Ten things I will not do. 1) Drink booze.I once threw up on a security guard’s foot at an outdoor concert. I was a teenager. Drinking just didn’t hold any appeal after that. 2) Eat raw meat/fish.Um, enough said. 3) Stop loving chocolate.Dark chocolate is a source of iron so I’m basically harming myself if I don’t eat […]
The house was two stories high with big, boxy rooms, low pile carpet and very little furniture which meant our voices echoed every time any of us spoke.There were what seemed like 10 bedrooms on the second floor, and in the basement was a barn full of animals, resulting in the entire house smelling of […]
After she had spent several hours at the horse barn on a frosty December evening, I offered to make my daughter a hot chocolate to warm her up.Because she has food allergies, making a drink like this for my kiddo is a bit more complicated than simply pouring boiling water over a packet of Carnation […]
One morning when my daughter was 3, she and I were walking along the seashore at low tide, searching for what the waves had brought in.As we stepped carefully around the rocks – our rubber boots sinking into the squishy sand beneath our feet – we discovered seaweed, sand dollars, crabs, sea urchins, periwinkles and […]
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 […]