An Albertan who spends winters in California.
There is an owl in the courtyard of the building where I live in California. I’ve never seen it, but I have often heard it. It goes “Hoooo” in a deliciously deep baritone voice. I love the sound, but it bothers me because it only hoots once. Owls […]
Breathing in, deeply, makes me feel good. I just came from an exercise class and after the aerobics, the hand weights, and the floor exercises, we breathe deeply. To be honest, the part of the class I like best is the very end when about twenty-five people over […]
I was chatting yesterday with someone who is intrigued by my English heritage, and as we worked together at the Habitat for Humanity Restore he was encouraging me to say the English names for things—spanners instead of wrenches, lifts instead of elevators, and so on. The conversation then […]
My father was always able to get a practical job done in the least expensive way. It wasn’t always pretty, but it usually involved hard work and making do with whatever tools were at hand. One of the many things he did in the garden of our family […]
I have often wondered why Canada seems to ship its trees, oil, and minerals elsewhere to be made into usable products. It has never made sense to me. Nevertheless, Canadians would like to pipe Alberta oil to refineries in Texas. The potential impact of the pipeline on the […]
I have a favourite turquoise shirt that had lost two of its buttons, and I had, of course, lost the little plastic bag of spare buttons that came with the shirt when it was new. I looked for them in the junk drawer where I keep little plastic […]
I am a snowbird who travels south for the winter. When I get there I have a bird of paradise plant on my patio.
