It is hard to comprehend that a product meant to clean and rid our lives of germs is actually bad for us, but it’s true. Our society seems to be germ obsessed and with that growing obsession has come a new understanding of the word “clean.” Unfortunately, germ-free is so difficult to obtain that it necessitates the use of harmful and dangerous chemicals to achieve.
When I requested a review copy of Cathy Buchanan’s The Day the Falls Stood Still, my publishing contact asked me if I wanted to be part of Cathy’s Blog Tour. Now I had a vague notion of what a blog tour was, but this was the first time I ever had the opportunity to partake in one. I of course said yes.
Today I watched as my husband pulled his Harley out of the garage for his first ride this season. I wanted to be going with him – on my own bike – so very much. But instead, I’m watching and waving goodbye from the front door. There’s just something about that first warm and sunny [...]
Last time I said I was planning on reading The Book of Negroes and Fruit, and honestly I had every intention of reading them. But I haven’t. Not yet. I even have The Book of Negroes sitting on one of my book cases, all ready to be read.
So, what happened, you ask? Did I get [...]
I crave sunshine so much that part of me truly wonders if I am, indeed, solar powered. Basically, I am a very happy girl during these few weeks of the year when I stop shivering. But how do I manage to maintain my goal of remaining green during a season that screams energy waste and depends on water guzzling?
The Dream
Oh, to become a published author. For the past year, this had been my goal. My dream. And in three, deliriously naive months spent slaving away in the cool dankness of my basement, I managed to pound out an astounding 102,000 words! From beginning to end, I did it. I completed the first draft [...]
The Curse of the Persistent Weed
Homeowners have struggled with ridding themselves of the common weed for years. Many of us resort to the use of domestic pesticides, while others take the hard labour root and attempt to dig them out. I will admit that I have tried both methods and can honestly say I’m not [...]
It is with great pride and pleasure that I introduce you to Genevieve (Paquet) Roach (1913-1992), my late mother-in-law. On any given day, you could enter Gen’s kitchen and see pots boiling on the stove, biscuits in the oven, bread cooling on the racks, a washing machine and clothes dryer going, and Gen hunched over a sewing machine, lips pursed in concentration, a cigarette burning down in an ashtray nearby, a TV blasting loudly in the living room.
Spring means new life. And sometimes that new life gets injured or left to its own devices. As a city girl who grew up with one dog and one cat and was perfectly fine with that, the transformation to pseudo animal rehabber has been interesting. The moment I realized that I was no longer along for the ride with my husband as a mere passenger was when I found myself running through the Superstore parking lot in an attempt to capture a seagull with a broken wing.
During a sabbatical last year, Michele was privileged to spend six months in southern Africa. Of this time, one month was spent touring South Africa, Swaziland, and Mozambique, but the five months spent volunteering and living with the Basotho in rural Lesotho has truly had an impact on her life. Michele plans to return to [...]
