a peek inside the fishbowl

18 Jan, 2012

Two pages from someone’s life

By andrea tomkins in - Found objects

A few years ago I bought a collection of vintage Valentine’s Day cards on eBay. I found this letter tucked inside one of them yesterday. It’s dated February 14, 1957 and as far as I know it’s totally legit.

Click on the images to enlarge:

Old love letter, page one

Old love letter, page two

Teacher valentine

A peek into another wee collection of mine … over at the Used blog today. :)

p.s. while I was going through my collection this morning I found an old letter dated February 14, 1957. It’s a real keeper. I will scan it and post it!

17 Jan, 2012

sleep denied

By andrea tomkins in Misc. life

It’s 2:12 when Piper wakes me. She has to poop. This doesn’t happen often, but it happens. She always wakes me quietly, with a whisper whine, as if to apologize. I blindly reach for my giant furry housecoat and trudge down the stairs in the darkness. I locate her collar by touch and hear its distinct jingle and click as I put it around her neck. I pull on my boots, put my coat on over top of my pyjamas, and unlock the front door. She sniffs the air for a moment before she crosses the threshold. The stairs creak. The snow is startlingly bright and squeaks crisply. She does what she needs to do and does a U-turn towards the warmth of the indoors. I remove all of my winter gear and watch her make a show out of making a spot for herself on her dog bed, turning around and around until she gets it right and plunk down with a groan. I choose to interpret this as an apology. I go back upstairs but it doesn’t take me long to recognize that sleep will be eluding me for awhile. The temperature re-adjustment causes me to break out in a micro sweat. And then I start to think about All The Things and I make lists. And then I realize that there’s been a song playing in my head this whole time, and it’s not the whole song, but the final line of a familiar Christmas carol: “It’s the most wonderful time of the yearrrrrrrr!” Ugh.

I get up and head downstairs because sleep won’t be coming anytime soon. And I write this.

Archives


  • Jeanie Maennling: I spent many wonderful days visiting my cousins and Uncle Herb and aunt Eleanor at the Farm in the 1950's. Mycousin Skippy (Sharon) and I got into l
  • alex: For a classic Canadian treat for valentine day , try a BeaverTail (a fried dough pastry) there its yummy
  • Juliet Luiz: I was at this park today and saw the foundation and historical sign which got me curious and let me to your blog post! Great information:) too bad t
  • Rowyn Tape: Hello, I was sitting at Easter dinner with my grandmother and she was telling me this story. She is Herbert Lytles daughter who eventually bought the
  • Bernie: I freeze ball sizes of bread dough for beavertails each winter season.Easy to thaw, roll out and fry. Best winter treat!
  • Jen_nifer: I feel very much the same about my SUP. Floating with snacks is fantastic! When I go on water with some current, I make sure that I paddle into the cu
  • sam: Great article. This is very insightful. Thanks for sharing

The Obligatory Blurb

My name is Andrea and I live in Ottawa with my husband Mark and our dog Sunny who is kind of a big deal on Instagram. During the day I work as a freelance writer. 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.

If you're so inclined, you can read more about me here.

I've deactivated the commenting function as well as my contact form so if you want to get in touch, please drop me a line at quietfish@gmail.com. Thank you!

 


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