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 March 4, 2026

I just looked at my office window and saw two houseflies crawling on the glass, on the inside. They have now been firmly squashed and deposited in the waste bin. Luckily they were sluggish and easy to kill. Ah yes, it is THAT time again. The warmth of the sun brings insects out of hibernation – or whatever it is that they do all winter – and they are back with us again. Our windows are original to the house and showing their age and I think that the flies can crawl into cracks and crannies and work through to the inside.

Just in passing, isn’t ‘cranny’ a lovely word? The online etymological dictionary says this about it. “The word "cranny" originates from the Middle English term "crany," which is believed to be a diminutive of "cran," meaning notch or fissure. It is derived from Old French "cren," and ultimately traces back to Medieval Latin "crenare," meaning to notch or split. The root is also linked to the Proto-Indo-European root *ker-, which means to cut or separate. The term has been in use since the 14th century and is often used to describe a small, hidden, or secluded place.”

You might hear it used in the phrase ‘every nook and cranny’. I could look up ‘nook’ as well, but I am guessing it is Old English. Yep. Interesting that the two words used together come from two different languages. One could speculate that they were used together to make sure of the meaning, and grew into a phrase that way.

March 11, 2026

Ah well. Lost that train of thought. Not even the light on the caboose is still showing. And there is a word. ‘Caboose’, Mirriam Webster tells us, is probably from Dutch kabuis, kombuis, from Middle Low German kabūse. It is 1. a ship's galley, 2. a freight-train car attached usually to the rear mainly for the use of the train crew. 3. one that follows or brings up the rear, or 4. Buttocks. Its first known use is found in 1732, in the meaning defined at sense 1. We are not told how or when it became attached to the train car.

There is something positive to be said of a world in which I can find that information by hitting a few raised keys on a board, rather than trudging off to the library for access to the encyclopedia. Although when I was in senior grade school, my mother purchased a multi-volume encyclopedia set. One book a week from the grocery store. I remember sitting on the basement floor reading odd bits from it, just for entertainment. And I did use it for high school projects. I know that my best friend’s parents had a set; not sure of others. I wonder whatever happened to those books. When I packed up my parents’ house to move them here, the set was no longer in the house.

And as we are speaking of packing, There is a pile of boxes beside my office door into which have been packed, with great care and lots of wrapping, all but one teacup and saucer of my grandmother Holden’s precious dishes. I think this set would have been wedding presents, as ‘good’ china and silverware were often the gifts of choice. You had ‘everyday’ dishes for normal use but on Sunday dinner and for holiday meals, you brought out fine china if you had it.

My mother’s mother started me on this path at age sixteen. I was marched to a high end store called ‘Birks’ that sold expensive jewellery and high end table furnishings. There I was encouraged to choose a silverware pattern. And, following this, I received from my grandmother a piece of this silverware for each gift-giving occasion that followed. I also received some pieces as wedding gifts and when my grandmother died, age 92 and counting, I was one fork shy of place settings for six. I also received wedding money from her and some great aunts to purchase my china. I bought a set of Japanese dishes that, as I recall, my daughter took from me to use when first employed as a diplomat, as she was instructed to have such a set. I could still use the silverware if I were to polish it.

Just in case you did not notice, I am continuing with the downsizing. The only reason that the boxed china is still here is that on my daughter’s last visit, the laneway was a sheet of ice. Not conducive to carrying boxes of fragile china out to her car. She is now off to meetings in Europe, and the boxes await her return.

The next project will, I hope, be bedding. At one point I had a double bed and four single beds in our cabin, and kept enough sheets, pillowcases, quilts and blankets to dress all of them. Then we built this house and added a queen bed in our bedroom, plus two couches that pull out to double beds. Latterly, we put a guest bedroom in the basement, with a queen bed and shut down the cabin. I have a lot (understatement of the year) of bedding, and I really only now need enough for two beds. There are going to be a lot more boxes and bags. A group in the city runs a 'store' where these items are laid out and can be taken as needed. A fine idea, truly.

Cupboard Love

 March 1, 2026

At last February is behind us and, as I write this, the sun is streaming in my office window and a pale blue sky is stretched overhead. But. The temperature is some distance into the freezing zone, there is a sharp wind whipping through the tree branches and I am enjoying my March day by trying out different ‘come in like’ descriptions.

Not a lion, this day. Certainly not a lamb. A hawk? Wrong colour values. The ground is still deep in shining snow and ice. Yesterday, as we sat at our kitchen table and watched the bird feeders, all the small birds and squirrels suddenly disappeared. To our great pleasure first one and then a second huge owl landed, one in the apple tree and one on a maple beside it. They were absolutely beautiful, graceful, commanding. It was a perfect moment. They did not stay long, as lunch was not making itself seen.

So, March came in like a barred owl. I guess. I have just spent some time looking up information on the barred owl and photos. This one is pretty close to what we saw as the birds came in.

The problem with sunshine flooding a window is that it emphasizes how dirty the window has become. And how dirty they will stay until the weather warms up enough to open them up for cleaning. Our windows are ‘casement’, chosen because they crank open and are, therefore, supposedly easy to clean. This may be true if you happen to have long, thin arms that can manage the aperture to reach to clean the outside. The windows we chose are standard, and the ‘pin’ on which they swivel to open is quite close to one side. I have hired a worker to take on a lot of the jobs I can no longer manage, but I confess I did not check her biceps. Mine scraped.

When I had muscle. This last while I have pushed myself into trying to ‘downsize’ a little, both to make things simpler for me and to make things easier for the daughters/executors. We live in our ‘forever’ house and while we designed it for mature adult living (two bedrooms with a bathroom each), it is still a big house and full of stuff. The outbuildings are HIS responsibility and I am not even thinking about them. But the cabinets and drawers that hold things I use also hold a large number of things that I used to use, or thought I might use, or was given, or inherited.

One of these infestations is my grandmother’s ‘good’ china. My father’s mother probably received it as a wedding gift and it descended from her to my aunt, her daughter, and thence to me, the sole grandchild. It is beautiful. As you see. I have cherished this set, feeling it as a link to a grandmother who, because she died when I was only three, I only know through her things. Sadly, the dishes are not really useful. They have gold rims and, accordingly, must be handwashed and they are a smaller size than we need for celebratory dinners. My grandchild does not want them.

As of Thursday the set is counted, labelled and boxed, ready to go to a resale location that my daughter knows of.

I have also made a start on my closet with things I don’t need or can’t fit into. And, horrible job that it is, the storage room in the basement.

Along with Grandma Holden’s china went a lot of fragile bits and pieces. And some less fragile. I have a small stack of silver plate to clean and add. Last week, in the first stage of the storage room clean, I dispensed with a crystal punch bowl that we got as a wedding present and that I have never used, except occasionally as a display receptacle in the dining room. I have always disliked it. But, wait for this, when my family (well, two members of it) found out it was gone, they were very sad. The offspring would, I think, have taken it.

You know, you can play the game for a long time and not, not even close, ever win.