The Bookless Club

Linda knows about chickens.  Linda has a farm in the Gulf Islands. She has exactly 99 chickens. And not just standard egg machine chickens, the Rhode Island Red. She has all sorts of hens. Some… Read More »NO LOVE FOR ROOSTERS

The doorbell rang. It was that neighbour. The one who drops in, unannounced, all the time. He decided he wasn’t going to answer. He was working from home and just didn’t have time for socializing. … Read More »DID YOU CALL FIRST?

Soup, glorious soup! Nothing offsets the cold like a steaming bowl of soup. Which is why the meal you eat with a spoon is the backbone of Canadian winter nutrition.  We loves our soup, we… Read More »CUP, OR A BOWL?

It’s a constant theme in war movies. Our hero is aloft and managing just fine. Suddenly, a problem. The engine stalls. There’s a mechanical splutter. We see the whirring propeller stutter and stop.  An eerie… Read More »SILVER LININGS

Wind in the Willows. Charlotte’s Web. The Velveteen Rabbit. Someone far more efficient than I had preserved and donated their childhood library to the Salvation Army thrift store. Inside of each book cover a name… Read More »BEST LOVED BOOKS FROM CHILDHOOD

If you showed up at someone’s door in July with nine feet of evergreen, they wouldn’t let you in. Come December, you’re a hero!  A giant plume of fir or pine that eats up half… Read More »FAKE-MASS TREES VERSUS FARMED

The dark side of gift wrapping. Starting right about now, we become a nation of cottage crafters. A nation of meticulous measurers and folders of fine fidelity. Any large horizontal expanse will be commandeered for… Read More »OH, YOU SHOULDN’T HAVE

A pet is many things. A constant companion – who else is unfailingly thrilled to see your sorry face? A personal trainer – who else gets you out for a brisk walk, if not the… Read More »A DOG’S BREAKFAST … MATTERS!

We had just moved into our new house. Just as neighbours were putting Santa and his reindeer up on their roofs, or a cheery, lit-from-within plastic snowman on their front lawn, we, too, were putting… Read More »HOLIDAY DECOR FOR HEATHENS

Someone was pounding on the hotel room door. Even with the shower going at full bore, I could hear the loud thumping. Wrapping myself in a towel, I peered out the peephole. No one was… Read More »LIGHTNING STRIKES