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A gift from a friend
A common practice at the end of the school year was receiving gifts from my students. Some were homecrafted. Some were purchased. I have received gift cards, flowers and even produce from a family who owned a market garden and orchard. All gifts were greatly appreciated, no matter the value – as they were true…
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A Dozen Cousins
I cherish my cousins; all 12 of them! They range in age from 70s to 40s but each one of them is unique, important and so loved. Our respective parents were siblings and we were blessed to live in close proximity to one another. Since three of the families farmed together, we saw our cousins…
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What’s in a Name?
To complete that famous quote… “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet.” – by William Shakespeare in Romeo and Juliet. “Names are powerful things. They act as an identity marker and a kind of map, locating you in time and geography. More than that,…
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Grow Your Own Happiness
I love my jade plants! Crassula ovata, commonly known as jade plant, lucky plant, money plant or money tree, is a succulent plant with small pink or white flowers that is native to the KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa, and Mozambique; it is common as a houseplant worldwide. – Wikipedia My original jade…
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The Winds of Change
Change is hard for me. I find comfort with things that I know and have experienced. I tend to push back when others suggest that I should “think outside the box.” Why would I need to, when I’m perfectly comfortable inside the box? I love this box! Facing the unknown can be scary. I am…
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School Days
I like to say that I’m older than Kindergarten. There was no Kindergarten class in my local elementary school as I was approaching school age. However, I was enrolled in a unique class – aptly referred to as January Class. It began in January of the year before the typical Grade One class was to…
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Comfort Food
In the cold of these winter months, my heart and my stomach calls for comfort food. The Oxford Dictionary defines comfort food as food that provides consolation or a feeling of well-being, typically any with a high sugar or other carbohydrate content and associated with childhood or home cooking. Similarly, Wikipedia tells us that comfort food is food that…
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The Great Debates
I really am a peacemaker at heart and in my mind I always have been, despite what others may say. I like everyone to get along but people will have their personal views, likes and dislikes, in various ways that are beyond my control. I accept that. Coke or Pepsi – What causes our preferences…
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Coffee is my Language of Love
“Coffee is always a good idea.” – Unknown Throughout my childhood years, I saw coffee as the ultimate adult beverage, and I recall asking for sips – particularly after it was cool. To me, that’s what being grown-up was all about. My parents obliged my request on rare occasions. Just a spoonful at a time,…
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Want to Build a Snowman?
Sledding and skiing and snowmen, oh my! Let’s face it, winter in Ontario is not for the faint of heart. We are blessed annually with the white stuff. Whether you consider it a blizzard, corn snow, hoarfrost, lake-effect, packing, powder, sleet, slush, a snowdrift, squall or whiteout, these are just a few terms used in…
