A new garden path
I recently had to repair a pathway along the side of my house. Originally they tried to use large chunks of rock to define the garden bed and to allow for access to the side of the house. Unfortunately, the large chunks of County stone all started to break down after a few harsh winters. […]
Insane and Anonymous
Yeah, yeah. I write for a newspaper. I understand. I’ve been writing for this particular paper for nearly seventeen years. Someone asked me what I liked about writing for a newspaper and I didn’t have an answer that I could put into words. Go figure. I, a writer, was at a loss for words. It […]
Got my 45 on
And away we go. It’s June. The big push is now on to have beach bodies. My social media feed is replete with promises. One promise is that in less than fourteen days I should be able to go from fat to fabulous by clicking on the link. The link leads me to a questionnaire […]
Three new rules of three
When it comes to planting in your garden, especially when it is a blank slate, you’ve probably already heard to plant in groups of three. I’ve always been told that odd numbers seem to look more natural, which is kind of surprising when I always seem to see pairs in the animal kingdom. I guess […]
Does My B*** Look Fat?
Every once in a while I stand back, take a look at my life and wonder if there is anything I would change about how I got “here”. Of course, I think about the cringey things I did and I wish I could “wish” them away. For instance, on my eighth birthday a mom was […]
Expensive overhaul
There are times as a designer when you look at a space and you just know that there are some fundamental issues that are going to be very expensive to fix. Unfortunately, the home belonging to the Cusaks is a great building, but is in desperate need of an outdoor overhaul. This is a very […]
Thanks Martha, I think
Thank you Martha. The truth is I’m not really sure I feel thankful about Martha’s foray into baring some of her octogenarian bits for Sports Illustrated. However, from what I’ve read, as a woman I’m supposed to be pleased for another woman’s accomplishments. If I viewed the cover photograph of a “sports” magazine as an […]
Casting shade
According to recent online studies (Wikipedia), over 70 per cent of all outdoor useable space surfaces being installed in our backyards are either stamped concrete, manmade pavers or natural flagstone. This is creating a phenomenon called ‘urban heat islands’ in cities and towns. This study goes on to show that we are able to increase […]
May is Mental Health Month
May is Mental Health Month. I believe everyone has had to cope with a mental health issue. Everyone. When I was a brand new Mom, more than fifty years ago, I got home from a five-day hospital stay (which was kind of standard in the olden days) and everything about being a parent came rushing […]
Time for a new hedge
It’s that time of the year when the box stores (and even some grocers) all ship in large quantities of cedar trees. Big quantities usually mean cheap prices, which is part of the reason we buy lots! Another big reason is that in the early spring, we can usually see more of our neighbours then […]