I drove into town with my mom to do some banking. Because it was after hours, the plan was to use the machine to deposit a cheque and withdraw $200 to pay a guy for doing some work on my husband’s truck. It was a simple errand. I went through the doors and walked over […]
“Having that pool skimmer in there really complicates things.” The plumber was bewildered, and he hadn’t yet discovered the paint roller extension pole. It had been 24 hours since I noticed a puddle in the basement. The source of the leak was unwelcome, but repairable, according to my husband because a trickle from the sewage […]
My mother and I were sitting in the magazine lounge of a library we had never been in before. We were waiting for my daughter to learn how to play chess because when you homeschool, you enroll your kids in strategic board game workshops led by cheerful retirees.It’s in the handbook.Fifteen minutes in, I noticed […]
I was born with a full head of hair. I’m talking about the kind of tufts that would look right at home in an advertisement for baby hair gel… if babies used hair gel. Looking back, it’s entirely possible my penchant for hair product first began when – as a toddler – I styled my […]
Minimalism is hard. And yet, it’s all the rage. I mean, everybody’s either doing it, or thinking about doing it. This includes dyed-in-the-wool hoarders, forward-thinking hamsters, and anyone who lives in a tiny house. Even I’ve (almost) embraced the trend. For example, I know people who have watched Minimalism: A Documentary About the Important Things […]
Waited until the final hour again, did you? For all of you who still need to pick up a gift for your uncle Ken, a little something for your husband Frank and a turkey for the dinner you are preparing for your entire family, I have a little present… Here are the top five ways […]
“It snowed again last night.”Geoff already had the coffee on when I stumbled downstairs in my housecoat. It was Saturday morning – a nice day to sleep in.“Yeah,” I said, peering out the window into the semi-darkness.The truck was covered. So was the car.“That’s weird.” “What’s that?” asked Geoff.“The van – it’s completely clear.”Not a […]
As a youngster, nothing was more exciting than watching Harry the hardware store man divvy up flat headed nails. Moving with the grace of a newborn calf and the speed of an earthworm, Harry, who was approximately 125 years old, would spend his days counting, sorting and color coding his nails. “Yeah it’s a good […]
My father Henry (Hank), was born Hindrik Mulder, in the Netherlands in 1939.He immigrated to Alberta, Canada in the 1950s with his parents, sisters and brother. As a young man he was lured by and lived in the hustle and bustle of large cities like Vancouver, Edmonton and Toronto. He spent his 20s and 30s, climbing the corporate […]
I met Geoff at art school – me in my first year, he in his last. Although it was most certainly not love at first sight (he was otherwise engaged, I was blissfully unaware), we did hit it off and became part of a group of friends who regularly shared time together. When he left […]