a peek inside the fishbowl

13 Sep, 2017

Andrea’s Tuesdays: lunch, coffee, and writing time

Posted by andrea tomkins in: Misc. life

First, I have to say thank you for your kind comments, emails, and messages concerning my previous post. It helped a lot, so thank you. Dropping our eldest off at university was tough and I was a bit of a mess for awhile there but I am feeling better now. We are slowly readjusting to life that is a little quieter. I shudder to think that we’re going to do this again in two years when the youngest goes to university too. Sigh.

What also helped… I made up a little care package to send to her. The simple act of gathering everything together, buying a box at the post office, writing her new address on the top and shipping it away was for some reason surprisingly healing.

Inside the box: a card, a huge bag of jelly beans, a chain of paper sloths (res room decor), a package of multicoloured Sharpies, and a flask of maple syrup. It’s a bit of an inside joke, really. She told us that one of the things she’s looking forward to the MOST about living on her own was eating nonstop EGGO waffles. The flask was so she can BYOS (Bring Your Own Syrup) to the cafeteria or wherever she finds her waffles. Also in the package, a pair of power socks (“GIVE ‘EM HELL”) I bought at Mrs. Tiggy Winkle’s.** I also sent along strict instructions that she should wear them on the first day of classes, which was yesterday. If you’ve ever worn power socks in a stressful situation you KNOW how helpful they can be.

**Stay tuned for a giveaway from Mrs. Tiggy Winkle’s soon! In the meantime, don’t miss their huge annual warehouse on Saturday September 16.  It’s at 75 Breezehill Ave. and the deals range from 20%-75% off. Get the deets on Tiggy Winkle’s website.

Anyway, yes, I am feeling better and am slowly getting back into some helpful routines which include my morning jaunt on the treadmill. It’s amazing how much this helps me, yet it is sometimes the first thing I drop when I’m feeling lousy.

Yesterday, on my day off, I decided to move my treadmill routine outdoors (in other words, a brisk walk outdoors instead of in my dreary basement). It did me good.

Front yard sunflowers

It was such a lovely day I decided to use a gift card and take myself out to lunch. Destination: Pure Kitchen in Westboro, where I ordered the Royale with cheese:

Royale with cheese, from Pure Kitchen

I’ve been trying to recreate a vegetarian Big Mac and this came pretty close!

After lunch, I happened to be waiting at a crosswalk when I realized how fortunate I am to have the luxury of choice. In that moment I was spoiled for choice. The world was my oyster! Should I grab a coffee at Starbucks, or make one at home? Should I visit a friend? Or bask in the sunshine on a park bench? My afternoon was wide open, and totally my own. I had some time to myself on a day that was impossibly sunny, bright, and full of potential, and a hundred different ways I could spend it. I had a few bucks in my wallet (not to mention a credit card), a car, and two good legs for walking … not to mention my health. I could go anywhere and do anything! That, my friends, is a pretty great feeling.

The rest of my day was filled with errands that didn’t feel like errands for a change. I returned a library book, did a bit of writing, picked up some mulch at Canadian Tire and spread it over a corner of our yard. Afterwards, I took a break on the back porch, my hands smelling of cedar, and listened to the crickets and the sound of the trees in the breeze, thinking about how fortunate I am to have had this time to spend in a way I wanted to spend it.


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The Obligatory Blurb

My name is Andrea and I live in the Westboro area of Ottawa with my husband Mark and our dog Piper who is kind of a big deal on Instagram. We also have two human offspring: Emma (24) and Sarah (22). During the day I work as a writer at the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre. I am a longtime Ottawa blogger and I've occupied this little corner of the WWW since 1999. The Fishbowl is my whiteboard, water cooler, and journal, all rolled into one. I'm passionate about healthy living, arts and culture, travel, great gear, good food, and sharing the best of Ottawa. I also love vegetables, photography, gadgets, and great design.

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