Every single one of us who knew Doug Anderson immediately thinks of words like kind, helpful, gentle, eager, fun-loving, when we hear his name. It’s a long list of qualities that we all strive for, but qualities Doug had in spades. Our friend has gone ahead, parting the grass and […]
Wendi Stewart – Wendi with an ‘eye’
Wendi lives in Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley, but the farm on Rainy River in Crozier will always be her home. MEADOWLARK, her debut novel released September 15, is published by NeWest Press of Edmonton. She is the mother of four daughters who did the unforgivable: they grew up. http://wendistewart.writersresidence.com
I listen to Q most mornings, one of my favourite CBC Radio programs. Tom Power is kind, generous, humble, and after I listen to his program I feel as though he and I have shared a conversation over a cup of tea at his kitchen table in St. John’s, Newfoundland. […]
Naomi Osaka withdrew from the French Open (tennis) after winning her first match on May 30th. Are you familiar with her? At the 2020 US Open Osaka wore the name of a black life taken by racism on her face mask, a different name for each match, with no shortage […]
I am feeling anguish over the May 27th announcement of the discovery of the remains of 215 children at the site of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School, a school that operated for eighty years, operated by the Catholic Church from 1890 to 1969, and by the government as a […]
I miss my daughters. I may have mentioned that once or several hundred times over the past fifteen months or so. The pandemic certainly has stripped away the clutter and allowed us to see the pieces of our life that matter the most. My daughter shared such a story this […]
I like words. I had a notebook with my list of favourite words while I was growing up, words like giggle and balloon and bubbles, watermelon and frolic and zephyr. In that book were lists of words I struggled to spell correctly, words like prerogative and onomatopoeia. I still struggle […]
I am a curling fan. Always have been. The only thing I watch on television is curling and the rest of the year the television sits idle, and I occasionally wipe the dust off it. I used to watch tennis, and if I am being honest, I do sneak a […]
Spring, glorious Spring! I’m channelling Oliver Twist when he sang “Food, glorious food,” in the musical Oliver, my arms outstretched as I spin around. Are you familiar with the musical? Don’t worry, if my neighbours could hear me, they too would tell me to pipe down. We all need Spring. […]
Someone once told me that seeing the River Thames from the Promenade in London elevated his position in life, as if for that moment he was able to stand in the shoes of the giants of history. I didn’t agree, not then, not now. I grew up on the Rainy […]
My four daughters and I have a way of communicating during this blasted pandemic, to help ease the separation and loneliness. We use the Marco Polo App to send video messages to each other, videos we can listen to when we have time, and watch over and over to feel […]
We don’t talk about mental illness. Science struggles to understand the brain and its deep secrets, and so do we. It seems easier to look away from mental illness, too uncomfortable to see its by-products, too uneasy to offer comfort, too judgmental to say I see your pain. Instead, we […]
I’ve said it before, more than once, I confess. But I feel compelled to say it again, so that I might feel part of the conversation/action that is called change. We are always changing and evolving and sometimes the change is so small that it can go undetected, and a […]
