Nicole’s Favourite Things: The “It Was Warm and Smelled of Yummy Things” Edition

At this time of year when my kids were small, we would read many holiday-themed books, and the favourite of all of ours was The Littlest Christmas Tree, about a tiny tree who despairs of ever becoming a Christmas tree because of his diminutive size. … [Continue reading]

Acts of Service

While decorating the tree and the interior of the house is firmly a whole-family affair, putting up the outdoor lights and decorations are solely in my husband's jurisdiction, with some help from one or both of our sons. He was finishing setting them … [Continue reading]

Five For Friday: The 2025 Five Star Edition

My New Personality and Identity as a War Buff. Spotify Wrapped was released a few weeks ago, and I looked dispassionately at my top five podcasts, all of which were chatty-style, women-hosted, independent podcasts. It felt like a far-off memory, a … [Continue reading]

Neither Rain Nor Sleet Nor Snow Nor Hail

I was at the post office, elf-like, with a bag full of parcels to mail. There were a few people waiting in line, so I picked up some flat-rate boxes and started cramming things into them as best I could, addressing them merrily. One of the parcels … [Continue reading]

Do You Remember the Very First Night of December

Get Your Calendars Ready! Happy December, everyone! Are we all starting Advent calendars today? I have my usual dogs-in-Santa-hats puzzle calendar ready to go, but after last year's extreme disappointment over a much-coveted After Eight calendar, … [Continue reading]

Nicole’s Favourite Things: The Fight The Gloom Edition

November is such a grey and gloomy month, isn't it? As I write this, the sun rises at 7:29 am and sets at 4:02 pm, and those precious daylight hours are only going to get worse before they get better. However! November is also the month of Tiny … [Continue reading]

Small Appliance Chaos

I spent a lot of time in the kitchen, although less time than I used to, back in the days when the kids were in school and it felt like at least fifty percent of my one wild and precious life was spent procuring, preparing, and cleaning up after said … [Continue reading]