Wendi Stewart – Wendi with an ‘eye’

It is spring today. Not because the grass is growing. Not because the trees are straining to burst into leaf. Not because the pussy willows have come and gone as has the maple syrup. Not even because the frogs are singing to me at night, my window lifted enough to […]

While I was in Vancouver I met a friend at Queen Elizabeth Park, which is a “horticultural jewel” according to the City of Vancouver’s Parks and Recreation Department and I would have to concur. The park is at the geographic centre of Vancouver. The park is a former rock quarry […]

I love hats–hats on other people. I can’t do a hat unless it is a ball cap and I’m hiding a frightening hair day. You have to have a certain sort of panache to pull off wearing a hat. The word panache is derived from the historical reference to a […]

I am in Vancouver. It is spring here. The magnolias are in bloom and the grass has been cut, rhododendrons are popping out in big loud colour here and there and everywhere, while at home in Nova Scotia the brown wintered grass is buried in snow and the trees are […]

Years ago I heard an interview with Martha Stewart (no relation) and the only statement she made that stuck with me all these 20-plus years was the answer she gave when asked who helped her get to where she was going, who inspired her, who gave her a hand up […]

I love the stories my daughters share about the antics of their wee ones. My grandchildren are learning to maneuver through this crazy world and the stories of them make me smile, giggle and guffaw on a regular basis, even the tales that involve emotional meltdowns. The beauty of being […]

I’m not sure there are many tasks I find more gratifying than making maple syrup. It’s a bit like magic. It’s called sugarin’ season by some but whatever you call it, the act of collecting sap and putting it on my wood stove makes me happy. I have a gargantuan […]

I may have been watching too many spy movies lately. Let me explain. I was walking one morning last week, checking my maple tree buckets and shaking my fist at Mother Nature, who promised ideal temperatures that week. I got an eyelash in my eye and I was fussing and […]

I love an umbrella and not for the obvious reason of keeping dry in a downpour, though I suppose that reason may play a part. And it can’t be any umbrella. It must be an umbrella that looks as though it has a story to tell, a secret perhaps, and […]

Aristotle had some firm ideas on writing and how to present a valid argument to an audience of readers. The elements of ethos, pathos, and logos must be present in balance, according to Aristotle. And though Aristotle was born more than 2,000 years ago, his sense of a written argument […]

One of the rules in my five-year-old grandson’s classroom is “no hugging.” When I heard this, I was puzzled. I know we are called upon to be vigilant in our awareness of, and recognizing and preventing, physical abuse but I’m still wondering. I’m thinking back to the first few days […]

I don’t often wrestle with the unhealthy affliction of envy. Not being envious certainly has nothing to do with having an honourable disposition. The reasons are simple and straightforward: I didn’t grow up hungry, I was loved and safe at night, and I had clothes to wear and shoes that […]