As most of you know, at Christmastime I love to compose a little rhyming verse with a festive theme and send it off to friends and family. I’m also prone to creating a corny illustration as pictured below. I’ve been doing this for years, and the tradition delights me. So, here you go for this …
Workmates tend to be people you may not have otherwise met. You cannot choose them. They have different interests, beliefs, and backgrounds. They’re all ages, all colours, all creeds — a tapestry of humanness. But if, by chance, you meet on the job and tack in the same direction, prepare yourself for serious amusement, camaraderie, …
Once, a very wicked politician set out to rule the world. He probably didn’t regard himself as all that bad. He most likely believed he was doing good. And he had charisma — enough to sway an entire nation over to his way of thinking. And he promoted fear and distrust amongst his people, and …
I was only a girl the first time I heard his voice — a deep, soothing, but somehow chilling voice. But it wasn’t just the sound. It was the words streaming through his voice. They spoke to my adolescent heart. I’d tagged along with a friend that evening — a get-together in someone’s basement in …
My children want to know. How did I behave as a child? What did I do to entertain myself? What was it like back in the olden days? They’re curious about how my parents raised me and how that differs from the present day. They want to avoid any mistakes my parents may have made. …
“Trains carry memories of the past and whispers of the future.” Train travel thrills me. I’m not sure why, but a train whistle sets off a nostalgic, shivery tingle. Maybe it’s the lulling hum as the car rolls along the tracks. Maybe it’s the fact that you’re firmly on the ground. Maybe it’s the …
“I once was lost, but now am found.” I have been away travelling for nearly a month. A legacy trip in honour of my late husband, a trip he and I always planned to do, but kept putting off. You always think you have time, but things change, and then it’s too late. I held …
Bread. I’ve had a complicated relationship with it all my life, but it is my go-to comfort food. When I was a child, my mom didn’t bake often, but she made the most incredible buns. On bake days, the house burst with the heady fragrance of fresh bread and cinnamon buns. In the nineties, during …
Soon, I’ll be moving my newsletter to a new platform – Substack. Nothing will change for you, except the layout will look a little different. Substack encourages writers to give their newsletter a title. I’ve picked “Creative Compost,” which sort of sums up my topics – a bit of this and that. Back in 2019, …
A lot of far-out and groovy events took place in the 1960s when I was a girl growing up in southern Alberta. On the music scene, the British Invasion hit North America with bands like the Rolling Stones, the Animals, the Troggs, Herman’s Hermits, and, of course, the Beatles. I played my 33 vinyl discs …