Diaries

I started keeping a written diary about fifteen years ago, at the age of forty.  I was fanciful enough to address the first entries to a non-existent girl in her early teens called Dinah! (After seeing Gangs of New York, I wrote: "I know how much you love Leo Di Caprio, but I can understand your parents not letting you see it.") But before long it turned into a conventional diary.

Then five years ago I decided to switch to a daily blog.  For several months I actually managed to come up with something new almost every day! (I repeated myself a bit.) I slowed down around the time of my mother's death, but these days I write three entries almost every week.  This was also around the time when I joined this memoir group, and started a second blog from the pieces I write there.

Writing an interesting blog is an art.  I like to start with a quote from a book I'm currently reading. (Just now it's Jack Kerouac's On the Road.) I occasionally post an image, but that's a harder habit to get into.

About ten years ago we subscribed to The National Post. Every day they'd print a day from Samuel Pepys' diary.  One day at a time is the best way to read it!