17 Jan, 2012
By andrea tomkins in Oh! Things!,Publishing/writing/career stuff
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!
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.
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!