A few weeks ago, I bought a small bunch of purple tulips from the grocery store. I do not buy myself flowers often, and I am very frugal when it comes to non-essential purchases, however this little bouquet was only five dollars. I set this tiny bit of Spring on my kitchen table. Today as I was cleaning the kitchen, I grabbed the withered flowers and set to toss them in the organics bin, but I was struck by how beautiful they were even in their broken-down condition.

Close your eyes and listen to these sounds of the world, first heard on January 31, 2022 6:02 AM at 9°39'32.0"N 85°04'17.4"W near the Three Monkeys Hotel, Montezuma, Costa Rica.

It is a bitter and blustery night in November 2020. The Boy and I are sitting in an Uber outside a cargo building at the Toronto International Airport. Shortly before midnight, we are waved up to the cargo doors and I am handed a shivering ball of fur. When I adopted Ozzie from the Dominican Republic, online, I had no idea he was this small and waif like. The first thought I have is that this is an unkempt rat they have handed me; but no, this is indeed my new dog.

Photo by Isabella and Zsa Fischer on Unsplash

This blog is one year old today.

I started Just J thinking it would be a good way to pass the time. It would be a place to share some of my experiences and some things I have learned (and am still learning) with the world. And, to be honest, I hoped to build a website that would make some money. I was out of work due to COVID, and this seemed like a good alternative to finding a new job.