It’s hard to imagine it, but January is just about at an end. To say that we’ve been busy (and with company coming Tuesday – and a joyous houseful until we leave in mid-February) is an understatement. This is, as Rob put it, “a different locale to work,” and I’m totally okay with that.
 
Writing the journal every day is a labour of love; returning emails (as much as I can keep up with) is, as well. Writing and recording ads for our Rotary Club in Sidney, as well as for clubs in other parts of the Saanich Peninsula, has been great fun and a chance to flex some muscles that haven’t been used in a while. Tweaking a full-page ad for Rotary for the local paper in Sidney has been an intriguing challenge as well.
 
So much to do and it has made time go far too quickly down here. But we’ll try hard to soak in these last few solo days and get set to entertain for the next few weeks.
 
I’m not a natural host; some people make it look extremely easy and I wish I was among them. Perhaps, like you, I’m always concerned that our guests are busy enough or having fun; Rob and I eat so sporadically that I have to remember to buy food for breakfasts and lunches! But we’ll manage; the people who are coming are all dear friends and we’re looking forward to whatever they choose to do during their time here.
 
In one month – exactly – I’ll be in Toronto (and later Ottawa). And I will tell you that at long last I can fill you in on a recently-added Toronto appearance, for those who’ve been writing in some frustration that I was hitting outer areas like Oshawa or Oakville or Uxbridge, but not the city that Rob and I called home!
 
Well, as I mentioned a week or so ago, CHFI is having a contest wherein winners can join Maureen Holloway and me for an Up Close and Personal in the Rogers Theatre on the night of the book launch: February 26. There’s info on the CHFI website and soon you’ll hear ads for it as well. I’m so excited to be talking with Mo and look forward to the familiar confines of that building and its lovely intimate theatre.
 
But here’s the news: the next day, Wednesday, February 27, before I head out to Oshawa for a Chapters Indigo event that evening (and after a morning interview at CTV’s studios with my dear friend Bev Thomson) I’ll be attending a book signing at First Canadian Place in downtown TO at 12:00 noon and am dearly hoping that if you were looking for a chance for us to connect in person, this will work for you. Here’s the info:
 

 
They’re asking that you buy a book there and, of course, I’ll sign and personalize it. I’m just SO happy that Miracle Melissa (my publicist) has made this happen.
 
And so it goes: the calendar gets fuller with every passing day and in the best ways possible. I hope that as we prepare to flip the page and enter a new month in just a few days, you’re seeing 2019 unfolding in all of the ways in which you’d hoped – with maybe even a few added surprises (but only of the best kind).
 
Have a cozy weekend again, my friend, and thank you for coming by. I enjoyed the spirited discussions on FB about yesterday’s “noisy kid” journal. I love that we can share our opinions – even if they differ – in such a civil and safe space.
 
OH! And this Sunday at 9 Eastern Time, CNN is running its documentary Three Identical Strangers. I saw it in a theatre last year and will watch it again – triplets separated at birth find each other in their college years and you will never forget this story. Ever. I wrote a journal about it back in August, and you can find it here, if you’re interested. You’re going to want to set the PVR right now for this amazing film.
 
Take care.