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A lot in the wash
I’ll be the first to admit, I’m a pretty unstructured housekeeper. Most of my work gets done on the basis of what I feel like tackling any given day. But there is one thing that gets done like clockwork, on schedule, every week, Mondays and Thursdays: laundry. With seven people to clothe, it’s an undertaking.…
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A horticultural brush with the fashion police
There’s something that’s been irking me for several weeks. A magazine headline. An innocuous, mildly informative phrase that originally made me smile: “Purple–this year’s hottest hue for flowers!” It made me smile because my garden’s overall colour scheme is built on purples and yellows. Maybe I would actually be ‘with it’ this year! Was it…
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I’m so not ready for my close up
Last night I hosted a book club author visit with the lovely Jennifer Quist. A splendid time was had by all, but as all the guests were leaving, Jenn asked me to show her around my “famous” garden–referring to my horticultural exploits of the last four years being documented at CanadianGardening.com. My gut reaction: horror.…
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Channeling my inner lumberjack
It’s been a good day, mostly because I used power tools, got dirty, and smell like trees right now. First, we had some neighbours with heavy machinery come help us get our brush pile under control. The wind tends to take a lot of branches off our mature trees over the course of the year,…
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Muffin tins, rationalization, and procrastination
Washing dishes is often a philosophical experience for me. This morning, for instance, I was cleaning up from a big batch of baking yesterday–muffins for the school track and field concession. I had opted not to use paper liners. I know them to be a time saver, but it seemed like a waste and just…
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Flashback courtesy of CBC and DNTO
Today at 1:30 (or whenever via modern technology) you can listen to my national radio debut (skip to about 1:09:00 if you just want me), telling a tale from my storied past. I went digging for a picture to share with you of the particular era in question, and couldn’t find much. Lots of grade 9,…
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Composting notes
Here’s the notes from the mini composting class I did last night for the community. Not exactly like being there, especially because you missed dessert–dirt and worms!* Foundational principles: 1. Invest time and energy into feeding your soil, and it will feed your plants better than you or a synthetic fertilizer can. 2. Composting…
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In the beginning…
I’ve been writing since I was a child. Being drawn to story, learning, and truth has led me through many mediums: music, theatre, photography, journalism, but always I seem to wind up back with my pen scratching paper or my fingers on the keyboard. Over the last four years, I got pretty comfortable in my…