Author Archives: lydias

I just arrived home from a relaxing vacation in a warm, tropical place.

My pale, German skin soaked up as much sunshine as it possibly could without getting burned or otherwise damaged by UV rays. (Ha!)

If  I close my eyes, I can still feel the warm sun on my skin. Even the harshest Canadian snowstorm can’t chase that memory away.

The ocean looked just like the water in this photograph. I wish all of my readers could have seen it for themselves. It is so interesting and odd to be surrounded by sparkling water that is this particular shade of blue-green.

Ontario lakes are much deeper shades of blue, and they’re almost always filled with algae and other water-clouding things. Being able to see the bottom of a body of water was unfamiliar and beautiful.

My days were full of relaxation. I swam quite a bit. I read. I took long walks. I ate mounds of delicious fruit, which is my favourite thing in the whole world to have for any meal of the day. I laughed while playing silly card games.

In short, it was a perfect trip.

What makes you feel refreshed? I’d love to hear your answers, big or small!

Here is this week’s list of comic strips, lists, pictures, and other tidbits from my favourite corners of the web.

Good for You, Not For Me. I identify with this so much. Some things don’t change from one subculture to the next.

Rivers. Who else is mesmerized by this?

Why Wait for Spring to Walk Outside? Those of you who have followed this blog for a while probably remember how much I dislike being outside in the winter. This article raised some great points about the benefits of exercising outdoors at this time of year and how you can do it safely, though. It was written with senior citizens in mind, but the tips in it can work well for anyone.

Dispossessed in the Land of Dreams. If I ever win the lottery or become a best-selling author, I’m going to do something about this. Nobody should live this way.

8 Research-Supported Ways to Bust the Winter Blues. I’m planning to try all of them this winter.

How to Tell if a Canadian Is Mad at You. As a Canadian, I can confirm that the entire list is true. This include item #4. 😉

Childhood Lost. This is heartbreaking, especially once you see the photos of the lost stuffed animals.

What have you been reading?

1. Some silence is okay. Don’t be afraid of it.

2. Ask them what they think of topic X if they haven’t spoken up yet.

3. Never comment on how quiet they are. I feel so awkward and self-conscious when people do this.

4. Give them time to respond. Sometimes it takes me a little bit to decide what I want to say.

5. Try to minimize small talk. There are so many other things in this world to discuss. We don’t have to limit ourselves to weather and sports.

6. Ask them what they’re thinking about. I can’t guarantee that every quiet person will enjoy this, of course, but I relish this question. It’s so much fun to share the weird, funny, and off-topic thoughts that are rolling around in my mind, especially when I know that general-you are genuinely interested in hearing about them.

7. Reduce background noise, if possible. I know that some people love having the television or radio on for hours at a time, but that kind of stuff  irritates me. I’d much prefer to socialize somewhere that doesn’t require me to tune out so many other competing voices.

This is the kind of art I’ve never understood.

What am I supposed to feel when I look at it? Is confusing what the artist was going for?

What is it about a squiggle that makes it artistic? Would it be less artistic if it had fewer loops?

Do the colours mean something?

Is there meaning in the ways the lines intersect?

Assuming it was actually possible, what would we find lurking behind this design if we peeled back one, tiny corner of it? (I’m picturing something grey-skinned, warm-blooded, and mostly friendly….)

The art appreciation class I took in college didn’t cover this. We spent nearly all of our time on classic, famous paintings. I understand the basics of them and would feel comfortable discussing them in a group even though I don’t remember all of the technical terms I once learned to describe that movement.

When I look at something like this, though, I’m completely lost.

None of my questions are snarky in the least. Maybe there is a meaning in this style of art that I’ve never been able to uncover. I’d love to know what that meaning is.

Can anyone help?

I can’t believe I’ve gotten to this point after years of having far more books to read than the time with which to read them, but my list of pending titles is dwindling down to almost nothing.

Longterm readers already know this, but these are the genres I love:

• History.
• Poetry.
• Sci-fi and Fantasy.
• Folklore from any culture.
•  Horror, especially the psychological/non-gory kind.
• Biographies.
• Psychology.
• Sociology.
• Young Adult.
• Science (any branch of it).

I sometimes enjoy:

• Romance.
• Mysteries.
• Animal fiction, as long as the animal doesn’t die at the end 😉 .
• Plays.
• Math.

I’m not interested in:

• Religion.
• Alternative medicine.
• War stories.
• Sports.
• Politics.
• Extremely violent or disturbing content.

Can anyone recommend a good book or three to me?

If you tell me what genres you do (and don’t) enjoy, I’ll return the favour! I love giving and receiving recommendations. It’s such a fun way to find new authors to read.

Here is this week’s list of essays, short stories, poems, and other tidbits from my favourite corners of the web.

The Awful Greatness of the Cherry Sisters via HorribleSanity. Who here has heard of the Cherry Sisters before? I hadn’t, but I was fascinated by their story. If only it could have had a happier ending.

That Lucky Old Sun. This is one of those links that works best if you know nothing about it when you start reading. Enjoy!

The Rumor Mill via LyddieThomas. I wouldn’t want to work here, but it sure is an interesting concept.

The Sweetest Kidnapping. What does it mean to do something in the best interest of a child? I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately.

Paper Tigers via jdubqca. I love this.

From The Last Dying Cat:

Tess is the last Cooney-Martin cat. There will be no others. No kittens, no adopted strays, no trips to the shelter. Done. The last cat. Tess.

What have you been reading?

Wow, I can’t believe I haven’t shared this story on this blog yet.

Years ago someone asked me if my workplace had any adamantium pans.

She wasn’t laughing when she asked.

Her facial expression was completely serious. Slightly stern, even.

“No,” I said. “We only have metal ones.”

Disappointment flooded her face.

“Do you know where I can find one?”

I had a choice in that moment. I could tell her that adamantium only exists in the Marvel universe. From her facial expression and body language, I wasn’t sure she’d believe me. She looked so earnest and eager to find it.

I could play along and recommend another store to try. That seemed cruel, though. This didn’t come across to me as the kind of joke she was in on or would appreciate.

Or  I could do nothing.

“Sorry, I don’t know of any places that sell it.” The exchange ended, and she melted back into the crowd.

Sometimes I still wonder what her backstory was. Did she have a young relative who jokingly told her it was a superior metal alloy for baking delicate desserts? Did she misread something online and accidentally come to the conclusion that this was something available to people in our universe?

Was she pulling my leg?

The world will never know, but still I wonder.

What’s the most surreal thing that’s ever happened to you?

No More Questions! from StoryCorps on Vimeo.

What a humorous and touching way to honour the woman who shared these stories. Doesn’t it make you wonder which stories about your life will be remembered by future generations?

Photo credit: Warsocket.

Lately I’ve been thinking about the kinds of conversations that make me the happiest. As longtime readers might remember, I’m not a big fan of small talk. I’ve learned how to do it fairly well over the years, but I always breathe a sigh of relief when the conversation moves to weightier topics than what kind of weather we’ve been having.

My list (probably) won’t be the same as yours, but these are the types of things I hope to discuss more often in 2016:

Did you know that….

For example, did you know that all of the members of a wolf pack take turns playing with and looking after baby wolves? They also share their food with pups who are old enough to eat meat.

I’m most interested in factoids like this that are related to science, history, and nature, but my ears perk up every time I hear this phrase because there’s such a good chance I’m about to learn something fascinating.

An anecdote like this one could lead to a discussion on anything from that funny thing so-and-so’s kid did with their dog last week to what happened in Yellowstone National Park after wolves were reintroduced there.

What would happen if….

One of my favourite things to do when I’m sitting quietly somewhere is to think of unlikely – but usually not impossible –  situations and then figure out how I’d get out of them.

Occasionally, crucial parts of the subway system in my city shuts down for a few hours or a day due to flooding, mechanical issues, or other problems. What would be the best way for me to get home from neighbourhood X in that scenario? If my first choice route isn’t available for some reason, what’s another good way to get home from that area?

Sometimes I do add in conditions that don’t actually exist in our world – e.g. vampires – to see what solutions my mind can come up with when, say, it isn’t safe to be outside at night.

No, this isn’t an anxiety thing on my part. I don’t worry about what would happen to me in any of those scenarios, I simply enjoy pushing my mental map of how the streets are laid out and where certain landmarks are located as far as they can possibly go. Spatial skills aren’t one of my strong points, so I enjoy practicing them when I can.

What did you really think of….

My husband and I tend to like different styles of art and genres of fiction. There is overlap between us, of course, but I find it a lot of fun to explore what it is he loves about action movies and I love about the postmodern realism movement in art.

When you look at the world through someone else’s eyes, you’ll often catch things that you hadn’t noticed the first time around. I’ve found that this is even more true with people you don’t know well yet.

I’d love to know what’s on your lists.  Let me know in the comment section below!

Here is this week’s list of essays, comic strips, poems, short stories, and other tidbits from my favourite corners of the web.

Why Cursing Is Not Profanity via AllainaDaniels. I agree with this blogger 100%.

Hey, Ugly Duckling. There are no words to describe how much I love this.

The True Story of Kudzu, the Vine That Never Truly Ate the South. Until I read this article, I genuinely believed that Kudzu had infested the U.S. south and was unstoppable. Here’s the real story of this plant.

Down the Road via jrobertswi. One of the things that I genuinely enjoy about winter is the way it reveals parts of a landscape that are otherwise hidden away. It’s like hearing a secret that no one else knows.

How Cleaning Can Be Therapy via TracyShawn. I don’t find cleaning particularly relaxing, but I do get a similar mood boost from folding laundry. It’s especially rewarding when I’m at the end of the folding process and finally get to match up all of the socks. If I could somehow make a living by folding socks, I’d do it all day and every day. Ha! I’d love to know if any of my readers find certain household chores as relaxing as Tracy and I do.

From The Tomato Thief:

Eva sighed again.

It was debatable whether she knew the real reason that Grandma Harken lived so far out of town. Her mother kept a lot of secrets.

In fact, it was because of the tomatoes.

What have you been reading?