Claire sits down with local podcast creator and host Ruth McMullen from Optimistically Depressed to chat about being a creative and mother during a pandemic and what that means for productivity, work and the real-life expectations we hold over ourselves.
May was full of events and other such to-dos… reading was enjoyed as an escape but not as much time for it as I would have liked.
Still, these are hefty books to have finished this month:
I completed this fifth installment of the Outlander series as the fifth season of Outlander on STARZ finished airing. Diana Gabaldon continues to deliver with every read. At 979 pages, this read was chock-full of the description on history, character development, everyday living and, of course, epic adventures and happenings that could only happen in a book that is all genres in one. The Fiery Cross covers the lead up to the American Revolution, how Jamie and Claire Fraser, along with their extended family, manage while also knowing what is to come. The Outlander Series continues to be an incredible example that it is possible to capture the growth of a relationship over the decades.
Having read The Handmaids Tale, it seemed fitting to see how Margaret continued the story. Jumping ahead of time, we are given multiple characters' perspectives both in and outside of Gilead.
I have always found The Handmaids Tale an intriguing take on the patriarchy, especially after hearing Margaret Atwood explain in an interview that people’s distaste for this world is in, fact, a direct reaction to the true happenings in our world. It’s easy to think this writer fluffed up a story with horrific details against women, but in fact, she researched and has only ever created the world of Gilead based on true experiences women have experienced either in the past or currently in the world. To have to be met with those truths, even in a fictional world, is jarring and helps me remember why I stand up for myself when actions towards me have gotten out of hand. It is not about creating a scene, but about continuing to create a world in which it is safe to speak up, choose and make mistakes as well as successes as women and for the future women.
To summarize, I was expecting more of a diabolical ending to The Testaments, but either way, Margaret Atwood gave us another piece of fiction to ponder over the words and actions of others and even ourselves.
Amy Grace talks to long-distance bestie, Artist and Community Events Coordinator Jasmine Alexander about how she’s adjusted and found joy in her work and life during the COVID 19 Pandemic.
April began sweetly and it was a simple little reminder of how, as a family of three, we can, and do sustain each other. Each of us has our own creative endeavours and work. Those things keep us fulfilled while the in-between moments are for holding, sharing, eating together and finding solace in the quiet.
Yet,
We are not going through an easy time.
We are grappling with more than we had anticipated for this year.
It’s a journey.
As all of life is.
Here is April,
how I felt it in little snippets….
Claire Fraser sits down with woodworker, entrepreneur, mother and homeowner Denika Coakley from DC Woodworks to talk about how she is navigating her life and business around the social distancing regulations and experience around COVID 19. We get some great insight into navigating business starting new projects and being forgiving to not only ourselves but to those around us.
Losing a grandfather who helped bolster my dreams, a global pandemic causing us to stay home, a provincial mass shooting that reached a national level, and an atmosphere change in our little home…. the layers of these events, although a warrior I believe myself to be…created a weakening in my heart. Tears have come easily and without much effort and, a new realization of what is to come has surfaced.
I am wrapping my head around this one.
Thirty-One didn’t arrive with streamers and confetti for me.
Thirty-One didn't come with a big celebration.
Thirty-One arrived with an invitation and a whisper.
Thirty-One left a challenge at my doorstep.
On the one hand, this invitation is coming clearly. I see collaborations and work developing at a new and exciting rate.
On the other hand, this invitation is a road full of fog and unknowns before me. I can hear the invitation, but I can’t see around the bend. How can I let go of what I have known for something I don’t yet know of?
And this is where the practice of releasing what I hold dear and opening myself up to what is new and the next right thing to comes into my life.
A practice that is harder than one would ever want to admit.
A practice I may have done a million times, only to struggle to do it a million and one times more.
This is thirty - one.
Amy Grace sits down with Lizane Tan, flight attendant and graphic designer of Lizane Tan to discuss how the social distancing measures have affected her work both in the air and on the ground.
Zoë has flourished over the last year.
Becoming more of herself separate from us.
I see myself in her eyes, the demonstrative affection and the willingness to drop everything and be silly for silly sake.
I see him in her thought out nature, fully engrossed ways and ability to tell people ‘how it is’ and ‘how it all works’.
More importantly, I see her.
Moved and affected by everything and everyone around her. She has taken on learning how to skate, read, write, have friendships and ultimately become more and more of herself every day.
To say we are proud of her is an understatement.
We are engrossed, overcome, blessed, challenged and inspired by her.
We delight in her.
In five more years she will be ten.
Hard to imagine the changes, the becoming, the metamorphosis that will happen between now and then and from then to beyond.
What we know for sure,
Zoë will always be a bright light as she is. All of the parts of who she is is what makes her unique. We couldn’t ask for anything else.
is that she always be free in her spirit to be fully ‘Zoë’, however that is, however that grows and changes. May her spirit remain free from the expectations and standards of this world and may she step into whatever her calling may be despite what may try to come against her in her life.
Claire Fraser sits down with Autumn Grant from Flo Meditation and Wellness to talk about how the social distancing measures have affected Autumn both personally and professionally.
It’s not just COVID-19.
It’s everything on top of it.
It’s the deaths in the family, the tragedies in shootings, the loss of life when helicopters crash and the missing of those we cannot see.
Nova Scotia, my dear province, lost 22 people in our countries largest mass shooting.
In less than 24 hours, 22 people lost their life. An unthinkable thing. A tragic thing. A no explanation but despair thing. And we are here with our tear-stained cheeks wondering how and where do we go from here? What more will happen? How will we move from this?
It got me thinking as my heart was heavy, burdened with the death, the loss, the deep well of emotion when life is unsteady and unreal.
What do we do?
How?
First, we listen, and we feel.
Feel the agony, the weight and the unsettledness.
Then, as the day moves, we move too. We make moves for peace.
Quiet, steady, one at a time, moves for peace.
For me, this meant:
Calling out toxic behaviour that surrounded our home.
Filling my ears with music that uplifts.
Watching media that welcomes peace such as Mr.Rodgers Neighbourhood
Almost daily chats with those who create order in my spirit.
Quiet activities, like walks, journaling, yoga & reading.
Praying.
Reading the Psalms.
Amy Grace sits down with Jenna Oosterholt from The Ville Caffeine Bar to talk about how the social distancing measures during the pandemic has affected Jenna both personally and professionally.
A read from March I forgot to record. Mary Poppins was a blast to read aloud as a family and was a great lead into watching the Disney classic. As a parent, you start to realize that Mary Poppin’s sensibilities were always slyly put in places the belonged the most. And usually, always about the world needing to shift and shape up and letting the children, be children.
After hearing Rebekah interviewed I quickly ordered her book. I find anyone who wants to study the rhythms of seasons, creativity and spirituality combined is someone I want to hear from. This book has not disappointed. Her approach to her faith and how she lives a more balanced life is refreshing.
The second in the Wilderness series. Dawn of a Distant Shore didn’t disappoint, although I found it a bit less engaging as the first. It’s always fun to read when characters come into my dear home and native land as Canada and even reference or come into the Halifax area. That being said, the most interesting character arc in the story for me, was the adolescent daughter. Her perspective on their journeys was always what I wanted to flip to.
We are so proud of the women we have featured over the past year and a half.
As we came to the end of the interviews we had backlogged before our provincial shut down for social distancing, we discussed how we could serve others and bring support to those we know, those we haven’t met yet, and those who follow us.
*unseen technical difficulties notwithstanding
We will announce and introduce our feature guest of the week.
We will share the exact time of the Instagram live chat
We will host the Instagram live interview / chat
We will share the live video on our feed post-interview
We will share a takeaway from the live chat
Shower the week’s feature guest with love & support!
Follow us on Instagram! <——
Join in celebrating various creative/entrepreneurial women by sharing and liking their work.
Join in on our live chats.
Share with us the various brilliant women you know and love!
For personal and professional growth with tools, I challenged myself to put together a vlog with a combination of videos from my ‘insta’ stories and newly attained Sony A77.
Although I have been around these tools for the past few years, I have not attempted to learn them or use them myself, outside of collaborations.
Past youtube videos have always been edited by my tech-loving husband.
(except, I admit… he did help me with the sound levels before I uploaded…)
I hope you enjoy my first crack at it.
IATSE 667 Camera Assistant & Freelance Director of Photography
Halley can be found giving her whole self to her union and freelance work behind the camera, while also finding ways to honour her busy and quieter seasons through various creative outlets.
Halley is passionate about working on projects that have value to the viewer and takes great care in how she prepares approaches her work both physically and mentally.
She also happens to bring a healthy reflection in what she accomplishes and communicates, allowing herself and others to shift perspective and see differently.
As I look at the songs that I have gathered for this season’s playlist, I was hit with the realization of how the COVID-19 pandemic affected my choices. I was already in the process of curating the list when COVID hit our country and my province. In knowing that, there are many songs on this list that I may not have otherwise included. The few from Mary Poppins and Into the Woods, being from musicals would have been songs I would have nixed before the list was completed or left just one. But the words in those musicals, the point they are making seemed to say something to me. About unknowns and uncomfortable places.
Standouts*
A cross between a cover of “I Can See Clearly Now” by Johnny Nash and a new song, Grace’s words in Clearly give hope in times when life is uncertain. Where can we find hope today? How can we accept what we cannot change?
I love these few songs from Billie that sit on the surface of your skin and make you listen deeper.
I have always found peace and rest in traditional hymns and songs. This was sent to me by my Dad amidst the grief of a loss in the family and the following shock of the effects of COVID.
With the adjustments and inability to hug those we care about, the words of this song hit me as we introduced it to our almost five-year-old. These lessons are invaluable.
I pull on my robe, grab my phone & headphones, turn on a podcast and listen as I let the hot water boil for my coffee or tea.
I light a candle, sit down with my warm drink, switch from podcast to music and write.
So far, during these write mornings over the past three weeks, I have edited and arranged 21 pages of a project I am passionate about & drafted up half of a short film.
Falling out of my fingers like a waterfall.
I stare at the window beside my desk and seek the light that comes brighter every minute.
I have learned that there are some moments in these sessions that I should listen to my antsy body.
One of those times, I made myself sit through the two hours with cramps distracting me.
I should have taken my laptop, tea and settled on the couch. I should not have worried about the potential of being found out by my four-year-old and just embrace what needed to happen that morning.
Another time, up at all hours with a fevered child, I told my spirit that today was not the day to wake up at 6 am and force it.
Not since the World Wars have we been encouraged to stay home, confined in our movements and asked to put the needs of others before our own. This just points out the privilege that we have been born into and daily have.
As the weeks progress, people are losing their jobs either temporarily or entirely, missing out on surrounding a loved one as they die, postponing weddings and funerals, losing the opportunity to have a doula supported birth, experiencing loneliness in a new way…
This is real.
Nothing I could ever say or suggest could minimize the weight that we have to journey. So rather than minimize, here are a few prompts of things one can do to hopefully aid in peace, groundedness and a bit of enjoyment.
Whatever you do, don't slip into a non-scheduled life. (unless it’s the weekend) For me, it's a mix of time slots I upkeep for my work & a running list of daily activities that I do before the day is out. (daily chores, workouts, lessons with the preschooler)
Kick-starting new professional goals and projects That you can work on at home can be motivating and something to boost confidence.
Taking on my daughter's pre-school activities, enjoying the Home Edit mini-challenge, Spring cleaning, and preparing for her 5th birthday are ways to keep me occupied.
Relationships require an intentional back and forth. It takes work. Being able to identify those who are invested in the back and forth and creating a routine or natural rhythm of communication during this time of social isolation can do wonders for your heart. Currently, this means 'face-timing' with a good friend every Monday night when we would have been on my couch and watching a show. Now we do it separately while still experiencing it together. 'Facetiming' grandparents, always telling my aunt when I finish a book, staying close with my cousin while we grieve our grandfather and journey this uncertain time across the country from each other.
In Nova Scotia, we have been told not to leave our communities and seek out nature, but are allowed to walk in our own neighbourhood, to limit the community spread of COVID-19. Thankfully, this means my daily walking routine is not limited and getting out for fresh air, distancing myself from neighbours that also walk that route has been an excellent time for me to separate from the emotions. Youtube and the broader internet is full of free and subscription-based workout videos of every kind. Personally, I adore Popsugar & Yoga With Adrienne.
Every meal matters. Turn on music, set the table, light candles, prepare with creativity. Eating alone or with those in your house in an atmosphere brings so much joy.
Some do this by taking photos on their phones for Instagram, others by video and others by journaling. However you document your thoughts and experiences; do it. It's a form of therapy.
“In every job that must be done,
there is an element of fun.
You find the fun and Snap!
The job’s a game.” - Mary Poppins
I didn’t realize that as we introduced our almost five-year-old to the musical Mary Poppins that the songs would become something of a little lesson to our hearts. Finding our lives restricted and altered by a death in the family and COVID-19 pandemic shutting our provinces and cities down on unprecedented levels.
There is an air of unknowns and worries. There are also many things that I am doing to further my work.
I have made a few commitments this spring to help me with the honouring of and getting a handle on specific projects I have on the go.
Getting up at six am four mornings a week and writing for two hours.
Learning how to use a Sony A77.
Learning how to use Final Cut Pro editing software.
Setting aside time for the creative muscle to be challenged differently: daily walks, ukulele and piano practice, weekly baking.
If there were an overarching intention for this new season of Spring 2020, it would be to embrace my love for creativity. To renew how I interact with it in all, it’s forms. In all it’s expressions.
“The honey bee that fetch the nectar
from the flowers to the comb
Never tire of ever buzzing to and fro
Because they take a little nip
From every flower that they sip
And hence
They find
Their task is not a grind.” - Mary Poppins
Written with a literary and sleight of hand with wit, Julie Andrews, along with her daughter, craft each chapter to give the reader a full perspective of the personal and professional aspect of Julies Hollywood years. I find in her age, Julie reminds me of how my paternal grandmother used to talk. It could be the British and proper influence with stringing sentences together, or it could be the sly snarky two cents that Julie adds for the reader to hear. (Which, my grandmother often didn't leave to question) Whether I found threads of my grandmother in this memoir or just the comforting voice of a woman whom I watched in my childhood, it was a read that was timely during a time that has been full of emotion, loss and unknowns.
Still working my way through this book, it reveals a fictional but fact-based take on the woman who became C.S.Lewis' wife. Without knowing much about C.S.Lewis' personal life, this is a surprising read.
Always ready to look at our financial wellness in a new way. Bari posses new ways to assess how your finances, be them secure or severe, can become a freeing experience.
A book packed with ideas on how to look at life differently with different exercises. In retrospect, this read was a significant lead into the COVID-19 season.
The Marvellous Mrs.Maisel S03 - For the exceptional talent and collaborative mediums in the art of storytelling
Veronica Mars S01 - For the review of an early 2000's TV show that stands the test of time. Although filmed with those kitschy drama methods, the plot and character development stand.
The Farewell - An American raised Chinese granddaughter grapples with her family's choices in dealing with her ailing grandmother.
Mary Poppins - Our March family movie, which seemed perfect for ushering in Spring.
