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Wanted: Spring
I have a bone to pick with Wiarton Willie. It was just over a month ago that southern Ontario’s groundhog pointed his head out of his hole and did not see his shadow — predicting an early end to winter. Yet here we are, with less ten days to go to the late “six more weeks of winter” that the site of his shadow would have foretold and not a single sign of spring in the air. February was officially declared coldest on record by Environment Canada and now the Royal Botanical Gardens has measured 15 inches of ice in Cootes Paradise – basically… Read more…
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Coming up? One order of peace & quiet
I’ve spent the last four days in our nation’s capital networking with some of Canada’s finest nuclear minds. All the hard work (and hours!) that had me a little last week were worth it. We launched our new company branding, my execs had productive meetings and I furthered many relationships – all while having a lot of fun. We had some uplifting and educational speakers and I’m pleased to say my own boss was among them, judging by the comments I received after his speech. Communications was mentioned many times as very important in my industry, so that bodes well… Read more…
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Walking the tightrope
I haven’t blogged for a couple of weeks. There are a couple of reasons for that, although not particularly good ones. I have been all-consumed by work, in an unhealthy way. I knew I was burning the candle at both ends and pushing my limits. I haven’t seen much of home, much less my kids in the last month. My dog is feeling very unloved and unwalked and my waistline is showing it too. I haven’t had time to call, let alone email or text friends. I’ve been skipping yoga classes because I haven’t been home early enough to get… Read more…
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Lady bug, lady bug, fly away home
The lady bug appeared in the middle of dinner. Indoors. In January. So as we sat, drinking wine and enjoying the meal (why is it that food prepared by someone other than yourself is SO delicious!?), we watched this lady bug with fascination. She wandered all around the dining room table and then made her way up the butter dish, right to the rim. She then proceeded to go round and round and round that butter dish, taking extra care to go out of the way of the one speck of butter that sullied the edge. A busy little orange… Read more…
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Where do babies come from?
When I had my first child, I was determined that I would teach my kids proper words for body terms. No “willies” and “special girl parts” for me. My kids were going to understand that babies grew inside my uterus and that they weren’t brought by the stork. They were going to understand that a special milk for babies came from breasts. That led to some – well, let’s call them interesting – discussions in some less than ideal places. More than once, a little one piped up more loudly than I would have liked in a shopping mall that… Read more…
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Time to make a mess
“When humans create,” he said, “it’s a messy process.” I didn’t really pay a lot of attention to those words last Sunday morning. I was more concerned, I admit, about the harmonies in the next piece of music we were to sing. Besides, I’m not so good at “messy”. As little girls, we’re taught that messy is bad. We are taught to sit nicely, speak politely and generally not be the whirling dervishes our brothers allowed to be. After all, boys will be boys, they tell us. And so it sticks. As a grown woman, I like things to be… Read more…
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A penny – or five – for your thoughts
A penny for my thoughts? Today, I’m remembering the record collection my parents had when I was young. I loved music and would sing along with everything from the Singing Nuns (who knew my first French words would be “Il ne parle que du bon Dieu”?!) to Camelot (and what 6 year old shouldn’t be singing about the Lusty Month of May?!) to whatever else they had playing under that scratchy needle inside the giant stereo case my Dad had made to house the speakers, turntable, and – wait for it – the NEW cassette tape player. But no matter… Read more…
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Cozily content, post-Christmas
Tonight, I’m curled up on the couch in my family room, glass of wine at one hand and new books at the other. The fire is blazing across the room and the lights on the tree are shining bright. The Christmas season is almost done for another year. Something was different about the festive season this year. I can’t remember the last time I was so impatient for it to begin! Just a few days ago, I waited, impatient as a small child. The presents were wrapped, many with what I hoped were witty clues to their contents attached. The… Read more…
