I feel the burn
The answer to your question is, “Yes”. Yes, I still go to the gym. I go because I like working-out. I go because I like feeling strong. I go because I like the challenges I set for myself. I go because it’s part of my quest to be healthier than I am, right this very […]
The lessons of a ditch
I signed up to take on a section of the Millennium Trail for the past weekend for a trash bash in honour of Earth Day. The objective was to gather a crew and together we’d pitch in to clean up what I like to refer to as our 50-kilometre linear park. Our assigned section was […]
Rise up signing (badly)
It’s been a singing week. Last Tuesday, I attended a concert given by a couple who have over two thousand songs to their names; including Some Enchanted Eveniing and I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry, Four Strong Winds and Circle Game. Now technically, you may have a point when you assert that you thought these […]
Earthly delights
Did you get in touch with your earthly self on Earth Day? My plan for Sunday was to pick up garbage along the street we live on. As it turned out, a whole lot of garbage, from the street, had blown into our yard. In less than two hours, LOML and I filled four large […]
The six-cup approach
With Roll up the Rim season having concluded at the end of March, our attention turns to ensuring we cash in our winnings before the April 20 deadline. I confess to having a coffee-stained winning rim or two hiding somewhere in my car. The Roll up the Rim contest continues to be a bright spot […]
Be prepared
Let me start by apologizing to my beautiful, little sister (in-law). I secretly wondered why anyone needed to be so ready for everything. And then? Well, and then this past weekend happened. The woman is the essence of what a Girl Guide is—prepared. She has a crate in the back of her car that contains […]
The case for Willy-willy
As a matter of interest, the outfit you need to wear if you were to stand against a southwesterly blow like the one of very recent should consist of a swimmer’s cap and scuba diver’s goggles. I’m referring to standing on a dune at North Beach and taking joy out of being able to lean, […]
Prestidigitation goes to college
The advertisement was nestled in the business section of the paper beside the usual dull ads announcing open positions for professors of business studies and deans of dentistry. This one, however, invited applications for the “Allan Slaight Chair for the Study of the Conjuring Arts” at Carleton University. Conjuring Arts? At a university? You bet! […]
File thirteen
There’s a pile of bank statements, receipts, T-somethings and charitable donation slips resting, quietly, on our dining room table. Our bookkeeper has taken some kind of leave of absence and we are faced with the possibility of doing our own taxes. Doing the taxes shouldn’t be a burden, right? It should make us feel like […]
Farmhouse cider
Yesterday, far from the County, I met Derek. He lives on a farm outside a small village in a forgotten corner of England. His cidery, Hartland, doesn’t get many visitors. I wish it did.We followed hand-painted signs down weaving, narrow roads. Derek emerged from the barn and smiled. His cider is stored in 300-litre barrels […]