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The other day I found exactly what I was looking for in a used book store. It was The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls. The store owner, sitting behind his desk pecking away at an ancient computer, jumped to his feet when I ...

For a simple trip from Toronto to Halifax, it certainly involved a lot of cancelling, delaying, waiting, boarding, fretting and running. It was easier to fly home from Cambodia. But happily, last in is first out, or so I learned about luggage. ...

I have a favourite editor. Probably all writers do. But this guy is sunshine. Every time I do a piece for him and read over his comments in the margins, I smile. Here are some snippets from his latest edit: He starts ...

These past months, my gobbling greedy self learned anew, and deeper than ever, how disappointment can punch you in the stomach. The deep, miserable kind. The cry loudly on your bed when you are home alone. The nose-running kind. I felt like God had almost ...

On a recent day, during a visit from my Mom, we travelled through Toronto via go-train, subway, bus, streetcar, taxi and a big chunk by foot all within the space of a few hours. We reached our destination: Canada Blooms. There we snapped shots ...

I had a lovely embrace of a moment with an old friend recently. We encountered each other at a writers conference,  after 22 years of living our lives and growing up and out from what we had been when we knew each ...

I have a dear and patient friend to whom I send the pictures I snap of the most annoying decorative signs I find in cute shops everywhere. She rewards me with a "HA!" of solidarity. Janet, I think, is the only person ...

Words that inspire, stuck on my cluttered fridge. Although I do often give myself a day off, I believe, along with good old Eleanor, in doing things that scare you. On Saturday night I was the moderator of a Religion and Society ...

Today I patted my new magical serum into my face as demonstrated yesterday by a much younger woman at Shoppers Drug Mart. This serum is full of workers who will run off and find the other workers in my other serum and they ...

Today I downloaded iTranslate, located the Arabic option, bought three for $20 bouquets at FoodLand, and my husband and I headed to the new home of the Syrian family who arrived in our town on Saturday. The young mother of this family ...

Yes.  I have a Grammy. In this, her 99th year, I have begun to write her letters, send her notes and articles about things like molasses and how popular it is getting all of a sudden, and a postcard left over from our road ...

Today I wandered through an art opening here in town, built around the theme of funny faces. My spirits lifted the second I walked in the gallery door. People were standing around in small groups, chit chatting as we do, especially in ...