Nico Mara-McKay » Personal

Mysterious Postcard

Nico — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 18:19:31 +0000

I love getting mail.

When I visit my postbox each week I come home with strange volumes various publishers have sent in for review, announcements for rare manuscripts about to be published, and the occasional thank you letter from an author for a review they particularly liked.

I even love getting the mail at home, though most of what I get tends to be junk mail and bills, sometimes I get a rejection letter or two. Acceptance letters make my heart race. Cheques are my favourite.

I still get mail for the family who used to live here five and half years ago. Often from the same organizations whom I dutifully mark “return to sender”. That’s kind of annoying, but on a slow mail day, I’ll take what I can get.

Recently I found a postcard signed by…well, my best guess is DDM? I don’t think I know anyone with those initials. The stamp is American, which should offer a clue, yet I’m still at a loss. The postcard was sent to my home address, and I only use that with friends and family, so I doubt it could be from an author I’m not close with, yet I can’t think who it might be.

It’s addressed to me, and thanks me for my support with three enthusiastic exclamation points. Support for what? I have no idea.

Thanks for the lovely postcard, DDM, whoever you are, and you’re most welcome for whatever I’ve done that’s worth thanking.

The postcard is now affixed to my fridge with a Merlyn-shaped clip. I’ve friends coming over on the weekend. We’ll see if this mystery can be solved yet.

Mysterious Postcard

No related posts.

Pictures from Run for the Cure 2011

Nico — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 14:00:26 +0000

The 2011 Run for the Cure Starting Line

Thanks to everyone who donated or otherwise supported this year’s Run for the Cure. With your help, raised more than my goal of $500 dollars for the cause. Your support means a lot to me and to the thousands of women and men who are diagnosed with breast cancer each year.

Though I’ve been doing the run for a number of years, this is the second year my sister ran with me, and she’s pictured below as well.

My little sister and I, ready to run

The back of my sister's shirt, who we're running for

Thanks again!

Pictures from Run for the Cure 2011

Related Posts:

Running for the Cure in 2011

CIBC’s Run for the Cure 2009

CIBC’s Run for the Cure 2010

Wedding Anniversary 2009

Hey Jude: Day 1

Running for the Cure in 2011

Nico — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 18:00:27 +0000

The photo above was taken yesterday on the promenade in Blackpool during our run. I’m using the time to train for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation CIBC Run for the Cure.

Each year I participate in the CIBC Run for the Cure to raise money for breast cancer research and prevention. It’s important to me for personal reasons. My paternal Grandmother died of cancer in 2001. She was the most amazing woman and it was heartbreaking to watch.

My maternal Grandmother was diagnosed with breast cancer a couple of years ago, and underwent treatment that would not have been possible without fundraisers like this raising money for breast cancer research. It sounds cheesy, but it’s true: with your help we can make a difference.

This year’s run takes place on Sunday, October 2nd, 2011. I’d like to raise $500 – a modest amount, but right now I’m far short of my goal. If you can, please donate. Every little bit helps.

Thanks for your support!

© 2008-2011 Nico Mara-McKay
For the original source of the content please see nicomaramckay.com.

Running for the Cure in 2011

Related Posts:

CIBC’s Run for the Cure 2010

CIBC’s Run for the Cure 2009

Pictures from Run for the Cure 2011

Recursive Lydias

Nico — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 22:22:09 +0000

On Twitter I’d mentioned that my kitten was making it difficult to write as her little head was resting on my laptop. In the tradition of the Internet, I received a response to the effect of “pics or it didn’t happen”.

It happened:

And by “write” I mean post pictures of my cat on G+. Serious business.

© 2008-2011 Nico Mara-McKay
For the original source of the content please see nicomaramckay.com.

Recursive Lydias

Related Posts:

I quit!

Working from home with a kitten

Nico — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 19:21:50 +0000

Lydia with mousie

Pictured left is my kitten, Lydia, patiently waiting for me to throw her mousie for the kazillionth time. And by patiently, I mean she will wait a few seconds before resulting to the tactics outlined by The Oatmeal in Cat vs Internet. He gets it. Perfectly.

Cats will try anything – anything – to get your attention. (Lydia looks adorable in her Batcat costume, though it’s still a bit big for her.)

A few days after we got her she began to teach us fetch. At first we thought it was a fluke, but Lydia’s kept it up – accompanied with death defying acrobatics.⁽¹⁾

Here’s a minute and a half of Lyd playing fetch. This is take 2342903849 so she’s a bit sleepy by the end.

Lydia is nine months old as of today, and I love her to bits, but when I want to get any work done I must close the door, or risk attack for not paying enough attention. My furniture suffers for it, but there’s art in suffering, so I win out in the end, right?

Back to work.

© 2008-2011 Nico Mara-McKay
For the original source of the content please see nicomaramckay.com.

Working from home with a kitten

Footnotes:

So engrossed in her mousie, she often leaps without looking first if there’s a place to land. It’s a good thing kittens are made of rubber.
Related Posts:

Writing with Cats: Episode One

Introducing Lydia

Jude Goes Home: Day 8

Recursive Lydias

CIBC’s Run for the Cure 2010

Nico — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 19:26:51 +0000

Each year I participate in CIBC’s Run for the Cure to raise money for breast cancer research and prevention. It’s an important charity to me, my paternal Grandmother died of cancer in 2001. She was the most amazing woman and it was heartbreaking to watch.

My maternal Grandmother was recently diagnosed with breast cancer, and is now undergoing treatment that would not have been possible without fundraisers like this raising money for breast cancer research. With your help we can make a difference.

For those who have never attended a run, the runners in pink shirts are breast cancer survivors, those in red are lead sponsor CIBC’s employees, and average Janes and Joes run in white. Most sport various accoutrements in pink hats, wigs, scarves, tutus, leg warmers, temporary tattoos anything and everything you can think of is somewhere represented. It’s the only day of the year I wear pink. Click for a few pictures from last year’s Run.

The Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation CIBC Run for the Cure is Canada’s largest single day, volunteer-led fundraising event dedicated to raising funds for breast cancer research, and education awareness programs.

This year’s run takes place on Sunday, October 3rd, 2010, and I am less than halfway to my goal of raising $200, and I would really appreciate your support.

Thanks for your help.

© 2008-2011 Nico Mara-McKay
For the original source of the content please see nicomaramckay.com.

CIBC’s Run for the Cure 2010

Related Posts:

Running for the Cure in 2011

CIBC’s Run for the Cure 2009

Pictures from Run for the Cure 2011

Introducing Lydia

Nico — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 19:32:53 +0000

Lydia exploding from her carrier at the shelter

On Wednesday my husband and I visited a shelter run by Toronto Animal Services to look at the kittens available for adoption.

The closest, the South Region centre, was difficult to reach due to blockades set up for the Indy races which were happening that weekend. After circling the centre for close to half an hour, we approached some service people who let us walk across the track, dodging giant beer trucks, trucks with construction and other dubious materials.

We eventually made it of course.

We’d checked online to see what was available, and to me this little kitten looked like the cutest thing ever, and in person she turned out to be even sweeter, climbing on my shoulder, nuzzling and licking my ear. How could I not fall in love?

Mouse hunt success

I decided to name her Lydia, as it’s a name I’ve always loved. It seems to suit her.

She was extremely sleepy when we took her home, and not very well the first night.

I took her to the vet on Thursday morning, and she was proscribed antibiotics, and she seems to have recovered well. She’s still under quarantine in my study at the moment, hopefully to be released later today, once I hear back from the vet.

Her colouring is similar to Bootsy’s, though I think Lydia has more white on her, and she’s a shorthair.

Neither Bootsy nor Merlyn are terribly thrilled about their new housemate, though as Lyd is still under quarantine, and has not been properly introduced this will likely change. She’s escaped a few times, and Bootsy’s hissed, while Merl has done his usual run-away-like-a-’fraidy-cat routine.

Cat and mouse

Lydia is sweet, but a little crazy, as kittens are. She hops around on everything, and views me as her personal climbing frame and chew toy. Apparently the toy mousie, bunny, hedgehog and screwed up bits of paper just don’t compare to the wonder that is me.

She’s been interfering with my ability to sit still for more than five minutes at a time and get much work done, but – somehow – I’ve managed, with another two stories almost ready to send out. I’ll have Drew give them a read-through then make a few more corrections and hopefully send them out by the end of the week.

Exciting stuff.

© 2008-2011 Nico Mara-McKay
For the original source of the content please see nicomaramckay.com.

Introducing Lydia

Related Posts:

Writing with Cats: Episode One

Working from home with a kitten

Recursive Lydias

Jude makes a friend: Day 3

Jude Scares an Orange (again): Day 4

Writing, Wild Wood and my birthday

Nico — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 22:18:42 +0000

I’m still struggling to get into a routine. How do proper writers do this?

Last week my available working hours were reduced due to recovery time required by my surgery. However, I did send out a short story submission, and submitted three poems to another literary magazine.

Friday I felt most productive. Partially inspired by a dream,⁽¹⁾ I woke up early and wrote. I managed 1100 words before I even thought of coffee. I’m immensely and unreasonably proud of this.

I wrote a little more during coffee (another 400 words), and I’m continuing to work on it and shape it into something proper. So far, I like it.

For the pseudo long weekend myself, my husband and another friend made the trek up north to my parents’ cabin, Wild Wood, in the North Kawarthas Friday night. I thought I’d get more done there, but mostly we read, drank, and generally hung out in the heat. Bit of a swim in the lake.

I had a good time, and came away from it with plenty of mosquito bites, but I didn’t write a word while I was there.

Today’s my birthday. Celebrations won’t be as frivolous as last year, we’re on a smaller budget now, but it’s been a good day. I haven’t yet decided where we’ll be going for dinner, but I’m guessing it will be somewhere Italian.⁽²⁾

I’m proud that I’ve committed myself to doing something that I love, but I don’t feel like I’m getting enough done. I’m still learning what it means to be self-employed, still working on what it means to be a grownup, and making it up as I go along.

© 2008-2011 Nico Mara-McKay
For the original source of the content please see nicomaramckay.com.

Writing, Wild Wood and my birthday

Footnotes:

A high tech toilet, of all things. It doesn’t feature heavily in the story, but it kind of inspired it.
We live in the Corso Italia neighbourhood in Toronto.
Related Posts:

Re-writing, a common theme this month

Birthday Celebrations 2009

CIBC’s Run for the Cure 2009

Nico — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 15:13:48 +0000

CIBC's Run for the Cure in Toronto, 2009

Each year I participate in CIBC’s Run for the Cure to raise money for breast cancer research and prevention. It’s an important charity to me, my Grandmother died of cancer in 2001. She was the most amazing woman and it was heartbreaking to watch.

For the uninitiated, the runners in pink shirts are breast cancer survivors, those in red are lead sponsor CIBC’s employees, and average Janes and Joes run in white. Most sport various accoutrements in pink – hats, wigs, scarves, tutus, leg warmers, temporary tattoos – anything and everything you can think of is somewhere represented. It’s the only day of the year I wear any real pink.

Runners passing the ROM

The run took place on Sunday, October 4th across Canada, and I of course ran in my home city of Toronto. I took a few shots as I was running, most of which are up on Facebook.

If you haven’t donated yet, but are able to spare even a few bucks, it would mean a lot to me. You can still donate as late as Hallowe’en, October 31st. All donations of at least twenty dollars are eligible for a tax receipt.

Knowing that even the paltry sum I’m able to raise helps fund research that can raise awareness for prevention and find a cure is important to me.

Please click here to donate to a great cause.

Thanks, and it would be great to see you running with me next year!

© 2008-2011 Nico Mara-McKay
For the original source of the content please see nicomaramckay.com.

CIBC’s Run for the Cure 2009

Related Posts:

CIBC’s Run for the Cure 2010

Running for the Cure in 2011

Pictures from Run for the Cure 2011

Wedding Anniversary 2009

Birthday Celebrations 2009

Wedding Anniversary 2009

Nico — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 02:50:18 +0000

Drew & Nico

August 4th, 2009 was our eighth wedding anniversary.

This year we decided our gift to each other would be to finally frame the picture we bought while in Montreal for our fifth anniversary. It certainly seemed reasonable.

So, on Tuesday we went out for dinner at a local place we both enjoy.

It’s ten years ago this summer (July 8th, to be exact) that Drew and I met properly for the first time and eight years ago since we were married. It’s a long time, but it doesn’t feel like a long time ago.

A few years ago I asked Drew why he thought our relationship worked. His response: “Because I’m cool”. I told him that was funny, as I was going to say it was because I was awesome. He nodded and cheerily replied something to the effect of “That’s right, we’re both awesome”.

There’s a lesson in here: successful relationships work because each partner is individually awesome and cool. If one of the pair isn’t supremely nifty, it’s probably not going to last. (Love can only carry you so far.)

Cheers to all the awesome people out there.

© 2008-2011 Nico Mara-McKay
For the original source of the content please see nicomaramckay.com.

Wedding Anniversary 2009

Related Posts:

Birthday Celebrations 2009

CIBC’s Run for the Cure 2009

Jude the Nefarious: Day 6

The cabin and the citiot

Adventures with Jude: Day 2