January 1, 2026

Nine years ago, on New Year’s Eve 2016/17, I started to write for myself. I was alone, which wasn’t something odd, because my soon-to-be ex-husband was frequently away on holidays. And birthdays. And regular days too. It was the nature of his work, and I readily accepted that. So that year didn’t feel too different, except to say I felt as though I was on sitting on the edge of something new.

And maybe it was the fact that it was an emotionally charged and challenging time, but I wrote for me, every single day for three months straight—a real feat, considering that, even though I make my living as a writer, I’ve never kept a journal for myself.  I was always a teller of the stories of others (and still am, sometimes). By the time I got to the end of March, I was sitting on about 150 pages of stories about me–some funny, some not-so-good, some mundane, some insane, and all from the heart. Each day I would read the previous days’ entry to my best friend, who laughed and cried and commiserated along with me; I guess it was a form of long-distance therapy  (she was in California to my Calgary—close enough in time zones for our long phone chats but still a world away). It was my story, my secrets, my thoughts as they came and went…it was real.   

She told me then that early draft should become a book, or at least a component of one. I’m not so sure, It’s deeply personal and I don’t know whether it’s compelling enough, or what form it might take: should it be fictionalized with hidden personal realities; should it be memoir (would anyone actually read that?); should it be made funnier, or more dramatic? I didn’t know then, and I still don’t know, so the “manuscript” sits in one of those yellow inter-office envelopes (remember those? Are they still a thing?) in a file drawer tucked away, with her name on it. I’ve only read it through once since then, before hiding it away.

All I know is that, had things not happened the way they did back at the end of 2016, I wouldn’t be where I am now.

I think about that a lot—timing, yes, and that every choice we make in life takes us to where we end up, where we are right now. Sure, sometimes those choices are driven by the actions of others, and no doubt some bad choices are made in there along the way—and some excellent ones too…whatever–they get us to today.

In the summer of 2017, free from relationships and a big, empty house, I rented a place to transition (and let the cash from the house come in). Honestly, I took what I could get, with a 17-year-old cat in tow and a household of furniture in storage. I ended up in the area where I first began to live in Calgary, too many years ago to count. And the need to write came back again. I got an idea for a blog, 17x17x17, which was intended to be a food blog, but after just a couple of evenings out morphed into stories of reconnection and renewal, with friends new and long-time, and was just so much fun, and exactly what I needed. Oh, and yes, there was a lot of good food along the way.  

The blog still exists, although sadly, many of the restaurants don’t. Every now and then I get an alert that someone has clicked on a couple of the stories, and as of this post, it’s been visited just over 15 thousand times. (If you decide to have a peek, start with the first entry, The Quest Begins, as it sets the tone and intention, and then go wherever you like)

I learned from it. I think people liked it because:

• It was finite—it started on the first day of Summer 2017 and ended on Labour Day
• It was focused (once it got there, which only took a couple of days)
• The reads were short (not like this entry)
• It was free (important to me, and to those reading it too, I assume)
• It was personal enough to be real

After that, I took some time to get settled into my new surroundings and my new routine, which involved my new home, a new job, and continued reconnection with the people in my life; you see, the sometimes solitary life I led in a partnership that involved a lot of away time created a space of personal independence, and I learned that my network outside of marriage was huge, strong, rich, and full.

After a couple of months, I got back to it with North of 50, a new blog where I posted weekly, again about whatever was in my brain at the time, from the mundane to the ridiculous, memories and current day stuff—whatever came to mind. Did this every week for a year and still add entries to it now and then, when the writing bug kicks in. (Or if I misplace my pants.)

Why North of 50? Two immediate reasons: first, yes, the name is a nod to chronology. I wanted to establish that the writings were coming from a…more mature demographic. But it’s not necessarily just stories about or for people of (or over) a certain age; I just wanted to tacitly let readers know where I am in life. Then, it’s about where I live. Those of us in North America know that the Canada-US border runs, for a very large chunk of it, along the 49^th parallel. And I’ve lived on the north side of that line for most of my life (although I spent all my formative years on the south side of the border). And since I was already thinking about North of 50, and North of 49 was probably already taken, it made sense. Someone threw in a third thought on the name: that there are 50 states in the US (and yes, I’ve visited them all—that was a personal goal to hit before age 50), so sure, that too.  

Again, I enjoyed it. I can only remember a couple of times when it felt like work to crank out an essay. And sure, as is my style, there are often typos or errors and the occasional grammatical slip—I’m constantly going in and finding little things to adjust. And up until now, when a new story popped into my head, that’s where it lived (and still does), and that will probably continue.

Last thing I did was during the pandemic. I started a FB page called Couch Surfing the World. Each day for two months, I posted about a location I’d either been to or wanted to visit, and asked people to share thoughts and photos about the destination. Much to my surprise (although I don’t know why, as we were all pretty bored), lots of people contributed photos of their visits to these places. It was fun and easy, but then something bad happened, I don’t remember what (but it was either global or at least US-focused), and I lost my enthusiasm for the project. Never did another post, although the page is still there and I have kept the stories and hope to reuse some of them soon (see right below).

I’ve been thinking about what to do next. Thinking a lot, especially as I roll into self-imposed semi-retirement (which  I highly recommend). Those of you who know me know that I have been travelling extensively; in fact, my next essay will be about “how I spent my summer vacation”—five months in Europe and the UK. Being away that long and being in some places for more than a week or even two, taught me some very surprising things about the world, and about myself.

I’ve always been a traveller and even though I thought I knew what solo travel was, this past summer changed my perspective on that, and made me realize that we (at least I) can’t really identify ourselves through one travel style—preferences, sure, but there are so many options that if we decide to pigeon-hole ourselves and identify as one type of traveller with one travel style, we might miss out on something spectacular and life-changing.

So, here’s what I’m planning to do:

I’m going to refresh the N50 page, (hopefully) post every two weeks or so, focus on travel, and add three new features to it:

• Places—each new entry will focus on a country, or region, or common roundup of a travel experience (e.g., rural Italy vs Italy’s cities—that’s February, I’m pretty sure)
• Practicalities—what to pack, how to pack, what to do when your toenail falls off in Wales (just wait, it’s a story), how to be a nomad, etc.
• Products—from suitcases to insurance to phone plans, best items for travel

All these entries will involve you, as the readers. I’ll set the story up, but I want you to share your photos and tips about places (yes! Someone does want to see your travel photos!), about things that have happened to you while travelling and how you resolved them, secret restaurants and off-the-beaten path experiences, tips and tricks and items you swear by that you can’t travel without. If anyone asks me to promote an item, I will make sure you know that it is a sponsored product—and I will always be honest about what I think of it.

The old N50 entries will still be there too, just in another place. If my little AI bot friend and I can build the page accordingly. Speaking of that, this is an AI free zone-it’s me, writing, unless I tell you otherwise.

Oh, and I plan to add another 50 to the N50: I plan to cross the “50+ countries visited” line soon….perhaps we’ll have a discussion about what “visited” means…I have my ideas and I’m sure you have yours.

All this to say, Happy New Year! Here’s to 2026. I needed to get this done today so I can’t back out. Start digging up your photos now (or at least thinking about where they might be). Please consider subscribing--it’s two messages a month. Hoping to launch on/about January 15, probably with just an intro—maybe a surprise locale. We shall see!