Some days I wish bad news still came via smoke signals, carrier pigeon, or a parchment scroll. Or that it was delivered by a rugged man on horseback arriving in a cloud of dust after riding for days across the prairie. I’d wait while an ancient ocean liner crossed the Atlantic, carrying news of someone’s… Read more »

I just emailed a friend and unburdened three months? worth of frustration on her. It was sent under the guise of an update, but really it was a litany of complaints and bitching about the state of my life and some of the challenges I’m facing. I guess That’s what happens when you trust someone… Read more »

What’s in your wallet right now? If You’re like me, you’ve got a wad of gift cards that you received for Christmas?or from when you returned hideous, inappropriate, so-not-for-me gifts to the store. Those expensive rectangles of plastic are making the change compartment of my wallet bulge; I’m a frugal gal who needs a visual… Read more »

Welcome to 2012! Now that we’re a couple of weeks in, are you still filled with hope and promise?or have you decided that It’s same old, same old? Do you do the passive thing, reading through all the year-end summaries? Do you love the annual reminder of 2011’s top stories? There is a list for… Read more »

This column originally appeared September 16, 2011, in issue 1935. Despite the date (September 7) and the crazy cool, wet summer we’ve had, I just cut some roses in my garden. The scarlet blossom with velvety petals is the stuff of Valentine’s Day ads. The pink ones are the floribunda style typical of hardy Zone… Read more »

Here’s the situation in a nutshell. Roy is away working until Christmas. Because we are having our children over Christmas Eve, all the preparation falls on me. Here’s what you should know: our house is small, I’m working two days a week, and I only cook and clean because someone has to. I’m not one… Read more »

In the past few days, I’ve begun work on a 2012 tourism guide that covers part of east-central Alberta. My role is multi-faceted. First, I edit the information people submit about their communities. There are the basics, like population, location, and contact info, and additional categories for attractions, history, and outdoors. The guide covers a… Read more »

Is there anything quite so lovely as packing for a getaway? Such is my thought as I plan for an extended weekend with my husband, two kids, daughter-in-law, and sweet grandson Grady. We will be heading to what they call a cabin on the shores of Lesser Slave Lake, Alberta’s biggest body of water. In… Read more »

As I write this on Saturday afternoon, I am 1,110 words away from completing my first-ever National Novel Writing Month challenge. I wrote just shy of 2,500 words today. I’ve averaged over 1,800 words per day, which is above the 1,667 needed to finish in the full 30 days. I will over-write just to be… Read more »

Because my mind and soul are promised to National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) for several more days, my ability to generate my own column topic this week was kaput. So when someone suggested I discuss the concept in Suzy Welch’s book 10-10-10, I jumped on it. My task became to read the book and hope… Read more »