Blog
An Honest-to-goodness actual phone interaction
Call centre person: “Hello, this is Stephanie. How can I help you?” Me: “I’d like to cancel my online Toronto Star subscription.” CCP: “Oh. I’m sorry you want to do that. Why do you want to cancel?” Me: “Because it’s ...
My Internet Twins
Last week, I received the following email, which I have copied and pasted verbatim: Hey Marilyn – you’re the person responsible for fiscal decisions related to Marilyn M Carr The Foundation, right? Are you interested in a line-of-credit for your ...
Cottage Status Report 20241020
It’s almost time to say goodbye to the drowned annuals that desperately tried to recover from the early summer monsoons and failed miserably (it had nothing to do with the fact the pots had no holes in the bottom and ...
Cottage Status Report 20240929
I know you’ve been anxiously awaiting an update on the health of my cottage appliances (probably as anxiously as you’ve been anticipating a sequel to Beetlejuice, which may be arriving at a screen near you soon). The good news is ...
My Friend Michelle
My friend Michelle “threw off her mortal coil” in her 61st year last week. And I use that expression as the most apt I could think of in this circumstance. Michelle was a fierce defender of justice, a rabid ...
Techno-jail
At the cottage, we use our iPhone hotspots to access the internet. This works pretty well, except on summer long weekends or when it’s raining, when everybody and their progeny piles on to the cellphone tower. Are there other options ...
Cottage Status Report 20240729
I am pleased to announce that the Broken Appliance of the Month award goes to the dishwasher. Even though we’re not quite through July, I’m pretty confident nothing else will swoop in to claim the title. (I’m looking at you, ...
Clueless
As I have mentioned, I have experienced an unexpected reversal in my aversion to crossword puzzles. This is partially because they have evolved considerably from their previous incarnation, which was rife with clues involving Chinese currency and Biblical references. It’s ...
Cottage Status Report 20240601
We have water! It was a simple thing, really. Turns out it wasn’t the controller for the pump, it was the pump. A new pump was purchased. It didn’t even cost more than $1,000! And, they’ve made great strides in ...
Suburban Status Report 20240524
When we got back from the cottage on Wednesday night, there was a Canada Post ‘pick up a parcel’ slip attached to the front door. This was decidedly odd. Normally, the mailman leaves any parcels in the parcel sequestering area ...