Category: Uncategorized
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Dostadning
Dostadning is the Swedish practice of cleaning out belongings in preparation for the end of life. It translates into English as “death cleaning” which sounds morbid, but is also realistic. As people of my parents’ generation used to say, “You cannot take it with you.” Although generally designed for people over the age of 55, …
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End of year
With thirty-six hours remaining in 2017, I have completed the list of books I have read since resuming my blog earlier this year. Not a great accomplishment, but a self-given task completed, and I take some pleasure in that. “Round the Christmas Fire: Festive Stories”, Vintage Books, London, 2013. I purchased this from Hampstead House…
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Red roses and pink cacti
SANTA’S HELPER Santa’s helper has taken up residence in my house. She has commandeered my office for her purposes and I will miss her when her job is done. She assures me that not all of Santa’s helpers are female. As if I were concerned that the big guy were…
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Not this year
War and Remembrance Earlier this year, I was asked to judge a writing competition on the theme of “Lest we Forget”. Now as we approach November 11, I think about those stories, each different, each from a personal point of view, each heartbreaking in its own way. One story in particular has stuck with…
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Montana Memories
Montana 1978 Thirty-nine years ago, my husband and I drove through northern Montana on our honeymoon, spending nights in Havre and East Glacier Park. Along the way we stopped at Malta and did some shopping in a western wear shop. My husband bought himself a lined denim jacket that he wore for…
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Summer’s end
Until yesterday, I boiled up four cups of hummingbird nectar every day. Once it had cooled, I poured the liquid into the six-station feeder and re-hung it under the eave above the deck. Every day the birds drank those four cups and asked for more. The babies had grown and fought with the adults for…
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Dog Daze of Summer
‘Bearly’ there Leaving town after a community event, I approached the curve that would take me past the elementary school. I was about a block away when I spotted a black bear rounding the curve and heading west on the street. He/she (I wasn’t close enough to determine gender and had no wish to…
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Lily Days
“Moral Disorder” – by Margaret Atwood. McClelland and Stewart, 2006. 1st edition. I purchased this hardcover book at Black’s Book in Winnipeg during their 80% off closing sale in June. While recognizing her undisputed talent and international success, I have never loved Margaret Atwood in the same way that I love the writing of Margaret…
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Lilies in July
“Americanah A Novel” by Chimanda Ngozi Adichie, Anchor Books, A Division of Random House LLC, New York, 2014 I borrowed this book from one of my children, who picked it up in the U.S. a while back and recommended it to me. Adichie, who grew up in Nigeria, is the award-winning author of “Half…
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Poppies and roses and things in between
“Dance on the Earth: a memoir” by Margaret Laurence, McClelland and Stewart, 1989. I found this hardcover book, still in its book jacket, at Nerman’s Books on Osborne, one of our favourite places to go (along with Black’s Books, which is sadly closing this month). A handwritten notation on the inside cover states that…
Rural Routes, Blog Version 