Hit and Miss #323: Change for thee, but not for me?

November 12, 2023

It’s been a very full week! We hosted our first few meals in the new place—none fancy, but we’re not particularly fancy people anyhow. We also got in some...

Hit and Miss #322: Maintenance before a busy week

November 5, 2023

Good morning! Yesterday was one of those lovely “maintenance” days. Both in the broadest sense—getting groceries, making sauce for the week ahead, going for...

Hit and Miss #321: Finishing things

October 29, 2023

Another weekend of juggling too many things—one day I’ll be sensible about what I can actually accomplish in a day, a year, a life! There’s a long list from...

Hit and Miss #320: Home (anew)

October 22, 2023

Whew. It’s been a week—a month—a season—a year. Fall’s a third over, but it’s flown by. A month ago we returned from Japan, and turned in short order to...

Hit and Miss #319: Old standbys

October 15, 2023

Hello! Things have been quite busy here the last few weeks, but the end is in sight, with quieter, calmer days ahead. T suggested—whether she realized it or...

Hit and Miss #318: Port season

October 8, 2023

Was feeling down today—a rainy weekend, a Thanksgiving in Ottawa instead of with family (but for very good reasons!), distressing imagery and news from...

Hit and Miss #317: Old favourites in a time of change

October 1, 2023

Hello from a mostly-not-jet-lagged Lucas! It was quite a time adjusting to Ontario, uh, time, but I far preferred being awake early to always wanting to...

Hit and Miss #316: Home from Japan

September 24, 2023

Hello! T and I are back from a few weeks in Japan. Mindboggling to write that, not least because my brain’s in another timezone and suffering from...

Hit and Miss #315: Untitled pt. 2

September 17, 2023

Hello! In the midst of vacation, trying to channel Rach Smith’s “no inputs day”. It’s… hard! Changing context helps, of course, but those inputs are always...

Hit and Miss #314: Untitled pt. 1

September 10, 2023

Thank you to everyone who wrote in about my break email last week. I’ll likely keep going, but relieve myself of the stress of titling these posts for the...

Hit and Miss #313: Break?

September 3, 2023

Hello! Ah, September—what a pleasure! Though it’s been a while since the academic year shaped my life, I’m still keenly aware of it—the rhythm of thirds has...

Hit and Miss #312: Enjoy those cool evenings

August 27, 2023

Folks! The evenings are cool and the mornings crisp! Fall is coming! This is not a drill!! Very full days behind and ahead of us—with some exciting news to...

Hit and Miss #311: “Low risk”

August 20, 2023

Folks, I took that advice I shared in the last two issues—Mandy Brown’s energy makes time—and hoo boy does it ever work! Spent the afternoon in the woodshop...

Hit and Miss #310: Feelin’ eh

August 13, 2023

Hello! Bit of an off day energy-wise—trying to fit in too much, not doing a great job cutting myself slack when I can’t fit all that, and wallowing over all...

Hit and Miss #309: Good summer

August 6, 2023

Ah, August—the good part of summer. Still hot, yes, but less consistently so. Cooler nights, the occasional balmy day, little treats to make the heat more...

Hit and Miss #308: Full of fulfillment

July 30, 2023

Hello! A happy Sunday to you :) Writing, again, at the end of a full but fulfilling weekend. This weekend featured hours in parks, enjoying the grass and the...

Hit and Miss #307: The internet is good, actually?

July 23, 2023

Hello! Writing after an unexpectedly full weekend, tired but thankfully not drained: Yesterday morning was an awesome hand tools course at Ottawa City...

Hit and Miss #306: Cheers for “Grandparent hobbies”

July 16, 2023

Hi! Exciting things afoot, but I’m low on energy and brainspace this afternoon. I don’t have anything in particular to say or share this week, but am pleased...

Hit and Miss #305: Extra extra extra!

July 9, 2023

Hello! Coming off a lovely weekend full of T time, family time, friend time, and hobby time—very glad for all the people I get to share life with. It’s left...

Hit and Miss #304: Midyear goals

July 2, 2023

Hello! We’re just wrapping up a really lovely visit from my family, which included a brunch today with our closest Ottawa family, S+V. Very glad for the...

Hit and Miss #303: See other

June 25, 2023

Hello! It’s been a very full week, and I don’t have much in the tank to write today. I hope you’re all doing well, and taking care, especially if you live...

Hit and Miss #302: Better conversations

June 18, 2023

Hello! Sunny, blue skies have emerged from an overcast morning (though I like the gloom, some days—it encourages a general feeling of quiet, a welcome break...

Hit and Miss #301: Full of food, family, and love

June 11, 2023

Hello! Writing, very (very) full with food, after a full day visiting family. We’ve had a busy few weeks, with lots of emotional ups and downs, but are glad...

Hit and Miss #300: Living the principles

June 4, 2023

Hi! A very happy Sunday to you. We’ve had a whirlwind few days, but in a way that feels as relaxing as it’s been full: a woodworking course yesterday morning...

Hit and Miss #299: Issues elsewhere, issues here

May 28, 2023

Hello! I spent the morning as a biking kit man to T and T’s mom, who ran the Ottawa marathon today. CONGRATS BOTH!! It was so awesome to see their...

Hit and Miss #298: Manure breach heat agreement

May 21, 2023

Hello! I smelled manure from the Experimental Farm while out biking this morning, and it gave me a great smile—manure’s a smell that reminds me of home,...

Hit and Miss #297: Free time

May 14, 2023

Hello! I was already a few minutes from home during a walk earlier today, when I realized I hadn’t taken an antihistamine. Miraculously, I emerged mostly un-...

Hit and Miss #296: From weary of dreary to cheery

May 7, 2023

Whew! We made it through a dreary week of April showers, and are now truly treated with May flowers. I’ve had Springsteen’s “Glory Days” going through my...

Hit and Miss #295: (not) Ottawa things

April 30, 2023

Hello! It’s been—finally—a mostly chill, restful weekend. Long overdue, and grateful for it. We read, ate ice cream, did some light shopping, caught up with...

Hit and Miss #294: Explaining the inscrutable

April 23, 2023

It’s an overcast Sunday and there’s a mariachi band playing outside, which, much to T and A’s chagrin, means I’m trumpet-mouthing along (I suppose we should...

Hit and Miss #293: Spring regrowth

April 16, 2023

Hi folks! Hope you’re all doing well. Two interesting links, as I slowly get back into a groove: Land trusts as a growing player in housing (along with all...

Hit and Miss #292: Four weeks in Portugal, Belgium, America, and Canada

April 9, 2023

Some issues are links, others are reflections—this one’s a snapshot, of the last month. It’s been a long one, full in ways good and bad. I share it with you...

Hit and Miss #291: Tired, so tired

April 2, 2023

Folks, it’s been a day—a week—a month. In hard ways, yes, though also in good ways! But I am thoroughly tired. The kind of tired where you’re waiting for the...

Hit and Miss #290: Mockingbird

March 26, 2023

Hello! Another weekend spent checking out cool places and visiting with friends. (I’ll stop vaguebooking in a week or two, I promise.) I heard a mockingbird...

Hit and Miss #289: No news

March 19, 2023

Hi there! It’s been a lovely week travelling with T and friends (hi S and V!), but I’m pretty wiped and don’t have much to say otherwise. (Other than, I was...

Hit and Miss #288: Honoured

March 12, 2023

Hi! Writing after a fairly hectic week, wrapping some things at work before some time off. Because of that hectic week, I haven’t had much time to speak to,...

Hit and Miss #287: Good company

March 5, 2023

Hello! It’s been a lovely day, hosting S and V for brunch (Dutch babies are the best!), followed by time in the sun and springlike weather. Yes, there’ll be...

Hit and Miss #286: Cosy up

February 26, 2023

Hello! Having a lovely cosy morning, after a lovely cosy day, which leaves me in more of a reading mood than a writing one. And that’s great! Rest, rest,...

Hit and Miss #285: Links on data, exploitation, and hunkering down

February 19, 2023

Hello! I’ve spent much of the weekend working on an exciting data-y side project. Been having fun learning about graph theory (just enough learning, that is,...

Hit and Miss #284: Holding on

February 12, 2023

Hello! T and I were talking last night about hospital doctors (particularly residents) who work 24-hour shifts. (If you hadn’t heard about this, there’s a...

Hit and Miss #283: Existing in melancholy

February 5, 2023

Hello! Yesterday was one of varying degrees of angst and worry—the kind that, though not entirely gone, dissipates gradually with solitude and sleep. So,...

Hit and Miss #282: Snowy brain

January 29, 2023

Hello! T and I spent the day in Montreal with family—a last minute decision, but a nice change of scenery (even if much of the scenery was obscured by...

Hit and Miss #281: Links on recordkeeping and more

January 22, 2023

Good afternoon! (That’s me, trying to wake myself up as a small food coma combines with a dreary weather day.) I’ve got some exciting spreadsheets to make...

Hit and Miss #280: Living by the clock, by the light

January 15, 2023

Hello! Good afternoon—or, well, it feels like afternoon here, as the sun stretches closer to the horizon and the shadows lengthen. There are two modes we can...

Hit and Miss #279: More rest

January 8, 2023

Hello! Been a bit of a week. Returned to Ottawa after a few (pretty full, heavy) weeks away, only for all the stress to dump on me and trigger a sick...

Hit and Miss #278: 2022 to 2023

January 1, 2023

Hello! It’s been a pretty full day here (Italian families hang out on New Year’s Day, so I’m chock full of lentils and whatnot), after a full few weeks. 2022...

Hit and Miss #277: 2022 reads

December 25, 2022

Hi there! Bit of a different situation today: writing this post from my phone, on the road. It’s been quite a week, but things are feeling more or less...

Hit and Miss #276: Passing the baton

December 18, 2022

Hullo! Today began gloriously sunny, lighting up the decimetres of snow we got the last few days. It’s more subdued now—low-level clouds moved in, darkening...

Hit and Miss #275: Assurance

December 11, 2022

Hello! Say a government has a policy objective. Implementing it requires sophisticated underlying infrastructure. This infrastructure is large, complex....

Hit and Miss #274: See also

December 4, 2022

Hello! It was a good week. Changes afoot, on which more another time—for now, reading and rest. As an opening note, I really appreciated Sara Hendren’s...