Something special is coming soon...

Right now: hot black coffee and a beautiful cool autumn, a teen at a sleepover and a goodie bag of homemade rocky road given to us after a dinner with friends.

It’s a dog on lap kind of morning.

And this is what I’m thinking.

We can be who we ARE right this second.

Let’s let our shoulders drop and be imperfect.

Be the one who has a hard time when she tries to change herself. The one who still criticises, or overeats, or drinks. The one who meant to start working out three months ago and has done it twice. The one who said the wrong thing and didn’t get the project finished (or even started).

It’s okay.

We are loveable right now, like we are: imperfect and trying. Human, like everyone else.

Yes, yes, we can do better, and we will keep on trying.

But for today — hugs to you right where you are.

This is where we begin.

Love, Catherine x

• Stay tuned — next Sunday, there’s something special coming for you! Yayyyyyyy!

• Thank you for joining my Facebook Group. Now I need to figure out how to throw a party in there?! Yes, I’ll still blog here twice a week—every Friday and Sunday, Sydney time. Everyone is welcome to join.

Roll Up Your Sleeves, Girls

This week, I listened to Cheryl Strayed speak with Margaret Atwood, my favourite Canadian author. (My dream came true when Margaret wrote to me about my novel, Love Lie Repeat…you can read about that here if you’re interested.)

On the podcast, Margaret explained that her mother used to say, “Roll up your sleeves, girls!”

It’s a little bit old-fashioned, but I love the sentiment. How does it strike you?

As I said a while ago, I’m a do-er during quarantine, not a pause-r. Both responses and everything in between are absolutely valid, but for me, doing really helps me feel better. So while everyone else on the Internet made sourdough, I did, too.

And actually, it’s easy.

First you make a starter, which is just equal parts flour and water exposed to the air for a few days so you catch natural yeast. You keep it on the bench top and feed it more flour and water every day until you get around one cup. That’s the minimum amount of starter you’ll need to make a loaf of bread. You can save the rest in your fridge and feed it weekly if you want to make more loaves.

The truly interesting part of the process was how complicated writers and foodies are making this whole sourdough thing sound. Search around the Internet and you’ll find complex videos and blog posts galore. A zillion of them.

But I’m a woman who had a “Roll up your sleeves, girls” mother — just like Margaret Atwood did. And I spent my whole childhood on the farm, watching her routinely take four loaves of bread out of the oven AT A TIME every Saturday morning. For me, a total beginner, baking ONE loaf of bread felt like no big deal.

So I just did it. Found a recipe, cut out the complicated parts, made a starter with flour and water, fed it for a couple of days and then made a loaf of bread.

And this is the power of example.

I watched some one do it, so I could do it, too.

It’s a really important reminder. It’s easy to see someone else doing something and think it’s too hard, rarified, only for experts, impossible for us to do. Or we can feel jealous — as if the person we’re watching has superpowers that we don’t.

But if we roll up our sleeves, we can do so much.

Figure it out.

Give it a go (or give it a shot, if you live in North America).

Baking bread, writing a book, starting a business, making a tough phone call, healing a relationship…the first steps are all the same.

Baby steps.

If someone else has done it before us, we can too.

Time to roll up your sleeves, girls. Today might be the perfect day to tackle something you’ve always wanted to start.

Sending love to you and yours on this beautiful weekend. I hope everyone is keeping well and safe…and I’m thinking of you.

Catherine x

PS.

• Want the recipe I used for sourdough? Let me know!

• And if you want to read my first novel, a YA thriller, you can find it here. My first picture book is here. Currently working on a new non-fiction book and I’m excited to share that with you :) It’s very different from my novel. Stay tuned!

Find a Secret Zone In Your Home

I am a do-er, and I’m trying everything right now. You?

We’re all different, of course, but for me, being productive and getting my mind interested in new things just works better. I feel happier, more like myself, and more able to help others.

Hello, yoga.

I tried it when I was nineteen, and spent the whole class literally tapping my fingers on the ground impatiently waiting to get out of the little room filled with flexible people.

Now I’m 53.

I’ve been meaning to try yoga for a zillion years because I’m not flexible enough. So in this time of world pandemic, where everything is going crazy and we’re all worried, I decided to carve out a little space to get started.

Have you done this yet? Re-evaluated your home looking for small zones where you can try something new?

Please try! No matter how tiny your living space, it’s exciting to look at it with fresh eyes and wonder what you can make of it.

It reminds me of two things — when you have a dream that your house has an extra room, and you get to explore it. Remember how amazing this is?

It also reminds me of a favourite picture book I found when I was a girl. It was first published in 1967 and reprinted in 1993. Evan’s Corner is about a little boy in New York City, youngest of six like me, who lived in an apartment. (I lived in a big old farmhouse on a sprawling Canadian wheat farm.) Evan didn’t have his own space, so his Mum let him have a corner of the apartment. And in his corner, he made a beautiful creative ‘room’. He taped pictures to the wall, found a milk crate, a tiny rug, a stack of books, and a pet turtle. As a kid, I admired his spirit and ingenuity.

As an adult in “shelter at home” mode, I’ve found these zones:

• Pulled a chair and footstool into a sunny corner, opened the blinds, and created a ‘reading nook’

• Parked the car outside the garage to have ‘a gym’

• Enjoyed a facial in my ‘spa’ — a freshly cleaned bathroom, with a newly laundered set of towels

And yesterday, I shifted over my son’s cello and found a mat-sized space on the floor that I now call My Yoga Studio. My family finds it hilarious every time I say My Yoga Studio and walk to the side of a room, but I feel WAY more motivated when I create a space for myself and talk about it.

A mat, a candle, a laptop. Free classes online at YouTube.

Really, we are so lucky.

While we worry about the world, we can also learn and grow.

What are you doing during this time? Let me know — inspire me!

Love Catherine x

PS. If you, like me, are trying to find ways to help, this mask effort is amazing. It was spearheaded by four people who are getting masks from a Mexican factory FedExed to New York City, minus any red tape or delays. Learn more here.

How Are You Today?

Wondering about you…

And sending love from Sydney.

Today I have simple plans and simple pleasures: a family dinner, a zoom call with girlfriends, coffee in the sun on the patio. I’ll probably make a special dessert.

A little writing. A little worry.

I’m thinking of everyone who is reading this today — about job interruption and finances, about close quarters and strained relationships, about kids and stress and fear. But I’m also trying to remember the other side of this hard time: we are all here now, everyone in the world, together.

We will find out together how this turns out.

If you have any extra time, tell me how you’re doing today. Cheer me up :) I’m thinking of you.

Love Catherine x

PS.

If you don’t already know her, consider following Morgan Harper Nichols on Instagram. Her work is lovely. You can find her here.

An Antidote to Worry

Hello — dropping in to see how everyone is today.

Doing okay? Worried? A mix of both? (I don’t know about you, but I don’t normally scrub my beans in hot water and soap. Except now I do. Welcome to the new normal…)

During this time of physical distancing, when we’re all taking extra care to keep each other healthy, it’s easy to worry.

A dear American friend and coach, Victoria, mentioned something on Instagram that I loved. When we have a worry thought, Vic said, we should test it.

The word that got me is “actionable”.

So much of the time, my worry is me rocking faster in a rocking chair — going nowhere. Got the visual?? My mind just zooms off into the worry without asking, what is actionable? What can I do?

If the worry thought is none of these things — actionable, useful, accurate — we need to drop it.

When the worry is real, we need to make a decision, figure out one tiny step forward and act. I’m going to take Vic’s advice and give it a try. I need to remember the Worry Test.

Love Catherine x

PS.

• Want some coaching from Victoria? You can find her here! Thank you for being a bright light in the world, Vic!

• Want some of my surplus mum-love, now that my teens are tired of it and just want to do school work and watch YouTube videos in peace? Ha! Send me an email if you need encouragement during this tough time. I’m here, girlfriend.

Outside or In?

It’s Sunday, and in Australia we’re still able to be outside and move around (responsibly). How are you?

None of us could have imagined where we are now, worldwide, and I’m encouraged to see all the love and help floating around the internet.

People are offering their talents and keeping us entertained.

People are giving and sharing.

Yesterday, I gave away clean new moving boxes stored in our garage, and also a copy of my novel.

Today, I’ll quickly share two things I’ve done online and loved. Free classes:

1. Tap Dancing for beginners — with @sourtaps (Sarah Reich)

2. Brioche and bread making — with @zoebakes (Zoe Francois)

Whether you’re outside or in, take care and share.

We’re in this together.

Love, Catherine x

Something Pretty

Welcome to my neighbourhood in the evening.

Gum trees.

Sunset.

Fruit bats.

My husband and I love to do our garage workout and take a six kilometre walk in the evening. It’s not as productive as running, but it’s slow and pretty and a great way to catch up on each other’s day.

It’s the little things.

During these wild times — when there is so much advice and fear floating around — I wanted to drop into your inbox with something pretty.

So for you, today, an Australian sunset, and the wise words of Julian of Norwich (1342-1416). This poster is available on Etsy for $3, and now’s a perfect time to support small business! You can download and print immediately. The sellers are South Pacific Prints and they seem like a lovely young couple.

I hope you and yours are okay.

Love Catherine x

10 Ways To Get Unstuck

If you’re curious to read more, I’m guessing you’ve been stuck yourself. You know the feeling, right? It’s an ugly cocktail of confusion / doubt / worry with a big dash of lack of motivation.

For the past couple of months, this was my reality — and I needed to get through to the other side. And I have, just recently.

So if you’re also stuck, these tips might help.

1. Get dressed up. Putting on something that makes you look and feel good always helps. Always. My first boss told me this: the worse I feel, the better I need to dress. It’s actually good advice. So if you’ve recently gained a little weight (hello, this always happens when I’m stuck!), find something to put on that still feels good and looks good. You may not even realise you haven’t dressed your best for a while.

2. Figure out what you need to feel more like yourself. For me, this includes drinking LOTS more water, going for walks and getting to bed earlier. It also includes smelling lovely when I get into bed, so that means a nice shower or bath and favourite pjs.

3. Get an objective opinion from someone you trust. If you’re currently beating yourself up about being stuck, and hating all the confusion about where to go next, tell a person you trust. Admit that you need some wisdom. People are so smart! And generally everyone loves to provide advice.

4. Remind yourself you’re doing the best you can. Wow, we can be so hard on ourselves.

5. Start something new. Anything! Drop the heavy thing you’re worried about for today, and do something fun. But make sure it’s actually fun for you. You’d be surprised how many times we think we’re doing something fun, but it’s not really our type of fun. Example: I don’t love to travel. But travel is fun, right?? Except honestly, it’s not fun for me. Buying new books is my kind of fun.

6. Zig where you used to zag. If you get up early, try sleeping in a little. If you run, try doing a massive walk instead. Get a coffee from a different cafe. Listen to country instead of pop, or jazz instead of classical. Drive a different route.

7. Be productive in another way. If you’re stuck about a relationship decision or with your career, clean your kitchen drawers. Weed out your closet. Get your hair trimmed. Clean the barbecue.

8. Ask five whys. Ask yourself why you’re stuck. Then continue with “And why is that?” Do it five times to drill down and get to the heart of what’s happening.

9. Admit you’re afraid. Being stuck is always about fear. So announce that you’re afraid and tell yourself that you’ll try your best to be brave.

10. Practice being hopeful. Oh, this is big. Sometimes when I’m stuck, though I know I should be grateful, I really want to whack the person who reminds me to count my blessings. So I try to practice being hopeful instead. Ask yourself this important question:

And there you have it. My top ten ways to get unstuck.

Sending heaps of good vibes from sunny Australia!

Love Catherine x

PS. New people — you’re so welcome here! Thanks for signing up. I blog twice a week as I’m learning to love my age. If you have any ideas you’d like to share, email me!

Be Fun To Live With

Well, here’s a big question for us all.

Ready?

It’s confronting.

We lose sight of this so easily. Every single day, we have the choice to approach our worlds with joy, and often we’re lost in our worries.

This week, heading out to wine and cheese on a friend’s deck overlooking the Aussie bush at dusk, it would have been just as easy NOT to be fun. Instead, another friend suggested we wear our pink wigs to the door.

Such a tiny thing, and it brought so much laughter.

It makes me wonder this: why do we default into little lives? Why — when it takes hardly any planning, and very little money and almost no extra effort — do we forget to be FUN?

It’s almost as if we’ve forgotten that fun is an option. But there it is, waiting for us to get creative.

Fun transforms us into better versions of ourselves. Oh, yes, there will be teens rolling their eyes and maybe grumbling, but it’s a risk worth taking.

Being fun is not just ‘having fun.’ There’s a difference.

It’s Friday in Australia. The weekend is calling to us all. Can we be more fun to live with today?

Let’s live in joy…and love our age.

Catherine x

PS. Celebrities, pole dancing, comparison, being fifty, authenticity, building businesses and more — I had a fun conversation with Merilyn on her podcast, Lead Your Day. You can listen here!

Add In (Don't Take Away)

Every morning this summer, I’ve picked a few fresh raspberries from my garden.

In Australia, this is a big deal because raspberries are so expensive and people don’t really plant raspberries in suburban gardens.

This tiny ritual reminds me of my Canadian childhood on the farm, and the endless row of raspberries that my mum, my three sisters and I would pick in the summer.

Talking, two sisters per side picking slowly up the row, wearing long sleeved men’s shirts to save our arms from scratches, and the pails tied into the shirttails around our waists…that was being a sister. I learned a lot about life in the raspberry patch.

When my sister visited Sydney last year, as a surprise for me she bought and planted two raspberry canes in my garden. It was a perfect spot for them, and I was shocked: I’d overlooked even the possibility that raspberries could grow here, or that I could have them.

She added in raspberries to my life.

She added in a little unexpected gardening, too — and I was a person who always said she did not want to garden. But honestly, I’ve enjoyed it.

Adding in can be so good for us.

We’re often consumed with the idea of taking away: getting rid of bad habits, stopping the chocolate, denying ourselves.

Today, is there something you can add in to your world?

Something that gives you unexpected pleasure?

Something that isn’t too much work, but is filled with beautiful memories?

Take a moment to think. You deserve these little bursts of happiness.

I hope you find something special that you can add in.

Love Catherine x

PS. Welcome this week to everyone whose joined us lately! Want to have a look around my new website, Love Our Age?

Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid's Tale and Me

Imagine a 24 year old Catherine in an emerald green dress.

It was the 90s and I was young, and I was in a competition to win a job teaching English at a beautiful private high school on Vancouver Island in Canada. Six other teachers applied, and we were asked to teach a sample lesson to a year 12 class with members from the English Department judging our performance from the back of the room.

I taught an excerpt from Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale.

Out of seven of us, I got the job.

Then glance back, ten years earlier, in Saskatchewan: Catherine at 14. Long brown hair, sitting by myself in a tiny country school library, figuring out love. I’d found a book of poetry, with one line that read:

“You fit into me
like a hook into an eye
a fish hook
an open eye”

— Margaret Atwood

And for some reason, my heart connected with Margaret Atwood’s words. Over the years I’ve read every book Atwood has written. I’ve taught her poems.

We share a publisher — Penguin Books. I wrote my own novel inspired by my favourite Atwood poem, “Siren Song.”

Last week, I listened to her speak in Sydney, my home for the past 23 years. The week before that, on a rainy Tuesday, I found a letter from her in my mailbox, soaking wet, encouraging me in my writing career.

I dried it carefully and framed it on my study wall.

I’m writing all of this to say we have no idea what will become of us.

If I could tell that 14 year old girl in the country school that I would be Australian, she wouldn’t have believed me. Or an author? She would have wanted that, but probably not had any idea how she would do such a thing.

But let’s get to the interesting part: you.

What wonderful thing don’t you know about your own future?

Though my worried mind often turns otherwise, I like to ask myself this:

To you, to me.

What is the best thing?

The best is possible. Life brings us unbelievable gifts, and pain, and lessons…and joy. If we’re lucky, we even fulfil a dream or two.

I like to believe the best is yet to come. I hope you do, too.

Let’s love our age,

Catherine x

The Little List of Control

This week, I read something so very true…and I wanted to share. Because sometimes I forget what I control and what I don’t.

Maybe this list will resonate with you.

That second last one gets me every time: “whether or not you try again after the setback.”

I needed the reminder. Maybe you do, too.

Trying again is 100% do-able.

It’s always an option: for me, for you.

Enjoy your weekend,

Love Catherine x

ps. If you want to follow along with the Instagram account above, you will find @thechalkboardmag here.

Get Into Your Comfort Zone

This past week, we stayed in Fairlight — a gorgeous suburb of Sydney — and we enjoyed this view from the loft master bedroom.

Lucky, right?

And yet, everything felt a bit off. It was tricky to get our son to high school, the kitchen wasn’t great so we ordered pizza, then Thai and made way too many sandwiches. The internet was spotty and it was tough getting to work in the city.

I tried to relax and enjoy the time away while our timber floors were being sanded but truly, I just longed for home.

And I had to laugh at myself — because I am always jumping up and down and encouraging everyone to step OUT of their comfort zones! I tell this to myself all the time.

All the magic happens outside our comfort zones! That’s where we grow and learn. And we feel happier when we’re growing, even if it’s challenging.

But…I was unproductive.

So here’s the funny thing:

As much as my brain loves new things — and as happy as I am when I’m learning — sometimes our comfort zones are fantastic.

We can be productive, feel safe, and get things done.

So today — take a little time to think about where you’re at. Do you need more comfort? Or are you ready to grow?

For me right now it’s comfort. I’ll be at home in my trackies, drinking coffee, writing tons, watching the rain.

I am so grateful.

Enjoy your Sunday!

Love Catherine x

I Learned This From Hockey...

As a kid, I watched my older brother play — and to be honest, I wasn’t much interested in the game. But recently I read an old quote of Wayne Gretsky’s, and it applies to everything we’re trying that’s new.

What is it about new things that brings out our fears?

Not good enough, or talented enough. Not experienced enough. Don’t have the skills and don’t know how to do it. It’s probably not worth it in the long run. I don’t want to look stupid…

And then I saw Wayne’s old quote.

There’s no quicker route to failure than failing to try.

What’s my mantra now?

Make honest things (not perfect things).

Try.

Because what if it’s fun? And what if you make something wonderful?

Let’s love our age,

Catherine x

Image source — hockey legend, Wayne Gretsky

You Are Not The Problem

Today, join me in a small shift in thinking.

So simple.

There is a problem. Yes?

You may have contributed. You may have even started it. The responsibility may be yours.

Regardless — this is true:

We get this mixed up all the time.

The person becomes the problem.

It’s not true.

The problem is the problem — and it’s best to start there.

You are an imperfect, loveable human — like everyone else. Most of the time, most of us are doing the best we can. So enjoy this day for everything it has to offer.

Separate people from problems.

Let’s love our age and live beautifully.

Catherine x