In the last few days I’ve made a conscious effort to reach out to people. My MO included using email and Telus as conduits when in-person wasn’t possible. While I am quite content with my own company or with staying home with Roy, that lifestyle is perhaps not the healthiest?or the most fun. With a… Read more »
The theme of this year’s Veteran’s Week in Canada is ?How Will You Remember?? Perhaps the more important question is ?Why Should You Remember?? Simply put, there are more than 110,000 reasons. That is the number of men and women who have died in service to our country. In total more than one and a… Read more »
Since Alberta introduced its Distracted Driving legislation two months ago, I’ve been paying more attention to who is coming down the road toward me. Because I really can’t differentiate among most makes and models of vehicles, I rarely, even around home, look at oncoming drivers and expect to recognize them?let alone see what they’re doing…. Read more »
Every November since 1998, writers and would-be writers have demonstrated a unique form of insanity: taking part in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). Participants aim to write the first draft of a 50,000 word novel between November 1 and 30. Sometimes, through the miracle of revision, some of the output is saleable. One such story… Read more »
At this moment three Canadian provinces and one territory are being led by female premiers. They are Christy Clark, Liberal, in British Columbia; Alison Redford, Progressive Conservative, Alberta; Kathy Dunderdale, Progressive Conservative, Newfoundland-Labrador; and Eva Aariak, Independent, Nunavat. Whether your reaction is ?It’s about time!? or ?What’s this world coming to?? might depend on your… Read more »
A governance board that I sit on held a recent retreat at the Fantasyland Hotel at the West Edmonton Mall. Because I’m quite new to this group and our regular meetings are months apart, I didn’t know my colleagues very well. Luckily, breaking bread with people is a time-honoured tradition for increasing comfort levels and… Read more »
Would-be writers seek out the counsel of those who have succeeded. We hope for kernels of inspiration and, please dear God, some shortcuts to success. We latch onto any crumbs of insight or advice buried in the countless how-to books and blogs which have become an industry unto themselves. I especially love to hear about… Read more »
Since finally committing to (and following through on) writing a book, my life has been a blur?not of parties and adulation, but of hard, hard work. In this new world, writing and publishing the book is only the first and arguably the easiest of many steps. A real writer is chomping at the bit and… Read more »
Once upon a time (okay, 2009) in a land far away (Andrew, Alberta) a not-so-young would-be author sat down in her parlour and began writing a book. She had long harboured the desire to be published. And over the years she had, in various small ways, secured a byline and publishing credits. Putting quill to… Read more »
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 2 shrub roses: flatter profile, fewer petals, and more loosely… Read more »