Wendi Stewart – Wendi with an ‘eye’

It is my baby’s birthday today (April 26), the youngest of my brood; four daughters who are no longer babies at all but instead are full-fledged adults, living lives in which I am an accessory, no longer a necessity. I can’t pull them on to my lap and kiss away […]

I was listening to CBC Radio the other day while I was driving. I can’t remember what the program was about, due to my failing retention, but the discussion focused on thinking for ourselves. On challenging those who make authoritative statements founded on nothing but opinion; where hubris gets in […]

I have a bucket list, of sorts. I don’t really think of the list as things I want to do before I take my last breath. That seems a bit like encouraging the dying thing; bringing it in to focus. Most of us, after all, just pretend dying will never […]

I would like to live in a castle, maybe one in Ireland because I’m fairly certain Canadian castles are in short supply. The selection of castles in Europe is extensive, I’ve read. Windsor Castle holds some sort of record for having been continuously lived in for the longest period of […]

I like to think Richard Wagamese and I are friends. I can’t bear to put that in the past tense because I never got to meet him and the opportunity won’t come now. I won’t bump into him on the street and introduce myself as his fan and fellow writer, […]

I’m always in a bit of a slump after the Scotties and the Brier have wrapped up. Yes, there is more curling to come but it’s never as good as the Canadian championships. I particularly enjoyed this year’s Brier. That’s not a real statement; I always enjoy the Brier. But […]

I used to sleep. At least, I think I did. There must have been a time when my mother placed me carefully in my bed and I drifted off to sleep instantly and effortlessly. Alas, that no longer is the case. Teenagers train for sleeping like runners train for marathons, […]

For those of you who enjoy the glitz and glamour of the Oscars, I suggest you stop reading right now and walk the dog, wash the bathroom mirror, or take the garbage out. Make good use of your free time. Or take a nap if you prefer, though a nap […]

Spring is teasing, is peeking out from behind the snowdrifts, is pushing winter back from the edges of the road, is whispering at us. “You’ll soon be up the lake,” it says and we try to resist, not wanting to be pulled into winter’s game. It’s not really spring. It’s […]

Death is not the opposite of life but a part of it. Haruki Murakami, a Japanese writer, said those words and he is the same age as our beloved Stuart McLean, whose death left our world a lot less bright today–the day I am writing this; writing to soothe the […]

I think we can agree that there is a load of the ridiculous that gets posted on Facebook. And when I say ridiculous, I don’t mean those postings that make us giggle or laugh right out loud, or our hearts to ache, but those postings that have the descriptor stupid […]

January was kind to me this year. That is, aside from dumping the ‘flu on me, though I may have blamed others and not January specifically. January may have read my column from a few weeks back (though that may be presumptuous on my part) and decided to extend a […]