I expect when Mom and Dad immigrated to Canada in 1958, their grasp of English would have been quite limited. Sure, they had learned some very elementary words years earlier in grade school, mandatory language lessons along with German and French. They may have even picked up a few classes in preparation for their flightContinue reading “Scrabble”
Tag Archives: #Canada
Hockey morning in Canada
Odin has been patient, waiting quietly until we rolled out of bed a little later than usual. He noses the back door, exits quickly in order to conduct his business before a yelp to open it again for re-entry. Odin swallows his breakfast; time for play. The temperature is warmer than most mornings this week,Continue reading “Hockey morning in Canada”
Baseball and Popcorn
We were delayed in leaving for our very first trip together. Not thinking, our car was left unlocked, exposed to the shenanigans typical of weddings at the time; confetti jammed into the air vents, Vaseline smeared on the steering wheel, the door handles, the gas tank. It all had to be cleaned before we couldContinue reading “Baseball and Popcorn”
Might as well be on Mars
The five of us were together again, dressed in different gear, celebrating the beginning of another journey, cherishing the memories of our previous adventure to the Yukon almost two years ago to the day. Emily is the bride in the 2024 picture, and the person responsible for the planning of our Yukon adventure. Peter isContinue reading “Might as well be on Mars”
A life of books…and books…and more books
The recent passing away of Alice Munro and the subsequent scandal reminded me of a story. I was Chair of General Education, a department responsible for teaching English and Liberal Studies to students in all programs. The diploma requirements for graduation included completion of at least one literature course, a bone of contention for many, andContinue reading “A life of books…and books…and more books”
The blond guy and a girlfriend
My book collection became accessible again so I began a slow survey of those shelves which had been blocked for a couple years. I happened upon a thin memoir entitled, alfabet/alphabet, winner of the Governor General award in 2022. It reminded me of a specific passage forever stuck in my memory because it explained aContinue reading “The blond guy and a girlfriend”
Rapture
Ten bucks for most packages, five if it is small, twenty for the big ones. Shopping advice? Free. Olena, Olga and I were back again gift wrapping for the food bank. Last year was so nice, we decided to do it twice – Saturday and Monday evening, 4:00 to 9:00 pm. Still a week fromContinue reading “Rapture”
Jet Airliner
Ridin’ along in this big ol’ jet planeI’ve been thinkin’ about my home I was thinking about my inaugural plane ride when the family travelled to the Netherlands in the summer of 1967. The trip was Mom and Dad’s first time back, almost ten years after their arrival in Canada, to celebrate Dad’s parent’s goldenContinue reading “Jet Airliner”
I got loaded
Last night. On a bottle of gin. Not really, but I savoured every ounce. KLM, Royal Dutch Airlines, Flight number 692, Toronto to Amsterdam. First leg of a 24 hour journey to Johannesburg, South Africa. I noticed Bols Corenwyn – Aged Dutch Genever at the top of the spirits list on the menu as IContinue reading “I got loaded”
Let it snow
“You don’t have to shovel rain.” I was reminded again this past weekend of my father’s saying after three hours of clearing the accumulated snow fall at the cottage. Some work was self-imposed, shoveling my way to the ice beneath in an annual effort to make a skating rink on the lake. Fortunately, the 200Continue reading “Let it snow”
Wonderings 