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Ode to a boathouse
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Boathouses aren’t meant to last on Ontario lakes but our grand old dame of a boathouse on Lake of Bays served us well, until this spring.
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Social mis steps & words at play
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Beth Parker writes on the how we live in a “word landmine” where some errors and mis steps are accepted and others make headlines.
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How to care for your phone and other New Year’s resolutions
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I resolved for 2019 not to make resolutions. Instead of adding new “shoulds”, I decided to accept my foibles and live my life without additional rules. Then on January 2, I put my mobile phone through the wash. Albeit, it was on the delicate cycle, but a tip to cell phone users: if a…
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Pay attention to your knitting
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No, I haven’t got the quotation wrong. Like many sayings, the phrase “Stick to your knitting” has actually morphed from its original intent, “Attend to your knitting.” The idea isn’t to do the thing you are good at (stick), but to pay full attention to the task at hand (avoid errors). It all fits…
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Name this person
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Remember when the big reveal following the birth of a baby was the question, “Boy or girl?” The answer’s not the mystery it used to be. Most parents today know what they are having ahead of the birth. In fact, “reveal” parties where a mystery piñata spills out pink or blue confetti are one…
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Plein air Nova Scotia style
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It was a rare opportunity: a good friend donated her lovely farmhouse in Nova Scotia to selected artists so they could paint. I was asked to join the group—4 retired art teachers and me. I was astonished, delighted and a bit paranoid. What if I had slipped in by mistake, or even worse, they…
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Hello, pioneer Beth
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For 10 months of the year, I’m “urban Beth”. I hang out on Queen Street East, enjoy downtown shows and theatre, and when bored with Toronto, visit New York for additional chaos and grittiness. My clothes tend to the black and grey, and if I feel like dressing down, I leave off the nail…
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Mary Poppins revisited: Life on the ceiling
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In a fit of nostalgia, I re-watched Mary Poppins the other evening. As a child, I loved the story (both the book and the movie) but as a grownup, of course, there’s so much I missed. The Disney movie is a work of art that combines live-action and animation. Shot entirely in California, meticulously…
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Walking in the Easter Parade
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I grew up with Easter being a “big deal”. At least half the day involved being inside a church with serious music, white lilies, and rather complex messages (scary for a kid) about life and death. I’ll always have a soft spot for the Easter season, but referring to the day and “celebratory” and…
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Near wins and finger puppets
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After two weeks in an Olympic-induced comma, I couldn’t stop thinking about those who almost made it— the bobsled team that fell behind by two hundreds of a point, those skaters who missed gold with barely a point to spare, the hockey players who lost because of a shoot-out (ouch). In short, I became…