It took a long time to figure out what Spice and Sugar were to each other. Were they reluctant spouses? Roommates? It was about a year into their relationship before they cuddled up but they still have little spats. Spice still dominates her in little ways. He’ll shoo her away from the food bowl if he feels like it. Sugar will back up and sit patiently until he’s feeling more like sharing. We’ve determined they’re brother and sister. …
Lately I’ve been making fairly regular trips back to my hometown. Well, I have three hometowns, and I’m traveling past or to at least one of them on these road trips. I drink coffee. I always take along a bottle of water. When nature calls, I’m caught in that all-too-familiar state of wondering how to answer. A stroke of genius hit me on Sunday. Â …
Sometimes I think the rest of my life is going to mainly consist of asking, “that was how long ago?” The passage of time is on fast-forward. It’s already been five years since our friends Laurie and Jeff moved a house to cottage country. …
Our number one cat, our senior feline, the Head of Security for our household and top mouser Spice turns 16 today. …
My Mom hates wind turbines. She’s certainly not alone in that but unfortunately for Mom, turbines have been creeping into her world despite her efforts to stop them. …
The home inspector who gave the all-clear on my Toronto house missed some big problems. Dangerous electrical issues and other things put our lives and bank accounts at risk. He was also a jerk and if you haven’t gathered, he was incompetent. …
Now that hubby is a full-time voice talent/furniture-builder, he decided he needed an improved space in which to record voice-work. His desk area is fairly quiet, but if a horn honks or a truck makes a delivery, he has to stop everything and either redo what he’s been working on, or wait out the source of the sound. The solution: a vocal booth. Â …
Every year, we talk about building a new deck. Every year we decide it’s too expensive or not a priority and we put it off. This year we decided to heck with it and got it done, bigger and better than we ever imagined, because of a lot of good luck. …
One day you’re saying a new deck can wait. The next day, you’re working out a drawing with the contractor and watching the old deck come down. …
On Sunday afternoon, I was in the basement gathering some laundry I had hung to dry when a noise in the other room caught my attention. Spice was on the bookshelf behind the drum kit, knocking books onto the floor. “That’s weird”, I thought. “Spice doesn’t read.” …
It became apparent during a recent water spill that the ancient carpet in my office/studio was past its best-before date. …
My Big Show cohost Blair and his girlfriend Laura recently bought their first house. It was Laura’s birthday so they combined that with a housewarming on the weekend and we got our first peek inside. It’s a gorgeous little place, all finished inside and decorated with Laura’s excellent taste. It’s located in a sought-after part of the city, too. They did very well. …
I’m not saying I’m happy that hubby is temporarily jobless but, boy oh boy, he’s getting a lot done around the house! …
If injury photos make you queasy, if you don’t like feet or if you can’t handle the look of a woman’s heel in dire need of a pedicure, please surf away from this website! Â …
I don’t use my media platforms to take public revenge out on companies that give us less than stellar service. I try to settle things the old fashioned way, with communication and negotiation. But there comes a time when explaining an unresolved issue becomes a public service and we’ve reached that point with our sewer pipe problem of this past spring. …
I simply don’t believe in outdoor cats except in the two cases I specify in this randt. And I will randt you why! Â …
Hubby collects items from the now-defunct gas station chain, Supertest. Â It was founded here in London in 1923 and sold to BP in 1971. Â The name disappeared two years after that. Original items have become quite pricey and rare. We once admired a gravity-fed original Supertest gas pump at a store in Grand Bend. “Twenty grand”, said the owner. “Forget it,” I replied. “We don’t want it if it’s not a pair!” Â …
When we last left our frustrated homeowners, they were facing a second dig of their front lawn. …