Blog
Canadian Status Report 20250308
I decided to retire my parka late last week, when the runoff from Toronto’s snowmageddon was pooling in the crevasses of the wonky sidewalks and the snowbanks were withering under a sun that hadn’t been seen for many months. Only ...
Blame Canada
I went to the grocery store today, Farm Boy, a resolutely Canadian grocery store. I just had to pick up a few things I needed for dinner today and tomorrow. Lasagna incorporating freezer leftovers. Some kind of curry, ditto. As ...
Just Another Manic Sunday
Even though Mondays no longer spark the opposite of joy, and even though Saturdays are no longer reluctant shopping days, there’s something about Sundays that still stretch languidly, with ample time to putter in the kitchen. So that’s exactly what ...
Rose-coloured Glasses
I am the kind of person who owns a collection of random glassware. In fact, if I tried hard enough, I could trace the eras of my various kitchens via the contents of my cabinets. At some point, the ...
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 ...