Christmas at the Odd BookIt is possible, I’ve discovered,to take up residence in a bookshop for just 24 hours startingat closing time on Christmas Eveand staying all the waythrough Christmas Day It happened at least once said the white-haired chapbehind the counter at the Odd Bookin between his forays up the stairs to carry down … More
Milestone: a stone or post at the side of the road that shows the distance to various places, especially to the nearest large town; an important event in the development or history of something or in someone’s life Millstone: one of a pair of large, circular, flat stones used, especially in the past, to crush … More Milestone or millstone?
When I feel particularly adrift, cast about on waves of uncertainty, ambiguity and loneliness, I take myself to a favourite park. It steadies me, the way a good anchor does. After a couple of hours of rambling in meadows and woods, walking the headland path along the lake, standing on the banks of the pond, … More Anchored to Anticipation
It took me nine months to finish the puzzle. This seems about right as puzzling goes for me. I refuse to impose deadlines or quantitative expectations, content to set four or five pieces in place in one sitting. Sometimes even one piece provides peace of mind. When I started Van Gogh’s Starry Night, I quickly … More Puzzling and unpuzzling
I like to imagine the loons were humouring me. And who am I to know if they were, or if I just happened to be in exactly the right place at exactly the right time. Either way, I witnessed something unexpected. Something extraordinary. Something magical. I’d been kayaking earlier that morning, only my paddle and … More And then there were eight
Lynda MacGibbon 