November 2014

House Proud: Simply Put, Painting is Hard Work

Over many years and several houses, I’ve painted dozens of rooms and a hundred pieces of furniture. It drove my husband crazy when I wouldn’t properly prepare the space for inevitable splatters and spills. And then there’s cleanup, which is even worse than getting ready. There’s no putting lipstick on this pig. Painting stinks and I have plenty of reader input to show I’m not alone. …

House Proud: Simply Put, Painting is Hard Work Read More »

Review: Wish You Were Here 4

This month of Movember, when men are sprouting ‘staches and raising research dollars and awareness to fight prostate cancer, has taken on a life of its own. And around the time Movember started to spread around the world, a 20-year-old Londoner named Jesse Hildebrand-Nestor was losing a number of people he knew to the disease.   …

Review: Wish You Were Here 4 Read More »

When Should the Fat Lady Sing?

As you likely heard, AC/DC’s drummer, Phil Rudd, was arrested on serious charges this week, including attempting to hire a hit man. This morning that charge was dropped, but he’s still accused of threatening death and some drug offences. Chances are, unless the charges are thrown out he won’t be going on any world tour that the band has planned for their new album.  …

When Should the Fat Lady Sing? Read More »

Harassment at Work

The province’s politicians got into a debate at the legislature about whether government is doing enough to stop harassment, specifically sexual harassment, in the workplace. Harassment in some form or another has been present at virtually every radio job I’ve had and it doesn’t matter whether or not the target is you, the fact that it is allowed to continue affects everyone on staff.  …

Harassment at Work Read More »

Brittany Maynard is my Heroine

She didn’t sell a single record, appear in a movie or TV reality show, or post selfies to Twitter. But Brittany Maynard is a superstar in my view. The 29-year-old with terminal brain cancer ended her own suffering on the weekend by taking a lethal dose of drugs. Day by day, she could feel herself slipping away and losing the basic ability to think and she refused to let the process drag out for up to six excruciating months.  …

Brittany Maynard is my Heroine Read More »

Tasting Tomorrow

When I moved out on my own, I asked my Grandma to send me some of her favourite recipes. I still have the cards, with ingredients and instructions in blue ink, in her identifiable scrawl, detailing things that, sadly, I will never make. Spiced tomato relish. Sweet pickles. Dishes I identify with her but don’t particularly enjoy. But I’ll never throw out those cards. I couldn’t have known that we would lose her so soon after I left home.  …

Tasting Tomorrow Read More »