The Good Old Days

On September 13, 2026 By janlcoates8 Comments

The Good Old Days

Paddling into dense early morning fog – me, my kid and his.

Two loon warblers, fishing as the sun rises. There one minute, gone the next.

Chippy competing with the bluejays for piles of birdseed.

Splish-splashing in the mud kitchen – experimenting for hours. Scientists in the making. Or maybe chefs?

Soccer, pickleball, bocce, and biking.

Music, singing and dancing.

Stories, in French and English; scarecrows, Monarchs and little girl mechanics.

The littlest one pushing the ice cream bus; second littlest sharing her baby doll and bottles.

Purple cake frosted by small hands – a work of art!

My ten people around the same table, beer-marinated chicken and fresh corn.

Old dog sleeping.

S’mores by a blazing campfire.

Tent magically lit by fairy lights.

Nana’s heart overflowing.

Wishing these moments in time could last forever.

Home?

On June 10, 2019 By janlcoates12 Comments

I’ve been thinking about the idea of “home” lately, possibly because my short story, “You Get a Line” is included in the recently-published anthology, My Nova Scotia Home. Many of the pieces are non-fiction, but mine is pure fiction. It’s an interesting collection, and each Nova Scotia writer has a unique take on what home means to them.

As always, Pooh is right, and I’m the kind of person who, in a few days or even hours, can be comfy in a lot of different places. Here are some of the places I’ve felt at home in recent years:

Doris McCarthy’s kitchen at Fool’s Paradise, Scarborough Bluffs

Sea Breeze Cottage, Saint Simons Island, GA

Home means different things to different people, I suppose. For me, it’s not the house, it’s not the surroundings or landscape, beautiful as they may be. It’s not the stuff I’ve collected over the years, as nice as all those things are, and finding second-hand treasure is so much fun! Of course, I’m grateful for all of this, and try not to take any of it for granted.

But, for me, home is the people, these people. Wherever they are, that’s home for me.

FAMILY PHOTOS – BEST-BEFORE DATES?

On February 29, 2016March 1, 2016 By janlcoates8 Comments

So I spent most of Sunday going through old family photos, and I do mean old. My grandmother as a girl in the early 1900s, my parents as children in the 1930s/40s, and of course, my own sweet self as a toddler in the early 60s. nance and me I’m happy to say I was ruthless in choosing what to keep, what to chuck, but I still came close to filling a 300-picture album! That’s my dad and his dad, Gramps Mingo, in the header (our two dogs are also in the picture but cropped out by WordPress).

So many of the ones I kept have meaning only for me; my kids barely knew any of their great grandparents, and my parents died when my kids were still pretty young. But it was a cozy way to spend a spring-like February afternoon. I love seeing the adults from my childhood as kids, and looking at the pictures reminds me that I’ve always been loved – lucky me!

One thing I like about old pictures is seeing the familiar (but fading from memory) places I spent time/lived as a kid – things like the (now retro) kitchen curtains, furniture we had forever, backyards, swing-sets, animals, dolls, etc., including Polly, the beloved “chocolate” baby I requested the Christmas I was two (my dad wrote the letter to Santa for me, and it was included (and saved) in today’s treasure trove/purge).

Last Christmas, we scanned a couple of hundred pictures of our kids and put them on USBs for each of them, although, of course, we kept all the actual photos, too. I have a big closet shelf heaped with photographs, some in albums, lots in boxes, envelopes, all randomly organized. They’re precious to me, but I suppose they must have an expiry date – I’m hopeful a few might make their way into the hands of future generations (if my kids decide to have kids, that is).