesting dyeing with mountain-ash leaves and other natural pigments. The gardening and exercise routines kept me active outdoors through the hot weather and prevented summer depression.
August: The garden began producing a good harvest of potatoes and I grew bush beans in a barrel on the deck. I had the most invigorating interview of my writing career so far, with an expert who wrote a new book about celiac disease and the gluten-free diet. To improve sleep hygiene, I began an evening ritual to wind down, including some fibre craft, yoga and reading.
September: Danny and I looked for a house to buy, traveling to Kingston, Welland and St. Thomas. We didn’t end up buying one, but we got to know more about some interesting parts of Ontario. Edible Toronto published my feature story about foraging for wild mushrooms.
October: At the cottage I had a close encounter with a fox. I started playing Ingress, a massively multi-player alternate reality game that led me to start walking a lot more and getting to know the city where I live. Professional Writers’ Association of Canada posted a profile of me on their website.
November: Danny and I had our own table at our guild’s Fall Fibres craft sale. People bought a lot of my core spun yarn, knitted hats and cowls. Gluten-Free Living published my Q&A with Dr. Joseph Murray. I joined a health program at the clinic in hopes of reducing my blood cholesterol, started beefing up my exercise routine. Danny started to get job interviews.
December: Thanks to more exercise, I lost six pounds since October. I was busy with work and looking for a place to live. We took my daughters out for Christmas dinner and a movie. I reached Level 10 in the game Ingress. I read a lot more books this year than last and my freelance work has become steadier.
Some things I didn’t like about 2014:
- The deaths of Philip Seymour Hoffman and Robin Williams.
- Danny’s unemployment and not having enough money.
- Breaking a tooth and not being able to afford the dentist.
- Stubbornly high blood cholesterol.
- Not knowing where we’ll be living two months from now.
