I’m not much of a fan of boxing movies. I watched Rocky. Winced when they cut his eyelids so he could see! And cheered when he won. That’s basically what most boxing movies seem to be about. A guy who beats the odds, pardon the pun. And yet Cinderella Man with Russell Crowe and Renee [...]

Happy New Year everyone! I can’t believe 2010 is gone! What a year it was!!! Last night while hubby was unwrapping the new sofas for our living room, he told me to put the second part of Kill Bill on. I said, “You really want to watch it?!” He said, “Yeah, sure, why not. It’ll [...]

The director of a day camp said this to me as I was leaving. It’s one of the best compliments to storytelling skill there is. It’s absolutely thrilling ot hear them moan, “Oh my butt fell asleep” or “My legs hurt” (from sitting still too long). It means they were so captivated they forgot to [...]

I’m staying back at my parent’s house, ‘home’, the house I grew up in and yet it doesn’t feel like ‘home’ to me at all. This last month has been crazy, living out of a suitcase, hardly seeing my own family. My mom’s doing better. Today she forgot her walker behind a couple of times [...]

Sometimes, when I dwell on it, I can’t help cringing about the way I behaved when I was first starting out. And sometimes, when I’m feeling generous, I don’t even blame that instructor for asking me to leave that writing workshop I’d paid to join. I made all the typical newbie mistakes. Probably every single [...]

Today I had the radio interview with Shelagh Rogers and it went better than it ever has. Usually I’m so nervous, and I was, even when I sat down in front of the microphone, at the seat pushed up to a round table. There were posters on the walls and a miniature model of the Rogers [...]

If you can dream-and not make dreams your master, If you can think–and not make thoughts your aim; If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster And treat those two impostors just the same;” This is the beginning of the second stanza and I just think there’s so much to it that bears scrutiny. Have [...]

I don’t even pretend to be a poet. To be perfectly honest I don’t *get* most poetry. Sometimes it can be breathtaking, but it’s very much hit and miss. But ‘If’ is one of the poems I have hanging on my bulletin board by my desk. The other two poems are The Quitter by Robert Service and [...]

Joannie Rochette, our highest hopes for a Canadian Olympic medal in women’s skating, did a beautiful performance in the short skate even after learning that her mother died unexpectedly, yesterday. Hers was not the most skillful performance, it was not the highest score, but it was definitely the most poignant. When she got ready to begin, [...]

Last night I was watching a biography of L.M. Montgomery. It was fascinating. It focused a lot on her recently published journals. In the biography, it was all Anne this and Anne that. There was a mention of Emily of New Moon, but that was it. My favourite book of hers, The Blue Castle, wasn’t even mentioned. [...]