Pops: Fatherhood in Pieces, by Michael Chabon. Pub. 2018 It was the title of this one that got me – not many people I know refer to their father as “pop” as I do – and also Michael Chabon as the author. I have read only a few of his books, and enjoyed each of... Continue Reading →
Crashing coffee cups
April 27th is Tell-a-Story Day. It is also what would have been my Pop’s 72nd birthday. So it seems highly appropriate to tell a story about him. A short one this year, inspired by a comment by a friend. She was describing how she frequently, in her haste to get going in the morning, will leave her coffee cup... Continue Reading →
The Wine Lover’s Daughter, by Anne Fadiman. Book report #18 (2018)
The Wine Lover’s Daughter, by Anne Fadiman. Pub 2017 Anne Fadiman is one of my favourite writers; sadly for me, she has very few books, so I was delighted to find that she’d at last produced another one. This memoir about her father is a poignant journey to find and enshrine the meaning of his... Continue Reading →
Item #25: Église De Stains, by Maurice Utrillo
This weary nicotine-stained lithograph-on-board has pride-of-place in my living room not because it is valuable (certainly not) or noteworthy. This print occupied a similar position in my grandparents' home for as long as I can remember and likely before that, so it is a piece of my own history. This was my pop's parents’ home,... Continue Reading →
Item #24: Painted Rocks
Nearly 30 years ago, my mom began painting - first with watercolours but then in a variety of media that, in the mid-nineties, included painting on rock. She collects rocks of appropriate size and texture from the local beaches on Vancouver Island, as well as other locations that she visits in Canada and elsewhere. The... Continue Reading →
Early experiences in science
April 27th is Tell-a-Story Day. It is also what would have been my Pop’s 71st birthday. Time for another story with him. Pop did his PhD in the mid- to late-Seventies, on the topic of cocaine. Specifically, the study looked at the effects of coca leaf extracts on the physiology of rats, as a way to understand... Continue Reading →
Book of Treasures: Grade 8
Grade 8: September to December 1979, Souris Elementary School, Souris, PE. Teacher - Mr. D. MacDonald. January to June 1980, Van Bellingham Elementary School, Winnipeg, MB. Teacher – Mrs. A. Enns. In the summer before Grade 8, we moved with my dad to Souris, PE, a tiny town in Eastern Prince Edward Island. The change... Continue Reading →
Driving Lessons
April 27th is Tell-a-Story Day. It is also what would have been my Pop’s 70th birthday. Time for another story with him. This year will be about driving lessons. I'm visiting family back in Manitoba next month, and we'll be spending a few days "at the lake", which is local lingo for staying in a cottage or... Continue Reading →
Tell me another one…
Today is Tell-a-Story Day. It is also what would have been my Pop’s 69th birthday. So it seems highly appropriate to tell a story about him. There are many to choose from, some quirky and delightful, some not so much. Sometimes, when I’d tell him something strange or fantastic, or if I attempted a fib,... Continue Reading →
Item #6 – Cherry Bowl
This is the time of year for remembrances. For the past few weeks, I've been reading and hearing about soldiers - distant and recent past, as well as present - and reminded of their honour, duty and sacrifice, and the freedoms I have because of them. This year of course has been all the more... Continue Reading →
rclr 