Je T’adore
Hands up, anyone who loves scraping layers of paint off a metal door? Anybody? Bueller? I didn’t think so. …
Personal Life
It’s Not Easy Being Clean
When I moved into the house almost ten years ago, I ordered a large wardrobe from Ikea. It helped solve the lack-of-closet-space issue that many houses of this era have. If our home was a person, it would be getting its pension and planning its shopping trips for senior’s days. …
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Lessons Learned and Learning
Sunday would have been Dad’s 83rd birthday. Life expectancy for a Canadian man is just over 82 years, so I suppose he was pretty average in that way. Yes, I looked it up, trying to make sense of it and continuing to fail at making it okay that he’s gone. Reminding myself that it’s the natural order of things. …
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Review: The Light Over Broken Tide
This debut novel came to me in an unusual way. The author, Holly Ducarte, is the sister of a former radio station colleague. It’s classified as YA – Young Adult fiction, but this older adult truly enjoyed it. …
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The Voice Down the Hallway
Happy short work-week! I think that should become more of a thing. Long weekend. Short work-week. I’ll get in touch with Hallmark and see if we can’t get some cards made up. But I digress. …
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Thankful Thursday – My Mama
I call her Mamasita, Matka, Ma, Mom and other variations on the same theme. And when I’m serious about something, I use her full name: Mother! It’s the equivalent of her using my full name when I was a kid. Strikes terror in her heart! (not really)Â …
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Take The Last Train to McAdam
As we explored the St. Stephen-St. Andrews-Calais area last week, we took the advice of anyone who offered it. If someone said we should go see something, we went. That included my brother’s suggestion that we head up to McAdam and see the old train station. …
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The Thin Red Line
There are places in North America where you can stand in Canada and the US simultaneously. A massive, historic home straddles Stanstead, Quebec and Plain, Vermont, for example. You can enter the house from both countries. …
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Water Babies
Anthropologists probably have something deep and insightful to say about why Derek and I are drawn to water. All we know is that we feel calmer and happier around a body of water of just about any kind. Bigger than a puddle but not necessarily an ocean. …
On the Road Again
Full tank of gas? Check. GPS? Check. House/pet sitter? Check. Blog posts for next week? Um, uncheck. There might be one or two.
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Throwback Thursday – Une Dizaine D’annees, Mon Dieu!
Translation: It’s been ten years since Derek and I visited England and France. We also went to Monaco but didn’t quite make it to Italy. I’d love to spend a couple of years visiting tiny pockets of Europe. The only other European country I’ve seen is Iceland. …
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The Wheat Stuff and the Chaff Stuff
The personal possession purge continues. A cedar chest we acquired and have no room for; a barnboard-and-bulb-cage chandelier made by Derek; an extra motorcycle windshield we boxed up and stored – it’s all going, going, gone! …
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Thankful Thursday – My Least Favourite Year
Sunday can’t possibly be the first anniversary of my father’s death. It’s gone so fast and time has also crawled. I truly thought I understood what it must be like to lose a parent but I didn’t – I couldn’t – until I lost my own Dad. …
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Sibling Supremacy
My brother and I argue about the most inconsequential things. Last week, we spent more time than I care to admit in opposition over what a piece of melted cheese looked like. …
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Pasta Resistance
I don’t believe in saying “never” to anything on the food chain. If someone tells me they will never eat bread again, but they absolutely love bread, I’ll hold my tongue but I want to tell them they’re crazy. Where is the joy in depriving yourself of something you love? …
Parting Advice
After a life marked by illness – chronic and acute – and several conditions that resulted in frequent hospital trips and stays, our friend’s adult son chose to end his life. He had suffered heart attacks and mini-strokes for a month straight. He stopped dialysis treatments and finished his life on his terms. Bill said his goodbyes. He donated his eyes so others could see. He asked that people celebrate his life as opposed to mourning his death. …
Master Impressionist
Thousands of broadcasters and actors in this country dream of making it in the US. Our friend Ed Kelly has been doing it for decades. The way I see it, his career is successful for three reasons.
- He’s versatile; from broadcasting to voice-over to acting to live stage performances including comedy, impressions and singing – he does it all.
- He’s mobile. He can go where the work is.
- He’s wickedly talented. Like, a one in ten-million kind of talent. And that might be selling him short.
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