a peek inside the fishbowl

I have a new post up on the terra20 blog about the importance of shopping locally. You can read that right here… and while you’re there, take advantage of a big weekend sale on made-in-Canada merch!

So my mother bought me a lovely pair of moccasins for Christmas last weekend. (Thanks mom!) They’re Canadian made, from a family-owned shop near her place outside of Peterborough. We’ve been going there for years, although it’d been years since we’ve actually been inside. It’s called the High Spring Trading Post. Here’s their website. :D

During our recent visit I got talking with a staff member while we were cashing out. She turned out to be the daughter of the shop owner. I wondered if she was the one who sold me a pair of cowboy boots that I wore down to almost nothing almost 20 years ago.

I asked her how her store has been doing during the pandemic and her answer surprised me a little bit… Apparently she’s having a banner year. Maybe I shouldn’t have been surprised! After all, we weren’t the only customers in the store. There was a steady stream of shoppers (all masked and maintaining the proper distance, pretty much) and staff seemed to be constantly in restocking mode while we were there.

Then she told me the two reasons why she was doing so well (other than the excellent selection of moccasins, obviously):

(1) Her customers tell her they’re annoyed with the big e-tailers, like Amazon. Porch pirates, delayed and missing shipments, ordering and fulfillment problems were all driving people back to local shops they could trust so they could see, feel, and buy things in person.

(2) This shop is just off Hwy. 7, which happens to be on a route to some major music festivals in that area. Here’s the thing, thanks to Covid, there were no festivals this year. She said normally people are rushing to get to their destination on time and don’t stop, but they’ve always been curious, so this was the year they FINALLY pulled over and poked around the shop. She told me she wished she had a penny (“NOT A NICKEL, A PENNY”) for every person who stopped and said “I’ve always wanted to stop and come in here!” As it turned out, they stopped, and they shopped. I was happy for her, and happy for me because my feet will be warm this winter. :)

I have made a small dent in my shopping this year but it will be a smaller haul on the tree, methinks. I made a few purchases on Etsy, a crafters marketplace, but I am not sure if those orders will get here on time. Other than that, I will definitely be shopping closer to home this year. I am making my list, and checking it twice! What about you? I’d love to hear how and where you are buying your gifts this year. Are you online, offline, or a combination of the two?

I’m not on TikTock myself, but there is so much creative stuff on there… like this totally amazing crowd-sourced project: https://t.co/yWtEH356hl

— andrea tomkins (@missfish) November 18, 2020

• Artificial intelligence used to identify bears in photos, theglobeandmail.com
• Ivanka Trump was my best friend. Now she’s MAGA royalty, vanityfair.com
• Was It Worth It, Jared and Ivanka?, nytimes.com
• Your Life Story Is Growing on Your Head, theatlantic.com
• Neon nights: the living art of fireflies – in pictures, theguardian.com
• Stay, an interactive fiction game

On the nightstand: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (A Hunger Games Novel), by Suzanne Collins

I’ve been pondering this New York Times article since I first read it. I really like the idea of breakfast serving as an opportunity for a mini-mediation. Of course, you can do this in the car, or while walking the dog, or brushing your teeth, but somehow, doing it in the morning like this seems to be a fitting way to start a day.

I don’t have silent breakfasts because this is the time that I catch up with the news of the day, but I do have a silent coffee.

This part of the article is soooo relatable. I feel like this person has looked inside my brain:

I couldn’t concentrate, so I let my mind run wild through its litany of worries and reminders. Then, like a toddler wearing herself out after a tantrum, my thoughts quieted down. After several days of silent breakfast, I started to hear myself. My concerns and thoughts, happy with their time at the soapbox, stepped back and stopped plaguing me first thing in the morning. I could focus on what was in front of me, without guilt, without obligation, without stress. It was an unusual feeling of freedom.

When I get up it’s still dark. What motivates me to do things I don’t want to do is TREATS. (Seriously.) I leave the warmth of my duvet knowing there is coffee. Mark bought me a very good conical burr grinder awhile back and we buy good beans to fill it with. I grind the coffee fresh every morning and make myself a double espresso with a dash of cream. I drink it on the couch while looking at a candle that I light when I first come downstairs. This ritual is free of devices and interruptions. I am alone with my thoughts. It is my luxurious, silent, coffee. It is so calming. I think about how delicious my coffee is, and how grateful I am to be drinking such delicious coffee. Of course, my mind wanders, but it’s only doing what it’s supposed to do. When unwanted thoughts intrude – as they do – I acknowledge them and set them aside… because what’s more important than this coffee right now? (The answer is nothing. Nothing is more important.)

I know it sounds very woo-woo but the candle actually helps me focus on all of this. (Also, it makes me happy to use my candles. What have I been saving them for all this time?)

I used to use my desktop SAD lamp every morning this time of year, but I don’t seem to need it anymore. Maybe this coffee/yoga/treadmill ritual is a substitute for that on some biological level? I don’t know.

Of course, the huge disclaimer here is that I wasn’t able to enjoy a silent coffee until much later in life. When there are kids in the house, a silent breakfast or coffee might seem downright impossible. I think about that all the time.