Taking the Bull by the Horns, Literally

I worked as a professional organizer for a time. The strangest job I ever did for a client takes some explanation. My client was an excellent photographer, travelling all over the world taking beautiful pictures. Both her parents had been safari hunters in Africa over 50 years ago. She inherited her parent's house. In it... Continue Reading →

Tales of A Phoenix: The Letting Go Project

A very small piece of my embroidery is included in this amazing project by Yana Schnitzler. "Tales of a Phoenix: The Letting Go Project" is a performative work that harnesses the power of ritual to bring women together from across the world in a unified release of old patterns that no longer serve our personal... Continue Reading →

Joyseeker

Some people chose a word for the year as a practise at New Year's. My friend asked everyone to chose a verb. I baulked at the idea this year because I'm prone to worry that I won't get it right. But this is the type of spiritual practise which can ignite rather than restrict. I... Continue Reading →

Frumenty

We have a tradition in my father's family of having special food at Christmastide. They hailed from Nottinghamshire, Britain. A bowl of hot boiled wheat porridge called frumenty was made only for Christmas time. This ancient pottage hails from the middle ages and my version bears some resemblance to the medieval frumente. My Dad always... Continue Reading →

Tango in the Kitchen

by Mary Ann Pocock (1957-2006) just as there is pain with loss so we find it in the search for the very celebrations that come by chance from our grieving 'til one is inextricably linked to the other and we cannot tell where the dying begins and the living ends so the very things which... Continue Reading →

Turning 65

Sometimes I just sit on a park bench to read instead of reading in my living room. I watch squirrels, listen to birds and the breeze in the leaves, listen to people walking and talking, see dogs of all shapes and sizes. It’s solitude within the context of community. The geese have moved up the... Continue Reading →

Remember – A Poem

I go to cemeteries a lotIt doesn’t matter where It’s not about the who(or mostly not) It’s quietIt’s reverent Squirrels aboundDogs exercise People walk and talk I mostly come to listenTo the birdsTo the breezeTo the voices of ancestorsTheir inscriptions, storiesTheir bones, a witnessTheir songs, a whisperTheir presence a comfort Places set apart to remember  So... Continue Reading →

Being Met at the Well

Drop the bucket into the well of grief again?Is the water table lower than the last time?The bucket has to go deeper to find the water it seems. Each grief attack seems to require more effort. Yet now there is more time between trips to the well perhaps the water filling my bucket contains more... Continue Reading →

Running with Scissors to Bolivia

Today I was rereading and putting away the Christmas cards that I received this season. My mind immediately turns to childhood, scissors and paper cutting which I loved to do. Growing up in a Christian ‘mission-minded’ household we were encouraged to never waste anything. This included harvesting the prettiest pictures from our old Christmas cards... Continue Reading →

Why Gimli?

The reason my maternal grandparents built their cottage in 1938 in South Beach, Gimli, Manitoba was because my grandmother Winifred's older brother Percy Harris built there first. So why did her brother build a cottage in Gimli sometime before 1912? Lake Winnipeg, the world's eleventh largest freshwater lake, was a short trip away from the... Continue Reading →

Evans Store

Evans Store on Hansson Ave, at the corner of Anna, was a fixture to every kid in South Beach, Gimli. Forever. Evans Store Building in 2017. Put out to pasture behind 15 Hansson Avenue, Gimli. My first memory of spending money was at Evans Store. My grandpa Percy would give me a nickel or dime and... Continue Reading →

Ode to Saskatoons

I only had to look up. They were there all along. The ripe and ripening fruit. Yummy morsels. Dark purple. I go out and harvest my breakfast from my own bushes, nay trees now. When did the fruit grow out of reach? How can I harvest? The tree, if carefully handled, will bend. Gracefully bowing... Continue Reading →

1 Year of Stitches – DONE

One year ago my friend Lou Anne Sybenga and I started a project called #1yearofstitches or #onestitchaday. This challenge was begun by Hannah Claire Somerville. When I saw this project on Instagram it took my fancy. I had just finished a year long one-a-day project which required me to go outside everyday and make ephemeral art.... Continue Reading →

Gimli Yacht Club 50th Anniversary

I wrote this in celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Gimli Yacht Club, July 1, 2017 (tune: This Land is Your Land, This Land is My Land) This Club is your boat, this Club is my boat From speedy cruisers to anything that will float From the harbour mouth To this great lake’s waters. This... Continue Reading →

How to Enjoy an Art Studio Tour

Art studio tour signs brighten my day. It is a treasure and honour to be able to see into an artist's space. If you have never done an art studio tour or wanted to but feel intimidated, here is my listicle: Find the website and print out the brochure. Or use the app. Check off... Continue Reading →

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