Spring has arrived . . sort of. This is Spring in Quebec where the snow melts like a glacier, and the small talk in the corner dépanneur is drumming a tired refrain. “The winter is too long here. I can’t wait for the warmer weather and the snow to disappear.” Coffee shop owners dust off … Continue reading »
Category Archives: At Home
Christmas Present
We have crossed over the winter solstice. The light will grow longer with every day and we will slowly start to move out of hibernation, leaving the bears to dictate when winter is truly over. And we are in the midst of the yule season and many people today are celebrating with family and friends. … Continue reading »
The Big Shift
A bucolic, sylvan lifestyle has always appealed to me. For as long as I can remember, I have secretly harbored a longing to live “in the country.” But my career has kept me tethered to an urban abode. Admittedly, I have managed to abscond from the megalopolises of Paris, Berlin, Cairo and Dhaka to a … Continue reading »
Stepping into the River with a Friend
It takes some courage at first to ward off the impending sensation of wet and cold. I overcome it by the strong desire is to accompany my friend into the dark waters that will envelope our bodies permitting no view of what lurks below. As we wade further in, the skin begins to warm and … Continue reading »
Did You Say “Worms”?
My mind has a tendency to switch to the quest channel – tuning in to the endless search for answers, the meaning of life, the expression of multiple universes, the space that exists within the atom, until the search for my cell phone or my keys jolts me out of cruise control. What truly keeps … Continue reading »
Fear of Change or Fear of Not Changing?
We are creatures of habit. As are our pets. I marvel at the way my housebound grimalkin contentedly repeats the same ol’ routine every day. At the sound of the living room door, she creaks her way to the fridge, those old bones, and still gets there before I do. She does not eat salad … Continue reading »
Future Food
Most people, as they get older, are forced in one way or another to think about what they eat. Fortunately, I have not had medical reasons to do this; I am grateful for my partner whose athleticism has made him a tad health-conscious. I admit the happiest outcome for me in greening my diet has … Continue reading »
Summer Solstice
I thought it appropriate to announce my blogsite on the occasion of the summer solstice, what we in the North know as the longest day of the year. The day celebrated by ancient civilizations the world over, the solstice is a festive event well known to the Celts, the Sioux, and even in Quebec where … Continue reading »
What is milk?
What could be more mundane than milk, you ask. What could be more basic to all of creation than a mother’s milk? And what could be more available at any street corner anywhere in the world (okay, except Asian countries) besides bread but cow’s milk? In India, you’re almost sure to get it fresh from … Continue reading »
Jubilee
I turned 50 under a Dhaka sun and played hostage to a city din that hurled rickshaw bells, a cawing of Bangla jingles, and early morning drills in intervals at my 4th floor haven. These reminders of place reined me in to my retreat away from the bulging mass of life at my door. But … Continue reading »