At first glance, I am not a fan of August. In fact, August may be my least favourite month, though February may run a close second. August feels like a month of shifting; the heat seems less intense, the bugs less vigorous, the days begin to shrink more noticeably, 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 was having a bad day—the kind of bad day that you know is going to settle in like an all-day rain, with not a single chance of sunshine; the sky all dark and grey and pressing in. The day started out with a bad tone and chances were it […]
I was thinking of the definition of family the other day, wondering why it seems limited to “a group consisting of parents and children living together in a household; a group related by blood or marriage.” That seems a stark definition to me—lacking the soul and depth that the mere […]
Oh, to be young again. How often do those of us over 50 utter those words when our backs are aching, when our hair is thinning, when our eyesight is dimming, and when our memory is . . . ummm, I can’t remember what I was going to say about […]
Why? Why? If I were able to list three questions that I could pose to whomever is in charge, given the opportunity, I would not have to ponder said collection of questions very long before arriving at three—with a whole line-up of questions on stand-by. I would inquire as to […]
Gardening is a promise. I can’t think of a better way to describe it. I don’t know if anyone else has said that before me, but I’m saying it now. We scour seed catalogues in early spring and examine seed racks at every second store. We start seeds inside, making […]
I love Crayola Crayons. There are other crayons but let’s face it: they just don’t measure up. Crayola Crayons are extraordinary. When it comes to colouring, you have to have the best. It’s one area you just don’t want to cut corners in quality. Did you know that there are […]
I know I’m on the downside of middle age, or at the very least deeply-immersed in middle age, when I choose (or, more accurately, feel obligated) to travel with my pillow. My mother used to do so, and I must confess I did exercise some judgmental thoughts when she climbed […]
If you grew up in Saskatchewan or in the middle of Toronto, water is something you undoubtedly admire but daily interaction with lakes and rivers wouldn’t have been common. If you grew up in Northwestern Ontario, specifically Fort Frances, lakes are a necessity; an addiction that has no remedy. Even […]
Wood ticks are on my list of does the world really need these things. Also on this list are tent caterpillars, tomato hornbeams, the little green caterpillars that flourish in my organic broccoli (choosing only to come out when boiled and the broccoli placed on my plate), and people who […]
I’ve become a bird-watcher, although there should be a category of bird-watchers that are merely referred to as bird-lookers. I consider bird-watchers to be a dedicated, informed group who know their “stuff”—who can spot a Cerulean Warbler from 100 feet and then recite that particular bird’s habitat, diet, and shoe-size. […]
I recently spent time in an airport, waiting—my least favourite thing to do. I gathered with a crowd of passengers waiting to be herded on to the plane and squeezed in like cattle at the stock yards; bags loaded with every article of clothing they own and can’t risk losing, […]
