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Just two days after the US election, I received a piece of childhood memorabilia that seems so out of sync with the current mood as to be from another planet. Right now, there’s a pervasive feeling that dark forces are closing in. Climate action, civil discourse, international cooperation, human rights,…

I walked barefoot along the water’s edge this morning, letting the cool surf lap at my feet, and thought about a conversation I had with friends over supper last evening. Did I travel much, or have an urge to? It’s a question I’ve puzzled over for years, because most people…

As I log on to post this, I see how long it’s been since I was here. And that’s what this is about…. When I run into people I haven’t seen for a while, or when people I don’t know well are groping for conversation starters, the question is often…

Last week someone said to me, in that casual way we all make small talk about the weather, “Well, do you think spring is finally here?” I couldn’t help responding. “Actually, it’s a good two weeks early.” Then I wondered if I was exaggerating. So this morning, I decided to…

I can’t believe it’s been nearly three months since I posted here. Back at the end of January, I was bemoaning the lack of a real winter. Winter never really did arrive with its usual bluster, and we’re experiencing an early spring with daffodils already in bloom. And I’m trying…

Warning: Dreary thoughts on a dreary day When the world’s as gloomy as it is now, and you’re inclined gloominess anyway, this dreary pseudo-winter is taking an emotional toll. At least, in the midst of a disintegrating global order, could we not at least have a blizzard or two, followed…

Several people have asked me lately if I’ve been writing. Um…no. Not really. I’ve fallen into the bad writerly habit of waiting for the muse. Something you’re never to do. The muse is fickle, unreliable. It’s only the steady, persistent hard work at the desk that results in a body…

I have only four tomato plants in my northern Ontario garden, but they are producing tomatoes faster than I can use them. I’m eating tomato sandwiches for lunch almost every day, and I already have several large bags in the freezer for making soups and sauces. As I look at…

I’ve learned quite a lot about myself over the last few years. Living alone has brought with it some congratulatory moments of mastery, as well as some uncomfortable moments that have challenged my assumptions about myself. Here are some thoughts on one of them.

A few days ago long-time friends Dennis and Katie spent a day and a half with me at the lake on their way home to B.C. They’re the kind of friends you can not see for a decade, and when you finally get together, it’s as though you’ve never been…

Almost thirty years ago, Jack and I bought “camp”—the tiny house on the shore of Lake Superior, just south of Lake Superior Provincial Park. Until then, from the mid 1970s to the mid 1990s, we spent a couple of weeks every summer—sometimes more, never less—camping in the park’s Agawa Bay…

I just read an article telling me that Canadian women who have reached the age of 75 are likely to live to 89. If they are financially secure and have a healthy lifestyle, add five years. I’m glad, because I just had to replace my riding lawnmower, and I’d like…

Yesterday was Dia de las Flores, Day of the Flowers, here in Guanajuato. I’ve probably written about it here before. This is what I had to say about it in The Stuff of a Life: It’s Dia de las Flores—a pre-Easter celebration specific to Guanajuato. The streets are filled with couples who…

I left you all with the impression that the banking story was over. I actually thought it was. When a trial transfer of a relatively small amount made its way seamlessly to my bank account in Canada, I shared a sigh of relief with all of you. Too soon, perhaps.…

I’m back in Guanajuato to try, for a second time, to retrieve the money from the sale of the house Jack and I had down here. If you’ve been following the banking-in-Mexico story, here is the finale.  The middle daughter in my Mexican family has been helping me with this.…

Reconciliation is a big idea, and no one in public life in Canada can fail to make a commitment to reconciliation with the country’s original inhabitants. They have been, and in ways continue to be, treated abysmally. Between 2009 and 2015, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission logged thousands of hours…

I dropped in to visit a friend on my way home from taking my garbage to the dump yesterday morning, and she asked, “What’s going on with the bank in Mexico? I’ve been checking your blog to see if there’s an update…”

Sorry, folks. I guess I left you hanging. I hope it didn’t ruin your holidays.