I’m enjoying Christmas these years with no young children around the house. That means I can do as much or as little (usually the latter) as I feel like in the third week of December. Any earlier would be rushing things. My sister once said, in response to my poor attitude, that she was surprised…
I was driven (something less than an hour) to St. Jean Pied de Port on the French side of the Pyrenees. I could have started walking right away and made it to Valcarlos, 10 km away, but I had promised myself to start slowly so I wandered around St. Jean instead. This morning I had…
Now that August is almost over, I am reminded that August 2004 was eventful for me, as that month I started chemotherapy for breast cancer. It has now been 10 years since I bought this wig. If I ever need it again, I’ll need to streak it with white and grey paint. I must also…
Jane Christmas is a Canadian writer whose subjects are right up my alley. I recommend them all, if the titles/subtitles appeal to you. I have seen some pretty critical reviews of her books, and can see their points, but a writer can’t be all things to all people. Personally, I look forward to her next book. Here…
I picked this up at the library because it was on a featured shelf, and is a recently published novel by a renown author. Of course I knew of Joyce Carol Oates – she has written 40 novels – but I had only a vague memory of thinking highly of something she’d written. To start…
Kids, I love you all and did my best. Sort of. So I am going to liberate you from any sense of duty for this Mother’s Day. Feel free to visit your significant-others’-mothers instead. This weekend is the first weekend in maybe a year-and-a-half that I have been free of all obligations to MY own…
I am theoretically at home on vacation this week. It has been a busy few months with Mom’s dying and death, clearing out her belongings, selling the apartment, and bringing all the remaining things to our house. (The same house where a never-ending kitchen renovation continues!) Nevertheless I am feeling quite positive these days as…
Tonight I watched The Great Canadian Flag Debate on TV. I remember the debate well – it engaged my family, the country and the national government for most of 1964-1965. (Interesting to note that our national medicare system was established in 1966 without much debate, at least that was memorable to me as a teenager.…
Seeing Clarely 