We all, or at least most of us, have received those cute e-mails of puppies doing amazing things, which consist mostly of sitting and looking adorable. They tip their head to the side, roll over on their back, lift a paw and, without hesitation, we are smitten. We’d like to […]
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
Once upon a time, I wanted to be a super-hero and a secret agent, both seeming logical and worthwhile endeavours. When I didn’t get a “Secret Sam” spy kit for Christmas when I was 10 (and Duane Peters did), my lofty ambition tumbled off the shelf. Lion-tamer, veterinarian, and astronaut […]
Consumerism is rife with risk and disappointment, especially those “as seen on television” products, though I must confess I do have a particular fondness for my Slap-Chop. They (again, who are these “they” people?) don’t say caveat emptor for nothing (buyer beware, in case your Latin is a little rusty). […]
A grandmother is a mother who has been given a second chance. I read that somewhere—the author nameless to me now. I think many of us would like a second chance at mothering. All the things I was going to teach my children but didn’t have time to, or more […]
You may or may not know it but this Saturday (Dec. 10) is International Slow Food Day. That doesn’t mean we should chew our food with renewed vigour on Saturday, or put our feet up and close our eyes while we dine. But it does mean we should increase our […]
It was an old African proverb that first said, in its own language, “It takes a village to raise a child.” The exact origin of that phrase seems lost in time, but many writers have borrowed it. I would take it one step further and say it takes an entire […]
The end of the year is not that far off and it gets me thinking about money. November and December usually finds our wallets and bank accounts slightly empty, if not drained, as we try to balance our spending for Christmas. It may not exactly be the time to be […]
I am writing this on Nov. 11, just before 11 a.m., just before we gather to bow our heads in respect, in sorrow, in gratitude, in wonder, with emotion, with a quiet heaviness in our hearts for this day of remembering. We are reminded about those things that matter, standing […]
The word “celebrity” means “the state of being well-known.” That definition begs the question, “For what? Well-known for what, exactly?” And more often than not, the response is unequivocally for nothing of any importance or for merely having more money than most. I was running on the treadmill at the […]
Imelda Marcos purportedly had more than 2,700 pairs of shoes during her husband’s leadership of the Philippines. That is, without a doubt, categorically excessive. But when she and her husband were exiled to Hawaii in 1986 and the sheer extreme of her extravagance was revealed, a very small part of […]
Change is coming. I can feel it out there, somewhere, where decency and trust and safety exist, where honour is power and integrity our weapon, where the voice of the masses speaks for the disenfranchised, the broken, the injured, and the forgotten. At least I hope change is coming. Hope. […]
My eldest daughter just received her Master’s of Education degree from Simon Fraser University, and I was there in the crowd watching as she and throngs of others paraded into the outdoor convocation hall. Family and friends shivered under university-issue blankets while the graduates were piped in, the glorious sound […]
