One two, one two. I’m starting there today. One year ago, I decided to dive into the micro-blog-sphere. I launched a-few-words.ca in celebration of my first year back in Montréal. Two years ago, I got the keys to the place in Montréal that I call home (which I describe to friends and family as “a modest place, because I am a woman of modest means”). I am good with that, modesty is a fine thing, I think. My micro-blogging has been a modest way to say a few words about a few things.
Another number: 50. This is my fiftieth post since I started the blog last year. By design, each post is around a two-minute read (gotta keep it tight, y’all are busy). Of necessity, though, far more than two minutes are needed to write each post (the one that took the longest was on the 2023 wildfires across Canada, because it took ages to find a reliable source to help paint a picture of 4.4 million hectares of land on fire).
So, today I’ll do a quick roundup of a few posts among those 50 that people have commented on, that have meant the most to me, or that are just a bit of fun (starting from earliest to most recent):
When dinner out is like being at a dinner party — Shout-out to Salle Climatisée. My first time there was for my one-year anniversary in/with Montréal. It immediately became and remains one of my favourite places.
Dance, dance, otherwise we are lost — On a film about the work of the late Pina Bausch. The trailer speaks true, the film is so many things: dance, theatre, life, love, freedom, struggle, longing, joy, despair, reunion, beauty and strength.
A somewhat unconventional mother’s day post — This one speaks for itself, that’s all I’ll say.
The places that make you — An ode to the places where we live and what those places give to us.
My small press love letter — Although some love never dies, I also agree with F. Scott Fitzgerald that, “There are all kinds of love in this world, but never the same love twice.”
Why is this person in ‘beetlejuice’ tights talking to me? — On the strength of friendship, on seeing and hearing and finding the people who become, amazingly, such a beautiful part of the lives we live.
All the birthdays, all the days — This blog post … is for you … for today, the yesterdays and the tomorrows.
Icebergs and what auto-ethnography taught me — A few thoughts on when the iceberg that is you encounters the iceberg that is someone else.
So … after one year, that’s a quick look back at a bit of my micro-blogging past. As for future posts, in keeping with the spirit of the blog as it was conceived, there are certainly more people and places, art and music, ideas and events, found in Montréal and beyond, that are worth sharing.
The pace of one per week that I have kept up for most of the past year, though? I’ll be slowing down that tempo … but when I do have a few words for the micro-blog-sphere, you know where to find me (you can subscribe, below, to receive an email notification when I publish a new post, which will likely be no more than twice per month, going forward).
And, to end on the one two, one two — One: from the outset, I’ve blocked advertising from appearing on a-few-words.ca, which will remain an ad-free zone. Two: in terms of privacy, the only info I see about subscribers is their email address (which I do not share in any way) and for visitors to my site, all I see is the country of their IP address. All to say, if you think one of my posts is worth sharing, pass it on.
À la prochaine …
a few words ... from Montréal 