Pawlooza: Rescue me!
Pawlooza last Saturday in London Ont was great. So many people and dogs! Other than a bit of a walk-around, I hardly saw anything of it other than our St.…
Goderich, Prettiest Town
The slogan of Goderich, on Lake Huron, is “The Prettiest Town in Canada.” It’s never seemed like hyperbole to me. Last Sunday, downtown Goderich was slammed by a tornado. It…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Aug. 21/11)
Cheap Tricks Thursday just before a commercial break: Kylie, obviously still in the Greater Manchester area. Oh no, I groaned, I thought she was gone. I like Max and the…
Going to Graceland
Thirty-four years ago, Graceland became a memorial shrine. The day before, August 16th 1977, the King of Rock and Roll had died in it, his home. Despite liking Elvis, Graceland…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Aug. 14/11)
Little Englanders Ashley Peacock just put himself in the ranks of splendid curmudgeons of Weatherfield, and of Little Englanders. In a kitchen table scene Tuesday, Claire and her mother extolled…
Show Jumper
Coming up fast to the fence, feeling the muscles gather beneath you, crouching low over the horse’s neck, then springboarding into the air. Sailing over the rail, touching down on…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Aug. 7/11)
Bring me flowers Three scenes Tuesday. First, Chesney taking flowers to Katy, and her dad answering the door. Flowers go to the cobbles and Chesney goes to the wall, pinned…
Finding a new Dick Francis
In need of a book for bedtime reading, looking through bookshelves – and finding a Dick Francis mystery you haven’t read. That is true happiness. I thought sadly that I’d…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (July 31/11)
Care Package Eddie Windass, in the cafe, stealing Roy’s condiments for food purchased elsewhere. Anna scolds him. He asks if there’s any tape. She looks to see what he’s doing,…
Dear Cat Dumper
To the person who dumped a grey tiger and white male neutered cat at Waterworks Parks on or before July 4, 2011: He’s doing well, considering. He misses you and…
Fiat Bambina
If I could possibly justify another teeny-weeny cute car, I’d get the new Fiat 500. I’ve only seen one around here, a silver grey one. I like the tv ads, and…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (July 24/11)
Hell hath no fury Hell indeed hath no fury like a woman scorned by lover, lover’s mother, boss who is also lover’s grandmother, and co-worker who is also lover’s brother.…
Rwanda
Seventeen years ago, one hundred days of genocide ended in Rwanda. It was part of a long-standing conflict between Hutu and Tutsi, two groups who uneasily co-exist in the small…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (July 17/11)
The Good Mother A storyline, not a scene: the unmasking of Natasha’s dreams of housewifery. It started for me Wednesday, with Gail getting up from her chair in the Rovers…
United Empire Rebels
A couple weeks ago, I posted the family tree of the Mabees, my paternal grandmother’s people. It’s the family I knew least about, other than there are a lot of…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (July 10/11)
Waitress from Hell I can’t stand Kylie. That being said, I loved Wednesday’s scene of her “serving” in Roy’s café. Kylie being your waitress could be one of Dante’s circles…
Waterworks Cat
I’d planned to write something about this past week’s national birthdays but I’ve been busy – dealing with someone else’s problem, I think. We have a new cat, found in…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (July 3/11)
Family Trees Two scenes this week – couldn’t choose between them. Very different stories, but both about expanding the family trees. New Dobbs We’ve got a new shoot on the…
In Memoriam: Mya
Last night a friend called. She and her husband had to put their lovely young dog to sleep. Mya, a beautiful Doberman Pinscher. On Saturday, she was ill and her…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (June 26/11)
Lancashire Fusilier That was the most fabulous wedding I’ve ever seen on Corrie or any other show. Roy and Hayley on a Lancashire Fusilier. I can’t possibly pick one scene…
Rhubarb
If, like me, you’ve been watching your rhubarb plant get bigger and bigger but you don’t feel like making a pie or jam, here’s what you can do. Just cook…
Circus Cirque
We went to see Cirque du Soleil at London's John Labatt Centre recently. The show, Quidam, was fabulous. Also the first circus I’ve been to at the JLC with no…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (June 19/11)
Mary This week, Mary. She is wonderful. Scary and wonderful. Coronation Street has a treasure in her. I keep wishing she’d go away because she frightens me. But every scene…
The MINI Wave
I’ve noticed something this year, or rather the lack of something. MINI drivers in the London area are not waving at each other. Forest City MINI Club, get the word…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (June 12/11)
Baby Daddy Nick patting Natasha’s belly and cooing to the baby inside versus a couple months ago Nick asking Leanne if she didn’t sometimes picture herself and him and little…
Carrot Cake
My dog Jack loved carrots. For his 7th birthday, I made him a carrot cake from my mother-in-law’s recipe. He, and we, loved it. As you see, the cat did…
“Look at Bingy”: Alzheimer’s and Distraction
Frustration is part of Alzheimer’s and other age-related memory loss and dementia – frustration for the person themself and the people caring for or interacting with them. So distraction becomes…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (June 5/11)
The Accumulator A five race accumulator is a bet in which you pick the horses to win in five different races on a given race day. Your winnings compound from…
Car Music
I once had an old Chevy Monza hatchback, a 1975. It came with a banged-in fender that didn’t seem worth fixing. The rest of the body was so rusted that,…
Tomato Macaroni
Macaroni and ground beef in tomato sauce, it's homemade Beefaroni. When I was a kid, this was what I liked best that Mom made. It was a treat! I had…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (May 29/11)
Crazy Ladies Fiz going off on Charlotte. She’s in Charlotte’s house telling her exactly what she thinks of her and telling her to stay away from her man! Wonderful. Nice…
Oprah’s Last Show
Today is the final Oprah Winfrey Show on regular network tv. I’m very sorry to see her go. I can watch her on her own network, but I probably won’t.…
Pickled Eggs
My sister told me an easy way to make pickled eggs. She uses a large jar with a regular style lid because they go through them quickly. If you figure…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (May 22/11)
Farce John Stape is making progress. He now isn’t just teaching about farce, he’s living one. It wouldn’t feel that way for him, of course. He has to figure out…
Go Paperless!
Utility companies, governments, banks – every agency that sends us bills or statements keeps telling us to make it easier for ourselves, save trees, go green, go paperless. Make it…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (May 15/11)
Meowrr! Lots of 'cats' on the Street this week! So many meowrr scenes to choose from. I had one picked then saw Friday’s episode, which gave me another two options.…
Friday the 13th Port Dover
Bucket list item checked off. The bikes at Port Dover. Beautiful weather and the only Friday the 13th in all of 2011. I was a little nervous about it, I…
The Death of Soaps
In April, ABC announced the cancellation of the long-running soaps All My Children and One Life to Live. They will be replaced by a cooking show and a health and…
Cooking: Basics
I'm a self-taught cook, and not a great one. But I enjoy cooking, find it relaxing (usually) and like to experiment. I have cookbooks and use them, but also know…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (May 8/11)
The Salesman “Oh, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive!” John Stape would know without having to google it that this famous line comes from…
TVP Pasta Sauce
If you’re vegetarian or not, TVP is your friend. 'Textured Vegetable Protein’ is a soy product that looks like bacon bits or small cat kibble. You can buy it in…
Hats off (or on) to the past few days!
It’s been quite a four days – perhaps best summarized with The Hat. Everybody’s had a go at this new game. So hats off to creativity. The Hat - the…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (May 1/11)
The Wedding Planner Monday, Mary leaping at Hayley in the fancy hotel’s small event room when Hayley says she prefers it to the large ballroom for the wedding. Hayley is…
The Royal Wedding
I stayed up all night and watched the Royal wedding pre-pre-coverage, pre-coverage, main event, balcony scene and after coverage. I switched between CBC and CBC NewsNet, CNN, an entertainment news…
Royalty
In June 1983 royalty came to St. John's. Charles and Diana, Prince and Princess of Wales, arrived on the Royal Yacht Britannia. Two years before, I had woken up early…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Apr. 24/11)
A Dinner Party Sean touching his son’s face onscreen, Cheryl after her husband battered her – moving moments. But Ken telling dinner guests Audrey and Lewis, “Tracy always says how…
Mabee’s Corners
My cousin Lynda Sykes wrote this about her visit to Mabee's Corners many years ago, after reading about my ‘sighting’ of the road sign for it. She graciously gave me…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Apr. 17/11)
Stayin' Alive It was Graeme’s week. Even before all his Christmases came at once and he got lucky with Tina, he was the man. Stayin' alive - the Bee Gees…
The Waitress Club
My very first job was waitressing. It was a street corner restaurant with booths and tables, bigger than a diner but not fancy. I had just arrived in a city…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Apr. 10/11)
A Proposal My pick for the week is not the small, unexpected quirky moment. I’m going straight to the Big Event – Roy’s romantic proposal of marriage. It was lovely,…
El perro de la playa
The Costa Rica beach dog - or el perro de la playa - a short story In the morning, when Helen opened her cabaña door, the dog was standing beside…
Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica
It started with an email I received. You may have also got it, it’s making the rounds. A woman turned a jet into a house on a tropical beach for…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Apr. 3/11)
Our Father A woman battering at the factory door, the menfolk trying to decide whether to help, and nary an official of civil authority in sight. In a situation dire…
Zucchini Biscuit Quiche
This kind-of quiche is a really easy, fast and light meal. Once, when a friend was visiting, we were talking and I had the veggies sliced, everything mixed and the…
Newfoundland Mi’kmaq Family History & Genealogy
The internet is a good place to find out about your family history. Lots and lots of genealogy websites and resources. Unfortunately, it ain’t as easy as the tv ads…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Mar. 27/11)
Red Dress Redux My “aahh” moment was Hayley opening the gift from Roy when it wasn’t even her birthday. When Roy fumbled and bumbled his way into the Windass home…
Coronation Street: A (cat) star is born!
Wednesday we saw the new title sequence, done in honour of the show’s 50th anniversary and the move to high-definition. There’s a new cat, a new rendition of the theme…
Snow Day
Our backyard late last night. All the snow had gone, even the mud had started to dry up. Then bang, last night, a snowstorm. A mixture of rain, freezing rain…
Caesar Salad
Years ago, a friend and I used to go the Newfoundland Hotel’s main dining room, the fancy one, for one thing. Caesar salad. The waiter would come with a trolley…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Mar. 20/11)
Red Hot Hayley Hayley, delighted with her purchase of a flashy red dress. Roy saying “I find it hard to see you in it.” The hurt you feel when you’re…
Lake Erie, North Shore
A few years ago we went east along Lake Erie, as far as Port Dover. We started in St. Thomas. It took us four days. Coming back, we took larger…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Mar. 13/11)
Baby Tigers A few weeks ago, we had the grown-up tigresses going at it. Rita and Audrey over Lewis and Alf and many years of shared history. This Wednesday it…
Detailing
Several years ago, I bought a two-year old car from a newspaper ad. When I took it for a test drive, I couldn’t believe how clean and nice the inside…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Mar. 6/11)
A funeral, a fight & free food They did Blanche – and Maggie - proud. The funeral was lovely, heartfelt and funny. So many beautiful moments. Starting before the funeral,…
Tilting at Windmills
Thinking about why so many oppose windmills for power generation, my mother and garbage disposal came into my head. Specifically, her reaction when the town brought in a recycling programme.…
The Oscars 2011
The dresses, that’s the Oscars for me. The beautiful gowns and the ones that make you wonder ‘what possessed her?’ So anything that provides both oohs and aahs of admiration…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Feb. 27/11)
Blanche Norris and Mary, in the little cottage of horrors, were riveting this week. And it was nice to see Nu-Amy. But the week belonged to Blanche. May she, and…
Skating on the canal
Low-flying on glass, long swooping strides pushing you along. Wind at your back propelling you. Wind coming at you, slowing you, your legs pushing forward into its face. It’s you…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Feb. 20/11)
Duets So many strange duets of characters this week, so many good scenes. Lots of story building. A biggie with Audrey and Lewis. What is he doing? Is he smitten…
Meatloaf
This is my mother-in-law’s recipe and it’s the best meatloaf I have ever tasted. The addition of pork makes it juicier than those made with beef only. Sometimes I've added…
The King and Us
Wallis Simpson makes me think that there may well be a God, and that He is on “our” side. I cannot imagine what the world would look like had King…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Feb. 13/11)
Car Crash Tyrone’s car rolling over and over and over – wow! Then, next episode, firefighters cutting the car apart after the crash. The car and the jaws of life…
Coronation Street: A defence of John Stape
Ok, I know John Stape is a lying weasel who spends way too much time feeling sorry for himself and plotting nasty schemes. But, at heart, he is a high…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Feb. 6/11)
BFFs A jaw-dropper at the end of Monday’s episode. Sophie, having scrubbed the back of her neck raw trying to get the temporary tattoo off, crying. Sian then coming in…
Resort Towns (Feb. 2/11)
Brighton, in December, although still a fairly bustling city, bore little relation to Brighton in June or August. Jury often felt there were few things bleaker than a seaside town…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Jan. 30/11)
Needs a home Tuesday, Becky reaching to the computer screen, to the girl with the challenging eyes. Chloe, 9 years old, seven siblings most of them in Scotland, needs a…
Seeing the world the Alzheimer’s way
With Alzheimer’s, how is space and time perceived within your head? Take walking 20 yards down a hallway, from your room to the dining room. Halfway through, you can’t remember…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Jan. 23/11)
Movin' on down A scene I liked in a storyline that’s not up to par. First, the scene (a two-parter): Sunita and Dev in the Rovers talking to Ashley and…
Losing Sgt. Ryan
Tuesday morning, I turned on the tv to watch my tape of Coronation Street. But on CBC, I saw the funeral procession for Sgt. Ryan Russell of the Toronto Police…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Jan. 16/11)
SWF looking Friday, Audrey and Rita had an interesting conversation about looking for companionship. Even maybe paying for it. To the news that Lewis is an “escort” hired occasionally by…
A Charity of Your Choice
When making funeral arrangements, it’s common to think of a charity to which the deceased person would like memorial donations to go. It’s a nice way of remembering somebody and…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Jan. 9/11)
Ashes to Ashes Whatever the Joe McIntyre storyline was like, his death has been the most entertaining I’ve ever seen. His funeral Monday was an absolute gem. The memory of…
Sarah Palin and Targets
The first time I saw Sarah Palin on television, I was impressed. It was soon after she was announced as John McCain’s running mate for the 2008 US presidential election.…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Dec. 31/10)
God bless the child Not really a “scene” this week – a shot and a background, both part of the same storyline. Poor little Simon, looking out the door at…
Tomatoes
Freezing is probably the easiest way to prepare a supply of tomatoes. In season, buy a large quantity of them or grow your own. At other times of the year,…
New Year’s Eve at the Harbourfront
The most wonderful place I ever spent New Year’s Eve was the waterfront in St. John’s, Newfoundland. The tradition started, according to CBC, in the 1960s with one family going…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Dec. 26/10)
Loss The biggie of the week was Monday’s three-scene telling of Becky’s miscarriage. The look on her face when she leaves the bathroom, the surreptitious tippling of vodka, the screaming…
A Dog’s “Night before Christmas”
'Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, in hopes…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Dec. 19/10)
Trash Kittens Tuesday at the Rovers, Trev says, “Hey guess what I found today? Two little kittens in a wheelie bin.” Janice says, "aah, really? Where are they now?” In…
The Boat House, Laugharne
When I was in high school, I discovered the beauty of Dylan Thomas’ writing. I first read Under Milk Wood and then moved on to his poetry. In community college,…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Dec.12/10)
Bob jokes There was one brief, shining moment this week on Wednesday. As I said to my husband when updating him: We saw Joe bob up. Then I almost fell…
Days of our Lives and Chex Mix
Having fallen off on my American soap viewing, I didn’t know about the new product placement on soaps until I saw the spoof of it on the Colbert Report. I…
Dog blankets, beds & coats needed! (Dec. 8/10)
All Breed Canine Rescue needs beds for foster dogs. If you have washable dog beds, fluffy blankets or towels to give them would you please contact allbreedcaninerescue@sympatico.ca. ABCR is being…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Dec. 5/10)
Before getting to this week's episode on Lake Schtupid: Set your pvr, TiVo, vcr, whatever you have, and make sure you're home next Thursday evening. Canadian Coronation Street fans hit…
Lifeboys: Reality tv before “Reality TV”
In the spring of 1992, I heard an interview with Pat O’Rourke, of Liverpool, on CBC Radio’s As it Happens. It was about Lifeboys, a television show that he was…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Nov. 28/10)
The glorious Ciaran There were a lot of “should be” scenes this week. Some fell short, some have built over time, and an unlikely one happened right near the end.…
Pipelines through Paradise
This past October, there was a documentary by Karin Wells on CBC Radio’s Sunday Edition about a RAVE (Rapid Assessment Visual Expedition) to document and showcase the coastal British Columbia…
People without sense to come in out of the rain
Last week in our community paper, the St. Thomas/Elgin Weekly News, there was an article about a good and caring citizen and chiropractor Dr. Denise Colledge. For the second year,…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Nov. 21/10)
What he really thinks My pick is Joe, speaking for us all in telling Gail what he really thinks. But before that, a note on Becky. She shone this week,…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Nov. 14/10)
Vera's ring The 2nd anniversary of Vera’s death. Tyrone is sad. But that morning, he doesn’t know what’s about to hit him. All he knows is Molly is being very…