Hit and Miss #380: “Song for a Winter's Night”

December 15, 2024

Hi there. Weird times. Just a week or so from holidays, and it’s decidedly Christmas-y out, but I haven’t felt hugely in the spirit. T and I were discussing...

Hit and Miss #379: Doing hard things, together

December 8, 2024

It’s been a full day, a full weekend, a mostly full week, and I’m doing alright. Tired, but in a satisfied way. Shovelling ourselves out from the snow...

Hit and Miss #378: Deferred maintenance

December 1, 2024

Whew! My brain and body are tired. The kind of tiredness that’s a sign of both a good weekend, and a hopefully excellent night’s sleep to come. That to say,...

Hit and Miss #377: Hard week, good weekend—snow’s coming

November 24, 2024

Whew, hi! After a very busy week with some serious ups and downs, it’s been a good weekend, including: Woke up early (naturally!) and spent a few hours...

Hit and Miss #376: November media diet

November 17, 2024

Good morning! I’m more than halfway through the book for this afternoon’s book club. Most likely I won’t finish, but that’s what long ago reading Pierre...

Hit and Miss #375: Disappointed, but not surprised

November 10, 2024

Monday through Wednesday I spent a few days this week back in familiar territory, attending FWD50 (I assume that page’s copy will eventually be about 2024,...

Hit and Miss #374: Highs bring lows (but more highs incoming!)

November 3, 2024

…morning? afternoon? evening? The sun is shortly setting!? Post-time-change confusion coupled with post-COVID-booster blehness has made for a drained, tired...

Hit and Miss #373: Friendship’s sunshine

October 27, 2024

Why hello there! Can you believe, we’re nearly done October? When I write you next, it’ll be November, notoriously the hardest month. Last night, T and I...

Hit and Miss #372: Categorized (try) todo lists

October 20, 2024

Good morning! My rebooted attempt at time tracking fizzled out. I wasn't able to get back into the habit of recording the hours, which made for incomplete...

Hit and Miss #371: Humanity and turkey

October 13, 2024

Hello! Down visiting family for a few days, always interesting to be back in KW to see what’s changed and what’s charmingly still the same. And, of course,...

Hit and Miss #370: Walking LeBreton

October 6, 2024

In what seems to be a Sunday writing habit, A’s snuggled in my laptop, pushing my laptop just out of easy arm’s reach—so writing today will also check off...

Hit and Miss #369: Walking, even after a while

September 29, 2024

I’m waiting for code to compile data to scrape, with A on my lap, crickets and birds outside, and happily sore(ish) legs. It’s that lovely mix of later...

Hit and Miss #368: A place to think

September 22, 2024

Skateboarding Jesus. Those cool parents whose daughter sold us Girl Guide cookies. The cat hoteliers. Spend enough time in a place, and you come to “know”...

Hit and Miss #367: Maintenance, houses, and stuff

September 15, 2024

We’re home, having driven over 2400 km (apparently about a quarter of the circumference of the Moon, thanks Wolfram Alpha!) and seen lots of family and...

Hit and Miss #366: Gloom and the antidote to worry

September 8, 2024

It’s been a good week. Last weekend, we were up at a friend’s family cottage, a 1960s log cabin built from a kit (the company’s still around!). In a sign of...

Hit and Miss #365: Nearly fall vacation reading

September 1, 2024

We’re away for a mix of time visiting family and friends across Ontario. It’s feeling right on the cusp of fall here, maybe the ideal seasonal moment. This...

Hit and Miss #364: SQL, community, and cool stuff

August 25, 2024

Hello! My post-lunch food coma is settling in, and I’ve already spent muuuuuch too long on the computer plugging away at a data project today. So, links! For...

Hit and Miss #363: Links on anarchism, social media, and other joys

August 18, 2024

Hello! Outside, when not actively battered by the rain, is feeling lush. The plants sturdy with water, the tomatoes turning red at a steady pace, and the...

Hit and Miss #362: Usable (legible) for computers

August 11, 2024

Earlier this week, a former colleague asked me for some links on spreadsheets, tabular data, and so on. I was surprised to discover I had some bookmarked,...

Hit and Miss #361: Fuzzy conversation feelings

August 4, 2024

Hello! Been a meandering afternoon, a bit more digital than I’d planned, but that’s okay. I tried to do SOMETHING on the command line and of course got...

Hit and Miss #360: Cutting back to grow more

July 28, 2024

Hullo! I’m sitting with A beside me, watching the sun filter on to the trees and the birds making their dinnertime forays. The garden—T’s garden, really—is...

Hit and Miss #359: Time outside, time well spent

July 21, 2024

Hullo! After a full day working outside—including a while watching our neighbourhood Cooper’s hawk sunning itself on our garden bed cover—T and I took to our...

Hit and Miss #358: An hour writing this newsletter

July 14, 2024

Good morning! We spent a lovely day with friends yesterday, showing them around Rockcliffe and enjoying a BBQ lunch. T and I realized we haven’t spent as...

Hit and Miss #357: Eat your vegetables!

July 7, 2024

Hello! Writing in the midst of a lovely, family- and friends-filled weekend, including time with R+D beside the Ottawa River and a party for T. Tomorrow’s...

Hit and Miss #356: Human-sized places

June 30, 2024

Hello hello! It’s been a delightful long weekend so far. T’s been working, and I’ve been enjoying some quiet time in my own head—mostly puttering away at...

Hit and Miss #355: Mostly complete

June 23, 2024

Happy Sunday! First, I’d like to correct an ambiguity in the opening of last week’s newsletter: where I said “T and I (mostly)” and “SR and I (mostly)” built...

Hit and Miss #354: Sharing in abundance

June 16, 2024

Hello! Following last week, a bunch of planning and enabling, this weekend was for woodworking—and boy has it been fun. Yesterday, T and I (mostly) built a...

Hit and Miss #353: Outdoor meals and Home Depot hauls

June 9, 2024

Hello!! Spent the morning hanging out with SR and T, strolling through Home Depot to pick up some project wood and catching up on life. Yesterday morning was...

Hit and Miss #352: Facing west

June 2, 2024

In the titular story from Watch With Me, there’s a scene in which Tol Proudfoot and his band of neighbourhood characters see a coming storm: still leaves in...

Hit and Miss #351: Running back from Italy

May 26, 2024

Hello! What a week. Since writing you last, T and I have returned from Italy, settled back in at home, and, mere hours ago, T again ran the Ottawa marathon....

Hit and Miss #350: Eat, speak, rest, repeat

May 19, 2024

Hello! Will be brief, today, as we’re enjoying a much needed vacation. The week so far has included sleeping in late, staying up later, enjoying secret pizza...

Hit and Miss #349: Digital reading lessgoooo

May 12, 2024

Hello! Plenty on the go today—the tyranny of small tasks, or whatever it’s called, loads of logistics to do on top of all the normal hopes and aspirations of...

Hit and Miss #348: “Frozen in an uncomfortable slouch”

May 5, 2024

Whew, okay, hi! The day has flown by, and I’m now at the level of energy / willpower where I waste away what’s left of it by falling down internet...

Hit and Miss #347: Grab bag

April 28, 2024

Hullo! It’s been a good weekend—tending to some long in-progress projects, planning some new ones, and trying to do some maintenance around the house. Also,...

Hit and Miss #346: Clean the tabs, share the links

April 21, 2024

Ahhh. That feeling of relief, of deepest contentment. The shoulders unhunch, the jaw unclenches, the body rests. What, dear reader, did I do to earn such...

Hit and Miss #345: Books abound

April 14, 2024

Hello! It’s been a neat week. We hosted my former roommate as she moves back to Ottawa (yay, cool people in Ottawa!)—it was nice to have someone else around,...

Hit and Miss #344: Endless Saturdays

April 7, 2024

Folks, it’s beautiful out! This is not a drill!! I’m sitting in the yard, laptop and cider in hand (different hands, don’t worry), nothing but me and the sun...

Hit and Miss #343: First quarter updates

March 31, 2024

Ahahaha we’re a quarter done the year!? Ooooookay then. Small chronicle of things that’ve happened since the start of the year, to mark time passing, and...

Hit and Miss #342: The usual moves

March 24, 2024

It’s a beautiful spring afternoon (visually, at least), and I’m feeling pretty good with what we’ve done this weekend. It started with stress at so much to...

Hit and Miss #341: Continuing themes

March 17, 2024

Between time-change jet lag, some more responsibilities at work, and a fair bit else on the go, I haven’t yet fully appreciated the “longer days”—I’m so...

Hit and Miss #340: Blackbirds are back

March 10, 2024

Thursday, as T and I walked the Rideau River, I thought I heard that familiar, beloved call, of the red-winged blackbird, back from its winter adventures. I...

Hit and Miss #339: Sure, winter, see ya later

March 3, 2024

We’re somehow 1/6th done the year!? Ahahahahahaha I have so many projects I thought I’d be further along on by now. But also, winter, showing ourselves...

Hit and Miss #338: How it goes these days

February 25, 2024

The cats seem to be fighting over time with me this morning—I’m sitting in the den with Pema, and Arthur’s standing at the door, begging to get in. This has...

Hit and Miss #337: Love and friendship (and data and government)

February 18, 2024

Good evening! It’s been a great week. T and I had some great meals out, plus time with friends (also involving excellent food, including a delicious...

Hit and Miss #336: Wouldn’t it be nice

February 11, 2024

Hello! Have had one of those off days—it wasn’t bad, really, just low energy, the time always passing more quickly than hoped. Ah well. I’m currently sitting...

Hit and Miss #335: Discomfort is (partially) the point

February 4, 2024

Hello! After a bit of agonizing, I spent a few happy hours in the community woodshop this afternoon. It was great to be back, and motivating—while machines...

Hit and Miss #334: Byeeee, January!

January 28, 2024

The winter doldrums are alive and well this week. T and I are both on the up-and-up, slowly, but have varying kinds of lingering meh. Coupled with the...

Hit and Miss #333: Sick, again

January 21, 2024

So it seems I have COVID. For extra real, this time—tested positive and everything. Optimistically, T had it in late December / early January and I didn’t...

Hit and Miss #332: Wintry neighbours

January 14, 2024

Winter, it seems, is finally here. The last few days of snow made for an entertaining time getting T to work yesterday morning—scoping out nearby carshare...

Hit and Miss #331: Benchin’, cattin’, linkin’

January 7, 2024

Thank you to all who wrote in with kind words wishing T and I well last week. Happy to report that we’re both back to our normal selves. (Which, for me,...