Feb 27 - A Winter Cold During A Very Long Winter, Which Makes Me Even More Committed To Not Be Here Next Year For Another Round Of This

Wheezes and sneezes
Outside, the snow tries to fall
Please, spring, I beg you

Feb 26 - Alone Again And Not Feeling Well, But Pleased To Have Logged Billable Hours With Enough Money In My Wallet For Take-Out

Achy, but must work
Some bug is trying for me
Might hot pho fix this?

Feb 25 - As I Write, Paul Is Cooking Halal Lamb Chops On The Barbie, Though It's Unseasonably Cold For Late February

More hard work at Mom's
I make a Trump recording
Someone's art project

Feb 24 - A Lot Of Ground Had To Get Covered Today As I Delve Into Vic West, And It Did

Interviews align
Timing perfect. I buy Paul
a tuna sandwich

Feb 23 - Things I Will Remember From Today, And That's Not Even Counting The Dinner Party On A School Night

Damp mud underfoot
Geese bob their heads, worrying
The worst mushroom soup

Feb 22 - Rosetta And I On A Nice Day

Sun on our faces
Ducks at our feet, feasting on
Bird Cage confections

Feb 21 - That Good Feeling Of Taking All The Junk To The Recycle Yard And Seeing The Last Of The Must-Go Stuff Walking Out The Door, While Also Getting Some Paid Work Done For Once

Desk, chair and printer
Gone to Dan, whose wife needs them
I love you, craigslist

Feb 20 - In Which I Undertake A Morning Ritual (For Now) To Try To Get These Brain Chemicals Of Mine Back In Shape

Running flights of stairs
Desperate for endorphins
I need my rage back

Feb 19 - In Which I Start The Day Eating Waffles With Kim And End It Driving Back From The Sidney Aquarium With A Sleeping Child And A Stuffed Octopus

"Too scary!" she cries
But she relents and touches
He comes home with us

Feb 18 - The Great Condo Cleanout Isn't Over Yet, But The End Is Ever So Slightly In Sight

Lift. Heave. Clean. Repeat.
Closets emptied, cupboards sacked
I eat Mom's small steak

Feb 17 - Few Things Feel Better Than Checking Off A Bunch Of Must-Do's From The List

Catch-up day at last
I feel a shift, nothing much
Just a bit happy

Feb 16 - Something About The Soft-Spoken Play Group Woman Just Can't Keep Rosetta's Interest During Song Time

Play group's lost its charm
We go outside, tossing crows
crumbs from fish crackers

Feb 15 - Enjoying Little Children Is Diminished Only By Remembering That They Won't Always Be Like This

Dear R, please stay small
Stay happy for stuffed badgers
and carrot muffins

February 14 - In Which I Arrive Back In Victoria Feeling Like I've Survived Some Kind Of Life Test But Baffled By Why I Needed One

Valentine drive home
Paul serves up steak and champagne
New dog has no hair

Feb 13 – Daniel, Gage, Maggie, Banksy And I Get Out For A Walk On A Beautiful Afternoon

Sunshine on the spit
My skin savours the warmth, light
So done with winter

Feb 12 – My Return To Courtenay After Parksville Means I Can Bring A Surprise Guest To The 80th Birthday

Off to Bob’s birthday
D meets and greets, 20 years
gone by since last time

Feb 11 – The Day When A Really Bad Turn Of Events Made Me Want To Run Away And Leave This Whole Hard Week Behind Me, But Then The Younger Boys Came And I Calmed Down. Well, Kind Of.

“Where’s your car?” I ask

He lies. When I find out, I leave him

Sockless in the snow

Feb 10 – Eventually Sprung From Snow Jail Though Most Of The Day Went To Chipping Away At The Driveway

Plow’s late, and this time

I pay for the bobcat work

Pax to work, me dead

Feb 9 – White-Out, The Absence Of Colour Broken Only By The Pomegranate I Cut Up For The Chickens And Alpacas

Too much snow to leave
Pax and I pace – caged, stranded
I barter cookies

Feb 8 – In Which I Do Things Like Inflate The Tires And Lay In Provisions, As If The Apocalypse Might Come

Town trip for wifi

A library patron snores

The snow keeps falling

Feb 7 – If I Had Any Inclination To Have A Small Rural Property With Animals, I No Longer Do

Sick Gage bikes over
Chicken nipples frozen up
I walk dogs all day

Feb 6 – This Isn’t Going To Be One Of Those Easy, Feet-Up-Relaxing Kind Of Housesits

Two dog walks, knee deep

in this endless damn white stuff

Seeking the routine

Feb 5 – Off To Be A Rural Alpaca Farmer, Though What’s With This Weather?

Nanaimo white-out

I crawl along at 40

My snow skills rusty

Feb 4 – Giving It The Big Final Push Before I’m Gone For 10 Days

Packing. Lifting. Drinks

with my downstairs relatives

Paul brings home pizza

Feb 3 - In Which I Have So Much Stuff For Value Village That I Get A 30 Per Cent Discount Card Right Off And Then Use It Immediately, Warmed By My Pad Thai Lunch

Boxes to the roof
Colleen barely notices
Snow falls but can't stick

Feb 2 - A Certain Normalcy Returns, If You Can Count Living In A Near-Furnitureless Apartment As Normal

Russian takes the bed
"Keep driving!" says R. I do
Work breaks are good, right?

Feb 1 - The Condo Starts To Empty Out As I List The Big Stuff And Discover That All That Negative Talk About How No One Wants Old Hideabeds And Used Beds Isn't True

Hideabeds posted
An hour later, students
carry them away

Jan 31 - The Number Of Sick People Around Me Continues To Rise

Darlene's out with flu
I sub in the afternoon
while Rachelle suffers